Drifterdon Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Wiggy, You did a tremendous job on the Kee Bird. :lol: I remember seeing the special on this plane and what Darryl was trying to do. I thought he had her saved until the very end. The weathering is truely first rate. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 That was an amazing show, I couldnt believe after all the work and even a death, it was all for naught. You did the memory justice, a wonderful build you have there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sabre Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Wiggy, You da man! Your build of this B-29 certainly is a masterpiece. This is the level of realism that I constantly strive for. Please post your techniques on the faded paint over metal. Really can't say enough about this one.....words don't do it justice. Good to go, Jim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TB2 Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Terrific job on the B-29! I saw the show and it was barely watchable when she went up in flames. Heartbreaking. Nice to see someone pay tribute to what could have been. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chappie Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Awesome, awesome B-29!!! So sad to see the real Bird burn, it would have been wonderful to have two flying B-29s flying in the world. Matter of fact, even the CAF's FIFI is currently grounded. Metal shavings found in three engines after a lengthy refurbishment. Chappie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wiggy Posted June 15, 2006 Share Posted June 15, 2006 Greetings friends. Thank you all for the kind words. This project was a labor of love. I must have watched that video 50 times taking notes and trying to get everything just right. I was so moved by the whole story- not just the salvage attempt. I remember the one surviving crew member (interview) saying something about 'she should stay where she is...' I've even considered building that Caribou just to have something else on the shelf from the story. 1/48th please... So thanks again fellas. It means a lot to me. And thank you Steve for your good work! Blue skies, Wiggy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TankerTweaker Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Great Job Wiggy! ! ! I've got two B-29 kits waiting to build the same topic. I would like to know the same thing about how you did your weathering and created your decals. TankerTweaker Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wiggy Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 (edited) Ok, regarding the decals: the only decals I used were for the tail #. I had a sheet of Micro Scale numbers printed in grey. I just cut out the ones I needed to create BU#521768. Everything else was painted by hand. The weathering took more thought. Not just your basic oil and exhaust blow-by and chipped leading edges. I studied the video paying close attention to the way the colors faded from bottom to top. Especially under the horisontal stablizers, the tail planes provided shade from the artic sun. This area was the closest to the Artic Red of anywhere on the fuselage. The chipped/missing paint areas were done with masking tape. After the aircraft was painted with Testors Metalizer non-buff and sealed with gloss top coat, I sprayed the other colors- Black belly (with the extream belly in bare aliminum from the wheels-up landing on the snow) and the faded Artic Red. Working from bottom to top, I kept adding White to lighten the shade and thinner to get that faded, whispy look. From years of getting blasted with wind-driven snow, the whole aircraft kind of had a polished sheen to it. So finally, when the colors were down, I used the sticky side of masking tape to "lift" some paint. Seemed like the clear gloss top coat would depart the aluminum paint rather easily taking any color with it. There's only one thing that looks like missing paint, and thats missing paint! Hope this helps. Thanks again for all the kind words. <_< Blue skies, Wiggy Edited June 16, 2006 by Wiggy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TankerTweaker Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 Thanks for the info Wiggy. I hope someday my Kee Bird will look that good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted June 16, 2006 Share Posted June 16, 2006 A truly wonderful tribute to one heck of a story. Very fitting and worthy indeed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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