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1/48th Boeing B-52H Stratofortress (Sanger vacuform)


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10 hours ago, tomprobert said:

if they’re acceptable at 50 paces, that’ll do for me. 

The slight problem with this is that the hall where we meet is quite a bit less than fifty paces long.

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This is a totally inspirational build. You should teach a class on how you plan and execute the internal bracing, fabrication, and scratchbuilding. Masterful!

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On 7/17/2019 at 8:08 PM, mustang1989 said:

This is that one that's being built over at Large Scale Planes as well. Thought I recognized the title. VERY nice work going on here!!

Yes indeed - although not strictly a ‘large scale plane’, it’s certainly large...

On 7/17/2019 at 8:11 PM, pigsty said:

The slight problem with this is that the hall where we meet is quite a bit less than fifty paces long.

Ha! I reckon it’s nearer to 40 paces, but that is still acceptable in terms of a model looking ‘good’ from distance...

23 hours ago, markmcguire25 said:

This is a totally inspirational build. You should teach a class on how you plan and execute the internal bracing, fabrication, and scratchbuilding. Masterful!

I did consider doing a video a while back actually - you know the type that appear on YouTube from time to time. I then heard the sound of my voice and decided it was not something I’d inflict on the world. 

Speaking of internal bracing, I have spent the last couple of evenings making spars to brace the stabilisers and give them some much-needed strength and help get a good attachment to the fuselage. Photos soon!

Edited by tomprobert
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I spent a great day yesterday at RIAT at RAF Fairford, and one of the star exhibits in the static display (at least for me) was this fine specimen of USAF heavy metal:

 

48345175316_6a46cb8c82_z.jpgIMG_1319 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

As well as taking lots of reference shots for the current aerial fit and other various lumps and bumps, what really struck me was the state of the thing. I'm used to seeing pictures of the current BUFF fleet in reasonably good condition in terms of paint finish, but this one was really heavily weathered and was showing lots of zinc-chromate primer. It looks like it had flown through a heavy hail storm or the like, as it almost has sand-blasted effect on the leading edges. It was a mess!

 

48345175161_e30122998c_z.jpgIMG_1325 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

48345313322_8725644dff_z.jpgIMG_1309 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

48345313027_190761d78c_z.jpgIMG_1311 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

48345179886_e610a72ce5_z.jpgIMG_1305 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

It looks like I can get creative with my paint job when the time comes, and although heavily-weathered finishes are not my thing, it'd certainly add some interest to an otherwise rather bland all over grey if I go down that route. 

 

Now - back to the bench...

 

Tom

 

 

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1 hour ago, limeypilot said:

Wow, I never realised what a tiny rudder it has, no wonder a single engine failure is such a big deal!

 

Ian

I've a feeling that's just the trim tab on the rudder and (like the TSR.2) the whole vertical stabiliser moves.

 

Kirk

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Can't spell my own name!
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4 hours ago, Kirk said:

I've a feeling that's just the trim tab on the rudder and (like the TSR.2) the whole vertical stabiliser moves.

 

Kirk

I’m far from being an expert on the BUFF but I’m not aware of the fin being moveable - it is indeed only the rudder that provides any form of steering. Very happy to be corrected on this though if there’s someone more ‘in the know’ than I am. 

 

The ‘pivot point’ you can see at the base of the fin is actually part of a folding mechanism that allows the entire fin to fold to the right and thus allows access to low-roofed hangars. 

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I may well be guilty of adding 2 & 2 and getting to 5. I did indeed take the point at the base of the fin to be a potential pivot and looked at the relative size of the rudder as compared with, say a 747.

 

What we need here is someone who (unlike me) actually knows something about this aircraft.

My 1st question to such a person: Whilst such a long, slender aircraft creates a pretty long lever, is that really enough rudder area for it to cope with a gusty cross wind landing?

 

(I'll now go back to marvelling at your fantastic modelling skills Tom! 🙂 )

 

PS/ Thank goodness for Wikipedia: Everyone's an expert:

"Because of the B-52's mission parameters, only modest maneuvers would be required with no need for spin recovery.[99] The aircraft has a relatively small, narrow chord rudder, giving it limited yaw control authority. Originally an all-moving vertical stabilizer was to be used, but was abandoned because of doubts about hydraulic actuator reliability.[99] Because the aircraft has eight engines, asymmetrical thrust due to the loss of an engine in flight would be minimal and correctable with the narrow rudder. To assist with crosswind takeoffs and landings the main landing gear can be pivoted 20 degrees to either side from neutral.[100] This yaw adjustable crosswind landing gear would be preset by the crew according to wind observations made on the ground."

 

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It didn't need to cope with a crosswind landing as the landing gear swivels, so it could land "sideways" and crab along the runway!

