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'The Firefly' - Monogram Convair B-58A Hustler (in Kitchen Foil)


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On the 10th May 1961 Convair B-58A Hustler msn 59-2451 named 'The Firefly' set a world speed record of  an average of 1302.07 mph for more than 30 minutes, winning her crew Majors Elmer E Murphy and Eugene F Moses, and 1st Lt David F Dickerson, the Bleriot Trophy outright. On 26th May she flew from New York to Paris in 3 hrs 19 mins 51 secs averaging 1089.36 mph  winning the McKay and Harmon trophies. On 3rd June 1961 this stunning aircraft took off from Le Bourget and crashed shortly afterwards, killing all three crew members.

 

When I was a teenager the Convair B-58 Hustler was my dream plane. No matter that it had already been retired, the B-58 really looked like it was doing mach 2, even on the ground, and I wondered whether I would ever see one for real. Quite a few years ago I did build the Italeri 1/72nd TB-58A however the kit I really wanted was the huge 1/48th Monogram B-58A Hustler first issued in 1985. I did snag one on eBay for £16.49 plus £6.00 p&p and it has been taken out and looked at many times since. Now I feel like building it and have already started:-

 

51055523286_447f5c3d1d_o.jpgHustler007 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I have detached most of the parts, given a first dusting of white primer, and cemented several of the sub-assemblies.

 

51055523391_6dd642673d_o.jpgHustler001 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

Caracal Models CD48059 contains markings for 'The Firefly' while she was at Paris in May 1961. I also have the Osprey Combat Aircraft 130 "B-58 Hustler Units" as a reference.

 

51055523356_49834b4614_o.jpgHustler002 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I have started painting some areas. The undercarriage wheel wells have been sprayed with Tamiya zinc oxide. I have used Humbrol metalcotes on some panels on the wings, also Humbrol acrylic metallic silver on the delta wing leading edges.

 

51055523336_1d202f4f1b_o.jpgHustler003 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

Why the Brasso? I intend to use a mix of paints and silver foil to try to replicate the metallic panels of the bare metal Convair B-58 Hustler. I recently purchased a Lifecolour metallic paint set so maybe they will be tried out too.

 

51055523301_5a541e8507_o.jpgHustler006 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

The top of the wing section so far, being Humbrol metalcote polished steel and matt aluminium.

 

51055523306_1b5671a30a_o.jpgHustler005 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

And the underside of the wing section.

 

51054795378_5e6c991fa5_o.jpgHustler004 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I should say that I am a 'grasshopper' scale modeller. I have several projects on the go and I just jump from one to the next as befits my whim and this will likely be the same. Could be a long project however I have wanted to build this for a long time now.

 

Michael

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2 hours ago, Ghostbase said:

On the 10th May 1961 Convair B-58A Hustler msn 59-2451 named 'The Firefly' set a world speed record of  an average of 1302.07 mph for more than 30 minutes, winning her crew Majors Elmer E Murphy and Eugene F Moses, and 1st Lt David F Dickerson, the Bleriot Trophy outright. On 26th May she flew from New York to Paris in 3 hrs 19 mins 51 secs averaging 1089.36 mph  winning the McKay and Harmon trophies. On 3rd June 1961 this stunning aircraft took off from Le Bourget and crashed shortly afterwards, killing all three crew members.

 

When I was a teenager the Convair B-58 Hustler was my dream plane. No matter that it had already been retired, the B-58 really looked like it was doing mach 2, even on the ground, and I wondered whether I would ever see one for real. Quite a few years ago I did build the Italeri 1/72nd TB-58A however the kit I really wanted was the huge 1/48th Monogram B-58A Hustler first issued in 1985. I did snag one on eBay for £16.49 plus £6.00 p&p and it has been taken out and looked at many times since. Now I feel like building it and have already started

 

Good luck with the project - always great to see one more of these built!! The Hustler is one of my favorite jets as well.  There is one on display in San Antonio near me; and every summer I find an excuse to take a one-hour drive there just to see it and be around it for a while.

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Looking forward very much to seeing this build. I’ve built Italeri’s 1/72 and have the 1/48 Hustler in my stash. 
 

I’m also interested to see how your LifeColor metallics work out. I have the same set but haven’t yet given them a good test. 

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That price seems incredible these days, you'd be lucky to pay under £70 for it now. 

 

Hoping you get the most out of this build, it really is an epic kit. It's been 12 years since I built one, still one of the best models I've ever made 👍

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@Ghostbase, I too would like to tag along for your build. The only B-58 I have built was in the late 60's from Lindberg, Aurora or LifeLike, I just don't remember the maker. Far to many decades ago. Monogram had not produced a kit as of say 1969. Just the B-52D. But I do have 4 of the Hustler kits from Monogram in my stash from 25 or more years ago. They were cheap as today's prices go. I have B-58 photos from Pima, SAC and USAF museums. The first is from the USAF museum Dayton, Ohio

IMG_3289

This next one from Pima Air Museum Tucson, Arizona.

