B-29 "Washington", R.A.E. test bed *finished + new pics*

[Gondor]

OK, Second attempt at getting this posted....

I managed to dig out and take pictures of the part build Academy/Minicraft kit I have. I also have

B-29A  to be built as a SB-29 using a Paragon Designes conversion set
KB-29P to be built as a Tu4/B-29 Washington using Olimp detail sets
RB-50G to be built as per the kit 
B-50D  to be built as a KB-50J
KC-97L to be built as per the kit 
KB-29P to be built as per the kit with eduard etch brass and scratch built detail and the subject of the following pictures. Everything is dry fitted and held together by luck and friction.

Lastly the cockpit area as it is as the moment, a decade or three after buying the kit.

..........

Hope the pictures help

Gondor

Thank you so much!  You may have a thing about B-29 variants!  As I mentioned in the last post, they seem to have gotten quite a bit out of this mould with multiple B-29/B-50/C-97 variants. 

Thank you for dragging those out and taking pictures, much appreciated. 

Dave

Not exactly haveing a ting for them. The kits came out at a time I was buying a few models and they fitted in with a couple of themes I was thinking of, Air-to Air tankers and Vietnam war. The KB-50J and KC-97L were both used in Vietnam, the KB-29P just looks a bit odd but fits in with the tanker theme as AMT/Ertal were also bringing out their KC-135 family at the same or near enough time.

Gondor

[Pellson]

..or you paint the ex-turret cover dielectric and keep the hump to cover your equipment..

Cool project! 

That would be silly as we are talking about a lump at the rear of the cockpit floor. On the inside of the aircraft. If I manage to dig out my kit of the aircraft I will take pictures.

Gondor

Happily admitting to being silly, what I meant was that a downwards looking radar, such as a Doppler navigation radar for the V-bombers, would have fitted behind a flat(ish) panel seen from the exterior, but obviously still had taken up some volume on the inside. As the hump most likely would have been existing when the B-29 in question was taken in hand for modification to research vehicle, I was just suggesting that the hump was kept unaltered if something else, like a Doppler radar, was fitted underneath.

No offence taken in any case. As I regularly am silly anyway and is getting away with it, I reckon you're just evening out the score somewhat.. 

I was refering to it being Dialetric rather than metal. Dialetric panels are often a fiberglass type of material and not necessarily very strong. Metal would also act an a barrier to an extent to RF radiation if some ended up being directed back into the aircraft..

Gondor

I meant for the dielectric panel to face out/downwards.. 

[Gondor]

..or you paint the ex-turret cover dielectric and keep the hump to cover your equipment..

Cool project! 

That would be silly as we are talking about a lump at the rear of the cockpit floor. On the inside of the aircraft. If I manage to dig out my kit of the aircraft I will take pictures.

Gondor

Happily admitting to being silly, what I meant was that a downwards looking radar, such as a Doppler navigation radar for the V-bombers, would have fitted behind a flat(ish) panel seen from the exterior, but obviously still had taken up some volume on the inside. As the hump most likely would have been existing when the B-29 in question was taken in hand for modification to research vehicle, I was just suggesting that the hump was kept unaltered if something else, like a Doppler radar, was fitted underneath.

No offence taken in any case. As I regularly am silly anyway and is getting away with it, I reckon you're just evening out the score somewhat.. 

I was refering to it being Dialetric rather than metal. Dialetric panels are often a fiberglass type of material and not necessarily very strong. Metal would also act an a barrier to an extent to RF radiation if some ended up being directed back into the aircraft..

Gondor

I meant for the dielectric panel to face out/downwards.. 

Lost in translation? 

[Wardukw]

OK I've gotta get one of these and I did a wee bit of hunting and still easy to get here with multiple options all around the $100 mark ..I can save up to get that..and I think you guys know me well enough now ..ive already got an wiffy idea for one 
The spares box is gonna love this kit 

[Pellson]

..or you paint the ex-turret cover dielectric and keep the hump to cover your equipment..

Cool project! 

That would be silly as we are talking about a lump at the rear of the cockpit floor. On the inside of the aircraft. If I manage to dig out my kit of the aircraft I will take pictures.