 

Ian

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The small rudder is one of the many reasons a re-engining programme with just four larger turbofans has been ruled out. The rudder just doesn’t have enough authority in engine-out situations. That’s why, along with the fact that fuel and hydraulic systems are all plumbed for 8 engines, it’ll be a case of using 8 modern turbofans of the 17k - 20k thrust class. 

 

 

 

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On 7/22/2019 at 9:56 AM, tomprobert said:

I spent a great day yesterday at RIAT at RAF Fairford, and one of the star exhibits in the static display (at least for me) was this fine specimen of USAF heavy metal:

 

As well as taking lots of reference shots for the current aerial fit and other various lumps and bumps, what really struck me was the state of the thing. I'm used to seeing pictures of the current BUFF fleet in reasonably good condition in terms of paint finish, but this one was really heavily weathered and was showing lots of zinc-chromate primer. It looks like it had flown through a heavy hail storm or the like, as it almost has sand-blasted effect on the leading edges. It was a mess!

 

Apparently it flew through a hail storm whilst operating from Guam.

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9 hours ago, Richard E said:

Apparently it flew through a hail storm whilst operating from Guam.

That makes a lot of sense - it certainly has taken a beating at some point!

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Afternoon all,

 

Since my last update I've been working on the stabilisers of the B-52. They were first removed from the backing sheet and sanded to the correct thickness, with extra attention being paid to the trailing edges to ensure they were as thin as possible. The stabilisers are very large on this model, and therefore needed a substantial spar structure in order to keep them rigid:

 

48385423331_15c6fb54c6_z.jpgIMG_E1266 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

48385423721_ece1699c6b_z.jpgIMG_1267 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

They were then secured to the fuselage and the joins made good, before they received a coat of primer. I have also made the swivel plates from thin plastic card and added these to the correct locations on the fuselage sides:

 

48385567717_6e9dbdd3b3_z.jpgDSC_0216 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

48385426411_a73e68d4cb_z.jpgDSC_0214 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

48385427511_690497c0e6_z.jpgDSC_0211 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

We now have a model that is, more or less, structurally complete:

 

48385567177_45b528997e_z.jpgDSC_0218 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

48385423851_e2b8b85ea5_z.jpgDSC_0227 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

48385566827_3689c1e8b0_z.jpgDSC_0222 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

As you can see from the images above I've also been working on attaching the wing fuel tanks. These didn't fit well to the wing, as the shape of the pylon doesn't match the curvature of the wing. I did consider removing parts from the pylon and trimming it so that it followed the wing's curve, but this meant the tank sat too close to the wing. Therefore, I've instead opted to modify and build up the pylon and blend it in with Milliput. The image below shows what I mean - sanding and final blending still to be done:

 

48385566737_285f4baa26_z.jpgDSC_0225 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

In other news, designing of some soon-to-be printed 3D wheels is progressing well:

 

48385565512_f027c082d8_z.jpgIMG_E1386 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

Until next time,

Tom

 

 

 

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I still think you're nuts! One side of the tailplane alone is bigger than most of my built models!

Still fine work though, she's looking very nice now! I hope you've saved your pocket money and can afford enough paint to cover it!

 

Ian

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41 minutes ago, limeypilot said:

I still think you're nuts! One side of the tailplane alone is bigger than most of my built models!

Still fine work though, she's looking very nice now! I hope you've saved your pocket money and can afford enough paint to cover it!

 

Ian

I was thinking Trade Paints or similar...

Industrial supply of masking tape too.

 

Simon.

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4 hours ago, limeypilot said:

I still think you're nuts! One side of the tailplane alone is bigger than most of my built models!

Still fine work though, she's looking very nice now! I hope you've saved your pocket money and can afford enough paint to cover it!

 

Ian

 

3 hours ago, Spookytooth said:

I was thinking Trade Paints or similar...

Industrial supply of masking tape too.

 

Simon.

Fear not, chaps. I'll be making a trip to Hannants soon and stocking up on multiple tins of Gunship Grey. When the time comes to painting it, I think I'm going to have to do it in shifts as the compressor may well overheat :rolleyes:

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  • 4 months later...

Evening all :)

 

With the Christmas holidays here it's time to get this monster back on the bench...

 

49214827271_3113e565cd_z.jpgIMG_1693 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

49214827471_5d5aa9b48f_z.jpgIMG_1694 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

 

I'm making slow in-roads in scratch-building the flap apertures and associated structures at the moment - more soon hopefully!

 

Tom

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10 hours ago, CJP said:

That is a really impressive model now  but where are you going to keep it when it is done?

CJP

Thanks for dropping in, chaps - it’s good to be able to get some bench time in again. 
 

As to where it’s going to be stored: there’s a perfect B-52 shaped space in my loft, but there won’t be space for many more after that though!
 

 

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