B-29 1/48

[Justin M]

Hello All, 

 

This is a kit I bought many years ago and it has sat in my stash until I was finally motivated to build it when I saw a friend of mine build his. I acquired it when I lived overseas but realised building it there would create a monumental transport issue when getting it home. Even so, building it at home also posed some storage challenges so I decided to try and address that in the build. It is an interesting kit as it was repackaged by Hasegawa with decals from Aeromaster. The aircraft was Rattle n Roll of the 6th Bomb Group. Being a "vintage" model, it has some flash issues, but not too bad, and, needless to say, raised panel lines.  

 

 

And here all are the parts in the box, with a "under construction" 1/48 Spitfire to give an idea of size. In terms of extras, I also added the Eduard canopy masks (EX367), wheel set (648132) and exterior photo etch (48744). 

 

 

 

 

[Lewis95]

I'm in for this one. Looks like it could be one hell of a build! 

[mackem01]

I'm  in too for spying purposes, I have one of these too.

[JohnT]

Made one an eternity ago. Nearly all the internal detail can’t be seen but there is a good aftermarket nose “glass” replacement that adds clarity to the cockpit area. It’s a biggie and a tail sitter. I cheated and opened a rear door and added a metal access ladder as a prop to keep the nose wheel on the shelf. Very impressive when finished and worth doing once anyway. 

[Justin M]

The first step was to remove all the raised panel lines and details in order to re-scribe recessed panel lines. This is quite easy with the old Monogram "silver-grey" kits as when you sand off the detail, the line of the remove panel line is still visible in the plastic. 

 

 

I used my trusty UMM SCR-01 SCRIBER, which I used in my F-4 Phantom build which explains the technique in a bit more detail. See here: 

 

Redoing the panel lines on the B-29 is not hard as they are mainly straight. The problem is there are lots of them and they are pretty long. A flexible straight edge is a must. In the photos below, you can quite clearly see the residual outline of the panels after the raised elements have been sanded off. 

 

 

 

[Alan P]

It's a mammoth task! Great idea to do a build blog on this monster 😉

[B_Bogus]

Subscribed!

Have you decided on how to do the NMF yet?

[bentwaters81tfw]

I have one looking at me. No worse than a 1/72 B-36.

[Justin M]

Overall, it is not a bad kit, especially given its age. The surface detail is not fantastic but using the photo etch will improve that. The internal details is quite extensive, a bit softly moulded in places, but plenty of material. I did not add much detail other than some levers that would be vaguely visible from the outside. I used a decal set for the instruments - it was an old set that covered the B-29, B-17 and B-24.  I recollect they were made by Monogram but I bought them about 25 years ago so I am not sure if they are still available. 

 

 

[Justin M]

Rubbing down and re-scribing the fuselage. I found having the two halves together provided better grip and also ensured that the panel lines over the 2 halves linked up. It is possible to see the slight ribbing that appears on these kits just aft of the wing. Rubbing down for re-scribing does remove the prominence a bit. 

 

 

[rob85]

The office looks excellent! Good luck with the re scribe.

 

Rob

[Justin M]

Internally, I added a bit of "insulation" to the very front of the cockpit to enhance it a bit. Little will be visible but it was worth a try. The surface detail was done by applying putty and then rolling the handle of a modelling knife over the surface to represent the quilted texture.   

 

 

 

[Tigerausfb]

I remember back in the mid-late 70's and seeing this kit in the shops for the first time. A thing of wonder. Way too expensive for me back then. It should be a mighty impressive model one finished, good luck.

[Ruskin Air Services]

This is one monster of a kit and nice work so far. I have one built and sitting in my loft room where used to build, it will come down when shedquarters 2 has been built and fitted out as I will have the room!! 

[Harry Callahan]

I have never known that exist a B-29 in 1:48, so i will watch your build thread with huge interest.

[Justin M]

This build takes an interesting direction; all to do with the wings.