Khrushchev decided to congratulate his lil buddy Castro on his shiny new country by refurbishing and painting up a Tu-4 Bull and giving it to him. The Bull was delivered in 1961. While fully combat capable, the aircraft never fired a shot in an anger or drop any payload. It was mainly used as flying propaganda.
I have a 1975 Airfix 1/72 B-29 kit. I'm wanting to do a blue/green two tone came over light grey bottom kind of like how they painted their Fishbeds. I figure if I can get the colors right it'll look good but if I get them wrong, it could look terrible! I have a trip to the store planned to get some more paint soon.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FYHEYEe5.jpg&hash=2f8e480c1d15306b9c246bcc4b53c22a8c051697)
This thing as a boat load of parts. The largest build I've ever done. I think a B-17 I did back in about 1991 (1/72) has prior held that distinction but this is quite more involved! It seems to have a full interior. I haven't really looked that deep into the stuff but glancing at the instructions there's crawl space, lil dudes, bomb bay(s) w bombs, and all that sort of stuff. Anyway, it's hands down the largest and most elaborate kit I've tried so this should be interesting.
I'm thinking of making a MiG-21 to go with it as an escort. I have the old Hase one and it seems pretty easy to build so why not? I can either have it match the bomber or make some fancy "presidential escort" scheme or some jive.
This could be fun!! Any tips on this particular kits peculiarities (say that 10 times fast) would be appreciated. ;D
EDIT:
Info dump inbound!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudelman-Suranov_NS-23
http://englishrussia.com/2013/05/23/the-only-tu-4-plane-russia-has-today/ (these are a bunch of good, fascinating pictures!!)
Loving this already! :thumbsup:
Thanks!!
Some of this could change, even to a major degree, but I really want to go ahead with it as planned. I've been itching to try the camo ever since I saw it. I just need to do a little more research and test some stuff before I lock it in. One other thing I need to do is see what the stall speed of a Fishbed is. lol
Quote from: TheChronicOne on February 17, 2017, 05:46:29 AM
Thanks!!
Some of this could change, even to a major degree, but I really want to go ahead with it as planned. I've been itching to try the camo ever since I saw it. I just need to do a little more research and test some stuff before I lock it in. One other thing I need to do is see what the stall speed of a Fishbed is. lol
According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-21#Specifications_.28MiG-21-93.29) landing speed is around 190kn.
Quote from: scooter on February 17, 2017, 06:14:36 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on February 17, 2017, 05:46:29 AM
Thanks!!
Some of this could change, even to a major degree, but I really want to go ahead with it as planned. I've been itching to try the camo ever since I saw it. I just need to do a little more research and test some stuff before I lock it in. One other thing I need to do is see what the stall speed of a Fishbed is. lol
According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-21#Specifications_.28MiG-21-93.29) landing speed is around 190kn.
Awesome, thank you... a lil quick math seems to indicate I have a problem. Looks like the cruising speed of my heavy is about the same as the landing speed of the MiG-21! Hmmmmmm....... I suppose I could switch up to a Sea Fury or something... or even something completely new.
Love Cuban colors. Bring it on!
You can get photo etch interior and exterior improvement sets but you'll find that most are for the Academy kit.
The fittings use thicker plastic, so you might want to replace them with aftermarket parts, white metal landing gear and resin tyres.
There's gap issues on the fuselage, engines and wings. You'll find that one side will fit better than the other. Try the Olympic engine set if you have enough beer tokens or replacement weapons set for the Tu-4. The cockpit needs detailing as you can see right in through the glazing. The bomb doors don't fit, get plenty of reference photos. It can be a tail sitter- best use a thin piece of plastic to prop the fuselage which can be hidden by the main landing gear.
The propellers can be thinned. The Airfix instructions are a bit vague in places but there's always a few kit reviews on line.
Unfortunately the Academy parts aren't interchangeable with the Airfix kit, oh they will fit eventually but a lot of sanding and trimming is needed.
It's a big kit so plenty of room is needed.
I find that if you glue the wings to the fuselage halves first and then add the interior detailing before gluing the two halves together , you get a better fit (less gaps).
Propellers and wheels go on last.
I'm using the Academy KB-29P to build the Tu-70/75 transport/airline version.
Quote from: sandiego89 on February 17, 2017, 03:19:22 PM
Love Cuban colors. Bring it on!
Same here... If I can nail the proper shades/tints/hues or whatever the proper term would be in this instance and get them right it will look glorious. I am looking forward to hitting the LHS to shop for my lil acrylic paints. :laugh:
Quote from: McColm on February 17, 2017, 04:03:01 PM
You can get photo etch interior and exterior improvement sets but you'll find that most are for the Academy kit.
The fittings use thicker plastic, so you might want to replace them with aftermarket parts, white metal landing gear and resin tyres.
There's gap issues on the fuselage, engines and wings. You'll find that one side will fit better than the other. Try the Olympic engine set if you have enough beer tokens or replacement weapons set for the Tu-4. The cockpit needs detailing as you can see right in through the glazing. The bomb doors don't fit, get plenty of reference photos. It can be a tail sitter- best use a thin piece of plastic to prop the fuselage which can be hidden by the main landing gear.
The propellers can be thinned. The Airfix instructions are a bit vague in places but there's always a few kit reviews on line.
Unfortunately the Academy parts aren't interchangeable with the Airfix kit, oh they will fit eventually but a lot of sanding and trimming is needed.
It's a big kit so plenty of room is needed.
I find that if you glue the wings to the fuselage halves first and then add the interior detailing before gluing the two halves together , you get a better fit (less gaps).
Propellers and wheels go on last.
I'm using the Academy KB-29P to build the Tu-70/75 transport/airline version.
This is what I'm talkin' bout! Some good info here!
I figure my budget on this one around $10 so won't be anything too extravagant. (Just enough to buy 2-3 paints and a set of transfers) I'm going to have to make this all work "as is." I figure me going to the trouble to buy kits really cheap would be for naught if I have to spend a bunch on aftermarket stuff. If I were to do all that, I may as will spring for the best actual kit as I could to go with it. My whole philosophy is to get kits cheap as possible and make them work. ;D ;D Beer tokens are for beer. LOL
Thanks a million for these build tips, I will find myself revisiting this post along the way to keep on a steady course.
i've always been partial to this scheme.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Cuban_Sea_Fury.JPG)
Didn't see that one when I was in Cuba, but there's a very similar one in the museum in Havana along with a lot of other interesting stuff. It's a very bright scheme and tends to almost jump out at you.
Yeeeeeah that's cool right there. Sea Fury?? I hadn't seen that particular paint scheme... I might like that better than what I planned on.
I wonder about their camo. With the blues in it is there any scientific basis for it? Does it actually function as a *useful* camo or is it fancy decoration?
Great idea looking forward to seeing some pics. Love that box art !
:wub:
Indeed, it's quite nice!! And thanks! I think it's a good idea too but this thing has like 180 friggin parts (give or take) so I hope I can keep my wits about me. I'm pretty stoked though. Now that I've *actually* started on it I'm more excited. For a bit there the task was looking rather daunting.
If anyone has any idea where to look (on the internet) for good interior pics, that would be useful. I'm not going to lengths by any means but I would like to try my best to do what I can to make things look good inside.
So far, so good, in the realm of finding parts (most are not on the sprues any more). According to the ebay listing all the most vital parts are definitely in these kits and the only thing that MIGHT be missing are some of the tiny parts. So far so good, the tiny yokes and seats and Lil Buddies are all accounted for so I'll be assembling and starting in on painting all the interior stuff.
I'll try to get a picture or few of all this stuff later. I'd like to document some of this but there are just so many parts it would be hard to lay it all out at once.
Quote from: McColm on February 17, 2017, 04:03:01 PM
You can get photo etch interior and exterior improvement sets but you'll find that most are for the Academy kit.
The fittings use thicker plastic, so you might want to replace them with aftermarket parts, white metal landing gear and resin tyres.
There's gap issues on the fuselage, engines and wings. You'll find that one side will fit better than the other. Try the Olympic engine set if you have enough beer tokens or replacement weapons set for the Tu-4. The cockpit needs detailing as you can see right in through the glazing. The bomb doors don't fit, get plenty of reference photos. It can be a tail sitter- best use a thin piece of plastic to prop the fuselage which can be hidden by the main landing gear.
The propellers can be thinned. The Airfix instructions are a bit vague in places but there's always a few kit reviews on line.
Unfortunately the Academy parts aren't interchangeable with the Airfix kit, oh they will fit eventually but a lot of sanding and trimming is needed.
It's a big kit so plenty of room is needed.
I find that if you glue the wings to the fuselage halves first and then add the interior detailing before gluing the two halves together , you get a better fit (less gaps).
Propellers and wheels go on last.
I'm using the Academy KB-29P to build the Tu-70/75 transport/airline version.
Already coming back to this. Could you go into a bit more detail on the thinning of the props? Are the airfix ones too thick? Do I need to change the shape of them any? I know they used different engines on the Tu-4 so perhaps they had different props as well. I'm doing my own research on the side as well, but I'm just getting started really.
I'm also curious about the attaching the wings to the fuse halves first. What is it about doing it the other way that creates these gaps?
Thanks a million... trying to avoid future nightmares here. ;D
You could go for the first three captured B-29's that crash landed on Russian soil. That way you wouldn't need to change the engines. On the propeller front a light sanding to get rid of the flash will do.
Bog-standard interior green, throughout the inside fuselage halves and cockpit. As for the wings try as I do I can never get them level. No matter how many paint tins I slide under them one is always lower than the other. Alternative approach is some sort rig.I suggested the gluing the wings to the fuselage halves as a natural fit at 90°. If you want them to droop put coins in the wing tips. Coins are a good ballast.
On Google search under; internationalscalemodeler , B-29. There's some very good pics (it's the Academy kit), but the interior pics are a very good source of reference.
Outstanding! Thank you. Hard to go wrong with such help. :D
Progress!
Most of the interior is painted. All of the crew is painted; green flight suits, white helmets, brown gloves, black boots, white shoulder patch, face mask left the "silver" color of the styrene. Walls painted the glorious Soviet blue color they love and the floors painted green (per pictures of an actual Tu-4) and the seats painted black. Uh oh... just realized I lost both of the yokes... .. uhh.... **looks around**** ... . . . found one on the floor.. OK.... **looks around***** . . . . . well crap! I guess after this update I'll be with the flashlight and down on the floor. Thankfully I vacuumed yesterday so not much "stuff" on the floor to throw me off, if it even IS on the floor!
On with the show:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FLMuH1rv.jpg&hash=67d87d587c72a607af019dcec2482d8a9767883f)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FCXMJzrD.jpg&hash=bb0665947708b7f23ea186756ac8a4f3fd4795ca)
I noticed the egregious lack of a bomb sight so I figured I'd scratch one up real fast.. but uhhhh... where the hell do I put it?! Looking at this thing the bombardier sits literally at the very forward edge of the fuselage.... when I put the nose piece on there would be no room!
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FXaNNRhV.jpg&hash=80f7d927ec3c2c44403184379c474290cc8f3565)
I'll have to get the clear nose piece and do some dry fitting to see if I can come up with a solution.
Anyway, time to look for this missing yoke.. :banghead:
EDIT: OH YES!! I found it!!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
You will have to cut one of the flight crews' legs off so that the nose glazing fits. A few charts will look good in the cockpit made from scrap plastic.
Looking good. :thumbsup:
Quote from: McColm on February 18, 2017, 07:10:12 PM
You will have to cut one of the flight crews' legs off so that the nose glazing fits. A few charts will look good in the cockpit made from scrap plastic.
Looking good. :thumbsup:
Poor feller! ;D
Hey... that sounds doable. I have some of the thin pieces from sprues that have the parts numbers on them. I could chop some down for the charts. :lol:
I'm having a blast with the glorious pictures I found (I edited the opening post of this thread with this and other links) here: http://englishrussia.com/2013/05/23/the-only-tu-4-plane-russia-has-today/4/ Some 30 odd pages of pictures. Says one has to be a member to get them all on one page... oh well, I don't mind clicking a bit. But anyway, holy crap look at all the stuff in there (cockpit and adjacent areas)! But anyway... I have good reference to scratch some stuff up to improve this interior. The problem lies in where I draw the line. I damn sure want my bomb sight, the charts sound glorious, and I could potentially jam some tiny wires in there and even paint certain details onto the walls, etc. I know the ceiling area (and possibly more) was draped with some light colored insulation looking stuff so I'm going to at least paint some type of off-white to represent that. (hence the upper sections of the fuse halves un painted in the cockpit areas).
Anyway.. damn, this is fun. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Quote from: TheChronicOne on February 18, 2017, 07:22:34 PM
Anyway.. damn, this is fun. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
And that's what it's all about :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Already looks suitably Soviet with that interior blue
You could build it as Fidel's VIP aircraft?
Quote from: loupgarou on February 19, 2017, 05:30:46 AM
You could build it as Fidel's VIP aircraft?
That sounds good.
Those old instructions bring back memories...and silver plastic :banghead:. Really wish someone would update the Monogram 1/48 kits of bombers. B-29, B-26 etc. Enjoying watching this one :thumbsup:
I was certainly entertaining thoughts of this being Castroforce-1. In fact, that's part of the story - He loved the thing so much that he often would go for pleasure flights in it, tag along on "proficiency" and trainging flights, and got to the point where he even used it as his official mode of transportation at times. It's actually a kind of neat story when ya think about it and I could see it happening. That's the thing with a lot of these dictators.. they're kind of "weird" and eccentric. ;D (all this stuff explains, too, why the thing was still used decades after it became obsolete)
Back at it today I suppose. Plans include gathering up the next round of parts to be worked on, check them off the instructions, and place them into a bag. I also found some sprue leftover to cut some things off to make the placards and charts and whatever else. I also plan to get back to my interior pictures to see what else I could try to simulate. I also plan to get out the nose piece and I'm going to dry fit to see how much of ol' boys feet has to get chopped off and to see where and how I can attach the bomb sight.
Went on a scavenger hunt because it hit me that I had some panels and such in my meager spares dept. Looking at my pictures there's all kinds of stuff crammed in that cockpit including dials and guages on either side of the bombardier station. I believe I can add that stuff in and some other things. There's also a box on the floor between the pilots' seats that has... I dunno.. the throttles But there are only two? Bomb bay doors? Gear or something? What is it??? Anyway... there are two red handles on there I'd like to build. (I need to repaint this box, as well, as I used the wrong color).
Here's the box thing:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F3KVPUAa.jpg&hash=7224ec05d3e57d509176193a4ea8ec55ebad2755)
Also, see the O2 tank back there? I'd like to make that! Should be pretty easy. I might have the odd piece of junk laying around that will do.
Any how, here's the sweet haul I just made raiding the spares baggie:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F00Atvb8.jpg&hash=931e968b273ad39048eb28dea921271c18647d2c)
Also, I'm thinking about finding a piece of spare cloth to put inside as insulation... hell, why not?! Going to all the other trouble so may as well do it, too! :lol:
My luck I'll somehow completely fog over the clear pieces and won't be able to see any of this crap. ;D ;D ;D ;D
A layer of filler scored in a diamond pattern would work or sections of foil.
Gondor
Quote from: Gondor on February 19, 2017, 09:58:11 AM
A layer of filler scored in a diamond pattern would work or sections of foil.
Gondor
I'd like to try the foil. I just realized it would be a pain to try to put a single piece of cloth in there. And I guess it just wouldn't look right, either now would it? Great tip, thanks!
I formed the handles on that box around the wee very end of a tooth pick then painted the lower section green and top section red. I decided not to try to cut them apart from each other... might so something I don't want.. this is good enough for peering through the windows!
I'm going to try the bomb sight now. I checked the fitment of everything and it's good so far, but tight.. I'm not sure if I can fit anything between the clear piece and my bombardier. I may have to saw on his legs or something to open up a tiny bit of a groove or something. What good is a bomber with no bomb sight?!
