It'll B.U.F.F. Out...1/72 Stratofortress inside

woah. its like bringing the dead alive. that so cool how you can take a 10 year old model and make it new again.  that is a very awesome strato   keep it up!

Bonjour,

Well done sir, a very good job.

Thanks fellas. And always learning new things on each one. Now that I've cut my teeth on panel scribing on the HABU, The BUFF, (The Revell F-5E above has been rescribed as well), It's opened up a "new world" of older molds with raised panel lines that I can buy for cheap, hop up and make my own so to speak.

AMAZING! Hard to believe, seeing the end result, that this was once what most probably would've written off as scrap! Tremendous work and thanks for sharing your memories and story!

Wow absolutely amazing, as well as the other planes....great job!

Unbelievable. One heck of a project, my hat is off to you.

As mentioned above, this must have been a very cool project for you, invoking many memories and hopefully appreciating years of experience gained. But it had to start somewhere!

Thanks for sharing this. Really.

Finally got around to doing the bombs for the external racks.

Don't know why I put it off for so long I've made time for 3 new birds since my last post.

buffjock

OOOOOOHHHH, Those parts, thats an easy one, they are the nacelle struts fot the engine door if you build the engine thats got the open door. I must say, it sure looks better the second time around. Really nice work, Can I send you a half dozen of my kits to build? Just kidding, most guys do a B-52 and thats it for them. Thats where I come in, offer em a couple bucks for a half assembled kit, its outta their hair and I got some more goodies. Win-win. As for the Mk82s, if you want em, email me your address and there yours,no charge.  Still  interested in the leftover decals, as Im fixin to start a B-52G/KC-135 combo to hang from the living room ceiling. That KCs gonna be busy around here, Ive got 13 of em to fill up. The only one whos built more B-52s than me is Boeing.... Picked up a couple D-21s this week so theres yet another build (B-52H 60-0036). I got plenty of time because of the Ohio winters... You mentioned the time it took to mask the walkways?? I usually give the bird a dose of whatever color Im painting them first, then use  a narrow strip to mask the wallways. Then spray the final colors, peel up the tape, and there they are. just seems easier that way for me.By the time the future and the clear go on it all levels out nicely.I learned that from painting  cars. (Real ones not models...) Between 1-10, I'd give your build a score of 9.5 (3,000 gallon wing tanks should be camo on the tops just like the engines.) You know how us BUFF guys are.....  Again wonderful work!! Wish it was mine.

Thanks for the feedback! and thanks for clearing up the mystery parts. As for the walkways, if I had the correct gauge of tape I'd have probably done the walkways that way, (or not Haha!) thanks for the tip. Going back to the Green Chromate I had noticed the variations in some of the reference I sourced and I guess I assumed that early natural metal BUFFs would have had yellow chromate and later ones in SIOP had green, then white for modern day birds. Again this is me drawing that conclusion having never seen anything older than the G's at Mather as a kid. Speaking of refueling and MAther I Just read on the AMARC site about the refueling mishap that occurred there with 58-0178! Wowsers! And I knew I would hear about the fuel tanks eventually! I saw that the tops were also painted camo in all the references for D's in SIOP I had but on the decal reference sheet they are shown in all black. Thanks again for the clarification

OOOOOOHHHH, Those parts, thats an easy one, they are the nacelle struts fot the engine door if you build the engine thats got the open door. I must say, it sure looks better the second time around. Really nice work, Can I send you a half dozen of my kits to build? Just kidding, most guys do a B-52 and thats it for them. Thats where I come in, offer em a couple bucks for a half assembled kit, its outta their hair and I got some more goodies. Win-win. As for the Mk82s, if you want em, email me your address and there yours,no charge.  Still  interested in the leftover decals, as Im fixin to start a B-52G/KC-135 combo to hang from the living room ceiling. That KCs gonna be busy around here, Ive got 13 of em to fill up. The only one whos built more B-52s than me is Boeing.... Picked up a couple D-21s this week so theres yet another build (B-52H 60-0036). I got plenty of time because of the Ohio winters... You mentioned the time it took to mask the walkways?? I usually give the bird a dose of whatever color Im painting them first, then use  a narrow strip to mask the wallways. Then spray the final colors, peel up the tape, and there they are. just seems easier that way for me.By the time the future and the clear go on it all levels out nicely.I learned that from painting  cars. (Real ones not models...) Between 1-10, I'd give your build a score of 9.5 (3,000 gallon wing tanks should be camo on the tops just like the engines.) You know how us BUFF guys are.....  Again wonderful work!! Wish it was mine.

