1/72 B-52D with Big Belly Mod, Operation Arc Light

Here's my transporter with the new wheels, and a picture of the actual transporter. I'm really pleased with the outcome. Mike O'Hare has really done an outstanding job 3D printing the wheels.

If you're interested in building one or more of these transporters, and the bomb clips to go on them, PM me with an email address and I'll send you a copy of the manual I wrote on how to build both the bomb clips and the transporter.

BTW, the wheels for the transporter can also be used for various other ground support vehicles and trailers as well. Here is the link to Mike's Shapeways store where you can purchase a complete set of wheels, or multiple sets if you want to build more.

12x wheels (for 1 transporter): http://shpws.me/sQnz

24x wheels (for two transporters): http://shpws.me/sQny

And heres a link that includes some of Mike's other products: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/modetail.

Cheers for now,

Russ 

Lookin' good Russ! Maybe you should dirty your model up a little for some extra realism? Keep 'em babies comin' and have a nice day

Paweł

Thanks, Pawel!  I hope to do that someday when I get my spray paint system working.

Cheers and thanks again for the good words!

Russ

Hey Russ;

Nice work as usual! Those wheels and hubs sure look like the real thing, alright!

Congrats on having Shapeways use your work to display the wheel sets, very cool!

Man, I sure miss the kits, but looking at them still makes me smile

Best,

Dom

Thanks, Dom!   How are you doing, bud? Sounds like work is keeping you from modeling. I can well understand that. Hope everything is ok at your end.

Actually, the trailers are displayed on Mike O'Hare's Shapeway's account, but it does give them some exposure .

Cheers,

Russ

Hi Russ;

Thanks for the kind comments. Things are going OK, still employed,

but I get home and get very lazy. Haven't had a holiday since October 2012.

Good to see your project evolving, i check in but haven't had much to contribute.

maybe in the fall I'll fire up the hobby desk....

Dom

Hi, All,

I just built a second bomb clip transporter so I updated the manual at the same time. In fact, I decided to move the construction of the transporter into its own manual.

If you would like a copy of either or both manuals, please PM me.  As always, many thanks to Ken Williams for converting my Word files to PDF!

Next, I plan to build three empty bomb clips to go on three additional transporters, similiar to those shown in the picture below. There would have been three transporters with empty clips after a mission.

Ultimately, I plan to have a total of 6 transporters: one with a fully loaded bomb clip (already built), two with only their cradles - representing the two loaded bomb clips, and three with empty clips. That is, if I can force myself to build that many! .

The wheels for this model came out better than I could ever have hoped. Also, they are handy for other trailers and vehicles needing wheels about 10 mm in diameter. You can purchase a set of 12 or 24 from Michael O'Hare at: http://shpws.me/sQnz

Cheers,

Russ

Striker8241

Hi, All,

I just built a second bomb clip transporter so I updated the manual at the same time. In fact, I decided to move the construction of the transporter into its own manual. The completed second transporter is shown below:

If you would like a copy of either or both manuals, email me at striker8241@yahoo.com.  As always, many thanks to Ken Williams for converting my Word files to PDF!

Next, I plan to build three empty bomb clips to go on three additional transporters, as shown in the picture below. There would have been three transporters with empty clips after a mission.

 

Ultimately, I plan to have a total of 6 transporters: one with a fully loaded bomb clip (already built), two with only their cradles - representing the two loaded bomb clips, and three with empty clips. That is, if I can force myself to build that many! .

The wheels for this model came out better than I could ever have hoped. Also, they are handy for other trailers and vehicles needing wheels about 10 mm in diameter. You can purchase a set of 12 for about $16 from Michael O'Hare at: http://shpws.me/sQnz

Cheers,

Russ

Once again, fantastic job of scratch building there Russ!!      Your attention to detail is amazing!  And thank you once again for taking the time to put those manuals together.  I know that takes a lot of time to do.

Ken

Thanks for the good words, Ken, and thanks again for your help!  There hasn't been a whole lot of interest in them so far but then again, they really need to be displayed with a bomber and who has room even at 1/72 scale? I don't have the room myself. In fact, I may donate my diorama to a local library when I get it finished - if I get it finished .

Cheers,

Russ.

Well, I have two of these BUFFs in 1/72 scale. Both are hanging from my ceiling currently, but I still want to get all these as well. I'll be sending an E-mail fairly soon.

More great work there Russ. I have been following this, even if I haven't posted to often. Just so much amazing work and so much to keep track of.

Cool, Duke!

Russ

Bish

More great work there Russ. I have been following this, even if I haven't posted to often. Just so much amazing work and so much to keep track of.

Thanks for the good words, Bish! Glad you're still looking in .

Russ

Hi, All,

It's been a while since I've had much time for modeling. However, I did manage to complete the first of three planned empty bomb clips.  They're pretty tedious to make so I'm not eager to build the other two right away . I found some clearer pictures online so I redid the points where the chains are attached to the sides of the transporter. I also weathered the transporter and the clip a bit.

Cheers and thanks for looking!

Russ

That looks really nice, I can just imagine how much effort this was.

You will finish this one day.

Striker8241

Hi, All,

It's been a while since I've had much time for modeling. However, I did manage to complete the first of three planned empty bomb clips.  They're pretty tedious to make so I'm not eager to build the other two right away . I found some clearer pictures online so I redid the points where the chains are attached to the sides of the transporter. I also weathered the transporter and the clip a bit.

