Author Topic: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet  (Read 12151 times)

Sentinel Chicken

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The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« on: April 07, 2012, 01:12:57 AM »


Waiting for a less humid day to get some airbrushing done (I have a space in the garage where the noise of my compressor won't bother anyone else and I can get as stoned out on paint fumes as I like), decided to crack open another kit from the stash. This is the B-47E Stratojet 1/144 kit from Academy. Looks simple enough, but I'm not terribly thrilled with the fit of the fuselage halves. This one will be built out of the box but will have an alternate history color scheme and markings.

Offline finsrin

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2012, 02:49:35 AM »
Have same kit and Revell 1/114 (1/113.8) B-47.  Was looking them over yesterday beginning to contemplate how to bash one or both.
Please post progress pictures. 
Bill

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #2 on: April 07, 2012, 04:35:54 AM »
Add one 1/144th scale B-58 Hustler (for the engines) shake well and pour...
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2012, 02:24:25 AM »
Those Academy B-47 kits are a blast Mr Chicken and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what you do with yours!

Brian da Basher

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #4 on: May 08, 2012, 09:47:15 AM »


Latest progress. I mentioned it in one of my other build threads, but this one will be done in the RAF all-white anti-flash colors complete with the pale roundel markings. Already have the decals, the old 1/144 Welsh V-bomber vacuform kits.

This kit has so far required a minimum of putty-fooing. It really comes together fairly nicely. My biggest complaint at this stage is that the main landing gear wells are boxes that fit inside one half of the fuselage. When you glue them in and then attach the other half of the fuselage, there's just no damn way I could think of to get them to line up and you get this hideous gap on one side of the main landing gear wells. A better way of engineering that part of the kit would have been to have the wheel wells insert into the fuselage after the halves were joined and then sand away the excess bit projecting beyond the fuselage mould line. I suppose the way Academy has done it has its advantages if you wanted to build the kit wheels up, but I had to putty-foo the *INSIDE* of a 1/144 gear wheel. TWICE. Not pleased.

It's a damn good thing the rest of the kit comes together nicely. I do think the way the inboard engine pylons join the undersurface of the wing are a bit dogdy and may or may not require the magic of putty-foo. I also found I had to drill out the holes for the wing external tank pylons. They're there, you best drill them out from the inside outward before jointing the top and bottom wing halves because the location of the holes is easily seen on the inside of the lower wing halves.

The engine nacelles come together nicely. Just a bit of sanding to knock off any overlap but no filler needed on any of them. I did a dry fit on the engine nacelles to the pylons and it's a good fit with no issues forseen when it comes time to glue them into place. Once I get the wing and fuselage together, it'll be time to a shot of primer to see where I need to do some touch up work before painting.

Luckily masking the canopy should be easy and it's really one exterior color. White! But I have a few ideas in the works that might add some subtle variations in the panels, etc.

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2012, 09:47:49 AM »
Add one 1/144th scale B-58 Hustler (for the engines) shake well and pour...
I think I know what I'll do with the other B-47 in the stash.......

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2012, 09:50:29 AM »
I'm contemplating taking the Blue Steel from the Welsh vacuform Vulcan kit. A cursory consultation with Professor Google shows the Blue Steel weighs approximately 17,000 lbs while the GAM-63 Rascal weighed in at 18,200 lbs. So it would be somewhat possible I think, the have a Blue Steel semi-recessed in the bomb bay of the Stratojet, right?

Offline ChrisF

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #7 on: May 09, 2012, 05:45:29 AM »
Bluesteel stratojet !!

Me likey !!

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #8 on: May 09, 2012, 07:01:40 AM »
Mr Chicken, anything is possible!

Brian da Basher

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #9 on: May 10, 2012, 12:18:33 AM »
Latest progress shots:





Since this will be an RAF Stratojet, I'm adding an air refueling probe as a fixed installation coming off the right side of the nose. The cockpit is done to what I'm comfortable with and have masked off the canopy and attached it. I next plan to spray the model in neutral gray which will double as primer but also will be masked off to create light gray wing/fuselage walkway markings when I overspray in the final white finish.

I was impressed with how well the wing assembly fit into the fuselage- you can see there's not much of a gap there other than a small area right at the leading edge of the wing root that will need just a dab of thinned out Squadron White.

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #10 on: May 12, 2012, 02:13:19 AM »
Dammit. The Blue Steel is too long to carry semi-recessed. Sorta held the vacuform one from the Welsh Vulcan kit up to my Stratojet and it overlaps into both of the landing gear bays.

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #11 on: May 12, 2012, 02:36:56 AM »
Is it possible to cut a section out of the missile body to reduce overall length?  Granted the bomb bay on the Stratojet was not that long to begin with but it might work and if it does you could add in an air intake to represent a jet engine powered version of the Blue Steel. 
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Offline RussC

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #12 on: May 12, 2012, 04:48:07 AM »
Dammit. The Blue Steel is too long to carry semi-recessed. Sorta held the vacuform one from the Welsh Vulcan kit up to my Stratojet and it overlaps into both of the landing gear bays.

