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Lindberg 1/172 XB-70 Rebuild

LINDBERG'S XB-70

BUILT IN MY YOUTH; LANGUISHING IN A BOX FOR ALMOST 50 YEARS, FINALLY RESTORED

By Dick Engar


UPDATE JANUARY 2021:  WE ADDED THE ENTIRE INSTRUCTION SHEET FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

When I was a junior high-age kid, the XB-70 was hot!  It was my favorite aircraft at the time and the newspapers had articles about how it was breaking speed records and was the next big thing in 1965.  Of course I had to get models of it and as soon as Aurora came out with their box scale (1/105) version, I had to buy it.
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Lindberg's "B-70" is easy to find at time of posting (see the Amazon link below for current pricing and availability).  This box uses the same artwork as the original 1964 release.  Kudos to Round2 for going the vintage route with this one; compare it to the original 1964 box that we've included below.
Of course Lindberg came out with their own smaller box scale model kit after Aurora, measured by me to be around 1/180 scale.  I bought that one later and had a smaller version for my display shelf.  I cannot remember whether or not I built it “in flight” or on landing gear but when I left home for a church mission a few years later, it was boxed up with all the rest of my models and preserved (in theory) for the future.
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Dick's modeling skills circa 1965 didn't produce "glue bombs."  This model needed little restoration work.
I knew which box the larger XB-70 model was in and had always had plans to restore it to its former glory but I lost track of the smaller Lindberg version.  I only knew it was in a box somewhere in my crawl space.  A couple of years ago I was re-arranging things and found it in a box with some old space models.  I pulled it and its separated parts out of that box and put it on top of my garage freezer, where I keep models waiting in line to be re-finished.  There it sat for a couple of years as most “Shelf of Doom” models do, and recently, after I found another box that had the old Beta 1 Hawk kit in it, and after that project was finished, I turned my attention to the XB-70 kit. Amazingly, I kept the instructions for the Lindberg B-70 as they called it, which had the following description of the airplane, as though it was about to go into service.
“The B-70 is a dual speed bomber.  One that can cruise at mach 0.9 (about 590 mph) and with the ability to reach speeds of over 1100 mph for a range of 1,000 miles.  The wing tips are angled downward at hypersonic speeds to increase lift.  The B-70 will ride on its own shock wave like a surfboard rides a wave.  Approximate speed is mach 3, approximate dimensions are length 185 feet, span 117 feet.  Range is transcontinental.”
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The underside before painting.
Obviously the kit and instructions were released before the design met its fate as remaining an experimental prototype only.  The XB-70 was planned as a replacement for the B-52 and two prototypes were built.  During test flights in 1965 both aircraft reached mach 3, going 2,000mph at 70,000 feet.  The aircraft could maintain this speed for 32 minutes while flying over eight states
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On the paint stand.
The plane was requested by SAC Commanding General Curtis Le May in late 1954 as a replacement for the B-52 with the idea that the new plane could use existing runways and hangars.  The trick was to have an airplane with an operational un-refueled range of 6,000 nautical miles with “as high a speed as possible.”  Boeing and North American Aviation, Inc. were given Phase 1 design contracts.  North American won the first contract, but its main competition turned out to be the nuclear ballistic missiles.  Once the design was revealed, nicknames like Pterodactyl for the “flapping wingtips,” The Great White Bird for its beauty, The Thing for its very large size, Cecil for its resemblance to the TV Seasick Sea Serpent cartoon character, and properly, the Valkyrie, its accepted designation based on its decisive destructive potential in such a beautiful form.
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The finished model in flight on a Clear Minicraft Stand.  These stands are inexpensive and the post can be cut to the desired length.  They're great to display most of your in-flight models!  Check them out on the Minicraft website.  You can order them directly, or get them at your local hobby shop.
Of course the ballooning price tag, ballistic intercontinental missles, developmental delays and the unfortunate crash of ship #2 during a photo shoot on June 8, 1966 were the death knell for the XB-70 as an operational bomber.  Several jets with GE engines were flying in close formation and excessive vortex created by the Valkyrie’s drooping wingtip sucked an excellent pilot Joe Walker’s F-104 into the XB-70 causing it to roll over the bomber’s two vertical tails and explode.  The loss of the tails caused the Valkyrie’s pilots to lose control and the aircraft spun down to impact on the Mojave Desert floor, killing pilot Carl Cross whose ejection system was not engaged probably due to his being knocked unconscious by the initial gyrations of the damaged aircraft.  From then on I hated the F-104!
The remaining XB-70 prototype spent time as a experimental aircraft for NASA and was retired to the U.S. Air Force Museum with its last flight from Edward Air Force Base to the Museum in February 1969.  Total costs of the XB-70 program exceeded $1.5 billion which meant each flight of each ship cost about $11.6 million.
 
