B-36J-II 1967

[Hobbes]

-Added landing gear and 9 38 special lead bullets in the nose.

That's one way to earn the 'heavily armed' moniker...

[albeback]

OK, next B36 WHIF idea.......


Building Monograms 1/72 B36 as a 1/48th WW2 model. Hell the fuselage is the same diameter as the B29, and the wingspan is 4" wider!

What about a smaller concept by Consolidated, using the six pusher engines (maybe Packard Merlins???) and the B24 tail & rear turret? A ball turret would look good........

Just a thought - why not just omit the manned tail guns? The B-29's defensive armament was remotely controlled ( apart from the tail guns). Why not just "whif" your model with a remotely controlled tail gun as well?. I agree a ball turret would look nice but, if I were doing this, my own personal inclination would be to "retain" the retractable top & bottom gun turrets. You wouldn't need a ball turret then. Certainly make the model a bit easier. Like the idea of the B-24 tail though!

An excellent idea.

Allan

[bobbo]

I LOVE the B-36.  I just watched Strategic Air Command with Jimmy Stewart the other night.

TERRIFIC film! I love it too, but June Allyson's voice is a REAL pain.

I just wish it was available on DVD  (or IS it?)

bobbo

[SigfanUSAF]

Bobbo,
It's a very limited release, and they can get pricey on ebay, but they're out there.

[albeback]

I LOVE the B-36.  I just watched Strategic Air Command with Jimmy Stewart the other night.

TERRIFIC film! I love it too, but June Allyson's voice is a REAL pain.

I just wish it was available on DVD  (or IS it?)

bobbo

You might also like "Gathering of Eagles". No B-36s but, stacks of B-52s!!

[McColm]

I don't know if this is possible, but I would add the cockpit of a B-52 to a B-36 or the other way round not quite the YB-60 but close enough!!

[kitnut617]

I don't know if this is possible, but I would add the cockpit of a B-52 to a B-36 or the other way round not quite the YB-60 but close enough!!

Would be quite a job as the B-52 has a rectangular fuselage and the B-36 is dead round.

But you can buy this from Click2detail although the price will make you fall off your chair.  They are however very nicely detailed.

http://www.click2detail.com/products-details.php?pro_id=245

[McColm]

Wow!!
The've got some good conversion sets, you're right about the price!!

[Rheged]

Are the (admittedly very detailed) parts cut from  a single gemstone?  and   how many do they sell at that price?

[kitnut617]

Are the (admittedly very detailed) parts cut from  a single gemstone?  and   how many do they sell at that price?

I wondered about that myself --

But you think that's expensive, you should see the 1/72 engines for a Boeing 747 that they do,  the price is more than the kit price

[frank2056]

The parts are 3D printed. Still, a tad expensive even if they're using a very high end printer.

[kitnut617]

The parts are 3D printed. Still, a tad expensive even if they're using a very high end printer.

Sorry I don't understand, these are resin parts.  Where does the 3D printer come in to it

[pyro-manic]

The parts are "printed", not cast from moulds.

The price is daft, I agree. A more cost-effective way would be to have printed a master and then made moulds from that. Though then you have to deal with mould deterioration and possible bad castings that eat into the profits.

[frank2056]

The price is daft, I agree. A more cost-effective way would be to have printed a master and then made moulds from that. Though then you have to deal with mould deterioration and possible bad castings that eat into the profits.

I agree, but 3D printing costs have dropped considerably, so some low physical volume parts can cost the same (or less) than the cost of molding and casting the part in resin, which can add to the cost in other non-obvious ways. The part has to be designed and printed to be castable, which can add to the complexity of the part. I'm not sure that these parts can be cast in resin cheaply. The hollow fuselage looks like it has 2mm - 3mm thick walls, which would make for a difficult to cast part.

I added up the volumes on the parts breakdown page on Click2detail, then calculated what it would cost to have them printed at Shapeways in their Frosted Ultra Detail ($3.49/cu^3) : $78.35.

Frosted Ultra Detail is their best material, an acrylic photopolymer, and it's similar in appearance to the canopy parts.  It will require some - but not extensive - sanding to remove the printing artifacts. The Click2Detail site doesn't say what material they used for the fuselage, but it looks similar to the Shapeways Fine Detail plastic, which is also an acrylic photopolymer. If that's what it is, it'd be cheaper still (about $8 less, total).

$80 for this set is more reasonable, regardless of the material (3D printed or cast resin from a 3D master).

[rickshaw]

Time, effort and what the market will bear.  I wonder how many they've sold and if the volume has driven down the price at all?  I still think they are ridiculously overpriced.  I thought the idea of 3D printing was supposed to make items very cheaply?