As I write, it is exactly 11 years to the day after the 100th and final B-1B was rolled out of the Rockwell factory. Wings is on SAC, with an emphasis on the B-One, and I just picked up Monogram's beast. Does life get any better? There has been a lot of talk about this kit, speculation about resin, and availability, and some criticism about molding. Well, if you want one, but wish to know what's in the box first, or if you are just plain curious, here it is:

Three bags, each with about three sprues of grey plastic parts...a LOT of grey plastic parts. As well, there is a smoke-tinted sprue of clear parts, and ten rubber tires. My copy has two (of the same) "decal sheets". The decals consist of 4 star and BAR (not bars) which don't really look right (though they may well be) two rescue arrows, serial numbers, a serial number/fuel type stencil, two canard stripes, the refueling markings (in black, not white) and a nose art decal (iffy quality). That is it. I don't know just how much the real thing has in the way of stencils, but this seems like poor representation. This is, however, the worst part of the kit. The surface texture on the fuselage is good, the lines are recessed, though there is a slight lip around some of them, reminiscent of Italeri's Hawk kits. This will be easily taken care of with a bit of sanding. The lines will take a wash well. The fuselage is split into three sections: nose (radome to just behind the aft crew compartment) split vertically, main (bomb bay 1-bay 3) split horizontally, and tail (bay 3-radome) split vertically. Fore and aft radomes are molded separately. The wheels are rubber, not the awful vinyl from their car tires, but somewhere between that and Tamiya's wheels. They are very nice, and have little mold marks. As for those who wonder about their realism: they are far more realistic than True Details over flattened resin wheels usually are, simply sand the bottom of these flat to sit a bit better. The engine nacelles are split horizontally, with separate ducts to go inside. The exhausts are with turkey feathers (they look odd, kind of sci-fi-ish, not like those on an F-15, but again, they could very well be right). For a modern bird, consider replacing the exhausts with the KMC Eagle exhaust set. They may or may not fit, but it's better than scratch building! This kit was made in the end of the gimmick era. As such there are a few added to the kit, some to its detriment. The nose cone covers a radar dish, the tail moves up and down (it works well), the nose gear turns (weakening this crucial section) the ladder assembly works, and the wings swing. The details are quite crisp though, even in the completely hidden aft crew bay. Apparently the bomb bays are dead on. Unfortunately, they contain SRAMs, so you'll need to change them to depict anything after 1991. Also, the aft bay houses a fuel tank, and so it is simplified, meaning if you do convert the bays, you will have to detail these as well.

There is little warping of the massive pieces. The wing bottoms have a slight twist, and the fuselage bottom (which is essentially flat) is warped, though both are pretty well fixed by the normal assembly. I've taped the beast together, and wow is it ever big. You can say 'it's 36" long' all you want, but it doesn't sink in until you really see it! Wow. I think I'll display it next to my Fokker Triplane, just for effect. Surprisingly though, it fits very well (it was tooled in 1983). Yes there are gaps: the forward fuse will take some playing with to mate perfectly with the main fuse, but not a lot. The tail seems a slightly awkward fit, and you will need some putty. But put it this way: it's twice the size of the SR-71, and should only need about half the putty. You will need formers (or expanding foam) for the fuselage, so that it keeps its shape. You should also either replace the gear axles with steel rod, or (better) cast the gear in metal-they will need strengthening (the instructions say to put 50g in the nose!)Most of the drawbacks stem from the fact that this is a prototype airframe. It's missing some probes, and vortex generators. The rear crew hatch is one piece, not two, the markings are for very early Bones. But most of this is nit picky stuff. Oh, you will also need some chaff dispensers, and some detailing items on the fuselage.

On the whole, one can't help but think 'someone at Monogram must have really liked this plane'. This kit is gorgeous, especially considering it is from 1983. It is way more than worth the $65 Cdn price, and is one HUGE mother. I plan on getting another (assuming I can find one) either to tuck away, or to build if and when the aftermarket gears up. Really though, all you really need is a decal sheet, and maybe a bomb rack for some snakes. Look for Super Scale's sheet for the markings, and hope for the bomb rack (but then I'd need 84 Mk 82s -> about seven Hasegawa weapons sets!) However, with a lot of people wanting new markings, hopefully someone will produce some new decals for the kit, and if anyone is listening out there (Aeromaster, Cutting Edge) how about -0108 "Alien with an Attitude", -0107 "Bad to the B-One" or -0062 "Uncaged"? Just a thought.