Calling for the RB-66 Destroyer ECM Bombers Experts SEA

[RAGATIGER]

Hi there

 

Well so many time ago I trashed a kit of an Italeri EB-66 Destroyer in wonderfull 1/72 scale

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/italeri-199-destroyer-douglas-eb-66-e-dl--123601

 

And also a very old conversion from Airwaves for Douglas EB-66E Destroyer....... Yes the one for a Bat-21 movie

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/airwaves-sc7205-eb-66e-destroyer--224159

 

Assembling the kit was no mayor deal but I broke the main undercarriage as I tried to attached

 

At this point the kit stalled until late last year that I unpaint the kit and start to try to scribbing it slowly, now that is almost finish but before I start to paint it I have so many questions.  I also have the old Aerofaz B-66 Destroyer book but no light

 

https://www.scalemates.com/books/douglas-b-66-destroyer-minigraph-19-francillon-rene-j-roth-mick--100363

 

To start I wonder how to paint inside the engine nacele walls ??

is there some other diagram of technical drawings of this plane?

On parking position the foward flaps looks dow when hydraulic pressure is off, what color I need to use here?

What color I need to apply inside the wheels housing and U/C

 

Thanks for your help

 

Armando

[Wez]

59 minutes ago, RAGATIGER said:

Hi there

 

Well so many time ago I trashed a kit of an Italeri EB-66 Destroyer in wonderfull 1/72 scale

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/italeri-199-destroyer-douglas-eb-66-e-dl--123601

 

And also a very old conversion from Airwaves for Douglas EB-66E Destroyer....... Yes the one for a Bat-21 movie

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/airwaves-sc7205-eb-66e-destroyer--224159

 

Assembling the kit was no mayor deal but I broke the main undercarriage as I tried to attached

 

At this point the kit stalled until late last year that I unpaint the kit and start to try to scribbing it slowly, now that is almost finish but before I start to paint it I have so many questions.  I also have the old Aerofaz B-66 Destroyer book but no light

 

https://www.scalemates.com/books/douglas-b-66-destroyer-minigraph-19-francillon-rene-j-roth-mick--100363

 

To start I wonder how to paint inside the engine nacele walls ??

is there some other diagram of technical drawings of this plane?

On parking position the foward flaps looks dow when hydraulic pressure is off, what color I need to use here?

What color I need to apply inside the wheels housing and U/C

 

Thanks for your help

 

Armando

 

Armando,

 

The forward flaps as you call them are slats and these are typical Douglas aerodynamic slats, they require air pressure to keep them closed, once the air pressure has gone the roll forward on their rails.  I did read somewhere, that on the EB-66 some of the slats were locked open permanently although I don't know which ones (possibly the outer two sections).

 

As paint is likely to foul the slat mechanism it's likely they would have secured them closed for painting so I would go with NMF under the slats but of course check photos.

 

Again, I'm going to suggest you check as many images of EB-66's as possible, you may get a glimpse of the wheel wells, I've ssen a lot of other Vietnam era aircraft that when first painted in SEA camouflage had their wheel wells painted as originally delivered (e.g. F-100 & F-105), but later on had the wheel wells painted in the underside colour, so time frame is a factor.

 

As for the engine intakes, I would expect only the lip of the intake to be painted, after that the rest of the intake would probably remain NMF.

 

A good look at period photos will help although I'm pretty sure that Aerofax book may have some details of the paint scheme.

[72modeler]

See the link to the Destroyer preserved at the AFM- note the inner lip of the intake is painted with the surrounding exterior color, as stated above. The inner surfaces of the gear doors appear to be natural metal or aluminum paint, but you know how it is with museum aircraft when it comes to color references. I took photos of the wheel bays the last time I was at the museum, but I'm away from the disks they are stored in, and I don't recall how they were painted.

