checksix

As long as you're putting all those lights in place, maybe you should put  blue/pink leds within the engine to create afterburner "shock diamonds" using edge lighting,  by adding frosted concentric rings on the outside of your clear support rod? You might be able to achieve an effect something like this:
 

As long as you're putting all those lights in place, maybe you should put  blue/pink leds within the engine to create afterburner "shock diamonds" using edge lighting,  by adding frosted concentric rings on the outside of your clear support rod? You might be able to achieve an effect something like this:
 

As long as you're putting all those lights in place, maybe you should put  blue/pink leds within the engine to create afterburner "shock diamonds" using edge lighting,  by adding frosted concentric rings on the outside of your clear support rod? You might be able to achieve an effect something like this:
 

As long as you're putting all those lights in place, maybe you should put  blue/pink leds within the engine to create afterburner "shock diamonds" using edge lighting,  by adding frosted concentric rings on the outside of your clear support rod? You might be able to achieve an effect something like this:
 

As long as you're putting all those lights in place, maybe you should put  blue/pink leds within the engine to create afterburner "shock diamonds" using edge lighting,  by adding frosted concentric rings on the outside of your clear support rod? You might be able to achieve an effect something like this:
 

All that panel work is really going to look good when painted. Love the decal on back of pilot helmet. Don't rush to get it finished! It's going to be a beauty.

It's difficult to tell without seeing the entire fuselage, but it looks like your nose profile is going to work!
One thing I noticed is that the little cone shape at the front base of the canopy seems too exaggerated.
It's actually fairly subtle, and the shape seems to carry through the canopy and matches the interior cockpit glare shield.
Here's what I mean:
 

 
You're going to have a great model. I'm really enjoying watching this unfold...

Completed
 
All done. The base of the display stand was cut from poplar. The vertical portion  is a temporary mdf template that will be replaced with clear acrylic.

 
With clear acrylic display stand, cut from 3/8" sheet:

 

I used original Rockwell / North American Aviation drawings for the B-1B, obtained here:
 
http://www.aerospaceprojectsreview.com/catalog/drawndoc.htm
 
"Airdrawing 2" and "Airdrawing 18"
 
This was a great resource. You place an order via paypal and he email's you a temporary web address and password from which you download the .zip file containing the drawings.
 
I used a program called "Imagemagick" to convert  and rescale the desired image ("B-1b.gif") into a pdf file that I took to a local Office Depot and had them print on one of their big architectural printers (48" x 36") for about $7.

I'm planning on adding "EL" (Ellsworth) markings eventually. My son will be PCS'ing there sometime this year as a pilot. I'm waiting to see what plane(s) he'll be flying so I can pick something appropriate.

Completed
 
All done. The base of the display stand was cut from poplar. The vertical portion  is a temporary mdf template that will be replaced with clear acrylic.

 
With clear acrylic display stand, cut from 3/8" sheet:

 

Painting
 
I was looking for a worn, somewhat aged appearance. After priming with Tamiya gray liquid surface primer, I sprayed multiple thin coats of Tamiya XF-54 "Dark Sea Gray", stopping before obtaining complete coverage. For walkway markings I used XF-24 "Dark Gray". For the nose cone and dielectric panels I used a 50:50 mix of XF-54 and XF-24. The wing pivot areas are X-31 "Titanium Gold". Lastly, I dirtied things up a bit with some XF-1 "Flat Black". The flat paints look good but are delicate. For final assembly and handling I wear thin cotton gloves (thanks wife!).
 

 

 
 

Completed
 
All done. The base of the display stand was cut from poplar. The vertical portion  is a temporary mdf template that will be replaced with clear acrylic.

 
With clear acrylic display stand, cut from 3/8" sheet:

 

Completed
 
All done. The base of the display stand was cut from poplar. The vertical portion  is a temporary mdf template that will be replaced with clear acrylic.

 
With clear acrylic display stand, cut from 3/8" sheet:

 

Completed
 
All done. The base of the display stand was cut from poplar. The vertical portion  is a temporary mdf template that will be replaced with clear acrylic.

 
With clear acrylic display stand, cut from 3/8" sheet:

 

Painting
 
I was looking for a worn, somewhat aged appearance. After priming with Tamiya gray liquid surface primer, I sprayed multiple thin coats of Tamiya XF-54 "Dark Sea Gray", stopping before obtaining complete coverage. For walkway markings I used XF-24 "Dark Gray". For the nose cone and dielectric panels I used a 50:50 mix of XF-54 and XF-24. The wing pivot areas are X-31 "Titanium Gold". Lastly, I dirtied things up a bit with some XF-1 "Flat Black". The flat paints look good but are delicate. For final assembly and handling I wear thin cotton gloves (thanks wife!).
 