References for this brief history were Valkyrie – North American XB-70A by Steve Pace and “The Dream of the Valkyrie” in Model Aircraft Monthly, May 2008.
 
My restoration of the model did not require a huge amount of effort.  If my price tag had been $1.5 billion, each hour to restore it would have also borne a price tag of $11.6 million as the model was restored and finished to my exacting standards within a month.  I took the old decals off with tacky masking tape, cleaned up adhesive residue with Windex, replaced missing gear doors, rudders and rear wing flaps with sheet plastic in various thicknesses, and cleaned the canopy as best I could with Windex.  The movable nose ramp of the model is in the in-flight mode and some landing gear parts were nowhere to be found so “in-flight” was the logical option. 
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The original Lindberg instructions, Page 1.
I decided to use a Clear Minicraft stand for the plane and replaced the original “body button” on the bottom for use with the original Lindberg Stand with the Minicraft ball part which allows the model to be placed in various positions on the stand
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Pages 2-3 of the instructions shows the retractable landing gear assembly!
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Pages 4-5 show wing, fuselage, and tail assembly.  Wait, didn't the XB-70 have all-moving tailplanes?
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Pages 6-7 show final assembly.
I used IPMS show decals from 2005 and 2010 as they were exactly the right size for the wing and fuselage decals.  I used Micro Super Set and Super Sol to ensure good decal adaptation and sprayed the decals after they were set with a thin coat of Alclad II clear gloss.  Once that was all dry I finished the model with a couple of thin coats of Alclad II semi-gloss after I masked off the rear fuselage and engine exhausts.  They were weathered a little bit and then the finished airplane was snapped into its socket atop the Minicraft stand.  I scanned the North American Aviation label from the Pace book and used white Testor Decal paper to make a little label for the stand.  I underwent the same process with Micro Scale Set and Sol and Alclad II gloss clear coat to place and then “fix” the decal image on the stand.
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The pictures show the finished result of the restoration of an old model originally built fifty years ago.  Is it good enough to win a contest?  Who cares!  People will enjoy seeing it in its white glory on the contest table anyway!
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Check out the Lindberg "B-70" on Amazon.  We're Amazon Affiliates.  through this program, we get a small commission from purchases made after clicking this link that benefits the website--at no extra cost to you!

​BONUS MATERIAL:  THE "B-70" BOX


In our Dem Brudders model kit stash, we're fortunate to have a factory-fresh early release of the Lindberg B-70.  It's still sealed in the original plastic!
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As it appeared originally, the B-70 was depicted in its Lindberg box art as an operational aircraft with a SAC banner behind the front canard.  The white paint worked well for the test program, but it had a more practical operational purpose.  Upon initial detonation of a thermonuclear blast, an intense flash in the visible and near-visible range (ultraviolet and infrared radiation) was expected to scorch the external surface of an escaping aircraft unless it had a white, reflective finish.  This is why aircraft such as the B-36 and early B-47's and B-52's had white undersides.  The B-70, had it become an operational bomber, was expected to have an overall white finish.
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The box side proclaims, "1 inch = 14 feet, 4 inches."  Wow, that's a nice even number; everybody's favorite scale!
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The retailers loved this 1964 guarantee.  Don't return a defective kit to the store, simply mail it back to Lindberg!  They'll provide a solution in only 6-8 weeks.

Scroll down just a bit to see what else is new at DemBrudders.com!
Check back often!  We have a lot of cool upcoming content!


NEW:


10 February 2012:  Moebius 1/144 Discovery on YouTube!
07 February 2012:  Guest Gallery!  See our pals' models!
05 February 2021:  Moebius 1/144 Discovery XD-1 Review

Will the Utah Monolith stay vertical this time?
05 January 2021:  Hawk Beta-I Atomic Bomber Rebuild!
28 December:  Bill's Airliner Gallery! 
19 December:  Just in time for Christmas!  Atlantis Phantom of the Opera with Glow-in-the-dark Parts!
13 December:  Godzilla Returns Again!  Atlantis Godzilla with Glow-in-the-Dark Parts!
30 November:  Revell KC-135 and 707 Kit History!
23 November:  Minicraft 1/144 C-18A/707 Kit Review!
Another feature in our series about the KC-135/707!

