B-36 Peacemaker Group Build

Reasoned, well done on the Model Master Metalizers. I was originally going to use those, but then read too many stories on how sensitive they were to masking, so I chickened out there too. I didn't plan to handle the model much once it was done, but inevitably I'm going to get my fingers all over either during transport or ceiling suspension.

What technique did you use on the glass framing?

Reasoned,

Wow!  I have to admire the work you did on that model.  That thing is huge and must have been a pain to manipulate and paint.  Well done, sir, well done!

Gary

Thank you jeaton, you'll get there.  Tuet, to be honest I did the canopy framing a long time ago but I think I freehanded it with tamiya tape used on either side of the frame outlines working in one direction at a time with chrome silver (e.g., masked off all frames going horizontal, let dry then do the vertical).  My recollection was this process went quite easily and achieved very good results.  Also, don't let MM Metalizers scare you off, I've used them numerous times with good results.  You are correct though that they MUST be sealed or they show prints, scuff easily on your hand, though not always down to the plastic.  Thanks GAF, yes, she was a bear to work with.  I'm ready for something a little more......little.

Reasoned

 yes, she was a bear to work with.  I'm ready for something a little more......little.

Congratulations Reasoned!  The Battlefield is yours!

You have sucessfully Gnarfled the Garthock!

Hey lajntx! lol meps (Ithink that was their lingo) Great to see you check in, I was hoping you'd have a chance to view the finished product.  I wish I'd had more patience to finish her out to a higher level but it was all I could do to get it done after the paint mess.  Thanks for your vast knowledge of this beast and help, looking forward to other builds.

Reasoned

Hey lajntx!  Great to see you check in, I was hoping you'd have a chance to view the finished product.  I wish I'd had more patience to finish her out to a higher level but it was all I could do to get it done after the paint mess.  Thanks for your vast knowledge of this beast and help, looking forward to other builds.

NP..... you also win a prize for finishing first.

Here it is..... A free 1/72 Kit of the B-36 Peacemaker. Just msg me your address, and I`ll get it out too you in the next week or so.

Just send it to the local sanitarium, they'll know who gets it 

lajntx - That's a great 1st prize! Also, great personal torture for Reasoned too.

Question for anyone. I asked this question in the B-36 Delphi Forums, but received no response. I think I asked this earlier in this forum too, but I'm taking a shot at it again.

I see in underside photos of B-36 wings there are nine dark rectangles that resemble open doors: four between the outer and middle nacelles and five between the inner and middle nacelles. In the group of four, three are essentially in line with the angle of the leading edge and the outermost one is approximately midway between the leading edge and the flap. In the group of five, four are in line with the angle of the leading edge and the outermost one is approximately midway between the leading edge and flap.

Does anybody know what these were?  The photo below shows those black rectangles pretty clearly.

Can't help you teut, you are doing significantly more research than I on this.  I do have a couple of shots of the final resting place for mine.

Ugh, those seams

Looks good. It's a big model; hope it doesn't pull the ceiling down. :)

Teutonic222

Looks good. It's a big model; hope it doesn't pull the ceiling down. :)

or land on my 9yr old! 

Anybody hear from Magoo lately?

Teutonic:

Those are underside vents for the oil & fuel tanks. On older planes you will see stain slicks coming out from them because the plane was prone to leaking and thats where oil & av gas would seep out.

A good scene for those is in SAC when Jimmy Stewart lands the plane and he and Col Potter err I mean Sgt Bible.  salute and pass the 2 generals inspecting the under wing and the base commander says: " See there are no more leaks". ( The scene where Gen Hawkes learns that Dutch loves to fly )

Thanks lajntx.

I'll go back and review the movie. Looking at the photos I have, those vents just seemed really big; bigger than I would have expected for vents. But, it was also a big plane with big oil and fuel tanks. I kept examining the diagram below for the T.O. Manual, but couldn't pinpoint the vents.

lajntx,

You are the B-36 dude! I ran through the SAC movie and caught a good view of the vents during the scene you mentioned. Thanks for remembering that part.

Do you happen to know if there were screens or something covering the holes? Can't tell from the movie. They still look like open rectangles, but let's just say my copy isn't in HD.

Teutonic222

lajntx,

You are the B-36 dude! I ran through the SAC movie and caught a good view of the vents during the scene you mentioned. Thanks for remembering that part.

Do you happen to know if there were screens or something covering the holes? Can't tell from the movie. They still look like open rectangles, but let's just say my copy isn't in HD.

Its possible they might also be underwing service doors to get to those tanks -- They were refueled on the top of the wing, and would explain why they were the main leak points.

