THE OFFICIAL IN THE BUFF B52 GROUP BUILD

Jim,

61-0025 is now a GIA airframe at Sheppard AFB. NASA decided they didnt need it after that fancy white paintjob. (Always hated being the bearer of bad news. That beautiful bird forvere grounded...)

Allen

got some pics from the Palmdale plant today, boy they sure have it disguised. Put em up on Flickr. try to post here but if it dont work, search for  b52nut on Flickr.

Guys, any chance I could snag the Grim Reaper set?

bilde?Site=D9&Date=99999999&Category=NEWS10&ArtNo=110111018&Ref=V4&MaxW=300&Border=0&Fate Secret Squirrel bombers crews

Not trying to do Al out of anything, he snagged 'em first, but I'm always open to negotiation.

Again Al, no sweat if you want that set, not trying to double up Jim's postage here!

Those are great words to live by and model by Jim!

Dom

buffjock

got some pics from the Palmdale plant today, boy they sure have it disguised. Put em up on Flickr. try to post here but if it dont work, search for  b52nut on Flickr.

Allen,

I tried that search - didn't work.

Russ

Hey, All

Here are a couple of pictures of Buffjock's current project. He says he still has to add some gear parts like TPG and main gear doors and do some decals, but this will give everyone the idea. Next photos will be the finished product. Then its on to either a B-52E Im gonna do or the Tu-95.

Looks fabulous from here Al!

Those stretch sections look natural, and the engines look great!

Thanks for posting those Russ!

Dom

Thanks again to Russ, and to all who actually think my old heaps look good...

buffjock

Thanks again to Russ, and to all who actually think my old heaps look good...

You may call them 'old heaps', but here's the thing:

They are the right kind of 'old heaps', and I think

they look great.

That CIA kit is looking very sinister and menacing, looking forward to seeing

it finished.

Dom

Sinister... I love it!! Ive always thought the B-52 would look bad in black and sinister is just the thing that comes to my twisted mind.

Dom, Coupla things. How do I get a GB pic on my posts and what did you have to build to get that second pic?

Allen

Allen,

You'll need to be able to post your pics on a web-page like PhotoBucket first, once you've uploaded them,

you 'right-click' on one you want to post and select 'copy image location' or something similar depending on your browser.

Using 'rich formatting' to create your post, choose a place in your post to put a picture with your cursor, then you select the little icon that looks like a green piece of film; it is on the right of the second row of icons in the text menu bar. When you select it a dialogue box pops up, and you paste your location in the white rectangle. Your picture should show up, and then you click 'insert', and it should show up in your post.

let me know how you make out.

As for the Buff pictures, if you are looking at the aluminum, I used extruded aluminum to build internal wing spars in order to permanently flex the wings as if the Buff was in hi-load G's. You can see the upward flex in a few of the pics. As you probably already know, those wing tips could flex a total of 27 feet arc length, over 13 feet either up or down, just a massive amount of flex, and unique to the BUFF. The upward flex always reminded me of a large predatory bird....no pun intended there.....

I ended up riveting the whole assembly together, if I ever find those pics I'll post them,

Dom

Buffirn

greentracker98

Darn, I found the perfect nose art for my 52 "SAC TIME" She's nude, oh well there are others that are wearing some clothes. I guess it wouldn't be a good idea for other displays as well, not just here LOL

I have the Warbird Decals set with SAC Time from Griffiss on it.  I won't be using that particualr set of decals.  PM me if you want them.

Thanks Jim, The decals arrived in tack 10 mins ago. And Thanks Again Their perfect

Thought you guys might like to see these.  Made a trip to Shreveport on March 2 to attend Rivercon II, and visit the Barksdale AFB "Global Air Power Museum". 

I think this a B52-D and G model.  Vietnam and Desert Storm, if I recall correctly.  You guys will know better than I do.

And for the life of me, I wasn't expecting to see THIS!

And since Barksdale is a SAC base, you can see some of the "real" things too.

That one appears to be 96th Bomb Squadron, 2d Bomb Wing.

Oh! And you ever do a B-47 GB....

Hope you enjoyed these!  Nice museum to visit if you're in the area.  Aircraft are beginning to show the effects of being outside, however.  With the recent budget cuts, I don't see them getting the attention they deserve anytime soon.

Gary

I have always loved the BUFF.  But, the B-47 is about the best looking bomber ever!  I love the stories my Dad tells about them.

GAF

Thought you guys might like to see these.  Made a trip to Shreveport on March 2 to attend Rivercon II, and visit the Barksdale AFB "Global Air Power Museum". 

I think this a B52-D and G model.  Vietnam and Desert Storm, if I recall correctly.  You guys will know better than I do.

