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

Thanks for the good words, Ken, and thanks again for your help!  There hasn't been a whole lot of interest in them so far but then again, they really need to be displayed with a bomber and who has room even at 1/72 scale? I don't have the room myself. In fact, I may donate my diorama to a local library when I get it finished - if I get it finished .

Cheers,

Russ.

Striker8241

Hi, All,

I just built a second bomb clip transporter so I updated the manual at the same time. In fact, I decided to move the construction of the transporter into its own manual. The completed second transporter is shown below:

If you would like a copy of either or both manuals, email me at striker8241@yahoo.com.  As always, many thanks to Ken Williams for converting my Word files to PDF!

Next, I plan to build three empty bomb clips to go on three additional transporters, as shown in the picture below. There would have been three transporters with empty clips after a mission.

 

Ultimately, I plan to have a total of 6 transporters: one with a fully loaded bomb clip (already built), two with only their cradles - representing the two loaded bomb clips, and three with empty clips. That is, if I can force myself to build that many! .

The wheels for this model came out better than I could ever have hoped. Also, they are handy for other trailers and vehicles needing wheels about 10 mm in diameter. You can purchase a set of 12 for about $16 from Michael O'Hare at: http://shpws.me/sQnz

Cheers,

Russ

Once again, fantastic job of scratch building there Russ!!      Your attention to detail is amazing!  And thank you once again for taking the time to put those manuals together.  I know that takes a lot of time to do.

Ken

Hi, All,

I just built a second bomb clip transporter so I updated the manual at the same time. In fact, I decided to move the construction of the transporter into its own manual.

If you would like a copy of either or both manuals, please PM me.  As always, many thanks to Ken Williams for converting my Word files to PDF!

Next, I plan to build three empty bomb clips to go on three additional transporters, similiar to those shown in the picture below. There would have been three transporters with empty clips after a mission.

Ultimately, I plan to have a total of 6 transporters: one with a fully loaded bomb clip (already built), two with only their cradles - representing the two loaded bomb clips, and three with empty clips. That is, if I can force myself to build that many! .

The wheels for this model came out better than I could ever have hoped. Also, they are handy for other trailers and vehicles needing wheels about 10 mm in diameter. You can purchase a set of 12 or 24 from Michael O'Hare at: http://shpws.me/sQnz

Cheers,

Russ

Hi Russ;

Thanks for the kind comments. Things are going OK, still employed,

but I get home and get very lazy. Haven't had a holiday since October 2012.

Good to see your project evolving, i check in but haven't had much to contribute.

maybe in the fall I'll fire up the hobby desk....

Dom

Thanks, Dom!   How are you doing, bud? Sounds like work is keeping you from modeling. I can well understand that. Hope everything is ok at your end.

Actually, the trailers are displayed on Mike O'Hare's Shapeway's account, but it does give them some exposure .

Cheers,

Russ

Hey Russ;

Nice work as usual! Those wheels and hubs sure look like the real thing, alright!

Congrats on having Shapeways use your work to display the wheel sets, very cool!

Man, I sure miss the kits, but looking at them still makes me smile

Best,

Dom

Thanks, Pawel!  I hope to do that someday when I get my spray paint system working.

Cheers and thanks again for the good words!

Russ

Lookin' good Russ! Maybe you should dirty your model up a little for some extra realism? Keep 'em babies comin' and have a nice day

Paweł

Here's my transporter with the new wheels, and a picture of the actual transporter. I'm really pleased with the outcome. Mike O'Hare has really done an outstanding job 3D printing the wheels.

If you're interested in building one or more of these transporters, and the bomb clips to go on them, PM me with an email address and I'll send you a copy of the manual I wrote on how to build both the bomb clips and the transporter.

BTW, the wheels for the transporter can also be used for various other ground support vehicles and trailers as well. Here is the link to Mike's Shapeways store where you can purchase a complete set of wheels, or multiple sets if you want to build more.

12x wheels (for 1 transporter): http://shpws.me/sQnz

24x wheels (for two transporters): http://shpws.me/sQny

And heres a link that includes some of Mike's other products: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/modetail.

Cheers for now,

Russ 

Hi, All,

I finally found a source for the right type of wheels for my bomb clip transporter trailer. I sent the dimensions to Michael O'Hare and he rendered them on his engineering software and sent them off to a printer to have them 3D printed. They came out very well, as shown below.

The first photo shows the wheels as they come from the printers.

The next picture shows an assembled wheel.

The final picture below shows the wheel painted. I only had a satin black spray paint so they appear a bit shiny, but you can actually see the tire body and groove detail better that way.

As soon as Michael settles on the pricing, I'll post a link to his site where the wheels can be ordered.

Cheers,

Russ

Cool! What model and when?

thanks gobs and gobs.  oh, by the way, I worked on the one to one scale of this type acft

Hi, Anonymous,

Thanks for the good words!

If I understand correctly, you're trying to edit a previous post and when you post pictures a second time, they come up as addresses. Usually, the only thing that can cause a problem like that is pasting a link directly into the edit screen instead of using the Insert Image tool in the toolbar, as outlined in red in the example below.  Be sure you have the Insert Image screen open when you paste your link.

One thing that may be causing confusion is sometimes when editing the last post in a thread you forget to click on the edit button in the post you want edit and actually end up trying to edit your post in the quick reply screen that appears below  the last post by default. When you paste a link directly into that screen, it comes up as an address.

Other than these two possibilities, I'm not sure what might be causing your problem. If these suggestions don't help,  go to the FSM Home page and click on the Forum Feedback & Error ReportingFeedback, Help and Testing link under the Feedback, Help and Testing heading and post a description of your problem.

