Goin'Up with the Spirit In the Sky. Titan Models 1/48 Northrop B-2 Spirit FINISHED!

[LorenSharp]

Which reminds me, I need to go dig up the old Testors 1/72 B-2 to see if there is anything I can copy from. I think there were screen intakes like on the F-117 . Of course when that model first came out a lot of the detail was probably  supposition rather than fact. but it is a reference. Plus I NOW can use those durn JDAMs I made for the B-1A and couldn't use. 

[Planebuilder62]

Dear Loren

That is a lot of plastic. When you come to fitting the engine main intakes may I suggest you remove the resin under the boundary layer splitter plate? A few minutes with a file should do the trick. Nothing looks more like a hole than a hole and much better than just black paint. 

BTW, its kind of hard to see on pictures of the B2, probably something to do with the plane’s in service stealth capabilities.

 

regards Toby

 

[LorenSharp]

Actually, I don't have to remove anything. The intake is complete from the front all the way to the fan blades. But it is a good question though, is the intake black or some other colour.

[LorenSharp]

But the post lady did did arrive with pressies. 

Now granted one of the books is an elementary primer, but it was cheap and might have a nugget or two that will  be useful.

There's one more I want to get, But I'll have to wait until later in the week to order. So until then while other things are either printing or drying I'm going to make a mess sanding, carving and grinding some of this thick plastic.

 

[LorenSharp]

And what a mess it was(is). A couple of days cutting away plastic. Because this is so thick I used my Dremel to remove 90% of the plastic then sanded the rest away by hand. This plastic is tough. THe Titan site sys its made of .080 thick High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) Pretty much the same thing as a regular plastic model. just a bit softer in texture. Until you go to trimming then it's like trying to trim plate steel. But piles of plastic shavings and fine dust later I've got the start of a bomber.

Thankfully, as thick as this plastic is, I may not need to add cross members to keep everything straight and level. It will need a LOT of counter-weights to keep from becoming a tail sitter.

I haven't cut out the nose gear bay yet as the instructions have noted that an error was made in initial production and the doors are actually too wide compared to the bay itself. That I will del with shortly.

[LorenSharp]

Something else I'll need to correct is the exhaust, instead of being scalloped they are straight from exhaust to wing edge. and I'll have to make a new crew ladder. the piece printed out at the wrong scale. more like 1/72 scale instead of 1/48. but tat sometimes happens when printing several different parts at once. but overall the quality of this kit is top notch. Falling somewhere between A Koster or Aeroclub and a Dynavector kit.

 

[LorenSharp]

Highlighting where I need to remove the elevons and braking flaps.

After cleaning up the openings and thinning the plastic enough to mate the resin and separating the flaps.

After the CA cement set I masked off the edges and applied filler. I'll let these dry then sand down. Then I'll start working on the interior and prepping it for lighting work.

[LorenSharp]

Though this isn't a big update, a lot has been done and accomplished. After letting the filler dry and I sanded everything down, Something didn't look quite kosher. On the intakes ,going by my references, there is a serrated  front piece. Now this is represented in the resin part, but its flat. The edge is not only thicker and raised, it also has a significant gap. I would think this is for "trapping" RADAR waves so they won't be reflected back to the receiver. Now had I been smart and caught this before I attached the parts I would have made new updated resin parts. So what to do? Since invention is  Mother especially now that its a necessity I took some .010 this sheet stock and copied the serration then copied it again this time a little bit smaller gluing the two together. 

Once the glue dried I coated the top back about half way with filler. then when that dried I sanded down the edges to give the trapezoidal look. I ground down the original serrations then used a thin bit of strip the raise the new piece up, giving the required gap. 

[LorenSharp]

I also spent several hours sanding down all the edges and thinning down the trailing edges at the back. Once THAT mess was accomplished I cleaned everything up(plastic shaving and dust stick to EVERYTHING) I gave everything a coat of primer to see if anything else needs tending to before proceeding with the interior par

There's a little bit that needs correcting on the exhausts that didn't show up initially. It looks like some minor "Z wobble" . Just needs a little bit more sanding to pass muster.

I'm probably going to make a new nose bay. The instructions mentioned that they made an error on the doors. They're somewhat larger than they should be. And from looking at the images I do have on the nose bay. it appears to be a touch smaller than it should be, but that ok I can gussy it up with better framing and boxes and do dads and whatnot to look properly "busy" . I just got a better battery box for the light set in the mail so I can start the laying out the lights for everything. Slow to get out of the gate but progress IS being made.

[Warwolf]

This will be good!! 

[Alan P]

Another great project

 

Never heard of this kit, what a monster!

[LorenSharp]

It comes from a subsidiary of Click2Detail. It's one of the few 1/48 scale kits they have. Most are 1/72 multi engine jets. Not the cheapest kits out there, but the quality overall  for a vac kit are pretty good.

https://www.titanmodelkits.com/

[LorenSharp]

Moving things along, I did make my corrections to the nose gear. Filling the opening with extra plastic strip and then filled with glazing compound. Then once dried sanded everything down.

Next it 's time to work on the canopy. The kit instructions give a masking sheet pattern to make a framing for the vac canopy glass.

