VonL

Wow...an epic journey begins...

I'm pretty sure there are 1/72 Micro/Superscale decal sheets out there with 'Stoofs' on them. You can probably buy or trade for them, if time spent looking is not a factor, or the kit's markings are a must-have.

Good one - the folks at Airfix would be proud!

I poured a bottle of 'Purple Power' paint stripper into a small Rubbermaid crisper and that has worked like a champ.

Nice lookin' stuff, Duke - let's see more of Mr. Badger!

Yup - good save. Am also a graduate of the school of Never-Throw-Nuthin-Away!

Love it! Nicely done.

Way cool. Be advised that the patch you describe sounds like the 22nd Bomb WIng that flew BUFFs out of March AFB, CA, with a lion's paw on the shield and the motto "Ducemus" ("We lead"). The 28th BW (BMW) at Ellsworth is a more simplistic blue & gold shield, divided vertically with a wavy line (the fleur-de-lis crest is usually omitted after about 1992). Here's the B-36 in the Castle AFB museum, same as what the silver BUFFs would likely have worn, if any: http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view...;sigh=116a9m9k9 This shield does appear on the starboard side of black D-models and SIOP 4-color H-models. It would just be cool to do a silver 'D', if the info is out there. Your thoughts?

Thanx very much for the encouragement and the kind words, guys. Most rewarding was the recipient picking out several details that only a BUFF guy would spot. It was well worth the fight. Would like to do some more of these in the future, different versions & eras, maybe even sexy-up a Monogram D-model in some fashion. Hope to take a few more detail snaps before it goes. CHEERS! Von_L

Righteous alert pad shots from Ellsworth. Do you have any B-52 pix that show the wing shield on the right side of the bomber's nose? Especially the silver ones. Looks like they were all D-model BUFFs. Any F-models in the mix? Shots of the SP Peacekeeper vehicles? ...I have ulterior motives here... CHEERS! Von_L

Nice scratch work on those arms. I'm inspired to try something like that. What could possibly go wrong...?

LOVE IT - !!! Gotta go build something WWI - !!!

FINITO - !!! Hard to see the zinc-chromate weathering, but a good day at the Hobbytown USA contest last weekend. Next I'll present it to a fellow bomber guy who's retiring from The Force this year:

Filling the resulting gaps in the pylon mounts with epoxy, sheet plastic, putty, zap-glue and profanity... The reverse-masked 'USAF' wing marking; done with Wilderness Scenics lettering: Not all of the exhaust makes it past the trailing edge:

Wow - That is sharp! And a way cool, unusual subject.

Made some progress in honor of National Model Day. Additional motive is to compete this thing in the HobbytownUSA national on 18 April and then present it to the guy for whom I built it. Underwing pylons are ON - HUZZAH! It is not a coincidence that the 5-minute epoxy is standing nearby:

Copy all - thanx!

Have got a small bottle of the stuff from Lowe's, but never used it in a visible spot. Will it yellow on the clear parts?

Thanx fellaz - the encouragement is truly appreciated. Not too many 'easy days' on this one. Biggest LL so far is to stay with the single, main paint color until the wings, nacelles and such are joined, and then do that camo & weathering. (It was just so much fun, I couldn't stop.) All this re-do patching & blending action is the payback for that. Would like to try another BUFF in this same camo scheme and yet another in the 4-color SIOP scheme...but not for a while. My masochism has limits.

Nice work on a cool kit - and a steal-deal, to boot! It don't get no bettern'at. Would love to build that one some day, but there's barely room for the nascent 1/72 bomber fleet.

Lookin' good, Maddog!

Smooth sailin' from here on out - NOT! The under-wing pylons for the ALCMs and fuel tanks do not fit. Not even close. Brutality-II:

MORE REVENGE OF THE SON OF A BUFF...etc... Filling the gaps around the engine pylons was gonna turn ugly, now matter how I did it. So I started by filling them with sprue, lightly wetted with glue...it seemed like a good idea at the time... Then the trusty Squadron Green Stuff, and a very careful sanding session: And now to address the paint question. Of course the airbrush decided to splatter the hand-mixed faded-green-drab into unwanted regions - !#$%! - If you can't see it, forget I said anything.

RETURN OF THE REVENGE OF THE SON OF THE BUFF...! Blending the wings. The bottoms looked even worse: Some progress here. Kit decals silvered badly, party my own fault for not glossing the top of the crew section. Had to rip up the red air-refueling aperture markings and re-do with Woodland Scenics rub-on red lines from the model railroad world. FWIW, I also used their rub-on letters to reverse-mask the 'USAF' on top of the starboard wing. Remind me to show that to you guys. I'm kinda proud of it.

Love it! Especially the silver/weathering, rigging & details on the weapons. And that radial has lotsa character. Nice work.