Jump to content

Recommended Posts

  • 5 weeks later...

Whitey,

Somewhere back in the day I inherited some Firebee drones and pylons from a DC-130 kit.  I don't know what scale they are.   If you can provide dimensions in 1/48, I can check these and if these are in 1/48 the pylons and drones are yours.  Don

 

So I just dug out of the parts box three complete drones and all four pylons.  I still have no idea what scale these are.  The inner pylons measure 1 5/8 " front to back where they attach to the wing and a drop measurement of 1 1/8" from bottom of wing to drone attachment point.   The outer pylon is 1 3/8" at wing attachment and a drop of 7/8".   Drones look to be 3 3/4 inches in length with a wingspan of around 2 1/2".

 

So Wiki is showing the BQ-34A as having an overall length of 21' 11".  Scaling this back to the length of the kit parts looks like what I have are 1/72 drones from the Italeri 1/72 DC-130 kit.

 

Edited by Drifterdon
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...

A little update to this. I've been steadily working on this, just nothing exciting to post the last few weeks...filling seams, sanding seems, filling seems, sanding seems, filling...you get the idea.

 

My approach on a big project like this is to build it in "sections". I first wanted the fuselage done, then the tail and stabs done, then the wings & nacelles done. On the nacelles, the fit of the Attack Squadron nacelles is fantastic! Pretty much removed the pour stubs, and they go together with minimal clean up. The joint to the kit wings was equally nice. 

I used the Flightpath flaps...that's a lot of p/e! With it being from the early era of p/e, the stuff is stiff and the "gates" were THICK! I had to use my Dremel and cutting wheel to remove many of the parts, as well as using it for cleaning up the parts. But once they are all together, they look pretty nice.

Which leads me to the next step in the process, gluing the completed wing assemblies to the fuselage!! I attached the starboard side wing first and let it cure for 24 hours, then attached the port wing just last night (right before watching the Boston Bruins get their butts whooped in the season opener... 😞 ). Soon, it'll be on to painting. You'll notice I moved an extra folding table into my already tight work space to use for the remainder of the build.

IMG_6449.jpg

 

56030257892_A64_F8_B6_E-_D878-4_CAD-_A19

Link to post
Share on other sites

A little progress...

Got her all masked up and prepped for painting. Weather is still nice, cooling down some even, perfect day to take her out to the garage and shoot a coat of primer on her! I used Tamiya fine White primer, the majority of the wings and nacelles will be yellow, and the giant tail red/orange, so white makes a great base coat. Not to mention that the top of the fuselage will be gloss white also.
 
IMG_6487.jpg

 

IMG_6488.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

Andy. I don't know how i missed this thread, but just impressive work there, I must say!  I am catching up while in between flights.  She's a beaut already, just sitting in primer. Carry on! R/ Dutch

 

PS, if an injection molded 1/48 P-3 is ever kitted, I'll buy you one!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Dude,

 

"Taco Bell" is looking awesome, I can't wait to see this finished!! I've had the pleasure of being inside her, wait that doesn't sound right! LOL, it was pretty cool seeing those drone stations up close. I knew CDR Mowad, really cool dude, he told me the story of their mission on the opening night of OIF dropping drones to confuse the Iraqi's. Funny little side note, CDR Mowad is a pretty tall guy, said the only reason he flew C-130's was because he fit, wanted to fly fighters but was too tall!

 

What do you need decal wise? I'd like to help out and draw the art for you so everything is nice and sharp. Just shoot me a PM if interested.

 

Keep up the great work!

Mike

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Finally some progress! This paint job has been a chore of masking and a solid arm workout. As God is my witness I will NEVER pre-shade any area that is to be painted yellow...it took 3 bottles of Mr. Color Insignia Yellow to cover until I finally decided enough was enough and I'd just weather it a bit more than I previously had planned. It'll represent the aircraft as it appeared operating out of Kuwait in 2003 so it likely was dingy enough.

 

IMG-2461.jpg

 

IMG-5800.jpg

 

IMG-9367.jpg

 

Next, on to the tail and upper walkway areas.

Link to post
Share on other sites
3 hours ago, Dutch said:

Boy!  Is she ever looking nice!  That is a lot of masking!  Let it cure a few days before moving on to the next step.  I plan on a DP-2E, so will have similar work cut out for me.  Keep up the great work, Andy!  R/ Dutch

Thanks Dutch! 

Link to post
Share on other sites
26 minutes ago, Trojan Thunder said:

Doing a great job there Andy. the paintwork looks excellent.

 

I have a couple of sets of the flaps in 1/72, been too scared to have a go with them! Yours look great

Thank you!

The flaps are the Flightpath set...tedious and time consuming removing all the p/e parts from the "sprue" but once that is done and cleaned up the assembly goes pretty smooth. I need to add "jack screws". I have a set of the resin ones from Attack Squadron also, almost used them but I'll use those on "Fat Albert".

Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh man, she looks amazing !! Lesson learned the hard way with the yellow. Keep plugging along on her. I really wish I would have seen these while I was there in 2003, not really sure how I could have missed them ??

 

Steve

Link to post
Share on other sites
48 minutes ago, A-10 LOADER said:

Oh man, she looks amazing !! Lesson learned the hard way with the yellow. Keep plugging along on her. I really wish I would have seen these while I was there in 2003, not really sure how I could have missed them ??

 

Steve

Thanks Steve!
I'm pretty sure it was Kuwait they operated it from...may have been Masirah , Oman??

pg-L-TG-10031-007.jpg

Edited by 82Whitey51
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...