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FyJZsmPC.jpg&hash=4beb0240ca457ae9713175baeb69a8c7791f2eb3)
Oh nice! The problem sort of solved itself. The sight didn't attach to the floor, it attached to the side.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FR3ILoGR.jpg&hash=433f4b437fd99ae11d7bfcaec550ed7b0b791791)
I made it but I think I'm going to have to move the fan in a little bit. I'll do that then paint it then glue it to the inside of the nose piece.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FNTmc1Dz.jpg&hash=aed7f1d97f0d55bda91f92a2a5256e90ab6eed79)
Trudging along... I had to pretty much re-do the bomb sight. There's just no way to have it fit where it's supposed to be and actually stay the same shape as the original. All I can do is simulate the thing by making a much flatter (thinner) facsimile. Still, better than nothing! What I had to do was snap off the two pieces I put on there and replace them with a single, thin piece of sprue (the number tabs). The same type of stuff I'll use to make charts, checklists, clip boards, placards, etc. Troublesome part of that is none are in the bomber Im using pictures from (why would there me... that stuff is in some Russian landfill decades ago... LOL ). I think I can probably surmise where they would go just by using common sense but still I might have a look at some B-29 pics (instead of Tu-4) to see if anything strikes my fancy. But yeah, I think I have a usable bomb sight now.
Not sure what the hell I'm thinking here.. I told myself I would avoid scratchbuilding and going to lengths to make interior detail but I figure as long as I'm having fun doing it and WANT to do it.. then why not? The minute it stops being fun, I can simply stop adding detail.
I went to the LHS and my favorite lil paints were on sale!! Yeah buddy, at less than $0.50 a bottle I went ahead and bought.... uhh.... Well, like... 12 or something. Here, I'll take a picture. I played it safe on my greens and blues and picked up multiple hues (tints, shades??? Hues?? I can't ever remember which is the proper term to use at what time. . . ). I also picked up a true red, a nice orange color, a plum purple looking color and a nice mid range grey. (yeah, easy enough to mix up my own grey but I just saved myself that much more time and effort in the future.)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FNeRMvC4.jpg&hash=4a8933031fba62b3791e9c531118fe0802994c2a)
"Collecting" paint is pretty enjoyable. I love looking at the colors and one day I'll build a glorious rack to hold them all so I can maybe one day have a nice hobby place like everyone else. lol
Nest up, the test bed I build is pulling its own weight again.... I picked a couple colors that looked to best to my eye and I put down the blue first. It needds to dry maybe another 5 minutes then I'll do the green. I'll also paint at least some of the light grey underside to see what it looks like. So far, I really like this blue.... it looks pretty good. Oh wait, I see now that I should put a second coat of the blue on. I'll do that real quick. It'll be thinner so should hopefully still dry up pretty fast. I'd like to lock in my paint colors and set them aside. One less thing to worry about later!
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fuax7UpH.jpg&hash=c4ce7294233cc7308ae76822d7711ba72b81805f)
Also, I'm currently in the process of securing some transfers. A shee with 1/32,1/72, and 1/48 sized roundels, flash, and other good stuff for Cuban planes. I was entertaining ideas of just painting it all but I'd have to use transfers anyway for the white stars (trimmed from US roundels) anyway so I may as well make life easier and just use transfers on all of it.. . .
OK, I sat here and held my lil bottles of paint up to the screen next to a picture of a MiG-21 that had the scheme w/ colors I liked most and settled on a couple of colors. I think I pretty much nailed it. I know I like the blue. Perhaps the green could be a touch lighter. Thoughts? Opinions? I'm thinking these will darken up once I put varnish on. Should be OK with the blue but may have the green becoming too dark.
Anyway, the plane with the new attire, we'll start with a "before" of how I had it painted last time:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F943vXEA.jpg&hash=c8b432a1ff2de145d3826771b45b12757b00ae5c)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F5NYPKBb.jpg&hash=4ca075e1adfe243039a8d47272ac558b4dd98ab0)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FbD6mmzu.jpg&hash=8f4c2590195606fdd3578e4adbf54a179b6da3df)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FyfFn7gI.jpg&hash=6f0c515957b4ceda809f38701c03980f6ecefdfa)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fi1JVJuL.jpg&hash=f45655bfc71d769fc1c5aa3c77aa11919acc09a5)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FRP1TFiB.jpg&hash=17a5bc8d0e8179f36f8173fcd0159dad21cc200c)
Still having fun . . . :laugh:
Quote from: TheChronicOne on February 20, 2017, 05:41:00 PM
Still having fun . . . :laugh:
And that's the whole point of the exercise :thumbsup:
I have found the craft store paint is great for color variety and price, but tends to show brush strokes, especially on large areas like a B-29 where I would get inpatient. You might try to cut the paint a bit with some water to thin it out a bit. Experiment.
Keep it up! - Dave
Thanks fellers!!
Yeah, I found most of these work a better when thinned every so slightly (suits me... as far as I concerned, every time I add some water to these it means I get that much more paint). Some colors are different than others, naturally, but so far not many give me problems. The dark green here for instance goes on pretty well right out of the bottle but should have a second thinned coat to "fill in." That blue there is definitely a two coat ordeal any way you slice it but it sure turns out nice after that second coat.
I'm like you, Dave, I get impatient on big areas so the plane for now is to do the thing in sections. I'll use one of my larger flat brushes for it and hope for the best.
Sounds like a plan. Rattle can is a good option as well especially if you want to paint the main color overall. Spray on a coat of primer first. Cheap hardware store primer and spray paint usually works just fine. You can get a can of spray paint primer for under $4.
Quote from: sandiego89 on February 22, 2017, 02:42:54 PM
Sounds like a plan. Rattle can is a good option as well especially if you want to paint the main color overall. Spray on a coat of primer first. Cheap hardware store primer and spray paint usually works just fine. You can get a can of spray paint primer for under $4.
Yeah, Dave! That's my preferred method.. to spray primer then go. I was using a made-as primer (Rustoleum 2x primer grey) until it ran out. I had been reading up on model stuff and a lot of folks were talking about how they like to prime with black, wanted to try it myself, and just so happens my $1 a can (Wal Mart) black works as a MARVELOUS primer. It finishes kind of sandy and takes paint beautifully. I also have some Rustoleum "camo" paints that work great as primers, as well. My last F-4 Soviet thing I used the tan color as primer overall and left some as one third of the camo. In fact, considering the colors I'm using, I'll probably prime with the tan. Very light grey underside, that blue, and then the green. I think they'll work better on top of the tan than the black, especially the almost white shade of grey.
I've managed success doing an entire plane with rattle cans on a three color camo (The F/U-2 H.A.W.K.) and I will definitely be doing it again the future (I came up with my own EASY method of making camo with masking tape by just eyeballing and cutting it with scissors.. goes fast and turns out great!! ) but I'm also trying to hone my skills with the hairy stick. I know a decent product can be made by brushing and I've even done it before as a child... I'm slowly but surely remembering the things I learned all those years ago and also gaining new knowledge. With a two-tone scheme I'm sure I can knock it out of the park and can't wait to try. The paints seem good, it all just comes down to how well I deal with the time it takes and if I can remember all the correct details such as thinning and brush care.
That is funky ! Love the shape and colours. And for sure, have fun !
:thumbsup:
Thanks, biggin! I really like that lil Ju 88. It's turned into a mighty fine side-kick; .. helping me along the way.. :D
I've learned one thing scratch making interior components on a 1/72 scale model; just when you think you have it the right size, MAKE IT SMALLER.
After about 6-7 iterations I think I finally have a bomb sight that will FIT in the thing and also looks reasonably like what it represents. Good enough for me, one who normally doesn't care too much about interior detail. I also went ahead and glued all the provided cockpit stuff together so I can see just how much room I actually have to add in my own extra detail.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F8m7ctwA.jpg&hash=bfdb1f2fb77337ccf72cec4bf78bf1d999327f0f)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FZ2Uhl8v.jpg&hash=9edf554432f3feac4c5f03b4c51e6a82af42e364)
Bomb sight... paint still wet! Looks... uhhh... well... good enough! ;D I'll glue it directly to the inside of the nose piece.
Next task is to get back to the cockpit pictures and decide what I can add to my interior aside from the lever and bomb sight. With luck I can get it all done by this evening (I SAY THAT, because as soon as I'm done with this, I have to sit down and do my taxes.. so..yeah.. ;D ).
Ohhh... yeah, almost forgot. I did the half and half with another shade that is close to some of the pictures I've seen. Not sure if the differening shades are due to being out in the sun for years or if they actually used different paint. Who knows. I know which one I like best but they both have merits..
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FQowEOHy.jpg%3F1&hash=7088f1f21e0e582891e2d514388aac910070f2ae)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fd4YXD5P.jpg&hash=9fece4f6bd7e492fcbaf6378bae7ce7aa7e0ff0f)
:o ;D
Cheers!
Dry fitted the current iteration of the cockpit interior into the fuselage halves. Some conclusions drawn after, including going back to simple paint to simulate the insulation, instead of tryin to make something else for it. It's nearly impossible to see ANY of it once the thing is assembled so making that can be dispensed with.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F8ORfXZG.jpg&hash=7c4497743f1a23e62a7ced12fb602b6b1982ecd2)
I found stuff to put panels on both sides of the bombardiers station and on both sides of the pilots. Also, the two thinner taller pieces will be used behind the bulkhead (or divider or "wall"... whatever the hell it is) as 2 dimensional representatives of the stuff behind the cockpit.. no need to build full on stuff because there's no way to see the sides so just a "facade" will work. Also, I grabbed a couple of pieces to fill in the hollow spaces behind the pilots' insturment panels. I'll paint this stuff and get it glued on & take another picture of it when done... should look pretty cool!
Anyway . . .
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fah26lMt.jpg&hash=19d2188c2256e64e9153f3a9d2a2bde930d3f768)
So far, while it consists of tedium and and non structural building, I'm sticking with the instructions. So, I gathered up all the parts I need for steps 2-5 which all consist of guns and turrets for them. Again, we're all accounted for and no missing parts! Sweet! Motivation to get the cockpit done so I can move on to this and get it knocked out of the way. I do believe I just need to glue it all together, no paint necessary for the stuff that sits inside.... I THINK. I'll double check first, of course. The turrets and guns I'll paint when I do the overall paint.
Before I get TOO carried away, after all this, I'm going to probably get the wings together and glued on to the fuselage halves. I want to do that before I start sticking interior bits inside that will prevent them sitting flat on a table so I can have the wings done properly (90 degrees shooting straight up and braced). Also..... starting to think about what to do to eliminate tail sitting. A support stand type apparatus would work, as mentioned, but I don't fancy that so I'm wondering just how much lead I can cram in the front of this thing. A third option would be to utilize the stand that came with this. Not a bad option, really.. probably be good anyway to save space on the shelf. I'd definitely want to weigh the thing down with good ol' rocks, though. ;D ;D
Quickie update with the painted panels. (also getting placards and checklists done too but too small to pick up to place in the picture).
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F7rckF8c.jpg&hash=897dfd8fe59f5f9d4c239ae6aeac970ad38e8f13)
OK! I'm done with the cockpit. I couldn't add much more detail even if I wanted to, and I don't.
I'm glad I took the time, however, this looks a lot better than the bare bones stuff I had going.
Before:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F8m7ctwA.jpg&hash=bfdb1f2fb77337ccf72cec4bf78bf1d999327f0f)
After:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FYsY6ihx.jpg&hash=9264f3553d06b33327fea7080fcd72c6ae42c88a)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FYsgnIG3.jpg&hash=ba43b74fbf53ae5cca8f37ef4872fdae92da7e88)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fj8j0Ylv.jpg&hash=419836fd05ca42856de032a85f03d47cbc53a80c)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FHR1aCoW.jpg&hash=2b2e8f807dce18d45e6941472be5e8a71d1ebb06)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F5eQoEYi.jpg&hash=9259c1a28b25d6c10e8c406838564964066c9e92)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FQGW1lZw.jpg&hash=c8a35055dce8104adb3f8654714b29762c3abe9d)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F491081l.jpg&hash=62491c7c2efa536efff795f6d9c1f77b35623b36)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fr1zp5XG.jpg&hash=8fe342fe90079ad23198a16f48bb242e0a0d39e8)
I made sure to be careful as to have all this stuff make clearance when everything comes together. I know my Lil Buddies inside are sure happy to have adequate insturmentation. ;) ;D
I hope the altimeters are calibrated in metres, and not feet, this being a Soviet aircraft. ;D ;)
You'll find gaps in the engine nacelles best dry brush the cylinder heads before gluing them in place.
You may find that it's easier to add the main landing gear to the lower wings before you glue the two halves together as it can be a bit fiddly adding them afterwards.
Tip tanks can be added or auxiliary jet engines if you prefer.
Quote from: PR19_Kit on February 24, 2017, 03:30:32 PM
I hope the altimeters are calibrated in metres, and not feet, this being a Soviet aircraft. ;D ;)
;D ;D
These lil guys would be lucky to have matching instrument panels!! Doesn't look like they have been afforded that luxury, from what I can see, so perhaps one panel for each ??? Castro rides along and dictates which to use. :angel: :o ;D
Quote from: McColm on February 24, 2017, 04:00:09 PM
You'll find gaps in the engine nacelles best dry brush the cylinder heads before gluing them in place.
You may find that it's easier to add the main landing gear to the lower wings before you glue the two halves together as it can be a bit fiddly adding them afterwards.
Tip tanks can be added or auxiliary jet engines if you prefer.
Good looking out! Great tip on the gear... I'm closing in that part of the build. I may do the bombs or paint the glazing or other piddly stuff first but main construction is drawing nearer.
The bomb aimer is going to need a visit to the chiropractor if he sits like that for too long.
Coming together well.
:thumbsup:
Quote from: zenrat on February 24, 2017, 08:02:24 PM
The bomb aimer is going to need a visit to the chiropractor if he sits like that for too long.
Coming together well.
:thumbsup:
Thanks, Fred! I suspect ol' boy there will take advantage of the glorious social medicine in Cuba! ;D Castro makes him look for FOD through the bomb sight as the plane taxis.
Work planned for today... uhhh.... Hell I don't know. I need my coffee. I'll get back on that. ;D
Cockpit and crew are looking good and i think the detailing is paying off. :thumbsup:
Thanks, biggin! CastroForce-1 is CastroForce-FUN!
Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk! ;D ;D
:::pulled off stage by big hook::::
Looks great too bad you have to close it up !
:wub:
Quote from: TheChronicOne on February 25, 2017, 12:22:18 PM
Thanks, biggin! CastroForce-1 is CastroForce-FUN!
Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk! ;D ;D
:::pulled off stage by big hook::::
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/The_Gong_Show_Chuck_Barris_1976.jpg)
Quote from: Captain Canada on February 27, 2017, 05:33:26 AM
Looks great too bad you have to close it up !
:wub:
My thoughts as well! I hope I can keep the glass nice and clear and clean so if someone decides to look inside they might see a tiny shred of it. lol. Also, I'm kind of wondering why I bother painting the lil dudes that go in the back. I think theres a couple small windows back there but....... ?! Oh well.. I have pictures of it so that's good, at least! It's not completely for naught. I can't help but think that a lot of this type work is never seen by anyone aside from the guy that eventually runs it over in the landfill when it cracks open under the weight of them big trash movers. ;D ;D
Quote from: scooter on February 27, 2017, 06:23:21 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on February 25, 2017, 12:22:18 PM
Thanks, biggin! CastroForce-1 is CastroForce-FUN!
Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk! ;D ;D
:::pulled off stage by big hook::::
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/The_Gong_Show_Chuck_Barris_1976.jpg)
:o ;D ;D ;D ;D
OK, got the transfers in today in the mail. Just opened them up. Under light I can see all kinds of veins and spider webbing across the surface. Doesn't look the same as old dried transfers that explode in water, but still troubling. I'll cut one from an area with a lot of the veining and try it on my test plane. I hope these are viable.
I don't have much experience with "made" or "printed" transfers. Another thing of note is the roundels themselves (the white stars in the middle of.. ) have a pixelated look.. because they are. I'm not too bothered by it personally, but the quality could be better. That said, the other sheet with the fin flash and stuff looks much more crisp with the stars. If they stay on the model and don't fall apart I'm happy!
