SEARCH FINESCALE.COM

Enter keywords or a search phrase below:

B-36 Peacemaker Group Build

173800 views
818 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    February 2011
  • From: Bent River, IA
Posted by Reasoned on Sunday, May 13, 2012 10:43 PM

I wouldn't give 2 cents for this thing.... in fact, they should pay you to build it!

Here is the latest on the model from Devil, I swear this thing is cursed! Super Angry  My first attempt at Censored Alclad !

Science is the pursiut of knowledge, faith is the pursuit of wisdom.  Peace be with you.

On the Tarmac: 1/48 Revell P-38

In the Hanger: A bunch of kits

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Riverton, Wyoming
Posted by Andrew Magoo on Monday, May 14, 2012 12:40 AM

Howdy Reasoned, I have no experience with Alclad so as to what went wrong I can only guess. I think Alclad is a lacquer and it looks as if it had a reaction to the enamel base coat underneath. Someone else needs to advise you on what happened and what may be an easy fix. However, I do feel for you, it can be heart wrenching to have major preparation work foiled by finicky paint.  Magoo 

  • Member since
    July 2007
  • From: Southern New Jersey
Posted by troublemaker66 on Monday, May 14, 2012 4:30 AM

Reasoned

I wouldn't give 2 cents for this thing.... in fact, they should pay you to build it!

Here is the latest on the model from Devil, I swear this thing is cursed! Super Angry  My first attempt at Censored Alclad !

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7075/7193542964_a005cb8516_b.jpg

Hey Reasoned! Did you use a gloss black primer? Alclad doesn`t work very well without it.

Len

Len Pytlewski

  • Member since
    February 2011
  • From: Bent River, IA
Posted by Reasoned on Monday, May 14, 2012 7:02 AM

Yep, I used Alclad gloss black lacquer primer, I swear if anything else goes wrong......

Science is the pursiut of knowledge, faith is the pursuit of wisdom.  Peace be with you.

On the Tarmac: 1/48 Revell P-38

In the Hanger: A bunch of kits

  • Member since
    February 2011
  • From: Bent River, IA
Posted by Reasoned on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 1:02 PM

....and it did.  I sanded down the bubbled areas, shot a little more primer on it and sprayed with MM metalizers.  Most turned out eh...ok but even that has areas where it has bubbled again, will sand a little more.

At this point I've decided to just try and smooth out the bubbled messes as much as I can but since this model is driving me nuts, I just want it FINISHED!!!!

Science is the pursiut of knowledge, faith is the pursuit of wisdom.  Peace be with you.

On the Tarmac: 1/48 Revell P-38

In the Hanger: A bunch of kits

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Northern California
Posted by jeaton01 on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 12:36 AM

I've had problems with Alclad II and I suspect that they were due to the undercoat not being cured completely.  I prefer SNJ for the larger areas.

John

To see build logs for my models:  http://goldeneramodel.com/mymodels/mymodels.html

 

  • Member since
    March 2007
  • From: Carmel, CA
Posted by bondoman on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 1:46 AM

I tried Alclad primer once. Never liked it. I haven't painted more than a handful with it as it's expensive, but I got best results with Krylon Gloss Black out of the rattler. Swanny has an article on how to decant that and use it in your airbrush, but I think any primer is not important.

 

Reasoned- you HAVE TO STRIP your model. That's it, otherwise you'll be wasting your time.

John- I was in Davis today signing up my daughter to live on orchard and 113. I'm sorry i missed you, I'll call ahead next time.

  • Member since
    July 2007
  • From: Southern New Jersey
Posted by troublemaker66 on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 4:40 AM

Reasoned

....and it did.  I sanded down the bubbled areas, shot a little more primer on it and sprayed with MM metalizers.  Most turned out eh...ok but even that has areas where it has bubbled again, will sand a little more.

At this point I've decided to just try and smooth out the bubbled messes as much as I can but since this model is driving me nuts, I just want it FINISHED!!!!

