NASA NB-52B Ser Num: 52-0008

[Paul Mullins]

Howdy Gang,

I try to spend a little time on this site looking for inspiration, techniques, project ideas, kits I might want to get, etc.etc.. So several days ago, I ran across a thread in the Jet Modelling Forums titled "1/72 Monogram B-52 Astronauts with X-15". Long a fan of the US Space program, I look and see that a Gentleman with the handle of "172flogger" from the Czech Republic posted a question about the old Monogran Young Astronauts kit, and got several responses. As I happen to have a 1/72 747 SCA/Shuttle project of my own in the works, I've found it very helpful from time to time to take a look at what others are doing. I also have an NB-52B/X-15 project I'm dabbling with as a diversion when I get the urge to see if either the Space Shuttle Kit or the 747 kit actually can fly. I'm modelling aircraft #52-0008. The other one is 52-0003. So, when I looked at the B-52 thread, I was stunned to see a reply from a gentleman known as EDWMatt. Matt calmly made the pronouncement that he was the Ops Manager for 008 for several years, and had some very good observations about the aircraft itself. Never one to miss such a golden chance, I then asked Matt several questions about 008. Also involved in this dialog was a very fine gentleman by the name of Tony P. Also with a project for 008 getting ready to launch (pardon the pun). As things went, a mini group build was proposed, and the three of us are in. To get things started, I'll show everyone where things started, and where they are today. The Revell 1/72 B-52D Kit. (As I said in the Jet Forum, Icky poo pee pee caca)

The X-15 Kit

The Decal sheets. These are the sheets from Cutting Edge. Produced with the able assistance of Mr. Tony Landis. Also known here in the forums as X-Plane Fan. He happens to be employed as a photographer at the NASA/Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base California. EDWMatt is also a friend of Tony's, and they did some work together. Their artwork can been seen on 008, now sitting on permanent display outside the north gate to Edwards Air Force Base. By the way, Tony also co-wrote a book called "Hypersonic". If looking for references for the X-15 for any reason, this is the book to have, bar none. Needless to say, the same thing goes for Matt if you want to know about the B-52 that carried it aloft many, many, times. The top sheet is the later markings on the aircraft when it was retired in 2004. All of the mission markings are located on the upper right side of the picture here. The bottom one is the earlier markings I'm using. So, If anyone wants late markings for 008 in 1/72 from Cutting Edge, Let me know,

And the Buff Master conversion set that EDWMatt provided a good deal of assistance with. It's kind of a shame the person who made this conversion set didn't use some of the information Matt provided. It needs a lot of work. (Hey, It's only my personal opinion. You're allowed to disagree with me, my feelings won't get hurt.) And besides, at least he did produce a conversion kit for sale. Imperfect though it may be.

