B29 Build Progress

Nice clean build!  Thanks for the posts!

Today's lesson was entitled "Be Sure to Find a Place to Put the Freshly-Painted Propellor BEFORE You Have One Hand Full of Airbrush and the Other Hand Full of Propellor Covered in Wet Paint"...

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

Don't ask me how I learned this lesson...

I am concerned about masking the gloss white on the engine cowlings; wouldn't do to have it lift up with the masking tape.  I had the brilliant idea of shooting a coat of Future over the white to hold it in place, then masking it for the rest of the cowling painting. 

Does the collective wisdom of the forum have any ideas about that?  Or am I worrying needlessly and should just mask the gloss white and move along?

cheers, Bob

If you put future over the paint a few coats an let it dry for a day, you will have a finish that will be practically scratch resistant, I always use future on my aircraft paint schemes as it's a super strong acrylic so it will protect it, I would give it an hour or so between coats and then leave it a day. Well that's what I do and it always works, I cannot say for white but I assume the colour will not actually matter.

Bob, I must say that I am enjoying this thread of you going through your build and getting some good pointers from the list members. Especially as sit here with a B-29 in the box right besides me, just waiting for me to finish painting my P-51D. BTW, I just put my P-51 props in a sealed bag after four days of drying.

Shipwreck:  I am glad you are enjoying it; I am enjoying doing it!  I think it is very cool that everyone gets the tips at the same time, as opposed to modeling in The Olden Days which was a very solitary activity.  Much easier to learn from everyone else here, and see pictures and how-to's on YouTube. 

I decided I was being too wishy-washy and so went ahead and masked the gloss white on the engine cowlings without coating them first with Future.  I figure if it fails, I can strip it and begin again without too much lost time or effort.  Here is the masking:

I used Tamiya masking tape and re-learned a bunch of old calculus by trying to make a nice curve out of a series of short straight line segments.  I practiced a bit on applying the tape and pulling it off and it did not seem to harm the white finish at all, so I gave it a shot.

Next up is to paint the cowlings gloss black as an undercoat, then apply Polished Aluminum to part of it and Stainless Steel to the rest.  I hope to get through all that by the weekend.  I also want to paint the tips of the propellers yellow next, so more masking there.  I understand yellow is hard to cover an undercoat, so I may have to spray it several times to get it to look glossy and opaque.

More to follow!

Latest update on the B-29.  I painted the engine cowlings.  They turned out fairly good but need some touch-up to be complete.  Photos below with commentary:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

This shows the stainless steel front and some of the polished aluminum base, along with the white squadron marking.  Need some touch up along the edge of the white; probably do that by hand (advice accepted, though...)

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

A second cowling, again showing a need for touch up.

The photo below shows something interesting (at least it was to me...)

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

First issue was some of the Polished Aluminum on the base pulled off, as can be seen to the left of the photo.  That is bare plastic showing, so it pulled off the Polished Aluminum layer, the gloss black layer, and the grey primer layer.  I used Tamiya masking tape and it seemed to be good everywhere else.  Have to figure out how to touch that up and it may mean re-spraying the whole cowling.

Second item of interest is the spot on the Stainless Steel section of the cowling, in the center of the photo.  This spot was created after I put on the gloss black coat.  I had masked the black while I sprayed the Polished Aluminum to avoid overspray.  When I pulled off the tape, this spot in the gloss black appeared.  I touched it up with the same gloss black by brush, and went off to bed.  It appeared smoother than the rest of the gloss black when I got up this morning, but thinking it was just the undercoat anyway, I figured what the heck and proceeded to spray over it all with the Stainless Steel.  Whammo, suddenly that section of the engine cowling look exactly liked smooth metal.  You could literally see your reflection in it if you got close enough to it. 

My fears about the masking over the gloss white were unfounded; it did not pull up when I removed the tape.  The Alclad; not so much.  Perhaps I did not wait long enough for it to dry; I gave it roughly 24 hours and maybe I should have given it more.  It is also clear to me that polishing the gloss black coat is important after you apply it.

Despite all the trouble, I am overall pleased with the colors and general appearance.  I still have to touch it up to be perfect.

As always, open to hearing about good ideas and suggestions for me to improve.  Mask kit for the cockpit glass hasn't arrived yet.  Propellor tips and hubs are next on the agenda, and the gear and bomb-bay doors, and gun turrets. 

Time for another stupid question.  This one is directed at those who have built this Revell B-29 model in the past in particular.  I note on the wing assembly a funny-shaped protrusion that sticks out:

Top View:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

Bottom View:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

Does anyone know what the heck these are for?  The appear to bear no weight once the engine cowlings are installed, and don't even seem to touch anything else when assembled.  I was wondering if they might be bits of sprue that should be cut off, but was afraid to just start whacking away without asking someone who had built this kit before.

