B-29 Starts to Take Shape

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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I’ve finally gotten the fuselage & wings together on this “Styrene Colossus.” I glued the fuselage & wing halves with Tenax, moving at the blinding speed of about one inch at a time. The fit was great. I only needed a touch of CA on the bottom of the rear fuselage for a hairline gap. The turret & sighting fairings also needed a touch, and the compound curves were a beast to sand & polish. I’ve done the fairings on the lower fuselage, just have the upper left to do (Got to take a break sometime !) The raised panel lines that got sanded were replaced by drawing the edge (not point) of a # 11 blade. It leaves a raised line on each side of the slice. I don’t think it will be noticible.


Here’s a shot of the gear & bay doors & retractors. The engines are nice for one-piece. The main gear were difficult to clean up. The cowling on the left has been “re-riveted,” as these really show on the actual AC.

The gear bays are also nicely molded. They’re almost as crisp as resin !

Well, I may have to make a trip to Home Depot to “Get a Wagner” to prime this beast. [(-D]

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Looking Great!![tup] Those “old” Monogram kits are something special. The hardest thing about them is deciding where and how to display them!

Keep the pics and updates coming!

Mark

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lookin’ nice bill!! later.

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Shaping up very nicely. About how many gallons of paint will it take to finish the beast?

Regards, Rick

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Watching this with eager anticipation…

Still no putty yet? [:p]

You’ll fersher have to post a comparison shot showing this beast next to one of your meatballs…

Fade to Black…

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Its looking good so far. It’s a shame all that work you did on the interior won’t be very visible when its finished because you did a great job on it. Can’t wait to see the bird all finished.

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Lookling good! Almost makes me want to drag out the one I started years ago and finsh it! I made two removable panels, one on the left front the other the right gunners section to see added detail. One of these days!

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It sure is taking shape, Pix. I started a B-29 many years ago - it was the old MPC kit, and it’s one of the few kits I have abandoned. Poor fit, poorly molded parts; about all I could salvage was the decals. Glad to see your Superfort looking so good!
Paul

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pix that looks incredible.

joe

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Excellent job, Bill.

I’ve been following this along on the IPMS site and really enjoy your reviews. I love the comment about needing a Wagner! Classic.

Enjoy your modeling…

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Now that is a good looking B-29 taking shape.I built one of those when they first came out in the 80’s.So I can tell you to get it looking right on the natural finish,it is best to get 2 lager cans of sliver and aluimamin spray paint.Spray light coats and let dry of a day on each coat.Digger

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Thank you Mark, saltydog, Rick, BlackWolf, pingtang, melgyver, Paul, fightnjoe, Foster, & diggeraone !

Mark - I know what you mean about this kit being called “old.” I was 22 when it was released ! In some ways, they still hold their own with today’s kits.

Rick - I think I have enough paint for the job. [;)]

I also got a couple extra bottles of Tenax, just to make sure !

BlackWolf - just minor gaps on the lower rear fuselage & sides of the engine nacelles. I trimmed the wingspars, and The wing/fuselage joint needs a little tweeking & sanding. A sinkhole in the nosegear leg has been the most challenging fill yet. Yeah, I have a Meatball chosen for the comparison shot !

pingtang - I have several photos of the interior, which I’ll print on photo paper & display with the model. I have a great camera & printer, so it’s difficult to tell that the printed pics are digital.

melgyver - I was a bit hesitant when it came time to close the fuselage, but the pics will ease my mind. I didn’t want to cut it open. Sometimes, I’d rather leave the “treasure” hidden. Knowing that it’s there feels good enough.

Paul - the fit on this one has been great. If you have the room, and love to paint detail, this is a very enjoyable (and challenging) project.

Foster - got a Wagner I can borrow?

diggeraone - I’ll be painting this one with the Alcad paints I posted above. Decyphering which shades to use on different panels has been time-consuming. I have to use many pics of small areas, as pics that show the entire plane don’t show the different shades well enough.

Thanks again, all !

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Pix-- that is one Superfortress!! Err… sorry- couldn’t resist [;)]

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Great job!This thing looks great.Can’t wait to see the finnished plane.I picked up some alclad for mine but I’m still playing with it before I do something that big.I only hope that one of mine turns out as good as yours.

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Thumbs up, Bill!! The beast is taking shape!! That thing is so big, do you work on it in shifts, like the old Boeing employee’s did during assembly? [:D]

Looking good… thanks for the update!!

Take care,
Frank

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She’s a thing of beauty Pix. I take my kit down and blow the dust off of it every now and then. Then I put it back up on the shelf with the tamiya, lancaster, waiting for the day when I have enough skill to make them half as nice as yours. thanks for sharing, as always your work is just so incredible. semper fi, mike

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Congrats on getting those miles of fuselage together so cleanly!
Really looking sharp and crisp.

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Incredible…I can’t imagine putting a natural metal finsh on something that big…I’m still trying to figure out how to use Testors metalizers on 1/24 scale car parts[:P]…I can’t wait to see more pics…keep’em coming… I might learn a little something about applying that Alclad. Thanks again!!

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Looking good! Keep sending, they’re invaluable to someone like me. It’s useful to see how a build should look at each stage

Darren

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Thanks Jeeves, mkee, Frank, yw18mc, Brian, A68Trans-AmMustang, & Albion !

Frank - Isanded the seams panel-by-panel, taking frequent breaks.

yw18mc & Mustang - there’s NOTHING like Alcad. You just need to remove any imperfections from the plastic. Everything will show with this paint. I also recommend using their Gloss Black Primer. It will help with the finest scratches on the model’s surface. Get a small model, refine your seam elimination skills, load the airbrush, and dive in. That’s the only way to learn.

Darren - I tend to do things a little differently. For instance, the inboard side of the inboard engine nacelles will be difficult to paint once the wings are on the fuselage. I’m going to prime, paint, and mask the nacelles prior to joining the wings to the fuselage.

Thanks again, gang ! [:I]