North American xb-70, a whiffy valkyrie

[S5 modeller]

Hi chaps.

Thought it was about time I staked my claim in this group build.

So, I got this kit recently, with a view to a straight build.

Got bored with the idea of all that white.

After checking out the good general melchett's build thread ( an invaluable guide to taming this wild kit) I found a link to some what if designs.

So...... In a moment of utter madness,I thought of using one of the designs.

Can't decide, so will throw it out to all you good people.

Choice of two design, take your pick.

Got a bit of time to decide, got to build her first.

Edited August 1, 2015 by S5 modeller

[S5 modeller]

Got some work done today.

As this is a whiffer, I decided the cockpit needn't be correct, or totally accurate.

Cockpit tub painted, and instrument decals added. Coat of klear over them to seal them in.

As basically non of this will be visible I didn't think it was worth doing anything else to it.

Instrument panel decal applied and sealed with klear. Didn't need to paint anything, but the matt black part, as the decal had the background colour printed on it.

Hope the rest of the decals go on as easy as these, as they went on easily, and settled down nicely with some micro sol and set.

Cockpit is now complete, with seats and basic controls added. Not much more to say about this really, it is what it is.

Cockpit installed in the front section of the fuselage. As you can see, nowt is really visible.

So far, not really ran into any major fit issues, just the ejector seats were a bit of a tight fit.

Onwards and upwards, intakes next.

Hope you like it.

Matt

Edited August 2, 2015 by S5 modeller

[Graeme H]

Oh please do the Thunderbird one

[Col.]

Good work so far Matt. Plenty of test fitting helps this kit reduce its appetite for filler. S.E.A. scheme gets my vote.

[S5 modeller]

Thanks for the input Graeme H and Col.

I myself really want to do the thunderbirds scheme, but am terrified at all the masking required.

Will have to see when the time comes.

Col. You're not wrong about test fitting, following the general's thread helps immeasurably, more progress to report later.

Thanks for looking in.

Matt

Edited August 2, 2015 by S5 modeller

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Your are flying along with this one Matt, both schemes look great.

I have one of these buried in the stash, always wondered what scheme I would do it in.

[S5 modeller]

Hi chaps, update time again.

You'll have to excuse the order of the parts I'm working on. Not following any logical order, jumping from one sub assembly to another.

So, saying that I've been working on the front fuselage /nose cone.

The cockpit is installed and it's closed up. Sorting out the seams now, trying to preserve the surface detail, all the panel lines,hatches and such are raised, and I've not got the will or skill to engrave them.

Sanding the top seam I'm using blue masking tape to protect the two hatches above the ejector seats, they're close together, so it leaves a small window to work in.

You can just make them out in this picture.

Bottom seams are easier, as there is less detail underneath, although I have damaged some of it. Will attempt to reinstate them later.

Glued the front portion of the spine together, but left the rest free. If you don't do this you end up with the spine being too narrow for the upper fuselage, it's easier to glue the edges on assebly, then you can sprag them out. This leaves a gap along the top of the spine, but it mates to the fuselage better, but more on that later.

There are two location tabs inside the spine that click into two slots on the nose assembly, trouble is, if you click it in you can't get it back out, and it is a rattle fit. I removed them so I could dry fit the nose.

To combat this, I got my thinking cap on, and measured the diameter of the nose, then measured the spine socket.

This is the spine socket,32.56mm.

The nose section is 31.51mm, not so clear to read in this pic. That makes a difference of 1mm, or. 040" in old money.

To take out the slack, I decided to cut a strip of 0.02" plasticard, the glue it into the spine. I tried a test fit before committing to glue, was a tight fit, but it left an uneven step around the join.

So I experimented a bit, and came to this solution...

0.02" in one side.

0.01" in the other.

This now makes the nose a tight fit, and it has centralised the nose in the spine.

Just a couple of shots of the nose and spine together. They're just pushed together for now.

Just for a sense of scale, that's a 12" ruler in the last pic!

One last shot, just to show the majority of the spine is unglued, only the front couple of inches are glued together.

Onto the next bits, intake tunnels and engine exhausts.

Laters

Matt

Edited August 2, 2015 by S5 modeller

[steelpillow]

Seeing as its a whiff, how about ading a productionised North American XSM-64 Navaho "piggyback" to create a composite long-range missile delivery system? Historically, the Navaho was designed for piggyback launch anyway (although vertical, similar to the Shuttle) and, both ships being of North American parentage, contributed to the development of the B-70.

In Whiffworld, by replacing the one-shot rocket booster with a reusable B-70A the Navaho's payload-range was substantially increased while at the same time cutting overall launch cost.

By fitting the B-70A airframe for both bombing and missile mothership capability, further cost savings were made.

[S5 modeller]

Seeing as its a whiff, how about ading a productionised North American XSM-64 Navaho "piggyback" to create a composite long-range missile delivery system? Historically, the Navaho was designed for piggyback launch anyway (although vertical, similar to the Shuttle) and, both ships being of North American parentage, contributed to the development of the B-70.

