Revell 1/48 SR-71A Build Part 1

[@danfreeman9079]

After working for years in the SR-71 program as a Code 42 Metals Technology Section Chief, part of the Fabrication Branch of the 9th Maintenance Squadron, 9th SRW. I worked closely with the SR-71 Corrosion Control Shop (PAINT SHOP) so I know the various stages the the RCS coatings (Paint) go through in their appearance. Some say the SR-71's appear to look blue, but that is really just a result of the refraction properties of light. Other factors have been described as Red/Blue Phase shift, which is depending on if the aircraft is flying away or towards the viewer. Under microscopical examination of the freshly painted Blackbird, you can see faceted black oxide crystals embedded within the paint. The texture is somewhat like velvet. As the paint wears down after use (The high temperature of flight, fuel and oil saturation, walking on it, and handling during maintenance), it becomes smoother and somewhat greyer in appearance. I have provided samples of SR-71 Titanium to professional model builders that have various conditions of the original paint on them so the builders can make an exact match. This is done for modeling competition purposes. I have found that Blackboard or (Chalkboard Paint) looks very close to a newly freshly painted SR-71.

[@labman20]

So glad you're doing a build of this kit, have it sat at my side waiting to get started. Will follow this one with great interest. Thanks.

[@joerklichte6095]

Hello, Your Videos are always the bomb. I love your Tips, Tricks and Advices. I've built a coupe of models referring to your builds. I have been watching your chanel for approximately 3 years now when I was living in California and now I'm watching you from Germany. Btw. don't let anyone tell you how or not to drink your cup. I love it all! I remember you had a Leftist Tears Cup in the beginning. I'm huge Fan of yours. Be safe and best wishes from Germany

[@WhiteGloveModels]

So happy to see you building this! Mine will be here Wednesday but I probably won't be building it for a while. I always appreciate your honest reviews.

[@dekon70]

A nice honest review of the kit.

[@bubbapipe]

Thanks for the coffee. Can't wait to see you finish this build and see how you give a black painted bird character.

[@paolo-gt40modelworks]

love that plane too. just bought the kit right now. thats why i'm here :) nice review

[@strategosopsikion8576]

Honestly, I’m impressed with the kit. Yes it’s not perfect, there are some problems. But come on guys…. It’s revell. This is a step in the right direction and light years head of previous kits. The overall shape of the kit captures the blackbird very well. Expect some puttying, sanding and optional rescribing. It’s fairly straight forward and easy for any experienced modeler.

[@seanerk5kt9]

You’re right, this is light years ahead of their previous kit and I don’t consider this a bad kit. However, my expectations going in to it was that it would go together better than it did, and Revell just missed the target with the engineering and mold quality.

[@strategosopsikion8576]

@@seanerk5kt9 I get you

[@strategosopsikion8576]

@@seanerk5kt9 I love your channel btw! Keep up the good work!!!🫡

[@daviddiehl197]

Have the old one that came with the drone.

[@tonydrake462]

I've just got my SR-71 into final paint, and I thought I'd watch this AGAIN (your tips we're excellent btw, and made me think outside the instructions, trying to avoid any 'fit issues' on the top surfaces...) - based on your issues, I decided to build to while TOP together as one flat surface (center and the 2 engine/outer wing bits as a '5 piece section') - and add the engine underneath (so not causing the issues at 12:00) - that worked really well - no re-work at all on the upper surface outside some very minor join touch across the top of the engines.... I found the internal engine was a hot mess too, and while they fit, it's not a model you'll ever need to see the inside again)... In the end, I needed just a small amount of filler on the rear of one engine underneath, and no spets, and that was almost not needed.... Now - to re-watch your excellent paint video before I get into the final paint.. well done... and thanks - I saved myself sooo much time with your video...

[@seanerk5kt9]

Awesome Tony! I think I’d have a little easier time as well if I ever decided to build it again…glad you found my videos useful. Send me a pic at [e-mail] when you’re done. I’d love to see it:)

[@beckersmodels]

Ah ha! Was wondering what you were up to Sean! Looking forward to this...cheers Chris

[@seanerk5kt9]

Your Corsairs made me want to build another but then I saw this and just had to get it.

[@beckersmodels]

Ha! Yeah I'm itching to start a 1/32 Corsair, but I've got so many other things to finish first. You know the story!

