Metal EarthSR-71 Blackbird Airplane 3D Metal Model Kit Fascinations

The kit itself is a good solid kit from this series. I produces a nice model and offers a little bit of a challenge to build. Relative to the other kits in the Metal Earth line, this kit falls in the middle-range overall.The biggest challenge with this kit is rounding the pieces properly. To properly reproduce the form of the real plane, the fuselage and engines require rounding and reverse-rounding nearby the join to the wings. Neither the instructions nor the pictured kit represent this properly. If you wish to make a more accurate model, this rounding can prove challenging due to the size of the pieces. However, if you are not this particular about the detail, then the kit is not too difficult to build. I would rate the difficulty of this kit as a 3 out of 5 if you follow the instructions directly, or 4.5 out of 5 if you try to properly replicate the real curves of the plane.The finished model is a fairly decent representation of the real plane. The nose, cockpit and tail of the plane are tricky to form properly.Disclaimer regarding bad reviews by others (I'm starting to post this on all my Metal Earth reviews now): Be careful when reading the bad reviews posted by some. Some people blame their inability to complete this style kit on the kit itself. Don't be fooled, the kit itself is very high quality. The detail is superb, and the metal pieces are sturdy if you don't bend them repetitively (as you would if you made a mistake). Hence, I continue to recommend these kits to experienced builders with good manual dexterity. This is probably better suited to adult builders.

My brother’s always loved planes and aerospace stuff, so I’ve spent several years listening to him talk about how cool planes are (the Blackbird in particular was a favorite when he was a little kid). I got this for him as a present since he also really loves hands-on stuff and is quite handy with those sorts of projects, so I figured it would be a good combination of two things he really likes. He’s never done any metal modeling before, but he has received other modeling kits in the past and has been quite good at putting them together, so I wasn’t too worried about whether he could handle it or not.On one hand, the finished project looks really cool and he seemed to like the present quite a lot (he got to work on it the moment he opened the present). On the other hand, it might have been a little too easy for him - he enjoyed the process of putting it together, but he finished it in less than half an hour. I was kind of hoping it might be a lengthier project, but I did purposely pick a simpler one, so I can’t complain. I’ll probably get him a more complex one next time.It would be nice if the model could be slightly larger, but it still looks awesome nevertheless.

My first reaction was: hell this is small!Apart from that, it's fun to build, not that hard, there is actually a room for error due to the size of the model, just don't rush it and take your time. You might want to buy some really small tools to get it right, maybe throw a magnifying glasses while you are at it.I'm not sure where to display this now, yet again, too small.I wish it was cheeper, for that size the price is not good in my opinion (Keep in mind that International shipping for this item alone will cost more than the item's price, the solution is to buy a lot of models at a time).

This one was hard to build, not so much parts, but how (like the after burner) it's not only circular in shape, but angled, so you need tools to help with this (I used a sharpened pencil) that I could use to shape the part larger or smaller. I assume if your building these you already know that. These are not for kids, these are not something you throw together while driving down the road, sometimes you need a magnifying glass, there are some small parts. Kids think they look great, even though I know/see the flaws (they are my own) again these are tiny models with lots of intricate parts. But loads of fun.Each review I write is solely based on my own experience and use of the product. I have not been paid, received free products, or discounts on any of the items I review. I like to keep my reviews “short and sweet”.

This product and all of the Metal Earth items are not toys. They are an intricate model that takes patience and skill to complete. They were not FUN to put together but challenging. The result s very satisfying and the models striking. Do not give this to a child or anyone who has a short attention span or gets frustrated easily. They are fragile before you start building, during the building process and after. The metal bends very easily and care must be taken to properly shape those pieces that require shaping. The right tools are essential. You will need fine needle nose pliers, tweezers, straight edges for bending, a shear cutter to remove the pieces from the metal sheet and a good magnifying lamp. The effort will be worth it. For your first model you should choose an easy one such as the Washington Monument. Then you can graduate up to the more difficult . Stay away from the tanks until you have gained some experience. These are not your everyday kits.

My first Metal Earth project and by far the easiest one I've made. Took about an hour, but most of that was making sure I rolled the pieces correctly. Assembly is very fast. Pro-tip, fill the base with hot glue or something similar and it makes the model far more stable sitting on a shelf. Final result is amazing. I love building these and if you enjoy detail work, precision, and patience, then you will too! Buy the Tool Kit for Metal Earth 3D Metal Models if you don't already have small needle nose pliers, mini pliers, and mini wire snips. You will need them and they will serve you well for any other Metal Earth or other small projects you might have!Word of advice, small children will probably not have the patience or the fine motor skills necessary to build these.

Harder than it looks