Jump to content

Italeri /AMT XB-70A Valkyrie


Recommended Posts

QK chaps , the kit parts , if left produce a 'orrible great gap between the outer elevon and the wing tip elevon which doesn't exist on the real aircraft,

see here, the original kit parts,

P1050473.jpg

The elevon is also slightly wider so that it covers the hinge joint so as not to disturb the airflow at high Mach,

Tis modified thus, (the main wing elevons have yet to be filled and blended by the way),

P1050472.jpg

Plastic damn and blast man ....slackers !!!, send a letter to your local MP and if he/she/it can take his/her/its snout out of the public trough for two minutes then they just might be able to sort something out for you !!better stiill inform Mandelson of their sheer incompetence, he's keen on the Royal Mail.. :analintruder: I know I would !!!

Canopy glazing is OK when fitted but does take a fair bit of filler, ( Mr Hobby in this case ) to blend well.

Thanks for putting young Keef on the straight and narra'....I really will have to him put on a fizza if he doesn't get with the programme !! :tease:

Keef old fella the AMT was actually a kind of very light grey, ( the wing tip here has been primed white)...

Smiffy thanks, this one's going to be modelled as a 'what-if', probably in a mix of Alclad natural metals, ( mainly Duralumin, magnesium and dull aluminium) with SAC sash and badges, not sure which squadron yet , there's a lot to choose from , possibly a disbanded B-36 or early B-52 unit.

The other one I'm building along side will be all white , probably without the NASA logos ( as everyone whose done one of these seems to have made this version !).

I will probably stick to Halfords white primer covered with Tamiya gloss white, ( bucket loads) though it would be possible to use Halfords Appliance white as long as you sanded between coats, then several applications of Klear. I have found this to work well on my V-bombers ....no sign of yellowing at all !!

I like to leave various panel sections primer white as it makes for a nice contrast from the app white, to break up the monotony of the overall white finish... ( plus a bit of subtle weathering, especially underneath the engine bays)...

:cheers:

Melchie

Edited by general melchett
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keef old fella the AMT was actually a kind of very light grey, ( the wing tip here has been primed white)...

My first issue one was white. Scarily white. As white as a very scary white thing....!!!

Looking forward to seeing a silver one. Will make a change from white.......!! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah right, never realised that they made their kits in white plastic...only ever had insipid light grey.... :hmmm:

Me too - apart from that very early Valkyrie. Maybe it had escaped from the factory when they weren't looking!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Beg to report continued absence of relief column General! Damn Royal Mail ain't delivered yet by God!!

Probably get a card through the door tomorrow saying they tried to deliver but no one home, seems to be a bit prevalent that one just now!

Of course, there HAS been someone home but what's the point in complaining eh??

Oh, by the by, has anyone heard of the Royal Mails latest little oops here in Edinburgh?

Apparently, as reported in our local paper a couple of weeks ago, a surprise audit at there Sighthill depot found a "trailer" filled with approx. 20,000 yes, 20,000 letters hidden round the back!!

When questioned by said local paper the RM said "This matter is being treated as an internal issue", yeah right!!

Joe Bloggs the postie gets taken to court if he's got 20 letters in his house but the nutters that caused this get off with it eh??

Makes yer sick. Funny thing is tho' that I've not seen a whisper about it on the telly news, wonder why hhmmm!!

Anyhoo, sterling stuff General, I'm really learning a lot from this one. Keep it up Sir! And, in case I've not said it before, many thanks for posting this!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will probably stick to Halfords white primer covered with Tamiya gloss white, ( bucket loads) though it would be possible to use Halfords Appliance white as long as you sanded between coats, then several applications of Klear. I have found this to work well on my V-bombers ....no sign of yellowing at all !!

I like to leave various panel sections primer white as it makes for a nice contrast from the app white, to break up the monotony of the overall white finish... ( plus a bit of subtle weathering, especially underneath the engine bays)...

Ahhh, Halfords appliance white.

I've only tried using that once (to paint the body of a Volvo touring car). Had a devil of a time trying to get anything close to a smooth finish.

Had to resort to rubbing it back, using a mix of fine wet 'n' dry and T-cut...seemed to take forever and it's making my finger tips sore again, just thinking about it. :o

I'm a bit of a die hard enamel user, but have been experimenting with acrylics (with mixed results). I'm pretty sure the Humbrol stuff will go all yellow on me, hence the question.

