Here’s a new one I’ll bet, scratch building Americas largest nuclear weapon of the times, the Mark 17 Hydrogen bomb. After almost completing the Monogram 1/72 B-36H bomber I decided to replace the conventional bomb configuration with the weapon that it really carried, the Mark 17 Nuclear weapon. A little research revealed some scary facts. The Mark 17 Nuclear weapon weighed in at 21 tons and was 24’ long and 5’ in diameter and had a yield of 10-15 megatons. A bit of measuring matched the scale diameter to that of a marking pen. Cut to length the nose was fabricated with body filler and turned down to scale. Fins were fabricated from wood. Decals were added from various kits. The one I liked was “loaded”. The compression rings were fabricated from wire and pre-painted. Everything is tied from the top. A little fabrication completed the model as it should be.
Not a big project but a fun one. The research was the interesting part and then figuring out the scale. It did nicely finish out the Peacemaker, (strange name for a carrier of mass destruction.) [:|]
Yep! That looks better than the conventional bomb load [Y]. I seen the one that was on display at Wright Pat and the size of that beast is awesome. There was a company that made various 1/72 nukes in resin, but they were always out of stock. I would like to see Hasegawa come out with a nuclear weapons set.
Hey TB. In answer to your question about fitting in a BUFF (B-52) I just read a bit more about it. Evidently the B-36 was the only carrier of the Mark 17. They were discontinued before the B-52 was in service. By then Thermonuclear weapons had been reduced in size. They made 200 Mark 17s. Scary huh!
Max
PS–That was a funny movie with Slim Pickens riding the Nuke! LOL, Oh, and there was also a Peacemaker ballistic missle to blow up non-believers with multiple warheads.
I was in SAC during the Cold War. The biggest bomb loaded in B-52’s was the newer B-53 which was about half the size and weight of this bomb, but almost the same yield at 9 megatons. It was a specialized bunker buster and not normally loaded. Typical nuclear load for alert was the B-61 in racks of four. Sub-megaton in yield, but they weighed no more than a typical iron bomb, so you could load a bunch if you wanted and sprinkle them liberally about. The B-61, also produced in a streamlined package for underwing carry by tactical fighters, was pretty much the work-horse of the nuclear arsenal.
Good report Liegghio, I find this stuff facinating (and all scary). I have a 1/72 B-47 model that I also added nukes but only with my speculation which was all wrong. I need to do some reasearch and get that one straightend out. The USAF air museum in Dayton has dozens of nukes that I found most interesting.
Just for fun a photo of me with the GBU-43/B MOAB - Massive Ordinance Air Blast Bomb or more colourfully the Mother of All Bombs at the USAF Ordinance Museum near Pensicola Florida…
As I understand this sucka so big it won’t fit in any bomber- it and the pallot are slid off the back ramp of a C-130… [:|]
Hey Bruce, tell me more about motorcycling, I see your picture shows one of my favorite sports also.
Max
PS–I’ve been trying to figure the yield (I always liked that term) of the 1/72 Mark 17. If it is 1/72 of 15 megatons it would be only 208.3 Kilotons. Am I figuring this right? That sounds to high, maybe it would be based on weight---- Help, lol
Are you interested in motorcycle racing, or do you mean motorcycling in general? Personally, I rode streetbikes for 20 years, then got hooked on trackdays. That picture you see is me at Palm Beach International Raceway in West Palm Beach, Florida. About month after that picture I crashed at Homestead Raceway and broke my colarbone and wrist. After that, I hung up the leathers, and haven’t been back on a bike since.
Just wondered, I’m 73 and getting too old for such things. I did ride a national vintage cross country almost two years ago which we called “The Last Great Race” and survived. I have built several 1/1 competition motorcycles as you would in modeling with lots of details. Same mindset I guess. I even have one hanging in the house along with my favorite models. I’ve been posting my 1/1 motorcycle projects on the Strictly Hodaka site/Forum. Anyway, Back to modeling!
Yes, motorcycles are cool also! That was at Topeka Kansas Raceway about 25 years ago. The modified RZ-350 was a hoot to ride! Being a modeler you might like the current 1/1 project on the above website. Talk about scratch build, almost everthing has been modified. It’s called the Day One Project by Hodakamax of course. Its documented from day one as we do models on this site.
Anyway, Back to modeling!