DBMiller's B-29 "Dave's Dream"

Post by **DBMiller** » Sat Jan 13, 2018 6:21 pm

Here is my Heavy Bomber build for 2018!
I've chosen this old MPC kit (according to the Scale Mates site it is based on the Airfix kit) in 1/72 scale. With some nice decals depicting Dave's Dream, the bomber that dropped a Fat Man type bomb over Bikini Atoll for Operation Crossroads on July 1, 1946.

IMG_0011 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0012 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DavesDream by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Daves_Crew by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DavesDreamColor by Donald Miller, on Flickr

The Fat Man!

1280px-Fat_Man_Assembled_Tinian_1945 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

With a special marking for the mission!

Gilda01_FatManBomb by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Where is dropped.

400px-Bikini_Atoll_Operation_Crossroads.svg by Donald Miller, on Flickr

What it looked like.

Crossroads-Able by Donald Miller, on Flickr

YouTube · Post by **NorthernModeller** » Sat Jan 13, 2018 6:26 pm

Yes, I was too looking forward to the Bomber GB but sadly didnt make the cut. I look forward to seeing this come together

STASH · Post by **Cymru** » Sat Jan 13, 2018 8:17 pm

Yes me too, I had my Lanc all ready, but with all my bench queens and my participation in the 75th Kursk Anniversary GB, I'm all full up!
I'm watching with interest

Post by **ElCapitan** » Sat Jan 13, 2018 8:41 pm

Looking forward to seeing how it goes!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sun Jan 14, 2018 1:47 am

I will watch as well
Really we need to do a bomber build, later in the year perhaps

Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun Jan 14, 2018 10:36 am

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sun Jan 14, 2018 1:47 am I will watch as well
Really we need to do a bomber build, later in the year perhaps

YES YES YES

I have my Airfix B17 all ready - we must do a bomber build

Post by **DBMiller** » Sun Jan 14, 2018 3:52 pm

A tour of the box!
Very simplistic instructions.

IMG_0002 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0003 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0004 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0005 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0006 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

The original decals.

IMG_0001 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0007 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

These are some nasty sprue! THREE sections still connected along one edge and folded together!

IMG_0009 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0010 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0011-2 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

The rest of the box looks like it gave up trying to stay together!

IMG_0012-2 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

And some nice, thick, clear parts!

IMG_0013 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **DrSprue** » Sun Jan 14, 2018 6:43 pm

Oh great!! This looks like fun! Count me in for the show!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sun Jan 14, 2018 7:07 pm

“gave up trying to stay together”

I have had purchased a couple kits off eBay that arrived like that....leaking bits all over the world in transit

Post by **aur0ra145** » Sun Jan 14, 2018 7:12 pm

This should be a fun build!

Post by **DBMiller** » Sun Jan 14, 2018 7:57 pm

Is this a lame cockpit or what!

IMG_0022 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

I know it's 1/72 scale but at least try a little harder!

Adding backing sheets to the gun turret openings so I can cover them from the outside once the fuselage is together.

IMG_0020 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

See this mounting slot? There is one for each gun turret assembly on the inside.

IMG_0015 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

And on the outside there is a sink mark for each one! You can just make it out in this photo but they are very visible in person. They should show up even better with a metal finish!

IMG_0018 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

The crew? What the heck? Are those some sort of force field around them?

IMG_0014 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **demarcation** » Sun Jan 14, 2018 9:11 pm

Nice!

Looking forward to follow your build!

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:54 pm

So, what else can be done about this cockpit? I can't find one online, and I sure can't scratch build one - you couldn't see it anyway! So, a bit of paint and dry brushing and there you go.

IMG_0029 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Same goes for the bomb bay. I just wish I had thought to mask the mounting area for the cockpit before I painted!

IMG_0030 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0033 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

I'm leaving one of the bomb bays open even though there is no interior to speak of. Just because.
Actually, there is a 1/72 scale Fat Man bomb available and I'd love to put it with the plane. Maybe.
I'm sealing up the rear doors though. And because the fit is so bad I have to fill gaps and add a backing plate so it looks halfway decent.

