swimmer25k Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 I’m interested in bashing the 1/72 Testors B-66 to a Hasegawa A-3. I’m aware that the big differences were the shape of the forward fuselage, canopy, ejection seats in the 66, and the engines. Anyone tried this bash before? How different are the engine pods from one jet to another? A weak point of the Testors kit are the engine pods. Any other big differences out there to be concerned with? Thanks, Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Boyer Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) Why? About the only similarity between the two was general layout and maybe the tailplanes and fin. Engine pods are completely different, wing was different, forward fuselage and canopy different, and likely the landing gear different. I see no value in bashing the two kits together - you won't make either one better and you'll just have expensive leftovers that you can't use. Edited October 31, 2018 by Paul Boyer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viking73 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) Chris, As Paul said, this isn't possible at all. Where the A-3 was equipped with the excellent P&W J-57 engine, the B-66 was saddled with the under-powered Allison J-71. The engine pods are completely different. The Italeri/Testors B-66 isn't bad, it's just soft on some details, the jet pods being a good example. The November 2003 issue of FineScale Modeler had an excellent article on how to improve the kit. I actually just picked up one of these kits (the Testors bomber issue with the tail turret along with the Airways resin/white metal EB-66E conversion) and the jet pods are a good place to start. It's already on my bench. The first step was to saw off the front part of the pods at the panel line so I could deal with the nasty seams in the intake. I have also sanded off the incorrect rings on the exhaust as you can see. Those aren't on the real aircraft. I will be using some 5/16" brass tube to improve the exhaust openings as well. Finally, the engine faces are too far back. They need to be moved about .160" closer to the intake. They also need a small hole drilled into the tip of the bullet faring to match the reference photos. Hope this helps. Good luck with whatever you decide to do and be sure to post some photos! -Derek Edited October 31, 2018 by viking73 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viking73 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 I also forgot to mention that Mike West of Lone Star Models fame is putting out a resin set of wings/slats for the B-66 kit in November. I will be picking this set up once it's available. -Derek Quote Link to post Share on other sites
picknpluck Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 6 hours ago, viking73 said: I also forgot to mention that Mike West of Lone Star Models fame is putting out a resin set of wings/slats for the B-66 kit in November. I will be picking this set up once it's available. -Derek If that set is anything like the flaps/slats set he makes for the A-3, save your money. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viking73 Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 2 hours ago, picknpluck said: If that set is anything like the flaps/slats set he makes for the A-3, save your money. Oh no, really? What’s wrong with it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
picknpluck Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 15 minutes ago, viking73 said: Oh no, really? What’s wrong with it? When installed, the parts look nothing like the real thing. When installing the slats, a large step is created where area under the slats are supposed to blend into the wing. When installing the flaps, there is a large gap between the leading edge of the flap and the trailing edge of the wing, plus the flaps are nowhere near the proper angle and, as designed, there is no way to fix this. I don't know how to better explain it and I can't find the pictures I thought I took. I ended up discarding the wings altogether and bought the Wolfpack folded wings set for my A-3 and modified that set to lower the flaps and add the lowered CLE inboard slats. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mstor Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Mike has been in business for many years and has a good reputation. I would not disregard all his products based on one poor outcome. I would have to give up Aires, Wolfpack and Verlinden if that were true. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
picknpluck Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 15 minutes ago, Mstor said: Mike has been in business for many years and has a good reputation. I would not disregard all his products based on one poor outcome. I would have to give up Aires, Wolfpack and Verlinden if that were true. I'm by no means trashing the man or the body of his work. I just don't like that particular product. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swimmer25k Posted October 31, 2018 Author Share Posted October 31, 2018 20 hours ago, Paul Boyer said: Why? About the only similarity between the two was general layout and maybe the tailplanes and fin. Engine pods are completely different, wing was different, forward fuselage and canopy different, and likely the landing gear different. I see no value in bashing the two kits together - you won't make either one better and you'll just have expensive leftovers that you can't use. Thanks Paul. Thats a bummer to hear, but thanks for the information. Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.