12 November:  Atlantis Mr Gasser Review updated photos
09 November:  Dick's Lindberg XB-70 Restoration
09 November:  Monogram Air Power Set YouTube Video!
30 October:  Special Project:  Monogram's 1959 Air Power Set! (web page)
09 October:  A Review of Minicraft's KC-135 Kits continues our special series on the KC-135 (feature in-progress).
28 September:  Let's Play Battleship!  Atlantis 1/535 Iowa Class Kits review - and bonus comparison between Revell's USS Missouri and Atlantis Iowa Class Battleship kits!

20 September:  Kit History --  Revell 1/535 USS Missouri
07 September:  Ship It!  Academy 1/700 Titanic ICP Kit Review
22 August:  Revell's All-New PT-109 Elco PT Boat Kit Review
13 August:  KC-135 History Series Part II - AMT's 1/72 Kit:  It's In There
04 August:  Dueling Subchasers-- Atlantis S2F Hunter Killer Review
29 July:  Kit Review and History:  Atlantis Models P-3A Orion
26 July:  Book reviews:  The Vintage Years of Airfix Box Art by Roy Cross
A Weird-Oh World - The Art of Bill Campbell by Bill Campbell

24 July:  DEM BRUDDERS GO OFF THE DEEP END WITH THEIR  ATLANTIS PBY CATALINA KIT VIDEO REVIEW!
22 July:  Why Buy a PBY:  Atlantis PBY-5A Catalina Web Review!

09 July:  No shyin' away from the Cheyenne:  Atlantis AH-56 Cheyenne Kit Web Review
06 July:  Rank the Lanc:  Minicraft Lancaster MK-1 Kit Review
17 June:  88 Reasons:  Minicraft Ju-88A/C Kit Review
16 June:  We Dug the Jug:  Minicraft P-47D Kit Review
15 June:  DICK DOES CARS!  Dick's Car Gallery!
10 June: 
Minicraft RB-29 Review Updated!  Minicraft's Own Lewis Nace Builds an Amazing B-29 Conversion Collection!
05 June:  Minicraft 1/144 B-17 Kit Review!
03 June:  The Big Stick:  Atlantis' B-36 Kit Review!
30 May:  Minicraft A6M2 Zero Kit Review in 1/144
26 May:  Dem Brudders On Youtube!  Watch our Atlantis Ah-56 Cheyenne review. (We're a little disappointed with our new spokesman Roddy Redshirt.  When we find all his pieces, we might not use him again.)
22 May:  The Girl Next Door:  Minicraft 1/144 G4M1 "Betty" Kit Review
20 May:  Unmasking the Avenger:  Minicraft 1/144 TBF Avenger Kit Review
18 May:  B young!  B-29 again!  Minicraft RB-29 Superfortress "Postwar" Kit Review - We've expanded content on this page!
06 May:  KC-135/707 Kit History Series Begins!

27 April:  Enter the Mentor:  Minicraft T-34A Mentor kit Review. 
24 March:  See Dick.  See Dick build.  See  Dick's Large Aircraft Gallery.  Build, Dick, Build.
04 March:  Eat all your vegetables.  Open-Box New Kit Review:  Atlantis HH-3E "Jolly Green Giant"  
06 February:  Requiem for Mad Magazine: Aurora/Revell Alfred E. Neuman Kit History
12 December:  BEECH TRIP!!!  Minicraft's Civilian Aircraft Product Line

20 November:  More pictures added to Dick's Yo-Yo page:  B-24J Liberator "Yo-Yo" - Custom-Painting a 1/48 Diecast Model
20 November:  IPMS/SLC Group Build, Italy/Bulgaria Theme!
12 November:  We welcome Minicraft Models as our first sponsor!
​07 November:  We've again expanded our Report on the 2019 IPMS/USA Nationals in Chattanooga, TN!
15 October:  IPMS Boise Mad Dog Modelers Fall Show!