Cheers and thanks for looking!

Russ

 

 

 

Great work once again Russ!  Very nice detail!     

Ken

Bish

That looks really nice, I can just imagine how much effort this was.

You will finish this one day.

Thanks, Bish. I'll keep plugging away .

Son Of Medicine Man

Striker8241

Hi, All,

It's been a while since I've had much time for modeling. However, I did manage to complete the first of three planned empty bomb clips.  They're pretty tedious to make so I'm not eager to build the other two right away . I found some clearer pictures online so I redid the points where the chains are attached to the sides of the transporter. I also weathered the transporter and the clip a bit.

Cheers and thanks for looking!

Russ

 

 

 

Great work once again Russ!  Very nice detail!     

Ken

Thanks, Ken!

Russ

Must be nice to have time for BUFF Building!  Work has been a hassle.  I need to go ahead and win the Lottery and get over this work thing.

Looking good Russ!  

Wow Russ,

All those tiny releases,

do the solenoids actually work? ;-)

They sure look sweet, so many itchy trigger fingers,

so little time!

I'm not quite myself yet, look more like special effects for

a virus outbreak movie......

I can't believe we haven't had a summer up here yet, and July

is already over!

Those clips look great,

Dom

Thanks for the good words, Jim! Glad to know you're still around. I was beginning to wonder if you were ok. I hear you about work - best thing I ever did retiring. I don't miss it a bit! (actually, I do miss my days in the Air Force...).

Cheers, and here's hoping you win that lottery!

Russ

Bockscar

Wow Russ,

All those tiny releases,

do the solenoids actually work? ;-)

They sure look sweet, so many itchy trigger fingers,

so little time!

I'm not quite myself yet, look more like special effects for

a virus outbreak movie......

I can't believe we haven't had a summer up here yet, and July

is already over!

Those clips look great,

Dom

Thanks for the good words, Dom! Sorry to hear you're still having reactions to that medicine. I hope that clears up really soon. Thank God it's not anything more serious. 

Take care and get well soon!

Russ

Hi, All,

While mulling over building the remaining transporters and empty clips, it suddenly dawned on me that I've probably overestimated the number of transporters that would have been at the aircraft during the bomb clip loading process. I originally thought there would be six but I'm revising the total number to four now, since six would just be too inefficient. I believe there were only the three loaded transporters and one empty transporter initially brought to the plane, as alluded to in the photo below.

I suspect they probably downloaded the first empty clip to the single empty trailer, then installed a full clip in its place in the bomb bay. Then downloaded the second empty clip to the now empty transporter, uploaded the next full clip, downloaded the last empty clip followed by uploading the last full clip.

I was stationed at Okinawa and we didn't have the pre-loading facility for the clips so I never got to see the actual process but the pictures I've found seem to confirm this.

 So that means I only need to build two more transporters instead of four (yay!)

Cheers,

Russ

Striker8241

Hi, All,

While mulling over building the remaining transporters and empty clips, it suddenly dawned on me that I've probably overestimated the number of transporters that would have been at the aircraft during the bomb clip loading process. I originally thought there would be six but I'm revising the total number to four now, since six would just be too inefficient. I believe there were only the three loaded clips and one empty transporter initially brought to the plane.

I suspect they probably downloaded the first empty clip to the single empty trailer, then installed a full clip in its place in the bomb bay. Then downloaded the second empty clip to the now empty transporter, uploaded the next full clip, downloaded the last empty clip followed by uploading the last full clip.

I was stationed at Okinawa and we didn't have the pre-loading facility for the clips so I never got to see the actual process but the pictures I've found seem to confirm this, particularly the one below.

 

So that means I only need to build two more transporters instead of four (yay!)

Cheers,

Russ

 

Glad you caught that before you built them!   

Ken

Big roger on that, Ken!

BTW, has your email addy changed? I sent you an email a few days ago but got no answer. Then I remembered your saying something about getting away from COMCAST - do you have a new email? Could you send me a message?

Thanks,

Russ

I decided to build one more maintenance stand - a B-2 stand - which I plan to use on my nuclear arming diorama - which I hope to do someday. While I've enjoyed building these stands, I believe the B-2 has cured me of any desire to build more . Anyway, here are some pictures. Many thanks for looking!

The picture below shows how it might be used in the future diorama.

Wow! That's excellent

Striker8241

I decided to build one more maintenance stand - a B-2 stand - which I plan to use on my nuclear arming diorama - which I hope to do someday. While I've enjoyed building these stands, I believe the B-2 has cured me of any desire to build more . Anyway, here are some pictures. Many thanks for looking!

The picture below shows how it will be used in the future diorama.

 

Wow Russ!  That looks awesome!  Great scratch building there!  It just looks fantastic!     

Ken

Truly amazing work! I love it!

From one ECM tech to another, super, beautiful work.

Worked on "G"'s at Beale in 73 before going to Phantoms in Thailand. Love / hate relationship with them...Loved the bird,  hated those oil leaking, heavy, slick ALT's in the side bays. Especially when the bird was not fully loaded with fuel and the bays were 7 feet off the ground (not high enough for a stand, but too high to be really comfortable for 3 guys trying to load o box in the rack).  More than one tried to dig holes in the ramp.  Wish I had a couple of the maggie donut magnets though.