I thought with the B-36 stats discussion, it might be interesting to bring you guys on a build-along. Clipper, by all means please jump in with your experience and builds too.
First step is assessing what we have to work with. At first I thought the kit was the typical "mixmaster" of its day--back then modelmakers were more concerned about general shape than details. I like to say 80-90% of any successful effort comes in the library before Show Time, so we're going to start there. I'm not going to bother listing the XB-36 with its unique cockpit configuration; details consistent with the model will be in bold. Note that the "452057" tailnumber in the kit is spurious - however, the kit is almost dead on for 492057 while testing the jet engine retrofit. The combination we will notice of early features and added jets suggests to me that the kit is specifically of testbeds 2046 and 2057. Antenna radome position on RB-36 variants vary wildly, consult photos of the specific plane you want to model. Most early models were rebuilt into later ones as the cycled through depot maintenance at San Diego; the last B's ordered were upgraded to D's on the assembly line. The quick way to tell between a bomber and a recon bird is to look at the #1 bomb bay behind the forward sighting blisters: bombers this area is dull magnesium, recons a shiny aluminum pressurized compartment for the cameras and their operators.
For Wings I advise no later than pre-jet B's.
Version Tail#s Nose Turret Astrodome #1 Bay skin Bomb Doors Props Jets Sight Blisters Tail Radome Notes YB-36 213571 No Yes Magnesium Individual Slider Rounded No Yes Single Round Later to RB-36E, partially extant at Soplata Farm in Ohio B-36A 492004-492025 No Yes Magnesium Individual slider Rounded No Yes Single Round 004 destroyed in static test after one flight;
all others rebuilt to RB-36EB-36B 492026-492098 Yes Yes Magnesium Individual slider Rounded No Yes Single Round most rebuilt to B/RB-36D, some during construction;
check photos of specific target aircraft
Arctic red wingtips/tail are Insignia Red, not International OrangeRB-36B ? to ? Yes Yes Aluminum Individual slider Rounded No Yes Single Round most rebuilt to B/RB-36D, some during construction;
check photos of specific target aircraftB-36B jet-assist
prototypes492057 & 492046 Yes Yes Magnesium Individual slider Rounded early
(remove "skid")Yes Single Round both rebuilt to B/RB-36D; check photos of specific target aircraft
2057 temporarily carried smaller, 4-blade square-tip props late in testing
Omit bracing strut and remove pod-bottom skidB-36D 492095-492098
92647-92668
rb 492026-492034
rb 492036-492074
rb 492076-492078
rb 492080-492087Paired snap Yes "Chiclet" B-36D
"Featherweight II"?? Yes "Chiclet" B-36D
"Featherweight III"492026-492029 Yes No "Chiclet" RB-36D and RB-36E D: 492088-492094
92686-92702
E: 213571, 492005-492025Yes "Chiclet" RB-36D and RB-36E
"Featherweight II"D: ??
E: 492013-492020
492022-492023
492025"Chiclet" RB-36D and RB-36E
"Featherweight III"D: ??
E: 213571, 492005-492012
492021No "Chiclet" B-36F 92669-92675
92677-92683
92685
01064-01082RB-36F 92703-92721
01098-01102B-36H 01083-01097
15699-15742
21343-21366"Bullet Bra" RB-36H 01103-01110
15743-15756
113717-113741
21367-21392"Bullet Bra" B-36J 22210-22226
22812-22827"Bullet Bra"
I will add details as I doublecheck them with references; I'm only tossing up this incomplete post to get my work saved on the server.
Bomb Bay #1 area:
Note the shiny areas on the forward fuselage of this RB-36. The dull band near the radome is magnesium while the area behind it is aluminum for the pressurized photography lab; on bomber models this area is also magnesium. This is also why almost all B-36s had "No Smoking Within 100'" markings; magnesium is astoundingly light and strong but also HIGHLY flammable; the "Fire" checklist basically went straight to "Hit The Silk" because the plane was going up like the Hindenburg.
"Featherweight" Configurations: Much like Peter Strasser with his "Height-Climber" Super Zeppelins, Curtis LeMay was obsessed with wringing every possible MPH of speed, pound of payload, foot of altitude and mile of range out of his aircraft. While the B-36 was designed to give the crew a somewhat tolerable experience on their three-day flights, LeMay ruthlessly stripped EVERYTHING including crew lavatories and even cabin heat. "Featherweight I" stripped the defensive armament, "F-II" was the stripped crew amenities and "F-III" was the combination of both I and II. Why two configurations in the end? Simple, LeMay still expected fighter problems on some missions so the Featherweight II's kept their guns as a hedge.
Tail Radomes:
Original Single "Chiclet" "Bullet Bra" As on Monogram 1/72 kit; two "originals" side-by-side
Parasites: An XF-85 Goblin can fit in any of the four bays, while an F-84 FICON can ONLY fit in combined Bays 2-4. The mothership is unable to carry any payload other than the F-84 and a tank of jet fuel to replenish it in FICON. Were Goblin viable, I would load them in Bays 2 and 3 to retain maximum possible ordnance capacity in Bays 1 and 4.
Aircraft RegistryAs the possibility of mutliple builds has been raised, it occurs to me to start a registry since I will never build the same tail number twice. The table below will be a registry of which C/N's have already been claimed or are otherwise unavailable, in case this works and I start taking orders from other Aerodrome members akin to Clipper's Zeppelins.
Line # A/C serial Model Unit/date/markings Built/reserved for 1 42-13571 YB-36 prototype myself 2 reserved "LTC N.," college mentor/surrogate dad 3 reserved Andrea Angiolino @ Ares 4 reserved Rob DiMeglio @ Ares 5 reserved (Herr Oberst reservation withdrawn by own request) 6
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