(other stuff is $1 a piece items from Dollar Tree that I picked up today... them "chip clips" are larger than standard, how neat!)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F6Ce8ffO.jpg&hash=fc90b89085f5ea6e85fd76dc94856fce179e2bb1)
You could leave some areas exposed if you wanted to, by painting a thick red line around them or/and use a thinner piece of clear plastic instead if you don't want any dust to get in.
Damn now that's a cool idea! I won't be doing it on this but I love the idea ... the cut out with the red outline. I would really like to get the new airfix B-17 at some point and I'd like to get one to do this on. Hmmmmm..... :thumbsup:
oh yes, that one is good, and would fit all the best a very large aircraft
Quote from: zenrat on February 17, 2017, 07:52:39 PM
i've always been partial to this scheme.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Cuban_Sea_Fury.JPG)
If you test a decal and it breaks up then try giving each one a coat of gloss varnish, let it dry and try again. Helps hold weak decals together.
Quote from: Librarian on February 28, 2017, 02:30:18 PM
If you test a decal and it breaks up then try giving each one a coat of gloss varnish, let it dry and try again. Helps hold weak decals together.
Roger that. I tried one, the worst on the whole page, and it had chipping problems. Still, being the WORST one it worked I'd say 85% of the way. I suspect a lot of the others will work better. Still, I agree. I will hit these sheets with some clear gloss to seal everything up and I think I'll be good to go. If need be, I can break out my tiny sized paint brush and do touch ups.
I've found myself in the midst of a conundrum! Seeing that glorious tri-color paint job on the (sea fury?) and another mention of how cool it is I can't help but agree. That said, I'm still a big fan of the original two beautiful colors I had initially planned.
Perhaps I should create a poll and ask the community at large? For now, what do you all think? For this big ol' bomber, what colors suit you the best?
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FzMvIcZG.jpg&hash=7bc5ae6247715415025f260c3fb948939b245401)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Ft0BQOKw.jpg&hash=492c77eb5cc4e5c35beaa7f75439249228b6373a)
One thing I would (might?) change with the second one is switch the sky blue belly with the light gull grey such as comes with the first option.
I'm honestly considering making a Group Build Poll and letting the community decide! How fun would that be? A little bit of something new to shake things up and I think still abides the rules.
Got any coloured pencils?
Print out a few 3 views of a B29 Tu4 and colour them in and then see what you think.
I'd be worried about having a poll and then at the end thinking "well that one won but I really wanted to do No.2..."
You can always paint something else in the other scheme later on.
Depends on what you want to achieve.
The original two colours is more subtle, aesthetically pleasing, and resembles other camo patterns.
The three-colour scheme with that blue so bright that it hurts the eyes... well, it's for added shock value. It's impossible to hide a B-29 Tu-4 at altitude anyway, so the next best thing is to blind the capitalist fighter pilots ;D It's definitely the more original of the two.
Here's a solution... I was wanting to make an escort for the bomber anyway, so I can do the bomber in the original two tone and do the escort fighter in the three tone. :thumbsup:
There's still a ton of time left in the GB, I do believe, so I'll dip into the stash and see if I can come up with a soviet prop plane to do. :lol:
The blue in that Sea Fury i truly garish. When I did visit Cuba, must have been in 2000, the aircraft, if it's the same, was painted in more "normal" colours.
Cubans must have repainted it with the paint they had available.
It's a love it or hate type of deal, for sure!
In my studies of late re: aircraft on display it would seem like this happens a lot and a good deal of planes sitting around are NOT painted true to their original (or in operation) paint schemes/colors. Seems it happens for a number of various reasons and it's a shame, really, because some stuff has become lost to history. Sometimes we get the history back in various ways, like finding an old gas cap (IAF S-199 on dispaly in Israel) and sometimes we don't..
In other news..... I'm back at work on this. I have built the gun turrets and sorted a great many parts into various bags. Finally found what may be the first missing piece!! A little tiny strut type thing that probably goes with the gear assembly. I have one, but there is an empty space on the sprue right next to it. Didn't find it sitting loose anywhere. I didn't bother looking for it on the instructions. Maybe I'll get lucky and it goes to the nose gear so there's only *supposed* to be one! :thumbsup: I'll cross that bridge somewhere else... just thought I'd mention it.
Painted the bomb bay white and the ceiling insulation white. I also painted the rear cabin what I now call "Ruski-Blue" AKA the glorious blue interior color they use. I still need to paint the ceiling area for it, though.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FV3VsD7t.jpg%3F1&hash=f8b0655f935fd6e21ca6a13f3ea75784c67455e0)
I brought in my surplus clothes pins from the shop to use and I'm glad I did! I might switch the brain off and build the 16 bombs that comes with this using the pins as clamps. With that, I think I'll call it a day on this one.
Next conundrum has arisen, though! I'm not sure what color to paint the wheel wells and bomb bay doors. The Tu-4 in Russia seems to have these areas white or very light grey. Well, not sure about the bomb bay, but I can definitely see the gear doors. So, the belly and undersurfaces of this thing is going to be painted light aircraft grey that is nearly white so keeping that in mind I was thinking of painting them either the same color of grey or maybe blue? Not sure if it would look weird or not.
Second option is to paint the gear doors same light grey but on the BOMB BAY doors, do vertical white and blue stripes akin to the Cuban flag. This has the potential to look either really cool, or really stupid. Wheel hubs are to be painted red. With some sort of combo in this fashion the three national colors could be used but I think I'm walking a line between "tacky" and "classy." I think I'll try the stripes ( plan to display this thing gears down on the tarmac with the bay doors open, by the way) and if I don't like 'em I'll just paint over them, no biggy!
I think that a more subtle two tone is likely better for a large aircraft. Bold multi-color can be tough to do well.
Quote from: sandiego89 on March 04, 2017, 03:20:14 PM
I think that a more subtle two tone is likely better for a large aircraft. Bold multi-color can be tough to do well.
I concur... I'm going to roll with the two tone. If I do the other, it will indeed be on a much smaller airplane! Besides, the colors I'm going to use are really nice in my opinion. Two of my favorites, actually.. that lovely blue and nice dark green. Imight actually go a slight touch ligther on the green... trying to get close to the colors on the MiG up there. Such nice shades!
A proper update!
I've never even played one before and LOVE video gaming....... . . I finally upgraded to the latest generation and bought a brand new factory sealed Playstation 4!!! It arrived in the mail this morning! Glorious!
That said, I opened it up and checked it to see if it was OK then set it down and start working on MODEL KITS!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
It's just shy of 9PM and still I am working on kits. That's just how much fun I am having back in this beloved hobby.
Anyway, enough bloviating, I've been working on the bomber here. I got all the bombs put together which turned out to be quite the larger task than I imagined! A grand total of 48 parts. No wonder the kits has 170+ parts when nearly 50 are all in the ordinance. ;D
These bomb parts are of crap quality. They consist of two halves then the fins glue on last. Well, the halves are different thicknesses and also different size all together. Also, they have guiding pins which force a misalignment. OK... so, after I filed away the burrs left from trimming I had to go back and grind off all the guiding pins. No probs. It was worth the effort although the end result is still lopsided bombs. I will not be filing and sanding away the seams on these. Too much trouble for something that will be out of eyeshot 99.999% of the time. Besides... CUBAN BOMBS were made this way!! They're just going to explode anyway, so who cares how they LOOK! It's all perfectly acceptable.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fdjuaeby.jpg&hash=3a667e20fe39b14642d30a2ba9de5917f1d94dde)
The thing in the middle is the blue gas tank that goes in the cockpit behind the captain's seat (see previous picture here in thread that I hope I didn't just image posting). I'm guessing it's O2 but perhaps it's a fire suppresion thing or...something.. hell I don't know(being the color it is I'm thinking O2) . Either way, it's made and painted and I'll glue it into the cockpit.
Next up I'll paint the bombs green and then I think I'll add a thin yellow stripe on them to add visual appeal.
Pretty soon I'll glue all this milarkey in then it will be time to divert from the instructions and get the wings figured out then glued to their respective fuselage halves.
Cheers!
More work done. For being what seems so simple, getting these bombs done takes a long time!!
Anyway, got them all painted the base green. I also painted the passage way and "walls" for it.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fekq0K1T.jpg&hash=ee8fad71efa0c3c29f7eab7c908c293e65538688)
Here's an updated photo of my cockpit with the blue tank added:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fd4CCWU2.jpg&hash=4bb7c88e3b1078f9587fc3b134399dc1e376180c)
:laugh: :laugh:
It's a king size thermos containing chilled mojitos for the flight crew.
:drink:
Coming along well mate
Quote from: zenrat on March 05, 2017, 01:19:06 AM
It's a king size thermos containing chilled mojitos for the flight crew.
:drink:
Damn right, now we're talking!! And you know Castro is up there with something to drink. :wacko:
Quote from: NARSES2 on March 05, 2017, 05:08:33 AM
Coming along well mate
Thanks!! This has been one of the most enjoyable builds yet. Quite a bit of work.. more than I have grown accustomed to, but hasn't been burdensome at all. I'm pretty anxious to see the end result.
I have to see if I can find a 1/72 Castro figure. ;D
Looking good... :thumbsup:
Quote from: TheChronicOne on March 05, 2017, 06:54:39 AM
Thanks!! This has been one of the most enjoyable builds yet. Quite a bit of work.. more than I have grown accustomed to, but hasn't been burdensome at all. I'm pretty anxious to see the end result.
I have to see if I can find a 1/72 Castro figure. ;D
It's progressing very well! Even if it requires a lot of work.
A Castro figure would be nice. Atlantic had done long ago many series with various political figures and followers. Maybe they had done also Castro and barbudos, but those sets reach REALLY out-of-this-world prices.
Thanks, fellers!!
Yeah I'm not holding out too much hope on the castro figure. Hell, at 1/72 If I could just find a standing pilot figure maybe I could "mangle" it up a bit to creat his signature hat and beard and call it a day. :laugh: ;D
Quote from: TheChronicOne on March 06, 2017, 05:47:47 AM
Thanks, fellers!!
Yeah I'm not holding out too much hope on the castro figure. Hell, at 1/72 If I could just find a standing pilot figure maybe I could "mangle" it up a bit to creat his signature hat and beard and call it a day. :laugh: ;D
Maybe it would be easier starting with a soldier in jungle dress or fatigues.
Quote from: loupgarou on March 06, 2017, 06:05:49 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on March 06, 2017, 05:47:47 AM
Thanks, fellers!!
Yeah I'm not holding out too much hope on the castro figure. Hell, at 1/72 If I could just find a standing pilot figure maybe I could "mangle" it up a bit to creat his signature hat and beard and call it a day. :laugh: ;D
Maybe it would be easier starting with a soldier in jungle dress or fatigues.
Ahhh, right you are. GOOD thinking. Pilots' attire wouldn't be appropriate now would it?
When I get back from work I'll take a gander around Ebay. Might be able to find some old figure lot. I'd like to have him standing next to the ladder on the outside of the Bomber right where everyone can see him. :thumbsup:
Quote from: TheChronicOne on March 06, 2017, 06:13:00 AM
Quote from: loupgarou on March 06, 2017, 06:05:49 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on March 06, 2017, 05:47:47 AM
Thanks, fellers!!
Yeah I'm not holding out too much hope on the castro figure. Hell, at 1/72 If I could just find a standing pilot figure maybe I could "mangle" it up a bit to creat his signature hat and beard and call it a day. :laugh: ;D
Maybe it would be easier starting with a soldier in jungle dress or fatigues.
Ahhh, right you are. GOOD thinking. Pilots' attire wouldn't be appropriate now would it?
When I get back from work I'll take a gander around Ebay. Might be able to find some old figure lot. I'd like to have him standing next to the ladder on the outside of the Bomber right where everyone can see him. :thumbsup:
If you get a couple of photographers as well then you can make a little bit of a diorama of Castro having a photo opportunity?
Gondor
Quote from: Gondor on March 06, 2017, 07:55:36 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on March 06, 2017, 06:13:00 AM
Quote from: loupgarou on March 06, 2017, 06:05:49 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on March 06, 2017, 05:47:47 AM
Thanks, fellers!!
Yeah I'm not holding out too much hope on the castro figure. Hell, at 1/72 If I could just find a standing pilot figure maybe I could "mangle" it up a bit to creat his signature hat and beard and call it a day. :laugh: ;D
Maybe it would be easier starting with a soldier in jungle dress or fatigues.
Ahhh, right you are. GOOD thinking. Pilots' attire wouldn't be appropriate now would it?
When I get back from work I'll take a gander around Ebay. Might be able to find some old figure lot. I'd like to have him standing next to the ladder on the outside of the Bomber right where everyone can see him. :thumbsup:
If you get a couple of photographers as well then you can make a little bit of a diorama of Castro having a photo opportunity?
Gondor
Ohh, I love it!! Great idea! I was also thinking earlier it's about time I made a tarmac base for these models and what better time than for this one. :mellow: :mellow: Might even try to find some 1/72 vehicle to add in as well.
Fun stuff! :thumbsup:
An old Chevy or Buick
Quote from: kerick on March 06, 2017, 10:18:21 AM
An old Chevy or Buick
Mid to late 50's .. ooh yeah, nice thinking.. better than a jeep! .. . . ... I wonder what kind of stuff I can find.. I'm starting to get quite a list of stuff to look for on Ebay. :lol:
Cool. Love all the bombs !
Preiser do a fair range of interesting 1/72 (& other scale) figures.
Preiser: https://www.preiser-figuren.de/searchmass.php?eigenschaft=&subid=&group_id=&massstab=1:72&sort=a.article_number%20asc&seite=1 (https://www.preiser-figuren.de/searchmass.php?eigenschaft=&subid=&group_id=&massstab=1:72&sort=a.article_number%20asc&seite=1)
1:72 Civilian pilots, stewardesses + ground staff, unpainted: https://www.preiser-figuren.de/preiser-72528-1:72-zivile-piloten-stewardessen-+-bodenpersonal-unbemalt-18-st.-preiser-72528,art-18276 (https://www.preiser-figuren.de/preiser-72528-1:72-zivile-piloten-stewardessen-+-bodenpersonal-unbemalt-18-st.-preiser-72528,art-18276)
1:72 Military Police, Vienna 1945 unpainted: https://www.preiser-figuren.de/preiser-72529-1:72-milit%C3%A4rpolizei-wien-1945-unbemalt-5-st.-preiser-72529,art-18277 (https://www.preiser-figuren.de/preiser-72529-1:72-milit%C3%A4rpolizei-wien-1945-unbemalt-5-st.-preiser-72529,art-18277)
Nice!! I like the looks of the Military Police guys. :lol:
OK! Back to work. Haven't done anything on this since the last update aside from (terribly) painting yellow stripes on the bombs. I rushed through it and they didn't turn out too great. I separated them in half with one group being the better ones and the other the more butchered ones. The ones that look good will be on the bottom (more visible down there) and will help hide the flaws in the stripes on the bombs above. ;D
Also, painted the exterior color of the bomb bay doors and also the inside. I'm going to let it dry up a bit then mask and try those blue stripes I mentioned before. Maybe I should toss some future on first to help keep the paint from coming off on my tape but I want to try one without it first to see if I can squeek by without it. If it's not too bad I can just do touch up after and call it good.
Also, I'm beginning painting and construction on the gear. Painted the bomb racks and bomb bay, also. Right now, I'm gluing the bombs onto said painted racks.
Pics later if I get enough done to warrant any. :lol:
Sitting here watching the local public television when a show w/ a British fellow came on that had him going all around Cuba by rail. As I had already been working on the Cuban heavy, I took it as a sign that today would be a good day for a push to get a lot done. Turned out to be a damn fascinating bit of tele, too.
ANYWAY, a friggin chimp must have casted these wheels. Just terrible!! I'm not doing too much fixing on them but the holes in the center for the hubs are wildy off center. I utilized some pliers to make it all fit then dumped copious amounts of glue along the seams in the middle of the tires. During all the man handling I lost 75% or more of the black paint on the nose wheel and also a fair amount on the main gear. LOL :o Never fails. No worries, once the glue has set up a little I'll go back in with more and they'll be fine.