 

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196047/douglas-rb-66b-destroyer/

https://media.defense.gov/2005/Dec/26/2000574441/-1/-1/0/050322-F-1234P-014.JPG

 

There are two photos here that show the wheel bays to be most likely chromate green or interior green, FS34151

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196013/blinding-the-enemy-eb-66-electronic-warfare-over-north-vietnam/

 

The T.O. for exterior and interior finish- note it calls for the wheel bays to be finished in FS 16473, which was ADC grey, IIRC

https://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/a-3/b-66_to.shtml

 

The T.O. for the SEA camouflage pattern and FS colors

https://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/a-3/b-66_sea.shtml

 

Just guessing, but from photos it appears that the natural metal B-66's had chromate green/interior green wheel bays with the inner surfaces of the fairing doors either bare metal or aluminum paint, and the ones in SEA colors or that went through depot maintenance had the bays repainted with FS 16473. If I can find better photo or print references, I will add them to this post. Hope this helps.

Mike 

[Gmat]

Regarding mid war EB-66Es, the large white blade antennas were rather thick and the Italeri ones are too small. By Bat 21 time period, 1972, the dorsal one had been removed. The RB-66Cs (Bat21) only had the two rear horizontal large blade antennas.

https://blog.goo.ne.jp/itazuke-1/e/a7075a20b012b582f5f36ae1a7a1ba05   see sn 4510  Det 001 363rd TRW, later 19th TEWS, Itazuke AB, Pueblo Crisis.  In 69 moved to Kadena and adopted ZT tail code. Credit Itazuke Approach.

 http://www.gonavy.jp/bbs1/index.cgi?page:325=v  some underside pics of the antennas.  Credit Go Navy.

 

The 12th TRS in the brief time that they operated RB-66Bs (57-60) at Yokota, for a time painted the inside of the MLG doors red, I believe, with the last two in large numbers. At least one (sn 419, gun tail) had the unit insignia on the lower bottom leading portion of the vertical tail. (12th TRS (black crow/blackbirds version) left side, 67th TRW, right side) The 11th TRS seemed to have left the doors alone. (chromate green or natural metal ) Something little remarked on was markings on the fuselage airbrakes on the NM B-66s. Some had just the tip of the lower edge, too small to be a unit marking. This  leads me to suspect it was a visual aid to see if the air brakes were deployed properly. 

 

Grant

[RAGATIGER]

Wez, Mike, Grant 10000 thanks for your answer

 

You confirmed many of my WWG (Wild Wide Guess or YGIGM your guess is good as mine) kind of a joke I had with another industrial maintenance engineer in the past, maybe my limitation are really the decals (in general fine but not really wonderful) anyway is a huge model if I put it beside other 1/72 scale fighter bomber models. A very elegant aircraft its going to be on display beside a Hasegawa Douglas KA-3C Whale (this one with folded wings, anonther long stalled kit because for some weird trick of the Carpet Monster canopy got lost for about 3 years)

 

Very interesting the SEA scheme patern I think there is a huge diference with Italeri instructions

 

Sadly I have limited modelling habilities and also the kit/aircraft has some limitations, starting with not so many aftermarket. I plan to model it on the tarmac, so meaning the wing flaps down, and now I'm considering to left the access ladder down there are around some photos, plan to scratch a wheel stop that will painted in yellow

 

As I mentioned before this kit was stalled after I broke the main undercarriage and in this part of long forgoten down the border Banana Country (meaning no formal hobbyshop or Hobby Citty nor Wallmark around) I have to depend on normal mail services of a Third World class (also meaning not that they lost packages but you better start to learn to wait for them)

 

I was checking on old Aerofax B-66 Destroyer https://www.scalemates.com/books/douglas-b-66-destroyer-minigraph-19-francillon-rene-j-roth-mick--100363 and find out a very interesting photo of one aircraft with a wing pylon with a twin rack ALQ . So I still need to check on the Hasegawa weapons sets for them or maybe on the old Monogrm Phantom.

I'll be using the Aeroclub flat anntenas as they look much better than the Italeri

I just bought the new Osprey Combat Unit book  so now I'll be reading as not too many books around this particular aircraft 

 

Regards 

 

Armando

[Finn]

Here is an earlier thread about the RB-66:

 

Jari

 

[Rabbit Leader]

Just chipping in here after my previous thread was posted in... you do know that Osprey have just released a new B/EB-66 units book as part of their Combat Aircraft series.. I’ve always found these books great and will likely pick one of these up soon. 

Cheers.. Dave