DaveJL Posted July 25 Posted July 25 Hello all, I hadn't planned on entering this GB but having seen images and videos online of the B-1B at RIAT this year, I pulled this one from the stash! Will be marked as 86-0129 'Black Widow' of the 34th Bomb Squadron 'Thunderbirds.' I'll be building this one completely OOB (gasp!) with the wheels up and bomb doors closed. A little boring I know but sure . Dave 14
Specter1075 Posted July 25 Posted July 25 It's a very good kit! You'll have fun with it. Closed up isn't boring at all! You can really appreciate the lines that way. 2
Blue Monday Posted July 25 Posted July 25 I have this one in the stash too. I'm looking forward to seeing how you get on with this build. From what I have read, it goes together quite well. Good luck with your build. The real thing is a phenomenal piece of engineering and yet has gorgeous lines. BM.
DaveJL Posted July 29 Author Posted July 29 Thanks all! I made a start over the last couple of evenings. Firstly, the cockpit was painted and fitted. Decals for the instruments went down nicely. Fuselage halves: Academy have nicely replicated all the various lumps on top of the fuselage. The bomb and undercarriage doors fitted well - the one piece option is most welcome here Fuselage was then closed up. The fit was excellent with just a seam line to tidy up along the forward joins. Wings are just set on to give me an idea of what way I want to pose them; swept fully or extended .The single piece tail section is very nice indeed, hats off to Academy here. If you have a spare couple of hours, have a look at this fantastic walk around of none other than the jet I'm replicating! Of note is the 'dirty grey' radome and the yellow tint to the cockpit windows. Will hopefully get the seams tidied tomorrow before popping on the radome and a few other bits. Not much to this one . Dave 12
DaveJL Posted July 30 Author Posted July 30 More progress today and I must say I'm enjoying this little kit! Firstly, I sprayed the inside of the canopy with Tamiya clear yellow. Two thin coats: While that was drying I tided up the seam lines. Nothing major, just a little re-scribing to be done. I then popped on the radome, SMCS 'whiskers', a couple of antenna and finally the dried canopy and supplied masks. The fit all round is excellent. I think a little glue seeped from the canopy edging onto the clear parts though . Hopefully wont be too noticeable. Still not fully decided on which way to pose the wings: For space saving, I'm thinking fully swept . Academy provide different wing seals for either option which is another nice addition. Next job is to assemble and fit the engine nacelles then we're ready for paint. More soon. Dave 14
Marklo Posted July 30 Posted July 30 Looking good. For that gold foil look I let a jar of TAmiya antique gold settle and separate then use the ‘clear’ bit. 1
DaveJL Posted August 1 Author Posted August 1 Thanks all! It's a lovely little kit, much like the B-52H I built a couple of years ago. Very much looking forward to the B-2 when it's released 1
DaveJL Posted August 3 Author Posted August 3 More done over the weekend and we're ready for primer. I popped on the upper wing seals - a small dab of PPP was needed just to tidy up the joins. The engine nacelles were assembled and fitted also. Wings will be displayed like so: And popped onto the stand: 3mm brass rod drilled into a mahogany base. I've a nice patch to finish off the display . Will hopefully get a some primer and a pre-shade done this week. More soon. Dave 14
DaveJL Posted August 12 Author Posted August 12 Apologies in advance for the pun, but this one has just flown together since the last update! Primed, polished and pre-shaded then on with the paint. Overall FS36118 Gunship Grey, with some panels highlighted with lighter shades of grey. The wing root/lex panels were sprayed Extra Dark Sea Grey and the radome was sprayed Dark Gunship Grey. GPS domes on the top of the fuselage were painted Tamiya XF-57. The formation lights and aft cockpit windows were also painted. Some of the paints used: The Sniper pod, stabilators and exhausts were also painted. No decals needed for any of these so they'll just be given a light wash and a flat coat. Will give the model a final polish back with some 12000 micro mesh then we're ready for gloss and decals More soon. Dave 14
DaveJL Posted August 20 Author Posted August 20 Swift progress. After a few coats of gloss, the decals went on a couple of days ago without any issues. One thing I would suggest is cutting out centre part from the wing walkways. Just a huge bit of clear decal, and we know the problems that would cause Will get a light panel wash and some weathering done tomorrow all being well. More soon. Dave 11
DaveJL Posted August 24 Author Posted August 24 Calling this one done. I just sort of tore through it the last couple of days. Panel wash went on and some weathering, inspiration of which was taken from the below images: https://www.super-hobby.co.uk/zdjecia/3/7/9/58636_1706094194855.jpg The latter is displayed as a link as it's an image from a book... copyright and all that . Anyway, here we go: Next to the B-52H I built a couple of years ago: A really fun and enjoyable build. Thanks as always to those who commented/followed. I'm very much looking forward to Academy's B-2 when it his the shelves! More pictures in RFI: Cheers Dave 13
ajmm Posted October 2 Posted October 2 Gah that’s so cool!! What a beautiful aircraft and what a stunning model.
dnl42 Posted October 3 Posted October 3 That looks excellent! I've only been able to keep it out of my stash because I have enough way-too-large aircraft in the pile.
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