Beyond The Sprues
Modelling => Ideas & Inspiration => Aero-space => Topic started by: Jeffry Fontaine on December 23, 2011, 03:59:26 AM
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This could be done in a variety of scales. For the purpose of sharing this idea I am basing this on the Monogram (now Revell) 1/72nd scale B-36 and the 1/48th scale B-29 kits. With some suitable modifications, the wings from the smaller scale B-36 could be adapted to the fuselage of the larger scale B-29. The end result would be a 1/48th scale six engine bomber with about the same dimensions as the 1/72nd scale B-36 on the shelf. The only wrinkle I see in this would be where and how to place the wings. Maybe cut the entire fuselage section from the B-36 and adapt that to the B-29 fuselage as a solution to the problem. This would put the wing a bit higher on the fuselage and allow you to have a much longer bomb bay as an added benefit.
With a surplus of B-29 kits in protective custody and no B-36 in sight this is something that would have to be undertaken by someone that does have both kits in their stash. I leave the small details for you to work out :^)
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Have those two kits and was sizing up doing that fuselage-wing swap in both directions. I am building to have 1/72 models when done.
That said --- the B-29 engines are too large to be a realistic size radial, need engine/wing surgery to fix it --- B-36 wings being 1/72 are already good, would make changes to B-29 cockpit etc to bring fuselage into 1/72 scale, guns would scale up to 20mm.
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I managed to score a B-36 from a local source. Box was rather beat up and there were two propellers with broken blades. I suspect the repairs will be easy enough to do but at least I have the kit and I can now go to the next step in the process of trying to mate B-36 wings with a B-29 fuselage. That is plan "A" and alternate plan "B" will be to try and use the B-36 fuselage with some alterations to the cockpit to make a 48th scale windscreen and cockpit fit the B-36 fuselage. The advantage here would be having one very long bomb bay and the landing gear already matched to the height of the aircraft.
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The 1/72 B-36 fuselage is 52mm in diameter Jeff, what's the diameter of the 1/48 B-29 ?
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The 1/72 B-36 fuselage is 52mm in diameter Jeff, what's the diameter of the 1/48 B-29 ?
I will know that as soon as I get down to my storage unit and pull one of my B-29 kits out to actually check the dimensions. So far it has been the standard "eye ball" approach to this idea as in the image I had seen of a B-29 parked next to a B-36 and realized how small the Boeing product was in real life.
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B-29 fuselage diameter is 9 feet, so in 1/48th approx. 2.25"/57 mm.
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