BOMB BAY DOORS... oooh yeah.... went ahead with the floor polish. About to put the second coat on. I think it'll make life easier down the road.
I also took the transfers outside and hit them with a couple coats of clear. I'm going to bring them back in so I can count the strips on the fin flash so I'll know how many I might like to put on the bomb bay doors. I may try, for the first time ever, applying tape to my cutting matt and using an exacto to trim them to the right size as all the stuff I have doesn't appear to be the right width for what I'm trying to accomplish. This is why I need to bring the transfers back inside.... That's coming up next after I hit "post."
Speaking of fin flash, I glued the rudder together after tracing the halves onto paper so I can in turn use them as guides to cut out the fin flash decals themselves.
Anyway, I'm going to look at the instructions again and see what other bits I can glue together while I do the floor polish and let it dry on the doors...
Pictures are coming, I think.... there for a minute I had a big pile of parts sitting here that would have been nice to see but I didn't feel like "staging" it. I'll try to get all this mess together in one place soon, though! :lol:
Starting to see the light at the end of this one! :thumbsup:
You know the saying : "This thread is useless without pics!" don't you?!? :police: :laugh:
Hilarious as I crammed it all back in the box earlier when I was done. ;D ;D ;D
Just not feeling playing "photog" right now. I kept forgetting and this is probably why.
I'll make a point of it when I break it all back out in a day or two. :rolleyes: :angel:
Truth be told I'm thinking about doing some more work now.. I was thinking of playing some video games but I just don't know. I get wishy-washy sometimes and can't seem to settle.
I've hit "Legend of Drunken Modeler" status.
I did indeed stop and play some video games. Even in that I sometimes hit "Legend of Drunken Flyer" and utilize the "fluid" nature of my relaxed state to rack up copious amounts of kills (flying games of course). Sometimes being a bit trashed has its merits. ;D
Anyway. . .
I did well on Ace Combat Infinity but now I'm concerned with Cuban affairs. This has been a celebratory weekend and I'm three sheets to the wind but with with this "legend of drunken (xx)" in mind I decided to get back to work on my Tu-4 to try this working on models whilst plastered stuff.
I've touched up the paint on and glued together all of the gear. I've painted the ailerons the base blue that will be half of the camo. It would be more difficult to paint them later as I do the rest of the camo due to the nature of the surfaces nestled against other surfaces. This way, with the blue painted I can still put the green camo pattern across the top and not have to worry about trying to cram my paint brush into the gaps.
I painted a small patch on the underside of each bottom wing halve so I could in turn glue in the clear piece the instructions call for. I have no idea what they are... lights or something I guess. When I go to prime the bulk of the plane I'll mask this area off and be ahead of the game.
I also glued together both of the halves of the elevators and they are in the clutches of clothes pins pending the glue drying. Like with the rudder, I'll take a metal file to the edges and clean them up once the glue is done.
Just shy of 1 A.M. here now and my "drunken modeler" stuff is at and end. That said, I've found that if one keeps to doing the less tricky stuff that building models while getting "pissed" can be quite fun. ;D
Still no pics. . ... :rolleyes:
lol it happens !
The figure sets look pretty cool. I like the stewardess and worker set, that would really liven up an airliner display.
:thumbsup:
Quote from: Captain Canada on March 19, 2017, 05:15:44 AM
lol it happens !
The figure sets look pretty cool. I like the stewardess and worker set, that would really liven up an airliner display.
:thumbsup:
Yeah them are really neat. I really had no idea so many different types and kinds of figures were available. Awesome!
I even managed to find a 1/72 Castro figure that apparently they only just put on the market about 2 months ago. Funny though because I could never get the page with the order info and such to work.
And yeah it happens!! I try to tell myself that past a certain number of beers that I shouldn't try to do stuff that requires finesse but then the crap judgment takes over and.. well here are! :o ;D I don't THINK I messed anything up, though! Even the couple of things I glued seem to be alright.. I don't see any fingerprints or globs or anything so... yay! :thumbsup: ;D ;D ;D
;D :thumbsup:
This thing has been on hold because I need the bomb bay doors done to get to the next part which involved gluing all the bombs and bomb racks inside the bomb bay. Problem being that I'm trying to be fancy and put blue/white striping on the doors like those of the Cuban flag. Of course, this all takes planning which involves measuring, math, making the masks, etc etc etc and for what will be a simple result seems to take a lot of effort. (not the least of which is simply FINDING everything... such as my preferred ruler, my knives, etc... nothing is ever as simple as "do it" it always takes so much more)
Anway, I found some free time so decided to dive on in and try my best:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F2it5ojH.jpg&hash=a16314a26e99647a11f7fe6061f6a623ae66ed27)
The task at hand is to create strips of masking tape so I can achieve blue/white stripes on the bomb bay doors like those found on the Cuban flag. After having done a bunch of math I've found that I need two 7/16" strips per door (to cover the white) then I can paint the blue then I'll have my five stripes. Of course, I ain't got no 7/16" wide tape so I need to make it myself and I'm not about to try to do it with scissors.
I'm just going to measure it out and make points along the tape, draw a line, then use my metal rule as a guide then just sliiiiide the knife down the edge. If all goes well, I'll have two long 7/16" wide strips of tape that I can then go ahead and use my scissors to cut them into segments and slap 'em on the doors. Of course, I'll need to put guide marks on said doors as well but I'm just concentrating on making these strips.
Anyway.. I think I have the right idea and my blade seems sharp enough so here we go!
Lookin' good!! If you really look, you can even see the cut lines up with the outside edge of one of the dots on the pad at both the top and bottom! I did it!! It's just a straight cut but It's a step in the right direction for me... My blade didn't fly off in some weird direction or anything.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FqBz1NB8.jpg&hash=c984f82ab07d311f4127ca7ee277a2495c96ab9e)
I *think* I can get all 8 segments out of this strip, if not, I'll whack some off of the surplus.
I'm really looking forward to seeing this one
Muchos gracias, mi amigo.
Finally back to work on this. I have been utterly and hilariously busy lately and on top of that I thought I was down to the last 2 days of the Facebook group build for my little Tucano I dumped all my time into it (when I finally DID have free time) so this bad boy has been on the back burner.
I've been itching to proceed, however, and today I finally got to. Moving right along with the portion that has the rest of major construction on halt which would be the bomb bay doors.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F9s2UBk2.jpg&hash=ff1a1f829d852b6b6a5e04fc6482dd9328ac0eb2)
I have to go back and do touch up and some of the white came off with the tape ( I already put one coat back on but I think another two will be required to get it the same shade as the rest of it) but not too shab! This type of move can either turn out great, add a nice bit if "flair" to the build, or can turn out to be gaudy, tacky, and generally a pile of steaming crap. So far.... I'm pleased!! One thing I am going to try is paint the tiny raised area on top red (like the flag). If it winds up being too much, I'll just cover it back up with white and be good to go. But, I'm interested to see what it would look like so stand by for comparison pics soon.
I also wrapped up filing on the prop blades as there is a fair amount of flash on them. Probably will paint then pretty soon as nothing else is dependent upon it... if I find a spare 5 minutes to do it it'll just be five minutes less work in the future. Thoughts pertaining to the same general area include what color to paint the spinners and forward engine cowlings...... Thinking red for the spinners and perhaps green for the cowlings? Either that or just leave the cowlings to be camo like the rest of the plane. Or maybe red cowlings and something else for the spinners?? I don't know.... maybe green cowlings and silver spinners.... or..... silver spinners and red cowlings....or camo cowlings......... uhhh.... :banghead: :banghead: ;D ;D ;D
OK, here we go.... the red needs touching up but I think this gives a good idea of the finished product and the one without it is pretty much good to go as is if I go with that style.
So, which looks better? Red strip or no?
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FUZphxh2.jpg&hash=e6293f4d7861b864037c8208dea2402b05b8389e)
With the red stripe
Late to the show as usual, I am looking forward to seeing this when it is finished. Reading through the thread about colour schemes, I agree with everyone that a simple 2 tone would be best as the time frame it would be flying in wasn't one for loud paint jobs. Plus you wouldn't appreciate it as the pics would be in black and white... ;D
Chris
Agreed on all counts, fellas!
Sometimes I'm wishy washy on paint because it's hard to imagine the end result sometimes.
So, today, if I get back to work... finish me red stripe job then back to "major" construction. It's just a matter now of getting all the stuff glued into the fus halves (as much as I can so they still sit flat on a table) then I'm going in on the wings. I have to finish painting the ailerons then I cac go ahead and get the wing halves slapped together and get them dry so I can come back and file the edges.... then, glue them to the halves per McColms helpful hint about droopy wings. At around this point I think things will start to speed up and we'll finally be looking at an aircraft instead of just bits of it.
The light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger!
A PROPER update this time!! I get busy and dispense with picture taking which is a shame because that's at least as important as all the written details. Anyway, I've managed a good amount of free time and I shook off that lazy bone and finally gathered up a bunch of the little stuff I've been working on for a group photo and also a photo of the NEW stuff just done, namely my pet project (bomb bay doors) and the props.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F7TkKj9T.jpg&hash=1d75406daed9989b84e0e12248896ca2dd6eec0f)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FpS2I5D3.jpg&hash=e1ec49264a5d7981177af10b6dc76d7bd7f34c5c)
What fun!!! I think these items turned out great!!!
It's cool knocking this stuff out... I decided to just stick with painting today and have been at it for hours. Other things not pictured are things like the elevators and rudder. Rudder is being painted true white then will be glossed so I can apply the Cuban fin flash transfers. The elevators painted just like the ailerons (pictured in the "group" photo above) with the base blue on top and light grey on bottom.
Not sure where to head next, exactly.. I know I'm wanting to get the wing halves together and I think with the ailerons finished I can probably do that but I'd need to stop, reference the instructions, and gather my thoughts.
Cheers!
Go figure! Take a few good pics then one that looks terrible.
;D
Ah well.... all the wings are glued together now. There is substantial overhang in some areas, so copious filing to follow upon the glue drying.
Next up, gluing all the racks o' bombs into the bays along w/ the doors.
I may look to see if some minor things can be done after the bombs and stuff but with some of the "major construction" done and dusted I'm about ready to put it all up and perhaps do a little more to my Tucano. :thumbsup:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F55JI7RO.jpg&hash=b6d0356a1c1943c00935cfc3024d7bb682a1d5b5)
Well, damn! ;D
It never occured to me to flip the direction of the bombs as I was gluing them on the racks..... as I got to applying glue, all the bombs on the starboard fus halve were facing aft. ;D ;D ;D
Since I had already put my glue on the two racks in the forward bomb bay, I had to SNAP the bombs off the racks and go ahead and glue the racks on. Went ahead and duplicated the process for the rear bomb bay. ;D :banghead: Once the glue all dries up I'll have to get in there with snips and files and get rid of the nubs and "slag" left over from the breakage then file the bombs themselves back smooth and glue them on.... This is one of them mistakes that.... you know.. it's seems so obvious after you make it........ I can't help but laugh. :unsure: ;D
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F1409aNo.jpg%3F1&hash=b238bfaa9ca5c61dae79bda1921542faffedb60e)
Yeeeeeeup, time to put this bad boy up for awhile. ;D ;D
They could be used for bombing targets behind you.................. ;D
Right, and we'll be installing the reverse gears next so we can fly backward, too! ;D
Honestly, beyond the initial drop, I imagine even backwards bombs would right themselves and fall as normal.... but.... that initial few feet or so.... wind might catch the backwards bombs and have them piling up into the bay or banging off the edges of the fuselage. :o :o ;D
Castro would NOT be pleased if his prized possession BOMBED ITSELF. :-X :rolleyes: ;D
New bombing technique. Climb bombing?
As you approach the target pull back on the stick and climb. Release the bombs just before you stall.
It's a technique invented by the Loony Tunes Air Force...
;D
Dude I can TOTALLY see Wile E doing that trying to bomb the road runner!! ;D ;D ;D
And then of course he'd stall, the plane would fall back to ground, overtaking the bombs on the way which would then drop on top of Coyote.
I hadn't seen a Roadrunner cartoon for ever but caught one by accident the other day while channel hopping.
I'd forgotten how much I love them.
Beep beep!
Dude, they're the best aren't they?! I was always rootin' for Wile E. and for some reason I wanted to eat the bird see he would always put down. ;D
Not Looney Toons but another ol' classic I love is Tom 'n Jerry.
OK, here's the plan for today. I want to, by the end, have both wings glued to the fuselage halves. I already have a nice flat space up against a wall for all the bracing and support. I'll need to gather up more "stuff" to help, but shouldn't be a prob. I may even experiment with LEGO forms.
Two days from now I'll be gluing the rest of the innards in and joining everything together then on to fixing miles of seams.
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 06, 2017, 04:56:29 AM
Not Looney Toons but another ol' classic I love is Tom 'n Jerry.
Tom and Jerry are the greatest :bow: and there are at least two cartoons where Tom wins :thumbsup:
Back in the 70's a British MP tried to get them kicked off t.v. as they were "too violent". The then P.M. Ted Heath suggested they were his favourite programme and the matter was quietly dropped ;)
Quote from: NARSES2 on April 06, 2017, 06:34:54 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 06, 2017, 04:56:29 AM
Not Looney Toons but another ol' classic I love is Tom 'n Jerry.
Tom and Jerry are the greatest :bow: and there are at least two cartoons where Tom wins :thumbsup:
Back in the 70's a British MP tried to get them kicked off t.v. as they were "too violent". The then P.M. Ted Heath suggested they were his favourite programme and the matter was quietly dropped ;)
Dude, I'd have to say that Tom and Jerry are my faves! Never, ever gets old.... ALWAYS good for a laugh if not an outright riot.
Violent, oh heck yes..... but...that's, what is it... "slapstick"? The Three Stooges pioneered that stuff and it's been hilarious ever since.
I wonder what Mr. Heath thought of the Looney Tunes and such? They'd regularly blow each others' heads off with guns and such...... Daffy Duck getting blasted in the face by Yosemite Sam or Elmer Fudd and his bill does a few orbits around his head. . . ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 06, 2017, 03:08:56 PM
I wonder what Mr. Heath thought of the Looney Tunes and such? They'd regularly blow each others' heads off with guns and such...... Daffy Duck getting blasted in the face by Yosemite Sam or Elmer Fudd and his bill does a few orbits around his head. . . ;D ;D ;D
And, yet, as a child, I never thought of doing that to anyone. nor when I was a teenager.
Now, as a responsible adult, I think about doing it every day to the idiots who disrupt my drive to work.
Actually, just yesterday, my younger daughter (18) had some cartoons on the TV as background noise while she was doing something else on her computer. So, I watched them for a bit then asked "Why?" She looked up & answered "I don't know, the old cartoons were much better. These are sh__. They're supposed to be educational but I don't think they are. I learned more from Bugs Bunny."
Brilliant!! She's going places. I'd have to agree.... Back when I was a kid in the 80's and 90s even (when there still were quite a lot of in production and "newer" cartoons that WERE good) a lot of the contemporary stuff of that age didn't appeal to me and I would much prefer the stuff from back in the day. I never could figure out why some of my friends liked to watch some of that janky stuff.
I know EXAAAACTLY what you mean about that commute! ;D ;D ;D
Must admit I can't "get into" modern cartoons, just put it down to age.
Even the Tom and Jerry ones had a cut off point. Sometime in the early/mid 60's the drawing style changed - seemed to become a little lazy and simpler to me - and they lost their class. All down to economics I suppose. The early ones, especially when Spike gets involved are the best :thumbsup:
Yeah it was always good fun when Jerry called in Spike to beat the crap out of Tom. ;D
Anyway... bomber stuff..... I wanted to work on this thing two days ago but "work" wouldn't die and 5-6 hours beyond when I wanted to start working on it I was finally able to and all I managed to do was glue in four bombs then put the thing back down. So... again today, my goal is exactly the same as the time I spoke about it... getting the wings fixed up and glued on.
