X-47B

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Ian Shumsky
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X-47B

Post by Ian Shumsky »

New site, new blog! Instead of trying to finish something I already have half built, I have decided on a fresh start with a new model. And to break tradition, it is going to be a wingy thing -- Freedom Model Kits' 1/48 scale X-47B UCAS.

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According to Wikipedia, "The Northrop Grumman X-47B is a demonstration unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) designed for carrier-based operations. Developed by the American defense technology company Northrop Grumman, the X-47 project began as part of DARPA's J-UCAS program, and is now part of the United States Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) program. The X-47B first flew in 2011, and as of 2014, it is undergoing flight and operational integration testing, having successfully performed a series of land- and carrier-based demonstrations. Northrop Grumman intends to develop the prototype X-47B into a battlefield-ready aircraft, the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) system, which will enter service by 2019. In August, 2014, the US Navy announced that it had integrated the X-47B into carrier operations alongside manned aircraft."

This kit is the first release from Freedom models, and it is a pretty good one. There are 6 sprues in total - 2 large ones for the fuselage halves, 2 large for wings and flags, and 2 medium sized for other details, such as stores, landing gear, etc. There is also small etch fret, a comprehensive decal sheet and a folder A3 full colour painting and decal guide.

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The moulding looks crisp with only some small flash on one of the sprues. The details are excellent and the more complex parts looks to be well engineered. Some of the attachment gates are a bit thick, but they look to be placed with some thought and it appears that you're not cutting near detail when removing the parts.

The instructions have you first building the landing gear, followed by the wings. Next up is the air intake and fuselage assembly. This is followed by the landing gear doors and, depending on the order you build, stores and bomb bay doors. The final stages are adding the various sensor pods and then fixing the wings, either folder or deployed. For reasons I'll explain in the text I'll be building a little out of order, and leaving off most of the extras (landing gear, doors, stores, wings) for ease of painting.

Looking over the kit and checking reference photos, it looks to be a very good reproduction of the aircraft with limited options for adding detail. One area where we can detail is the landing gear by adding the various cables and pipes, and we can add some details into the wheel and bomb bay areas. I'll may also be looking for options to replace the kits GBU-32 bombs with resin replacements, but there doesn't seem to be much around.

As for the build, I will construct with landing gear down, bomb bays open, wings folded, air brakes deployed and flaps down. It will end up being a little more complicated, but I think will give a more interesting looking model.
My sedentary pursuits http://www.outerarm.co.uk

Ian Shumsky
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Joined: 17 Sep 2014, 18:04
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Re: X-47B

Post by Ian Shumsky »

Right, on to the build! I'm starting at step 4.1, build of the intake and jet system. I'm doing this first as it is easier to paint the intake and exhaust before fixing the halves together and while the various paint layers are drying I can work on other bits.

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After some small clean-up and the addition of two small parts on the underside (which are easy to miss on the instructions!)

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I masked off where the engine fans will be attached within the intake areas and the mating edges

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then gave a couple of coats of Citadel Skull White primer.

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While this was drying I painted the fans Humbrol metal cote. The parts were then left to dry fully while I moved onto something else.
My sedentary pursuits http://www.outerarm.co.uk

Ian Shumsky
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Re: X-47B

Post by Ian Shumsky »

Next up, back to step 1 and the landing gear assemblies, starting with the nose landing gear. Most of the detail is built by adding a number of small parts onto the main strut, along with a couple of small PE pieces. The first stage is building the strut and wheels with a few additional details:

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Looking at reference pictures there are some very small discrepancies between the parts and the current iteration of the experimental aircraft, but as that configuration changes often and the changes are small I'm not that concerned. The tyres may need some work as while the kit part is smooth while the actual ones have a circular tread pattern which runs around the tyre. There is also a bunch of cabling detail that needs to be added - I'll be using lead wire for this.

So the base parts added together gives this, along with the additional parts to add in the next step of construction

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And when on we have this (the wheels are only dry fitted at this time):

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There are still some small PE parts to add to this (and after looking at the above photo I also see there is some more seam line scraping to do!), but I'll fix them after the cabling is done.

More later... thanks for reading!
My sedentary pursuits http://www.outerarm.co.uk

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Rod Dumouchel
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Re: X-47B

Post by Rod Dumouchel »

Intersting looking beastie, I'll follow along, at least it's not a car Ian :lol: :lol: :lol:

Regards,

Rod

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John Everett
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Re: X-47B

Post by John Everett »

Cool trick with masking the edges of the inlet duct. I would have just soaked glue along the edge at let the little white bumps show me where it was well joined. :D Your way is probably cleaner. :?

It looks like the included PE set doesn't provide many cockpit details. ;) You're going to need to do a lot of scratchbuilding to provide the pilot with a proper instrument panel. :lol:

I'll look forward to seeing the speed brakes deployed. Does the kit include much good detail at the hinge points and under the spoiler panels? I would guess that detail pictures of that sort of thing are limited.
"You used up all the glue...............ON PURPOSE!" - Darren McGavin

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Ian Shumsky
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Re: X-47B

Post by Ian Shumsky »

Hi Rod, John,

Thanks for the interest!

John, there is some detail under the air brakes and in the wheel / bomb bays, but as you say reference photos of these areas are somewhat hard to find. Been spending a lot of time of Google image search recently!
My sedentary pursuits http://www.outerarm.co.uk

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Philipp Gross
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Re: X-47B

Post by Philipp Gross »

Quite an interesting subject Ian!

Glad they haven't put AIs in these things...yet :? :lol:

Philipp
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Rod Dumouchel
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Re: X-47B

Post by Rod Dumouchel »

John Everett wrote: You're going to need to do a lot of scratchbuilding to provide the pilot with a proper instrument panel. :lol:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Little nervious about your job John? Just think someday you maybe able to fly to New York and still be sitting in your home office in Denver. (little scary when you think about it though)

Regards,

Rod

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Justin Wooding
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Re: X-47B

Post by Justin Wooding »

Hey Ian, i am liking this! Looks like a nice project for a mojo restorer :D
Woody...

Trying hard to do some modeling!

Ian Shumsky
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Joined: 17 Sep 2014, 18:04
Location: Reading, UK
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Re: X-47B

Post by Ian Shumsky »

Hi Justin, thanks for dropping by! Yes, I think this may just be the tonic - something different, fun and relatively simple... but I'll see how my sanity holds when it is time for the decal application!

Small update! With the nose landing gear complete, it is on to the left and right landing gear. The instructions have you start with the right landing gear, built from these parts

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And after the liberal application of glue

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The strut needs to be attached - the instructions suggest it should just clip in, but we'll see! I also need to add another couple of pieces of small PE and caballing.
My sedentary pursuits http://www.outerarm.co.uk

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