100_4575

The last and just the nose are from the SAC Museum Ashland, Nebraska. Which is a suburb of Omaha Nebraska

IMG_7302

I have lots of wheel well and tire photos because the body was natural metal.

 

So I'll follow your progress and gain some knowledge on putting down foil. I have collected different types of foil that's used in food processing.

 

All The Best,

Ron VanDerwarker

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I will be following along.

 

The B-58 was always one of my favourites ( I have many, don't we all ;) ) since I was first introduced to a model of it when I was very young. That was in the early 60's and was a model kit my friend had. I always thought it very futuristic and looked fast just sitting still.  I don't know what kit it was, perhaps the Lindbergh one.

 

Since then I have never built at least one each of the V bombers, but never I have built a model of one. Perhaps one day if I find the right kit but until till then I will just have to follow along builds like this.

 

cheers, Graham

 

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  • 11 months later...

Nearly a year has passed by and this has been on the shelf of shame over that time (and it needs to be a big shelf for this kit!) I think I just steamed in with too much enthusiasm and didn't think too much about the detail needed first. Like the cockpit...

 

I blew the dust off this afternoon and re-started on the cockpit because that has to be completed before I can start the big stuff. This is how it looks now:

 

51933018420_ea6140d5be_o.jpg20220311_195930 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I have painted the cockpit Dark Gull Grey and highlighted the instruments by dry brushing silver. Later versions of this kit have decals which can be used for the display panels. I also put the Stanley Model B capsule together, just a little bit more work needed.

 

The next step is to make a decision regards assembly. The delta wing is clearly the main part of the model. I have joined the rear fuselage and tail fin halves, this is in itself a major part. The forward assembly consists of the lower nose joined to the upper nose/cockpit/top fuselage. Do I cement these major together before foiling/painting or do I foil/paint separately?

 

51931418287_41f625c1a6_o.jpg20220311_200147 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I have assembled the four jet pods and again I need to think about the metallic shades on these and how to apply them. I still want to build 59-2451 'Firefly' and looking at a photo of her at Paris in 1961 there are at least four metallic shades to her jet pods, maybe five.

 

51932400471_7e460be9cb_o.jpg20220311_200439 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I'm hoping that the mods of the Matchbox GB don't look here as I am supposed to be building a Spitfire 22 there! 😖

 

Another update soon. Michael

 

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I realised today that I haven't foiled anything for at least five years! Only one way to get re-started; find a roll of cheap kitchen aluminium foil and start to measure and cut pieces to fit onto panels on the underside of the Hustler's delta wing and fuselage. I added five panels of foil between the main landing gear bays and back to the rear of the fuselage.

 

51934295126_fc98e3c6a6_o.jpg20220312_185256 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I started with two panels crossways between the main gear bays, then three panels lengthways between the rear fairings. The foil is off-the-roll, no polishing, dull aluminium side upwards, applied with Micro Metal Foil Adhesive. I am just learning how to do the basics here before I try some more complex (and visible) areas of this aircraft.

 

51934295081_1c5aba61af_o.jpg20220312_185311 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

Overall not too bad for a first try after so long, just a couple of small 'bubbles' where some air might be trapped or there was insufficient adhesive maybe. So a small start but am encouraged to try some more.

 

Michael

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More progress today. Thanks to the work above I am now confident regards my sizing, cutting and applying of the foil panels. The next stage is to generate panels with different metallic shades to try to replicate those USAF natural metal finish schemes of the 1950's and early 60's.

 

Before I do that I would like to show the size of the 1/48th Monogram / Revell Convair B-58A Hustler. It is a huge chunk of plastic! This photo shows it in comparison with an F-4E Phantom II in the same scale. Both were powered by the J79-GE turbojet engines, it was just that the Hustler had four opposed to the Phantom's two 😎 The good news is that the Monogram plastic is very chunky and stiff and will be a good platform for foil.

 

51940672098_5cde0e5052_o.jpg20220315_185021 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I have decided to start work on the forward upper fuselage / wing join area. I am going to apply standard aluminium kitchen foil 'off roll' as well as some foil modified to a different metallic sheen. I start by cutting a rough sheet of foil and using Brasso metal polish wadding to polish it. This produces a lot of black stuff which has to be removed by kitchen tissue paper soaked in white spirit. It is smelly and messy!

 

51940591076_7ceb9b26fa_o.jpg20220315_184027 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

However the end result is compared here with the original foil and the darker metallic sheen of the Brasso polished foil can be compared.