Yeeesh!! Ok, when I glued all the wings together I noticed there was an "over bite" all along the leading edge of the wings. Not due to misalignment but due to bad casting... I didn't do the math but had I were, I imagine translated into full scale this "over hang" would wind up being about 2 feet. Un acceptable!! So I ground all that down with a file and sanding block and sanding paper and got to where I had to stop and run another bead of glue down the seam as filler. I think once it dries and I go back in for more sanding they'll be just fine!
That said, I thought the same thing was going on with the tail planes as well when I noticed the "over bite" on one of them, too. But, alas, they were actually propery casted and I merely got the alignment wrong. There're a couple guiding pins for each assembly and the ones closest to the fuselage I had to snap off leaving them things in a "scissor" type set up and I guess I just wasn't paying attention. Anyway, one turned out great, and the other was all caddy-wompas. I figured... you know... being so old maybe the stuff didn't weld too good and I can run my hobby knife through the seams and separate the halves and go back in again. I left some parts un glueed where the elevators sit so I started there and it worked well until I got to the areas with more glue coverage then the stuff started chipping off... anyway.. long story short I was left with this atrocity:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FSSXxBae.jpg&hash=5cdeab820610af51b55be97c4c11df2a914e2d1d)
This is after I rounded up all the shards and glued it all together and clamped it awhile. I *THINK* these are univerals and it doesn't matter which side you glue the on, if so, this area will definitely be on the bottom facing the ground. All this raised detail and rivets and stuff..... I ain't no good at rescribing and I ain't got not rivet thingy. I suppose I could make it happen but I'd rather just section off the end, sand it smooth, then make the other side look the same. Like a Cuban mod or something.. maybe they had to repair it or something and used a different method. So no biggy!! Still... I wish I hadn't made these series of mistakes. And still, in the end, I'm going to have to file the hell out of it and I run the risk of going through all of the styrene on the inside part where the elevators go. I''d have to come back in with putty in that case, for sure. Yeesh. I'll have to pay more attention next time and not just assume.
Good stuff though, at least I'm making progress and still having fun! I do believe I'm past the half way point on this one. Certainly past half way on construction, at least.
Can't do too much else right now as far as said construction, however, so my thoughts now turn to the nose glass and glazing. I suppose I could go ahead and paint that at any ol' time I wish so I think I'll try that next.
Since the fuselage is round and can be stretched by using plastic pipe that has the same diameter there's nothing to stop you from swapping the front and rear parts around or moving the wings to the rear and have the tail at the front if you prefer.
That sounds damn cool and I do believe I've seen some sort of Lancaster type looking thing with just that set up. This one will be "normal" however but I'm already wanting to see what it would look like... I have three more of these. . . . . ;) ;)
You could try converting one of them into the B-50 bomber.
Not too sure if there's a conversion kit available as the engines will need to be changed and the larger vertical tail fin fitted. The remote control gun turrets shouldn't be a problem to source.
Funny you mentioned that as I was entertaining that very idea not too long ago.
I have three more of these kits and one is reserved for being a legit, "historically accurate" B-29 but with the other two I'd like to do something different and B-50 was one idea. The more radical idea you proposed actually appeals to me quite a bit, too, but I need to hone my sawing and alteration skills on something smaller in the meantime... which I do have planned, mind you...... it will be my first attempt at a true kit bash and hack 'em up job. :lol: :lol: I'll just say for now that it involves an Me-163 comet that will be used, in it's entirety (minus an alteration to the cockpit area as mine is the weird two seater Komet) and then the fuselage and rear empanage of something else entirely. One plan is to have the tale planes be longer and forward swept, the other option is to have normal rear swept wings, but not tail planes, the full sized "main" wings. I can picture the shape of it in my mind and either way stands to look REALLY cool.....
Once this GB is done and I clear my bench a little bit I'm going to start work on it alongside an A-10 refurbish I have planned.
Good plan, I've got the two seater NAW-10.
I intend to use the engines on the Mach2 Sud Caravelle narrow-bodied airliner.
I'll probably replace them with a pair of Rolls-Royce Griffons or turboprops.
Quote from: McColm on April 08, 2017, 05:25:01 PM
You could try converting one of them into the B-50 bomber.
Not too sure if there's a conversion kit available as the engines will need to be changed and the larger vertical tail fin fitted. The remote control gun turrets shouldn't be a problem to source.
There was at one stage, originally by DB Models, but later taken over by Flightpath I expect.
I have the engine conversion that I'm not likely to use............ ;)
Might just have to cut a deal for them!! Do they come with the larger props as well I wonder?
Turrets no problem, I'm thinking of doing a weather one.... WB-50D. :mellow: :mellow: :mellow:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FATEgRfb.jpg&hash=bf2b784ccb524fbb926c81dde04bd37ba3de30f4)
Ain't she pretty? I like the colors. I've always been a fan of the white over grey ever since I saw it on a Galaxy.(actually looks a bit like a combo of NMF and light aircraft grey? ) The yellow bits and neat propellers are icing on the cake.
Now, the tail..... uhhh.... I'd have to look into that. Is it bigger in all dimensions or just merely a bit taller, etc? Might be easy to add to the existing tail with the kit or might not...
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 09, 2017, 10:17:55 AM
Might just have to cut a deal for them!! Do they come with the larger props as well I wonder?
Are they larger on a B-50?
The conversion comes with all four engines and the extended fairings behind them, 4 x little spinners (?), one inscrutable bit of resin fairing, a clear vacform blister
AND THE FIN! The instruction don't mention all of the bits, par for the course for DB Conversions sadly, but the resin is superb, as usual withn their stuff.
OH now I have to have it. lol All I'd have to do is come up with the fuel tanks and little widgets that go on top of the plane (weather data collection milarkey).
Yeah! According to wiki, "Revisions to the B-50 (from its predecessor B-29) would boost top speed to just under 400 mph (644 km/h). Changes included:
More powerful engines
Redesigned engine nacelles and engine mounts
Enlarged vertical tail and rudder (to maintain adequate yaw control during engine-out conditions)
Reinforced wing structure (required due to increased engine mass, larger gyroscopic forces from larger propellers, greater fuel load, and revised landing gear loading)
Revised routing for engine gases (cooling, intake, exhaust and intercooler ducts; also oil lines)
Upgraded remote turret fire-control equipment
Landing gear strengthened and takeoff weight increased from 133,500 lb / 60,555 kg to 173,000 lb / 78,471 kg
Increased fuel capacity with underwing fuel tanks being added.[14]
Improvements to flight control systems (the B-29 was difficult to fly; with increased weights the B-50 would have been more so).
Nose wheel steering rather than a castering nose wheel as on the B-29"
They's big ol fat blades and don't taper toward the end like the 29's:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F2QqivOw.jpg&hash=6a8503df16793d0df13cbf4914ac9b05f854c3f8)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FZTuygsU.jpg&hash=f9d09ca96da6a66713417d99a4206fe7f537e15e)
Look at the twist on those blades! It's pretty much horizontal on this one (below)...
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F6mmqvrQ.jpg&hash=f9fc2a99dc71fe75aa28735476d0def963567c09)
Then there's this from this handy page that talks about the differences http://www.b29-superfortress.com/b50-superfortress.htm :
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F1KuPFSi.jpg&hash=192bac185a96400b08267ee35f168b1b84d1a58c) Yet another one different from the three above. These almost look like Hercules blades...
PM inbound then.
There was a proposal for a super heavy weight B-29 fore runner to the B-50. This had a stretched fuselage to carry more bombs and additional landing gear (2 on the outer engines). Stretched wings.
Never got passed the drawing board.
Although the Search and Rescue variant with the lifeboat carried in the front bomb bay does look cool.
Roger, Kit. :thumbsup:
The SAR bit sounds cool .... now... I had no idea that one existed!! Sounds akin to the B-17 one with the boat strapped to the bottom.... I've entertained thoughts of building that one. I swear there was a kit for it already or.... something? Maybe I was dreaming, it was quite awhile ago when I looked at it.
Seems like the 29 was too big and ... gainly to be a SAR bird. :lol: I don't imagine they made too many rescues with it. I guess this was the era of desperately trying to find roles for these obsolete things. Not counting all the stuff we simply left over seas, we had a lot of surplus and I can't imagine anyone relished the thought of simply letting it rot or scrapping what for the most part were good fleets of vehicles and aircraft.
There was a B-50D made by Academy in 1991 https://www.scalemates.com/kits/158464-academy-minicraft-2112-boeing-b-50d-superfortress
and DB resin did do a conversion set for a KB-50 and Cobra did a 1/72 C-97 & KC-97 Detail set which corrected the engines for the Academy -97 kits as its says on the packaging but I don;t know if the engines were the same between the -50 and -97 to say if they will be any help. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/150097-cobra-company-72009-c-kc-97-tanker-detail-set
Gondor
I think I have the engine conversions and the fin taken care of with the stuff Kit has... I just need to find a solution to finding the props. I'm not at the point where I can scratch build them myself yet... too much going on... I'd have to widen the ones I have while also getting the pitch correct which would be a nightmare. I could probably do the widening but not the "twist." That said, I think I'm ready to take on the challenge of scratchbuilding the all the weather data collection stuff and filling in the holes where turrets used to be and whatever needs done to the bomb bay. I have no idea whether they simply left the bomb bay completely alone or if they made the bottom smooth.... I don't imagine they would do away with the doors because it would make loading weather crap inside much easier... but I simply don't know. I need a good "walk around."
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 10, 2017, 05:39:44 AMI have no idea whether they simply left the bomb bay completely alone or if they made the bottom smooth
Looks like the WB-50D at Dayton still has a bomb bay-
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/WB-50D.JPG)
Decals are not a problem for a WB-50 as Xtradecal did them https://www.scalemates.com/kits/993447-xtradecal-x032-72-kb-29-vb-29-wb-50-d
I found a write up of a conversion http://modelingmadness.com/review/korean/us/usaf/cjab50.htm which reminded me that I have a vac-form KC-97 in the stash which your welcome to have along with the engines from the Academy KC-97 kit, if I can find them, as I have the Cobra conversion engines to use. I will keep the Jet engines if you don't mind though but your welcome to the rest of the vac-form kit for a small fee plus postage.
Gondor
Ahh yes, that it does! Thanks. That helps matters but now I see the black bubble thing there that I'll have to build. Shouldn't be a problem.
I bet once I get my hands on a series of really good walk around photos I'll be finding all sorts of knobs, bumps, and doo-hickeys..
There is always this option:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1214.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fcc496%2FBedsbiker%2FTU4_zps98x2jvw6.jpg&hash=8bf1a1b346ff14e095a4cd5f63462d16af4e5527)
Just a quick observation that it looks like the the photo the B-50 #372 at the Pima museum looks like the propellors are in the feathered position- so don't use that as a reference for normal blade angle or "twist". All the other photos above seem to be in a normal flight position. Agree that the B-29 and B-29 props are different, but may be "close enough" for modeling. Like Gondor says, the C-97 and other airplanes using the 4360 might be a good source for B-50 engines/nacelles/props.
Also those squared off tips in the one black and white photo do look similar to C-130 props. Curious....
Quote from: sandiego89 on April 12, 2017, 03:16:36 PM
Also those squared off tips in the one black and white photo do look similar to C-130 props. Curious....
C-130 props have square tips where as the B-29/C-97 family of aircraft have rounded tips to their props.
I did find my spares for the B-29/C-97 family of aircraft. I have two nacelles for the B-50/C-97 and their engines and propellers as the other two are in a box somewhere destined for a conversion/whiff I had in mind but have forgotten what and where the parts are :-\ :banghead:
There are a couple of the B-50 style nose glass's in the box as well as a few other parts too, if anyone wants.
Gondor
Before I head off to work here and I want to reply to everyone properly, so I'll be back later, but I just wanted to stop and say, YES, I want everything you can load me up with. Especially the nose glass. Well, aside from what I have already and don't need. I have the engine conversions coming from Kit along with the new tail/rudder bit and the spinners and stuff but I still need things like prop blades, the aforementioned nose glass piece, etc. I'll try to start getting together a list of stuff I still need.
Also, man, I sure am glad all yous guys are showing up and we're having fun conversation here!! How cool is this?! I love the people here.
Thanks for the tip on the prop angle stuff!! I was wondering about that.. I know variable angle is a thing and I was hoping that was the case in that paricular instance although I hadnt planned on the using that photo as ref, just the ones from the AF museum.
I found some aeroclub props that "look" the part:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FQtPZnZv.jpg&hash=051b4d28b64d6d306bb9c528353992aa9ba5cc6c)
14' diameter... I just need to figure out what the diameter of the B-50 props are and if close enough I need to email them and check for availability. As much as I'd like to use the B-29 props that came with the kit they don't look remotely correct and even my lax standards won't allow me to use them. I suppose worse comes to worse I can try extending them with plastic card. I imagine if I were to be patient and concentrate I could cut a series of extensions to glue on and then sand everything smooth. Might actually be good practice for scratching building but I'd rather avoid it all to be honest!!!
Catch you alls later! :laugh:
Quote from: Leading Observer on April 12, 2017, 12:11:28 PM
There is always this option:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1214.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fcc496%2FBedsbiker%2FTU4_zps98x2jvw6.jpg&hash=8bf1a1b346ff14e095a4cd5f63462d16af4e5527)
Never seen that before, at least I don't think I have.
Nice looking airplane :thumbsup:
Quote from: NARSES2 on April 13, 2017, 06:27:24 AM
Quote from: Leading Observer on April 12, 2017, 12:11:28 PM
There is always this option:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1214.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fcc496%2FBedsbiker%2FTU4_zps98x2jvw6.jpg&hash=8bf1a1b346ff14e095a4cd5f63462d16af4e5527)
Never seen that before, at least I don't think I have.
Nice looking airplane :thumbsup:
It's a Chinese Turboprop Tu-4
Yeah that's pretty sweet! I like the contraptions hanging from the wings!!
Let's see here.. I have 4 of these things... One is the Tu-4. One will be the WD-40.. err. uuhh.... WB-50D......... One is destined to be a legit B-29 so that leaves one slot open and I rather like the looks of this so it's definitely in the running! Great suggestion, L.O.!
0
All this talk has me excited to get back to work on THIS one.. I hope I can today. I have a small lawn business disaster on my hands (rained out and some of my stuff is breaking down! ) so in between downpours I'll be working on that milarkey but I'd like to settle in for a few hours of modeling if I can. :laugh:
I have to fix the mangled tail plane and then I can glue on the main wings.. in fact, I'll do the mains first so that stuff can "set up." I'll have to set the fus halves flat and prop the stuff against a wall or something.
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 13, 2017, 09:43:44 AM
Yeah that's pretty sweet! I like the contraptions hanging from the wings!!
Those are reverse engineered Ryan Firebee drones, used by the USAF for unmanned reconnaissance and as a target.
Apparently the Chinese got hold of some that had come down during the Viet Nam business and built their own versions, calling them the Wu Zhen..... :o
WD-40 with skis Arctic 'Monkeys' Patrol aircraft with the AN/APS-20 radar in a ventral radome fixed to the forward bomb bay and a pair of auxiliary jet engines under each wing.
The USNavy used B-29's as picket AEW platforms until the EC-121 Constellation Warning Star entered service with the USAF and USNavy.
^ ;D ;D
"I be writing checks my modeling skills can't cash." ;D ;D ;D I'll leave the WD-40 up you, good buddy!
Quote from: PR19_Kit on April 13, 2017, 11:16:54 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 13, 2017, 09:43:44 AM
Yeah that's pretty sweet! I like the contraptions hanging from the wings!!
Those are reverse engineered Ryan Firebee drones, used by the USAF for unmanned reconnaissance and as a target.
Apparently the Chinese got hold of some that had come down during the Viet Nam business and built their own versions, calling them the Wu Zhen..... :o
I thought they looked familiar! I saw an Italeri 1/48 Hercules kit that comes with 'em. Real flashy lookin. C-130 Director.
I wonder if they could be had in 1/72.
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 13, 2017, 01:32:41 PM
Quote from: PR19_Kit on April 13, 2017, 11:16:54 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 13, 2017, 09:43:44 AM
Yeah that's pretty sweet! I like the contraptions hanging from the wings!!