Any ideas?

Cheers, Bob

BTW, mask kit for the canopy arrived today from the Uk.  Pretty fast postal service!

Bob, if I remember correctly you used Hannants. They are very responsive, have a good stock, and not unreasonably priced if the shipping weight is low.

Bob:  no, I used MJW Models of Frodsham in the UK.  zi was very pleased.  I will bookmark Hannants, though!

I noticed you have the Revell 1:96 Constituion on deck; so do I.  I is about half done, stopped rigging at the mizzenmast.  Want to complete it after the B-29 to give to my grandson before he gets much older.

cheers, Bob

The former crewmember is absolutely correct.  Excuse the huge URL but, it will give a very clear photo of the B-29's "bunk beds."

www.google.com/search

You won't see much evidence of fabric texture on a real aircraft since the fabric surfaces are first coated with clear nitrocellulose dope.  Then, they are coated again with clear dope mixed with powdered aluminum.

This protects the fabric from UV deterioration.  Then, and only then are they painted with dope tinted to the necessary color...

I think I'd leave the white as is.  Reason?  Those are the edges of the cowling panels and would be subject to some chipping.

They keep the pins that hold the props in place...

Ray: thanks for the advice and the great URL.  Once you said those odd protrusions were to hold the props in place, it was a blinding flash of the obvious.  I had forgotten that Revell made the props to be able to spin, so needed thos supports to hold them in place.  I'll be gluing mine in place so won't need them (but I won't cut them off ).

i used the new masking kit from Eduard today.  Masked off the wheels and painted the tires, and they came out great.  More pics tomorrow.

cheers, Bob

Shipwreck

Bob, I must say that I am enjoying this thread of you going through your build and getting some good pointers from the list members. Especially as (I) sit here with a B-29 in the box right besides me...

Lon-ski:  thanks, I am enjoying the build, and participating in the forum.  As a new returnee to the hobby it has been great to hear from so many people and to get their ideas. 

Tried out the new masking kit from Eduard; first item was the easy one, the wheels.  Here they are masked:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

And here are the two nosewheels, completed:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

The squadron apparently painted the nose gear and nose wheels yellow for ground crew recognition (or just because it looked cool; I don't know).  At least that is what the painting guide indicates for the 9th Bomb Group decal set. You can see if you look closely that I flattened one side of each wheel to reflect the weight on it.  I haven't done that with the main gear yet.

The main gear wheels are here:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

I also painted the bomb bay door and the wheel well doors, and all the gun turrets in the Polished Aluminum:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

Today I did the Stainless Steel tops of the gear doors.  They were made of stainless steel, in contrast to the lower half of the door, because they were in the exhaust path and had to be more heat resistant.  I also did the canvas cover over the tail gun but have no photos of that.

Next up is to touch up the engine cowlings.  After the tip about the protrusions on the end of the engine nacelles, hidden inside the cowling, I thought that would be a great place to put some additional weight to add some insurance to the weights in the front radio bay.  I am always worried about the airplane being tail heavy after it is closed up and I can't do anything about it.

So it is a series of small steps and a little bit each night.

Cheers, Bob

Thanks for sharing your progress; excellent work thus far. My dad and I built one way back in the mid-80's; you just don't see a lot of these being built.

I'm back at work; had to take a short break to go on a business trip then come home to 22" of snow which had to be cleared.  We live on top of the Blue Ridge and winters can be cruel sometimes!

Next step is to get the propellers completed.  I masked off the tips to paint them yellow:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

First I marked off a template on my workbench cutting board to make a standard size for the yellow length of the tip, and I masked that with very thin strips of tape on both the front and back.  Then I put plastic sheet cut in a circle on both sides of the propeller and taped it down using wider pieces of tape in order to avoid any overspray.  I read on the Forum that yellow is tough to paint over the black, and so I anticipate having to use several thin coats built upon each other, so I thought the masking job had to be pretty sturdy.

Here is all four masked:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

Should get at least the first coat of yellow on them this weekend.  Then I want to put the Hamilton Standard decals on them, and set them aside. 

cheers, Bob

Wow, thats way more work masking those props than you should need. And first coat of yellow? Dude, the tape alone should be just fine for masking. Shoot the initial coat of yellow for the tips, wait 5 minutes, hit it again and call it done. I'm not trying to be rude, just saying.....

That's a lot of props to paint.  Have you ever tried painting the yellow first, and then mask off the tips and spray the black?  That works really well for me.  Might save some time on the next one...

