Rockwell B-1B Lancer 9th BS 7th BW Dyess AFB
Academy

This is a tribute build for a friend who is retiring this summer. He flew as a B/N and then was able to upgrade to a pilot on B-1Bs. He was a Dyess man. I built this kit mostly OOTB, just adding 3D printed afterburners to replace the kit provided cans. I had no real problems assembling this kit as it is engineered so well; it literally fell together, until I came to the engines. Be VERY careful with the numbers of the parts on the splitter plates and into which nacelle they fit (port or stbd). I inadvertently put the wrong one into the stbd nacelle and wondered why it wouldn't close properly, leaving a big gap, so I took it apart and tried the other splitter plate assembly and it worked. It made a small mess of the seam, but I was able to clean it up with a little putty and sanding stick. After that, I paid very careful attention to the part numbers as I assembled the landing gear and the rest of the model. The instructions call for assembling the forward gear first, but I would assemble the main gear legs first, then the forward gear leg, and let it sit and level itself before adding the tires. I had trouble with the main l/g braces, both of which snapped on me. I super-glued them and reset them, but the stbd one broke and the port one bent and went askew on me. So don't judge to harshly there. They are extremely thin & "true to scale" moldings, hence very fragile. She is a little tippy, fore & aft. Next one I will add an extra 0.5 oz to the nose. What is amazing to me is that Academy even includes the "last three" as a legible decal for the forward gear leg. However, it does not supply the three pitots on both sides of the nose. Painting and masking the bomb bays proved a small chore, with touch ups for over spray, but I am happy with the results. My next B-1B kit will probably be closed bay. Academy includes double bomb load sprues, so I plan on using the second set in my Revell 1/144 B-2A kit. Oh, the decals went down beautifully. I barely needed any Micro-Sol/Set for them to snuggle down. My only disappointment is that the large wing walk is one solid decal, thus some air bubbles cropped up underneath. Enjoy the pics.