1.72 BOAC Stratocruiser.

[TonyW]

This GB came around a bit quickly!

Good job my entry was sorted and waiting, ready to go. I doubt I'll be able to maintain this level of efficiency throughout, but I'll give it my best shot.

 

Here's the Big Boeing, ready for action. BOAC Decals supplied by Hannants and bought within a day of the kit turning up here. It's a build that's been on my mind for quite a while now.

 

 

There's also an aftermarket set of Heston Steps for the build. I'll be needing a few passengers to add as I'll be sitting this lot on a hardstanding of some sort.

 

Here's what I'm aiming at...

 

 

And here's one I did earlier. There's something about those very smart BOAC colours and highly polished metal that keeps drawing me in.

 

 

 

Roll on the Kick Off!

 

Tony.

 

[Dansk]

Wow the comet looks amazing 🤩 and this should be equally stunning Tony if it follows that standard. 

[TonyOD]

At ‘72 that’s going to be a beast!

[Brad]

I like that, welcome along.

[CliffB]

Fantastic choice Tony 

[TonyW]

I'll be needing references I guess...

 

Consulting my Wonder Book of Aircraft and a copy of My Picture Book of Planes, both undated but period, I find these two beauties:

 

 

 

 

Beautiful, warm colours and so very nostalgic.

I do believe I'm going to enjoy this GB.

 

Tony.
 

[PeterB]

Hi Tony,

 

I used to have one of two books like that - wish I still did. Is that a Connie in the foreground of the lower pic - the engine nacelles do not seem to be those of a "Cruiser". 

Pete

Edited April 13, 2021 by PeterB

[stevehnz]

10 hours ago, TonyW said:

I'll be needing references I guess...

 

Consulting my Wonder Book of Aircraft and a copy of My Picture Book of Planes, both undated but period, I find these two beauties:

 

Tony.
 

That picture rings a bell from a distant past, was there a cutaway &/or internal pictures too? It looks a lot like one I had as a kid. The reason I'm been ken to see this build.

Steve.

[TonyW]

7 hours ago, PeterB said:

Hi Tony,

 

I used to have one of two books like that - wish I still did. Is that a Connie in the foreground of the lower pic - the engine nacelles do not seem to be those of a "Cruiser". 

Pete

 

I do believe you are right Pete. The shape of the nosewheel door gives the game away.

 

Here's a few of memory jerkers for you both.

For the rest of us, they provide details of the cabin internals, cockpit layout and external stairs amongst other important info. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I can build one tenth of the atmosphere and general feel of those pictures into my plane, I will be very happy indeed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

[stevehnz]

Oh heck, yes yes yes. Those really do bring some memories flooding back. What happened to that happy childhood & that bright faced lad. He grew up that's what, bloody overrated too I need to go back & tell him.

Thanks Tony for sharing those. Which pictures are from which book, I'm not sure if I still have my copy among stuff I still have from my parents place.

Steve.

 

[TonyW]

The ones I just posted are from My Picture Book of Planes Steve.

The style of dress and the whole feel of the pictures seem real to me. Last time I was in an Airport I thought I was on another Planet. I am a bit of a Duffer now though.

 

The other book has the Frank Wooten image, along with some B+W ones.

 

I'll add to the thread as I dig up more.

[FortyEighter]

That's going to be BIG in 70tooth scale but if you achieve the same finish as the Comet it will be awesome. 

 

Mike

[Mike Dean]

At 1/72nd, I can see that being a great opportunity for a full cutaway interior, complete with snack bar and lounge! 

 

Are you going for blue or white on the fin?

[TonyW]

2 hours ago, Mike Dean said:

At 1/72nd, I can see that being a great opportunity for a full cutaway interior, complete with snack bar and lounge! 

 

Are you going for blue or white on the fin?

 

Blue fin. I really like the look.

 

If I go for a cutaway I will never finish the thing! It's a terrific idea, but what a task. To have any chance of completion I'll have to repeat the Comet and Constellation builds to some extent. I'll be aiming at upping my game a bit with the presentation, but let's get the thing built first!

 

Mind you, I have a spare Rareplane Military version that could in theory become a cutaway airliner. I have the kit decals going spare. Oh dear, here we go again.

 

Mike, if only I knew someone who liked cutaway airliners and even collected them. I could pass the kit over to you, I mean, them.

 

Tony.

[Mike Dean]

2 hours ago, TonyW said:

Mike, if only I knew someone who liked cutaway airliners and even collected them.

 All but two have gone. One 747, and one Tristar left to build. I might just do one of them here. That's a thought. The Tristar is part started and it's way under the legal limit.

 

I was just joshing with you. To completely scratch built a 1/72 interior is going to take you months, and we all want to see the finished article as soon as possible.

 

I love the BOAC buses in those pictures. That "look down" window below the drivers window is a nice feature. My instant google search tells me it's a Commer Harrington Contender. Dinky used to do one, but I don't know what scale it is (sources vary from 1/76 to 1/43).

 

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Mike Dean

[TonyW]

A Tristar sounds good. What Airline?