Buff Master produced two kits for this conversion, one that has the X-15, and one that just has the parts for the B-52. I got the kit with the X-15 included. I wanted to see what differences, if any, there were between the Revell kit and the Buff Master kit. The three big pieces that are needed to convert the B-52D to the NB-52B in this conversion is the cutout for the flap on the starboard wing, the tailcap, and the X-15 pylon. A brief history. (Hey, you had to know this was coming, It's one of my trademarks). The B-52's used by NASA were a part of the very first production run of B-52's built in Seattle Washington in the mid fifties. The NB-52A Aircraft that came to be known as 003, "The High and Mighty One", was retired in 1969. I believe it's now sitting at the Pima Air Museum in Arizona. The aircraft that became known as 008 or Balls eight, came to NASA from the USAF in 1958 after being used as a test vehicle by the Air Force. The Boeing Product was flown to the North American Aviation Corporation in Downey/Palmdale, (one of them/there/those places somewhere in southern California), for modifications, including the installation of the X-15 pylon. That must have been an interesting sight. A Boeing product being worked on by North American Aviation engineers. (Well, the X-15 was built by them, I suppose it makes sense for them to modify the aircraft that was going to drop it). In the sands of time, North American Aviation became North American/Rockwell, built the Space Shuttle, and was eventually taken over by Boeing. On the NB-52B, the inboard flaps were bolted permanently into position, resulting in a no flaps take off and landing configuration at all times. (That must have been a little exciting), the cutout was positioned for the X-15 tail, the pylon was installed, and the tail guns were removed and the opening where they were faired over. What I observed, is that on 003, what appears to be some type of aiming device was left in place at the tail. On 008, everything was stripped off the butt. Additional wiring, fuel and oxidizer tanks, and the vents for them were put in the bomb bay or thereabouts. The observation blister, the cameras and lights completed the initial refit. The aircraft was flown back to Edwards Air Force Base, and the X-15 was mated to it beginning in 1959. Over the years, the markings and the overall look of 008 changed considerably. I happen to be basing the kit I'm building on a photo of 008 taken at the May 1960 Edwards AFB Open House. Ths photo can be seen on the cover of the Brian Lockett book, "The Histoy of Balls Eight", and again on the inside on page 21. Next are progressive photos of the aft end of the model. Before surgery, with the Buff Master tail piece in place, and again with the vertical stabilizer in place, in it's new dayglo orange color, painted over a white base coat.

Next step is looking at the wheel wells for the landing gear. On the real mcCoy, the wheel wells are enclosed, not open to everything else as we see here.

As we speak, plastic is getting cut to form walls to enclose the bays since the landing gear will be down. I've broken up the project into several smaller models to avoid going completely bananas. The wings, the engines, the Pylon, the fueslage to include the empennage and landing gear and wheel bays, and the X-15. The Revell X-15 I have is the A-2 version with the external fuel tanks. I will not be using them because the time I'm modeling 008 to look like was before the A-2 came along. So, no external fuel tanks on the X-15.

Comments, suggestions, thoughts all welcome.

Paul

Edited March 23, 2010 by Paul Mullins

[caudleryan]

Outstanding work so far! I'll be watching this one very closely!!!

RYAN.

[MiG31]

You're crazy. At least it's not as involving as the 747 and Shuttle Orbiter, but it'll still be a lot of work. I take it you're not going to scribe both models? Also, are you aware of the differences between the X-15A-2 and the other variants? The 28" fuselage extension is an important item if you're backdating it.

Good luck.

[VADM Fangschleister]

Excellent project and really fun to watch. I often visited the NB-52 at Pima and wondered how cool it must've been to be involved with that project; How many times the X-15 hung there ready for yet another blast into space.

I'm sure you'll have an excellent replica when finished! It's coming along great!

Fang

[Paul Mullins]

You're crazy. At least it's not as involving as the 747 and Shuttle Orbiter, but it'll still be a lot of work. I take it you're not going to scribe both models? Also, are you aware of the differences between the X-15A-2 and the other variants? The 28" fuselage extension is an important item if you're backdating it.

Good luck.

Hi Mig,

Thanks for stopping by. Yep, I have the book "Hypersonic" co-written by Tony Landis. It's been described to me as the definitive work on documenting the X-15. The old Revell kit I managed to find is the A-2/3 version with the shorted lower ventral fin and the external fuel tanks. I'm leaving the external tanks off and considering how I might shorten the X-15 fueslage. Because it's so small, I'm kicking around the idea of just leaving the length alone because it's going to be mounted to the pylon. The reason is; just over two feet in length in 1/72 scale does not really equal the amount of work it would take vs how many people are going to see or even notice the differences. The same goes for the XLR-11 vs the later XLR-99 engines. Totally different, but, where to get an XLR-11 engine in 1/72 vs making one from scratch? And, since no contest entry, the only other thing I really have to do is use plastic cardstock to enlarge the size of the lower ventral fin. The NASA logo on the tail is also different from one version to the next and I of course have the later markings. Now, as far as the 1/32 scale X-15 I have, that thing gets the whole enchilada. I'll keep looking around and see what pops up in the way of decals. After all, I was lucky enough to find the cutting edge sheet for the NB-52B. I'm waiting on a few things to come in for the 747 kit anyway. You are correct in the presumption that I will not be re-scribing both models. There is so much sanding to be done I may just do all of the panel lines in pencil after painting and clearcoat the thing after I'm done. The B-52 kit came out of some really old moulds, and it really is showing it's age. Everything is warped, bent or just plain shot. Plus with the surgery needed to add the bits from Buff Master.....Ugh...I'm probably not going to be doing much weathering on this one. The B-52 kit has so many issues with it that it isn't even funny. But is is a diversion from making my own triple slotted flaps on a 747. That is very tedious. Which is why I take a break every now and then to work on the B-52.

