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

I bought mine from Roll Models (www.rollmodels.net/index2.htm). They were $14 each. However, I found out later you can get them cheaper directly from Engine & Things (www.planet.eon.net/~engthg). They're pretty rough as they come and the front detail is incorrect for a dismounted engine - they have a grill on it that is actually the grill on the shroud that mounts on the front of the B-52D engines. To replicate the shroud, you need to build out the front of the engine.

Below is a picture of a dismounted engine with the front shroud removed.

And below is the engine with the shroud installed.

Some progress made. Below are pictures of the finished nacelle bulkhead and also the cleaned up and painted engines, ready for detailing. 

And here are the pump assemblies.

Hello Russ - another thing not done in scale every day! But your work here is exceptional from the beginning, so that's no surprise! From what I see I get the feeleing you spent a lot of time on 1:1 jet engines.. Only this way you can get the knowledge nesessary to build something like those oil pumps... It would be nice to see how big those babies really are - in scale. Thanks for sharing and good luck with your build

Paweł

Russ,

AAAAAAAA   Stop it, yer killing me, now I HAVE to install those overhead oil pressure guages..

Cripes...

Majer Kong

Hello, Pawel!

Thanks for the good words and the well wishes. You flatter me, but no, I didn't work on the engines, only went deaf from being around them . As for how big they were, unfortunately, I have already attached the pump assemblies to the engines but the picture below will give you some idea of how big they were, as well as the engines (NOTE: the engine is upside down in this picture).

Cheers,

Russ

Bockscar

Hi Russ:
The engines and bomb racks look fantastic. It just keeps getting better. Your diorama really grabs the eye and holds it!
Dom

Thanks, Dom! I really appreciate the good words!

Cheers,

Russ

buffjock

Russ,

AAAAAAAA   Stop it, yer killing me, now I HAVE to install those overhead oil pressure guages..

Cripes...

Majer Kong

Lol Maj. Kong! When would you ever have time - you're already building your own air wing! Thanks, Bud  

Cheers,

Russ

If only I was rich enough to have my own private jet.....Hmm, wonder what it would be....

When the "H" is done that will make 36 in 1/72, 6 in 1/144, 2 in 1/100 and 2 in 1/200

Seriously Russ, thats some fine work you do

So, how big would a 781 be in 1/72?

Majer Kong

Thanks, Allen! Wow, what a collection!

 781? Not very big!  

Jim Williams made one for me in 1/72 scale for my diorama. Below is a picture of it on the MD-3 power unit - this is where the book usually rested when the aircraft was in maintenance unless it was raining, then it was placed on the floor at the top of the main hatch.

And here's a picture of my hand holding the MD-3 with the 781 on top. Jim did an incredible job creating a 781 book at this small scale!

Cheers,

Russ

Russ,

Got news for ya, I think yer both crazy!! OK, I will give you the 781 but do ya got a -1?

Majer Kong

Ahh you got me there, bud. What -1 do you have in mind?

Russ,

That would be the Pilots Operating Handbook. I have hard, actual copies of every model including the B-52A ( That little pieces set me back 1100 quid.) I have a -4  "Illustrated Parts Interchange"  manual for the G-H. It has 4,904 pages and weighs 22 pounds.

Also have some Boeing documents from a lady whos husband worked on the B-52 project in Wichita. He passed away and she sent me a big box full of Boeing documents, wing skin samples, Vellums, etc. She was gonna just throw the stuff out and I offered to by it, she said I could have it for free and she sent it via the USPS!!

Majer Kong

Man, that's fantastic! What a treasure trove of information! 

And when Im gone it all goes to the B-52 Stratofortrees Assn....

Majer Kong

Hi, All,

Finally, I finished those two new engines. Below are some pictures of the engines installed on the nacelle.

 Here is the firewall with the left engine removed.

Cheers, and thanks for looking!

Russ,

Nice work on the J-57s!!  Musta done a good job on em, dont see one oil leak!!

Majer Kong

Well, Kong:

Russ got all the finger prints wrong!

Like, he's not perfect!

Dom,

His looks better than my lame-@#$ firewalls.....

Majer Kong

buffjock

Russ,

Nice work on the J-57s!!  Musta done a good job on em, dont see one oil leak!!