Hi Reasoned....I never liked using Alclad because I always get results like yours. I really like Model Master Metalizers, the buffing type more than the non-buffing. I always get the finish I`m looking for with them and the only bad thing about them is they`re tough to mask over. They`d prolly work well with your build and they sell them in rattle-can form. Might be worth a try to put this nightmare to rest!

Good Luck,

Len

Len Pytlewski

  • Member since
    February 2011
  • From: Bent River, IA
Posted by Reasoned on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 1:56 PM

Thanks guys for being a sounding board, I'm tired of sounding like a whining loser.  I did pick up some more MM Metalizer in rattle cans and will shoot it today!

At some point, I will give Alclad another try........ on a smaller subject................ and cheaper one too! Smile

Science is the pursiut of knowledge, faith is the pursuit of wisdom.  Peace be with you.

On the Tarmac: 1/48 Revell P-38

In the Hanger: A bunch of kits

  • Member since
    February 2010
  • From: Ontario, Canada
Posted by Bockscar on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 3:58 PM

Reasoned

Thanks guys for being a sounding board, I'm tired of sounding like a whining loser.  I did pick up some more MM Metalizer in rattle cans and will shoot it today!

At some point, I will give Alclad another try........ on a smaller subject................ and cheaper one too! Smile

Hey Reasoned;

I admire your persistence, it's a big hunk of plastic. I think in that in the past, when some guys got to your juncture, then pressed forward and finally achieved success, yeah, those guys opened 'Auto Body & Paint' shops.

Hey I noticed the shot of that old Revell S or Pre S kit,....I don't have the guts to build mine, even though it's a late 50's issue.

I bought some of those old Mono 1/48 kits from a collection a while back in 'builder' condition. Who knows, maybe in a few weeks I'll be sitting back in the sun, working on my second or third pop, and the secret ingredient will give me enough liquid courage to dig one out and dry fit.Wink

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2011
  • From: Bent River, IA
Posted by Reasoned on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 6:35 PM

It's final.... it's over..... even after sanding, primer and more MM Metalizer still no go, it bubbled up all over just a complete messTongue Tied.  I quit and it wins... for now.   I never thought I would get to this point where the model wins but it kicked my butt.  So I will pick it up again when i'm in the right frame of mind..... which is not now.  So Magoo, I'll read up on how you managed to strip the paint of your bird and give it a try later.  Keep building guys and i'll be checking on your progress.

Now on to a REAL plane, giddy up, giddy up 109!!

Science is the pursiut of knowledge, faith is the pursuit of wisdom.  Peace be with you.

On the Tarmac: 1/48 Revell P-38

In the Hanger: A bunch of kits

  • Member since
    July 2007
  • From: Southern New Jersey
Posted by troublemaker66 on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 7:13 PM

Reasoned

Now on to a REAL plane, giddy up, giddy up 109!!

Umm...wow! Don`t be hatin` on the Peacemaker....Big Smile

Len Pytlewski

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • From: North Texas
Posted by lajntx on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 7:31 PM

troublemaker66

 Reasoned:

Now on to a REAL plane, giddy up, giddy up 109!!

 

Umm...wow! Don`t be hatin` on the Peacemaker....Big Smile 

 

 

 

HE`ll BE BACK!

B-36 Peacemaker Builds 

On the Bench: B-36 paint test  fusealge & RB-36E assembly test build

In Que: YB-36 Conversion Build & B-36 carries B-58 Airframe to Wright Patterson

Conceptual Planning: RB-36 X-15 Mothership

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • From: North Texas
Posted by lajntx on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 7:33 PM

Reasoned

It's final.... it's over..... even after sanding, primer and more MM Metalizer still no go, it bubbled up all over just a complete messTongue Tied.  I quit and it wins... for now.   I never thought I would get to this point where the model wins but it kicked my butt.  So I will pick it up again when i'm in the right frame of mind..... which is not now.  So Magoo, I'll read up on how you managed to strip the paint of your bird and give it a try later.  Keep building guys and i'll be checking on your progress.

Now on to a REAL plane, giddy up, giddy up 109!!

