Well, its Friday the 13th and my Combat Models YB-49 just arrived. Is this good or bad? Well, we'll see! This will be my second foray into the world of vac kits. I'm about halfway through Sanger's wonderful B-47, but it has stalled because I have to teach myself to make masters and cast resin parts. (I couldn't tackle the engine nacelles as they come in the kit. The twin jet pods are just too complex a form to try and render in two halves, so I'm using the middle section and casting a nose and tail piece.) This kit doesn't appear as though it's going to throw me any curves. (I do wish the center section would've continued to the nice long fore/aft panel line at about 1/3 span as AMT's did.) Even rough cut out of the sheet without any cleanup the major parts fit remarkably well. I plan to trim all six parts, assemble the wings as top and bottom halves then sand them on my sanding table so the top and bottom fit together without any gaps. We'll see how that works out!
I remember seeing this kit on a vendor table at an IPMS regional event in Milwaukee in the early 90's. I have been wanting one since! I found the kit on Oldmodelkits.com under the manufacturer RCM. (All Combat's kits are there, you pay a little more ordering through his site, but it's convenient.) He lists a YB-49 and a XB-35, but all the parts (minus props) appear to be included in my kit as well as a canopy and under wing pods for the YRB-49 which isn't listed at all. Also the air intakes for each plane are included as all three are different. One nice inclusion are some decently cast resin details including radios, instrument panels, control columns, seats, wheels and landing gear. (The last bit I'll probably scratch build using AMT's as a pattern and scaling everything up.) The basic cockpit will have to be built up from sheet, but then you can add the resin bits from there and it should look pretty good through the windows and canopy. The panel lines on the wing surfaces are nice and uniform and should look fine on the finished model. The only thing not included are instructions, but you do get a set of full size plans with some basic building tips. The last paragraph says it all! "This kit will take time. It will not be an easy kit compared to injection. The time you spend will reflect in your model. The mord time you spend the better your model will look when finished. When finished you will have a one a kind model. We hope you enjoy the kit." Misspellings and bad grammar are theirs, not mine. The only thing not included are decals, but the instructions state "Any 1/48 USAF markings will do." I plan on buying a 1/72 AMT kit as reference and as a basis for making parts for my cockpit. I will also scale up the decals in the computer and reprint them in 1/48. For those of you who like my natural metal finishes, I hope I can do this justice! (It'll look great dwarfing my 1/48 N9M!)
9 attached images. Click to enlarge.
