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1/72 NMF B-29 with turrets?


SaminCam

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I've started thinking about by next project and thought I'd take on a 1/72 B-29, an aircraft I've wanted to build since I was a kid. It looks like the Academy version is the best option and I'd like to do nmf but with turrets, so not the Enola Gay / Bockscar version. Is the best option to get the "Old Battler" and a different decal set? Can anyone recommend a WWII, nmf scheme and decals? Also what other extras are worth looking at? Thanks!

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15 minutes ago, SaminCam said:

Can anyone recommend a WWII, nmf scheme and decals?

 

you may find some inspiration here,  certainly worth a read for general marking reference.

 

Boeing%20B-29%20Superfortress%2019%20(01

http://www.boxartden.com/gallery/index.php/Profiles/Camoflage-Markings/19-Boeing-B-29

 

this is more for detail

.album.jpg?m=1436696483

http://www.boxartden.com/gallery/index.php/Profiles/Detail-Scale/10-Boeing-B-29

 

part 2 is derivatives

http://www.boxartden.com/gallery/index.php/Profiles/Detail-Scale/25-Boeing-B-29

but may have some info.

 

As for add ons, I'd look up some builds and see what gets suggested.

HTH

 

 

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On 30/10/2017 at 1:25 PM, snapper_city said:

The Bockscar/ Enola Gay version comes with the turrets. It just states in the instructions to fit a blank instead. If you are planning to use AM decals it won't matter which kit you buy.

All the Academy kits have turrets - including the KP-29 tanker version.

But I did mine without turrets.

Edited by theplasticsurgeon
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SC,

 

KitsWorld does several B-29 decal sheets- both WW2 and Korean War; True Details makes resin wheels, but they are too flattened and bulged for my taste; Eduard and Airwaves both did etched sets, but both are OOP and probably hard to find (IIRC, the Airwaves set has been re-released.); there was also an aftermarket etched set that had the correct louvered panels around the turbosuperchargers, but I forget the company- they were too pricey for me, but they certainly dressed up and corrected that area of the kit; Squadron also had a vacform canopy and nosecap, with both the B-29 and B-50 style nosecaps being provided; I also think CMK or Resin2 Details  did a set of R3350 engines, but they will set you back a King's ransom and you can't really see anything except the crankcase cover and the magnetos, anyway. (Be sure to fill and sand the air refueling receptacle doors behind the canopy, as Academy used the same fuselage  sprues for their B-29 and B-50 kits, and only the B-50 had this installation!) Eduard did an etched set, 72-204, that had the louvers, cowl flaps, and cockpit, but it is an old, non pre-painted set, and will probably be hard to find. Good luck on your project...get ready to go through a few bottles of silver paint, as it's a big mutha, even in 1/72 scale! See the links for some of the available detail sets.

Mike

 

http://metdetails.com/catalog/metalic-details/aircraft/172/md7204-detailing-set-aircraft-model-b-29

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=1/72+Airwaves+B-29+set&tbm=isch&source=iu&pf=m&ictx=1&fir=YIuyv4YcGHtNUM%3A%2CJtslz6y6715B8M%2C_&usg=__P_5BRno4YjG6fER4VL0FW8WadIE%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjp6avgyZjXAhVHZCYKHdOWBMYQ9QEIPjAA#imgrc=YIuyv4YcGHtNUM

 

 

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Just to be a bit different, there's always the RAF Washington B1 ,for example ......

http://www.boeingimages.com/archive/RAF-Washington-I-(B-29)-in-Flight-2F3XC5H91ZY.html

or in squadron service example ...........

https://www.militaryimages.net/media/raf-washington-aircraft.8864/

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  • 6 months later...
On 5/6/2018 at 9:34 PM, Graham Boak said:

Quite a lot, as the B-29 fleet switched to low-level night bombing.  One of them even ended up as a Washington.

And it can be found on a decal sheet as reviewed on this site  https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234994471-b-29-washingtons-of-the-raf-1144-172-148/

 

available from http://www.coastalcraftmodelsuk.com//air-craft.php?page=2 - note 1/48 and 1/144 sheets are on page 1

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On ‎11‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 8:33 AM, JWM said:

At Russian web page Wing Palette there are 40 schemes for US B-29 (http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/b/764/3/0) . Both WWII and Korean War (half by half).

I like especially that with black under surfaces from Marians. Please note that you can use tail mark from Bockscar.

Cheers

J-W

 

3_1_b1.jpg

What's that bump under the fuselage, level with the wings and did Bock's Car have it too?

 

thanks

Mike

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15 hours ago, Ed Russell said:

Cover for AN/APQ-13 radar (H2X). It appears to be semi-retractable and if it's not there it may be a late B-29 with AN/ANQ-7 or the censor may have been active!

I thought it might be something like that. Did Enola Gay and Bock's Car have that fitted?

 

thanks

Mike

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2 hours ago, Jure Miljevic said:

They did, Mike. Although, as far as B-29 radar is concerned, I prefer more exotic Eagle version.

Eagle_antenna_under_B-29_of_501BG.jpg

Cheers

Jure

Thanks for that. I have the Enola Gay/Bockscar boxing of the Academy kit, which has Cartograf decals, which should avoid the problem of naff Academy decals. My plan is to do Bockscar, hopefully with the bomb bay open to display the bomb. I'm not sure where it's going to live when I've built it though!

 

thanks

Mike

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Maybe not...........

http://www.b29-superfortress.com/b29-superfortress-variants.htm

B-29 Superfortress "Silverplates"

During World War II, the 509th Composite Group included 15 B-29s with special "Silverplate" modifications, and 1,800 men. The Silverplate B-29s had modifications necessary to deliver atomic weapons, which included an extensively modified bomb bay with pneumatic doors, special propellors, modified engines and the deletion of protective armor and gun turrets.

and

http://www.b29-superfortress.com/b29-superfortress-4427297-bockscar.htm

The Silverplate Superfortresses

Late in 1944, Army Air Forces leaders selected the Glenn L. Martin Company in Omaha to produce a squadron of B-29s codenamed "Silverplate". Martin modified these Superfortresses by removing all gun turrets except for the tail position, removing armor plate, and installing Curtiss electric propellers. The bomb bay doors and the fuselage section between the bomb bays were removed to create a single 33-foot bomb bay which could accommodate either the "Fat Man" or "Little Boy" versions of the atomic bomb.

Edited by Tom R
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Tom R, only the first aircraft, assigned to Silverplate program, B-29-5-BW 42-6259 had single bomb bay. Both Enola Gay and Bockscar had two bomb bays with AN/APQ-13 radar between them, its antenna covered with later type non-retractable cover. Here is the photo of Enola Gay upon her return from Hiroshima mission, ...

Enola_Gay_(plane).jpg

... and photos of Bockscar can be found on this link (scroll down to the fifth photo) and here.

Mike, similar debate had been going on about two years ago. Perhaps you may find it interesting:

Also, Jerzy-Wojtek built Academy kit as the Nagasaki bomber Bockscar:

: The model looks somewhat dull, but this is how Bockscar looked during Nagasaki mission. Nose art and mission markings had been added post-war. Cheers

Jure

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