[@nudzi]

"Hey There Fellas" Man.. I love watching your videos, you really cheer me up haha! :-)

[@10percenttrue]

Enjoyed this. I am a little way behind you on my build, but it's interesting to see how you tackled the challenges that it's throwing up. Can't seem to get the testors putty in the UK, but the Vallejo stuff is my favourite in any case, and I find that a little bit of shrinkage can sometimes be useful in making a gap become a panel line. Looking forward to your painting video.

[@markusv311]

What a huge plane in that scale. You make me spend money again haha, need to have it. Just love the style of your videos and all the great tricks. Many thanks for sharing

[@whoisjohngalt5258]

good to see you back Sean . . keep up the good work!

[@jodypombrio5472]

Hey Buddy! Long time no see. Like others have said, I am disappointed to see the engineering on this long awaited kit not being what I thought it would be. The recessed panel lines and detail are really nice though. Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Great tip on the testers putty. I am still about a month out from being back up and running with my set-up and will be rewatching your videos to get "back in the game." Thanks for posting a video series on this kit!

[@seanerk5kt9]

You should start posting KZbin videos when you get up n runnin too! I’ll be your biggest fan;)

[@jodypombrio5472]

@@seanerk5kt9 naw man, I’ve got a face for radio!

[@themajesticmagnificent386]

With all its problems I’m sure your make that SR-71 shine through..Can’t wait to see what kind of base your going to create for her..I see the SR-71 fly at the Greenham common air show in 1983..What a memory of a magical air show..25 years of the F-4 Phantom was also being celebrated at Greenham Common..(Any F-4 fans look up the pictures of all the Phantoms there)..Hence even after all this time..Greenham Common in 83 remains my favorite air show ever.! Thanks for a insight into this kit..It’s massive..It’s got its problems..But it’s a SR-71 in 1/48th and I’m interested.!🇬🇧🇺🇸👍

[@Rob-tq5ym]

the mullets gone,sharp cut m8. thanks for the revue,i was going to get this.think i will put my money elsewhere

[@johnmeyers5125]

I have all 3 MRP scribing tools and they do a great job a little pricey but worth it .

[@TheBearScaleModels]

BOOM awesome choice the sr-71 ~~ ! really enjoying this build !!

[@TheModelerChronicles]

I would love to see you tackle this one too! Your builds are very well done and a joy to watch!

[@seanerk5kt9]

@@TheModelerChronicles I second that

[@the-primered-thumb]

I feel your pain,I had the same feelings when I started putting their razor crest model together 🤔👍

[@stevethefishdotnet]

I was hoping you'd get ahold of this kit! This was interesting to watch. Apparently 4 people did not agree. Maybe they were expecting tons of fancy music with voiceover narration, or to see your wife in a slinky black dress in your video showing off the kit's box.

[@seanerk5kt9]

Lol, I guess some people disliked it? I don’t pay attention to that stuff anymore. How ya been? Things are great here with Biden running the show, I can’t wait till Kamala takes over the reins, it’s gonna be even better!

[@stevethefishdotnet]

@@seanerk5kt9 Durham. Nothing can stop what is coming.

[@ironspike171]

THIS is what i was waiting for! And i asked for it! Thanks SEAN! Edit: I just posted your video on the „SR Enthusiast FB group“ - So Sean, dont let us down and hve us an amazing second part video with all the „how i paint my black planes“ details.

[@seanerk5kt9]

That’s a lot of pressure!

[@ironspike171]

@@seanerk5kt9 Yes, but only kinda… When you look back, your SR Testors series was a outstanding one. I bet you can even see that by the amount of views. There are hundereds of videos out there how to do a grey airplane right, but hardly a good one to do weather and fade a black SR-71. You can do that. And you will do anyway, just film and share it with us.

[@thomasfischer6597]

Thank you for starting on this one and especialy for the hints about the shortcomings of this kit, Sean! Here in Germany the kit is about 79 Euros. If it was Tamiya quality it would be at least 150€. Revell is not a tripple A company, so my expectations were not high. I don't mind all the filling, sanding and rescribing which is part of every aircraft model build. The much bigger disappointment is the lack of riveting detail of which the original has loads. I would instantly trade the useless display engines that only fire the price up in to have the riveting. So I will concentrate on the riveting, for to me it makes the difference. Keep up the great work, Sean!

[@alanrogers8535]

There are a few times the instructions have the numbers wrong. Im doing mine with gear down and im trying to detail the wheel wells a bit. The engines i thought, I could make a nice little "Pod Racer"

[@seanerk5kt9]

That’s a good idea!

