Strategic Air Command GroupBulid

R-Cman your E-3 is looking good,

Yardbird, what was the last year a Blackbird flew.  I've heard it was some time in 1999, 

Here is some more progress pix of the E-3. I am not happy with the way the paint job has turned out but with the time restraints that I have ( being a full time student with 25 hours of collage) I dont want to miss the dead line

and with this one the fuse was 3/4 of an inch to small

If you are getting a lot of paint on the face of the instrument or surrounding area, you still have too much paint in the brush.  You need to get about 99.8% of it out before going to the instrument.  I use the Future straight from the bottle, ( put some in a small jar for convenience).

Darwin, O.F.

I tried the dry brush technique, but i still botched it anyways. I'm thinking the lighting isn't helping me much here, so i'm gonna look for a light magnifier in the next few days. I think that'll help. In the meantime, i recovered it all in black, and i'm gonna try it again tomorrow night. Hopefully i'll get it next time, and i think i'm gonna take a crack at the seatbelts too as well. It's the first time i've ever tried to detail a cockpit, so it's.......... interesting! I'm kinda guessing on some of the details, since all i got for reference is the color scheme in the booklet, and a few poor, fuzzy pictures. Nothing really that useful for the cockpit of my build. Fortunately the canopy windscreen isn't very big, so i think i'll be able to hide a lotta mistakes that way.

gotta love the growth process..........

yardbird78 wrote:

DesertRat wrote: Ok guys, i could use a little help with my build here. Last night i was messing with painting in the cockpit area, and i'm ready to start with some of the controls. Now, i dont remember it being this difficult, but the raised lines and the relief of the control panel are smaller than i'm used to. I'm afraid to go in there with a really fine brush, cause i'm concerned that the paint will blead over the rest of the panel. What do ya guys use to get those really fine, pinpoint details? I use what is called the "dry brush" technique.  Dip a small brush is some silver paint, wipe most of the paint off on the jar edge, paint a scrap of something until you are just barely getting any paint out of the brush, then lightly drag the side of the brush over the instruments.  You should get just a tiny bit of paint to come off on the raised edges.  You might want to pratice a little on the raised numbers of a sprue id tag or something similar.  After that is dry, I put a drop of Future on each dial face, let it dry and repeat to simulate the glass front of the instrument. Darwin, O.F.

   While i don't have any future yet, i do wanna try and simulate the glass faces. I think once i'm satisfied with the rest of the controls i'll give it a shot. Do you usually thin it with anything? Or just straight up future? Thanks!

DesertRat wrote:

Ok guys, i could use a little help with my build here. Last night i was messing with painting in the cockpit area, and i'm ready to start with some of the controls. Now, i dont remember it being this difficult, but the raised lines and the relief of the control panel are smaller than i'm used to. I'm afraid to go in there with a really fine brush, cause i'm concerned that the paint will blead over the rest of the panel. What do ya guys use to get those really fine, pinpoint details?

I use what is called the "dry brush" technique.  Dip a small brush is some silver paint, wipe most of the paint off on the jar edge, paint a scrap of something until you are just barely getting any paint out of the brush, then lightly drag the side of the brush over the instruments.  You should get just a tiny bit of paint to come off on the raised edges.  You might want to pratice a little on the raised numbers of a sprue id tag or something similar.  After that is dry, I put a drop of Future on each dial face, let it dry and repeat to simulate the glass front of the instrument.

Darwin, O.F.   

After some glueing and tapeing the main body is drying, the noise was a little trickie.

FeldMarSchall Model wrote:

DesertRat wrote: try this out. It seems to work: click on the badge, so that it opens in another window. then right click on that to "save as". Save it to your computer, then upload it to your photobucket account (or whatever equivelent you use to host pictures).   On getting it into the signature block, i posted it just like you would post a regular picture in the thread under your comments block. Only difference is that you have to type in [img]'s manually   Hay thanks it worked

DesertRat wrote:

try this out. It seems to work: click on the badge, so that it opens in another window. then right click on that to "save as". Save it to your computer, then upload it to your photobucket account (or whatever equivelent you use to host pictures).   On getting it into the signature block, i posted it just like you would post a regular picture in the thread under your comments block. Only difference is that you have to type in [img]'s manually

Hay thanks it worked

try this out. It seems to work:

click on the badge, so that it opens in another window. then right click on that to "save as". Save it to your computer, then upload it to your photobucket account (or whatever equivelent you use to host pictures).

On getting it into the signature block, i posted it just like you would post a regular picture in the thread under your comments block. Only difference is that you have to type in [img]'s manually

DesertRat wrote:

Hey guys! I got the green light from FeldMarschal, so here it is. The official SAC GB Badge!!!!! Feel free to take it and download it into your own signature block, if you prefer!!!! And i also got some good news for my own personal build! I finally got a new airbrush and compressor set in from Airbrush city! I've been so swamped this weekend that i haven't had time to even go and check my own PO box lately. Unfortunate that i get it at the end of the weekend, but hopefully soon i'll be posting some progress pics! Hooray!

Hay Im lost on how to upload the badge, I've never done this before. 

Hey guys! I got the green light from FeldMarschal, so here it is.

The official SAC GB Badge!!!!!

Feel free to take it and download it into your own signature block, if you prefer!!!!

And i also got some good news for my own personal build! I finally got a new airbrush and compressor set in from Airbrush city! I've been so swamped this weekend that i haven't had time to even go and check my own PO box lately. Unfortunate that i get it at the end of the weekend, but hopefully soon i'll be posting some progress pics! Hooray!