 

Reasoned,

What parts are giving you problems? If it something other than the fuselage I have plenty of spares if you would rather just start over with a new part

B-36 Peacemaker Builds 

On the Bench: B-36 paint test  fusealge & RB-36E assembly test build

In Que: YB-36 Conversion Build & B-36 carries B-58 Airframe to Wright Patterson

Conceptual Planning: RB-36 X-15 Mothership

  • Member since
    February 2011
  • From: Bent River, IA
Posted by Reasoned on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 8:18 PM

Smile

lajntx

 Reasoned:

It's final.... it's over..... even after sanding, primer and more MM Metalizer still no go, it bubbled up all over just a complete messTongue Tied.  I quit and it wins... for now.   I never thought I would get to this point where the model wins but it kicked my butt.  So I will pick it up again when i'm in the right frame of mind..... which is not now.  So Magoo, I'll read up on how you managed to strip the paint of your bird and give it a try later.  Keep building guys and i'll be checking on your progress.

Now on to a REAL plane, giddy up, giddy up 109!!

 

 

Reasoned,

What parts are giving you problems? If it something other than the fuselage I have plenty of spares if you would rather just start over with a new part

Hey lajntx, thanks for the offer.  It's the entire plane that's causing the mess, wings, fuselage, engine nacelles, etc....  There are some sections where the paint laid down okay and others where it's messy all the way through.  I could post a pic but... ah... the memory.Ick!  I'm going to have to strip it and start from scratch.

I don't mean to rip on this model too bad......... er.... yeah I do!  I guess it was over my abilities, now for a shake n bake.

Science is the pursiut of knowledge, faith is the pursuit of wisdom.  Peace be with you.

On the Tarmac: 1/48 Revell P-38

In the Hanger: A bunch of kits

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Riverton, Wyoming
Posted by Andrew Magoo on Thursday, May 17, 2012 1:12 AM

Hi Reasoned, don't feel alone, I'm having nose issues. I started to sand the nose to a more symmetrical shape with the intent of making a brass pitot tube; I hate plastic ones they are always getting snapped off. I now find I'm almost an 1/8 of an inch too short. So I'll have to cut a couple of 0.060" plastic discs to move the nose forward. I have had other summer time projects needing done so I have breaks in between Model madness. Pics and better descriptions will follow Smile Andrew Magoo

  • Member since
    March 2007
  • From: Carmel, CA
Posted by bondoman on Thursday, May 17, 2012 2:23 AM

Reasoned

Smile

 lajntx:

 

 

 Reasoned:

It's final.... it's over..... even after sanding, primer and more MM Metalizer still no go, it bubbled up all over just a complete messTongue Tied.  I quit and it wins... for now.   I never thought I would get to this point where the model wins but it kicked my butt.  So I will pick it up again when i'm in the right frame of mind..... which is not now.  So Magoo, I'll read up on how you managed to strip the paint of your bird and give it a try later.  Keep building guys and i'll be checking on your progress.

Now on to a REAL plane, giddy up, giddy up 109!!

 

 

 

Reasoned,

What parts are giving you problems? If it something other than the fuselage I have plenty of spares if you would rather just start over with a new part

 

 

Hey lajntx, thanks for the offer.  It's the entire plane that's causing the mess, wings, fuselage, engine nacelles, etc....  There are some sections where the paint laid down okay and others where it's messy all the way through.  I could post a pic but... ah... the memory.Ick!  I'm going to have to strip it and start from scratch.

I don't mean to rip on this model too bad......... er.... yeah I do!  I guess it was over my abilities, now for a shake n bake.

Sit down and take a breath, Reasoned.

Bad idea to give up now. Bad idea. You've come so far Gary that you need to realize there's a solution soon. The truth is staring you in the face. Embrace it and strip off all of he paint and redo it correctly.