13 September 2019:  Aerial Photography for a Song:  The Estes AstroCam 110
28 August:  Kit Review - Atlantis 1/92 B-24J Liberator Bomber 
01 August:  We continue our Apollo at 50 celebrations by kicking off our new model rocketry page, and ask:
​Apollo at 50:  Was it Worth It?
20 JULY 2019:  HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY, APOLLO 11 (We don't think you look a day over 40)!  Revell's Apollo Spacecraft Kits
25 June:  A New Blog Post:  Join us at the IPMS/USA Nationals!
19 June:  Build a Resin Figure Kit.  Dick shows step-by-step how he built Anime subject Mew Zakuro
15 May:  Smokey and the Bandit:  MPC's 1977 Pontiac Trans Am
25 April: 
History of Armor Modeling with pals James Guld and John Tate
03 April:  Car Modeling in the 1970's expands our History Series
26 March:  Kit Review--1/350 Space Ark from When Worlds Colllide
17 March:  Weird-oh's, Finks, Flypoggers, and More!  We continue our History Series with our various encounters in the Monster Figures craze of the 1960s
10 March:  Our First Kit Review!  Tamiya 1/48 Army Staff Car - Are we too hard on a Tamiya kit?
​23 February:  The Nuclear Family:  SSN Nautilus 571 - About the Lindberg, Revell, and Aurora Kits
15 February:  DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME I - Dick Builds a Batmobile--in 1/3 Scale!
13 February:  Modeling Outside the Box.  Dick goes all over the place, building a number of unusual subjects!
04 February:  NASCAR or Not?  Monogram's Days of Thunder Cars
31 January:  History Series Begins With The Aurora Monsters
27 January:  Build a P-82 in 1/144 Scale or Other Crazy Conversion
13 January:  The Anti-Modelers
05 January 2019:  The Day I Quit Modeling
01 January 2019:  dembrudders.com is live!!!

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Blog
  • Projects
    • HAWK Beta-I Atomic Bomber Rebuild Plus Ragnarok
    • Lindberg 1/172 XB-70 Rebuild
    • 1/144 F-82 Conversion
    • Resin Figure Mew Zakuro
    • Yo Yo 1/48 B-24J Custom Paint and Decals
  • History
    • Monogram Air Power Set (1959)
    • Revell KC-135 and 707
    • AURORA MONSTER MODELS
    • Revell's 1/535 USS Missouri: An Iowa Class Act
    • Monogram Days of Thunder NASCAR Kits
    • USS Nautilus SSN-571 Models
    • Weird-ohs, Roth Finks, Flypoggers and Lindy Loonies
    • Car Modeling in the 1970's
    • Armor Modeling
    • Smokey and the Bandit
    • Revell Apollo 11 Spacecraft
    • Minicraft Civil Aircraft in 1/48
    • Aurora's Alfred E Neuman
    • KC-135 and 707 Part One: The 1/72 Kits
    • KC-135 Part Two: The History and The Build
  • Reviews
    • AIRCRAFT KIT REVIEWS >
      • Minicraft RB-29 Kit Review
      • Minicraft 1/144 B-52D/F Review
      • Minicraft 1/144 KC-135 Review
      • Minicraft T-34 Mentor Kit Review
      • Minicraft 1/144 B-24J / PB4Y-1 / B-24D
      • Minicraft C-18 (Boeing 707)
      • Minicraft 1/144 B-17G Kit Review
      • Minicraft 1/144 Lancaster MK 1 Review
      • Minicraft 1/144 A6M2 Zero Review
      • Minicraft 1/144 G4M Type 1 "Betty" Kit Review
      • Minicraft 1/144 Ju 88A/C
      • Minicraft 1/144 P-47D Review
      • Minicraft 1/144 TBF Avenger Review
      • Atlantis 1/120 B-29 Preview
      • Atlantis PBY-5A Catalina
      • Atlantis P-3A Kit Review and History
      • Atlantis S2F Hunter Killer
      • Atlantis AH-56 Cheyenne Helicopter
      • Atlantis B-36 Kit Review
      • Atlantis HH-3E "Jolly Green Giant" Review
      • Atlantis B24J Buffalo Bill 1/92
    • Atlantis Glow-Godzilla Review
    • Atlantis Phantom of the Opera Kit Review
    • Atlantis 1/535 USS Iowa and Wisconsin Battleship Kit Review
    • Atlantis Mr. Gasser Review
    • Moebius 1/144 Discovery XD-1
    • Academy Titanic 1/700 MCP Review
    • Revell ALL NEW PT-109 Review
    • Tamiya 1/48 Ford Army Staff Car
    • Pegasus Space Ark - When Worlds Collide
    • A Weird-Oh World - The Art of Bill Campbell
    • The Vintage Years of Airfix Box Art
  • Contests
    • 2019 IPMS/USA Nationals Report
    • Boise Mad Dog Modelers Fall Show
    • IPMS-SLC Group Build
  • Rocketry
    • Starting Rocketry
    • History and Use of the Estes AstroCam 110
  • Gallery
    • Bill's Airliner Models Gallery
    • Dick's Large 1/72 Aircraft Models
    • Dick's Car Models
    • Guest Gallery
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    • Atlantis Models Sponsor Page
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