Gondor

Happily admitting to being silly, what I meant was that a downwards looking radar, such as a Doppler navigation radar for the V-bombers, would have fitted behind a flat(ish) panel seen from the exterior, but obviously still had taken up some volume on the inside. As the hump most likely would have been existing when the B-29 in question was taken in hand for modification to research vehicle, I was just suggesting that the hump was kept unaltered if something else, like a Doppler radar, was fitted underneath.

No offence taken in any case. As I regularly am silly anyway and is getting away with it, I reckon you're just evening out the score somewhat.. 

I was refering to it being Dialetric rather than metal. Dialetric panels are often a fiberglass type of material and not necessarily very strong. Metal would also act an a barrier to an extent to RF radiation if some ended up being directed back into the aircraft..

Gondor

I meant for the dielectric panel to face out/downwards.. 

Lost in translation? 

Lost, in any case. 

But as said - no offence taken whatsoever.

[Gondor]

Lost in translation? 

Lost, in any case. 

But as said - no offence taken whatsoever.

And none was intended

[Pellson]

Lost in translation? 

Lost, in any case. 

But as said - no offence taken whatsoever.

And none was intended

Yup, I assumed that from the start. 😁

[sandiego89]

Paint work started, natural metal/aluminum for most of it.   B-29s has a few panels of noticeably different alloys.   





Some of the interior pieces are interior green, some still in black primer

[Wardukw]

Thats a lovely paint job Dave,,,im hoping mine is going to turn out looking like that .

[Old Wombat]

Thats a lovely paint job Dave,,,im hoping mine is going to turn out looking like that .

It's after the bits go together & the inevitable PSR & the re-paint that's usually the problem time, I find, but very good work up to now!


Dave, what "Interior Green" did you use? I don't have one & that looks particularly good.

[sandiego89]

quote author=Old Wombat link=msg=991544 date=1678841038]

Dave, what "Interior Green" did you use? I don't have one & that looks particularly good.

Thank you.  I used Vallejo Air light Green,  Straight out the bottle, brushed. Full name: RLM 82 Hellgrun 71.022 Light Green RLM82.

I have also been airbrushing Vallejo Air and am very happy with it, air-brush or brushed.  Water based, so easy clean up with distilled water. All straight out of the bottle, no mixing with distilled water.  I tried regular Vallejo and found it too clumpy

Surely the JMN's can cry foul for me using the "wrong" green, and a RLM code to beat!  Ha, it looks good to me.  Looking at pictures the "correct" interior Green seems up for debate and can be all over the place.  I found olive drab too dark, and zinc chromate- well too zinc-chromatey  way too bright.   

[Old Wombat]

Thanks, mate!  


(Takes note: Vallejo Model Air 71.002 Light Green RLM82 )

[zenrat]

When airbrushing Vallejo Model Air note that it can dry inside the nozzle and if these dried up bits get into your airbrush paint cup...  

But yes, otherwise it is good paint.

[Snowtrooper]

Surely the JMN's can cry foul for me using the "wrong" green, and a RLM code to beat!  Ha, it looks good to me.  Looking at pictures the "correct" interior Green seems up for debate and can be all over the place.  I found olive drab too dark, and zinc chromate- well too zinc-chromatey  way too bright.   

The actual "colour" varied by aircraft type, manufacturing company, the factory it came from, and the lot number. Yellow Zinc Chromate in exterior spaces can look just about anything, Green Zinc Chromate on the inside even more so. There was the attempt to standardize GZC with ANA611 Interior Green standard, which is noticeably darker, post-war the colour was approximated with FS34151 which is actually a differnet shade still.

The cockpit and crew space however were in some cases (early war) painted Bronze Green No. 9, then 1942-43 Dull Dark Green, 43-45 supposedly they were in Interior Green, but starting from Augst 1945 were ordered to be changed to ANA 612 Medium Green. Again, this is in theory, in practice it was up to the local paint factory's whims which pigment to use and in what amounts. Lacking perfectly preserved colour photos with perfect colour balance of a particular plane, or even colour samples of the paint that would not have been exposed to the elements for 80+ years, and given that even the most reliable sources use expressions like "believed to be" and "assumed to be" when talking of the interior colors, "whatever looks good for you" is just as realistic than some JMN's personal opinion of the subject.

[Old Wombat]

When airbrushing Vallejo Model Air note that it can dry inside the nozzle and if these dried up bits get into your airbrush paint cup...   

But yes, otherwise it is good paint.

Ta!