 

  • Member since
    February 2011
  • From: Bent River, IA
Posted by Reasoned on Thursday, May 17, 2012 6:26 AM

bondoman

 Reasoned:

Smile

 lajntx:

 

 

 Reasoned:

It's final.... it's over..... even after sanding, primer and more MM Metalizer still no go, it bubbled up all over just a complete messTongue Tied.  I quit and it wins... for now.   I never thought I would get to this point where the model wins but it kicked my butt.  So I will pick it up again when i'm in the right frame of mind..... which is not now.  So Magoo, I'll read up on how you managed to strip the paint of your bird and give it a try later.  Keep building guys and i'll be checking on your progress.

Now on to a REAL plane, giddy up, giddy up 109!!

 

 

 

Reasoned,

What parts are giving you problems? If it something other than the fuselage I have plenty of spares if you would rather just start over with a new part

 

 

Hey lajntx, thanks for the offer.  It's the entire plane that's causing the mess, wings, fuselage, engine nacelles, etc....  There are some sections where the paint laid down okay and others where it's messy all the way through.  I could post a pic but... ah... the memory.Ick!  I'm going to have to strip it and start from scratch.

I don't mean to rip on this model too bad......... er.... yeah I do!  I guess it was over my abilities, now for a shake n bake.

 

Sit down and take a breath, Reasoned.

Bad idea to give up now. Bad idea. You've come so far Gary that you need to realize there's a solution soon. The truth is staring you in the face. Embrace it and strip off all of he paint and redo it correctly.

 

Hey Bondo, I never considered myself a quitter but it seems every turn on this build was met with fraught.  When yesterday I thought I had the metalizer solution at hand BAM! it was still wrong.  So I figured I had this much time and work in it, I'd just set it aside, strip it when I was ready and redo when (as the prison warden said to cool hand Luke) my mind was right.

Science is the pursiut of knowledge, faith is the pursuit of wisdom.  Peace be with you.

On the Tarmac: 1/48 Revell P-38

In the Hanger: A bunch of kits

  • Member since
    February 2011
  • From: Bent River, IA
Posted by Reasoned on Thursday, May 17, 2012 11:11 PM

Some pix of my paint mess???? Confused

 

 

 

Science is the pursiut of knowledge, faith is the pursuit of wisdom.  Peace be with you.

On the Tarmac: 1/48 Revell P-38

In the Hanger: A bunch of kits

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Riverton, Wyoming
Posted by Andrew Magoo on Saturday, May 19, 2012 1:43 AM

Howdy Reasoned, you are actually in a good spot for something like this to have happened. The props arn't on, the landing gear isn't installed and I will asume the glass isn't on either. However you do have to deal with those pesky 20mm nose and tail guns. Take a few days off you might build that Bf-109 but this dude is going to start calling you. if you have any questions about the way I stripped my model ask away. If anyone else has a better way to strip Alclad metal and gloss black chime on in as I have not worked with Alclad. Magoo

  • Member since
    February 2011
  • From: Bent River, IA
Posted by Reasoned on Saturday, May 19, 2012 9:09 AM

Thanks Magoo, yeah in fact I'd considered either the "Green something or other" stripper or use your oven cleaner method.  Not sure which to try, I guess I am fortunate that none of the canopies or fiddly bits are on.  I think the guns will be fine..... unless I break them off.Huh?

Science is the pursiut of knowledge, faith is the pursuit of wisdom.  Peace be with you.

On the Tarmac: 1/48 Revell P-38

In the Hanger: A bunch of kits

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Riverton, Wyoming
Posted by Andrew Magoo on Saturday, May 19, 2012 12:15 PM

Howdy Reasoned. I did break off the nose and tail guns off the sacrificial B-36 that's being converted into a YB-60. I wound up drilling the stubs off and out then gluing very small pieces of brass tubing into the holes for gun barrels. I placed a longer one inside a shorter one. I bought a grab bag of brass tubing and rods at my not so local hobby shop one time. I was surprised to find very tiny small diameter pieces of brass tubing in the bag when I got home. The smallest tubing was more than half the size of the smallest long stick assortment that was in the rack which was a 1/16 of an inch. Great Jumpin Horny Toads nobody at the not so local hobby shop could tell me why the grab bag had such tiny stuff but a person couldn't come in and by the very tiny stuff in dedicated long sticks. Should you accidently snap off the gun barrels brass tubing, stretched sprue, hypodermic needles, or hard wire can be used; the ways to repair gun barrels are many. Magoo 