Keep sending in those cards and letters folks.

Paul

[Paul Mullins]

Excellent project and really fun to watch. I often visited the NB-52 at Pima and wondered how cool it must've been to be involved with that project; How many times the X-15 hung there ready for yet another blast into space.

I'm sure you'll have an excellent replica when finished! It's coming along great!

Fang

Thanks Fang.

I'm having a great time watching your progress on the B-58. I always liked the look of that jet and have one in the stash. You're doing some really excellent work on the engines. I'm taking notes. I've seen a couple of really spectacular finishes for that bird. Some using foil, some with just paint. Either way, if your whole project comes out that smooth, then no matter how you choose to apply the finish, it will be spectacular. Speaking of foils, I've begun looking at foil as a possible cover to simulate the blanket tiles on the Columbia. I'm evaluating both regular houshold Reynolds wrap and the bare metal type. Due to the differences in thickness between different areas of the tile, I think both are going to be necessary.

All the Best,

Paul

[MiG31]

You're probably right to minimize the changes to the kit if your goal is to reduce the workload. The fuselage extension probably isn't that big a deal, and as for the exhaust, I would leave it as a -99, since it would take a lot of work to re-configure it to the twin-11 pack. There's also the issue of changing the canopy viewports to match the pre-A2 configuration, but that's up to you.

I have the Monogram B-52D in my collection, although I'm considering a basic SAC bomber for that. Then there are the three Monogram X-15s....

[richter111]

Paul, do you have the photo scrapbook that compliments the Hypersonic text? I is full of color and black and white photos that the modeler needs for a accurate build up. Just a heads up.

Ric

[Paul Mullins]

You're probably right to minimize the changes to the kit if your goal is to reduce the workload. The fuselage extension probably isn't that big a deal, and as for the exhaust, I would leave it as a -99, since it would take a lot of work to re-configure it to the twin-11 pack. There's also the issue of changing the canopy viewports to match the pre-A2 configuration, but that's up to you.

I have the Monogram B-52D in my collection, although I'm considering a basic SAC bomber for that. Then there are the three Monogram X-15s....

Mig,

I always liked the white and silver anti flash paintjob. I've never been a fan of the SEA Camo over black combo. And today's dark Grey??? On a Bomber???? May as well have left it silver and white. At least it would be easier to keep cool in the summers. It get really frickin hot in them things and it takes a really long time for the air conditioning to become effective. Have you looked at the B-52 kit yet? Lot's of work there my friend. Lots of work. At least with mine, I don't have to putz around with the outboard fuel tanks. 008 never carried them. Of course, if it ever did, they would probably be painted some off the wall color. Like fuschia or something. Considering the paint job on the engine nacelles, I'm kinda surprised the thing didn't have pinstriping all over it.

Paul

Edited March 22, 2010 by Paul Mullins

[Paul Mullins]

Paul, do you have the photo scrapbook that compliments the Hypersonic text? I is full of color and black and white photos that the modeler needs for a accurate build up. Just a heads up.

Ric

Ric,

No, I do not have it at the moment. But I am going to go to Amazon.com and get those other books on the shuttle that we talked about. Thanks for the reference.

