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B-52H question


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Hello---I am back to working on Revell 1/144 B-52H, cut tail gun off and scratch built ECM device under bottom of tail where gun was. I want to do a current mod and want just a "stub" on the wing instead of the ACM pylon. Is there one in resin or do I just attempt to whittle one from kits ACM pylon? Its going to end up rather thin and I'm not sure if it will be too flimsy to work with. Any ideas appreciated---Thanks---John

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Hey John,

Haven't seen one in resin, although the early 90s Revell issue of the B-52G contained stub pylons and AGM-84s. Maybe someone that built that kit in a clean configuration can spare the pylons, or maybe trade for your ALCM pylons/missiles.

If not, I think it would be easier to scratchbuild a stub pylon than modify the ALCM pylon. I can dig up some pictures/dimensions if that would help.

I'm looking forward to watching your progress on this one, what squadron are you doing?

Jonah

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Its the first pylon between fuselage and first pair of engines. Pics would be nice to try a scratch build.I am using kit decals for gunship gray AFRES Barksdale bird 61-021 pretty much OOB build, not going too much into scratch building unless its really necessary, leaving flaps "as-is". Only funky area is kit decals say AFRES on tail and pics I have seen say AFRC, not sure if its a timeframe thing or a Revell goof. Here it is so far--- Thanks for help---John

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I fabricated stub pylons tonight from the ACM pylons,seen in backround of pic. Cut them then glued together , glued to wings and filled void in bottom with putty. I had to reshape front of pylon. it was too upswept and pics I have seen show the stub pylon more "football like" at its leading edge. Thanks for looking---John

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John-

Regarding the decals - US Air Force Reserve was known as AFRES until June '93, I believe, at which point it was known as AFRC (Air Force Reserve Command). What date is your bird from?

Best of luck on making the stub pylon look good. I think you are off to a good start. I've got one of these in the stash and the pylon was just one of the items keeping me from starting. I'd rather have the nine-bracket pylon for JDAMs, etc. over Afghanistan. The other was the bizarre framing on the windshield. How are you dealing with yours?

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Ben---thanks for compliments,not sure about canopy framing yet. Last one of these I built was somewhere around 1970,the old Revell 1/144 molded in black plastic,it was painted up in SEA upper and black lower,Viet Nam bird and I think the canopy looked OK---but that was many years ago--this may not be the most accurate but its a LOT better than the one I built 30 plus years ago!!!

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John,

Just to clarify, are you wanting to show the actual stub pylon/HSAB combination, which is what JDAM, LGB, etc, are suspended from, or just the wing-pylon adapter, which is always present regardless of any pylons loaded? (like the box art of your kit shows)

Either way, looks to me like you're on the right track, the pylon adapter portion from the ALCM pylon is what I would have started with as well.

On mine, some careful scissor work allowed me to make 'AFRC' from the 'AFRES' on the kit's decals; I used the top and bottom portions of the 'S', connected with a strip from the 'E' to make my 'C'. I don't have any pictures of how it turned out, but I was happy with it.

If you're doing the full pylon, my info shows the overall length of the HSAB to be 23' 10"

Wing-pylon adapters: (sorry I don't have a closer shot)

IMG_3714.jpg

HSAB/Stub pylon combination:

IMG_4223.jpg

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No, they weren't doing dissimilar loads, these were taken on different days.

If you're searching for weapons, OzMods produces a variety of resin 1/144 modern weapons, including GBU-31s.

Hope this helps.

Jonah

Edited by Gator52
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Jonah---doing wing pylon adapter as shown in your first photo---no weapons pylons at all!!!!! Thank you for EXCELLENT photos, I saw one of these birds at airshow on September 7th this year, walked around it and into bomb bay and wheel wells 2 years ago but never paid attention to wing pylons!!!! STOOPID ME!!!! Thanks also fo decal tip---John

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Finished sanding pylon adapters and wings, glued canopy on, and then glued wings to fuselage. I am guessing the dihedral is correct, as I checked the outrigger length, 3/4 inch and I have no wheels on(wheels are 3/8 inch diameter) so I should be 3/16 inch, half diameter of wheels lower than outriggers actual length. OR 3/4 inch minus 3/16 inch is 9/16 inch where outriggers attach---I am just a tad big, almost 5/8 inch. My question is does the wing droop look enough?---John

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I have a question about the area where the START blade antenna is on the rear fuselage side, almost to the bottom of the fuselage just before the horizontal stabs. There is a "plate" there that was added after the antenna, its almost like a sideways teardrop shape, sorta, with the blade antenna coming out the "rear" of it. Would this "plate" have been present when the aircraft had the "Lets Roll" emblem on it? If so I will scratch build the plate, and is it on both port and starboard sides? Thanks---John

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Yes-that is the MRT antenna, there is one on each side of the fuselage, as well as another on top of the fuselage approximately midwing.

They would have been installed prior to the 01-02 time frame you're looking at. I don't know for sure when they were added, mid 90s maybe?

I'll see if I can dig up some pictures for you when I get home from work.

Jonah

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Jonah---thanks again!!!! There is NO reference at all in my "walkaround" book. It shows NO aircraft with these "plates" just the antenna. Also how many anti-collision lights on top---I know there are 2 by the "christmas tree" antenna near the tail---your help has MUCH been appreciated----John

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John,

MRT antennas/anticollision lights: Yes, just the two upper anticollision lights on the aft fuselage. The single lower light is just aft of the aft gear well, barely visible in this first photo:

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On the upper fuselage, the AFSATCOM is forward-most antenna fairing (depicted in kit), followed by yellowish GPS antenna, then upper MRT antenna fairing.

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Here's a couple of unsolicited tidbits for you: notice the kit's antenna on the top of the fuselage aft of the rudder has been removed from the fleet (easy fix). Also, the antenna fairings between the elevators and rudder are now more rounded, as opposed to the older, triangular shaped antennas depicted in the kit (little more challenging fix). Not 100% sure when the shape of the fairing changed, but it was before the 01-02 timeframe. I'm not aware of any changes to the external antenna configuration since the late 90s.

IMG_0764.jpg

Hope this helps

Have fun!

Jonah

Edited by Gator52
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  • 2 weeks later...

Did a little scratch building tonight on bulges on rear fuselage sides. They are a little big but I still have to sand and feather the edges in. Still got a few more antenna to figure out then I can get back to "building".

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I wish someone would come up with a vacuform/clear resin windscreen to replace the one that has horribly inaccurate windows sunken into it as deep depressions.

The only solution I could come up with is to sand, sand, polish, polish...

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Looking good John!

As for the windscreen, wonder if my eyes could handle drilling out the window panes, then filling with Krystal Kleer or something? Theoretically, that would eliminate masking, since the framework could be painted before the "glass" is installed. Hmmmm....

Jonah

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