jeaton01
Well-known member
I've been slowly working on this one since December, it's definitely not a candidate for MMM.
The B-47 has always been one of those airplanes that has always been one of my favorites, both elegant in appearance and one of the major milestones in the history of aircraft design. Over 1500 were built, and besides politics it is what made the Air Force give up on the YB-49, since it had the same range and was 100 mph faster. I am using the Pavla resin cockpit and engine sets, which also provide a vacuform canopy. The kit canopy has major coke bottle disease. The decals are crocodiled from the years the kit has been in my stash, so aftermarket decals are also being used.
I have done some prep work on it, cutting the flaps free from the wings so they can be displayed extended as B-47's often had them on the ground. The landing gear bays have been installed in one fuselage half, and the bomb bay doors are also installed in the closed position to get the best fit possible and because there is no detail in it.. The main cockpit resin part has been cut to fit, which was mostly done with my band saw and the engine fronts and exhausts are stuck to the nacelles, but there will be some work getting them faired in well, the sizes are close but not quite the right match to the plastic.
I am using a 3d printed flap set which has been rather interesting. A lot of cutting was necessary for the wings as the 3d set replaces the flaps. The lower wing skins get the flap areas cut out which was a little interesting because Hasegawa missed the outline in some spots, and also the trailing edge of the upper wing gets some trimming because the flaps make up some of the upper trailing edge. As you can see all the ribs and stringers in the exposed part of the wing are also supplied, and were very fragile, making clean-up interesting, as well as fitting.
The Pavla engine parts were not much of an improvement over the Hasegawa parts, I won't use those if I build another B-47 as the Hasegawa parts are pretty good. The cockpit is a big improvement, however getting it fit correctly was difficult. Not a lot will be seen through the small cockpit opening, but enough to be worth it, especially if you want to have the crew door open as Hasegawa just left a big open space there.
The B-47 has always been one of those airplanes that has always been one of my favorites, both elegant in appearance and one of the major milestones in the history of aircraft design. Over 1500 were built, and besides politics it is what made the Air Force give up on the YB-49, since it had the same range and was 100 mph faster. I am using the Pavla resin cockpit and engine sets, which also provide a vacuform canopy. The kit canopy has major coke bottle disease. The decals are crocodiled from the years the kit has been in my stash, so aftermarket decals are also being used.
I have done some prep work on it, cutting the flaps free from the wings so they can be displayed extended as B-47's often had them on the ground. The landing gear bays have been installed in one fuselage half, and the bomb bay doors are also installed in the closed position to get the best fit possible and because there is no detail in it.. The main cockpit resin part has been cut to fit, which was mostly done with my band saw and the engine fronts and exhausts are stuck to the nacelles, but there will be some work getting them faired in well, the sizes are close but not quite the right match to the plastic.
I am using a 3d printed flap set which has been rather interesting. A lot of cutting was necessary for the wings as the 3d set replaces the flaps. The lower wing skins get the flap areas cut out which was a little interesting because Hasegawa missed the outline in some spots, and also the trailing edge of the upper wing gets some trimming because the flaps make up some of the upper trailing edge. As you can see all the ribs and stringers in the exposed part of the wing are also supplied, and were very fragile, making clean-up interesting, as well as fitting.
The Pavla engine parts were not much of an improvement over the Hasegawa parts, I won't use those if I build another B-47 as the Hasegawa parts are pretty good. The cockpit is a big improvement, however getting it fit correctly was difficult. Not a lot will be seen through the small cockpit opening, but enough to be worth it, especially if you want to have the crew door open as Hasegawa just left a big open space there.
looking forward to this