  • Member since
    July 2007
  • From: Southern New Jersey
Posted by troublemaker66 on Saturday, May 19, 2012 12:39 PM

Andrew Magoo

Howdy Reasoned. I did break off the nose and tail guns off the sacrificial B-36 that's being converted into a YB-60. I wound up drilling the stubs off and out then gluing very small pieces of brass tubing into the holes for gun barrels. I placed a longer one inside a shorter one. I bought a grab bag of brass tubing and rods at my not so local hobby shop one time. I was surprised to find very tiny small diameter pieces of brass tubing in the bag when I got home. The smallest tubing was more than half the size of the smallest long stick assortment that was in the rack which was a 1/16 of an inch. Great Jumpin Horny Toads nobody at the not so local hobby shop could tell me why the grab bag had such tiny stuff but a person couldn't come in and by the very tiny stuff in dedicated long sticks. Should you accidently snap off the gun barrels brass tubing, stretched sprue, hypodermic needles, or hard wire can be used; the ways to repair gun barrels are many. Magoo 

A.C. Moore`s carries a 3lb bag of assorted tubing...brass , steel and aluminum, some very small, some pretty large. I bought a bag and been using the smaller stuff non-stop on my builds. Comes in very handy for gun barrels and antennae masts.

Len Pytlewski

  • Member since
    May 2009
  • From: Riverton, Wyoming
Posted by Andrew Magoo on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 1:18 AM

Howdy Reasoned, thought I'd better give you an F.Y.I. Oven cleaner will dissolve spot/contour putty along with the paint. Epoxy and super glue wont be bothered. I have no idea about the green stuff...I've never heard of it. Magoo 

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • From: North Texas
Posted by lajntx on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 7:25 PM

Hi everyone, Hope you all are doing well and maintaining your sanity -- right Reasoned? Stick out tongue

Today after work I was shown to some of the newly discovered photos of the XB-36 during a layover ( in the snow no less! ) at  an AF base in 1949. If I can get permission from the original owner, I`ll post a few of them here as they are great details photos for the XB unlike many of the standard ones you see in he books and online sites.

In other news.....today in the Ft Worth paper was the story of the returns of the remains today of a missing airman that perished in a crash in 1950 from what was the first "broken arrow" incident. Being Memorial Day weekend, I thought I would link that story here.

We all moan and groan about the idiosyncrasies and fallacies of this kit... and the difficulty it presents, but as we build it let`s remember those that flew these things, the sacrafices these crews made with some of them paying with their lives so that we might live free. Please see the actual link for the photos

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/05/23/3979687/remains-of-airman-identified-from.html#my-headlines-fortworth

Remains of airman identified from 1950 crash of Fort Worth-based bomber

 Wednesday, May. 23, 2012

' ' & -->' ' & -->

Betty Wheeler wanted her father's resting place to be somewhere beautiful and extraordinary. He deserved that.

He had crawled into the ball turret underneath a bomber on missions over Germany, a place that required uncommon courage. Shot down in the spring of 1944, he spent 13 months as a prisoner of war in a German camp.

Five years after he was freed, at midnight in the middle of a nasty northern Pacific storm, her father bailed out of a doomed B-36 Peacemaker based in Fort Worth.

He died in the ocean that night. His relatives knew that, or felt they knew that, since they never received confirmation.

On Friday, a casket containing a few bones of Air Force Staff Sgt. Elbert W. Pollard will be lowered into the ground at San Francisco National Cemetery at the Presidio, within sight of the Golden Gate Bridge. Weather willing, Air Force planes will fly over to honor him.

Wheeler, Pollard's only child, finally got her confirmation this year that remains recovered in the 1950s are those of her father. Of course she is emotional, but not in a particularly sad way.

