Convair B-58 Hustler 1/72

[VT Red Sox Fan]

Bill, great to see the pics of the compressor and brass tubing working out so well!  Cheers, Erwin 

[billn53]

Thanks, Erwin!

 

Your post prompts me to do a status report. This weekend has been spent working the engine pods (no surprise there!).

 

Compressor face decals applied to my silver-painted disks:

 

 

I also got my inlet cones painted up. That was much more of a bear than it should have been. Recall that I made resin dups of the kit's cones. Well, the resin had numerous micro-bubbles that were too small for my old eyes to see, but not too small to cause fits for the Xtreme Metal paints. I ended up stripping all of the paint, dipping the cones in Alclad II Aqua Clear (three dips to be sure the bubbles were covered), then repainting with Tamiya rattlecan silver. Much better!

 

 

The most time consuming work was getting the brass intake tubes glued in to their respective engine pod halves, and doing final fitting to ensure the pods' opposite sides will fit:

 

 

 

With the brass tubes glued in place, I filled and sanded smooth the seams between the tube and its engine pod half. I thought it best to do as much seam cleanup as I can before gluing the pod halves together. I'll still need to address the seams on the other side, of course, but at least half the work will already have been done. Finally, I sprayed the inlets and intake tubes with Tamiya XF-1 flat white:

 

 

 

Oh, yes. I forgot to show the back end of the tubes, where I've reinforced everything with some "QuikSteel" epoxy putty I've had on the shelf for at least a decade:

 

 

 

That's about it for now. I'm just about ready to begin gluing the engine pods together!

 

 

 

 

[billn53]

Before gluing the engine pods together I needed to tailor-fit my spacer rods to ensure the inlet cones, when I insert them later, will be properly positioned longitudinally. I did a test fit with each engine pod, and added a plastic ring around the spacer rods so, when inserted, they will be at the correct depth:

 

  

 

Here are a couple pics from my test fitting to help illustrate what I'm describing:

 

   

 

With that taken care of, I had no more excuses to delay gluing the engine pods together. Just like when I did the fuselage, I incrementally glued each pod, starting at the front and working to the rear, taking care to keep everything aligned and minimizing gaps. Because my best clamps are my fingers, I needed a glue that would act quickly to form a strong bond, so I used a plastic solvent product from MicroMark:

 

 

In short order, all four engine pods were successfully assembled:

 

 

My next task is address the seams, inside and out, on each pod. First off, there are the joins between the brass intake tube and the newly-glued pod half:

 

 

There are also places where my test fitting of the inlet cone damaged paint inside the inlet:

 

 

In preparation for the above work inside the inlets, I thought it best to protect my turbine faces with some strategically-placed foam:

 

 

Externally, the top and bottom joins need cleanup. In the photo below, you can see where my grinding tool slipped, leaving a hole along the seam. I'll use sprue goop to fill this and any other gaps along the external seam:

 

 

And (I'm beginning to see a pattern here) Italeri gifted me with a big gap between the #2 and 3 engine pods and their pylons. I foresee more stretched sprue in my future (nod to TheRealMrEd).

 

 

My plan ahead is to cleanup the engine pods, paint them with my Xtreme Metal paints, and complete the pods by adding the intake cones and afterburner cans/nozzles. At that point, I'll set the pods aside and start working on the huge delta wings.

 

Sooner or later, this build will start looking like an airplane!

 

 

[billn53]

Continuing with the engine pods...

 

I cleaned up the seams internal to the intake with no significant problems. The external seams are a different matter, as they must be near-perfect for the Hustler's natural metal finish. I've been filling these seams with sprue goop, which has been working pretty well. However, there are some hairline seams that are resisting my efforts.

 

Seam filling using sprue goop:

 

Hairline seams that just won't surrender:

   

 

For my most recent application, I first 'painted' the errant seams with Tamiya green cap, then applied a very much thinned-out sprue goop (thinned with more green cap). Hopefully, this will do the trick. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to get some glue-induced fingerprints on one of my engine pods:

 

 

The good news is that it sanded out a-ok.

 

While waiting for my lastest application of sprue goop on the engine pods to dry, I began work on the B-58's big delta wings:

 

 

 

My first task was to sand the kit's surface smooth... as I noted in a previous post, the kit's plastic in many cases has a rough finish that must be fixed before painting.

 

 

There are also a couple of sink marks on each wing, over the main landing gear bay:

 

 

The next pic shows the bottom half of the wing. Notice that the elevons are molded in to the upper wing half:

 

 

 

The main landing gear bay has minimal detailing, and I'm hoping that the soon-to-be-released Eduard photoetch set will help correct this:

 

 

 

Also, take a look at the engine pylon attachment points on the lower wing. Hint: there ain't any! What in the world were the kit designers thinking?

 

 

 

Anyway, let's stop complaining and start building!