IMG_0031 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0032 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **DBMiller** » Sun Jan 21, 2018 10:10 pm

Got the body together. A few issues with the bomb bay doors because they are meant to be 'operational' like the landing gear and flaps.

DBMiller_2018_001 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

What a cockpit!

DBMiller_2018_002 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sun Jan 21, 2018 10:24 pm

The Impermiable Force Field of Flash shall protect those crew members

How have I missed all this progress??

You’ve been hiding it out back in the alley or something working like a madman

Great work

Post by **1975GinjaNinja** » Mon Jan 22, 2018 12:42 pm

Looks good so far and I really like the subject - think I have the B-29 Bockscar on order. The one that dropped Fat-man on Nagasaki.

Keep up the good work

Nige

Post by **DBMiller** » Thu Jan 25, 2018 7:08 pm

Covering the gun openings.

DBMiller_2018_001 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBMiller_2018_002 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 10:00 pm

Once I knew I had to fill in the gun turrets and saw all the sink marks in the fuselage I knew there was no way to save or rebuild the panel lines and ten million raised rivets! They wouldn't be seen at this scale anyway. So, much sanding and filling later:

IMG_0051_001 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0052_002 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Next to the wings being glued up!

IMG_0053_003 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

I used Bondo filler (the red) and a bit of this AK stuff I just bought last week. That dries very hard! The darker gray is a spot priming to check seams.

DBMiller_2018_001 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Next - the very best primer for this kind of work! I got it at NAPA auto parts here in the US. After a light sanding there will be a few small blemishes to fix before the final primer for metalic paint.

IMG_0055_004 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0056_005 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0058_006 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 2:00 am

That is a pretty smooth primer layer for out of a rattle Can...pretty impressive

Can’t wait to see her all shiny shiny

Post by **DBMiller** » Sun Feb 11, 2018 10:32 pm

Tried to do this in one coat but the primer kept clogging my airbrush tip! But - so far so good! The surface isn't too bad for its shiny skin!

Feb11_001 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Feb11_002 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:24 pm

Started painting the fuselage. This is so big I'm doing it in sections. Vallejo Metal Color (Duraluminum) paint goes down well but up close it is a bit grainy. Still, if I don't screw up too much it will be a pretty striking thing when done.

DBMiller_001 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBMiller_002 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBMiller_003 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:28 pm

Looks good to my eye....very aluminumee

Post by **DBMiller** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 1:33 pm

Just waiting on some replacement parts for my primer air brush. It got clogged and I damaged the nozzle during clean up. Should be in Saturday so I can continue on this beast.

Post by **DBMiller** » Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:46 pm

Yes, I'm still working on this! I've had several issues (of my own making) with masking pulling up primer and paint. But I've mostly repaired that damage as of today. I also had a heck of a time getting the masking straight for the fuselage stripes!

White base coat (which I should have done before the metalic!)

DBMiller-3 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBMiller-4 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Ruined! Had to go back and sand the heck out of it!

DBMiller-5 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Try again!

DBMiller-6 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

And the wings

DBMiller-1 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBMiller-2 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBMiller-7 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Mar 19, 2018 1:07 pm

Let this be a lesson to me. Don't remove the panel lines and rivets - however bad they are - until you scribe out where the stripes go! I cannot get them at the right angle or parallel on the fuselage!

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Mar 20, 2018 4:20 pm

The black stripe needs to be evened out - it is too narrow at the top - and the yellow needs touching up.

DBMiller-1 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Tue Mar 20, 2018 4:53 pm

You are putting some really hard work into this

Obviously a labour of love, keep at it

Post by **Stokesy44** » Wed Mar 21, 2018 11:07 am

I admire your determination mate. A brave but worthwhile call on the respray.

That Vallejo metal colour range looks great but its proper fragile if you go anywhere near it with masking tape. I've found their 'Model Air' range is similarly frightening when masked. Softly softly, catchy monkey doesn't even begin to cover it.

Soldier on Sir, its looking a beauty

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:32 pm

I've sorted the fuselage stripes to the point I can live with them. I've also sprayed the final coat of metalic but I may add some other metalic colors for texture. The wings need a final metalic coat to smooth out some of the last coat I put on. The main gear got their base coat of gray.