"I feel such joy that I am being given my father," she said. "I feel some kind of reverence and a strong desire to honor him. I chose the Presidio because it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. With all my father went through and all the places his bones have traveled, I wanted him to finally be in a place of beauty."

What happened the night of Pollard's death either has been forgotten in the mists of time or was never known by subsequent generations. But it was a major event in Fort Worth at the time, and small wonder: 17 men bailed out of a stricken bomber and were missing for days.

There were several story lines besides the sheer number of missing fliers. One was concern about a growing number of dangerous mechanical problems with the B-36, produced at the Convair plant next to Carswell Air Force Base. Within a few days, 12 of those men were found and returned to Fort Worth, reunited with their families. Five never were -- Pollard, Capt. Theodore F. Schreier, Capt. William Phillips, Lt. Holiel Ascol and Staff Sgt. Neil A. Straley.

Streets were named after some of the missing men on what was then the Air Force base but is now part of Westworth Village.

A story line that never emerged in those days, however, makes the crash all the more fascinating.

The plane the men were on carried a 10,000-pound nuclear bomb.

A midnight crash and erroneous reports

The B-36B -- a monstrous six-engine strategic bomber with a ridiculous 230-foot wingspan -- took off from Fairbanks, Alaska, on Feb. 13, 1950, and headed south to return to Carswell on a 16-hour simulated combat bombing mission.

Several hours into the flight, the plane began icing. That trouble was followed by icing inside some of the engines. It got worse when three engines caught fire. Then instruments started failing.

On board was an Mk-4 nuclear bomb, similar to the "Fat Man" bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945. However, according to official accounts, the bomb did not carry the plutonium core required to trigger a nuclear explosion. Still, it had to be dumped in the Pacific Ocean, if the men were to have any chance at surviving a ditching.

It would be the nation's first "broken arrow," a secret term that signaled a mishap involving a nuclear weapon.

*** Thrasher, like Pollard, was a gunner aboard the aircraft. He remembers the entire incident "like it was yesterday." The bomb detonated several hundred feet off the water, and the aircraft turned around to get back to land.

"As soon as the navigator said, 'We've crossed the shoreline,' we started bailing out," said Thrasher, who retired in 1971 as a senior master sergeant and lives in Hurst. "We couldn't tell because there was a cloud deck below us."

It was right at midnight.

Thrasher jumped right after Pollard. He has a theory why it ended differently for him.

"None of the rest of them bothered with a Mae West," he said, referring to a personal flotation device. "I was having trouble fastening my chest strap over the Mae West, then when I got out of the airplane, I couldn't find my D-ring. When I did finally find it, the chute made two oscillations and then I hit a tree."

He has always figured that high winds blew the five missing men out to the frigid waters. The rest all parachuted and landed in lonely forests.

In the ensuing hours, some of the men began to link up, most of them uninjured. Lt. Charles C. Pooler, though, had broken his ankle. Staff Sgt. Vitale Trippodi hurt his shoulder hanging upside down in a tree for hours.

The U.S. military and Canadian authorities launched a massive search-and-rescue operation, but gale-force winds, poor visibility and driving rain hampered the effort. Eight men died in another plane crash looking for the crew.

Twelve of the B-36 crewmen were discovered by fishing vessels and a Canadian Coast Guard cutter by Feb. 16.

The headline on the Feb. 16, 1950, edition of the Star-Telegram proclaimed "All Men Aboard Missing B-36 Found Alive On Canadian Isles ... 10 Are Rescued by Vessels, 7 Safe on Island."

"I feel wonderful," Ascol's wife told the paper. "I just can't express my feelings. I never gave up hope. He's always said, 'If there's one who's gonna make it, it'll be me.'"

Pollard's wife, Betty, said her emotions had been "up and down" all that day, and she was thrilled with the good news.

"The Lord has answered our prayers," she exclaimed, according to the paper.

The next day, the bottom dropped out of five of those families' celebrations. Regardless of why the erroneous reports came out, and whether it was the newspaper's or the Air Force's fault, one can only imagine the excruciating letdown for the five families who found out that their husbands and fathers were still missing.