 

51940591041_7b7d97f66d_o.jpg20220315_184533 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

The next stage is to trim the Brasso polished foil into a usable sheet. I would never apply a sheet this size however it can be cut into smaller sections to fit the kit panels. Note that I am using a brand new knife to cut the foil, a used blade will not cut foil cleanly and this will affect the quality of the sections which are being applied to the kit. Foiling destroys blades very swiftly!

 

51941207855_920e9d9e0e_o.jpg20220315_184730 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I then measure and cut out a panel section, this is from the original kitchen foil. I give it a last wipe to remove any dust or dirt, then apply Micro Metal Foil Adhesive to the opposite 'shiny' side of the foil. I brush the adhesive on, wait for it to go tacky, then finger place the fail section on the panel.

 

51940672088_ef5cdea3d9_o.jpg20220315_191031 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

And this is the result. On the plus side the foil has adhered to the kit plastic very nicely, on the minus side the foil has split at the wing/fuselage join because I pressed it too hard with a buffing cloth. Not a problem, I can cut a blank to cover it later.

 

51941207885_091a308497_o.jpg20220315_191455 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

This is the second panel section, this time using the Brasso polished foil. The difference in metallic sheens is easy to see! This time I used a cotton bud to smooth the foil over the wing/fuselage join and I am very happy with the result 🙂

 

51941207880_5021521243_o.jpg20220315_193026 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

Repeat the process a coupe of times and this is the result:

 

51939603812_e650b165e5_o.jpg20220315_195333 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

And another view. I am very happy with this so far.

 

51940912429_6b9a111ba0_o.jpg20220315_195856 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

Most encouraging. However, I really need to starting making decisions regards the four podded jet engines and that will be the subject of my next post. I also need to think about the entire rear fuselage / tail section.

 

More to come soon. Michael

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  • Ghostbase changed the title to 'The Firefly' - Monogram Convair B-58A Hustler (in Kitchen Foil)
11 hours ago, Ghostbase said:

More progress today. Thanks to the work above I am now confident regards my sizing, cutting and applying of the foil panels. The next stage is to generate panels with different metallic shades to try to replicate those USAF natural metal finish schemes of the 1950's and early 60's.

 

Before I do that I would like to show the size of the 1/48th Monogram / Revell Convair B-58A Hustler. It is a huge chunk of plastic! This photo shows it in comparison with an F-4E Phantom II in the same scale. Both were powered by the J79-GE turbojet engines, it was just that the Hustler had four opposed to the Phantom's two 😎 The good news is that the Monogram plastic is very chunky and stiff and will be a good platform for foil.

 

51940672098_5cde0e5052_o.jpg20220315_185021 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I have decided to start work on the forward upper fuselage / wing join area. I am going to apply standard aluminium kitchen foil 'off roll' as well as some foil modified to a different metallic sheen. I start by cutting a rough sheet of foil and using Brasso metal polish wadding to polish it. This produces a lot of black stuff which has to be removed by kitchen tissue paper soaked in white spirit. It is smelly and messy!

 

51940591076_7ceb9b26fa_o.jpg20220315_184027 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

However the end result is compared here with the original foil and the darker metallic sheen of the Brasso polished foil can be compared.

 

51940591041_7b7d97f66d_o.jpg20220315_184533 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

The next stage is to trim the Brasso polished foil into a usable sheet. I would never apply a sheet this size however it can be cut into smaller sections to fit the kit panels. Note that I am using a brand new knife to cut the foil, a used blade will not cut foil cleanly and this will affect the quality of the sections which are being applied to the kit. Foiling destroys blades very swiftly!

 

51941207855_920e9d9e0e_o.jpg20220315_184730 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I then measure and cut out a panel section, this is from the original kitchen foil. I give it a last wipe to remove any dust or dirt, then apply Micro Metal Foil Adhesive to the opposite 'shiny' side of the foil. I brush the adhesive on, wait for it to go tacky, then finger place the fail section on the panel.

 

51940672088_ef5cdea3d9_o.jpg20220315_191031 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

And this is the result. On the plus side the foil has adhered to the kit plastic very nicely, on the minus side the foil has split at the wing/fuselage join because I pressed it too hard with a buffing cloth. Not a problem, I can cut a blank to cover it later.

 

51941207885_091a308497_o.jpg20220315_191455 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

This is the second panel section, this time using the Brasso polished foil. The difference in metallic sheens is easy to see! This time I used a cotton bud to smooth the foil over the wing/fuselage join and I am very happy with the result 🙂

 

51941207880_5021521243_o.jpg20220315_193026 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

Repeat the process a coupe of times and this is the result:

 

51939603812_e650b165e5_o.jpg20220315_195333 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

And another view. I am very happy with this so far.