Those are reverse engineered Ryan Firebee drones, used by the USAF for unmanned reconnaissance and as a target.
Apparently the Chinese got hold of some that had come down during the Viet Nam business and built their own versions, calling them the Wu Zhen..... :o
I thought they looked familiar! I saw an Italeri 1/48 Hercules kit that comes with 'em. Real flashy lookin. C-130 Director.
I wonder if they could be had in 1/72.
Italeri did the same pairing in 1/72 too, but it's OOP now AFAIK.
But Belcher Bits do the Firebee in resin. :thumbsup:
See here:- http://www.belcherbits.com/lines/172conv/bl6.htm (http://www.belcherbits.com/lines/172conv/bl6.htm)
Ah ha!! Very nice!! Comes with a pair! That's not a bad price for a pair of them.
Good looking out. Wow, I'm on my way to having a hell of a decent small collection of "29" variants. :laugh: Just gotta build 'em all. ;D
I'm up to the task. I can't wait to try it. I'll never learn to really kit bash and scratch and mod things until I just jump in there and do it. :thumbsup:
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 13, 2017, 02:39:01 PM
I'll never learn to really kit bash and scratch and mod things until I just jump in there and do it. :thumbsup:
That's how we all started Brad, go for it. :thumbsup:
Apparently the Tu-4 was in service with China for some time with several converted to "Turbo Bull" configuration in the 1970's using the local version of the AJ-20K engines. One aircraft was modified to carry Chinese copies of the Ryan BQM-34A Firebee while another was converted into an AWACS aircraft. LINK (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KJ-1_AEWC)
There has been a conversion set of the latter aircraft made by Cutting Edge in both 1/48 and 1/72 but they are rather rare and command quite a price.
Gondor
Wings upon fuselage havles. . . .. .
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FHshb3u3.jpg%3F1&hash=3b22f0fea945792f1af80d0098de4f0b9621bf78)
This part went well. Next up, gluing in the interior stuff. :mellow: :lol:
Quote from: Gondor on April 13, 2017, 04:24:33 PM
Apparently the Tu-4 was in service with China for some time with several converted to "Turbo Bull" configuration in the 1970's using the local version of the AJ-20K engines. One aircraft was modified to carry Chinese copies of the Ryan BQM-34A Firebee while another was converted into an AWACS aircraft. LINK (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KJ-1_AEWC)
There has been a conversion set of the latter aircraft made by Cutting Edge in both 1/48 and 1/72 but they are rather rare and command quite a price.
Gondor
Ooooh yeah! I forgot about the AWACS one! I might like that one even better than the drone ship.
You could use parts from the Hasegawa Grumman E-2 Hawkeye to make the rotodome but the stand will need extra rigging. Not too sure where you would get the engines from, you might kitbash them or use the An-12 Cub. There are other lumps and bumps to add.
Quote from: McColm on April 13, 2017, 06:56:28 PM
You could use parts from the Hasegawa Grumman E-2 Hawkeye to make the rotodome but the stand will need extra rigging. Not too sure where you would get the engines from, you might kitbash them or use the An-12 Cub. There are other lumps and bumps to add.
The E-2 rotodome is the wrong shape as the Chinese one is much thicker. The engines are different from their soviet counterparts having a slimmer and longer cowling to the engines.
Gondor
The Chinese rotodome is more like the one on the 'Moss', but even that wouldn't really be thick enough.
Oh man, oh man.... I made a critical error whilst gluing the wings on. One went on fine but the other....
I didn't trim some flash from the insert tabs that go into the fuselage. I didn't think it would matter. I was paying more attention to the join and the angle and overall look and completely missed that the entire wing is sitting too far aft. It's bad. It's because of that flash.. I should have ground it off.
Lesson learned for next time, though; I'm still learning and this is a damn good learning experience. I usually file that stuff away anyway to ensure a good fit but didn't think it was necessary on these.. boy was I wrong!! Next time, I'll pay more attention. And, yes, I even did multiple test fits and dry runs before glue. I simply screwed up, nothing else to it. Not sure how I missed it but I did!
Now what to do??? Somehow saw the wing back off?? I tried something similar on the tail planes and we saw what happened there.... I glued it pretty well but I'm going to try to somehow dislodge it (didn't work) . Barring that, I'll have to file down the wing root area on the fuselage in order to have it match up with the wing (this should work) . Overall, it will look fine, but... damn, it's a lot more work to do! (actually, not too much I think after seeing the other side)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FHMiXVd8.jpg&hash=3f9bdf33545bd655e762e0c72297ab4fb6eef092)
So disappointing. It's been days since I've been able to work on anything and I decided to sit down and start gluing the innards in and saw this... now, I'm back to a dead stop...
Here's the thing, though, it's not ALL me... the difference at the leading edge of the wing (pictured) is greater than the difference at the trailing edge and now looking at the other wing that I got right... I split the difference perfectly and there's STILL a difference on each end. SO, with a bit of "whittling" I can get them matched up pretty well. :lol: The wings aren't as wide as the wing roots on the fuselage halves.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FaQYnZfq.jpg&hash=3f9563f7656fc91df8cd9cef3f41699cc8902bdd)
Bad angle (with the angle and the shadow, it looks deceiving, but trust me, there's an equal amount of space left over at the front and also the back of the wing where it joins) , but see what I mean? Even if I were to line the other wing up "better," it would still not be as wide as the wing roots. So.. I feel better about my mistake and it's easier to fix. :mellow:
There's a similar problem with the 1/72 Academy model. One wing assembles perfectly whilst on the other there's a big gap. Fortunately with the Academy kits there are two spars that slide into two slits on the fuselage, this giving more wing support.
This is not uncommon in the older kits especially on the Revell Dassault Breguet Br1150 Atlantic.
Thanks for that, man. Having slept on it and now knowing this I think I'll not fuss over the problem too much. It really doesn't look too bad until you start taking a magnifying glass to the thing. When I go to putty the seams I'll just build up in that area and taper it and have it all blended it. :lol:
Doesn't look that bad to me :thumbsup: I love big models !
:wub:
Put it down to the conversion from US units and standards sizes to Soviet units and standard sizes when they back engineered the B29s.
Maybe the comrades working on the fuselage rounded up while those on the wings rounded down?
Or maybe its what happens if you fit B29 wings onto a Tu4?
Quote from: Captain Canada on April 23, 2017, 07:05:00 AM
Doesn't look that bad to me :thumbsup: I love big models !
:wub:
Thanks buddy!! Stay tuned, I'm due to have it glued together at some point this week and we'll have a legit airframe going!
Quote from: zenrat on April 24, 2017, 04:49:33 AM
Put it down to the conversion from US units and standards sizes to Soviet units and standard sizes when they back engineered the B29s.
Maybe the comrades working on the fuselage rounded up while those on the wings rounded down?
Or maybe its what happens if you fit B29 wings onto a Tu4?
Brilliant! I'm rolling with this. A couple of "comrades" probably got turned into goulash over the incident but it is what it is and still is airworthy. Maybe this is why Kruschev gave it away... lol
Need some guidance.
Do I need to fill in this gap at the trailing edge of the wings?
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FqiXo2Pw.jpg&hash=c9482853992e0b77d698148e5138f6fe0a919a08)
Have a look here (http://www.arcair.com/awa01/001-100/awa059-B-29/00b.shtm) as it looks as if you don;t have the undercarriage fairings in place yet, the ends of which may fill the gap if I remember correctly.
Saying that its been years and years since I looked an the ancient Airfix kit so I may be miss-identifying the parts breakdown a little.
Gondor
Nice! I don't have to:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FPf6QyHQ.jpg&hash=fa94aa267fcb94f10de0d3f12671e61704fa3ecf)
Thanks, Alastair! Saved me quite a bit of work there. (not the least of which was looking it up myself... :rolleyes: :angel: ) ;D
So all I have to do is fix up the wing roots and I'm back on track.
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 24, 2017, 03:09:40 PM
Nice! I don't have to:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FPf6QyHQ.jpg&hash=fa94aa267fcb94f10de0d3f12671e61704fa3ecf)
Thanks, Alastair! Saved me quite a bit of work there. (not the least of which was looking it up myself... :rolleyes: :angel: ) ;D
So all I have to do is fix up the wing roots and I'm back on track.
That's an outer engine. What you asked about
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 24, 2017, 02:42:59 PM
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FqiXo2Pw.jpg&hash=c9482853992e0b77d698148e5138f6fe0a919a08)
Is at the rear of the wing behind the inner engine.
Gondor
I was just wondering about that big gap at the trailing edge of the wing:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgZeo65T.jpg&hash=960bbb7e9b9887e0cb2a0ae5f6a1a85ab803bf8e)
Seems like I'm good to go!
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FqR6lzPL.jpg&hash=722cb316a164608237e275655c7a51b666592ce5)
:lol:
I think your missing the point Brad.
According to the Instructions for the kit, that gap should be filled by the rear of parts 162 & 163 or parts 164 & 165 depending on which pair are used for which side. These parts form the sides of the undercarriage bay as I said earlier.
The pictures you posted are, I will agree are both of the trailing edge of the wing, however they are different areas of the trailing edge of the wing!
Gondor
The part should look like a V-shape from the top and a cone shape to fit flush with the main undercarriage landing gear housing.
Guys, I'm not talking about the undercarriage stuff at all. That glues in later... of course I'm not worried about a hole created by something not glued on yet; ;D I'm talking about that long gap there at the back of the wing (that's why I circled the whole long gap, not just the missing part where the parts glue on later)...It's the top of the wing, toward the rear, starboard wing... it's in all the pictures, it's just the picture I used is toward the outside of the wing closer to the aileron instead of like the picture of my kit which is framed closer to the fuselage but that is defintely, without a doubt the same gap.
Top of the wing, at the rear, behing the engines, I took the liberty of mashing two images into one:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FfM1cjG0.jpg&hash=8c58f656bd281927db05a3f943d8760a9f4376c7)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgZeo65T.jpg&hash=960bbb7e9b9887e0cb2a0ae5f6a1a85ab803bf8e)
That's definitely the same part of the wing, apparenty the plane was designed that way. I'm glad... that means I don't have to fill it in like I'm doing on the wing roots. :lol:
Looks like you are missing the back end of the undercarriage fairing to me
Quote from: TheChronicOne on April 25, 2017, 02:46:20 PM
Guys, I'm not talking about the undercarriage stuff at all. That glues in later... of course I'm not worried about a hole created by something not glued on yet; ;D I'm talking about that long gap there at the back of the wing (that's why I circled the whole long gap, not just the missing part where the parts glue on later)...It's the top of the wing, toward the rear, starboard wing... it's in all the pictures, it's just the picture I used is toward the outside of the wing closer to the aileron instead of like the picture of my kit which is framed closer to the fuselage but that is defintely, without a doubt the same gap.
Top of the wing, at the rear, behing the engines, I took the liberty of mashing two images into one:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FfM1cjG0.jpg&hash=8c58f656bd281927db05a3f943d8760a9f4376c7)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgZeo65T.jpg&hash=960bbb7e9b9887e0cb2a0ae5f6a1a85ab803bf8e)
That's definitely the same part of the wing, apparenty the plane was designed that way. I'm glad... that means I don't have to fill it in like I'm doing on the wing roots. :lol:
You are correct that you do not need to fill that in as it represents the forward top edge of the flaps. Took a bit of working out what you were asking about but we all got there in the end :thumbsup:
Gondor
The flaps, huh!! I could have probably figured that out by looking at the bottom of the wing. woops. :banghead: lol I see down there, now, that the panel lines line up with the stuff on top. This nasty croup crap I have makes it more difficult to think. :o People keep telling me to go to the doctor but I can't afford the copay or prescripstions so I'm goging to tough it out at least until next week.
Every once in awhile I come across this type of thing..... something that looks like a big seam needing filled and it turns out it is intentional. Last time was on a Romulan Warbird.
Good news on other fronts!! I should be able to devote some time to this today. Only one lawn today then should be home around noon or 1.
What I got done last time, same for other wing (it's not much, but any steps forward are ones in the right direction!! ) :
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FKKQMyha.jpg&hash=b7bb4549a3f0b119650f3f342d89f248e621feb8)
Taped up things so I won't grind off the surface detail when I sand.... and put the first "pass" of filler in the wing seams. Putting another on today then I'll either set this down and start decaling my Tucano (blog thread) or start gluing the guts into this thing and cleaning up the joinging surfaces. There's still left over from the sprues that need to be hacked off, etc.
I need to put weight in the nose of this contraption, correct?? I'll have to dig out my pellets. I found a bunch once and I don't have a pellet gun (just a BB gun, that doesn't shoot this calibre and style) so I'll just throw them into models. ;D Various small repairs also need done as I popped out half the bombs and a couple bay doors while handling the thing.
Until next time!
Yes you need nose weight. Its difficult to get enough into the airframe forward enough due to the glass nose. Start with adding weight around the nose wheel bay and behind the engines. Not much space where you really need it other than the bomb bays which you are having open so that's a no-go area weight as well.
Don't forget that the front upper turret needs to have some semblance of the workings hanging down inside the cabin. Doing so also gives somewhere to hide more weight.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi776.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fyy47%2FGondor44%2FB-29-1_zpstkdfcwiy.jpg&hash=246ffb232a57ee7be35c5a668ad2f3272936aee9) (http://s776.photobucket.com/user/Gondor44/media/B-29-1_zpstkdfcwiy.jpg.html)
I hope the above picture helps show you what I mean. Lots of people forget about the large "dustbin" like workings of the upper turrets which hang down into the crew spaces which for the forward one is a pity with all that glazing there.
Gondor
Thanks, brotha!! Good info. I love having knowledgeable people to help me along! This is quite the build for a novice like me still new back to the hobby. I appreciate it!
I'll add the weight in like you said so I don't have that mess spilling into the cockpit. I found my lead pellets and they're nice and small so I should be able to cram into the pertinent spaces.
I see what you mean about the "dust bin." My little turrets are of a fashion that the lower part is definitely there, but, it sits in the midst of a platform type apparatus (that allows the turret to spin around) that sits inside a groove on the inside of the fuselage. The "platform" isn't by any means accurate and then even if I removed it, the dust bin area is the wrong shape. I'm thinking that it's far enough back that it will be OK.. when one peers inside through the glazing, they'll still see the "stuff" hanging down and hopefully won't be too glaring of an inaccuracy involving that platform..
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FQUMuGZX.jpg&hash=d2e4890672693a4158915032cd57ff439c6934a3)
The front upper turret assembly.
I'll do a series of test fits and "looking at" this stuff before I come to a conclusion. Right now, I have all the stuff sitting and drying up from gluing all the bombs and stuff back in and that second pass of filler.
I DID glue in the two "pressure cap" bulkheads or whatever the hell they're called on either sides of the bomb bays with the crew tunnel in between. Other than that, nothing else done... had to let the stuff sit to dry then I've been back fighting the damned Tucano.. :banghead:
That turret is typical of Airfix from the mid 1960's, in the case of their B-29 Scalemates says that it's from 1966. In those days a kit was as much a toy with several toy like features than a replica of an aircraft. For example, the toy like features of your kit include, moving propellers, rudder, elevators, ailerons and bomb bay doors as well as the turrets. The technology of the time also dictated how such moving parts worked which resulted in the "shelf" you talked about and also the "T" hinges on the bomb bay doors, both of which are "engineering solutions" of their day rather than true representations of the real aircraft, but at that time perfectly acceptable.
Gondor
Your fairing around the turret and floor should be just fine visually. And as long as it does not interfere with the nose gear bay or the fuselage mating you should be good to go. Someone would have to be really looking to notice anything "off".
With the lead fishing shot they can move around a bit if you are not careful. You don't want it to wiggle out, so you may want to create a cubby with scrap piece of sheet styrene and glue them shut. The fairing around the turret is a great place for extra weight. The B-29 is a real tail sitter so cram weight where ever you can. As with any fulcrum closer to the front is better. Last resort is a stand, which were used in real life, but it does look better with out the kick stand.