Smiffy thanks, this one's going to be modelled as a 'what-if', probably in a mix of Alclad natural metals, ( mainly Duralumin, magnesium and dull aluminium) with SAC sash and badges, not sure which squadron yet , there's a lot to choose from , possibly a disbanded B-36 or early B-52 unit.

Mmmmm........yummy. B)

You should know, this thread is seriously making me consider getting one of these (enormous) buggers. :D

Keep up the great work. :thumbsup2:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well,

My XB-70 arrived last week.

So much for my protestations of "no room"

Italeri owes the General a commissions payment I think.

So how many bottles of xtracrlix white will this take wonder??

"Halfords Appliance white not being readily available round here)

Thanks for the inspiration Sir!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You lucky sod!!

What's this 'no room'?

There's ALWAYS room Sir!!

Move the other half out to the garden shed, clear out all her wardrobes full of those things--errr--wotcha call them---clothes, that's it and you'll have bags of room!!

Oh and it'll be nice and quiet too :wicked:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This thread's been making me want one on & off... but where would I put it? I've got enough models in that category already, without adding another one.

Keep up the good work General Sir. Hopefully see this at Telford?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Halfords Appliance white not being readily available round here)

On one of the car model forums I frequent, guys from your neck of the woods use car sprays from 'Canadian Tyre' (or is it tire??!!) stores, which are apparently very similar to our Halfords stuff.

And talking of Halfords, I've never got on well with Appliance white either (& I remember a few years back there was a bad batch of it released which may have led to Smiffy's problems), & I prefer to use Vauxhall Glacier white, which is one of the whiter whites in the range!

All this talk of white is making me feel pale......!!! :wacko:

Keef

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Sir, permission to speak freely you don't want WHITE no no no you want SEA CAMO.. just think of the beastie in Black & three tone camo

:frantic::frantic::pilot: I'll get my :coat: & report to the guard room.

Andy.

Hope to see one st Sutton :worthy:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Morning chaps, ( well it is over here AV8!!), thanks for comments,

Hatchet this is a very good point as most of the under side of the beast was taken up with the 'six pack' engine arrangement.The idea was to use small high yield thermonuclear weapons carried in two long narrow bays in the forward end of the under belly.( I have no idea at the moment how many weapons were to be carried but presumably it wouldn't have needed many to do the job), there was even talk of fitting Skybolt or air launched Posiedon !!.Everything had to be carried internally of course and I can't imagine what sort of weapons release mechanism would have been needed at the sort of speeds the Valkyrie was intended to operate at, ( something similar to the YF-12's would have been needed to lower the weapon into the airstream prior to launch/drop).

This shows the area mentioned....

P1050480-1-1-1.jpg

Sorry to hear of your woe's with RM Plastic, can't say I've really had much hassle from them but you do hear the odd horror story................................( it would have been quicker cycling across to Italy and picking one up from the factory !!! :analintruder: )

Smiffy, the temperature and how long you shake the rattle can are very important with this stuff, if you don't shake it half to death then you end up with a bobbling effect that takes a lot of effort to smooth out.It has got to be warm( immerse in hot water or sit it in the airing cupboard before use like I do , explain to your partner that it isn't likely to explode and ruin all her hard fought for clothes!!!). When it comes to spraying it you have got to be a brave soldier and pretty well 'flood' it onto the model, difficult because it's very easy to get runs but with practice you know how much to do, don't spray to quickly over the area as it will dry too quickly and form 'orange peel' , on the other hand if you hover over one area too long you will get a run.....it's all practice , but the result can be a beautiful, smooth,glossy finish. I finish off with a hairdryer to accelerate the drying time.

AV8 hope you enjoy the beast, it's spectacular when finished...................( TIP...don't glue the wing tips on, helps with storage and transporting.They are a tight fit and will stay put when fitted...) :smartass:

It will be at Telford Mike, maybe Sutton before hand, along with the Rapier and Thunderwarrior for companionship .... :kissing2: and if I'm lucky, the second Valkyrie as the all white AV-1...

Keef anything is worth a try, airbrushing being the best option obviously but with something this huge it can be a problem keeping the finish consistant....but I'm going to have to do that with the Alclad any way, hence the various panel shades....helps break it all up into bite size chunks ..as it were,

Thanks all, :cheers:

Das General.....

