B29 Build Progress

Looking great. Have you tried the acetone trick with Tamiya Putty?  Basically fill your seam with the putty then put regular strength nail polish remover on a Q-tip then wipe the seam.  It removes the excess and leaves the seam filled perfectly.  I know it works great with Squadron Putty but I'm not sure about Tamiya.  I look forward to your progress.   

Joe

Well, one thing I have found out is that it took a whole lot less time to build a real B-29 than it has taken me to build this model of one...

As I suspected, a lot of seam work has been in my life lately, not just because of ill-fitting seams, either.  I have done a lot of discovery learning and re-learning.  I have finally settled on Tamiya white putty as my putty of choice, and am happy with how it is turning out.  Photo below shows one underside wing seam and the center seam between the bomb bays.  I have also stuffed tissue into the wheel wells to avoid overspray when I prime it.

photo 1 by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

Next photo shows overview of entire underside:

photo 3 by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

Center seam is almost (but not quite) finished, with about 3 inches aft of the rear bomb bay still to be sanded (it is drying as I write; it included a round hole for the clear plastic support to be emplaced, upon which the tail would rest when the model was displayed.  After putting about 15 pounds of lead weights in the nose, I don't think I need the plastic strut and so puttied over the hole)

The starboard horizontal stabilizer had a significant ridge where it mated to the fuselage.  This could be a bad design or it could be that I screwed up somewhere when I installed it.  To remedy the situation, I took two white styrene strips, one .02" thick and the other .01" thick, and used them to make a "stair" gradually sloping down from fuselage to stabilizer.  A little putty and a lot of sanding later and I have a smooth blending of stabilizer to fuselage.  That is what that the white strip is on the right side (starboard when the airplane is right-side-up). 

Below pic is a close up of the strips.  Sanding is almost completed on them now.  The white line on the left side stabilizer is just the putty seam; no styrene needed there.

photo 2 by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

It was a stroke of genius to use different size corks to plug the gun turret holes prior to painting.  You may also notice that the horizontal stabilizers themselves are already primed; I got ahead of myself and primed them before they were installed.  I then got to sand away much of the primer for my haste.

I have found if I sand away the panel lines that a light scribing with a metal ruler makes a suitable replacement.  I know one is raised and the other is not, but it fools the eye for a short panel line. 

Anyway, just wanted the forum to know I was plugging away and making progress.  Figuring out my own best technique for putty and sanding was a major step (and with a lot of mis-steps along the way!).

BTW, in my spare time I have also now begun the Trumpeter 1/48th C-47 aircraft, in honor of my mother-in-law who was a flight nurse on one in WWII.  She now lives with us, became interested in the B-29 work and inspired me to do something for her service as well.  I probably won't go on writing about that build until the B-29 is done, but it gives me something else to work on whilst waiting for stuff to dry or if boredom sets in with sanding.  There are about a zillion parts in that Trumpeter kit.  I will have to scratchbuild stretcher racks inside, I guess. 

cheers, Bob

Joe:  thanks, that is very helpful.  I'll have to go look for the 91% solution.  I appreciate your detailed info on how to mix it.  I'll give it a whirl.

7474:  thanks for the vote of confidence.  I will start my seam work tonight and let you know how it goes.

cheers, Bob

RCH73

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

Yep....Isoprophyl...sorry.  In my Tamiya acrylics I use the 91% variety that you get at a drug store.  I can't give you a proportion because I never measure.  I mix my paints in those concave artist pallets.  I use an old Testor's plastic paint brush and pull the paint out of the bottle then into one of the concave sections of the pallet.  For convenience, I keep my 91% Iso in an old soap container (like softsoap or dial) with the pump on top. so I just pump out as much as I need into the paint.   It works great.  I usually just eyeball the paint mixture.  I then dump it in the top of my airbush cup.  If its too translucent, Ill add more paint and vice-versa. 

That B-29 is coming along nicely....and I like your props, very convincing

Joe

Looking good Bob, I have no doubts you'll be able to pull it off

More progress to report.  This weekend I installed the canopy and chin bubble on the aircraft, then puttied the seams.  I also glued the wings onto the aircraft.

I have to say, the fit of the canopy and the wings are generally poor.  The canopy required a lot of putty or filler to make it smooth and I am not sure I am done yet.  Also, it is tough to work around all the rivets on the canopy frame.  I was afraid I would sand them all off. 

The wings fit is also not very good.  The weight of the wings is carried by the spars which fit inside.  One of the four spars had to be trimmed down a bit to fit inside and the wing root seam will require a boatload of filler and sanding to be made smooth and blend in.  As pleased as I have been with this kit overall, this portion has been a bit of a disappointment. 

Two photos:

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

image by robertholcomb73, on Flickr

I painted the canopy base coat as the interior green, which is why it is already painted. I also masked off all the glass windows and plugged the various holes for the gun tubs, etc prior to priming the aircraft. 

Next step for me is to attach the horizontal stabilizers tomorrow, then begin work on the wing roots before I put on the primer coat.  I foresee a lot of sanding in my immediate future...

cheers, Bob

Thanks, Allen109.  I am getting to the hard stuff now, the canopy putty work and the paint job on the whole airplane exterior.  I feel much better about it now than I did when I first began the build, though, thanks to the tips from the forum. 

cheers, Bob

Liking this build. Learning some stuff as well. Keep it up.

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

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

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

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

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

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      

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

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

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

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.....

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

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.

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

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...

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

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

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.

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...

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

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

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.

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