Gary

That's my motto..."if it's good enough to do, it's good enough to overdo!"

I did not think of doing the yellow first, but that makes more sense.  That is why I like this forum 

cheers, Bob

Back at it.  Painted the prop tips but haven't removed the masking yet; waiting for them to thoroughly dry.  In the meantime, I began to mask the canopy, starting with the chin bubble:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

That tip about the masking kit from Eduard was worth its weight in gold!  The masks are very precisely cut and fit very nicely.  Here is the whole chin bubble, completed.  I shot this pic from the inside to get a good sense of how the ribs in the canopy would look:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

I am quite pleased with how well that turned out and how much easier it was than my original idea.  If you are going to build this kit, you have to invest in this Eduard product.  The focal point of the entire airplane is the distinctive canopy, and it wouldn't do to have it look all sloppy.

I also decided to put to use those odd-looking posts in the wings engine cowlings.  They seemed to be perfect for supporting some more weight to help hold the nose down (I think I mentioned once before that I am paranoid about ending up with a tail heavy aircraft when it is too late to correct it):

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

I took a set of fishing weights, mashed them flatter than a pancake, then put in a 90 degree bend to give them a shelf to hang onto, and glued then into place.  They won't obstruct the cowling, and they rest solidly on the molded protusions, so that is an ideal place for more weight.

Finally, a pic of the bird dry fit together.  I assembled a jig to hold the airplane in one place while I work on the whole thing.  It is almost too big for the workbench. 

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

Next steps are to complete the props (decals), assemble the four engines and cowlings, then set them aside.  Then I will mask the rest of the canopy, attach it to the aircraft body, and commence to paint with primer to find the sanding flaws. 

Stay tuned, film at eleven!

cheers, Bob

Looking sweet Bob.  That thing is a behemoth aint it?  At one time it was the largest plastic kit ever made.  I thing Monogram's B-36 has since trumped it.  I told you those Eduard masks are the best thing since sliced bread.  I hate masking and those are god sent.  Agreed, you can't have sloppy greenhouse canopies or the plane will just not look right.  I just used them last night on my Pro Modeller Ju-88.  Some were a smidge oversized, but I chalked it up to the age of the kit molds (old Dragon kit), so it took a little longer than normal.  I second the prop painting sequence with the yellow, mask, then black. Its much easier.  I suggest you paint the tips white first which will help with the density of the yellow.  

If I may offer another suggestion?   Paint the canopy frames the interior color first before laying down your silver.  I usually paint the interior color with an Acrylic cut with 91% Alcohol so it dries immediately.  My acrylic of choice is Tamiya.  This seems to "seal" the masks and allieviates any chance of bleed under because it dries too fast.  I then add flat black in the same manner to diffuse light.  In my experience, If you dont do this step, the frames can seem sort of "transparent" when compared to the rest of the plane.  After the black, throw down your Alclad or silver of choice.

Can't wait to see this one completed...  

Joe      

Joe: thanks for the tip, will do that when I spray the canopy.  I don't plan to paint the inside, so having the first coat be green should be perfect.  I assume you meant 90%.  Can you elaborate a bit on how you measure out the right proportions in an airbrush color cup?  So far I have not thinned any of my paints, and I think I am missing something by not doing it.  Do you mean isopropyl alcohol?

Cheers, Bob

I finished the propellers today, got the tips painted and put decals on them:

IMG_1898 by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

I was amazed at the detail in the little tiny decals.  At the bottom of the propeller blade, there is a small yellow lettering decal.  I looked at it in the magnifying glass on my light:

IMG_1899 by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

You can clearly read all the lettering, including the serial number of the blade, the low and high pitch values, etc.  I note Monogram used the same serial number for all 16 blades...

I also finished masking the cockpit glass:

IMG_1897 by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

Can't say enough about the Eduard set.  Made a tough job easy.

About ready to assemble each of the engines now:

IMG_1902 by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

Been a good weekend for modeling.  Now I have to go back to work tomorrow, so things might slow down somewhat.

Cheers, Bob

Finished the engines and set them aside, and put an initial coat of green (the interior color) on the canopy and chin bubble:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

The photo of the canopy is shot of the inside.

Next step is to install the canopy and chin bubble and putty the seams.  Then I will attach the wings and putty that, and get it ready for an initial coat of primer to see what further seam work might be necessary.  It is beginning to take shape!

cheers, Bob

The props came out great! What color is that for the spinner and prop center piece?

Thanks!  The spinner is silver and the hub is gray.  I think they ended up pretty good, and everyone was right that I should have simply started with the yellow color, then masked that off and done the black.  Much easier.  

Cheers, Bob