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

Sure, Dom,

Here are the only close up photos I have. There were at least two types of shackles, probably more. The first one was the one used with the pylons. The second was used to hang the bombs on the bomb clips.

I remember the munitions guys at Kadena attaching the second type of shackle to the bombs before they took them off the truck. This fits with them loading the bombs directly onto the bomb clips while they were installed in the aircraft.

Cheers,

Russ

Russ:

Many thanks for that photo.

Any idea how the release mechanism actually worked?

Also, I haven't seen a clear picture of the brackets on the bombs themselves.

Many old WWII brackets from different forces looked like a small loop of  welded steel rod, any pictures of a bomb's bracket hanging around?

Thanks

Dom

Hi, All,

For those of you interested in the Big Belly bomb clips, here is a photo I found showing some empty clips. Unfortunately, you can't see a lot of detail but you can see the release hardware in the slots. These particular clips were used for 750-lb bombs so they only have two panels.

BTW, I've managed to accumulate enough of the right size wheels to upgrade my trailer so it looks like the actual trailer. Once I get mine completed, I'll update the bomb clip manual.

Cheers,

Russ

You're welcome Dom, looking forward to seeing the results.

Duke Maddog

Bockscar

Duke Maddog

Striker8241

Thanks, Duke. That sounds like a good way to do it. How would you keep the bomb perpendicular to the paint?

Thanks again,

Russ

I would say eyeball it. Generally it's pretty easy. I knew one guy who attached the bombs to toothpicks or something similar, making sure that they were lined up with the bomb centerline. Then he attached a clamp to the small drill press that he uses with his Dremel so that he could clip the bombs to the drill press and use that to dip the bombs while keeping them perpendicular to the paint.

I personally have eyeballed it and it came out very nicely.

Keep up the great work; I'm looking forward to more.

Duke, to avoid the blobbing or glomming issue, how thick or thin should the 'sheep dip' be?

Jess' wundrin', my hands like a few before me, are beyond neuro surgery.

Dom

Bockscar

Duke Maddog

Striker8241

Thanks, Duke. That sounds like a good way to do it. How would you keep the bomb perpendicular to the paint?

Thanks again,

Russ

I would say eyeball it. Generally it's pretty easy. I knew one guy who attached the bombs to toothpicks or something similar, making sure that they were lined up with the bomb centerline. Then he attached a clamp to the small drill press that he uses with his Dremel so that he could clip the bombs to the drill press and use that to dip the bombs while keeping them perpendicular to the paint.

I personally have eyeballed it and it came out very nicely.

Keep up the great work; I'm looking forward to more.

Duke, to avoid the blobbing or glomming issue, how thick or thin should the 'sheep dip' be?

Jess' wundrin', my hands like a few before me, are beyond neuro surgery.

Dom

I usually make mine about the consistency of milk. That way it is thin enough so if you need to dip more than once to get a clear color, it still doesn't glom. Any thinner and it may not be opaque enough.

Good luck; I am looking forward to seeing how those bombs look.

Given I've got 84 to do, then the 750's, I'll experiment with each method and see which one I can't

scrooge up, or is the easiest......

Dom

Yeah, I agree Cobra! I've done the same too. Brilliant minds think alike!

Duke

I use a similar method to paint the tips of propellers. It works especially well in 1/72 when a prop warning stripe is multi-colored like white/red/white.

Bockscar

Duke Maddog

Striker8241

Thanks, Duke. That sounds like a good way to do it. How would you keep the bomb perpendicular to the paint?

Thanks again,

Russ

I would say eyeball it. Generally it's pretty easy. I knew one guy who attached the bombs to toothpicks or something similar, making sure that they were lined up with the bomb centerline. Then he attached a clamp to the small drill press that he uses with his Dremel so that he could clip the bombs to the drill press and use that to dip the bombs while keeping them perpendicular to the paint.

I personally have eyeballed it and it came out very nicely.

Keep up the great work; I'm looking forward to more.

Duke, to avoid the blobbing or glomming issue, how thick or thin should the 'sheep dip' be?

Jess' wundrin', my hands like a few before me, are beyond neuro surgery.

Dom

Bockscar

Duke Maddog

Striker8241

Thanks, Duke. That sounds like a good way to do it. How would you keep the bomb perpendicular to the paint?

