1/48 Italeri SR-71 A Blackbird

by Laurent “Angus” Beauvais

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Back again with a real legend, the mighty Blackbird. The kit is very old, Testors origin, with raised panel lines, but it’s the only one at this scale.  Here are the different steps of this mounting

01-02 : Cockpit is completely false, as I intended to close it, I just redesigned the seat.

03-05: of course the kit has been completely re-engraved. The nose in particular has been completely reviexed.

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06-12: The main default of the kit, the landing gear boxes that are not deep enough. The rear one may be acceptable with a few cables added, the aft one has been completely scratched.

13-14: Aft landing gear doors have been recreated, it’s a very visible detail.

15: The engine cones are nice, but after this it’s a pity. I scratched the masks as they are used on the aircraft when it’s parked. I have found a photo where only these masks were mounted.

18-21: Rear zone of the engines has been scratched too, it’s not deep enough and too simple.

22: You can see that the modifications are visible, and also I reviewed the rear tip.

23: You don’t dream, I used paint made for house usage, it’s perfect and mixable with white and brown Humbrol colors.

22-23:  Weathering is made both with air brush and pastel powder, repeated after every varnish step.

24-25: Decals are too thick and not transparent enough, even when glued with Klir (or Future) varnish. The only solution is to cut every single decal.

26-27: I also masked and painted the decorations. 

That’s it, a quite big bird no ?

Laurent “Angus” Beauvais

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Photos and text © by Laurent “Angus” Beauvais