Also snapped a few more hi res pics of the bird.

buffjock

JW,

If they are what Im thinking the little parts ( #45 &46) your talking about go on the tail above the gun turret. Should be two little holes just ahead of where the clear blister goes. As far as the Mark 82s, i have a 2 pound coffee can about 3/4ths of the way full of em. if you want a few, I will need an address to send them to. BTW congrats on the little one!! I dont have any kids thats why I have all the B-52s. i have a little museum here with actual B-52 parts, books around 15,000 photos etc... I troll websites like this one and beg borrow and trade for the "leftovers" from various B-52 builds. I used to see the "E" models fly out of Rickenbacker during the late 60s. To my 5-6 year old eyes it was quite a sight, all the smoke and noise, I have been hooked ever since. i have a database on my computer that contains a lot of info on most of them built (744) Im trying to obtain pics and info on each individual airframe. Once i have your email address i can send you a photo of the antenna your talking about. Just keep me in mynd for your "leftovers". A donation means you will have access to my spare parts bin if you need anything. i generally dont sell parts but rather trade for what you might need. if you have a particular serial # in mind, I can see what info I have on that particular airframe. My email address is

rkline  at  roadrunner.com

Give me a holler and i can get the Mark 82s on the way

Allen

Dang!! Great save on that bird!!

JW,

Just for the record, coming from the B-52 God, Thats a real nice rebuild, obviosly, your modelling skills have improved over time!! You cant be dissapointed with it. Now, for the critique...  The only thing 'I' see wrong with it is the flap wells and inside gear wells should be zinc chromate yellow, not green. They did however use both colors, but Ive never seen an actual "D" with green wells. Far be it from me being able to judge the work, its as good as but most probably better than my work, Im just sayin... I got an old camera, should shoot ya a few of my pathetic attempts... Fair is fair, that way you can see the competition. BTW, i got your Mark 82s all laid out, ready to go.Again, NICE JOB!!!

Allen

JW,

After running my mouth I got to looking at some of the "D"s at AMARC. I stand corrected, it seems per the T.O.-1-B-52D, Green was substituted if yellow wasnt available. My apologies sir!! I learned something new today.

That is really a fine piece of work.  Nice save!

JW,

If they are what Im thinking the little parts ( #45 &46) your talking about go on the tail above the gun turret. Should be two little holes just ahead of where the clear blister goes. As far as the Mark 82s, i have a 2 pound coffee can about 3/4ths of the way full of em. if you want a few, I will need an address to send them to. BTW congrats on the little one!! I dont have any kids thats why I have all the B-52s. i have a little museum here with actual B-52 parts, books around 15,000 photos etc... I troll websites like this one and beg borrow and trade for the "leftovers" from various B-52 builds. I used to see the "E" models fly out of Rickenbacker during the late 60s. To my 5-6 year old eyes it was quite a sight, all the smoke and noise, I have been hooked ever since. i have a database on my computer that contains a lot of info on most of them built (744) Im trying to obtain pics and info on each individual airframe. Once i have your email address i can send you a photo of the antenna your talking about. Just keep me in mynd for your "leftovers". A donation means you will have access to my spare parts bin if you need anything. i generally dont sell parts but rather trade for what you might need. if you have a particular serial # in mind, I can see what info I have on that particular airframe. My email address is

rkline  at  roadrunner.com

Give me a holler and i can get the Mark 82s on the way

Allen

Congratulations on the baby girl , and an outstanding rebuild!

Truly amazing! Enjoyed reading through this thread and admiring the work! Looking forward to seeing the finished pics!