And file flats on the bottom of the main gear tyres, it's amazing just how much that helps in critical tail sitting cases.
Thanks, y'all!! Loving the help and advice and stuff.
I have a good method for my lead weights... I fill in with PVA and while it won't really "attach" worth a damn to the styrene it'll surely solidify around all the weight and make a "glob" wherever I put it that stays silent and stays put. It works well and the PVA itself adds that much more weight.
Will definitely flatten the tires a bit. I did that once before on my 1/72 Beechcraft Bonanza but had forgotten all about that particular method. Thanks!
And yeah buddy, woooo, I've been "walking a line" on this one deciding upon what things to try to make "more accurate" and what things I genuinely want to leave original as respect to the kit and those that built them like this back in the day.... with all the chintzy moving parts and such... like the bomb bay doors... the way they hang there is so utterly wrong but then again, I want them open so I'll just leave them be. Of course, in other areas like the cockpit, I tried to make things better. It's a dance of sorts.. ;D ;D In fact, just this afternoon got to looking at the tail gun area and the kit calls for simply leave the whole area wide open where the guns stick out.... You could just look right in and see the gunner and the inside of the plane. Well, there'll be none of that.. I'm thinking of taking a tiny patch of black cloth, cutting a slit into it, and cramming it in there to cover it all up and have it look much better.
ANYWAY!! It's been awhile but I actually got a lot of decent work done on this today!
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FGGsHJPt.jpg&hash=113c1d880974847b7f390aa053ed90fde96bafb3)
Lots of the interior junk glued in and I've also done numerous other things such as gluing some parts of the radial engine workings together, filing and sanding away burrs and imperfections, painting the engine cowlings (decided upon green) and a few other things I'm forgetting. I'm actually getting really close now to closing up the fuselage.
At this stage I'm concentrating on finishing up painting the engine cowlings and getting them together then I need to stop and paint the rudder white and either gloss it or Future it so can apply the Cuban fin flash. I need to get this done sooner than later because I can't close up the fud halves without it being in place.
But anyway... I've had a good day of modeling finally.... it's been fun even with the set backs and having a "worry free" day to do this and clear my mind has been a good thing for sure. :lol:
I sometimes cheat when it comes to tail-sitters. I use a clear tube of plastic hidden by the main landing gear. Either glued to the lower fuselage or drilled so the tube can be removed during transit.
I usually avoid building straight from the box and rearrange the landing gear, so there's a tail wheel instead of a nose wheel.
I like my weights to rattle a bit. It freaks out people who pick up my builds.
Quote from: zenrat on April 30, 2017, 01:36:26 AM
I like my weights to rattle a bit. It freaks out people who pick up my builds.
;D ;D ;D
Good stuff... ;D
Not much of an update, but, it's pretty important.
I'm going to try to apply the fin flash transfers to the rudder. I have some printed transfers I bought online. I tried a couple on my test bed plane and they were trying to shatter. Granted, many of the areas of the sheets are less fragmented than others and I intentionally chose the most fragmented roundels on the sheet. The rest shouldn't be as bad, but, I elected to to throw a couple of mist coats of clear on them. My worry is that I put too much clear and the things won't release from the sheet. I recently cleared a sheet for my Tucano and all it did was make a solid piece that hardly no amount of coaxing would have the transfers come loose. I fought and prodded and managed two tiny little decals then threw everything else in the trash.
I hope like hell I don't have two entire sheets of....... fancy decorations that will just sit there and laugh at me as I try to get them to release from the paper.
We'll see... If this jive don't work then I need to come up with some sort of alternate plan involving transfers from the stash and masking/painting.
Just to prove I'm still chugging ahead!
They're sitting atop a box of some other stuff but here are the engine cowlings and props and stuff. I think they look pretty good!
I wanted to paint the cowlings a different color for... whatever reasons.. safety maybe for the ground crew, but didn't want to make such a stark difference between the overall scheme (as if I went with red). Don't judge the fin thingies at the rear too harshly... I'd like to come back in and darken the "gaps" to make them look better but this is a good start.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FOUBgtpM.jpg&hash=e7181104a0921e7005f9c380e2a059beefdaa292)
They look Christmassy especially on that card lol
:thumbsup:
Quote from: Captain Canada on May 05, 2017, 10:08:35 AM
They look Christmassy especially on that card lol
:thumbsup:
;D ;D ;D
Right you are!! And ol' Afro Santa there definitely seems pleased! :laugh: :laugh:
Going to try that fin flash transfer today... God I hope it works because it's too late in the game to source more or probably even attempt painting it free hand as I haven't even gotten the fud halves together yet... . ..
Cuban rudder flashes are blue & white horizontal stripes with a red triangle within which there is a white star.
All fairly easilly paintable with masking (thin tape needed mind) apart from the star which could be cut from other decals.
That's how I did this.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi82%2Fgavinmaillardet%2FPDRV%2FMiG%252021s%2FMiG%252021%252011-3%25204_zpsi29gbjk7.jpg&hash=01a59cd32139f51b4c4601930cc1a26ec0586354) (http://s70.photobucket.com/user/gavinmaillardet/media/PDRV/MiG%2021s/MiG%2021%2011-3%204_zpsi29gbjk7.jpg.html)
Damn that's cool.... what we have here... some Viggen wings on a MiG 21 body? Sweet!
Yeah, I just remembered my initial plans which were to mask for the triangle and stripes and then steel a star from a US roundel. Pretty sure I could manage that but then the actual roundels... are... round... and I'm not sure how to go about masking a circle? I was thinking of folding the tape in half, drawig a half circle on it, and cutting it out, then unfold the tape and it SHOULD make a circle... is this about right?
In other news... probably, again, won't get any work on this done because of an emergency irrigation leak at the new contract place.. gotta jump on that and make a few hundred. This pays better than picking up garbage. ;D Probably take all day.
Quote from: TheChronicOne on May 06, 2017, 10:28:01 AM
Damn that's cool.... what we have here... some Viggen wings on a MiG 21 body? Sweet!...
http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,41849.msg723706.html#msg723706
For the white star I think I printed one with a red border onto white decal paper. I then didn't have to cut it out too neatly as the red was hidden by being on red paint.
Jeeze... the further into trimming and trying to get this transfers to work the more I'm thinking I'd rather just mask and paint! The "cut outs" where the rudder hinges, etc, and other minor discrepencies.. I'm just going to save these fin flash stuff for some other project and get to masking.
Now, the actual roundels I'll try to use from the transfer sheets but if they wind up not working, I have a back up plan for that, too... we'll just have to see.
I like Fred's method of having white stars bordered with red but I ain't set up to print my own stuff yet (getting close.. Ihave a printer, ink, and bought a sheet I just haven't gotten that project off the ground yet.. )so what I can do is cut the stars from some of this fin flash to use and everything should be alright.. I hope.
Got a lot done yesterday. Like... 4-5 hours worth. Still a long way to go but.... maybe I'll make the deadline.
Got all the masking and paint work done on the rudder. Just need to try to get stars on there now.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FaGEh83U.jpg%3F1&hash=e10919c63692306197c0154a16fad7be41913112)
:laugh:
Just tried a star from the printed sheet.
The red washed away! It left me with a fat, bulged star. Good news is the transfers will release from the paper. Next time, I'll try my best to cut the star out exactly as it is shaped. If I can do it once, then once again, my rudder will be good to go.
After that we're on to joining the fuselage halves and gluing the gear bay nacelle thingines together. I need to take a better look at the wing roots as well. I puttied the hell out of them and then sanded them quite a bit. I'm not expecting perfection but then again won't tolerate blatantly mishapen wing-rootery!!! ;D ;D
:thumbsup:
Nice work ! I guess you should worry more often, seems to work :thumbsup:
I think so! I either need to worry more... orrrr..... worry less? lol?
And I always seem to get a lot done when there's only a day left to go, as well. Looks like that's what will be happening with this one again just like the last 2 group builds... working on everything up to the last minute and barely getting finished. But, hey, whatever works, right?! :mellow: :lol:
Good work! I am rooting for you to end your build.
Ahem: Zenrat, on your aircraft: RSCAF ? Royal Socialist Cuban Air Force? :o
République Socialiste Canadienne Air Force.
Thanks, Mr. Creole Wolfie...
Good news! I got some work done yesterday. All of the major construction, aside from gluing the engings to the nacelles and nacelles to the wings, is done! Including closing up the fuselage halves. I store the plane on the floor.
Today will be sanding seams and then gluing those engines and nacelles all up and then I guess I can start painting. Decided to skip priming to save time.
I'll have some pics by the end of today of what will look like a finished model. Aside from the fin flash and tiny bits of color here and there where I painted thing aghead of time and engine cowls, it's all the silver of the plastic but the bit done may have it looking like it was deisgned that way, we'll see. I just know I want to capture that moment on "film" before I move on because might look neat!
EDIT: Too early and coffee hasn't kicked in... English skills are suffering... just re-read it a couple times. ;D
"Use Future to set decals, blah blah! It works great and makes them conform!!!" They said... yeah... all it did was melt and turn my paint into goo.... :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :angry:
I even managed to cut the stars out nice and crisp... I'll have to go back in and paint it again but it'll never look right. Oh well. Damn paint residue got on the star, too... but whatta ya gonna do?! I wanted to try it and see what the hype was all about. Maybe you can't use Future on acrylics?? Or the brand of them that I use?? I've noticed this crap before... This stuff would make a great paint remover!
Note to self... mere hours before a deadline is NOT the time for experiments and trying new techniques. :rolleyes:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F1xnn8sl.jpg&hash=204966871778174a657ba8cf45a0cf27b0741d65)
Alright.... broke out the ol fine hair stick and hand painted on this mess until it looked good again. It's not "flat" or "smooth" but it sure looks decent from more than a foot away so 'm happy!! Repair went well if you ask me. (Other side looks great.. used plain water and it went without a hitch..)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FgGDLt0x.jpg&hash=0f1a215eeac7e3fdd4f40814a424f052babf65d9)
Stuff looks skewed, but it isn't.. there's a bit of "faceting" going on here.
Otherr work I'm doing is smoothing seams. I've done all the ones on the engine pylons and the gear bays and also the belly of the craft. All that remains is to sand and file away the all important "main" seam down the middle of the top. Might take 20 minutes then I can get back to gluing!!!!! :laugh:
Yeah, don't use Future over acrylic paint without something else as a barrier.
I know that (I discovered it the same way you did - but on a model car). I should have told you although i'm not sure if I knew you were planning to use it or if I would have remembered you use acrylics if I did.
:unsure:
Still, your save looks OK. :thumbsup:
That Ikarus kit behind it looks interesting.
Quote from: zenrat on May 12, 2017, 03:35:52 AM
Yeah, don't use Future over acrylic paint without something else as a barrier.
I know that (I discovered it the same way you did - but on a model car). I should have told you although i'm not sure if I knew you were planning to use it or if I would have remembered you use acrylics if I did.
:unsure:
Still, your save looks OK. :thumbsup:
That Ikarus kit behind it looks interesting.
He heeeee! Yeah, I'm with you, Fred, I think the "fix" turned out a little better than I thought it would and over all quality is only slightly less than it would have been otherwise. I hate it when things go wrong but like it when I can fix them relatively easy!!
Oh boy, the pretty blue Ikarus Matica!! I'd never seen such a thing..... it's one of them weird planes I had to have when I saw it. Spent more than I normally would for a kit, but, less than I would expect for such a "rare" and oddball subject. A resin doo-dad of a Yugoslav plane from the 1950's. I plan to build it oob because I really like the way it looks. I'm a sucker for blue and white.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FzYdGZAt.jpg&hash=ea4ce1bff74a4ca8f19dc1cf417923380d2950fa)
This kit, for some reason, came with a little baggie stuffed full of bang seats. I have no idea what these ejection seats go to (damn sure don't go to this!) but I'm happy to have 'em. Dunno if they got placed in the box on accident or what (the type of baggie used is same as another in the kit so I dunno... )
Quote from: zenrat on May 12, 2017, 03:35:52 AM
Yeah, don't use Future over acrylic paint without something else as a barrier.
Really ? I use it over all of my acrylic paints and have had no problems whatsoever - touching wood. However I am aware the term "acrylic" can cover a multitude of different types of paint.
That rudder looks good :thumbsup:
Thanks! Probably the focal point of the build... I'm glad it turned out good.
This stuff I have... well.. it's generic polish. That might have something to do with it... it just doesn't work all too well, period. When I coat a whole model with it the finish is never consistent and, then, if I use too much or am too heavy handed... or use too much elbow grease, it strips paint. lol I've had to repaint portions of canopies, paint come off like on me rudder, etc. I suppose I could dip the canopies in the polish first THEN paint to solve that problem but still... this stuff definitely will eat away my acrylic if I'm not careful.
I've used the Aussie version of FutureTM over acrylics (Tamiya) with no real issues using the old hairy stick. Although I found it best to give the paint 4 to 7 days to dry &, even then, there was often a little bleeding of the paint. However, when I used the last of my stock through my airbrush it went on perfectly, with zero issues at all. If I ever get hold of the stuff again (I believe Australian law changed to make some of its ingredients illegal for environmental reasons) it's all going through the airbrush.
When I had the problem it was brushing on "Pledge with Future Shine" (which is I think what they sold it here as - prolly the stuff Womby is referring to which is now illegal) over brushed on Tamiya acrylic that had dried overnight.
The result was a crackle finish which might have been attractive if it wasn't the roof insert on a 1936 ford.
As with a lot of things testing is advised. As with a lot of us I can't usually be bothered and jump in with both feet risking ruining my work.
OK... I was -->||<--- this close to having to throw in the towel on this... thought I had a major automotive problem with my all important work truck..... transmission was acting like it was about to go out. Turns out it was just low on fluid and it's back to shifting like BUTTER again... love it... now, why in the hell did it get to the point where it was low on fluid in the first place??? Seems like ever since I had a new engine put in the thing has been sort of leaky... I'll just make sure to check the levels more often. ::shrug::: whatever... anyway...
Back to work on this thing! I'm going to have to pick my battles here.... not all the seams will be fixed adequately and I'll have to cut some corners but I think I can get this done pretty soon if I just stick with it.I need to get both inboard nacelles glued on then I can try to fix seams on them for an hour or so.... then I need to get to painting. I still need to work on the seam on top of the roof, as well, but after that I just need to paint the glazing and then... well, paint the whole thing. I've already started on it, in fact, cutting in around turrents and borders and the like...
It's looking like an airplane finally! :lol:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FkqhDsvv.jpg&hash=29abba9205ef230a90242653fac7875e4bcdaf86)
That's looking really good :thumbsup:
Gondor
Quote from: Gondor on May 13, 2017, 12:10:33 PM
That's looking really good :thumbsup:
Gondor
Thanks, brotha!!
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Never woulda got this far with all y'all helping me along!
Painting the glazing and stuff now... first pass. I'll do another then take a toothpick to it to straighten things out. Also, I think on the second coat I'll use the next larger size brush. The one I was using was running low on paint too quickly for my liking and just seemed to be a teeny bit lacking for what I'm doing here. Anyway, not bad for the first "round."
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FeSPhslq.jpg&hash=0e97a5066746b9c5748ad1be4d32f75ebbda989e)
Guess I better find the glass for the tail gunner position too before I forget it!
I also glued on the starboard inboard nacelle/gear assembly... man what a crap fit... just.. not good at all and even if I were to put in a moderate amount of work there would still be problems like a gap that would have to be filled where one side meets the wing...I filed and made it better but it got to the point where if I took any more away to make it fit better, then on the other side I'd have to add stuff back! So, I just found a middle ground then had to clamp the bejeebers out of it... these old kits are so neat but when I see stuff like the fitment problems I've noticed on this thing I can see why people say these old kits are "obsolete." Still... I love 'em... I'll never turn my nose up at an old kit (if the price is right) but man oh man, they can be a lot of extra work if you want them to be as "correct" as possible! :o :o :o
Ah well, I'm all about the end result and I'm still feeling really good about that..I think once we're all said and done the over all package will be neat! I can't wait to see it. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Done painting the glass work!!
