1/72 Academy B-29A Superfortress

by Alan Sannazzaro

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Well as per usual another commision. This one was my first attempt with Alclad 2. The aircraft was straight out of the box again, with scratch built seat belts, which upon reflection I wonder if it was worth doing as they can't be seen now the canopy is in place.

The kitset was quite straight forward. The only 2 major things I had problems with were, getting the angle of the wings correct, and the canopy flush. I expected that wings would be quite directional as they had a spar going though the center of them to hold them in place, which also went through the fuselage. But still I found them to be quite flimsy, with about 10 degrees flex at the tip. After looking at plans I figured out where they should sit and were both cemented and superglued into place. They set very solid with hardly any movement in them.

With the canopy firstly it was futured, then dry fitted, it was fitting perfect. I then appyed a little superglue with cement and just as I expected it wouldn't fit. After a little playing around I got it near perfect. Once dried I added a bit of filler and sanded it. This was a bit of a mistake. The first rule about using Alclad 2 paint is that the surface needs to be perfect or it will bring up any blemish underneath. I had my troubles here, but eventually got an average finish.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

As mentioned earlier Alclad paints were used. After researching the different shades on B-29's I decided to paint all the pressurised compartments with polished aliminium (not using a black base), the spar going through the wing with Duraliminium (you have to be American to pronounce this word correctly), the overall colour with a mixture of polished and dark aliminium, while finishing off around the engines with pale burnt aliminium. The white for the tail and engine cowls are from the Gunze acrylic range.

These decals were from the box. I was quite impressed with them. They were thick, but with a bit of help from Micro Sol and Micro Set they settled down nicely.  I was very pleased with the way the tail decal went on as the rudder is inset a large amount from the tail. 

The Undercarriage is superb, it is very strong, with nice detail I had no trouble with this at all. The mouldings fit perfectly and sit at the right angles.

One piece of advice I can offer with regards to the bombs in the bomb bays.  Glue them to their racks while they are exposed. I used superglue, but had problems with them snapping free when I was trying to put the bomb bay doors on. I would suggest you stick it out with cement even though the bombs don't fit well into the holes supplied. Otherwise have the doors closed, there are well over 30 bombs to glue together, paint and attach, way too much work! 

This wasn't my best model.  However when I build another for myself I will know where the pitfalls are. I can recommend it for anyone who wants a bit of a challenge, which will end up looking quite nice when finished.

Alan 

Photos and text © by Alan Sannazzaro