B-1B Featherless Exhausts

Cutting Edge Modelworks

Reviewed by Dave Williams

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Meteor Productions

Although it is about 20 years old, the giant 1/48 Revell B-1B is the most accurate representation of a production “Bone” currently available in kit form. Used in combat from Desert Storm to Enduring Freedom, there seems to be a lot of current interest in the B-1B, especially as Revell/Monogram has reissued their B-1 kits in both scales within the last few years. Although the 1/48 kit is fairly accurate, it represents the B-1B early in life. One of the more obvious external differences between the kit and current aircraft is that real B-1Bs have had the turkey feathers removed for over a decade, and the kit only contains the original “feathered” exhausts.

To rectify this shortcoming, Cutting Edge has released a set of featherless exhausts in both 1/48 and 1/72 scale. Although the photographs in this review are of the 1/48 scale set, the 1/72 scale set is identical apart from its size and the same comments apply to the smaller scale.

The set is quite simple, but very well detailed. You get four burner cans, four one-piece nozzles, and a total of 56 actuator rods. As each engine only requires 12 actuators, you get a few spares in case of loss or breakage. The detail is quite accurate compared to photographs of the actual items.

Assembly is pretty simple - just remove the waste from nozzle, attach the nozzle to the burner can, and finish up by adding the actuators.

As befitting the set, the instructions are pretty simple, but don’t mention how the exhausts should be oriented when installed in the engine nacelles. First, it is necessary to align the burner can correctly by positioning the can in the nacelle such that the small disc shaped sensor (?) on one of the radial arms of the burner detail is located at 5 o’clock when viewed from the rear of the aircraft. When attaching the nozzle, the exhaust petals at the 12 and 6 o’clock positions should be the internally ribbed petals that do not have actuators attached. In other words, as there are 12 petals with actuators and 12 without actuators. The non-actuator petals should be located at the “clock” positions (12 o’clock, 1 o’clock, 2 o’clock, etc.).

This set goes a long way toward modernizing the Revell kit. Hopefully, CE will follow up with an external detail set which adds some of the surface details missing from the kit.

Highly recommended.

Dave Williams
IPMS/USA 19050
 

Cutting Edge Modelworks products are available from Meteor Productions Website

Review Copyright © 2002 by Dave Williams
Page Created 13 August, 2002
Last updated 22 July, 2003

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page