About two years after the ditching, a fisherman found a parachute and a boot with human remains. Not long afterward, the military held a group burial for the five men at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.

Widowed at age 21, Betty Pollard carried on raising children. She had three girls, although Betty Wheeler was her only child with Pollard.

Pollard's widow remarried, but she never got rid of his trunk, which held his flight suit, his dress uniform, his military paperwork, the money he brought back from Europe at the end of World War II, the well-rubbed dominoes he handled, the harmonica he loved to play.

Betty Pollard died in 2000, and now the trunk is in Wheeler's house in Sacramento, Calif.

"I know my mother never recovered from his loss," Wheeler said. "My mother always spoke so highly of him. But there were so many details of who he was I never knew."

Wheeler was only 20 months old when the aircraft went down. She has photographs, and she is convinced that one memory is authentic: a fine summer day at the beach in Corpus Christi when he took her into the water.

"I was always told, 'You couldn't possibly remember that,' but I do," she said. "I've always sensed the presence of my father through the years."

The B-36 wreckage was finally discovered, by accident, in 1953 on a mountain about 6,000 feet high. Air Force personnel recovered sensitive items, and everything else was destroyed.

'I wanted to know if that was my father'

In July 2001, 51 years later, Ascol's daughter, Ann Ascol Rodenberg, finally persuaded the government to exhume the casket in the hopes that the remains could be identified using DNA testing that was unavailable when they were buried.

"There was one grave, five men, one casket and one set of remains," Rodenberg said. "That led me to think, 'Why can't we find out who this is?' I wanted to know if that was my father."

The remains were sent to the Defense Department's Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii for testing. After DNA was gathered from the airmen's maternal relatives, the test came back inconclusive. Over the years, the testing was redone, although Wheeler never knew that.

"I had no idea that this was still being pursued," she said.

Her phone in California rang Feb. 13, and someone from the Air Force told her that the last test came up positive. The bones were Pollard's.

She took that phone call on the 62nd anniversary of the crash. Rodenberg received a call around the same time.

"I am ecstatic for her," said Rodenberg, who was born at Carswell, is retired from the Air Force and now lives in Maryland. "It's not going to happen for the rest of us, and that's unfortunate. But there was only one set of remains ever found. It was worth it for Betty."

The other four men are not listed as missing, as one would expect. No one from the Defense Department office responsible for missing personnel responded to repeated requests to explain their status.

Rodenberg said she would like the government to provide a burial with honors and a separate headstone for each of the other four families. But the Air Force has denied her requests.

"It raised my hackles," she said. "These men did a great deal for the government. I feel that they should have some kind of honor. To just forget these guys because of some embarrassment over a broken-arrow incident is just not right."

As Wheeler prepared for the return and burial of her father's remains, a friend asked her why she was going to so much trouble for an event that happened decades ago for a man she never knew.

"This is my father," she thought. "Yes, it was 62 years ago. But there was flesh around those bones at one time. He was a young man when he died, a young man who had plans."

Thrasher visited the site of the bailout in 1998, throwing a wreath of flowers into the water where the five men died. He remembers them all well. The commander of that aircrew, Capt. Harold Barry, died April 27, 1951, when a P-51 Mustang fighter slammed into his B-36 cockpit in Oklahoma. (Thrasher had to bail out of that airplane too.)

"Pollard was a great guy," he said. "He was my buddy. I really feel for his daughter. But I'm glad they did identify him."

Learning about her father, talking to people who can still remember him, reading the details in the government report and planning his burial have made her feel complete.

"It has been an incredible gift," she said. "I always felt like something was missing, this part of my history, who I am."

News researcher Cathy Belcher contributed to this report.

Chris Vaughn, 817-390-7547

Twitter: @CVaughnFW


Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/05/23/3979687/remains-of-airman-identified-from.html#my-headlines-fortworth#storylink=cpy


Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/05/23/3979687/remains-of-airman-identified-from.html#my-headlines-fortworth#storylink=cpy

B-36 Peacemaker Builds 

On the Bench: B-36 paint test  fusealge & RB-36E assembly test build

In Que: YB-36 Conversion Build & B-36 carries B-58 Airframe to Wright Patterson

Conceptual Planning: RB-36 X-15 Mothership

  • Member since
    July 2011
  • From: Palmdale, ca
Posted by Spark84 on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 11:27 PM

Thanks for posting that Lajntx, good to know at least one family has closure...

