Monogram 1/48 B58 Hustler

[yak face]

Heres my entry for the Four engined GB , the Convair B58 Hustler in 1/48 scale . Its the Monogram kit from the 80's and should be an interesting build. I really love the look of this aircraft and its a fascinating story , shame the advent of ICBM's cut short the need for this type . Its quite a large beast sizing up at 24" long and 14" across those huge delta wings, the nuclear bomb weapons pod on its own is massive , the instructions at the side of it on the last pic are A4 !! The Natural metal will be a challenge as there were lots of differently shaded panels on these ! heres the box top and sprue shots , cheers tony

View attachment 102066

View attachment 102067

View attachment 102068

View attachment 102069

View attachment 102070

View attachment 102071

View attachment 102072

 

[Ian M]

That is something very different and big! No, huge!


I am sure that you will do it justice.

 

[papa 695]

Nice one Tony looking forward to this going together

 

[flyjoe180]

Goodness me Tony, you're going to need a hangar mate.

 

[Dave W]

Looking forward to seeing this one built Tony.Another classic Monogram kit.I was offered the massive 1/48 B1 recently for £30.Unfortunately it was half built so I didn't buy it.

 

[dubster72]

Yep, loving this one Tony! Is it OOB or will you do your usual & make extras for it?

 

[yak face]

Thanks for looking in guys , Patrick its going to be oob pretty much , as there's not much cockpit visible and the rest of the detail looks very nice as is, then again I always say that !

 

[1275GT]

Hang on, there's no red stars.......? . Should be a good one, Tony.

 

[treyzx10r]

Tony watching this one for sure! Some fellas here stateside did a scale rc version with 4 turbines,sadly they crashed it,video can be seen on you tube. Looking forward to seeing you work your magic on this!

 

[0ne48thtel]

Now this is one kit I have always wanted so I shall be watching this one come together

 

[yak face]

Ive made a start on the Hustler today , and come to the conclusion its going to need a BIG space on the shelf when its done!! The order of assembly is a little unusual mainly centred around the undercarriage and bays, these having to go in before the wings or fuselage halves are joined . I'm going to see if I cant leave the actual legs off till later in the build to safeguard them from being snapped off , they are very long and delicate looking. The first things ive been doing are to fit the rear cockpit windows ,and glue the fuselage top to the wing top , note the use of woodworking clamps , my little modelling ones were a bit too small !!! The pic on the bench gives an indication of the size of this beast ,( the cutting mat is A3 and about 17" long) , when the tail and pitot probe are on the model will be around 25" long . The pic of what looks like a submarine is the combined bomb and fuel pod carried underneath the aircraft , itself nearly fifty feet long (12" on the kit) . So far the detail and fit are good , next stages are the cockpit and seat . heres the pics , cheers tony

View attachment 103599

View attachment 103600

View attachment 103601

 

[Dave W]

It will be an impressive looking beast when it's finished.I too find the older kits need 'G' or woodworking clamps to hold bits together.

 

[papa 695]

An impressive size Tony and a great start

 

[Gern]

Looks like another visit to the cosmetics counter Tony. Your nail varnish is wearing thin!


PS Good job on the Hustler so far.

 

[flyjoe180]

Great start Tony. That is going to be huge. That pod alone is larger than my last two kits combined.

 

[yak face]

Looks like another visit to the cosmetics counter Tony. Your nail varnish is wearing thin!
PS Good job on the Hustler so far.

Actually I was lurking round the cosmetics dept yesterday Dave !! Doing a little experiment with eye shadow as a pigment , I'll post up a thread if it works. The funny thing as well is my missus saw the silver on my thumbnail and said "Ooh , I like that !" so i might have to mask and spray her nails now !!! cheers tony

 

[Gern]

Actually I was lurking round the cosmetics dept yesterday Dave !! Doing a little experiment with eye shadow as a pigment , I'll post up a thread if it works. The funny thing as well is my missus saw the silver on my thumbnail and said "Ooh , I like that !" so i might have to mask and spray her nails now !!! cheers tony

I suppose you could look on that as a fall-back career if the driving doesn't work out .....

 

[treyzx10r]

Nice to see the build launching Tony! You made need to inquire about monthly tie down rates at the local Airport when you finish this Monster!

 

[colin m]

A beast indeed.

 

[yak face]

Slow progress on the Hustler has meant no updates for a while but Ive got a bit more done. Exhaust nozzles have had a base of gunmetal grey and a blue wash and are ready for some more washes/messing , the flame holders are ready to go in the end of these .The undercarriage bays have been painted and had a wash to add depth , theres no added bits just the kit supplied detail carefully picked out with paint . Ive also been drilling the lightening holes in the U/C linkages , the kit does represent these but they arent all the way through so it was out with the tiny drill bits.Now Ive done the main gear bays I can get the top and bottom wing halves together as these are trapped in between.Next stage is the cockpit and again Ill just be highlighting the kit supplied details as they are accurate and quite adequate . The ejector seats fitted to this aircraft are remarkable , a self contained capsule able to eject at speeds of up to mach 2 . Made by the Stanley co , the seat had a clamshell type of cover that folded down over the seat and pilot and was a fascinating bit of kit ( google it , its really interesting) . The kit seat is very well represented and looks exactly like the photos of the real thing so this too is just having a paint job , the moulded on belts and buckles will look fine with an outline wash.the instrument panels have been picked out and the dials given a drop of gloss on each one. heres some pics , cheers tony

View attachment 107699

View attachment 107700

View attachment 107701

View attachment 107702

View attachment 107703

View attachment 107704

View attachment 107705

View attachment 107706

View attachment 107707

View attachment 107708