Thanks again,

Russ

I would say eyeball it. Generally it's pretty easy. I knew one guy who attached the bombs to toothpicks or something similar, making sure that they were lined up with the bomb centerline. Then he attached a clamp to the small drill press that he uses with his Dremel so that he could clip the bombs to the drill press and use that to dip the bombs while keeping them perpendicular to the paint.

I personally have eyeballed it and it came out very nicely.

Keep up the great work; I'm looking forward to more.

Duke, to avoid the blobbing or glomming issue, how thick or thin should the 'sheep dip' be?

Jess' wundrin', my hands like a few before me, are beyond neuro surgery.

Dom

I usually make mine about the consistency of milk. That way it is thin enough so if you need to dip more than once to get a clear color, it still doesn't glom. Any thinner and it may not be opaque enough.

Good luck; I am looking forward to seeing how those bombs look.

Russ:

everithin' but buildin' them for me!

Thanks man, I'll cut out of a solid piece. Cutting styrene is a challenge, what with the induced strain, raised edges, etc, so for 1/72, a true challenge.

no worries here, i wish I could see that as you go, I love learning....

I'm going to start the panels as i have three days this coming weekend.......all due to an ancient Israeli...lol.....I still love the guy.

My eyesight is shot, and hands not like they were. But, i appreciate product.

Your bleeding edge innovation is greatly appreciated, first shot at that I've seen, apologies to those I've missed.

Hmmmmm....Easter......Crater Egg Clips.......what a gift to humanity......lol

Dom

Source: Walter Boyne

Bockscar

By the way, is that grey colour going on the wings?

Dom

No, that grey area is the next area I need to paint. Shhhhh.... I'm sneaking up on it...

Russ

Dom,

Thanks for the good words, bud! Ya, I made them flush since the border was out of scale, and it also added to the overall width of the clip. The thickness of the new panels themselves is pretty much to scale so even if you went to the trouble of adding the border, you wouldn't be able to see it unless you were real close, or had really good eyesight.

As for the pickup points, yes they were at the point where the panel changes from vertical to slanted. Again, the scale pieces turned out to be so small that they would hardly show, so I left them off.

I cut each panel out of a solid piece of plastic, then I cut out the slot. From what I encountered, I recommend you just outline the slot first, glue the 11 mm top brace in place, then cut out the slot. I had a problem with the plastic bending outward as I cut the sides of the slot and that made it difficult to keep the cut straight. The brace will help keep everything straight. However, with the brace glued onto the top, it protrudes over both sides so you'll need to place the panel on a raised surface with the brace hanging over the side and the panel lying flat.

There's my bleeding edge innovation lol!

Russ

Gosh Russ,,,,,

Errors?????

Like you forgot to put wings on it man........

And no rear elevators or radome, I dunno......

That work surface of yours looks pretty cool Russ,

that's what i call weathering....

By the way, is that grey colour going on the wings?

Dom

Son Of Medicine Man

Striker8241

My plans to continue with the diorama base this last weekend got sidetracked but I did manage to do some more spray painting on the fuselage. Since this is my first time spray painting a plastic model, and I'm using spray cans, I'm taking it slowly. Also, I'm using Parafilm - M to mask it, which takes some practice to make it work. One thing I don't like about it is you have to trim it with a sharp Exacto blade which leaves a line in the plastic or paint no matter how gently you cut.

I don't have enough for the wings so I plan to try silly putty next.  

Cheers,

Russ

 

That looks real nice Russ!      I think you did a great job!  (It took me a while to find it in the picture, since it was camouflaged!!  )

Ken

Lol, Ken!  That's funny! But you're too generous, my friend - I can see errors even from here! Thanks for the good words though. I'm learning thanks to you guys .

Russ

Russ:

looking forward to the new clips. Your new blue-print is more accurate, and i have noted

you are making the panels flush, rather than having a border, right?

I was thinking about the bevel in in the clip panel, and they did put the latch for the big yellow

pick-up hooks right where the panel goes straight up and down, right?

Anyhow, now my question is to:

Cut the entire panel out of a single piece of stock, i.e. there's that big gap,

Assemble the panel out of 2 or 3 pieces. i dunno.