Majer Kong

Thanks, Kong! This plane has a good crew! .  Actually, I'm a little gun shy to add too much grunge after all the work it took to add the detail in the first place. I'm going to try a thin black wash along the bottom and sides and see how that goes.

Cheers,

Russ

Bockscar

Well, Kong:

Russ got all the finger prints wrong!

Like, he's not perfect!

Dang! And I studied the fingerprint diagrams closely to get them all in the right place!

buffjock

Dom,

His looks better than my lame-@#$ firewalls.....

 

Majer Kong

Hey, bud, yours look fine for what you're doing! I only built one - you're doing dozens! Also, remember I'm modeling the firewall of an operational aircraft. Those in the boneyard had most of their hoses, cables and parts cannibalized for use on other aircraft. 

Cheers,

Russ

Russ,

There still not "clean" by any stretch, and dont forget, everthing is bent,twisted,cut,smashed,faded,etc.

Kinda like the kits I do....

Dom is just jealous.... He needs ta be cracking that tube 'o glue and gettin to work...That kind of work ethic will never win Canada a war.Lets see how he does the fingerprint detail!!

Dom, I have over 300 1/72 AGM-86Cs, Am I gonna have to send you some??

Majer Kong

Seriously Russ,

Thats some  fine work, although, technically, I dont think the aircraft would be operational without the engine covers in place. Its ok to taxi though.... Looks like DLM to me.

Majer Kong

Thanks, Kong. No, the covers would only be removed for maintenance. About the only time all of the covers were removed was for an engine change, or as you say, depot level maintenance. I don't recall ever seeing a 52 taxi with the engine covers off - there may be a serious safety issue involved there but in most cases, if there was maintenance  to be done somewhere else on the base, the plane would just be towed there..

Cheers,

Russ

Russ,

Get that baby back together, we need it up north.... Fill the bomb bay with *** and send it up to drop on Dominic!! That oughta get 'im movin!! I can send you a few AGM-86c's - maybe they can help light Doms fire  a liitle...    Just put the final coat of Squadron white on the ole "G" s wingroots. By 2 am I will have a cruise missile capable B-52G ready to go to the paint shop  Sat.

Seriously, is anyone else working on a BUFF or is it just Russ and I??

I went for gear down on the "G" to get the mid retraction look I was hoping for is a little more complicated than I had thought.... I need to order a couple boxes of weapons from Hasegawa I only had 9 bombs and  theres 24 on the wing pylons alone. (Bay loadout would require 27 which would be 3 MORE boxes on top of the 2 I have to order now.....) Thats dang near 50 buck in bombs!! Cripes..... I can see me spending days in the Bomb bay on detail work. Just gonna leave the doors open and the belly empty.

Majer Kong

Well Russ,

you did a great job, I have to give you credit.

But i noticed some of the thumbprints got mixed up left hand to right hand.

Gosh, I cover my head in shame in public just thinking about it!

WHAT? WHAT?

So Golhammer was right after all Kong;

you do have the inventory to end the world!!!!!

How in devil's heck you end up with 300?

Should i ask?

Sure, a dozen oughta last me to the end of my megalomaniac dreams.

Or how about enough to outfit two BUFFs?

if you PM me we could do a trade, if I have enough tritium lying around.....

Oh, you be right told Dominic is working on a BUFF!

Well Kong:

Welcome to chemical vs thermonuclear vs proton annihilation..

Kripes, my eyes whent so bad Russ had to glue the fins on my iron bombs,

but I can still whip up a gadget to blow a hole in earth's mantel, and send few

unwanted folks to paradise to read poetry!!!

Realistically, probably June. I'll keep everyone posted.

I have a big inefficient gadget I've been working on,

I think of it as Satan's Mom.

By using a quantum mechanical mechanism to make collapsed electrons within neutrons

evaporate, the subsequent neutron rich atom cores revert to more typical proton-electron

atoms, releasing fusion level energy, with about 80% efficiency.

Whole atoms obliterate, rather than fission or fusion, so, Tsar Bomba looks like a fire cracker,

and we can cause continents to shift, volcanic activity to replace the homes of bad guys,

or maybe just punch out a planet that's in the way.

Well, it's here, sorta, and one of my BUFFs will have it in case Australia needs to be removed....

Dang, I kinda liked Australia, but how else are we gonna know if the gadget works?

It takes a lot less time to make one of these devices that it does Russ to outfit one of his babes.....dang.....

Dom