And for the life of me, I wasn't expecting to see THIS!

And since Barksdale is a SAC base, you can see some of the "real" things too.

That one appears to be 96th Bomb Squadron, 2d Bomb Wing.

Oh! And you ever do a B-47 GB....

Hope you enjoyed these!  Nice museum to visit if you're in the area.  Aircraft are beginning to show the effects of being outside, however.  With the recent budget cuts, I don't see them getting the attention they deserve anytime soon.

Gary

Gary: Many thanks for those, many of my favourites sitting right there!

I see Russ has been there detailing that full size 'D' kit.....lol

I agree, the B-47 was one beautiful bird, the sleekest looking bomber alright!

Sheeesh, a Vulcan! Kripes she had loud engines.....love that wing.

Thanks for sneaking in bits of the Thunderstreak, MiG-21 and SR-71 as well.

Well, if you find any more pics, errr....don't let 'em go to waste, and again,

many thanks for sharing those with us!

Dom

buffjock

J-Dub,

I got a spot fer em all

Allen

I hope this isn't too shabby a consolation prize for denying you

the Grim Reaper decals , but I have the landing gear for my Buff

still on the sprues as I recount, and the start of a custom made hydrogen bomb

you are welcome to

The bomb isn't to accurate, it was a take-off of the Dr. Strangelove bombs:

My puppies look like this:

They need painting and detailing, I would be happy to send you one.

Dom

Dom,

if its something B-52 related that your not gonna use, Im interested. i dont like to see that stuff thrown out when myself and occasionally others need the stuff. Any donations to my "boneyard" will get you access to the stuff in the future.

in a related note, I should have the CIA B-52 done in the next couple of days...

I love the Slim Pickens pic...

Allen

Allen,

Big Slim Pickens fan!

A 'never throw styrene away, I even keep swarf as filler, and my share

of vac waste, old pens, tape dispensers, and empty sprues.

PM me and I'll send that stuff.

For gosh sake, when you get that bomb, "DO NOT DROP!"

Dom

Dom,

Not to worry about the bomb, i have a special CIA clearance... You can take the gear off the sprues to make em smaller to ship. Sounds like Im not the only plastic packrat....

BUFFs in the news:

Guys; due to my respect for the FSM Forum Rules and Etiquette,

I cannot discuss the content of these stories on the thread, but thought you may

want to have a look:

www.foxnews.com/.../amazing-race-episode-set-in-hanoi-sparks-outrage

and

www.foxnews.com/.../us-flies-nuclear-capable-b-52-bombers-over-south-korea-amid-rising-tensions

Dom

The first link shows how little we Americans remember our history.  Especially the young of today.  If is isn't on Twitter/Facebook, they don't know it.

The second might as well be the same story that ran 35 years ago.  We have been flying BUFFs to South Korea for a long time.  In fact, the boys at Anderson AFB used to fly a low level route in S. Korea.  The N. Korean response is as stale as the "news"  

The B-52, 488,000 pounds of diplomacy.

greentracker98

Buffirn

greentracker98

Darn, I found the perfect nose art for my 52 "SAC TIME" She's nude, oh well there are others that are wearing some clothes. I guess it wouldn't be a good idea for other displays as well, not just here LOL

I have the Warbird Decals set with SAC Time from Griffiss on it.  I won't be using that particualr set of decals.  PM me if you want them.

Thanks Jim, The decals arrived in tack 10 mins ago. And Thanks Again Their perfect

Many years ago, my crew had diverted to Griffis for bad weather and spent the night.  The next morning while waiting to head back home, the boys at Griffis were moving planes around setting up for their airshow the next day.  One of the Griffiss BUFFs with the Statue of Liberty was parked directly in front of us.  I couldn't help but notice that the statues on either side of the tail were not at the same elevation and they were not parallel.  I believe the term is cattywompus.  On that day, I realized that I never needed to put a decal on straight again.  I only wish I had a camera that day.

Buffirn

The first link shows how little we Americans remember our history.  Especially the young of today.  If is isn't on Twitter/Facebook, they don't know it.

The second might as well be the same story that ran 35 years ago.  We have been flying BUFFs to South Korea for a long time.  In fact, the boys at Anderson AFB used to fly a low level route in S. Korea.  The N. Korean response is as stale as the "news"  

The B-52, 488,000 pounds of diplomacy.

Ever get up to a cool 1/2 million?

Dom

Buffirn

greentracker98

Buffirn

greentracker98

Darn, I found the perfect nose art for my 52 "SAC TIME" She's nude, oh well there are others that are wearing some clothes. I guess it wouldn't be a good idea for other displays as well, not just here LOL

I have the Warbird Decals set with SAC Time from Griffiss on it.  I won't be using that particualr set of decals.  PM me if you want them.

