Bell X-1

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October 16, 2021
I bought the ol Tamiya kit at a bargain and intented it as a quick inbetween project.
But it was not to be...
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October 16, 2021
This was my idea of presenting the little plane. It is a loading pit on Edwards Airfield into which the X-1 was pushed so that the modified B-29 could roll over it and hook it onto its belly.
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October 16, 2021
And that was the first proof of concept layout.
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October 16, 2021
I liked it.
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October 16, 2021
The expanded plastic slabs were covered with cardboard which was sealed with varnish.
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October 16, 2021
Then I brushed several layers of Vallejo stone effect onto it.
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October 16, 2021
The pattern of the concret slates were scraped in and some details added.
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October 16, 2021
The rails on which the X-1 was pushed down into the pit.
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October 16, 2021
almost done
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October 16, 2021
Lets turn to the plane. Some improvements were done.
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October 16, 2021
all the measuring tubes were replaced by homemade ones
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October 16, 2021
Fit of the canopy gave me a hard time. I constructed a frame around it to align it and sanded it flush with the fuselage - at the cost of canopy frame.
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October 16, 2021
I followed Tamiyas advice to color the interior in light grey but that turned out to be wrong. At the wheel wells and doors I could change that into the correct interior green. But the cockpit was done already.
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October 16, 2021
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October 16, 2021
Alclad primer serves as base for the paint.
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October 16, 2021
Gloss white should lessen coverage problems with the following orange.
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October 16, 2021
Well coverage was not the problem but the paint just would not dry. it was almost impossible to handle.
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October 16, 2021
To reduce uniformity of the monochrome paint job I opted for some color modulation
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October 16, 2021
Decals are on.
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October 16, 2021
I used thin strips of black decal to redo the canopy.
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October 16, 2021
No weathering as this was a new plane.
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October 16, 2021
To show the size I wanted to add a figure.
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October 16, 2021
Done! No quick inbetween job, but I am quite happy with it - despite all the hassle.
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October 16, 2021
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October 16, 2021
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October 16, 2021
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October 16, 2021
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October 26, 2021
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October 26, 2021
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October 26, 2021
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November 7, 2021
still practicing with the lent photo equipment.
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November 7, 2021
I think, those last two pictures are presentable.

22 16 October 2021, 17:16

Torsten
Great build and the base is the icing on the cake 😎

16 October 2021, 17:56

Villiers de Vos
I agree with Torsen. Excellent.

16 October 2021, 19:17

Spanjaard
great job. lovely idea for the base. i may copy it one day 😉

26 October 2021, 08:05

Michael Kohl
Thank you guys for your nice comments. Spanjaard, I am flattered if you go for that. A word of warning: test the layout, as you have rather narrow tolerances. The plane should slide into the pit without scratching its wings, nor hitting the tail. Be aware that the front part of the pit slopes. If you go for the project feel free to send me a pm.

26 October 2021, 15:15

Robert Podkoński
Fantastic idea perfectly executed. Congrats!

26 October 2021, 16:03

John Thomas
Nice work

26 October 2021, 16:15

bughunter
Great final result, nicely done! 👍
PS: you should link your projects and albums to the kits, then the scale is shown and your projects appears on the kit pages.

26 October 2021, 16:19