DBMiller-1 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBMiller-2 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBMiller-3 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **DBMiller** » Fri Apr 13, 2018 6:31 pm

Still plugging away - painting - making mistakes - painting again - screwing up - sanding - re-masking and re-painting. You know - building as usual.

IMG_0025_DBM by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0028_DBM by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0029_DBM by Donald Miller, on Flickr

IMG_0023_DBM by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Apr 24, 2018 8:27 pm

I wrote this update once already and closed the screen by mistake. So here is a condensed version.

Here is the canopy unmasked and the decaling started.

DBM-1 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBM-2 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBM-3 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

A cutting mask for the "B" on the tail.

DBM-4 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBM-5 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBM-6 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **Stokesy44** » Tue Apr 24, 2018 11:05 pm

A real labour of love. Great to see this heading towards the finish line.

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 12:34 am

More issues with this build. The aftermarket decals didn’t come with US insignias and the kit’s were useless (ancient and discolored). I had a set but they only had 2 of the fuselage size I needed - and both blew up. I had used one on a wing without any problem and didn’t expect any with these - but.
So, I ordered a new set from Techmod. These are nice.
I needed the large markings since I painted the fuselage stripes too narrow and had to fill the space between them and the window. Doh.

DBM-1 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBM-2 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Here are some of the final bits being primed.

DBM-3 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBM-4 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

While I was waiting for things to dry I cobbled this out of a piece of packing. I did the same for my glue bottle a while ago.

DBM-5 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **DBMiller** » Sun May 06, 2018 2:47 pm

Tiny update today!
Engines together and ready for attachment to the wings.

DBM-1 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBM-2 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **DrGlueblob** » Thu May 17, 2018 10:03 pm

This is great! Should be spiffy when done.
I still have my (preserved) decal set from the 1995 IPMS convention w/ B29 atomic markings. Might have a go myself soon.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Thu May 17, 2018 10:30 pm

Excellent model work

I like the bottle holder as well

I have to do something for my decal bottles and Ca Kicker bottle.....knocked those over more times than I like to admit

Post by **digger303** » Fri May 18, 2018 9:58 am

if the old decals are yellowed...placing them in the sun for a while can cure that.
Micro also do a decal repair solution.

Post by **DBMiller** » Sat May 19, 2018 5:36 pm

digger303 wrote: Fri May 18, 2018 9:58 am if the old decals are yellowed...placing them in the sun for a while can cure that.
Micro also do a decal repair solution.

Or I could have a baby fit, throw them away, and order new decals. So that's what I did.
I needed a size that wasn't in my old set anyway.

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon May 28, 2018 1:41 am

.
Parts waiting for the final run!

DBM-2

DBM-3

One wing on!

DBM-1

Two wings on!

DBM-4

While I was taking that last shot I glanced at my "Sad Corner". The place where three of my five unfinished builds live. Sad.

DBM-5

YouTube · Post by **NorthernModeller** » Mon May 28, 2018 11:19 pm

For a rough looking kit, this is turning out to be a smooth looking build mate

very nice work so far

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Jun 11, 2018 1:40 am

Really getting there now!

DBM-1 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

DBM-2 by Donald Miller, on Flickr

Post by **Tomcat64** » Tue Jun 12, 2018 10:17 am

Only just caught up on all this (sorry DBM!) - absolutely fantastic perseverance on knocking this into shape.

Super shiny-looking finish!

Hope you get it over the line soon

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Aug 13, 2018 1:45 am

I've just started on the B-29 again after a long break. I was building my U-2 for the Cold War build and now that it is almost done I can finish this one too!

It's not much but it's something!

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:24 pm

First and second coat of primer!

Final coat of Model Master Acryl Semi Gloss Black.

Post by **DBMiller** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 1:39 am

Done!

Post by **DBMiller** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 8:18 pm

DBMiller wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 1:39 am Done!

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 9:05 pm

Now that's good, the different panelling shades is a very cleaver touch

really clean build mate

Post by **HighestAce** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 10:12 pm

Very impressed with the final result

Doug