[Mike Dean]

TWA. Tristar. The kit decals were shot, but I have a nice aftermarket set. And some seated passengers.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Mike Dean

[Bengalensis]

Very nice project, and fantastic pictures from those books!

[JOCKNEY]

Brilliant choice of subject Tony.

 

It will be amazing to see this one sitting alongside the Comet.

 

Out of interest, we're the 2 aircraft in service at the same time ?

 

Good luck with the build Tony

 

Cheers Pat 

[JeroenS]

Wow, great choice Tony, I'll be following this one. 

 

And your 15 other builds which are bound to show up of course 😉 

 

[TonyW]

10 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Brilliant choice of subject Tony.

 

It will be amazing to see this one sitting alongside the Comet.

 

Out of interest, we're the 2 aircraft in service at the same time ?

 

Good luck with the build Tony

 

Cheers Pat 

 

There's a bit of overlap with the Constellation, Stratocruiser and Comet Pat.

 

Stratocruiser from 1949 to 1960.

Constellation L049 and L749 from 1946 to 1959

Comet from 1952 to 1954 then a gap while it got sorted. 1958 see's the strengthened aircraft enter service.

 

The scale issue gets in the way of the Stratocruiser sitting next to my Comet. The Stratocruiser is 1.72, the FROG Comet, 1.96. A bit too far apart, even for my relaxed attitude to complete accuracy. A Constellation and Stratocruiser would sit well together. It will need a bit of airport expansion here though. I'll make a planning application today. 

[JOCKNEY]

Thanks Tony I'd forgotten the Comet was 1/96 !

I suppose the only downside of your BOAC expansion is the need for additional magic powder for the polished metal finish. 

Given how good the results are, it's really surprising someone hasn't restarted production of it.

Best of luck with this one. 

I have a RarePlanes vacform of this aircraft and she's a blooming biggie, so yours will look amazing when it's finished. 

 

Cheers Pat 

[TonyW]

Apparently time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted. With that in mind, I've given the Stratocruiser a once over this morning to give myself a better idea of what I've let myself in for.

 

So far, I'm very impressed with the kit. I've built a few Academy B17's and I've liked them a lot. The kits have a good quality feel to them and build up nicely. This one seems to be the same. Parts fit beautifully and the detailing is very restrained but good. The cockpit is more than detailed enough as it is for me. I doubt much would be seen even though the glass is beautifully clear, and I may well go for solid black anyway. That is yet to be decided.

 

 

 

As I've said, I'm going BOAC on this one. Just as well really as the kit decals have a fold right through them. It cuts through some of the script as well, so my aftermarket choice has saved the day here, as long as they work of course! To avoid any disasters there, I'll be scanning the BOAC sheets just in case.

 

 

The original sheet provides markings for the all polished finish of the prototype. I do like the look of that one. Maybe for another day...

 

A quick lash up gives me some idea of the size of the thing. Gulp.

 

 

It's a fair old size! It's also remarkably ugly from some angles, a bit Super Guppy if you like. The wings don't look big enough to hold the thing in the air and the almost graceful simplicity of the original B29 is pretty much lost. It does make our efforts with the Lancastrian look a bit basic though.

 

The build will probably lead me off on era related quests for information and anything related to the plane, company and times. I always enjoy that part of the GB experience and this one will no doubt be the same.

 

Right, I'm off down the shed again...

[Mike Dean]

That is a BEAST. You're going to need a bigger shed.

 

Incredibly narrow wings, which doesn't come across in any of the pictures that I've seen if this aircraft. Without the engines attached, it looks like a glider.

 

I've got this build on "speed dial" on my browser. Let the fun commence.

 

[TonyW]

A bigger shed would be nice, a bigger bench is essential!  My regular sitting down bench isn't big enough to comfortably work on this one, so I'm standing up at my long bench to work. It's very comfortable and I can't think why I haven't used it like this before.

 

Here's the shed, the build is taking place from the left side, long bench. 

 

 

The cockpit has been assembled minus the seats and then tried with the canopy. Despite it looking nice and bright and clear in there, once the roof and about half the rest of the clear part is painted, there won't be a whole lot of light getting in there. I'll plod along with it for now but I'm not going to get too involved with detailing the cockpit area.

 

 

 

The wings and tail assemblies are glued up and drying as is the nosewheel well. The wing braces are glued in on one side as well. The fit and finish of all this lot has been superb. Lovely engineering from Academy.

 

 

And the inevitable comparison with the Airfix B29 has taken place. It had to happen.

 

 

 

It's not just a job of adding another tube on top of the B29 fuselage! The wing shapes are pretty much identical, but they are now holding up a very much bigger fuselage. The fin is huge compared with the B29 one. It was hard work putting the B29 back in the box, thoughts of a side by side build crossed my mind but I had a word with myself and put it all away.

 

Just before coming back into the house to post this lot, I painted the Stratocruiser engines black. They are out in the sun drying off awaiting further work, as are all the other parts so far assembled. 

 

Half a day into the build and I'm not only making good headway but also enjoying things immensely. Let's see what the rest of the day brings...

 

Tony.