I was wondering if anyone is aware of any model company ever producing a model kit of the North American B-45 Tornado? My uncle was killed in one, and I would like to build the kit for my father. Thanks in advance for any help!
Paul
North American B-45 Model???
Jul 26, 2003
9 Replies
The only injection molded kit is the 1/72 scale Mach 2 kit.
To say that it is a tough build is an understatement, but I have seen several completed very nicely, including a couple of prize winers.
Tom
AFAIC, if you can build a Mach 2 kit to reasonable completion, you are a real modeler. Expect everything to go wrong; you'll be pleasantly surprised at least 10% of the time.
Mark Schynert
And there was another, a small scale (1:144 or smaller) Frog from Britain from the 1950s. It may not be the most accurate kit on the shelf, but its a ~lot~ easier to build than the Mach 2 offering.
-- John ___ __[xxx]__ (o - ) --------o00o--(_)--o00o-------
The history of things that didn't happen has never been written - Henry Kissinger
Hi Paul, The French company "Mach" makes a B-45, I think in 48th scale or it might be
72nd (senior moment, can't remember even though I have one ....somewhere). Don't know if they are still in production or not. Also, they were NOT inexpensive! The quality of Mach kits vary a great deal. Some are fairly decent, some are disasters. I've only had the one I've got out of the box but once when I bought it about 3 years ago and just looked it over and didn't test fit or anything, in fact, I don't even remember if I took it out of its plastic bags. Anyway, they may still be around. Cliff Davis IPMS / USA 3687 Highlands Ranch , ColoradoPaul wrote:
Aside from the Mach 2 kit mentioned by the others, there is a rare and probably expensive small scale kit by Frog dating back to the late '50s. I've only seen one and it was built.
Bill Banaszak, MFE
The Frog B-45C was 1/159 and goes from $20-$40 at swap meets. It's a cute little thing.
Rarest is the Aerospace Model & Castings 1/72 cast resin kit of the RB-45. This and their 1/72 de Haviland Albatros (now THAT was one beautiful aircraft!!!) go for well over $100 each.
The also did a X-4 and two variants of the Great Lakes 2T-1 in that other scale. These bring over $50 on the rare occasion that one comnes up for sale. All of these came with decals.
I am fortunate to have at least one of each with a stack of extra decals, the masters and the entire production and sales records, a fascinating look into one of the first garage manufacturers.
Tom
I'm still working on their $%^&)(! HUP kit. Every few weeks I try something else.
The best part was the tail rotor column. On one fuselage half is canted away from the centerline by a significant margin. I spot checked a half dozen more at a few hobby shops. All the same. How could any manufacturer package such an obvious flaw?
I must admit, though, Mach 2 kits make you actually do some modeling.
Tom
in article snipped-for-privacy@mb-m17.aol.com, Maiesm72 at snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote on 07/27/03 12:39 AM:
...or quit altogether.
MB
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