Hope you can resolve your problem, bud. And thanks for looking in!

Cheers,

Russ

hay russ, have a problem, and with you posting this great piece, I figure that you know how....  I have posted in the past, and have usually been able to get my new pics , as pics on the same post, even if they have been days or weeks later.    but recently, I have not been able to do so.  when I post the first pics, they come up in picture form.  recently, when I post on the same post, it comes up as a address.  what am I doing wrong.     H.E.L.P!!!

Thanks, Bish!

Striker8241

As promised, here is the finished M246 preparing for an engine change.

Cheers,

Russ

 

 

Damn, I missed this one. Now that is really nice.

Thanks, Dom . Actually, I just "borrowed" the diorama for an engine change photo shoot. In real life, they wouldn' t allow heavy maintenance like that at the same time they were loading bombs. Too many chances for accidents.

Cheers,

Russ

Russ:

For a guy that swears he has no graphics talent, i'ld say you did well.

I haven't figured out your diorama, but an engine swap on one side, and bomb load out on the other?

Looks very good,

-Dom

Thanks, Ken!  Second picture looks better with the lifting cables . They proved to be too difficult to show convincingly with thread or wire so I added them with Photoshop for the time being .

Russ

Striker8241

As promised, here is the finished M246 preparing for an engine change.

Cheers,

Russ

 

 

Great job there Russ!  It looks very realistic!     

Ken

Thanks, Dom.  Yes indeed, I've watched those engine changes and it's a tricky job with plenty of opportunities to smash or lose a digit if you don't follow procedures.

Russ

Russ:

The clouds and shadows make that look very convincing. Personally, I don't think I'ld want to do the engine swap-outs. It looks like precarious work, you could lose a thumb...

Dom

As promised, here is the finished M246 preparing for an engine change.

Cheers,

Russ

Thanks, Ken!

Striker8241

Hi, All,

I wanted to show an engine change in progress as a variable scene on my Arc Light diorama. Since I already have an engine detailed and on a trailer, my next project was finding a suitable truck with a crane in 1/72 scale. Unfortunately, I didn't find any. I did some research into different types of crane trucks and discovered that the Air Force used Army style M246 wreckers for all sorts of lifting jobs including engine changes. These trucks were produced in the 50s and were used well into the 70s. There were three variants of this wrecker: M246, M246A1 and M246A2. My model is patterned after the M246A2 variant.

 

But then… I couldn't find any M246 kits available in 1/72 scale either. However, I had already used Academy's 1/72 M35 2.5 ton truck for my bomb truck so I decided to see if I could morph one into an M246 wrecker - easier said than done….

 

The M35 kit provided the chassis, cab, wheels and assorted other details that I could use, but a lot of modifying and scratchbuilding had to be done to turn it into an M246 wrecker. The chassis had to be extended and the rear axels had to be shortened. The decking, crane and cabin and the fifth wheel were all scratch built, as well as a lot of minor details like the air filter, muffler and mud flaps. Below are some pictures of the model as it stands now.

 I'm still working on the decals. I also want to show the truck in the deployed configuration with it preparing to lift an engine, but that will come later.

Cheers,

Russ

 

 

Once again fantastic scratch building Russ!  You do such great work!   

Ken

Lol!  Thanks, Dom!   It turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected, but now, back to planes...

Russ

Russ:

You did okay, but not enough grease on the fifth wheel!!!!

Great work on that crane and cab!!!!!

I knew you were up to something!

-Dom

Hi, All,

I wanted to show an engine change in progress as a variable scene on my Arc Light diorama. Since I already have an engine detailed and on a trailer, my next project was finding a suitable truck with a crane in 1/72 scale. Unfortunately, I didn't find any. I did some research into different types of crane trucks and discovered that the Air Force used Army style M246 wreckers for all sorts of lifting jobs including engine changes. These trucks were produced in the 50s and were used well into the 70s. There were three variants of this wrecker: M246, M246A1 and M246A2. My model is patterned after the M246A2 variant shown below.

But then… I couldn't find any M246 kits available in 1/72 scale either. However, I had already used Academy's 1/72 M35 2.5 ton truck for my bomb truck so I decided to see if I could morph one into an M246 wrecker - easier said than done….

The M35 kit provided the chassis, cab, wheels and assorted other details that I could use, but a lot of modifying and scratchbuilding had to be done to turn it into an M246 wrecker. The chassis had to be extended and the rear axels had to be shortened. The decking, crane and cabin and the fifth wheel were all scratch built, as well as a lot of minor details like the air filter, muffler and mud flaps. Below are some pictures of the model as it stands now.

 I'm still working on the decals. I also want to show the truck in the deployed configuration with it preparing to lift an engine, but that will come later.

Cheers,

Russ

Hey, Dom,

Glad to hear you survived the audit   I don't envy you your snow shovel - but hey, throw it away and come down to sunny Florida! The only thing we shovel down here is sand and...well, you know...

Sounds like you're detailing more than one engine - looking forward to seeing your work!

Cheers,

Russ

What? Are we all buried under snow?

Well Russ, still in pain looking at that engine, I wish

I could see it for real. My desk got buried the last few months,

I got through an audit (the only time i will ever be called an "Officer")

and a corporate rebranding, (I survived) so no time on the bench,

and rather messed over for work and head space.

My next project: filing out the nacelles per Russ' directions, and

I think I may have some liners for the exhaust.

Why have i been away? the 3 metric tons of snow i hand shovelled

might be a reason, I am in pain, apparantly 2 more systems to go before

May....Oh Joy!!!!

Don't be insulted if I cut and paste this post to the BUFF thread,,,,,

All I can think about is buying kits, not building kits......

Dom