Paul

[EDWMatt]

Looks like you're off to a great start, Paul! I second Ric's suggestion on grabbing Tony's Photo Scrapbook companion to "Hypersonic"- it's loaded with great photos and is inexpensive.

Note that X-15 Ship 2 made 3 flights with XLR-99 power in 1960 (although from which mothership I don't know), so you can probably get away with the XLR-99 engine (as long as you mark the X-15 as Ship 2).

Flapless T/O and landings in 008 were interesting. Liftoff and touchdown speeds were in the order of 165 to 170 knots! Interesting to note that 003 didn't have water injection, so takeoff roll could be quite breathtaking in the warmer months. They would have to take off on Edwards Runway 04 (toward the lakebed) and often rolled an additional half a mile or so on the lakebed before liftoff!

[Paul Mullins]

Looks like you're off to a great start, Paul! I second Ric's suggestion on grabbing Tony's Photo Scrapbook companion to "Hypersonic"- it's loaded with great photos and is inexpensive.

Note that X-15 Ship 2 made 3 flights with XLR-99 power in 1960 (although from which mothership I don't know), so you can probably get away with the XLR-99 engine (as long as you mark the X-15 as Ship 2).

Flapless T/O and landings in 008 were interesting. Liftoff and touchdown speeds were in the order of 165 to 170 knots! Interesting to note that 003 didn't have water injection, so takeoff roll could be quite breathtaking in the warmer months. They would have to take off on Edwards Runway 04 (toward the lakebed) and often rolled an additional half a mile or so on the lakebed before liftoff!

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the info about the XLR-99. Solves one problem. And, thanks for the photos. They've already helped me notice some additional details on 008 I hadn't spotted before. 165 to 170 knots on the ground???? Man, that's moving pretty quick for a BUFF. I sure hope the transition from the runway to the lakebed was a smooth one. Otherwise I would have imagine it would have been a mighty bumpy ride. Once the takeoff roll began without water injection, it would almost seem like the pilot would have enough time to go take a leak if he had to before rotation. I remember a story I saw somewhere about the F-105 being referred to as the world's fastest tricycle because it took so long to decide it finally wanted to fly. No flaps in a B-52 is not something I would want to do unless I was in a simulator. Especially with thirty plus thousand pounds hanging under the right wing. Wouldn't it be a fascinating subject to do a 1/72 B-36 model done up like 008 was in 1960, and then hang the X-15 from the bomb bay as it was originally proposed? I saw a build somewhere on here that a guy did with a delta wing X-15 launched from the back of the XB-70. That looked pretty awesome as well.

All the Best,

Paul

[EDWMatt]

The Air Force treats a flaps up landing in B-52 as an Emergency Procedure, so I guess you could say every landing in 008 was an emergency landing!

We went to great pains in the proposed B-52H heavy lift mod to design the wing cutout as 'convertible' so we could use flaps if we were not carrying a payload the required the cutout.

[Paul Mullins]

The Air Force treats a flaps up landing in B-52 as an Emergency Procedure, so I guess you could say every landing in 008 was an emergency landing!

We went to great pains in the proposed B-52H heavy lift mod to design the wing cutout as 'convertible' so we could use flaps if we were not carrying a payload the required the cutout.

Is that the B-52H that was supposed to replace 008? Didn't that get sent back to the AF when NASA's priorities changed?

[Paul Mullins]

Matt,

I apologize if that question was a painful one for you. I didn't stop to think about the other ramifications about not having an aircraft to manage before I shot off my mouth. I still need to learn when to engage my brain before I open the hole in my face.

Sorry.

Paul

Edited March 23, 2010 by Paul Mullins

[GreyGhost]

Wow, Great project, Paul ! ;)

Very nice work so far, too ...

Gregg

[EDWMatt]

Matt,

I apologize if that question was a painful one for you. I didn't stop to think about the other ramifications about not having an aircraft to manage before I shot off my mouth. I still need to learn when to engage my brain before I open the hole in my face.

