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AMT/ERTL XB-70 (1/72)


Bill_S

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I've always loved the lines of this plane. I never realized just how big it is until I saw the real one at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

The obligatory box pic...

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The parts count is not too high; the molding is a bit on the soft side when compared to kits of a more recent vintage. I hope to have this one enterred in my club's contest in September.

I purchased a PE set from Brengun. Four frets, with some very fine parts. No cockpit enhancements were included in the frets. The PE is used on the exhaust area, landing gear, and various plates and scoops on the fuselage and wings.

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Assembly starts with the wings. Four parts, two upper and two lower.

Upper:

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And lower:

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Exhaust nozzles fitted into the lower fuselage:

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Now the first problem arises. The fit is good between the nozzles and the lower fuselage, but when I fit them to the bottom wing I get this:

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The dividers between the individual nozzles are to be sandwiched between PE parts. Time to put on my thinking cap...

Intakes with Tamiya putty...

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The next issue was an easy one. There was a noticeable step between fuselage parts on the starboard side. Nothing a couple of shims won't fix.

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I couldn't resist a mockup of the airframe. Even in 1/72 scale, this should be impressive; it's a hair under a meter long.

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  • Bill_S changed the title to AMT/ERTL XB-70 (1/72)

A stiffener so I can hold the engines in the vise.

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Partitions milled off.

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Partitions removed from wing.

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Stock cut for new partitions. Lots of trimming to do.

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PE in place on the partitions. Not perfect, but it will do.

Nose gear bay bulkhead in place. The damn thing sit way too high; no way the fairing will fit flush like this!

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I cut a slot in the roof of the gear bay to see if I could get it to sit low enough... It looks ugly, but not much of it will be seen.

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I had to trim the PE part anyway. I hope the rest of it fits better than this.

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And the fairing fits!

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I built this beast several years ago and had the same experience you have so far regarding the fit. My wings were also warped a little. I believe I used half a tube of contour putty to fix the fit and seams between the fuselage to wing and the fuselage four parts too. Take care on the landing gear as it can be difficult getting every wheel to sit on the ground too. It was a challenge but rewarding once completed. Your work is looking good so far, keep it up. What are you going to do for the panel lines? 

Like I said, good work so far.... 

Ben

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5 hours ago, DRUMS01 said:

I built this beast several years ago and had the same experience you have so far regarding the fit. My wings were also warped a little. I believe I used half a tube of contour putty to fix the fit and seams between the fuselage to wing and the fuselage four parts too. Take care on the landing gear as it can be difficult getting every wheel to sit on the ground too. It was a challenge but rewarding once completed. Your work is looking good so far, keep it up. What are you going to do for the panel lines? 

Like I said, good work so far.... 

Ben

Thanks for the kind words, Ben. This plane will require lots of filler. I'm planning on sanding, then rescribing; the upper wing practically screams it. I'm also toying with the idea of an in-flight display too. The PE for the landing gear is quite complex.

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This kit is a bit of a pig; I'm beginning to understand Nigel's rants on his youtube channel.

I'm glad I didn't spend a lot of time on the cockpit. Not much will be seen, and I had to do some shaving to get the thing to fit into the forward fuselage halves. I had to clamp things very tight in order to close the fuselage.

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I still had a gap forward of the instrument panel. I'll fill that with styrene sheet.

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The spine of this section is a mess...

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I've begun the tedious process of rescribing, and I bought a new tube of Tamiya putty.

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Cut out a couple of molded on scoops on the fuselage; they'll be replaced with PE.

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Right now, they're held in place with PVA; lots of filling and sanding to be done before they are attached permanently.

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Given the size of the delta wing, I thought for sure this beast would be a tail sitter. I've got it propped up at the main gear attachment points; there is no need for any nose weight.

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Phew, this kit seems to be a lot of extra work, I admire your patience. This along with the Hustler are fantastic (in the words sense) airframes, which inspired my thoughts in their time, design wise and technically. Please keep on fighting the plastic, for a great result Bill.

Cheers Rob

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There was a noticeable step between the upper fuselage and the clear canopy (two are provided; one subsonic and one supersonic). I cemented a piece of sheet styrene to bring the fuselage up to the level of the glass.

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More filler and more sanding are in order, but I'm pleased with the result thus far.

I glued the fuselage to the upper wing.

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There is a noticeable gap at the join. I hate sanding those inside corners.

I pulled out some 0.030 inch (.75 mm) diameter rod from the supply box. It fits quite nicely in the gap and (hopefully) will minimize filling and sanding.

 

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Certainly out of the ordinary Bill. It'll be a looker for sure! (You are correct! That is one big airplane. I saw one over at Carswell AFB back in the late 60's or early 70's and I too was surprised at how big it was.):)

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Surface detail on the aft fuselage is faint and the white plastic makes it hard to see. I put some highly thinned Tamiya black down to highlight.

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I'll rescribe what's already there.

A heavy layer of putty.

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Most of the putty is sanded off...

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It's going to require another application or three.

In the meantime, I've started on the landing gear. Four PE parts for the mains, one for each nose wheel.

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3 hours ago, HubertB said:

Very nice build on a not-too-easy kit (talk about an understatement ;) ).

If the B-58 looked like it was doing Mach 2 on the ground, the B-70 was doing warp 0.7

:popcorn:

Hubert

Hubert

Well said ...

Keep 'em comin

Peter

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Several applications of putty and lots of sanding...

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I still have lots of scribing to do, but it's all on flat surfaces, and should be relatively straightforward.

Another obstacle to tackle... when I test fir the tabs on the tails into their slots, they don't fit. Looking down into one of the slots in the wing, I noticed this:

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Not a really big deal, but it's aggravating. I'll have to carve the tab on one of the tails to put a step into it.

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Some noticeable misalignment between the upper and lower wing sections. I masked, filled and sanded to eliminate some of the grooves.

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In a moment of inspiration, I found a new 18 ga. hypodermic needle in the tool box. Sharp, beveled and the correct diameter...

I laid the needle flat on the wing, applied pressure to keep it in the groove, and gave it a push.

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 I've highlighted the end result with a wash.

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 A little cleanup, and she's good to go. On to the next task.

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