 

Unless powered up, every Hustler I've seen on the tarmac have had their elevons drooping. So... I carefully cut away the kit elevons (made much easier by the elevons being molded as a single piece on the upper wing half):

 

 

 

I glued the top and bottom parts together, and noticed that there is no support at the outboard seam. See how easy it is for me to depress the lower wing surface here:

 

 

 

The outer engine pylons attach directly on the above seam, and I thought it wise to give the seam some reinforcement. I accomplished this by using plastic strip to fill the gap:

 

 

 

Other than sanding smooth the seams, there's really not much else to do with the wings. I do intend to address the poor design for the engine pylon attachments. I also plan to add the position lights on the wing leading edge:

 

 

 

Note that the starboard light is blue (not green, although the color of the emitted light was indeed green, per regulation).

 

Time to get back to work.....

[billn53]

It's Friday afternoon and time for another update.

 

The engine pods are just about ready for re-scribing and paint. As best I can tell, the micro-seams between the pod halves have succumbed to treatment with thinned-down sprue goop. That done, I attacked the big gap between the inboard engine pods and their large pylons. Once again, I used stretched sprue to fill the joint. In the pic below, I'm in process of adding the stretched sprue -- see the difference between the forward and tail end of the pylon join:

 

 

 

After the stretched sprue was in place, I overlaid it with sprue goop:

 

 

 

After the goop hardened, I sanded the seam smooth. I'm still amazed at how well this technique works!

 

 

 

Compare the above finished item to what I started with:

 

 

The outboard engines have separate pylons that must be glued to the pod. I'll use the above technique on these as well:

 

 

 

My next task was to fix the lack of attachment points between the engine pylons and the wing. I added brass rod to the pylons and drilled corresponding holes in the wing lower surface:

 

 

 

 

My plan is to paint the engine pods before attaching them to the wings. This approach has its own issues, as the pylons do not fit well with the wing. But, I have faith that I'll be able to muddle through!

 

Inboard engines:

 

 

Outboard engines:

 

 

That covers my progress to date. I'll be departing on another business trip this coming Monday afternoon. If I can finish up the engine pods to the point where I've sprayed my base coat of polished aluminum, I'll count this weekend a success!

 

Slight change of subject:

 

Eduard should soon be releasing some photoetch detail for this kit (I've already placed my pre-order with Hannants). Here are some sample pics (not complete) from Hannant's website:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's much too late for me to take advantage of the interior detailing set (although I do lust after those circuit breaker panels), but I'm expecting the exterior set to arrive in time to incorporate into this project.

 

Thanks for viewing!

[VT Red Sox Fan]

Billn53 this is looking great--learning alot from your build!   I always thought the intakes up the compressor on the B-58 were NMF--but I think you are going with NMF/white combo--I know your research is first rate, so was curious if I am off on your vector for this build, or if my limited understanding of the B-58 is off... looking great!  🙂 Best Erwin 

[billn53]

5 minutes ago, VT Red Sox Fan said:

Billn53 this is looking great--learning alot from your build!   I always thought the intakes up the compressor on the B-58 were NMF--but I think you are going with NMF/white combo--I know your research is first rate, so was curious if I am off on your vector for this build, or if my limited understanding of the B-58 is off... looking great!  🙂 Best Erwin 

Sure, no problem. The white intake walls are visible in many photos of operational Hustlers. Here's a great pic from the Air Force Museum:

 

 

 

[VT Red Sox Fan]

I am now B-58 smarter--thanks for making the time to square me away--these power plants will be impressive on the completed B-58--best, Erwin

[hairystick]

19 hours ago, billn53 said:

It's Friday afternoon and time for another update.

I do belive this is becoming a massive reference thread for other modellers! Great work indeed and especially for the "heads-up" on the photo etch from Hannants. I'm suspecting an order will be placed by myself very soon!

 

BTW, it IS Saturday afternoon at the moment.

The America's are a bit behind the rest of the world though!

[billn53]

1 minute ago, hairystick said:

 

BTW, it IS Saturday afternoon at the moment.

The America's are a bit behind the rest of the world though!

Perhaps. But on Monday when you’re on your way to work, I’ll be sleeping in late on Sunday lol!

[hairystick]

18 hours ago, billn53 said:

Perhaps. But on Monday when you’re on your way to work, I’ll be sleeping in late on Sunday lol!

If I'm getting up on Monday, you'll be just past mid-day, so hopefully had a good lunch and ready for more on the Hustler!!

[Retired Bob]

10 hours ago, billn53 said:

My plan is to paint the engine pods before attaching them to the wings. This approach has its own issues, as the pylons do not fit well with the wing. But, I have faith that I'll be able to muddle through!

 

Ah the age old problem, sort out the fit problem and then paint or paint the components and then try and fit without damaging the paint finish.  one of those problems that falls into the catch 22 conundrum.  I am sure you will overcome this Bill, we all have faith in your skill.

[billn53]

 

33 minutes ago, Retired Bob said:

Ah the age old problem, sort out the fit problem and then paint or paint the components and then try and fit without damaging the paint finish.  one of those problems that falls into the catch 22 conundrum.  I am sure you will overcome this Bill, we all have faith in your skill.