I'm not going to suggest moving the landing gear placement since it looks like the glue is done there, BUT how about stretching the fuselage a bit? A few segments of styrene stock in the right places?

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #13 on: May 12, 2012, 05:07:19 AM »
Is it possible to cut a section out of the missile body to reduce overall length?  Granted the bomb bay on the Stratojet was not that long to begin with but it might work and if it does you could add in an air intake to represent a jet engine powered version of the Blue Steel. 




Tell me more......

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #14 on: May 12, 2012, 01:58:40 PM »
Tell me more......[/quote]

Electronic correspondence transmitted with attachments.  :)
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #15 on: May 12, 2012, 10:37:32 PM »
Electronic correspondence transmitted with attachments.  :)




Ehhhhhhhhxcellent......had no idea there was a jet powered Blue Steel proposal on the table. I  have to shorten the missile main body, though.

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #16 on: May 12, 2012, 10:45:02 PM »
Latest progress pics:





Airbrushed a neutral gray base coat. Works well enough for me as a primer and I'll have parts of the top surfaces masked off to form light gray wing walk/fuselage access markings instead of using the black stripe decals that came with the kit. I had recalled how the addition of the air refueling probe had destabilized the Nimrod MR.2 a bit and small fins were added to the Nimrod's tailplane. Don't really know if that would be needed for the Stratojet, but thought it looked pretty neat and did it anyway.

Offline Logan Hartke

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #17 on: May 14, 2012, 10:37:56 PM »
I love the B-47, so I'll be watching this closely.   :)

Cheers,

Logan

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #18 on: May 15, 2012, 04:44:50 AM »
Nice job adding those fins and the paint looks great!

Brian da Basher

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #19 on: May 16, 2012, 01:51:17 AM »
Progress pics from this past weekend:







I masked off areas of the top gray color that will remain after I overspray the model in white. Those will be the wing/fuselage walkways and an anti-glare panel forward of the cockpit. I used good old fashioned cheap-ass painters' masking tape and cut it into long thin strips.

The engine nacelles and external tanks are already oversprayed in white. Next step was to paint the exhausts. I find that my 40-something eyeballs have an easier time painting and assembling the undercarriage with as much on the sprues as possible. I first airbrushed the parts white. The parts on the main undercarriage are tiny! I left the main legs on the sprues and attached all the small fiddly bits, it was easier that way. I'll then go and paint the wheels, struts, and doors.

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #20 on: May 16, 2012, 02:02:46 AM »
These shots were from yesterday:





Pretty much went though an entire bottle of Model Master Acryl white to airbrush a good coat on this model. Tried something different, used 91% isopropyl alcohol as a thinner for airbrushing and it worked out pretty good. I'd used Windex as a thinner on the previous two builds, but using 91% IPA it seems to dry faster as it's more volatile than Windex.

Offline ChrisF

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #21 on: May 16, 2012, 02:48:07 AM »
I thought IPA was a beer ?  ;D 

Great stuff though pal ! Bring it on !! :)

Offline RussC

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #22 on: May 16, 2012, 06:01:40 AM »
Getting there!

IPA -  :icon_beer::icon_sueno::-X:-\:icon_alabanza: - next day ---  :-[

Don't use recreationally !

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #23 on: May 16, 2012, 10:16:47 AM »
This evening's shots:







When I removed the masking for the wing/fuselage walkway, the white paint had seeped under (probably because I thinned it with isopropyl alcohol for airbrushing. Rather than go in and touch up a zillion areas with a fine point brush, I elected to overspray the markings with white. This had a double effect- it hides the paint seepage nicely and it toned down the gray color further. The pics above show the effect of the overspray to tone down the gray markings. also removed the canopy masking, cleaned it up of some tape residue and gave it a brush over of some Future. Also gave the whole model a light brush over with Future to protect the white paint as I work on the gears and details.

The interior wheel wells and inside of the gear doors were hand-brushed with Testors Model Master Yellow Zinc Chromate. It makes an interesting contrast to the all-white color scheme.

Engine nacelles are painted and now attached, in these pics I haven't installed the external fuel tanks yet. The last items after weathering and decals will be the air refueling probe and the twin 20mm cannon barrels of the tail gun.

Sentinel Chicken

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Re: The next build, 1/144 scale B-47E Stratojet
« Reply #24 on: May 16, 2012, 10:18:22 AM »
I thought IPA was a beer ?  ;D 

Great stuff though pal ! Bring it on !! :)
Thanks. It donned on me that IPA is a beer. Fortunately the room where my workbench is located also has an extra fridge that I have stocked with beer. Wink-wink.