 

 
 

Back end
 
The Barracuda resin exhaust nozzle castings are quite detailed. Installing the tiny actuator rods is a challenge. They are sliced one at a time from the casting block and then CA'd in place. Many spares are provided. I only lost two:

 
After painting and applying a wash of clear smoke:

 
 

Front end
 
Rather than using decals, I painted all lines and markings. Window seal outlines were applied using the Barracuda canopy masks. To make a mask for the refueling markers, I scanned the original decal sheet, did some photo editing to generate a black-on-white image, and printed out the image. Then I overlaid some frisket film on the image, traced out the pattern with a fresh X-Acto blade, transferred the film mask onto the model, and sprayed several thin coats of off-white:

 
The resin pitot tubes are tiny. They are installed into holes that must be drilled. I used the tip of an X-Acto blade to start each hole and then opened them to size with a finger-turned .081" drill bit.

 
A needle file was used to ream out each hole for a custom friction fit. A couple of holes came out slightly too large and required a tiny smear of epoxy:

 
 

Painting
 
I was looking for a worn, somewhat aged appearance. After priming with Tamiya gray liquid surface primer, I sprayed multiple thin coats of Tamiya XF-54 "Dark Sea Gray", stopping before obtaining complete coverage. For walkway markings I used XF-24 "Dark Gray". For the nose cone and dielectric panels I used a 50:50 mix of XF-54 and XF-24. The wing pivot areas are X-31 "Titanium Gold". Lastly, I dirtied things up a bit with some XF-1 "Flat Black". The flat paints look good but are delicate. For final assembly and handling I wear thin cotton gloves (thanks wife!).
 

 

 
 

Front end
 
Rather than using decals, I painted all lines and markings. Window seal outlines were applied using the Barracuda canopy masks. To make a mask for the refueling markers, I scanned the original decal sheet, did some photo editing to generate a black-on-white image, and printed out the image. Then I overlaid some frisket film on the image, traced out the pattern with a fresh X-Acto blade, transferred the film mask onto the model, and sprayed several thin coats of off-white:

 
The resin pitot tubes are tiny. They are installed into holes that must be drilled. I used the tip of an X-Acto blade to start each hole and then opened them to size with a finger-turned .081" drill bit.

 
A needle file was used to ream out each hole for a custom friction fit. A couple of holes came out slightly too large and required a tiny smear of epoxy:

 
 

Cockpit
 
The kit pilot figures have old-style helmet visors, so I modified them to look more like the helmets that are currently worn:

 
The windows on the real aircraft seem to have an iridescent yellow tint, so I tried to duplicate that:

 
The canopy fit was very poor and required extensive filling and blending:

 
But the Barracuda paint masks fit very nicely:

 

Wings
 
The first job is to correct the wings. They need to be longer to match the drawings:

 
And the wing pivot knuckles need to be larger in diameter:

 
I made the wings removable so they can be installed after the fuselage is closed up, blended, filled, and scribed. I cut slots into the wings and filed matching flats on the pivots, after inserting wire rods for extra strength:

 
 

Drawings
 
Checking the drawing against the actual aircraft (side view):

 
Checking the drawing against the model (side view):

 
Checking the drawing against the actual aircraft (top view):

 
Checking the drawing against the model (top view):

Here's a kit I built last fall. I saved up a bunch of photos and finally had some time to edit them and post them up.
 
Well, it looks like a B-1, but the devil is in the details. The kit is 20 years old. The parts fit is poor. Some of the panel lines are engraved (wings) but some are raised (fuselage). Many of the shapes (nose cone, tail cone, engine exhausts, external bombs) correspond to the B-1A prototype rather than the production B-1B. Nevertheless it's a good starting point and a good set of correction parts is available from the aftermarket.
 
The box art:

 
Quick dry fit out of the box, without the engines:

 
I'll be using this drawing for panel line references:

 
And this drawing for dimensional references:

 
 
 

Completed
 
All done. The base of the display stand was cut from poplar. The vertical portion  is a temporary mdf template that will be replaced with clear acrylic.

 
With clear acrylic display stand, cut from 3/8" sheet: