nsmekanik
Member
Many Many moons ago (well maybe not so long :tomato ) I was given an Academy B-377 Stratocruiser by a certain :captain (Bligh)........
It's not really a complex kit but in some ways it sure needs a bit of help, the engines being a major bit of funky something, I'll post pics later, and basically it's a mix of B-29 etc parts, meaning that both the props and wheels are wrong.
The decals as supplied depict 2 aircraft, one being the prototype, and the other Pan Am's Clipper Nightingale, Both in overall Natural metal. This is not something I wanted to do, so after a bit of searching I came across a set of decals done by "Flying Colors" for a BOAC Plane, which were not exactly floating around in abundance, but fortunately Hannants had 2 sets left so I managed to score a set
. The decals will allow one to do any one of 6 planes ordered by BOAC and from what I read up on these decals work quite well. These planes were a dark blue, white, natural metal and.......Boeing grey......now what the @#$% color is Boeing grey? Apparently Model Master Voodoo Grey is an exact match, but guess what, Model Master quit making it, well, long enough ago that finding it would have been out of the question except, guess what :coolio , one of the hobby shops I'm close too was doing a bit of house cleaning and happened to have 2 jars of the stuff :yipee so I gots me one
What was Really cool though, is that an outfit called Cobra Company did an engine prop and wheel set to fix a few of the issues with the kit, BUT, sadly, due to declining health issues, the owner decided to shut down operations. This before I was able to spring for the set. Fortunately though, recently, Mike West of Lone Star Models picked up the Cobra Company line and is dusting things up and re releasing much of it, including the B-377 upgrades in both 1/144 and 1/72.
Soooo....after browsing Ebay and looking longingly at all the (well not that many) rather heavily priced Xutong TU-2's and IL 4's (as the SB's seemed to have disappeared) I decided that as much as I would like to have one for the money I'd rather have the B-377 upgrade :smack and so I sent Mike some money...... :drinks
It's not really a complex kit but in some ways it sure needs a bit of help, the engines being a major bit of funky something, I'll post pics later, and basically it's a mix of B-29 etc parts, meaning that both the props and wheels are wrong.
The decals as supplied depict 2 aircraft, one being the prototype, and the other Pan Am's Clipper Nightingale, Both in overall Natural metal. This is not something I wanted to do, so after a bit of searching I came across a set of decals done by "Flying Colors" for a BOAC Plane, which were not exactly floating around in abundance, but fortunately Hannants had 2 sets left so I managed to score a set
. The decals will allow one to do any one of 6 planes ordered by BOAC and from what I read up on these decals work quite well. These planes were a dark blue, white, natural metal and.......Boeing grey......now what the @#$% color is Boeing grey? Apparently Model Master Voodoo Grey is an exact match, but guess what, Model Master quit making it, well, long enough ago that finding it would have been out of the question except, guess what :coolio , one of the hobby shops I'm close too was doing a bit of house cleaning and happened to have 2 jars of the stuff :yipee so I gots me one What was Really cool though, is that an outfit called Cobra Company did an engine prop and wheel set to fix a few of the issues with the kit, BUT, sadly, due to declining health issues, the owner decided to shut down operations. This before I was able to spring for the set. Fortunately though, recently, Mike West of Lone Star Models picked up the Cobra Company line and is dusting things up and re releasing much of it, including the B-377 upgrades in both 1/144 and 1/72.
Soooo....after browsing Ebay and looking longingly at all the (well not that many) rather heavily priced Xutong TU-2's and IL 4's (as the SB's seemed to have disappeared) I decided that as much as I would like to have one for the money I'd rather have the B-377 upgrade :smack and so I sent Mike some money...... :drinks
Rock on! 
:drinks 