...And thanks to all the other readers who have left feedback as well. The model is pretty much finished short of adding the mk82's to the external wing stores. I had my 1st child (girl) on the 3rd Aug so I havent found the time to work on the BUFF (even though I found time to complete Academy's 1/48 Mig-21PF ) when I get back home I'll pull her out from her hibernation and get some pictures of her in daylight with the decals on. And I promise to use a proper SLR and not my I Phone

Basher52

Jw,

Nice rebuild on the B-52. Im new here but B-52s is all  build. Keep me in mind if you need any spare parts, I got tons of the stuff. I have 13 built, 4 under construction ans another dozen or so still in the boxes. Youd be surprised how many B-52s Ive picked up that were given up on, or built by ten year old kids. As a matter of fact, Im working on one now that had been broken so badly that I decided I needed to do an "Eliminated" B-52D like they do out at AMARC Give me a holler if ya need anything!!!

Allen

Thanks for the feedback! That is a gaggle of BUFF's you've got there! I was given a box of spare parts by another reader who was generous enough to mail them to me free of charge and which helped me finish the model. I had all the parts I needed except I somehow misplaced some of the MK82's that attach to the external wing stores, after spilling the tupperware they were all stored in . So if anything I could use some more mk82s if you have them. Namely 2 with the tabs molded on (for mounting to the center rack and maybe 2 more without the tabs (for mounting on the sides). I can PM you to discuss it further. Also since you seem to be an expert on this kit could you maybe explain where a certain part goes? The instructions I DLed doesnt show them anywhere. I believe it's part 87 (x2) they look like small antennas or pitots with a kink in the middle. I'm away from home on vacation so no pics available.

Thanks!

Amazing work! Hard to believe it's the same model!

I agree with you, moving sucks! I have effectively done it four times since I started modeling again. No major catastrophies, though, only a few missing pieces.

And a modeling a B-52 based out of Guam? I approve this message!

Jw,

Nice rebuild on the B-52. Im new here but B-52s is all  build. Keep me in mind if you need any spare parts, I got tons of the stuff. I have 13 built, 4 under construction ans another dozen or so still in the boxes. Youd be surprised how many B-52s Ive picked up that were given up on, or built by ten year old kids. As a matter of fact, Im working on one now that had been broken so badly that I decided I needed to do an "Eliminated" B-52D like they do out at AMARC Give me a holler if ya need anything!!!

Allen

Wow!  You sure did a number on that old bird!  Looks very nice - I'm impressed!

Incredible restoration!!! I like!

JWalker- a simply fantastic job you've done resurrecting this BUFF! Excellent work!

Just amazing work!  Considering how badly beat up it was, I don't think I would have had the guts to start the project!

Stunning work on the paint job. Looking forward to seeing more.

Wow, first of all I admire what you did with this old bird and it must give you a great sense of satisfaction to revisit a model you built in your childhood and bring it up to your skill level as they stand today...secondly, it looks great!!!  Knowing that the original sow's ear is now a silk purse is very cool...what a great story to go along with a great model...

That is a very impressive restauration!

Hercmech

Coming along nice...can't wait to see it finished up

Thanks! Some more updates.

7/24/12

Masked and Pre-Shaded. Next I Marked the camo pattern with a pencil . I Freehanded the SIOP pattern with an H-1 nozzle, starting with SAC Tan followed by SAC Green then Dark Green Enamels.  Over spray was minimal and since I used Acryl for the black it was easily wiped away w/ some thinner. Over all I spent roughly 2hrs on each color and about 1 hr touching up the pattern edges.

Of course things happen when you handle such a beast of a model. This same flap fell away and broke it's tab off a few times before I finally decided to reinforce it by drilling out the tab and sticking a peg (.030" Rod) in the other end of the break. Clamping down the guide/tracks and gluing the ends to the inside of the wing also helped keep it from falling out again!.

That was last week. I wanted as much time for the paint to cure before masking the walkway markings.

I spent 3 1/2 hours masking for a few minutes of painting

I shot thinned coats of flat black enamel to build up the shade of black I desired.

In hindsight I would have doubled up taping the edges on the wings. I was overconfident in my judgement of how much the H1 nozzle would overspray and the result was well, some light overspray. I lightly sanded it away with 1000 grit making sure not to eat through the layer beneath. I was lucky!

The Red walkway on the tail was done with multiple (at least 10) coats of Insignia red. I usually lay a base of white for colors like that over black but I think that would pop too much in this case.

Next Up I get to prep for decals. Then tackle the external bomb load!

Thanks for reading!