utley Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 (edited) NP. I just dropped the hammer on some CRLs and the MLG bays...guessing Im making the trip to storage to finally get my Bone out and finally get to building again. $577 bucks. Wish there was another way, a better way..not hurting me none. Edited April 20 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Specter1075 Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 Its a huge chunk of money, for sure! For a lowly Canuck like me, that 577 would be just shy of 800 CAD. Rough! I have two B-1s waiting as well, so double it! I wasn't able to get to the document you uploaded. I requested access but not sure if you see those requests when they pop up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 (edited) Ok, Ill try to host it elsewhere. I dont particularly care for google drive, give me a few minutes. edit: gave you permission for the google drive, but heres a dropbox link for anyone else. if anyone has problems with it let me know and Ill fix. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/sbz17ibdyaicb1t2vropc/B-1A-B-1B-drawings-c-Okolelov-AiV-6-2018-2.pdf?rlkey=6swupixzpco213wybats8igkq&st=3m1ekyon&dl=0 Edited April 20 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Specter1075 Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 Looks like its working now. I was able to download it. Thanks! On first pass, I didn't realize it was from a Russian source. That's interesting! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 (edited) Yeah it was made by a russian model builder who poured over every single rivet and panel line from all the pictures he could find on the net. It is by far the most accurate image Ive seen for panel lines, and Ive been searching for 2 decades. Will be about a month before I get the stuff, so Im going to continue the Apaches until then...and maybe even my Zulu Cobra. Edited April 21 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 (edited) My new CRLs will be arriving mid next week, got the gear in today...and Im surprised to say that this gear is....pretty beefy. Aside from the obvious fragile hydraulic lines, the only thing I could really see as being fragile would be the drag brace, but the linear force on the gear goes straight down from the model straight down to the double bogey. Doesnt look like the drag brace has any load bearing support at all...all it does is prevent the gear from swaying in and out. Ill explore it more in the coming days, but from the looks of it, this gear anchors really well and the beefy parts are really sturdy. Ill give Met Details some credit here, these are likely stronger than the kits gear. Edited May 12 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 more pics of the landing gear, but off the forms. Yeah, I do not see a reason why MD would think these would sag, even under a heavy load, but the trunnions are thick enough to drill up and insert a brass tube if need be. These look incredibly well built. Doesnt hurt that the bogie and trunnion are one piece. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Specter1075 Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 It all looks good, but there remains the issue of price. I just don't see how I can justify it. I will be very interested to see how it all comes together for you, and how they look once painted and in place! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 Yeah I think Im going to take a break from the apache models for a bit and work on this landing gear bay. I did a test fit of the mains and I could have just thrown it at the wall and it would have assembled perfectly. Theres some warpage, but not a whole lot to worry about, but this kits a wet dream for those who want to super detail in painting. Only hope the CRLs turn out this good a fit...but man, if cutting these things off the sprues isnt an ordeal in and of itself...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 Got the bomb bay launchers in today, Ill be doing a full review on them too...but have to admit Im off to a bad start. Had the end tank caps missing, but talked to Met Details about getting a replacement set and he'll be shipping them out tomorrow. Ill post some pics of it later, but Im fairly impressed so far. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted May 16 Share Posted May 16 Ok, started pulling the doors off the sprues...and these swing links are FRAGILEEEEE, way more fragile and delicate than todays youths I daresay. Anyways...I broke a link off of every single one of them merely looking at them, but was able to salvage them. I might just take these off and put the plastic ones on instead but Ill figure that one out later. The bay bulkeads came out really nice. Not a whole lot to touch up on these as they look like they've been cleaned up before shipping. Rotary Launchers look spectacular as well, but do require a tad bit of cleanup. Some of the more delicate parts I think Ill leave some of the print sprues on because Im likely to just put either JDAMs, JASSMs, LJDAMs, or JSOWs on the racks. The bays themselves look pretty detailed as well. I talked to Alex Bah about getting replacement end caps for the fuel tank and he said it will be shipped likely today, but I dont expect them here for a month at least. They may be expensive, but you get a LOT for the money. It requires little to no modifications and I havent really broken anything other than a few links here and there. There will be some spot cleanups on the bomb bay doors as it looks like some sprue pieces might have separated harshly from the surface and taken a small piece of the door...or that can work out to my benefit as these doors take some punishment with FOD being kicked up off the runway, dinging the doors. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 heres an idea what they would look like assembled in the aircraft. side note: they arent permanently installed yet, so yeah I know these fwd bomb bay bulkheads are positioned backwards. There is some trimming to do to the model, some pieces that need to be removed, but very little kit bashing so to speak. the bomb bays will have to be reinforced with styrene the entire length to keep them from bowing out and to better secure these to the model. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Specter1075 Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 There is no denying the look good. I'm still eagerly watching your progress. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 Question: I just learned that some B-1Bs had an AN/AAQ-25 Nemesis DIRCM installed. Does anyone have any information regarding this? Also I am looking to install some JSOWs and JASSMs on mine. Would this typically be a loadout combination, or would JDAMs and JSOWs be a more realistic loadout? Im still trying to paint the weapons bays; I had one bulkhead done and painted with enamel, then put some Mig acrylic dark wash, went to do my preshading thing and found out that the wash had stained the white enamel BROWN somehow and now I have to strip it past the primer and redo everything..gloss white seems hard to find outside of enamel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Specter1075 Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 Where did you see that? I can't find anything about the AN/AAQ-24 on B-1s. It's a commonly used system but I can't find anything that mentions its use with the B-1. Would there really be a need for it on that platform? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted June 3 Share Posted June 3 (edited) I did a ChatGPT question and that system was mentioned. It also stated that it can carry a long pod jammer which I dont believe, but I can see the DIRCM being installed on the bombers. Ive YET to see a picture of it, but said it was located on the aft cone to cover the rear quarter. Then theres this link too... https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/8543/854302/Trends-in-electro-optical-electronic-warfare/10.1117/12.978652.pdf Havent read it yet, but both the B-1 and the DIRCM are mentioned in the article... Edited June 3 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Specter1075 Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 Oh! You really cannot use ChatGPT for that. It is terrible with any kind of technical information, but will always present information as fact. I wouldn't go near it with a ten foot pole. Its most certainly wrong in this case. As for your PDF, the B-1 is only mentioned in passing and it does not say anything about it using the systems you asked about. I think you can forget about the AN/AAQ-24. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted June 4 Share Posted June 4 (edited) I figured. I was googling for my above question about specific loadouts and it mentioned those pods and other stuff. First time Ive used Chatgpt for "obvious reasons". Edited June 4 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 update: I have about 12, 13 hours maybe just painting these bulkheads. I still have to do some finer detailing to them, Im maybe about 2/3 of the way done with just these bulkheads...and thats just with these. I still have to do the main gear bays and the actual weapon bay walls. The hose clamps, line insulation and hydraulic pumps and whatnot look like they're already done since it looks like everything else is white...but Id expect there to be a few hydraulic line leaks around that Im still searching for + a common bay where the fuel tank is stored. Speaking of which, I got my end caps for the tank as well today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swimmer25k Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 (edited) I’d suggest painting over your yellow actuators and use some Anyz slanted black like decals for clean and even markings. You’ve spent too much money to hand paint them. https://www.anyz.io/shop/product/AN049?ref=category Edited June 7 by swimmer25k Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Specter1075 Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 That's a pretty good suggestion. I agree with it. You want your build to be as good as possible! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 (edited) I have an even better plan. I just used acrylics to see how good it will look and just took a sample picture to show how well these things are detailed. In case anyone was curious, I bought this kit for $250 on ebay. Not a bad price considering all you get with it, TBH. The gear was a tad bit more expensive. Edited June 7 by utley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
utley Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 got the majority of the detail painting done on the MLG bay and nose gear, as well as one bomb bay. small details need to be cleaned up, weathered and whatnot...but took about 8 hours total to paint all these parts. Have to find some acrylic panel wash that wont stain into the white enamel paint. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Matt Foley Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 First time I tuned into this thread in years. I'll have to watch this expensive Bone project. Looks good so far. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gator52 Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Really nice work. I’d love to see weapons bay & gear well sets like these for the 1/72 Monogram kit, but don’t believe there are any options out there- Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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