Sorry.

Paul

Not a problem at all, Paul. Yes, that is the jet. Its now a ground maintenance trainer at Sheppard AFB.

I must admit it was a bit disappointing to go through all the effort to acquire and mod the jet, finish the test program to qualify it as a launch platform, then retire it without ever carrying a payload.

The truly sad thing is that it will never fly again. It was a really good jet, very few maintenance problems with it. After nearly 4 years on the ground, we got it airworthy again and it arrived at Sheppard "Code One" (no sqauwks).

The real irony is now that the with the change in direction of the manned space program, I've been getting calls about air launch capabilities!

[Paul Mullins]

Matt,

Thank you for understanding that I'm a little retarded some times. I do have another seemingly stupid question for you though. Does the NB-52B have ailerons? Or, do the speed brake/spoilers do that function like we see on the F-14? The reason I ask is a picture I found of 008 shot from below. It's it the Hypersonic book, and it's not dated. But is does have what appears to be the ailerons painted white. Looking at the kit, there are no ailerons.

Thanks,

Paul

[EDWMatt]

Matt,

Thank you for understanding that I'm a little retarded some times. I do have another seemingly stupid question for you though. Does the NB-52B have ailerons? Or, do the speed brake/spoilers do that function like we see on the F-14? The reason I ask is a picture I found of 008 shot from below. It's it the Hypersonic book, and it's not dated. But is does have what appears to be the ailerons painted white. Looking at the kit, there are no ailerons.

Thanks,

Paul

Yes, 008 has ailerons, as do all early B-52's (A through F). They are high-speed ailerons, located between the inboard and outboard flaps (you can see them deflected in some of the pics I sent). Unlike some Boeing jets (KC-135, 707), B-52's do NOT have low speed ailerons (which are located outboard of the flaps). The ailerons were supplemented by the spoilers for roll control. If you look at the underside shot of 008 I sent, the ailerons aren't painted white, but a portion of the balance panel ahead of them is.

Later B-52's (G, H) have no ailerons and rely solely on spoilers for roll control.

[catfan]

i plane to build a nb-52 also. i just got a b-52 but mine is from the 70's. so i think there will be no warping any where i hope.

[Paul Mullins]

Thanks Matt,

I probably should have specified that point. I was referring to the low speed outboard ailerons. I'm still a little focused on the 747 wing and for some reason, I wasn't as precise as I usually am. Sorry about that.

Thanks,

Paul

[Paul Mullins]

i plane to build a nb-52 also. i just got a b-52 but mine is from the 70's. so i think there will be no warping any where i hope.

Cat,

Pull the two fuselage halves out of the box, tape them together and check the fit for warping. If it is warped, (and I would really be surprised if there wasn't some kind of warping or other type of alignment issue), try using hot water to slightly, (slightly) soften the plastic to bring the hull back in to alignment. From what I've seen, the tendency is the hull wants to warp near the aft end more so than the front. Another real alignment problem area is the openings for the landing gear bays. Getting them to match up is a real PITA.

Paul

[Paul Mullins]

Hi Folks,

Ok, I surrender. Does anyone have the 1/72 Revellogram B-52D kit instruction sheet that they can either scan in and post or send me a copy? The kit I have came with the instruction sheet to an aircraft carrier. I've got a couple of pieces in the kit that I just cannot figure out where in the bloody blue peeping hell they go.

Thanks in Advance,

Paul

[EDWMatt]

Hi Folks,

Ok, I surrender. Does anyone have the 1/72 Revellogram B-52D kit instruction sheet that they can either scan in and post or send me a copy? The kit I have came with the instruction sheet to an aircraft carrier. I've got a couple of pieces in the kit that I just cannot figure out where in the bloody blue peeping hell they go.

Thanks in Advance,

Paul

Paul,

I have a set. I'll try to do something in the next couple days if someone doesn't get you something first.

[richter111]

Paul did you ever get the instructions?