general melchett Posted July 26, 2013 Author Share Posted July 26, 2013 The cockpit is now pretty well done and ready for insertion.....(quiet at the back there !!). The seats are a mix of kit parts and scratch built using the Aerofax pictures for reference. The kit instrument details sanded off and replaced with Mike Grant decals then refaced with thin acetate. The throttles and trim wheels were added later. Here's the basic tub pre wash and instrument panel fitted, seat belts made from mix of Eduard USAF set and tape. The new instrument panel, throttle quadrant and yoke, All fitted together, washed with oils and sealed with Vallejo satin varnish. A bit pointless maybe as virtually nothing can be seen through the small side windows but I couldn't just leave it bare Scratch built navigator panel to the right and jammer/radar to the left plus more MK decals. I've added a lot more panel detail to the right of the pilot as the kit parts are wildly inaccurate. Next up is the entrance area. I've scratched out the basic unit, roof, back wall and panel detail and the sides will be fitted to the fuselage halves first using spare PE sheets, Should be painted and fitted tomorrow. Cheers for looking, Melch... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mozzy19 Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Looking good so far. Do you reckon we'll get a 1/48 one from Trumpeter, or are there too many differences between this and the Skywarrior? Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Exciting stuff!! The B-66 is one of my favourite aircraft and we see far too few of them built. Yours IS the wrong scale, but I might just ignore that for the time being... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 Looking good so far. Do you reckon we'll get a 1/48 one from Trumpeter, or are there too many differences between this and the Skywarrior? Sean I don't think we're going to get the Trumpeter kit anytime soon. At least not before I've tried (and failed at?) my epic conversion plan of using some main parts from the Trumpeter kit and combining it with my Collect Aire B-66... The A-3D and B-66 fuselage, wings, engine nacelles and cockpit differ in so many ways that I don't think a B-66 can be produced cost effectively from what is already there for the A-3D. You'd need basically a whole new kit. From a modelling point of view things are a bit different and once I have my A-3D I'll see what I can do. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted July 26, 2013 Author Share Posted July 26, 2013 (edited) Thanks fellas, as stated there really are so many differences between the two that you would need a whole new model, but who knows, it's not beyond the realms that someone like Kittyhawk could come to the rescue, with their preponderance for 50's US designs ! Jeffrey, to be honest 1/48th is my preferred scale for this kind of subject too especially for scratch building but as I don't have the Collect Aire kit and wouldn't chop up an A3D at the moment either, not at that price, I'm happy to do this one for now. It's actually quite a good size model even in 1/72nd..........but who knows what might turn up.. Btw, great website !! Edited July 26, 2013 by general melchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted July 27, 2013 Author Share Posted July 27, 2013 Ok entrance bay done, and fitted to underside of cockpit tub. The door is actually scribed onto the top of the flooring but I didn't bother opeing it up for this one. The four EWO's entered the centre section via a hatch between the two rear seats. Here are the component parts prior to fitting,With the extra weight of the resin tail cone I decided to err on the side of caution and fix lead air rifle pellets set into Blu-tac to ensure that it stood on all three legs, And in place, I set a strip of Evergreen behind the rear bulkhead to ensure that it sat at 90- degrees. Fuselage joined, and the forward instrument shroud dry fitted to make sure there was enough clearance before being painted and glued into place.. And then the replacement tailcone was CA'd into place. The fit is pretty good just requiring a bit of sanding to match contours. No filler needed. Next stage will be the wings and slats.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 She looking good Mon General c'est bon b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfpack Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Fingers looking a bit wrinkly. Maybe old age is creeping up? Another sign is begining to build more US types. It happened to me too! W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 What do you mean 'creeping up' ?...it's fair galloping man ..maybe I should go back to Soviet types and reverse the process Wolfie ! Slow progress but I managed to get the wings and tailplanes fitted. A simple jig was set up to check alignment using photos as there is no clear indication of angles in the instructions or on the parts and this is one area that needs a fair bit of work as all the mating surfaces need sanding and filing flat. Also the wing and tailplane tabs are of different thicknesses, one being very tight and the other very loose when fitted !, so one was built up to fit using 1mm card and the other shaved down. I like to try and get the joints as perfect a fit as possible before gluing rather than rely on great globs of filler so after a lot of sanding, checking, sanding, repeat, repeat I was finally happy with them, The canopy needed work too as it's slightly too high at the rear and narrow resulting in another nasty step between the sides of the glazing and the fuselage...easy answer sand the fuselage sides down carefully until it fits tightly...unfortunately you must also remember to sand the cockpit tub accordingly too. The upper fuselage was another matter as both fuselage sides also suffer from different thicknesses and a prominent step occurs if built oob. Again I shaved one side down as much as needed before gluing, however this still left a nasty seam line so after laying on two long strips of masking tape I applied Squadron white putty along the offending seam. Same goes for the underside The areas will both need to have the panel lines rescribed.... The tip tanks are just Blu tacked on for now, to check wing droop... I'll be leaving the engines off during the painting phase as they'll be a lot easier to deal with off the model...luckily the fit is very good. Melchie... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 looks very good sah enjoying this at a visceral level whilst unable to get down to modelling for meself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) Cheers Bill, I'm juggling three builds at the mo so things are a little slow, but like BR..........we'll get there ! Just a small update, the kit's engine centre bodies are pants really being too skinny, the wrong shape, lacking circular intakes and way too short, especially now that the compressor facings have been moved, so new ones were needed. Just so happens that I've got quite a few spare Canberra bits in the box and found that lo and behold the Airfix kits ones are perfect, so I just cut them away from their facings and will fit them directly to the new comp face after being sprayed aluminium. Another pain are the exhaust shrouds for the Allison engines which are moulded directly onto the engine halves. This creates a nasty seam line when glued together, top and bottom that everyone whose built one of these kits complains about, so I thought the best answer would be to create separate units. Here a 1/144th Zvezda TU-160 came to the rescue with its nozzles being just the right base diameter. Once the ribbed detail was removed and the length reduced by 3mm they fitted perfectly, saving a lot of faffing about especially as they were easily damaged..... Before, right and after, I've also added interior surfaces to the leading edge slats so that they have proper 'slides' rather than 'orrible gaps. These will be pushed right into the wings and angled slightly downwards later. Now all the major components are coming together. Edited July 31, 2013 by general melchett 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Should be done by Friday Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNoAF Aerobatic Team Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Cool. Great work so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 Well I was hoping for tomorrow afternoon before Sir rings the bell for afternoon tea or the Mem finds me more, 'little odd jobs' around the house that shouldn't take a minute but usually end up being major redecorating jobs involving hundreds of hours of mind numbing tedium....Gawd bless 'er ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Just cauaght up with this Andy, looking very good. Douglas always made good looking aeroplanes IMHO. Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashman Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Have got one of these in the stash, ordered during one of my moments of 72nd bomber infatuation (one of which just earlier today resulted in buying a KC135), beautiful cockpit work going on here! Makes me want to start it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Nice to see a B-66 n the works, Mon General. I remember building the Italeri kit in its original silver molding back when it first came out, but as i was sanding seams the surface went all translucent and thin layers of plastic started flaking away, like a B-66-shaped buttermilk biscuit. I suspect i got a fluke molding, but never picked it up again. I saw the sames steps/ mismatches on the white-molded EB-66 fuselage you're using, too. Does not look like you are suffering from flakey plastic though. -d- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbondoni Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Just bought myself one of these (Testors boxing with some aftermarket decals that weren't mentioned on the inexpensive ebay listing but are much appreciated), so if it ever comes back to the front burner, I'll be watching with interest! Â 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 Thanks Gustavo, it will return at some point as I have some new parts for it! sounds like you got yourself a good deal... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Good Heavens, Man! You've mean you've left this poor model mouldering in a state of semi-buildedness since 2013! Why you should be drummed out of the regiment for this alone (and that's not even taking into account that rather nasty business at the Mary Rose Conservation Society soiree last April). Hmmm, now that I think about it, I also have an EB-66 in about that same state yours is in, since about 19whatever. It's a proud member of my ghost squadron (a proper wing by now) of nearly-completed models.  Bestest for the New Year,  Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbondoni Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 23 minutes ago, general melchett said: Thanks Gustavo, it will return at some point as I have some new parts for it! sounds like you got yourself a good deal... Yeah, got lucky on ebay... makes up for all the times something I really wanted slipped away at the last moment!  . I've subscribed, so whenever it resumes, I shall be here, popcorn in hand.  1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 Quote Why you should be drummed out of the regiment for this alone (and that's not even taking into account that rather nasty business at the Mary Rose Conservation Society soiree last April). I had hoped that the Mary Rose debacle had been left far behind...the Memsahib has been suitably admonished, the obscene disfigurement of the ship's figurehead repaired and though still in shock, the naval college cormorant retrieved and returned to its rightful position, the whole mess was orchestrated by my dimwit of a batman, who has since been strapped to a gun-carriage and shot for his own safety. Â Happy New Year to you and yours too Jason... Quote I've subscribed, so whenever it resumes, I shall be here, popcorn in hand. You may have a bit of a wait, but I'll see what I can do and bump it back up the list... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 This one has caught my attention, too  Martin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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