Revell USA has re-issued this kit for any B36 enthusiasts out there. I would be curious to see if the decal scheme has changed at all. And if is the same molding of the Revell Germany kit.
Its an RB-36H. Squadron has it for $33 bucks which is quite cheap for this kit.
Picked up the B-36 at my LHS a couple of weeks ago for around $36. It’s sitting in my stash for a winter build when I am trapped indoors (Chicago in the winter, yay). I’ve always liked the look of this plane.
I got mine a while ago. I plan to backdate it- how far back is still up in the air.
The only issue I found with it is the decals. My first B-36 was the Revell Germany re-release, which included full wing-walk decals. This re-release is the Monogram kit, the difference being the wing-walk decals are absent.
Still, for thirty bucks? Who’s complaining?
Thirty bucks! I got given a Moonogram re-release (without the wing walk decals) for Christmas, about 10 years ago. Cost over £30 even then! Still in the stash.
At $US30 a go, a what-if nuclear-powered B-36Z Zwilling would be a distinct possibility…
Cheers,
Chris.
Hey Lucian, How are you?
That stinks if the wing walk decals are gone. They are really sharp looking. If you recall I had a paint problem last time I built the Revell DE kit and they sent me a new sheet of decals. Its still stripped ready for new paint, and I picked up another Revell DE version on EBAY for quite a bargain some time ago. I don’t have a big stash maybe ten kits and that is one I want in there.
It poses a display problem for sure. I have it hanging vertically on two hooks on a wall.
Love that plane.
Peace
Chris A B-36Z boy that would be huge 12 engines and a 6 ft wing span I would love to see it.
Or, you could do the NB-36H, which did fly with an active nuclear reactor in the bomb bay.
Yes, I know, and much fun they had with it - not! The point is that the reactor on the NB-36Z would actually power the aircraft through a system of heat exchangers and gas turbines. It would be located in a pod underneath the central wing. Maybe facilities for parasite F-100s, too.
Cheers,
Chris.
OK, you sold me, get started, Chris.[:)]
Just to make display easier, you could put the reactor on a short wing section that is hinged to the wing tips of the 36’s, like they proposed to do with the fighters to increase their range. In the 50’s it seemed like anything was possible.
Oh boy, is the guy at my LHS going to be pissed !
He has had the Revell Kit sitting on the top shelf for about 2 years now- with an AU$120 price tag on it. Wonder what his break even price is ?
I would look up at it and think “no-one is ever going to pay that much” I picked up mine on e-bay for $30 + another 30 for shipping. And I was buying them from the 'States and then re-selling them in Oz for a profit. Not any more I guess.
I’ve built the first, and last I’ll ever build, of this kit about 10 years ago. Once you get past the WOW factor, there are so many things about it that are wrong that it cannot become an accurate kit of anything without a great deal of work.
I have not bought, examined much less built the various Minicraft 144 versions, but that is what I would try if ever again.
The engine intakes are all wrong, but a night session with needle files makes them at least look right.
The wing/fuse join is all wrong- the wings shoulders should just about touch across the top- on the model there’s a good couple of feet between, which really stood out. I fixed it, without putty, because the plastic is thick and a general reshape with sanding blocks came out ok.
The bombays as designed are for the RB-36, but that’s ok if you want one.
The spinner/prop assembly is really poorly designed, and getting rid of the seam that runs from base of blade to… is hard.
The guns “work” which means big gaps.
Six bottles of alclad later…
Not having no step lines is not good; they curve up and down and around the engines every which way.
I cannot in any way recommend this kit. Take the $ 40 and buy the hardcover of “Magnesium Overcast” which is the best aircraft book I own, and is far more redeeming.
What version of the B-36 do they use in Stragetic Air Command?
It is true that the Air Force did fly with an active reator, the aircraft was not powered by that reactor. It was used to evaluate the amount of shielding needed to protect the crew (a lot!). It would have been interesting to see the scrambling around to clean up the nuclear spill in case of a crash. The NB-36:
Two of the engines:
This is an artist’s conception of another nuke A/C with the crew flying in the tail in a detachable escape plane. What were these guys thinking?
Whenever the NB-36 flew, it was supported by several chase planes, including one filled with team of paratroops. If the NB-36 crashed, their job was to jump and secure the site. Talk about a short-straw detail!
Cheers,
Chris.
You’ve got that right, Chris. I deal with radioactive contamination every day, (it’s my calling I guess). I will tell you that I wouldn’t want to be any of those troopers jumping into an area where nuclear fuel has spewed over the landscape. Let some technicians go in first so it can be located and identified. Then just stay away from it. The vessels containing the fuel are extremely strong and probably wouldn’t burst, but the peripheral equipment attached to it is where you’d have problems.
The B36-D, with the fictional number 5734. Look for Enos Slaughter and Johnny Pesky in the opening scene.
More important- the C-124 shots, B-47 and ramps at Carswell and McDill. No footage from Ramey in PR.
Thanks.
I remember the 124s comming into Dover every so often. When they taxied out someone would have to sit on top of the ship, I’m presumming to watch for area clearance.
Yes that was one of the flight engineers- the “scanner”. You can catch him in the movie right at the end of the -124 sequence. The nav dome opened up.
While I was looking for glue and putty at my LHS, they had the RB-36 peacemaker from monogram, level 3 kit. It was only 36.97, I’ll post pictures of the box later.
FMM, if you look down the thread you’ll see, I think, it does not have wing walk line details. If you’ve ever built this, it aint a BUFF with big ole slabby wings, although the lines on the tails are funky on that one, and those B-36 lines curve up and down and squiggle all over. It probably would be a good project for a computer/printer but beyond me freehand.
Just a warning.