Gooney Fan Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Hello I'm contemplating combining a Academy B-29 and KC-97 kit to recreate the prototype C-97. Does anyone have any experience in losing the tail turret from the B-29 fin? Thanks in advance Gooney Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthBayKid Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 I looked at doing that many years ago. Doesn't look too difficult with some sheet plastic and putty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 (edited) Gooney Fan, That would be a very interesting conversion! A shame to use such expensive kits as the OOP Academy B-29's and KC-97 or Boeing 377, but I think that's your only option. If you want to do one of the threee XC-97's 43-27470-27472, you just need to graft on the fin and rudder from a B-29 kit and remove all of the antennas, radomes, refueling housings and equipment. Props were Hamilton Standard, the same as the B-29- you can't use the props and spinners from any of the KC-97/377 kits. (I might suggest finding an Airfix B-29 as the donor kit, as you just need the props and fin, and the Academy kit is much more expensive, especially as you are going to use so little of it. If you are going to do one of the YC-97's, be aware that they had the 'Andy Gump' engine cowlings, which were also fitted to many postwar B-29's- they had a different cowl ring/lower cowling that eliminated the large chin intake for better streamlining, giving it a pinched-in chin reminiscent of the cartoon strip character Andy Gump. I have attached a link to a photo that shows one of the YC-97's and the modified cowlings. There is a very colorful YC-97, 45-59588, that had red arctic markings as well as a black wing motif and spear along the fuselage- see the bottom link for a photo of the actual airplane and a build article. See the attached link to some good photos and description of the XC-97. This should get you started in the right direction. Mike https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/boeing-xc-97-stratofreighter/ https://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/HornDavid/9833.htm https://modelingmadness.com/review/korean/us/usaf/cja97.htm Edited February 20, 2020 by 72modeler added text, added link, corrected spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooney Fan Posted February 20, 2020 Author Share Posted February 20, 2020 Thanks Mike My plan was to use a 2nd hand Academy B-29 and KC-97 to create the XC-97. Gooney Fan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooney Fan Posted February 25, 2020 Author Share Posted February 25, 2020 Hello again. I have checked with a couple of Academy kits in the stash. The work involved in adapting the B-29 fin to the KC-97 fuselage is beyond my limited skills, so renders it a non-starter. Gooney Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now