Thanks Jim, The decals arrived in tack 10 mins ago. And Thanks Again Their perfect

Many years ago, my crew had diverted to Griffis for bad weather and spent the night.  The next morning while waiting to head back home, the boys at Griffis were moving planes around setting up for their airshow the next day.  One of the Griffiss BUFFs with the Statue of Liberty was parked directly in front of us.  I couldn't help but notice that the statues on either side of the tail were not at the same elevation and they were not parallel.  I believe the term is cattywompus.  On that day, I realized that I never needed to put a decal on straight again.  I only wish I had a camera that day.

obsessive about stuff like that.

I wonder if the 'stretch marks' on Mama are symmetrical:

Or cattywompus.

Next time I'm up close to a BUFF, i will have to check.

Dom

Jim,

I can't find your BUFF job description, and I can't remember if

you posted that, on Russ' thread.

What was it you did on board?

Tx

Dom

488 was max gross takeoff weight.  Sitting on the Alert Pad we weighed a cool 500K.  We were supposed to burned 12,000 pounds of fuel by unstick. 

I started life as a Navigator and got to be an Instructor Navigator.  Then with about 1200 BUFF hours, I went to upgrade to become a Radar Navigator.  At about 2000 hours I became an Instructor Radar Navigator.  After a few years doing that, I got sucked into the Wing Staff and worked in the Bomb Nav and Tactics shops.  While I was there, I got to go to USAF Weapons School.  Much to the chagrin of the instructors there (apparently, I was a bit rough on them), I graduated and garnered the "vaunted S prefix".  After that, I got passed over for Major and downsized out into the civilian world.  I have been a poor lost soul since then.

Thanks Jim;

I remember you unpacking your handle, BUFF Instructor Radar Navigator. 2000 hours is a lot of time BUFFing the sky.

You covered a lot of ground, PTP. I take it when you were in Weapons School, there was a bit of a culture clash between reality and theory?

"S" prefix can represent a few words, anything Special come to mind?

Dom

Well, it is Sunday morning. I got up at 2:15 a.m., as I have no circadian rythm. One too many night shifts in my past.

Managed to tidy up that hydrogen bomb for Buffjock, I started the wedges on the fins, sharpened a few nose and parachute deployment details, and topped up the tritium. I found my Monorev BUFF extras spread over three locations.....shiiish.....I found out I had lost one set for the bomb pylons, and the landing hardware......

Today I am going to experiment gluing those Verlinden Mk 82's together with Gator-Grip. I have a plan for painting the yellow nose stripes on.

If anyone here has an idea for prepping resin parts for glue and paint, please let me know. The Verlinden parts have a strong smell of para-dichloro-benzene, yes, mothballs. I didn't even know moths ate resin, but I learn something new every day.

Today I may even get around to cleaning up my airbrush, idle for 5 years now. If all goes well, I'll spend some quality time gluing together styrene and resin bombs, with that scorching Vietnam sun beating down.....

Dom

Bockscar

Thanks Jim;

I remember you unpacking your handle, BUFF Instructor Radar Navigator. 2000 hours is a lot of time BUFFing the sky.

You covered a lot of ground, PTP. I take it when you were in Weapons School, there was a bit of a culture clash between reality and theory?

"S" prefix can represent a few words, anything Special come to mind?

Dom

Dom,

When I got out, I had just about 3,000 hours.  I would have loved to stay for my 20 years.  That would have put me up near 6,000 hours.  Of course, Uncle Sam might have kept me a few more years since we would have been busy bombing in the Middle East.

My problem in Weapons School was the egos of the instructors.  Many egos vastly outstripped their true abilities.  It was hard to listen to them proclaim their greatness and then see what they were truly capable of.  The subject matter was good and the whole point of the school was good.  The staff wasn't so good.

The S prefix was something added to my AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code) to designate that I had graduated from Weapons School.  In theory, it equated to a Master's Degree.  In my reality, it counted for nothing come promotion time.  Oh well, I survived.

Jim:

Nothing like a bit of professional jealousy, coupled with a 'superiority complex.' When ever I think of hi-level arrogance, technical knowledge combined with a complete lack of practical application coupled with a total disregard for the lives of service folks, Bob Vietnamara always comes to mind. Can't say much more, or I'll test the FSM hosts patience.

Some dogs have the manger closed down alright. Given your weapons backgorund Jim, any idea what that panel is on the back of the Verlinden Mk 82's? It almost resembles an air scoop:

Maybe just Verlinden's vain attempt at too much detail?

Dom           -Photo Credit: Russ' ArcLight diorama.