Edited by general melchett
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Smuts I thought we had been through all this at Cov !! :doh: !.....although I agree it would look nice there would be no need for this scheme at the altitude and speed the B-70 was to have operated at, in fact I doubt seriously that B-70's would have even seen action in SE Asia, ( ala the Hustler, though that did have 3 tone camo drawn up for it at one point though unlike the Valkyrie that could have been used as a tactical aircraft), it just wasn't designed for that kinda war..

But then again ....never say never :whistle:

report to the guard room immediately .....hat on !! :deadhorse:

Cheers Andy, hopefully have them done for Sutton, if I can blag the time off !!

:cheers:

Edited by general melchett
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a bit of a teaser, as a break from all the sanding , filling, sanding , filling !!!!!!!!!!, I couldn't resist starting the F-108 Rapier, .........the B-70 escort fighter , :frantic::whistle: ...Gawd almighty Anigrand models are hard work , ..resin finish like the surface of the moon !!! :jump_fire: going to take out shares in 'wet and dry'..... carry on where I left off ....sanding, filling, sanding, fill............ :wacko:

Just rescribed and loose fitted the parts for your edification... ( new engine nozzles are from 1/48th Academy MiG 29 as kit parts are too small) !!!...I'm doing it as a re-engined operational aircraft, possibly using the General Electric GE-4 , the 50,000 lbs thrust engine slated for use with the Boeing 2707 SST....

P1050477.jpg

P1050479.jpg

Edited by general melchett
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Smiffy, the temperature and how long you shake the rattle can are very important with this stuff, if you don't shake it half to death then you end up with a bobbling effect that takes a lot of effort to smooth out.

Check...shook for about a minute and an 'arf, sah. :)

It has got to be warm( immerse in hot water or sit it in the airing cupboard before use like I do , explain to your partner that it isn't likely to explode and ruin all her hard fought forclothes!!!).

Check...well not the airing cupboard, but I did stand it in a pot of hot water, sah. :)

When it comes to spraying it you have got to be a brave soldier and pretty well 'flood' it onto the model, difficult because it's very easy to get runs but with practice you know how much to do, don't spray to quickly over the area as it will dry too quickly and form 'orange peel' , on the other hand if you hover over one area too long you will get a run.....it's all practice , but the result can be a beautiful, smooth,glossy finish. I finish off with a hairdryer to accelerate the drying time.

Ahhhh...errmmm... :unsure: Tamiya gloss white you say?.

Sounds good, think I'll try that. :winkgrin:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Avro730_2.jpg

I've just noticed, the Avro 730 has a lot of features which are simular to the Concorde. I wonder if they based it on the Avro 730?

On another note - M-m-must g-g-get....VALKYRIE!!! M-m-must g-g-get......VALKYRIE!!! :hypnotised: It's just the money, so hard (and boring) for me to get, and i've got a list of 50 other aircraft to get first...ARGH!!! :crying:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice David , is that the re-issue with undercarriage or did you scratchbuild the parts yourself ?

I'm building up to scratchbuilding a 1/72nd scale one next year, (got the Handley Page 100 to finish first)...space and time permitting !!! though I'm mighty tempted to get one of these before they are all gone....

Nakajima....the Valkyries will get cheaper as time goes on, keep an eye on Ebay and just grab one and go for it......................expand your horizons grasshopper !! :thumbsup:

Edited by general melchett
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Beg to report Mon General zat the undercarriage wuz made by my our fair 'ands. On the go at the moment 2 Vulcans (Welsh and Anigrand) and two Anigrand Victors. Several tins of appliance white in the stash!!

Sous Lieutenant David

Link to comment
Share on other sites

..... there would be no need for this scheme at the altitude and speed the B-70 was to have operated at, in fact I doubt seriously that B-70's would have even seen action in SE Asia, ( ala the Hustler, though that did have 3 tone camo drawn up for it at one point though unlike the Valkyrie that could have been used as a tactical aircraft), it just wasn't designed for that kinda war..

Ah, but General - that's wot they said about the V-bombers when they painted them white! Imagine a B-70 pulling 4g on the final turn on run in to target at 100ft before pulling up into a LABS delivery manouver!! (OK, I know the wings would probably come off......!!)

That F-108 looks fantastic!!

Keef

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...