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RB-36E Cold War Warrior, WIP

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  • Member since
    February 2014
  • From: Michigan
Posted by silentbob33 on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 4:27 PM
I've got to say watching this come together is like candy for my eyes! I can't wait to see more.

On my bench: Academy 1/35 UH-60L Black Hawk

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 4:00 PM

UKguyInUSA
.....Have fun with the rest of the build!  

I hope so.

 

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    April 2015
  • From: New Hampshire, USA
Posted by UKguyInUSA on Thursday, March 24, 2016 9:12 PM

Great detailing on a small scale kit....too small for my eyes! But, overall, this must be a huge kit even at 1/72 scale! Have fun with the rest of the build!  SmileYes 

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 10:17 PM

jeaton01
Nice detail, Darwin.  Good to see another B-36 coming together, these kits just don't get enough love!

I think that I am giving this one enough love for a dozen kits.  I have somewhere between 50 and 100 hours in it so far and not even half of the detail I am planning to do.  I still have the right side and top of the bomb bay as well as the bay side of both end bulkheads and something for all the work lights in there.  Then the rest of the camera compartment, forward crew compartment, main gear wells and nose gear well.  Oh, and I forgot to mention the actuating mechanisms for the bay doors.  Someone send for the men in the white coats, I will be certifiably insane by time this is done.

 

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Northern California
Posted by jeaton01 on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 9:51 PM

Nice detail, Darwin.  Good to see another B-36 coming together, these kits just don't get enough love!

John

To see build logs for my models:  http://goldeneramodel.com/mymodels/mymodels.html

 

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 9:39 PM

They are white in the real thing, so I am debating about trying to dry brush them white or just leave them alone.  There is very little difference in the looks.

Darwin

 

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 5:41 PM

Hello!

That looks really nice and busy! How about those wire bundles - will they be left silver?

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 2:11 AM

RB-36E, Update #8

I got out of the crew compartment and crawled back to the bomb bay to do some work in there.   The yellow thingies are liquid oxygen cylinders made from scrap sprue with very thin strips of Bare-Metal-Foil for the mounting straps.  The wires along the lower side wall are supposed to represent the grouped wire bundles. 
The rectangles on the communication tube are the windows for inspecting the bomb bay without actually going into it.

Add in the forward and aft bulkheads for the bomb bay.

Add in the main bomb rack structure.

Then 20 of the AN-M26 parachute flares or photoflash bombs and the 3,000 gallon auxiliary fuel tank cause things to get a little crowded in there.  The tank and bombs are a little crooked because they are not glued in and they shifted a little bit while I was taking the pictures.

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Saturday, March 5, 2016 3:34 PM

I was thinking it might be somthing like that, its worked out really well.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Saturday, March 5, 2016 3:13 PM

Bish
Some really nice dtail in there, i love those blue binders, how did you make those. Some relly great touches.

The blue binders and black flim canisters were made by cutting and sanding scrap resin from the gun set.

Darwin

 

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Saturday, March 5, 2016 2:12 PM

Some really nice dtail in there, i love those blue binders, how did you make those. Some relly great touches.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    March 2015
  • From: Streetsboro, Ohio
Posted by Toshi on Saturday, March 5, 2016 1:49 PM

Fantastic detail.

Toshi

On The Bench: Revell 1/48 B-25 Mitchell

 

Married to the most caring, loving, understanding, and beautiful wife in the world.  Mrs. Toshi

 

 

  • Member since
    January 2016
  • From: A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Posted by Hunter on Saturday, March 5, 2016 7:22 AM

Looking great sir, really enjoyed looking at all the detail. Very nice!

Hunter 

      

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Saturday, March 5, 2016 12:55 AM

RB-36E, Update #7

I have been back working on the 3 forward bulkheads lately.

L-R, forward side of bulkhead 5.0 that divides the camera compartment and bomb bay #2, back side of bulkhead #4.0 that divides the front of the camera compartment from the forward gun bay. (these two were completely scratch built0,  front side of bulkhead #3.0 aka the radio operators station
that divides the forward crew compartment from the gun bay.

Bulkhead 5.0 close up


Bulkhead 4.0, the blue items are supposed to be binders for Tech Orders and black items above them are extra film cartridges and the Camera Operators Control Panel is right center.

Radio Opertor's station at the back of the forward crew compartment.

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Monday, February 22, 2016 11:35 PM

RB-36E Update #6

I managed to get the ammunition feed chutes in place under the turret frames.  I don't want to permanently attach the turrets until this beast is almost complete because they are way too delicate and likely to get damaged.


It is time to shift focus a little bit again and get some work done on the main crew compartment.  There is a fairly large wheel to the aircraft commander's left that is for the nose wheel steering and this is not depicted in the kit parts.  This is my scratch built version of the wheel before and after painting.

 

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Thursday, February 18, 2016 12:20 AM

RB-36E, Update #5

I decided to take a break from the camera compartment and do a little work on the gun tubs.  They have a LOT of detail in them but the gun barrels are pretty fragile and the ammo belts are so incredibly delicate that it is essentially impossible to work on them without breaking them.  I don't want to leave them out, but I may have to.  The bulkhead hatch visible in the first photo is for access between the camera compartment and the gun tub, but it should be in the middle instead of over at the side.  The camera operator's control panel is directly opposite this on the other side.

This is the basic gun tub the way it comes out of the box.