Looking forward to your 'bleeding edge' innovation on that Russ!!!!....

Dom

Duke Maddog

Striker8241

Thanks, Duke. That sounds like a good way to do it. How would you keep the bomb perpendicular to the paint?

Thanks again,

Russ

I would say eyeball it. Generally it's pretty easy. I knew one guy who attached the bombs to toothpicks or something similar, making sure that they were lined up with the bomb centerline. Then he attached a clamp to the small drill press that he uses with his Dremel so that he could clip the bombs to the drill press and use that to dip the bombs while keeping them perpendicular to the paint.

I personally have eyeballed it and it came out very nicely.

Keep up the great work; I'm looking forward to more.

Jess' wundrin', my hands like a few before me, are beyond neuro surgery.

Dom

Striker8241

My plans to continue with the diorama base this last weekend got sidetracked but I did manage to do some more spray painting on the fuselage. Since this is my first time spray painting a plastic model, and I'm using spray cans, I'm taking it slowly. Also, I'm using Parafilm - M to mask it, which takes some practice to make it work. One thing I don't like about it is you have to trim it with a sharp Exacto blade which leaves a line in the plastic or paint no matter how gently you cut.

I don't have enough for the wings so I plan to try silly putty next.  

Cheers,

Russ

 

That looks real nice Russ!      I think you did a great job!  (It took me a while to find it in the picture, since it was camouflaged!!  )

Ken

Thanks, Duke. I'm cooking up two more clips worth of bombs so I'll be trying your method for sure.

Cheers,

Russ

Striker8241

Thanks, Duke. That sounds like a good way to do it. How would you keep the bomb perpendicular to the paint?

Thanks again,

Russ

I would say eyeball it. Generally it's pretty easy. I knew one guy who attached the bombs to toothpicks or something similar, making sure that they were lined up with the bomb centerline. Then he attached a clamp to the small drill press that he uses with his Dremel so that he could clip the bombs to the drill press and use that to dip the bombs while keeping them perpendicular to the paint.

I personally have eyeballed it and it came out very nicely.

Keep up the great work; I'm looking forward to more.

My plans to continue with the diorama base this last weekend got sidetracked but I did manage to do some more spray painting on the fuselage. Since this is my first time spray painting a plastic model, and I'm using spray cans, I'm taking it slowly. Also, I'm using Parafilm - M to mask it, which takes some practice to make it work. One thing I don't like about it is you have to trim it with a sharp Exacto blade which leaves a line in the plastic or paint no matter how gently you cut.

I don't have enough for the wings so I plan to try silly putty next.  

Cheers,

Russ

Bockscar

Many thanks for the instructions Russ, may come in very handy.

I was also going to remove that rear fusing panel on the bombs at the bottom of the clips,

I don't know if I have the patience to do all 84.

Dom

Striker8241

Thanks, Duke. That sounds like a good way to do it. How would you keep the bomb perpendicular to the paint?

Yup, that's what happened to me. If you're having the same problem, it's probably a glitch in the FSM program.

Thanks again,

Russ

Guys, sometimes when I go onto this thread, the last page won't come up, so I go the the top and click one word back and then go forward again and the page comes up. I'm not sure it is exactly the same glitch, but it does happen about once every 5 times I log on.

I can't make it happen, as in, CND.....

Dom

Striker8241

Hi, All,

If you're building a bomb clip (or just the bombs themselves), you will probably want to paint the yellow stripe on the noses. For the 500 lb bombs, the end of the nose is yellow; for a 750 lb bomb, a yellow stripe is painted around the nose. I discovered a relatively easy way to mark the ends of the bombs for painting:

NOTE: This procedure assumes you have already painted the body of the bomb.

500 lb Bomb:

1. Place the bomb on a flat surface so you can rotate it freely. If you've already attached the tail fins, place the bomb at the end of a raised flat surface.

2. Place a heavy object with a vertical face in front of the bomb so the nose contacts it, or you can glue/clamp a wood or plastic block in front of it.

3. Make a mark about 2 mm from the end of the nose on each bomb.

4. Place a sharpened standard  pencil perpendicular to the bomb with the sharpened end contacting the nose of the bomb at the mark.