DesertRat wrote:

On the SR-71, i had read somewhere that it was designed to leak fuel that way. That way when the AC is at altitude and operationg temperatures, the fuel system will expand and seal itself without rupturing inflight. But, i am far from any expert on the AC. Some of the guys here could tell you a whole lot more than i can, that's for sure

You could almost say that fuel was used as much for cooling as it was for propellant in the SR-71.  I have the book "Skunkworks", by Ben Rich (and a ghostwriter) that tells a lot about all of the Skunkworks airplanes, my best resource on the SR-71.  It was definitely a "way out there" airplane.  Amazing.

mph34 wrote:

This is one Group Build that as much as I want to control my number of Group Builds, I have to get on this one.  Put me down for the E-3A AWACS by Revell.  I want to get the decals that a few planes had for NATO's 50th Aniversary (though that was after 1992 - does that still count?)  If it doesn't I might change the aircraft that I'll build for this.

Sure, and your E-3A is 1/72?  Makeings would have to be before 1992. 

This is one Group Build that as much as I want to control my number of Group Builds, I have to get on this one.

 Put me down for the E-3A AWACS by Revell.  I want to get the decals that a few planes had for NATO's 50th Aniversary (though that was after 1992 - does that still count?)  If it doesn't I might change the aircraft that I'll build for this.

The SR-71C, tail number 17981 is at Hill AFB Museum, Ogden, Utah.

Darwin, O.F.

While looking for blackbird photos, I found a site the tells were all the A-12's,YF-12's, and SR-71's , D-21 Drone's, J-58's, Starter carts, SR-71 Simulator.  The site doesn't list the SR-71C model, it is at a museum, don't remember which one.  And I've tracked down a YF-12 model made by Testors in the mid 80's.

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Fea1/301-400/Fea384_YF-12_Keip/Fea384.htm 

http://www.sr-71.org/photogallery/blackbird/ 

jeaton01 wrote:

I'm not in this GB, but I see U-2's in the pattern at Beale in the pattern pretty often, and the black they are painted with is so dead flat that it seems like light just dissapears when it hits them, except for the bright white of the wheel wells.  I've never seen a U-2 that looked weathered or that had much difference in sheen from one place to another, but that's not to say such an example is non-existant.  I used to see SR-71's and they always seemed to have more of a gloss to the finish, and where the fuel was leaking out of the wings there was a different sheen.

Hey Jeaton, i've seen that too. Only time i ever saw em in person was some of the air shows i had been to in the past. As i recall, i couldn't get close up to any of em because of security issues, so it was hard to get a good look.

   Since i'm just getting my feet wet again after 10 years away, that's kinda one of the biggest reasons i chose this particular airframe- looks like a simple enough build to kinda break myself back in. That, and that i am fascinated with the aircraft too.

   On the SR-71, i had read somewhere that it was designed to leak fuel that way. That way when the AC is at altitude and operationg temperatures, the fuel system will expand and seal itself without rupturing inflight. But, i am far from any expert on the AC. Some of the guys here could tell you a whole lot more than i can, that's for sure

I'm not in this GB, but I see U-2's in the pattern at Beale in the pattern pretty often, and the black they are painted with is so dead flat that it seems like light just dissapears when it hits them, except for the bright white of the wheel wells.  I've never seen a U-2 that looked weathered or that had much difference in sheen from one place to another, but that's not to say such an example is non-existant. 

I used to see SR-71's and they always seemed to have more of a gloss to the finish, and where the fuel was leaking out of the wings there was a different sheen.

Sure Yardbird. I think i got it now. Funny thing about Onifite is that anything over 128pixels, they put the watermark on there- unless you pay for the premium service. I thought maybe the badges could be sized down a little more anyway, and that seems to have corrected them on most. I'm debating whether i stick with them, or open up a photobucket account.

    Ok, groupleader! It looks like we have 3 for #5. Do we have anymore input, guys?

I'd go with #5 as first choice, #2 as second choice.  Can you delete the white letters for the Web address in the lower left corner?

Darwin, O.F.

No problem. Actually, i'm kinda partial to that one too. It looks a little more interesting as i look at it. What does everyone else think?

Nice blackbird! There's just something too sexy about those red lines on those broad black wings....

DesertRat, Thanks for your hard work on your lunch break, If I had to pick one it'll be #5.

Heres a link to a review about Testors 1/48 BlackBird, that one looks outstanding.

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal5/4001-4100/gal4049_SR-71_Fuquay/gal4049.htm 

Hey all! Wonder where everyone else is here!

I played around with ms paint today at work on my lunch break, and i came up with a few ideas here:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

This is what i came up with. If y'all like any, then i will need help in resizing. I have no idea how you do it. If y'all don't really like em, no worries! Never any hard feelings. You guys will have to bear with me. Still waiting on the tools i need to get down to business with my project. What do y'all think?

FeldMarSchall, Since ya be the group leader, whaddya think?

Wirraway wrote:

Heres the SAC emblem, if anyone cares to play around with it for a GB logo....

Naturally i think it's appropriate to incorperate the SAC logo (obviously). Sadly enough, i've never messed with logos or picture files at all. But if it's cool with y'all, i'll screw around with a few ideas and present them in a day or so. I might need someone either resize them, or tell me how to do it though

Heres the SAC emblem, if anyone cares to play around with it for a GB logo....