In Whiffworld, by replacing the one-shot rocket booster with a reusable B-70A the Navaho's payload-range was substantially increased while at the same time cutting overall launch cost.

By fitting the B-70A airframe for both bombing and missile mothership capability, further cost savings were made.

Interesting idea, had to google it though. That's one great big effing missile.

Only problem is the kits are only available in 1/144, and expensive, as moulded in resin.

Edited August 2, 2015 by S5 modeller

[steelpillow]

Well, the Valkyrie was nearly three times as long - not exactly a shrinking violet either.

Sharkit reputedly do a resin 1:72 navaho: http://www.sharkit.com/sharkit/catalog/catalog2.htm

[Hockeyboy76]

Loving this dude. Got to be a cammo bird, can't imagine this could turn within a crowd line.

[Dynamo11]

Great start, can't wait until it's done. Consider my vote to be for the Thunderbirds scheme

[fids]

Thunderbirds

[S5 modeller]

Thanks for the votes chaps.

Thunderbirds seems to be winning, so far.

To be honest, as I'm enjoying this build, I might get another one (room permitting) and do the sea camo too.

Matt

[ClaudioN]

PRU Blue overall?

Claudio

[Tomjw]

Excellent work Matt. I'm enjoying your detailed wip report. Don't forget about your Airwolf though.

Cheers,

Tom.

[Arniec]

Both the schemes are interesting. I would go with the Thunderbirds. O, and a nice start on the build.

Cheers,

[Alan P]

Nice close-up pics. It seems to fit like the same company's B-52H (ie. not at all)

I would say the Thunderbirds scheme is the nicest one of the two you mentioned, but there's no doubt the SEA one would be easier. There's always the SIOP scheme from the 1980s if you want to do a slightly different SAC camo scheme.

Keep going, lots of good attention to detail and problem-solving going into this!

[S5 modeller]

Cheers chaps for the encouragement.

I've looked into getting some custom paint masks made, but the chap ( mal, from miracle masks) is awfully busy. He can't forsee them being ready till next year, which is a bit late, so might shelve the thunderbirds idea for now, and go with the sea camo. Gives me an excuse to build another one though, if my sanity holds up.

Anyhoo, got some more progress to report.

The engine nozzles have been assembled and painted.

Not vastly detailed, but will be nearly invisible when fitted.

Primed, then a base coat of alclad jet exhaust.

Tried dry brushing with aluminium, but went a bit overboard.

Tried adding a bit of clear blue, to simulate heat staining, but for some reason I didn't take a picture of that, will put one up later.

Calling them done.

The top surfaces of the wings have been joined. The rear of them has been reinforced to prevent any sagging. All the bracing was fixed on with epoxy, and will be hidden by the lower wings.

In this picture, you can see a ridge running up the centre line, this is about 5mm wide, it's the only mating overlap. That's pretty much all the surface to glue the two halves together with, so you can see why the reinforcement is needed.

This is how the foremost of the upper wings join, as you can see, there is a portion missing. I don't know if it's damaged tooling, or a short shot, but it needs dealing with. More on that later.

Intakes next, the two inserts cleaned up ready to fit. They don't sit flat in their position, so a lot of material had to be filed off the bottom. They now sit flat.

Intakes glued in position, front clanped whilst the glue on the points sets.

The vertical portion of the right intake was twisted, so needed the clamp to keep it all square.

The point now overhangs the lower fuselage.

That's about it for now, will post more up soon.

Matt.

P.S All the pics have been taken with my camera phone, so please excuse me if the quality is a bit off. It has a macro function, but tends to focys on the wrong bits in a close up.

Edited August 10, 2015 by S5 modeller

[Col.]

You look to have the same issues as I found with this kit including the short shot at the point of the intake/fuselage join. Plenty test fitting makes a difference but doesn't eliminate all the problems. My one is stalled at fitting the wingtips while I dither about adding better detail around the exhaust area.

[S5 modeller]

Glad it's not just me then. Mind you, the good general had all the same problems, so it must be every kit.

I'm struggling with the seam at the rear of the upper wings, above the engines, no matter how much I fill and sand, it won't go.

[Col.]

I was able to eliminate most of that one with careful bracing and gluing but it's still likely to get covered over by a bit of sprue or some old weapon to become a rear facing sensor pod.

[S5 modeller]

I was able to eliminate most of that one with careful bracing and gluing but it's still likely to get covered over by a bit of sprue or some old weapon to become a rear facing sensor pod.

Now that is a most excellent idea, I might just have to "borrow" that idea.

[Caerbannog]

Hey - great progress on your XB. I was on holiday and just saw your topic. Regarding the engines - the AMT/Italeri exhausts are very small. Armory has etched engines which look way better and are not very expensive either. Armory is so kind to add some more details too: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234938609-xb-70-valkyrie-172-exhausts-by-armory/?hl=valkyrie

Rene

[S5 modeller]

Thanks for that rene, think I might just have to order those payday.

Matt

Ps just checked, and hannants have this in stock, which will give me a good reason to order the sac undercarriage set too. Reduce the postage cost.

Edited August 11, 2015 by S5 modeller