I'm sure most of you are well aware that there are only a few examples of B-36's left in the world (4 in all i think) and one is happily retired at the Castle AFB museum. The aircraft is complete but only on the outside. the museum restoration team is looking for help to find several instruments to fill the empty holes at the various crew stations. I thought some of you may like to know that they are trying to make this old peacemaker whole again. but sadly not to fly.

If anyone can possibly help, or would like to try, the link below lists the parts they need.

http://www.castleairmuseum.org/rb36h_instrument_search.html

sometimes small airports have aircraft boneyards nearby, you never know what they may have laying around. i'm sure most of these parts were used on more aircraft than just the 36 so they should be around. but then again maybe not, that could be why they are having trouble finding them. (or it could be lack of funds)

anyway, if you ever have  a chance to check out the Castle AFB museum, i recommend it. they do open cockpit days, and the last time i was there i had the opportunity to crawl around inside a B-17! which i've always wanted to do. i hope to get the chance to see the inside of their 36 someday too.

On the Bench: 1/72 Mono B-36 (...UGH)

Last finished: Revell Space Shuttles Enterprise (On SCA) and Columbia (built both for local aircraft museum)

In the Que:

  • Member since
    September 2009
  • From: Guam
Posted by sub revolution on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 11:30 PM

That is very good to read. And yes,  like the models I build to have meaning. That's half the reason I do research! Not so much that I care that every detail be perfect, but I like to think about the subject while I'm building it. What do I think it looked like? How would I have customized it if I designed or flew it? What experiences did it have that would leave "battle scars?" What did the people who flew it think of it?

When a model is finished, I like to look at it and think, it may not look exactly like a specific plane that ever flew, but I know what it did. And to me, when it "looks right," that's the most important thing.

NEW SIG

  • Member since
    March 2007
  • From: Carmel, CA
Posted by bondoman on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 11:44 PM

Lacquer thinner applied with a disposable brush. It will leave the putty alone, evaporates in minutes. The Alclad has no body to speak of.

The thing that defeated you was the primer. Cat excrement.

Use krylon  black in the rattler next time and let it sit at least two weeks.

The Alclad wil go smoothly. Each color takes at least 3 or 4 coats. But that's god as it gives you even more control over shading.

A great thing about Alclad is that it isn't "wet" you can do creative masking techniques. Hold a card up against the model and spray gainst it etc.

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • From: North Texas
Posted by lajntx on Sunday, May 27, 2012 6:49 PM

Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend. I found a neat picture at a flea market this past week while off on assignment. This is of the Carswell Flight Line during the hight of the GEM Project ( The Artic Red Wings ).  Note the various repairs/maintence projects going on the vast majority of the parked planes.

 

 

B-36 Peacemaker Builds 

On the Bench: B-36 paint test  fusealge & RB-36E assembly test build

In Que: YB-36 Conversion Build & B-36 carries B-58 Airframe to Wright Patterson

Conceptual Planning: RB-36 X-15 Mothership

  • Member since
    July 2011
  • From: Palmdale, ca
Posted by Spark84 on Monday, May 28, 2012 8:15 AM

Great find!

These planes must have been a maintainers nightmare... maybe a love hate relationship, the nice thing about large aircraft is that during winter the repairs needed were sometimes on the inside. 

Being near Edwards I'm always on the lookout for stuff like this. oddly though, the antique shops and flea markets have very little, if any, aviation items.

 

On the Bench: 1/72 Mono B-36 (...UGH)

Last finished: Revell Space Shuttles Enterprise (On SCA) and Columbia (built both for local aircraft museum)

In the Que:

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

SEARCH FORUMS
FREE NEWSLETTER
By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy.