THE OFFICIAL IN THE BUFF B52 GROUP BUILD

Bockscar

Buffirn

Even better than a cart start was a Quick Start.  Carts were loaded in all 8 engines.  We spent a lot of time in Quick Start in the mid to late 80's.  We always knew when we were going to get a practice horn because they took us out of Quick Start.  Had to be a good steward of the People's money

Jim,

over my short fore-head,,,,lol

did they put one cart out for each engine?

Quick Start was to get the BUFF's off the ground ASAP?

Dom

You will have to excuse my use of the same word to mean many things.  The more correct way to describe this situation was that we loaded a starter cartridge into each engine.  Something like a slow burning rocket motor about the size of a coffee can.  I thought I saw a video on You Tube of a Quickstart.  I'll see if I can dig it up again.

Quickstart was used to reduce the time needed for us to get airborne.  I'd guess it cut 2-3 minutes off the normal sequence of events for Alert starts.  Depending on where the Soviets missile boats were, that migh be enough time to get away and head to the Motherland for some retribution.

Quick Start

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anFdf5aYtIA

Cart start, elephant walk, and MITO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQWz7Svmlj4

Give me 40 acres and I'll turn this thing around

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPvJI89H9zk

Crater eggs for Dom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jj-AmqYh88

More crater eggs for Dom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vun7yg3nrs4

My favorite

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt4xxVyZvwM

That should keep you happy for a while

Ahhh....thanks for that explanation and those links Jim.

I must have been tired, i missed Russ' cart start explanation, then thought you were talking about one of those utility vehicles.....I was seeing one or two for every engine.......yikes

I'll dig into those links tomorrow, just got in late from work.....

Dom

Buffirn

Quick Start

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anFdf5aYtIA

Cart start, elephant walk, and MITO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQWz7Svmlj4

Give me 40 acres and I'll turn this thing around

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPvJI89H9zk

Crater eggs for Dom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jj-AmqYh88

More crater eggs for Dom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vun7yg3nrs4

My favorite

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt4xxVyZvwM

That should keep you happy for a while

Great clips, really get to appreciate the capacity of the BUFF.

It needs to be seen at speed, 'Your favorite' was pretty cool......

So now I know what the cart-start is, you can see the carts burning and blasting

down for a few secs, best to stand clear there.....

Loved that 'airburst',

Yeah I'm happy for a while,

Tx!

Dom

i managed to get the clip chips for the panels cut to approximate shape today.

Russ provided the construction dimensions, and photo:

Hopefully, my panels are close enough.

Here they are:

The fuse in the photo should be about flush with the top of the panel, but I could only get the egg to stop rolling long enough to get these shots:

My panels are a bit undersize due to a tolerance mess up at word go, the scriber tip was snapped off,

and well, 'scuses, 'scuses, they are about 0.5mm too short, 19.5mm long. Width is good, depth is about 4mm less as i intended to cut and paste a new top end on, maybe too ambitious, i'll just glue in a 4mm srtip at the top with the big details.

But they are very close, and if they are too nasty, I have a tiny 0.5 strip I can apply to 'round them up.

Lost the chips today, they got way-laid under a pile of kits. Then I lost my micro, then my patience, all 'cause i lost my memory........lol

Apologies to Russ.....

Dom

Bockscar

i managed to get the clip chips for the panels cut to approximate shape today.

Russ provided the construction dimensions, and photo:

Hopefully, my panels are close enough.

Here they are:

The fuse in the photo should be about flush with the top of the panel, but I could only get the egg to stop rolling long enough to get these shots:

My panels are a bit undersize due to a tolerance mess up at word go, the scriber tip was snapped off,

and well, 'scuses, 'scuses, they are about 0.5mm too short, 19.5mm long. Width is good, depth is about 4mm less as i intended to cut and paste a new top end on, maybe too ambitious, i'll just glue in a 4mm srtip at the top with the big details.

But they are very close, and if they are too nasty, I have a tiny 0.5 strip I can apply to 'round them up.

Lost the chips today, they got way-laid under a pile of kits. Then I lost my micro, then my patience, all 'cause i lost my memory........lol

Apologies to Russ.....

Dom

Hey, Dom,

Those are looking good! Don't worry about the height being off a little. It's not that critical. You just want the panels to extend to just above the lower doors if they were closed. You can estimate it using the bottom curve of the fuselage for reference. Even if they were off a lot, you can correct for it by shimming the clips at the top of the bomb bay.

Getting anxious to see the first one!   But take your time, bud. There's no rush.

Russ

Thanks Russ:

I was thinking about how to accurately attach them inside the BB and remembered my bay was a bit too deep. i cut another piece of 1mm stock the size of the ceiling, and I am going to build the ceiling and mount the clips outside the BB, then glue the whole assembly in place once it is all done.

I may have to cut the working ceiling a bit narrower, as it takes a bit of 'force' to get the exact size ceiling in past the lower doors. If I have the guts to cut the upper doors, I won't have that problem,

6 of one half dozen of the other.

What is RLI an acronym for, I missed that one, tx.

Dom

You're welcome, Dom. RLI is "real life issues"

Russ

Seeing some nice work here, still busy on another group build which I'm hoping to wrap up shortly.

I had the pleasure of attending Wrightcon this past weekend.  It was also the IPMS Region IV contest.  Lots and lots of great looking kits.  Only one thing bugged me.  Not a single BUFF!!!

I'll fix that next year!  Anyone know a company making 1/144th scale AGE and vehicles?

Jim

Jim,

You might try N-scale model railroad vehicles. They range from 1:148 to 1:160 in scale. Some well known manufacturers/vendors are Arnold, Minitrix, Fleischmann and Walthers.

Cheers,

Russ

Thanks Russ!

I found some AGE here:

http://www.aim72.co.uk/

It might fit the bill and it may keep mefrom having to scratchbuild.

You're welcome, Jim. I tried to contact Hannants to ask them questions about their models but got no reply so I scratch built my MD-3. Maybe you'll have better luck through the ordering system.

Russ

Archangel Shooter

Seeing some nice work here, still busy on another group build which I'm hoping to wrap up shortly.

I tried that link but it won't come up, would like to check out your build,

Thanks

Dom

Striker8241

You're welcome, Dom. RLI is "real life issues"

Russ

Do we really need the "Issues" part, or does "Real Life" pretty much say it all.....

Dom

Whatever floats yur boat

Water helps.....

Planning to use your Clip Manual to get the tops of those panels roughed in this weekend. I should get a good bead on the fit of that new bomb bay ceiling.

I put down some acrylic glue mixtures last Saturday, so tomorrow I'll see if they are strong enough to hold the tails on those bombs.

I put together an idea for the panel slot, to use it as the fix point for the bombs but not cut the whole section out and fill it with tiny release harnesses.

Also, your previous guidance on reshaping the engine cowlings is very handy, I have 3 more to reshape, and 8 exhausts to modify per your instructions.

Thanks for that revised manual Russ, I'll dig in tomorrow.

Dom

Hey, Dom,

Good luck on those panels and that bomb bay!  As for detailing those panel slots, that sounds like a lot of work on something that won't be seen, except for the very bottom of the panels, unless you plan to put one on display on the outside. I was considering building a clip and transporter in 1/48 or 1/32 scale, but I would have to hock one of my cars to get a down payment on 28 bombs! .

Good luck on the cowlings and exhausts. Be sure to post some pictures of all your work!

Russ

Russ,

hocking your car aside for a minute,

where in heck do you find 28 1/32 Mk?

I thought I had some styrene 1/32 '82 lying around here....

Yeah, I won't spend too much time on the inside of the bay, just enough so that those '82's can be seen snugged cozy in mama's bosom.

Dom

Guys, if ye' havunt already,

check out Russ' photos of BUFF "Area 47" -lol like "Area 51" but without space aliens....

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/19/p/149616/1653271.aspx#1653271

Dom

Started gluing the Mk 82's together.

I founds that with the acrylic based glue, the

parts don't "lock" they way styrene or gluing with

CA would. So you have to baby-sit them for about 30

minutes to make sure the parts haven't shfted.

That's about 8 a weekend, so two months of bomb gluing at my pace.

Unless i get inspired by a night out in Saigon.

I'll work on finishing up those engine nacelles and exhausts

as well,

be doing more Sunday......

I found an acrylic glue that isn't too bad, not creamy like

the Gator grip stuff.....it always stays soft. anyways.

Dom

Dom,

Good luck on gluing those bombs together. Can you make a jig so you don't have to monitor them all the time? Maybe just a couple of straws laid side by side. Just a thought.

Russ

Great idea Russ;

I've been so concerned about whether the dang glue would even stick,

I built a drying rack, out of blue styro, but straws would at least keep them

aligned.

Another thing threw me off, the dang tails of the bombs, none of the fins are

the same shape. So I would adjust the tails, turn them, and they would be off again.

The straws would keep the center line tracking, so thanks again,

i am building one...

I'll keep you posted...

Dom

You're welcome, bud. Hope it works out!

Russ

I have to hand it to you Russ,

getting all those bombs so nice...

If the end tips even a thou, the dang thing doesn't look right,

the jig still lets the suckers sag a bit......but it beats staying up

all night keeping the brood warm like moma hen.....lol

Dom

Russ;

Here's a question or two for you:

The Big Belly mod, was that the addition of the upper Bomb Bay doors?

Also:

i notice that the original cross-section of the BUFF was oval, and narrowed a bit from

top to bottom, a bit like the outline of an egg standing on its pointier end.

It seems that later models had a more rectangular shape, that is, the sides of the fuselage

were almost parallel all the way down to the belly transition. AMT seems to tool their BUFF

fuselages that way.

Is that right?

Dom

Hi, Dom,

As to the first question, no - the doors were designed that way from the beginning, as far as I know. Remember, there were some pretty big nukes, and decoys, that had to fit in that bomb bay, so the loader had to be able to fit under there as well.

As to the second question, from all that I've read about the Big Belly mod, there were no structural changes other than the special racks at the top of the bomb bay to suspend the clips. If the shape of the fuselage changed, it was probably to allow larger payloads, even before the BB mod.

Russ

You're correct Russ. Big Belly was all about inside the bomb bay, the structure to hang the clips, and wiring for the clips and sequencers to drop all those bombs in the correct order. Nothing at all changed in the fuselage structure. The name itself has caused confusion since its inception.

Thanks guys,

i was one of the confused.

As for 'there were some pretty big nukes",

I was standing in front of a Mk 17, or the mock-up of one:

photo Credit: http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html

It was down at WP AFB Dayton. I was mentioning to a pal, that you needed a B-36 to carry such a massive nuke, what, 40,000 lbs of plutonium and depleted uranium.

Some blabbermouth was near by, and hearing my comment started talking over me about how '"just because a bomb is big doesn't necessarily mean it is more powerful," the 'expert of the minute' type of guy.

So I just casually mentioned to his audience it was "the most powerful bomb on the floor that day, over 15 MT, big and very powerful'........ Still an iconic piece of uranium, if ever there was one.

Dang, I miss fire-crackers....

I'm going to try to build one scale, not sure if Millcreek is going to cast anymore any time soon:

http://www.millcreekconsultants.com/SR-N1.html

Dom