 

51940912429_6b9a111ba0_o.jpg20220315_195856 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

Most encouraging. However, I really need to starting making decisions regards the four podded jet engines and that will be the subject of my next post. I also need to think about the entire rear fuselage / tail section.

 

More to come soon. Michael

None very nise

B-58 is not MiG-25 or MiG-31. It is smooth, it does not have any tank welds to the outside.

The work is done, but it is Sisyphean work.

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Lovely work. Have you tried using Bostik plumbers foil, it’s self adhesive and very malleable, it’s also pretty cheap, the only downside for you might be that it comes in a 50mm roll. I use it for everything.

 

0781624-E-8330-4429-8854-4-EF9-EB3-E66-Ehere on the leading edges.

 

2-C4-CB7-BC-06-D2-44-F2-B21-F-CB12707-D2it’s also good for masking.

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6 hours ago, Marklo said:

Lovely work. Have you tried using Bostik plumbers foil, it’s self adhesive and very malleable, it’s also pretty cheap, the only downside for you might be that it comes in a 50mm roll. I use it for everything.

 

here on the leading edges.

 

it’s also good for masking.

Thanks Marklo, this looks to be a good idea and worth following up, especially if it makes my life easier 😎

 

Michael

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5 hours ago, Serkan Sen said:

Very good progress so far Michael. The different shades of foil don't follow the panel lines. Is there a specific reason for this?

Serkan

Serkan, ideally I would want to follow the panel lines and when I apply the upper and lower wing panels I will be aiming to do exactly that. The wings are largely flat and the foil can be easily persuaded to adhere without any creases or pockets. The upper fuselage isn't quite so easy because it has ever changing curves which foil doesn't like! Ideally I would be cutting the foil into 1 cm wide strips however I decided to go for 2 cm wide strips to save time. Most of these panel lines are between 3 cm and 4 cm apart too. I think I might try the 1 cm strips for the rest of the upper fuselage and line them up with the panel lines where it is possible to do so. Thanks. Michael.

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Today I have turned my attention to the four jet engine pods and how I am going to paint or foil them, or a combination of both. The metal shading on the Hustler's jet pods was quite complex as shown by the two photos below (from an official USAF publicity photo taken of the "Firefly" after her record breaking flight to Paris in 1961).

 

This is the forward, or inner, jet pod:

 

51943148842_5969d5f72d_o.jpg20220316 Inner by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

And the rear, or outer, jet pod:

 

51944741245_28ce9d74b6_o.jpg20220316 Outer by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

Now I am not looking to replicate the metallic shades exactly but I would like my model to look reasonably accurate. At the same time I know I soon get bored by repetition and detail so I need to find a way of working which meets both these criteria. I have already put the pods together so I made a 1 to 1 drawing to outline where the panel lines are and then match these to the detail in the photos above. This is the rear, or outer, jet pod:

 

51943148752_f572154c24_o.jpg20220316_124732 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I then did the same for the forward, or inner, jet pod which also includes a substantial pylon. In both cases I decided to airbrush Lifecolor Acrylic UA 795 Steel on panels 5, 6, and 7 (I wrote gunmetal but I meant steel!) and the photo below shows the masking tape that I have used. One feature of the B-58 jet engines is that the pylons on the forward, or inner, jet pods were coloured dark steel right back onto the wing.

 

51944213923_ec42bed51a_o.jpg20220317_122458 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

How did the Lifecolor acrylic paint go on? I mixed it with Vallejo acrylic thinner, also Vallejo Retarder Medium, plus a couple of drops of Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver. I don't remember what ratio I used but it mixed very well and I am very pleased with the result seen below. This was just the one application with my H&S Ultra medium tip air brush and the paint has applied extremely well. Just a couple of 'thin' areas on a pylon, that was my fault, not the paint.

 

51944449674_42b19ce211_o.jpg20220317_171936 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

Finally, I decided to display the four jet pods next to the model to see how they compare with the foiled area and, yes, I am very happy with the balance.

 

51944213808_8a7e856445_o.jpg20220317_172201 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

 

I need to make decisions regards how much foil to apply to the jet pods, I suspect it won't be too much given how well the Lifecolor acrylic paints have applied. The foil must be applied last because you cannot mask foil like you can paint, masking tape will just rip it off. More soon. Michael

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Just a quick update, I have applied foil to the majority of the upper wing surfaces as well as the top fuselage towards the rear. The trick is to use the same foil on each opposite panel to keep the metallic effect 'balanced' though as the photo below shows, the light at just a slightly different angle can alter the metallic shade. Some smears and fingerprints are visible but I will clean these off later with a cloth and white spirit. More soon. Michael.

 

51948779645_b45ed20db9_o.jpg20220319_172208 by Ghostbase, on Flickr

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