5. Rotate the bomb against the block to create a circular line.

6. Paint the entire marked area yellow.

750 lb Bomb:

1. A 750 lb bomb is a bit trickier because you need to create a stripe. On each bomb, make a mark about 4 mm from the nose end of the bomb.

2. Decide on how wide you want the stripe (I made mine about 1.5 mm) and make a second mark toward the nose of the bomb.

3. Place the bomb with its nose against the block.

4. Lay the pencil perpendicular to the end of the bomb at each mark and rotate the bomb to create the outline of the stripe.

5. Paint the stripe yellow.

Hope this works for you ,

Russ

 

I was also going to remove that rear fusing panel on the bombs at the bottom of the clips,

I don't know if I have the patience to do all 84.

Dom

Thanks, Duke. That sounds like a good way to do it. How would you keep the bomb perpendicular to the paint?

Yup, that's what happened to me. If you're having the same problem, it's probably a glitch in the FSM program.

Thanks again,

Russ

Striker, another way to paint the nose of the bombs is to place a bit of paint in a small tray to the level you want the color to be. Then dip the nose of the bomb into the paint. Be sure to thin it enough so the paint doesn't look glopped on. To do one with a stripe, dip the nose in a deeper layer of paint; then when it is dry, dip it into a lower level of the original color. Of course, be sure to keep the bomb perpendicular at all times. This technique should give you a straight line every time.

As for your second post; that just happened to me when I came here from my E-mail notification today. I had to go to the first page, then come back to the last one to see this final post.

Hey, All,

Have any of you encountered a problem with Outlook where you click on the link in an FSM message in Outlook and the page opens in the FSM thread but is blank? This only seems to happen occasionally and appears to have something to do with the post itself but I can't figure out what is causing it.

Russ

Hi, All,

If you're building a bomb clip (or just the bombs themselves), you will probably want to paint the yellow stripe on the noses. For the 500 lb bombs, the end of the nose is yellow; for a 750 lb bomb, a yellow stripe is painted around the nose. I discovered a relatively easy way to mark the ends of the bombs for painting:

NOTE: This procedure assumes you have already painted the body of the bomb.

500 lb Bomb:

1. Place the bomb on a flat surface so you can rotate it freely. If you've already attached the tail fins, place the bomb at the end of a raised flat surface.

2. Place a heavy object with a vertical face in front of the bomb so the nose contacts it, or you can glue/clamp a wood or plastic block in front of it.

3. Make a mark about 2 mm from the end of the nose on each bomb.

4. Place a sharpened standard  pencil perpendicular to the bomb with the sharpened end contacting the nose of the bomb at the mark.

5. Rotate the bomb against the block to create a circular line.

6. Paint the entire marked area yellow.

750 lb Bomb:

1. A 750 lb bomb is a bit trickier because you need to create a stripe. On each bomb, make a mark about 4 mm from the nose end of the bomb.

2. Decide on how wide you want the stripe (I made mine about 1.5 mm) and make a second mark toward the nose of the bomb.

3. Place the bomb with its nose against the block.

4. Lay the pencil perpendicular to the end of the bomb at each mark and rotate the bomb to create the outline of the stripe.

5. Paint the stripe yellow.

Hope this works for you ,

Russ

Russ:

Enjoying your new Bomb Clip Manual.

I see you've incorporated the angle in the clip panels, that looks great

I was going to cut those in mine, but was messing around trying to figure

out the blue print......many thanks for that!!!

Hey, speaking of panels, great innovation for the control panel on

the MD-3 Power Generator, very convincing! Thought you bought that!

Dom

Dom

Thanks, Lee!  Wow, Upper Hayford - I heard a lot about it but I never made it there. I was TDY to RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk back in 1976 for a couple of weeks. Crazy blokes there .  I loved the English villages and countryside.  They sure do talk funny though...

Russ

My dad was in SAC for almost his entire career. When we lived at RAF Upper Heyford our backyard was the B-47 line. The only thing that separated us from the aircraft parked 100 feet away was a fence. I watched the ground crews using this ground support equipment without knowing what it was for but am now getting an education. Thanks, Russ! Great work.

Lee

Thanks, Ken!  I really appreciate the good words  .

Russ