The only reason I figured out what they were was taking a parts blow up that I have that shows the top side, and finding what was in those places.

With the long winter in Michigan, it sounds like a very good excuse to take a spur of the moment trip to Tuscon, Arizona and catch some rays, spring ball, and go to PIMA where they will let you walk under the B-36 

lajntx,

Thanks for the further information. It's always interesting how some things can become such a challenge. I guess part of modeling (or insane modeling) is the hunt. Although I must say the underwing vent hunt is getting a bit old.

I was at least able a while back to confirm the two vents on the starboard side of the aircraft just underneath the trailing edge of the wing. I saw them at Wright-Pat and the T.O. Manual calls them out. Plus, they are molded in the kit. I opened them up yesterday and plan to glue a tobacco pipe screen behind them. I was originally going to look for a faucet aerator and then discovered these fine mesh cigar screens. The holes are probably still a little big, but sometimes you need to change the scale a bit to fool the eye. I saw the vents had screens at Wright-Pat and since there isn't a bird problem in the building, I figure they were on the original.

I've been working on air plugs. I liked the idea of showing the red diamonds when the air plugs are extended to add some additional color to the model. Thin walled brass tube from the hardware store was perfect, although sawing them with a clean perpendicular cut (even with an Xacto miter box) was tough. I've got about four that didn't turn out well and went to the scrap pile (or sell them as cheap wedding bands).

I'll place a small diameter washer on the prop shaft to extend the props out just a bit (as in the photos below). Looking at aircraft photos, the model appears to have the props a tad too close to the nacelles. Moving the props out also reveals more of the air plug and the diamond markings.

One more step accomplished.

Way to go Teut!

Howdy Reasoned, old Magoo is alive and kicking just too many things in life getting in the way of model building I'll post something hopefully in a couple of days. My computer is not making me happy either. See you in later posts. Andrew Magoo

Glad to see you're still at it Magoo, I know how life can interfere with model building, just not fair!

Hey Magoo, The model gods were pretty good to me -- only one broken prop in the box on my B-36 kit. I'll talk to them and see if they can get you extra model building time in your life.

I've got some more questions. I've noticed in the photos from Don Pyeatt's DVD, there are notices on the tail area and another one on the nose "water drain." Were those notices on B-36's or were these just put there during restoration as some type of note to the restorers or for viewers of the plane (for educational purposes)? It seems like a lot of notices. I'm surprised there weren't some that said wing, fuselage, and engine. See two photos below.

Secondly, the photo of the top view of the plane shows a red outline. Is that correct or just an issue with color aberration on old photos?

I want to apologize for one thing. I wasn't trying to cause any copyright issues. I forgot about that until after I had posted them.

.

Well I'll tell you not as thick as the Monogram B-36 tail.

Maybe a better look

Sanding something really thin requires you use something to hold onto and good masking tape works great!

It worked so good I sanded the port side too thin..grrr. Well I have to go to work now catch you all later. Magoo

Not so sure about those questions teut but I did notice on that top shot there weren't any "No Step" stickers.

Another question for the masses. Although I am a ways off from painting the undersides of my B-36, was the anti-thermal white paint gloss, semi-gloss or flat? The restores all look glossy, but I suspect they weren't using anti-thermal paint. It is difficult to tell from old photos -- everything looks flat, including the shiny aluminum.

I'm also sensitive to the fact the modeler sometimes needs to modify the paint color or gloss texture from the original in order to make it look correct in a miniature model (i.e. flatter paint tends to look for realistic than gloss paint).

Teutonic222

Another question for the masses. Although I am a ways off from painting the undersides of my B-36, was the anti-thermal white paint gloss, semi-gloss or flat? The restores all look glossy, but I suspect they weren't using anti-thermal paint. It is difficult to tell from old photos -- everything looks flat, including the shiny aluminum.

I'm also sensitive to the fact the modeler sometimes needs to modify the paint color or gloss texture from the original in order to make it look correct in a miniature model (i.e. flatter paint tends to look for realistic than gloss paint).

The only person that could answer that question with 100% accuracy is Roger. My dealings with it in other craft was it was just plain jane "old looking" white....not glossy - neither flat. 

As for myself..... I`ll be using flat white

The white looks flat to me.  I saw an operational B-36 up close in about 1958 but well, the memory...I do remember all those tiny people standing on the wing.

Slackers report:  I have been slowly working on the wing details, had to do a little more refinement on the air inlets, and slowly getting the silver paint to look like I want.  Did a little scribing today also, on the flaps where I lost detail lowering the wing.