Half of solving a difficult problem is knowing that it CAN be solved. Witman61 painted his engine pods before assembly and his Hustler turned out magnificent! So I think I'm on firm ground, and it will be my own fault if I muck it up. 

[Retired Bob]

10 hours ago, hairystick said:

If I'm getting up on Monday, you'll be just past mid-day, so hopefully had a good lunch and ready for more on the Hustler!!

I know that problem of getting up on a Monday morning, I have to put the bins out.  (I know what you are thinking, relax, put them out the night before, but the wife would only drive into them on her way to work. ho um!)

[Witman61]

On 5/18/2019 at 1:48 PM, billn53 said:

 

Half of solving a difficult problem is knowing that it CAN be solved. Witman61 painted his engine pods before assembly and his Hustler turned out magnificent! So I think I'm on firm ground, and it will be my own fault if I muck it up. 

This is "my method" - I also make weathering when the main components are still apart. But one thing is absolutely essential in this case - a perfect fit of the components in places where they are to be attached. And the glue must be used very carefully and sparringly - that's the difficult part here. 

Below is the picture of my workbench during a couple of projects with main components painted  before the assembly.

 

 

And another picture from my B-58 build - just for inspiration.

Actually, I bought another B-58 kit and used some parts from it as sort of stencils - for example for positioning of undercarriage struts.

 

 

Edited May 19, 2019 by Witman61
correction of text and pictures

[billn53]

1 hour ago, Witman61 said:

 

Attached is the picture of my workbench as it looks right now - the Boeing main components are almost ready to be glued together.

 

 

Are the ejection seats part of your 737 Max build? 😱

[Space Ranger]

6 hours ago, billn53 said:

Are the ejection seats part of your 737 Max build? 😱

There's an idea. Maybe you should pass it on to Boeing. "Ladies and gentleman, the captain has turned on the seat belt sign. Please make sure your seat backs are in their fully upright position and that the ejection handles are armed."

[billn53]

Last night I touched up the white paint on the intake trunks, and today I began painting the exterior of the engine pods. First, I primed with Alclad gray primer and micro-filler:

 

 

 

 

 

The fine print on the label promises to fill in minor seams and scratches. That's exactly what I need... let's see if it holds up to its promise.

 

 

 

I'm happy to report that it does! Note in the pic below that the kit's seams are completely invisible. You can also see how bad I am at scribing LOL!

 

 

 

After the gray was fully set, I proceeded to apply gloss black Alclad in preparation for my base metallic coat:

 

 

 

Alclad recommends letting the black dry for 24 hours. I'd really like to get my base coat of polished aluminum down before my flight out tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully, my toasty curing oven will accelerate the process:

 

 

 

While waiting, I turned my attention back to the wings. I inserted brass pins in the elevons to help secure them in the appropriate droopy position when I do final assembly:

 

   

 

Oops! moment -- I accidently drilled too deep on the starboard elevon. I'm confident that my magical concoction known as sprue goop will come to the rescue!

 

 

 

That's all for now. Maybe later this evening, after I finish packing for my trip to Los Angeles, I'll be motivated to do the wing position lights.

 

[billn53]

How impressive is this!!!

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing, Witman61.

[Nikolay Polyakov]

On 18/05/2019 at 03:33, billn53 said:

That covers my progress to date. I'll be departing on another business trip this coming Monday afternoon. If I can finish up the engine pods to the point where I've sprayed my base coat of polished aluminum, I'll count this weekend a success!

Great progress so far, Bill! Excellent work on an engine pods. 👍

[Retired Bob]

2 hours ago, billn53 said:

You can also see how bad I am at scribing LOL!

 

And I thought it was only me that had an errant scriber that had mind of its own. 

[billn53]

I must have a half dozen different scribers, and each has its own idea of what a straight line is. 🤪

[neil5208]

5 hours ago, billn53 said:

I must have a half dozen different scribers, and each has its own idea of what a straight line is. 🤪

Dyno tape and a coffee stirring stick have become my prefered scribing guides

[billn53]

I got up early this morning to spray my base coat of XTreme Metal polished aluminum on the engine pods. Looks pretty good:

 

 

 

I also found time last night to do the position lights on the wing leading edges. The biggest problem was determining exactly where to put them! I don't have a good drawing, and used instead some pics I found online to get the relative distance of the lights from the outer engine pod to the wing tip:

 

 

First I carefully cut out a notch in the wing leading edge:

 

 

 

Then I superglued a chunk of transparent acrylic in the notch. Red for the port wing, blue for starboard:

 

 

 

After the CA had set, I carefully filed and sanded the acrylic to fit. I finished off by polishing the light with Tamiya polishing compound. Here's the result:

 

 

 

That's it for now. I'm on my way to the airport and won't be back at the bench until the end of this week.

 

 

[Space Ranger]

A preview of Eduard's forthcoming B-58 interior details:

 

https://www.72news.eu/2019/05/eduard-b-58-172-italeri-pe-set-incoming.html

 

And more on that fancy ejection seat/capsule:

 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Space Ranger
Add'l. info.