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North American XB-70 Valkyrie - Finished!


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For my birthday in 2005, my wife dispatched me to the National Museum of the US Air Force (on my own!) I spent three amazing days there and only wish that my photographic skills with my first DSLR (a Nikon D70) were better!

I have always been entranced by the XB-70 Valkyrie, so was delighted to spend some time in its presence:

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It was too big and the hanger was too full to get the whole airframe in shot!

As I'm not a tennis fan, I thought I would throw this one together while my wife watched the Ladies Finals:

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Excuse the "noisy" images taken on my phone in the conservatory during a heavy downpour!

Thanks for looking.

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Very nice, a not often modelled subject and one I'm sure will look great with your usual care and attention to detail. What scale is this Valkyrie?

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Very nice, I love the Valkyrie, I always thought it would make a great bomber if updated to modern standards (I.e. weapons and technology).

It would look especially mean in a stealth black colour scheme.

What scale is this kit ?

Keep up the good work.

Rick

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Hi

Thanks for the kind words, guys. As tagged in the title it is 1/200 scale, which still means this baby is quite large! I will add something to give it scale in the next update pictures.

As the Ladies Finals didn't take long, the next phase of construction was completed during the Men's Doubles Finals!

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Once again, sorry for the picture quality, but the light is very poor today!

Thanks for looking. The next update will show the beast in primer!

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Thanks Parabat. Good idea regarding the 1/200 C-47 for comparison! I might throw in a 1/72 Spitfire as well, because we all know how big one of those is, don't we?!

Well, a quick coat of Halfords finest in the garden between showers and this is how she now looks.

I need to decide whether to buy a can of the highly-rated Appliance White, or splatter it with something through the airbrush..... :shrug:

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Looks good , i've just started the Italeri 1/72nd on of these and it's huge ! Looks like your kit went together well without the fit issues of the larger scale kit . At least you will have somewhere to display yours :)

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Thanks Taggart. There have been some minor fit issues (nose to fuselage and fuselage to wing), but it has certainly been a quick build. It would be amazing to see the contrast between our two models! What are the dimensions of your beast?

Here is the latest state of play after fitting and masking the windscreen and a gentle polish with MicroMesh. I will be knocking on Halfords door at 10am for a can of Gloss White!

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And for Parabat, a picture with one of my 1/200 Hasegawa Skytrains:

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And finally, a picture with my Airfix 1/72 Spitfire IX MH434:

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Thanks for looking. It's raining again here, but I hope to be able to get some Halfords white on her in the garden at some point today!

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I had intended to buy a large can of white from Halfords, as it is much better value but they only had the small size in stock. Interestingly, it must be old stock as it is still branded "Appliance White." I've already misted on a oouple of coats (pictures to follow.)

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That is a picture of the wings , only got this far at the moment . They are just under 21" long and the whole beast comes in at around 31" when built . I've got no idea where it's going to be put if it ever gets to the stage where it is finished though .

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Nice progress with the Valkyrie - its looking good.

Did you know that in its day, the XB-70 held the record for having the largest moving surfaces of any aircraft yet built - the folding wingtips.

The record is now held by the Tu-160 Blackjack with its sweeping wings - another white giant.

Not a lot of people know that.......... :whistle:

Ken

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The last post of the day. Unbelievably. I seem to have used most of the Halfords aerosol! It might give good results, but £6.49 to paint one model is a bit steep in my book! :huh:

Anyway, enough of the whingeing, here are the pictures!

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Once again, sorry for the quality of the phone pictures!

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Nice progress with the Valkyrie - its looking good.

Did you know that in its day, the XB-70 held the record for having the largest moving surfaces of any aircraft yet built - the folding wingtips.

The record is now held by the Tu-160 Blackjack with its sweeping wings - another white giant.

Not a lot of people know that.......... :whistle:

Ken

Thanks Ken. I didn't know that, but I do now! :winkgrin:

Looks very good , i know the airline builders rate the Halfords white . I'm planning on using the same on mine, might need more than one can though !

Thanks, Taggart. You might need two of the large cans..... :coolio:

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