B-36 Peacemaker Group Build

Nice work Derek.

Cheers

Tony

Thanks for the kind words Tony.

Okay, now that the tail radome is ready to go, I've turned my attention to the front gun turret bay.  The Pavla resin set is quite nice and worth the $$$ in my opinion.

Here is the kit all laid out after I washed it to remove any mold release agent still on the resin:

I'm not going to add any of the turrets or interior bits until final assembly.  With that in mind, I shot the "pit" with some interior green and gave it an oil wash:

Now this is where things get interesting.  I am ready to cut the fuselage behind the cockpit to add the gun turret pit.  I checked the location but placing the lower cockpit in place the gun turret pit right behind it.  Here's what it looks like:

As you can see, the turret pit is a little off in relation to the molded in gun bay doors on the Monogram fuselage...  I thought about removing some of the cockpit floor so that I could move the back wall a bit farther towards the nose.  The only problem there is that there isn't much room - too much and the wall interfere with the sighting blister opening.  I don't see many other options.  Perhaps the resin gun turret doors will hide this fact when they are placed open on the model.  I need to study my reference photos a bit more and decide how to proceed.

In the meantime, I've glued all ten wheels together and shot them with some tire black.  I need to paint the hubs but it's been so hot here in Texas this week.  I'm also still filling and sanding the prop hubs 

Thanks for looking.

-Derek

viking73

I'm also still filling and sanding the prop hubs 

What for? When I built mine, I did not do anything of that sort.

B-36Andy

Also could ya'll check the buzz numbers on that beast, from that You Tube vid? I think I know what it is but I need to see if my eyes actually see what you see----???

In case you haven't decided yet, the buzz number looks to me like 046, but I could easily be wrong. The video is rather grainy

Hello, all.

I've posted elsewhere on the forum about my attempt to build a Monogram B-36 model in honor of my father, who was a mechanic on the aircraft at Ramey and Fairchild in the early 1950s. 

I'm looking for a bit of assistance.  I want to identify the plane as one from the 92nd BW at Fairchild. 

I recently located an old decal set (SM28) which includes three tail numbers (492032, 492072, 492084) and squadrons (325th, 326th, 327th).  I would like to match the tail number to the correct squadron.

Here is where the issue begins...

492032 crashed 3/29/54 at Fairchild AFB during takeoff practice abort. 7 killed, 3 survivors  (not the best example for my model)

492072 was actually assigned to the 42nd BW at Loring AFB.

492084 was in the 92nd BW, but I can find nothing that identifies which squadron.

I saw earlier on this thread that some folks were using the 72002 decal set, which includes markings for several B-36 versions. 

That set includes tail number 492065.  The decal instructions misidentify that plane as belonging to the 42nd BW, but it was a Fairchild 92nd BW 326th bird. 

If anyone who purchased that set did not use those decals, I would be willing to buy them from you.  I hate to pay $20 for the entire set, when I only need a couple.  All I really need are the 'W' with tail number and the red/yellow flashes. 

Thanks in advance!

I think I can help you with the decals you are looking for B36 Fan.  Shoot me a PM and I'll confirm I have these in the "decal dungeon" :)

-Derek

I just came across this group build recently. I've been a B-36 fan for 25 years now and have collected lots of materials related to this great plane over that time. I built a nice Monogram B-36 in the 1990's but ended up selling it once I found out I had built a cross between a B and RB. In retrospect, I should have kept it since it was a nice clean build. 

All these years later I have 7 kits which are itching to get built. Thanks to this forum I have decided to build one of these kits. I want to build a true bomber version with open bomb bays. I have narrowed my choices to either a B-36H Featherweight II or III, or a B-36J Featherweight III. I plan on painting it with the post-1955 white undersides. Markings will be either 42nd BW, 95th BW, or most likely the late 7th BW markings. I would also consider using the 6th BW markings if someone would produce them.

I have already sanded off the forest of antenna fairings (except the three up front on each side), sanded the photo windows, and filled in the depressions behind the large forward radome. The larger bomb bays have been cut out and I will begin to scratchbuild the interior of the bomb bays. So far so good. I am taking my time on this because experience has taught me that haste makes waste.

When I finish this project, I would also like to tackle an RB-36H with 28th SRW markings. I already have a fuselage with the windows cut out. This will not likely be any time soon.

I would like to say thank you to all of you who have posted here for inspiring me to get this mamoth project off the ground. We need to have more Magnesium Overcasts hanging from our ceilings. Checklist complete!

Click2detail has 3-D printed Featherweight III radome plugs. I asked them to produce Featherweight plugs with the small rectangular windows and main landing gear with the proper droop (listed as "Landing Gear In Flight") about 3 years ago. They did a great job. 

The Featherweight III plastic is transparent so you can just mask off the metallic part of the plug and you'll have a window.

You can find them at https://www.shapeways.com/shops/click2detail?section=Monogram+B-36&s=0 along with a lot of other specialty B-36, NB-36H, and XB-36 pieces.

My photos are back in the forum dated around mid-2014 or a little later, I think. We moved about 3 years ago and I haven't set up my home office yet, so my B-36 is still packed in a special coffin case. I can't finish it until it's hanging. Then I can add the superdetails to the outside.

Good luck with your build. Great aircraft. Great forum.

Thanks for the link Teutonic. I was planning on scratchbuilding the plugs but this is a great alternative if I decide to go with a featherweight III. I wonder if there is any kind of a discount when purchasing a set of 6. I like the landing gear in flight. I suppose one could us a low tack cement on the wheels to be able to interchange the landing gear depending on if you want it on the ground or in flight. 

I'm currently scratch building the bomb bay racks and ribbing. Good thing I have lots of reference material. I will try to figure out how to post photos on this forum so I can show some of the progress I am making.

Dutch Holland: "Don't tell me you've rigged up this great big thing so it'll fly?"

Sgt. Bible: "Well if it doesn't, it'll be my neck."