[@moparnut6286]

Great man I get to see you build the new SR71!!

[@050572robert]

Am I right in thinking that this Revell kit doesnt have clear parts for camera spaces underneath like the older version did? I loved your idea for the holographic clear film covering those parts giving them a greenish iridescent look.

[@seanerk5kt9]

You’re right there are no clear cameras on the bottom.

[@mr.turnerx7615]

New sub here, great channel! When I buy either a Revell or God forbid an AMT kit I expect crap ( esp from the latter) and hope for the best. ATM I am building the Revell F22 and its pretty bad but manageable. Keep up the great work

[@nackdibby7960]

Damn thing is massive! I love the Habu! I think I remember you doing another Blackbird a while back and it was absolutely brilliant! If anyone can make chicken salad out of chicken sh*t it’s you! Can’t wait to see the finished product!

[@DavidRLentz]

Ohhhh, is this sable angel gorgeous!

[@winston3919]

Where would you go to find 1/48 SU-27 digital camo stencil's?

[@seanerk5kt9]

I’ve never looked into anything like that but just checked looks like eBay has some listed. I just searched 1/48 digital camo

[@henrysanchez4810]

It's a great kit I love it, way better than tamiya I had to doom shelf two tamiya kits.

[@GregsModels]

I don't know what's happening with some of the Revell kits lately. It's almost like they're missing a pre-production quality stage before the final run. It's not the end of the world, I suppose, but in this day and age, you'd have hoped for more. It will be great to see both kits together when you're finished 👍

[@seanerk5kt9]

The last few kits I’ve built were new tool Tamiya kits so I was still in that mindset that this kit should just fall together too. I forgot that revell kits suck lol. Oh well, does me some good to do some real modeling for a change.

[@zorax15]

@@seanerk5kt9 I just started again with modelling after a 20 year break and bought this kit. To be honest I was pleasently surpised with the quality of the kit compared to the old Revell kits I were used to in the past. There are some joints that need filling and sanding, my kit had ejector marks on both of the rings of engine exhausts, the canopies were not wide enough to get a smooth connection to the fuselage and the enginge parts of the wings needed much love in form of filling and sanding but overall I'm happy with the kit. But maybe it's just because I'm used to having worse kits that i built in the past. lol

[@ninjato1368]

Es geht wieder los... Ein neues Meisterwerk kommt.

[@allanrichards3752]

I was thinking of getting this kit soon but seeing yours and the issues has kind of put the dampers on it. A couple of months ago I made the Revell 1/72 Concorde which is a total nightmare of a kit and not a pleasant build. I must have used half a gallon of CA glue as filler!! Although this kit is much better than the Concorde it shouldn't have basic fit issues in todays world.

[@allgood6760]

Legend of a plane 👍✈️

[@briansonnenfelt7125]

I have to ask…what’s it like getting something the day of or one day after you order it? That doesn’t happen in Hawaii….

[@seanerk5kt9]

It’s nice, but I’d be happy to switch places with you.

[@JensAndree]

I've been waiting for decades for a good 1/48 SR-71 and although I knew Revell usually makes abysmally bad kits I had some sort of hope that they'd make a big effort in producing a really well engineered kit that would lift them as a company and make every modeller happy! Sadly that was too much to hope for and I was so disappointed when my kit arrived. Sadly this is the best kit out there and although GasPatch/Hypersonic are working on their SR-71 it's probably still years away from being ready... I might try to correct my Revell kit and reengineer and print the parts that are wrong or are missing (onboard engines e.g.) but every time I've tried to make older SR-71 kits to work it's always ended in frustration, so for now the kit is still lying in it's box in the corner of shame and I won't pick it up unless I feel unusually brave at some point?! ;) At least it's not a mixture of raised/sunken panel lines like it's previous 1/72 incarnation, but at the same time not much better either. A scale model kit should be better engineered in 2022! Tamiya turned up their quality 20 years ago so they have no excuses in my opinion. Hopefully someone else will see the opportunity and make a good 1/48 SR-71 soon! Good luck getting your build to the finish line!

[@shannonchurchill4556]

I’m disappointed in seeing the engineering of this kit after anticipating its release for the last 2 years. Looks like a better detailed version of the Testors nightmare. I guess I’ll wait for Hypersonic to release theirs whenever that happens. Jeff got his hands on one and pointed out all of the fitment and mold shortcomings, not to mention mistakes on the details. I’m sure his will be more buttoned up. A couple notes; the intakes are pretty much bare metal, but discolored, so I shot mine in gun metal. The spikes (not “cones” as some people call them) mount to what’s called the “center body bleed” which is part of the system that bypasses air from the intake and dumps it out the louvered vents on the nacelles, ducts it around the engine for cooling, and dumps it into the afterburner to essentially convert the engine into a ramjet above Mach 2.5. They are also bare metal from the edge of the spike-back. I would be interested in buying your display engines if you decide not to build them. Meanwhile, I’ll send you some pics of them for detail purposes in case you do decide to build them.

[@CraigBaumer]

Sorry if I missed it, but what type of CA glue did you mix with the pigments?

[@Beckyboo.89]

What Airbrush compressor do you use

[@seanerk5kt9]

Here’s a look at my compressors kzbin.info/www/bejne/ap-kiJeKaayci9k

[@seanerk5kt9]

My airbrushes kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKfLl3-PoNWeqKc

[@kevinm3751]

For the price I am expecting far better detail on the surface of the plane and its just not there. Thanks, I will be satisfied watching you build it because I refuse to reward Revell for yet one more half assed model kit!

[@ralphford4302]

Wow, you mention a 1/32 Sr-71! What I wouldn't pay for that kit

[@yellowcake1320]

I figured you retired or were taken ......glad to see you back

[@seanerk5kt9]

I just got out of jail for protesting in Canada

[@yellowcake1320]

@@seanerk5kt9 I'm good.....I've taken 13 shots, currently am wearing 7 masks, and in a bunker......and still got the deadly virus 🤒

[@mjw1955]

Is this a new production kit? Or a reissue of the old Testor's kit?

[@seanerk5kt9]

New

[@ScaleMilitaryModels]

Looks great to far!

[@shanerussell7335]

That little tab is all that holds the nacelles? That’s terrible.

[@marshallblanton3690]

He’s alive! This will actually be the first build videos I’ve seen of this kit. Are you getting the border 1/32 Lancaster?

[@seanerk5kt9]

I noticed no one else has actually built one on here. I get a lot of requests to do British stuff and that new border kit looks really cool so I may have to try it.

[@robertmunoz7543]

Mote like a $60 kit IMHO!😳 Jman

[@RCUKScaleModels]

nice work typical Ravel requires some attention

[@joegilroy4918]

You make anything look great, my opinion is revell makes garbage kits, but I'm sure you will make this one look great 👍

[@TheModelerChronicles]

Looks like Revell has managed to create another disappointing kit. Good job winning the fight against it! I found your channel at the beginning of the pandemic and you have made this time less stressful. Sure do miss the Trump mug lolol. Keep it up! Can't wait to see the pain job on this. I'm going to be building a f-117 soon so any tips you have for painting black would be super.

[@seanerk5kt9]

My trump mug broke:(

[@frenchmodelkit]

Revell will always be revell … hélas !

[@tonygary7611]

👍👍

[@clonefox80]

Revell makes me so angry,,,they pick great planes and at large scale, and then somehow they seriously let you down with their shocking production...never get either of their 1/32 F/A 18's for the same soul destroying reasons. Actually,, I'm building 3 old Trumpeter Migs right now,,and they're no better,,lol Nice haircut 👌

[@seanerk5kt9]

Yeah, I’ve built a couple of trumpeter 1/32’s and there always seems to be a couple of serious issues with each one. Thanks, my wife cut it…she usually screws it up but she got it right this time;)

[@robertjensen1438]

Just a comment for the algorithm

[@thomasquinn5862]

Love how this guy is complaining about small gaps and stuff not fitting perfectly yet if any of these happened to me I would simply be happy that in the end it all looked like an SR-71 from a metre distance

[@Deadmau5l]

If its got Revell on the box i AVOID and remind myself for weeks after how im so happy i didnt buy a revell kit again :D

[@nielsvc7525]

Weird that you guys get this kit in the grey plastic and we in Europe in black plastic

[@seanerk5kt9]

That is weird. I don’t like black plastic…it’s harder to see mistakes

[@labman20]

Mines in grey plastic, I'm UK based. I wonder if that means we share productions intended for the US market.

[@nielsvc7525]

@labman20 sorry i stand corrected. Iam wrong, mine is in Grey too. I was confused with another kits. Sorry my bad spoke too soon

[@labman20]

@@nielsvc7525 Ah, mystery solved.

[@nielsvc7525]

@@labman20 i'll dislike my own comment now lol