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FYhSlLR8.jpg&hash=20de1ad081bf736b3acf0b487078c1e0a5f2091d)
Not too shab! I can live with that. Could be better, could be much worse! The more I handle the stuff the more paint comes back off, too, so time to set them down and move on.
Next I want to glue on the last nacelle thing and then put putty where I can. Might do some sanding as well. I might hit a second wind here but I'm getting close to calling it a day. Got some pretty decent work done today and with the nacelle glued on there's no more actual glueing aside from the final fiddly stuff like gear doors and exhausts... (and all the gun barrels I've broken off ;D ;D ;D ;D )
Yay!! She has legs!!
The port nacelle went on drastically better than the starboard side. All gear are on now.
Speaking of "legs," here's where I mention that I skipped adding ballast in this thing.... because... I looked at the instructions (imagine that.. ..) and saw that there is a ladder that glues to the back and it says right in the instructions that it is to keep it from tail sitting. So, I'm going to go ahead and trust these folks and use the ladder and hopefully it will hold weight. And yeah even with the thing sitting on the ground, ladder attached, and all, the gunner is sitting in his position and etc etc and I done gave up any hopes for realism or accuracy or exquisite craftsmanship loooong ago... ;D ;D
Going to slap some putty on this so I can sand tomorrow... I need to get on the ball. I still have numerous little things to repair (gun barrels, broke bomb bay doors and other bomb bay doors that sit crooked, etc) and paint... touch ups and even the main over all scheme. Running out of time but ... I'm going to go for the gusto tomorrow.
All done for the day.... wanted to make one last update.. about how I "hangar" this thing. ;D ;D
It's so big I have to just put it over in the "catch all" corner. ;D Ain't no shelf around here that will hold 'er. ;D
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FRGb5Dvv.jpg&hash=49428b35c6df13581858917a4e22c3fdda3aa0da)
:lol:
OMG IT'S SO BIG! <girly shrieks and giggles> ;D
Canopy framing looks great Brad C.
On mine, if I feel they are going to get more handling than usual I go over the paint with acrylic clear. Depending on the paint finish on the rest of the plane I use Tamiya or Gunze Acrylic semi gloss or gloss clear. Just along the paint lines though, not all over the glazing. It's easier than painting the frames as wobbly edges are not as obvious. But don't over brush it as being acrylic on acrylic that could lift the paint.
;D ;D ;D ZOMG!! :rolleyes: ;D
Thanks!! I actually love how the framing turned out. From more than a foot away it looks really nice... I mean.. I won't be winning any awards but this stuff works for me for sure!
I'm getting better slowly (at this free handing painting stuff) as I go along and also not dreading it near as much as I used to. It's funny because my handwriting is terrible, and I used to absolutely hate the idea of trying to paint something with a brush. Now, I enjoy it.
I have to admit, I'm not at all familiar with acrylic clear. I'm used to buying shithouse paints (to their credit have been mainly very good paints, though) but being what they are and with no variety... nothing like metallic finishes or clear.
Definitely sounds like the way to go on this stuff and your tips are choice, thanks..... I'll have to pick one and go with it. Hit ebay and order a bottle or whatever it comes in. Probably whichever is cheapest. (lol)
Yup canopy is looking good :thumbsup:
Thanks!!
Chugging along now... got all the filling and sanding done with (wing roots aren't the best and if I have time later I might try to some more putty and sanding)... now time to paint! I've been looking forward to this part for sure!! I want to stop after I get the base coat of blue down, temporarily stage the glass and engines and stuff, and take a picture or two so that I have a picture of a blue Superfortress. ;D ;D ;D
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FdhZ0ojy.jpg&hash=db6130342573483515c39d0e6a1083da1dcded18)
:angel:
Coming along nicely, all those canopy frames look good. :thumbsup: The thought of masking that scares the hell out of me... maybe one of the reasons why i'm not interested in building WWII bombers... :wacko:
BTW, you'd better put them windows quick cause that rear gunner looks like he's freezing his bum off, doesn't he? ;D
Quote from: DogfighterZen on May 14, 2017, 02:55:50 PM
Coming along nicely, all those canopy frames look good. :thumbsup: The thought of masking that scares the hell out of me... maybe one of the reasons why i'm not interested in building WWII bombers... :wacko:
BTW, you'd better put them windows quick cause that rear gunner looks like he's freezing his bum off, doesn't he? ;D
Yeah I'd never mask all that. No way in hell man!
Ol' boy will survive. He can light his cigars on fire for warmth if need be. :mellow: :mellow: :mellow:
Next update! This is what a blue Superfortress could possibly look like.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FPGmjJhA.jpg&hash=ffeb86e7e29ae094471fa6ac6a86522c5f9540c5)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FKeTALE9.jpg&hash=2763d29c82d4fdccd06bd1247bc96c1d5f9a38ca)
I need to do another coat of blue then go back with the grey and fix where I strayed (no time to mask!).
Viva la revolucion!
:mellow:
Why do I do this every time?! I've done three GBs in my entire life and every single one I've been working on the last model right up to the last couple of hours. By Oklahoma time, I havr 4 hours and 10 minutes and I'm going to need ever bit of the next two hours at least.
Anyhow... all the paint touch up is done with aside from some stuff on the bottom. I'm sure I'll have to do a little more later after I do the camo which... is next. Time to paint the green!
Less than three hours now and still quite a bit to do. :o ;D Oh well, I'm making slow progress and I won't stop until I run out of time. I should have SOMETHING to show for it that looks pretty reasonably like a finished model. I still have to meticulously cut out the transfers, paint and attach the gear doors, attach the exhausts, attach all the glass, attach the the little antenna thing and uhhh..... attach the engines, glue all the gun barrels back on and do touch up paint on them with black..... uhm... what else....paint and attach the ladder... .. uhhh..... hopefully all these things will go in rapid fire succession.
As for now, I'm 80% done painting the camo. Thankfully, it's going down nice with one coat! Looking glorious and flat and no blue shining through on most... so doing touch up on that should be swift.
Camo done, 50% of exhaust trimmed and attached, roundels cut out (turns out a lot of cuban stuff only used two on the whole craft, the ones on the fuselage!! Got lucky there!) Painting is all done aside from touch up. Trying to wait until nearly dead last to do that because this acrylic isn't adhering well to this plastic. For one thing, I didn NOT wash it... Should have seen all the paint that came off when I took the tape off where I masked for the de icers. I had to go back and start from scratch and paint all those straight hard lines by hand.... not to mention puttng back all the paint that came off on the tape! NOT what I needed in the final hours.
Anyway..... less than 1.5 hours left now but I'm still rollin'. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Minute by minute updates seem suddenly relevant with the final 1.25 hour remaining. :wacko:
All the exhaust are on now and the gear doors painted. Ladder is painted well enough. Antenna is painted.
Going to try to place the roundel transfers on next. After that, I do some touch up on the grey then glue on the glass pieces. After that, I glue on all the broken gun barrels and the gear doors... then...I need to touch up the black paint on the gun barrels/turrets. Probably forgetting something but the last few things are approaching and I'm starting to think I'll make it! Hasty work but.. oh well, it's getting done. :mellow: :thumbsup:
Dunno if it's the beers or if it's actually nice but looking over at this thing sitting here, the camo sure looks cool!!! :laugh:
Transfers on. Had a couple problems.... paint tried to bleed, it's not entirely dry, and some of the edges of the transfers themselves kind of melted away.. I'll try to grab my dark blue paint and tiny brush to touch that up after I'm sure the rest of this stuff is done.
Kinda wished I had test fitted all these clear pieces..
Done!!!! just got to take pics
You see the time stamp! I had 21 seconds to spare and taking pics don't count as construction!!!!
;D ;D ;D ;D
Here we go.... and as further proof that I stopped when I was supposed to, look at some of the turrets.... yeah... I ran out of time to come back and do touch ups. Roundels, too... and ya know what? I'm going to leave the stuff exactly as it is.. years from now I'll look back on those "mistakes" and remember fondly the time I made this for a GB and finished up with seconds to spare, etc.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FUxsh4U1.jpg%3F1&hash=2b4f981d89611a2a8d5a2b0e88cfc4220d7e1a60)
Better pics, more angles, etc... are inbound!
Absolutely fantastic!!!!! :wub: :thumbsup:
Gondor
Thank you Alastair!!!! I'm glad you like it! :laugh:
Man, now that it's done, I'm filled with joy and so happy! This was, maybe, more ambitious than my SEA Vietnam U2 plane. I keep looking at it across the room sitting over there and I grin every time. :laugh:
I wish I had a cool diorama or at least a nice setting to take pictures. Going to try to do so outside, anyway, within the next few days (need to take some of my Tucano as well).
Either way, I tossed this thing back in the corner and took some (more) pics with my phone..
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F4jPw1nN.jpg&hash=55a7112506d306461fb32068ed3ced8c2ec5aefe)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FMhc0oMm.jpg&hash=00eb5fab1c12ce51dfc508c015977c5238197d3e)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FkeVn8Xi.jpg&hash=c93b2b4755fda728ab7197edc15cc4e8299797a4)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fn9eRJpl.jpg&hash=b7229f3f360ea35eddc7688e23e0ab7899599e92)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FMhc0oMm.jpg&hash=00eb5fab1c12ce51dfc508c015977c5238197d3e)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FZqaricU.jpg&hash=38fa1bf370fac24d7ec1a260fae49296ac934528)
When overhead and bills stop trying to assinate me I plan to buy a legit digital camera, build a decent diorama tarmac "base" and also buy something suitable for a background.
Congratulations. Glad you managed to finish in time! :thumbsup:
Quote from: loupgarou on May 15, 2017, 12:06:18 AM
Congratulations. Glad you managed to finish in time! :thumbsup:
Thank you!! And... right?!?! I totally enjoy this jive but damn.... I need to budget my time more efficiently. ;D
Well done Brad C.
:thumbsup:
She looks great. I love the patriotic bomb bay doors.
I wouldn't worry about missing guns. After all, IIRC Enola Gay didn't have any in her turrets.
Well done mate :thumbsup:
That is a stunning achievement...just so nice to see a colourful non-nm Tu-4/B-29. Loooooooong wait but well worth it. :wub: :thumbsup:
I kinda liked the PR Blue look ... :unsure:
Great job, mate! Getting better every time! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Thanks y'all!!!
I had half a mind to leave it with the PR blue!! I knew it might look neat so I'm glad I stopped for a couple pictures at that stage. That color..... I absolutely love it! It gets better under gloss, too, if you ask me... a shade darker and slick looking. I might whip up a Mustang or Spitfire or somethng as an escort for this kind of like I planned and paint it in the three colors... the weird "off" green of my cowlings, the PR blue and the gull grey.
I have to try to get better pictures of this... there's some little features and stuff that might deserve hilighting.
NOW, what next!!!! Going for a stroll through the stash to find something for the one week GB.
Looks so good... the camo looks great on that big beast, very nice work, Brad! :cheers:
Quote from: DogfighterZen on May 15, 2017, 06:47:49 PM
Looks so good... the camo looks great on that big beast, very nice work, Brad! :cheers:
Thanks, Brotha!!! I want to get more pics today. I think it's damn cool and if I could just up the quality of my pics and pic taking I'd be in a better boat! Still, I'm going to try to use the stuff I have at hand and get outside later. I have a million things to do today so we'll see...
Man, ya shoulda seen me at 11:59 and some odd seconds as I was still gluing things and clamping with my hands, etc..... had just enough time to set it down and make that short post. Good God, that's cutting it close!
Next time I either try not to do so many builds (I had like 5 more planned!!) or at least do the "big" build FIRST and work my way down to the "easier" stuff.
Quote from: TheChronicOne on May 16, 2017, 04:25:36 AM
Man, ya shoulda seen me at 11:59 and some odd seconds as I was still gluing things and clamping with my hands, etc..... had just enough time to set it down and make that short post. Good God, that's cutting it close!
Next time I either try not to do so many builds (I had like 5 more planned!!) or at least do the "big" build FIRST and work my way down to the "easier" stuff.
Been there, but it was because of the backstory... :angel: ;D http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,42615.msg740496.html#new
Quote from: DogfighterZen on May 17, 2017, 06:11:52 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on May 16, 2017, 04:25:36 AM
Man, ya shoulda seen me at 11:59 and some odd seconds as I was still gluing things and clamping with my hands, etc..... had just enough time to set it down and make that short post. Good God, that's cutting it close!
Next time I either try not to do so many builds (I had like 5 more planned!!) or at least do the "big" build FIRST and work my way down to the "easier" stuff.
Been there, but it was because of the backstory... :angel: ;D http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,42615.msg740496.html#new
I see what you mean, to the lasts seconds, literally!
Build is killer and Elvis cracks me up. ;D ;D THAT TAPE THO!!!! ;D ;D
Hey that turned out awesome ! Love camo, colours and bomb load !
Quote from: TheChronicOne on May 17, 2017, 09:06:27 AM
Quote from: DogfighterZen on May 17, 2017, 06:11:52 AM
Quote from: TheChronicOne on May 16, 2017, 04:25:36 AM
Man, ya shoulda seen me at 11:59 and some odd seconds as I was still gluing things and clamping with my hands, etc..... had just enough time to set it down and make that short post. Good God, that's cutting it close!
Next time I either try not to do so many builds (I had like 5 more planned!!) or at least do the "big" build FIRST and work my way down to the "easier" stuff.
Been there, but it was because of the backstory... :angel: ;D http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,42615.msg740496.html#new
I see what you mean, to the lasts seconds, literally!
Build is killer and Elvis cracks me up. ;D ;D THAT TAPE THO!!!! ;D ;D
I'm sorry to say, Elvis has left the building for good... and it's been almost 5 months... :( He was not my cat but adopted me as i started feeding him, so he started staying in the house during the day and going out at night, returning around 7.30 am when i leave for work, but one night he went out and didn't show up anymore... my guess is a car or dogs got him. :-\
That tape... i noticed it when removing the masks and thought: "Damn, should've rolled it a bit lighter on that night..." :wacko:
;D ;D ;D ;D
I know the feels!!!
More pics. Some ain't bad.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F3gqA01Y.jpg&hash=5748649545812ad4db50cc941cee760639d9866a)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FrPUpxOt.jpg&hash=a0e2abaae943974ad68896d1e2edae0295d45101)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FcYfFR6p.jpg&hash=96302cda99ed969c4cff46f4fa6e7e884c374447)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FSAD2W6j.jpg&hash=bf1118cde017c0a3372369416089e5df33c3d958)
Great build :thumbsup:
Thank you!! I kind of feel bad about butchering some of it trying to meet the deadline but the mistakes really aren't that bad.. this thing is really neat. So big though... I think this may be one for the ceiling... .. . (I've also thought of donating it to somewheres or something but then how can I keep close watchful eye over my baby?!?!)
Great end result :thumbsup:
Gondor
All that work was worth it! :thumbsup:
Thanks, fellers!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
I was a bit worried about the camo looking.... gaudy or weird or whatever but personally, I really like it.
It's meant to look weird, it's Cuban. ;D ;)
Yeah! That's the thing, isn't it. I've been wondering about this particular colors of camo. All I can surmise is... well, it's an Island... but a thin island... stands to reason their aircraft will spend time over both the lush green interior and also the ocean. So's... they says, "Know what, let's do half and half... " ;D ;D
Sorry I'm late to the party. Fantastic work, Brad, I would be caught dead if I tried a bomber that big, just ask my wife. :P
Side note for future Cuban builds, if you have to make your own fin flashes, use 1/144 WW2 Stars for 1/144 armor. :)
Quote from: nighthunter on May 23, 2017, 08:04:41 PM
Sorry I'm late to the party. Fantastic work, Brad, I would be caught dead if I tried a bomber that big, just ask my wife. :P
Side note for future Cuban builds, if you have to make your own fin flashes, use 1/144 WW2 Stars for 1/144 armor. :)
Thanks bud!! Not too late at all!
Great tip on them stars! I definitely want to do more Cuban stuff in the future. In fact, I had a request for an RAH-66 Comanche in Cuban attire. Could be neat.