At long last we have another H-4 Hughes Flying Boat update (aka, “Spruce Goose”), and it’s a decent size one. I had some time, and made good use of it. Here goes!
(As always, be warned- the photos are large.)
First off, here’s a photo of what my scratchbuilt elevators look like of the inside. The inner wooden “plate” is used to preserve the shape, whereas the ribs are the actual supporting details.
To get a relable connection to the spar, I rigged up a tab and slot system at three points- the middle and the two ends. The middle is the most important, as that part needs to be as flush to the spar as possible so the wings don’t sag.
Finally- One engine nacelle is glued up and assembled, complete with internal electric motor. Despite their small appearance, these nacelles are (comparitively) gigantic. Here’s a AA battery size comparison. (The green stuff is putty that’s yet to be sanded.)
Your ingenuity amazes me! I would not have thought to use a metal shelf bracket for a spar, but then again, I hjave never built anything large enough that styrene wouldn’t work! Your project (it’s WAY beyond a mundane build!) is fascinating, I’ll be waiting for the next update, keep up the outstanding work!
Mike, you’re young right? And you still live at home? Forgive me if I’m wrong, but what do your folks think of this monster? I know I’m impressed! That Nacelle is AWESOME! You are one of the premeir builders here at FSM, great work!
Thank you Bruce, Darwin, Brian, and RadMax. The comments are appreciated.
The idea to use shelving stock as a wing spar came completly by accident. For the longest time I had no idea what I was going to use. My biggest problem was my desire to use a one-piece spar (I was determined NOT to have a joint that would potentially fail right in the middle of the wing!), but also be able to get the correct diheadral on the wings. I was sitting at my workbench one night when I saw (amongst a large pile of junk) this metal piece poking up from the middle of it. It was the correct lenght, it was strong, and had those handy-dandy slots for some plastic tabs. Luckily the wing is thick enough to conceal it easily. Thus, one problem down, only about 1,456 left to go! (Slight exagguation)
As for my parent’s opinion- it is mixed. On the one hand they support what I’m doing (I think…). But on the other hand, they also just see a bad model airplane that cost too much, was too big, something I spend too much time working on, with no place to put it once it’s finished. So, pretty much the same exact thing that happened with the real thing! [(-D] Generally they’re fine with it. So long as they don’t have to look at it! [}:)]
“Premire builders here at FSM…” Hm. I don’t see myself as one of the best builders here, but thank you for that.
Very soon I should be able to glue the horizontal tail surfaces to the fuselage. Then it’s much more filling and sanding.
Mike, I’d definately call you a premeir builder. Who else deals with giant kits like you do? The sheer size is impressive enough, but you seem to take it to the next level. The scratchbuilt pieces are phenomemal, the difficult pieces seem to fit and look good together. Your skill is enviable. Well done, sir!
Thank you Wilbur. I say keep going on your B-36. It can be completed into an awesome model with a little bit of work. My recommendation on painting would be to paint the whole thing aluminum, then skin the presserized sections with either Bare-Metal Foil, or some type of Alclad (never used that stuff, though). It’s what I did on mine, and the results were a remarkably easy and convincing natrural metal finish.
Good luck!
RadMax8- “The difficult pieces (ie, ALL of them!) seem to fit and look good together…” Really? Well, if they do, it’s only as a result of a LOT of hard work. So far, building (including all of the scratchbuild interior) and sanding have each taken about 50% of this project so far. It’s normal for me to spend three or four days preparing a part for gluing, spent 30 minutes actually gluing it, then spend the next week or two (or three, or four…) puttying, sanding, priming, and repeating. This kit only had about 14 pieces to begin with, but it’s still taking this long.
I may be better than average in contructing large kits, but admittedly I need to work on my finishing. I’ve seen many individuals on this site that, in my opinion, build a much better finished example than I could. I’m not just talking about people like Swanny or Pixilater, either.
I guess it just goes to show you that no matter how good you are, or appear to be, there is ALWAYS something left to learn. Thanks for comments, though! [;)][tup]
Hi Lucien, My B36 is painted. I used MM jet exhaust mixed with steel for the magnesium and aluminum for the body. the bright chrome front and tail is Testors 1290 chrome. I made a mistake in applying 2 coats of Tamiya clear yellow on the magnesium instead of 1 coat. Its too yellow and too late, so I’m just finishing it.
I was also told by a B36 Guy that they got quite weatherd particularly in the Texas sun. So I may just weather it a little more than I would have liked to in order to tone down the yellow. I’ll post pics when I’m done. Most of the plane is decaled.
Like all models and modelers If I built this one again and may, I could get it perfect the second time around
Its actually not all that bad in person. I don’t know how it will look in film photographs.
