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1/48th Boeing B-52H Stratofortress


tomprobert

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Afternoon all,

 

A little more progress has been made on the engines. After a pal on another forum pointed out that the kit's intakes are molded too far apart, I did think long and hard about narrowing the nacelles but decided against it in the end as it was going to be more hassle and work than I was prepared to undertake. The problem is the fact that if I removed a slither down the centre of the nacelles to bring the intakes closer together, this would mean that the exhaust cones couldn't have the correct gap between them and thus the pylon wouldn't fit where it joins the nacelles at the rear between the exhausts. I did then think about just removing the forward, larger bypass section and narrowing that, but that would result in the forward section being narrower than the rear section... problems that would be very difficult to overcome - therefore I decided life's too short and carried on regardless. The model will never grace a competition table and I've never been too bothered with absolute accuracy, so sod it! 

 

So... the rear of the nacelles were opened up and brass tube of the correct diameter was cut and glued firmly in place. These were banked off and I'll have a scratch around in the spares box at some point to find something to represent the rear of the hot section in due course and bung 'em in. The white metal fans were added to the rear of the plastic pipe intakes - later on these were reinforced with more plastic card to avoid the risk of them ever falling inside the nacelles:

 

39561818455_1fbc46552a_z.jpg

 

With the internals done, I then joined the top and bottom halves, blending them in with filler. The forward sections containing the new intake trunking was also blended in with filler, and contours smoothed in. I've been playing with some Milliput and have begun building up the fairing in between the intakes to lessen the effect of them being too wide apart, but some more fiddling will be needed here as and when:

 

40413863022_bf69113b73_z.jpg

 

Next I'm going to start detailing the rear of the bypass section and make the  vents so characteristic of this section before starting on the pylons. Stay tuned!

 

All the best,

 

Tom

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Dang this thing is going to be one mammoth of a build!!! I don't know if anybody has asked yet but where in the world are you going to display this when it's done? Very nice progress so far!!

 

That is an excellent question... being nearly four feet across the wings the honest answer is... I don't have a clue!

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Nice work so far!

I think from looking at the photo of the real intakes there is a fairing there that makes the gap between the intakes look closer together

can't wait for more progress

 

Cheers Mike

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Good going so far, although I can't help feeling vac-forming over those pipe tubes wold have given bigger fan ducts to work with, and allowed you access to the duct interior detail on thinner material. Despite it being a large model, the only areas of actual visual interest in 1/48 scale are going to be the cockpit, the nose and the engine pods. The rest of the airframe, even the undercarriage, is very barn-door plain jane, especially in grey.

 

However, being where you are, these profile views might be of some use. As you can see, a central 'keel' protrudes out in front of the pods, and would allow you to grind out the intake opening to a more elliptical shape to meet up with it.

 

75103B%20B-52H%2061-0036%20left%20side%2

 

14.jpg

 

And finally, a reminder that while appearing small on a B-52, those TF-33 turbofans are actually bloody massive, as seen on this WB-57F below.

 

kapa20130730-054.jpg

Edited by Chek
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Afternoon guys and gals  :)

 

A little bit more on the Big BUFF for you - I've been plodding on with the engines over the last few sessions.

 

I've opened up the outlets at the rear of the bypass section - more spacers need to be added but the basic shape is now there:

 

40554156811_26510c92db_z.jpg

 

Repeating the process four times was a little tedious but nevertheless essential as the kits parts were simply blanks and wouldn't look right in 1/144th scale, let alone 1/48th:

 

26682892068_77d02b30c2_z.jpg

 

I've also done a little more fettling with the intakes - they won't pass a strict accuracy test from B-52 experts but without major, and I mean major, surgery to the nacelles I think they're as good as I'm going to be able to get them:

 

40554156071_a02012875a_z.jpg

 

So here we are now - the forward sections are more or less done, with work now ready to commence on the rear sections and the pylons:

 

40554155231_d5e96f46d0_z.jpg

 

38743827220_c4ce20503e_z.jpg

 

Until next time,

 

Tom

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello all,

 

A little update on the big Buff project - work has been progressing at a glacial pace due to work commitments, but I've made a start on the four engine pylons.

 

They've been rubbed down, glued together and filled - filler still to be sanded:

 

40956253011_5cd0fbcd46_z.jpg

 

And a taste of how they'll look once mated to the nacelles:

 

27085411938_89c70220b5_z.jpg

 

40956256691_da2085b383_z.jpg

 

Nothing too exciting, but the Easter Hols are nearly upon us so hopefully I'll have more to report next time.

 

Tom

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