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| Still frontline equipment more than 35 years after it entered service it now proudly wears the low-visibility "Shamu" paintjob. |
 |
A great view of the flying boom refueling system -
this is what the stratotanker is all about. |
 |
| This "A" model is powered by four J57 turbojet engines. |
 |
| Even at 1/72 scale it's 22.5" long with a 21" wingspan.
We're talkin' BIG here. In fact it was really hard to
capture any details as far away as I needed to be to get
the whole bird in the frame. |
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| As if AMT/ERTL's KC-135A wasn't cool enough by itself,
they've also released four other variations including
two I'm building - a KC-135R with the big CFM-56 turbofan
engines (kit #8909) and a RC-135V with Side Looking
Airborne Radar and TF-33 torbofan engines (kit #8956).
You know I'll be showing them off when (or if) I finish them |
 |
Kit: AMT/ERTL
#8848 |
Scale: 1/72 |
| Decals: stock
(one of two options) |
| After Market Parts: None |
| Customizations: Masking Tape Seatbelts, Styrene aerials,
glass (clear plastic) replacements in the boom operator
area because of fit problems. |
| Cost: I
paid only $12.00 (us) for this kit at Toy Liquidators
before they were bought and ruined
by Kaybee Toys.
It still usually sells for around $24.00 at the time of writing. |
| Value: For
what I paid... AWESOME. It's still
really nice kit for under $25. |
| Comments: Injection
molded. Nice recessed panel lines.
As you might expect on something this big, there was a
little warping on a few parts, but it doesn't take much
to bend back into place. The interior is nicer than I'd
expect and it was a shame to seal up all the extra goodies,
especially the toilet and Charmin roll molded on the wall.
I omitted the landing gear (actually very nicely done) since
I decided to hang mine from the ceiling. Some cool options
include a hose with a drogue basket and open crew and cargo hatches. |