This photo shows the bases for the two turrets.  There are two diagonal braces I still need to install for each base.  You can see the pivot hinges at the corners.  They are what raise and lower the turrets.  The long rectangular objects under the bases are ammo boxes.

These two photos show the gun turrets installed temporarily for fit check.

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    June 2003
  • From: Cavite, Philippines
Posted by allan on Monday, February 15, 2016 7:28 PM

Truly impressive work! Gonna follow this.

 

This has got to be the biggest recce bird ever.

No bucks, no Buck Rogers

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Monday, February 15, 2016 4:30 PM

Check my update #2, third picture down.  It shows a decal sheet of nothing but instrument faces that is put out by Mike Grant Decals.  They are available in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale.  I got mine from ebay.  The gray paint is el cheapo rattle can gray primer from Wal Mart.  I have been using it for quite a few years and it seems to work just as well as the expensive primers claiming to be made just for plastic models.

Darwin

 

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Monday, February 15, 2016 3:07 PM

Hello Darwin!

That's looking really good! What's your way to do the instrument faces, with all the dials? What are you using for grey? Thanks in advance and good luck with your build

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Sunday, February 14, 2016 11:43 PM

RB-36E Update #4

This is bulkhead 5.0 with the construction finished and the camera operator's panel to the right.

The same bulkhead with a coat of primer and the Camera Operator's panel temporarily in place.

 

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Saturday, February 6, 2016 11:44 AM

Allright, I got it - thanks a lot and good luck with the mods, have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Friday, February 5, 2016 8:42 PM

I have 7 or 8 different books on the B-36 for reference plus a lot of photos from the internet.  I also took about 200 photos of the B-36 at the Strategic Air Command Museum in Ashland, Nebraska, when I visited there in 2011.  Most of the B-36's had a tail radar with just a single antenna and a short fairing.  The J and H models had two antennas side by side and a much larger fairing.  I have cut out the large fairing and will rebuild it with the smaller one.

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Friday, February 5, 2016 3:35 PM

Hello Darwin!

Nice scratchbuilding! What are your references on that? That's always the biggest problem for me. I'd also like to ask - what's happening with the tail?

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Friday, February 5, 2016 12:02 PM

RB-36E Update #3

I have made some progress with the camera compartment and started on the modification to the APG-32 tail radar.

This is the front side of the pressure bulkhead 6.0 that divides the aft end of the camera compartment and bomb bay #2.  The hatch on the right is the entrance to the communication tube to the rear crew compartment and the one on the left is for access to the unpressurized bomb bay.  I am considering it complete.

This is the backside of bulkhead 5.0 that divides the forward end of the camera compartment from the forward gun bay.

Just starting.

Adding the "I" beam at the top, the first shelf and the hatch to the gun bay.

Adding the shelf and cabinet for the Camera Operator's control panel.

Just for a little diversity, I started on the modification to the fairing for the APG-32 radar that controls/aims the two tail guns.  The early B-36s had a single antenna/radome and later models had twin antennas.  The kit provides the twin antenna version with a much larger and longer fairing.  This has to be cut out and replaced with a smaller one.


]

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Saturday, January 30, 2016 8:23 PM

RB-36E Update #2

My eyeballs are rotating to the back of my head from working with the tiny instrument decals, so I thought that I would post an update to the Beast.  This is the pressure bulkhead between the back
end of the camera compartment and the front end of bomb bay #2.  The hatch in lower right is the entrance to the "Communication Tube" that ran between the front crew compartment and the one
in the tail.  It wasn't present in the camera compartment so that the guys in there could go to the front or back of the plane.  The hatch on middle left gives access to the bomb bay.  The window
towards the bottom is so they could monitor what was going on in the bomb bay without depressurizing the compartment.  The items on the top shelf are electronic components and the center and
bottom row are instruments and controls for these "black boxes".  I have applied a few decals and need to put on several more.  The silver disc in picture #2 is how the bulkhead looked when I
started working on it.  The decal sheet with the 1/72 instruments and controls is by Mike Grant Decals.

This is the jettisonable auxiliary fuel tank that goes in bomb bay #3.  I finished the construction and put on a coat of primer.  It still needs a finish coat of green.  See the you tube video above to
see a full scale B-36 jettison one of these things.

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    January 2003
  • From: 40 klicks east of the Gateway
Posted by yardbird78 on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 1:31 AM

The Pavla gun turrets are also available from UMM (Unique Master Models) for a few dollars cheaper than the ones in England.

http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=79&products_id=6506

 ,,

The B-52 and me, we have grown old, gray and overweight together.

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Northern California
Posted by jeaton01 on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 9:30 PM

Thanks, Darwin.  The plastic landing gear seems perfectly adequate on mine.

John

To see build logs for my models:  http://goldeneramodel.com/mymodels/mymodels.html

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Northern California
Posted by jeaton01 on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 9:28 PM

Pawel, I haven't forgotten I owe you!

The wing is about 1/16 too high on the fuselage, maybe a bit more, and the way it should be is a perfect intersection with the top line of the fuselage and the top line of the wing.  Bugged the heck out of me, but only because this monstrosity of an airplane was real familiar over my house when I was a flea.  Probably just should have found some better meds.

John

To see build logs for my models:  http://goldeneramodel.com/mymodels/mymodels.html

 

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Poland
Posted by Pawel on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 1:50 PM

jeaton01
I did rework the wing root

Hello John, I would like to ask you what was wrong with the wing root, so that you had to rework it? On the photos it looks pretty drastic.

TIA, have a nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

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