marauderdriver

I have participated in 3 GB's over the years, "Airwar over Vietnam" and "Classic Plastic" I managed to finish 3 builds each. My favorite was "What-if," and started a Corsair Racer but had to leave due to personal matters. i have just now returned from a No-Mojo period of about 10 months and a large downsizing of my 32nd stash. I was planning to start the 24th Tiffie Bubble top OOB project, but I do have a T5 Double - Lightning conversion set.....HMMMM. The trainer GB might be a good way of getting through the Whirlybird conversion with my sanity intact, I'm not a big resin fan, and this is Big resin to me. This is not what I planned to say when I started this post. I was going to say that the GB's I participated were a load of fun with making new friends, tips, HELP, encouragement and a good Ol ATTY BOY ! I hope to se continued participation in GB's in the future, no matter how small the end result, they will not always be that way. Maybe see you in the Trainer GB! jack

That's the great thing about this hobby, "Build it anyway YOU want. I'm not a rivet counter myself, and until I started mine in 2013 as my first LSP build, was going to prime my interior. It was brought to my attention that they were not, with pictures and Tech Orders. It allowed me to change before I started. I only bring it up as an informational note to who, like me, wasn't aware of this. You can always say it's a re-enactment for the crew. MODEL ON Sir! jack

I hate to stir up the hornets nest but, war time G models did not have painted interiors. The cockpit had blanket insulation on the ceiling and sides and rear bulkhead was painted. The rest of the interior was unpainted aluminum with wood floors, which look great by the way. Most reference books are restorations and therefore are painted to protect it from corrosion. They were built in a hurry and were not expected to last more then a year, so why add the time and weight. i didn't now this until I started building mine 5 years ago (Not finished)l with a full crew in flight. There are numerous photos on the web and I'm sure there will but some more who can give you more information. I'll share mine if I can find it. Crew looking good. They would be going thru the Pre-start Check list, so they would be looking around for switch's, levers and gauges. Have fun jack

I just watched a 48th build on youtube and it looks AWESOME! Just wondering about the weight of the inner wing and tail assembly. Looking forward to seeing how this works out Jack

the ECM antenna is different than your model also.

@tomprobert This is the damaged area of the one Ghost Rider replaced. 49th Operational Test Squadron

@tomprobert The nose art is pretty simple and have closer-up pics from nose to tail, with 007 tail number. I thought the same thing except 1/144 or 1/72 scale. would be unique.

We are practically neighbor's. 1007 is Ghost Rider, the first B-52 to be returned to the active fleet from the "Boneyard" in Az. She was flown here in late 2015 to replace the B-52 behind her due to an oxygen system fire in the cockpit. After they transferred the lower deck equipment she went to Tulsa for upgrades and repaint. She is at Minot due to the fact she was on loan to the test squadron here hen the fireoccurred. That is 7 years in the desert sun except where the protective sealer was located. We have another one from the boneyard here now to replace the one lost on Guam from an aborted take-off brake fire. I haven't been able to get pics of her yet.

You have to remember the travel of the wing when she is in flight. Some pics I took during touch & goes when I first got my camera. Again please excuse the "Buff eating tree".

Not sure if any of these help at this point. Please excuse the light post and dumpster

Love the weathering on this beast. I remember when the USAF was terrified of this thing back in the early 70's Good thing it was fast because "checking- six" would be impossible. Beautiful job jack

Great work so far Sir. PE makes me crazy, which is why I didn't use it. Do you have any photos of the ammo boxes for the ball turret, my understanding is they are inside the turret. The only pics I can find are for the B-24 that attach to the turret support. I can still fix mine as the fuselage is still unglued, Thanks jack

I had to look up the Gorn, the original Star Trek was hokey to this 11 years old. though I liked the Trebles Your quite right, even has a flak vest. You know I never even thought of contrails......HMMM!

Top turret with gunner, radio operator ( will change head), ball turret and waist gunners. Tail gunner is the only one left to be modified. Flak vest are made from lead tape.

I work in the gift shop at the Barksdale Global Power Museum at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana and have had the privilege to meet several WWII veterans. Some were aircrew and some ground guy's who have shared some of their experiences. What a humbling experience to listen to their stories. My dad flew 65 missions as a pilot in B-26 Marauders in 44-45 from England and France. They all one thing in common, they said they were just doing their job. What an incredible group of men they were. jack

Sounds like a really cool diorama ,and LARGE! The possibilities are endless with this kit providing you have the space. My wife prefers I hang mine from the ceiling and she has a spot picked out for mine when it is off the stand (only on the stand for shows). I wonder what the poor tail gunner went through with the waist being open to the wind, even with deflectors. Maybe not as bad as I think. jack

Congratulations Brian! You want humidity? we grow gills here in Bayou Country! Does your new bride know of your plastic/resin addiction? Has she caught you sneaking looks on "modeling websites"? How about the glue sniffing & paint huffing? See Brian, you have a problem, you need help. You must admit you have an addiction before you call Model Builders Help Line! 1-999-999-999! or Plastic's Anonymous 1-999-999-999? Congrats to Y'all jack

Thank You Sir. I found the painting crew figures is actually a fairly easy task in 1/32nd and smaller. The challenge is modifying them to the pose you want. I built an in-flight 1/48th B-17 back when it first came out in the 70's using various figures from kits in the closet. Don't shy away from it as working out-side the box is a great teaching tool to give you confidence to do it again if you so desire. Plus you'll LEARN ALOT!. The turtle deck is made to be removable if so desired but was not planning too. I will consider doing this if I can get the fit right. Will be posting more pics of the top turret and crew in the various stages of completion in a day or two. Thanks for looking in jack

Thanks Ron, I saw the bombardier a few years ago, after I put the beast on the shelf, and figured it was easier to modify the one I did to be over the bombsight. The advantage of doing mine was the legs were separate and the choice of arms and heads. I wanted the heads with the oxygen mask on and goggles down to cover any exposed skin. Most later crews used the A-14 mask that did not have the bladder as thy were less prone to freezing. I also made a ball turret gunner and will post some more pics of the other guy's soon. Thanks for the update jack

Thank You sir. I hope to make it worth following jack

The real fun of this is finding all my references and looking at some of the parts I started...what the Hell was I THINKING. Going back and reading my original thread helps but the lack of pics from then makes some of it a mystery. Will probably be a couple of days getting back in the groove and see were to start. Stay Tuned jack

You are too kind Sir This was 5 years ago, I hope I can continue with the same quality. jack Thank You Sir, Hope I can remember how I did this. Thanks Skeeter Good to be doing something I want to work on. Haven't done anything since I finished the KC-10. t Thank You Ron, Be interested to see the crew. have a couple of ideas about the spinning props that doesn't include motors. I've seen a couple of 48th "Prop Blurs" done and have made some from clear plastic disk chucked in my Dremel. We'll see jack

Thank You Very Much Sir.

I forgot I did the plexi floor under the bombadier

Nose with the bombardier and the "ACE" navigator!