 

[LorenSharp]

The instructions call for the outside frame made from .010" and the interior frame from .040". The first part was easy. .010" is paper thin., but the interior frame on the first try once cut would not bend. Break into several pieces ended up being the outcome. On the next try. I tried something different. I used the thin .010" and  some spray adhesive to create a 3 layered frame. 

The adhesive also works well in attaching the framing.

The clear PETG coated then with Future .

 

[LorenSharp]

I'll add the canopy glass once I get the interior completed before sealing everything up. But before that happens I'll have to make some new parts. 

The kit comes with a rather decent flight deck and etc., but lets see if I can do a bit better. 3-4 days  on the computer and I did a little bit of a redesign.

 

 

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Among the additions, I added better detail on the bulkheads, the hatch in the correct position. and new wonderfully outfitted porta-loo,

more bells and whistles in the cockpit controls, the B-2 now sports the Aces V bang seat, so  pair of those. and the most important addition, 

a nice comfortable folding chaise lawn chair. One of the little tidbits I learned while scrounging for information and research material. During the early bombing missions

that all begin from Whiteman AFB in Missouri and end up with a flying time measured in the days. Which since there are only two crew members can make for long missions.

Now days they are issued a folding light weight hammock. but back then one of the pilots didn't like having to take power naps on a very uncomfortable deck. so using a little initiative

he went to the local Wal-mart and bought a folding chaise lounge chair to sleep on. Not bad for a $7.98 addition to the most powerful bomber ever built. But then if the DOD had done it the purchase  would have run into the high 5 figures. These are now printing, so with luck and all goes ok I'll have another update soon.

 

[basket]

Takin' a chair !

[LorenSharp]

3 minutes ago, basket said:

Takin' a chair !

Make yourself ta home.

[LorenSharp]

Time to see how things are fairing on this overized slab  o'wing.

Working on the addition of the canopy glass get get everything smoothed outa number of coats of filler to et everything to conform. 

I then gave a coat of primer to see what else needs tending to, More work is needed but less than I anticipated.

Before anyone asks , yes the top coat is a light stone gray. there are a number of lighter coloured markings around/along the panel lines that aren't your normal "no step" lines. So as an experiment, I'm painting the light colour first then masking all those once I have any panel lines re-scribed. The paint the normal gunship gray (translation: Primer Gray) making the task easier and using less tape to achieve the same outcome. I hope.

[LorenSharp]

After a try or two getting the cockpit pieces., the flightdeck is pretty much done.

The kits part didn't have a whole lot of detail. Granted you get to see a whole lot when sealed up, but this subject just screams "pull out all the stops"

So I added additional panels and switches, as best I could since a lot of the flightdeck is still pretty much classified, along with the upgraded Aces V bang seats. The seat from what ive found out is kinda nifty. when the seat activates for egress, the head rest pushes the pilot head down, pulls his legs in , makes adjutments to protect the spine from injury. then once it;'s left the aircraft, a spiderweb contraption opens to secure the pilots arms and prevents injury from flailing about.

[LorenSharp]

The back room got some love as well with the addition of computer/equipment, wiring and cabling various panels, then a stand for the microwave(for a pilot favorite.... bomber weenies. YUM!)

OF course after after a repast such as that, the obligatory Internal evacuation containment system, the Pot. not as elegant as what both @Martian and @general melchett have created for their unique builds, but the Air Force bomber breed are tough no nonsense types.

But they do insist that their sleeping arraignments are first cabin. so the "spare no expense, top of the line, straight from the expansive aisles Walmart. a folding lawn chair colour coordinated, naturally. . Now granted it has been upgraded to a light weight hammock that folds up to next to nothing for easier storage, but gotta tell you, where's the fun in that?

[LorenSharp]

Since this area is going to lit, I hope. I redid the instrument panel. I printed out a new one from translucent resin. To keep light from bleeding through, I first painted everything with the exception of the LCD screens, black. then gave the screens a coat of transparent green and painted the rest of the panel and other stuff gray high lighted with black.

then I made a box to hold the LED light, outside painted black, inside  coat of mirror with a hole for the light itself. The desired effect is to have a slight green glow in addition to the regular cabin lighting.

At least thats the plan.

I removed the kit panel from the shroud and replaced it with mine.

 

 

[LorenSharp]

Now that the office is done, more or less for now, the next item, the nose gear bay.

I made aa new one with some extra additions, like electrical panels and such. Instead of molding in the electrical and hydraulic lines I used bits of thread , wire, and various thickness' of solder.

A hole was added also for the wiring for the taxi lights. the everything got a touch of dark wash.

The next section to work on will be the bomb bay and main gear bays which are where I'm at now. I hope to have an update on those soon. Slow and steady as she goes.

[AdrianMF]

Fantastic, as usual. Looking forward to the lights too. 43" span! I will have to mention that to Mrs. MF just to get a reaction

 

Regards,

Adrian

[LorenSharp]

5 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Fantastic, as usual. Looking forward to the lights too. 43" span! I will have to mention that to Mrs. MF just to get a reaction

 

Regards,

Adrian

Make sure you're wearing the proper protective head gear when you do Adrian.

Oh and remember....... DUCK!

[Planebuilder62]

Er Loren

Have you checked to see how far the shroud intrudes back into the cockpit? The Testors kit and pictures I have seen show the instrument panel recessed a long way under the shroud.

regards Toby