Virtual Museum of the Vietnam War

Boeing B-52D "Stratofortress/BUFF" Diorama

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Built by Russ Feldt, 2012-2013

Part 4 - Diorama and ground support vehicles

This build report part begins with the construction of the bomb clips. Russ was kind enough to provide detailed instructions for buildding these. They are available under this link:

Instructions for building a loaded Big Belly bomb clip

Instructions for building an empty Big Belly bomb clip

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Russ also remarked: "Since I started modelling the bomb clips for the B-52D, it's always bothered me that I couldn't remember ever seeing these clips or their trailers while I was on Okinawa. We had the D models, but I don't recall ever seeing the clips. We did have the bomb trucks and I can vividly remember being inside the 47 section and hearing the bombs "clank" as they were rolled down the bed of the truck.

Then I discovered the image below. It shows a jammer (an MJ-1 loader) loading bombs directly into the bomb bay. I suspect that was how the bombs were loaded on Okinawa. Apparently, we didn't have a hard stand and the MMS folks had to load the bombs onto the clip panels while they were installed in the plane. That had to be a living hell as those bomb bays really got hot during the day."

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Russ also decided to build a model of a bomb lift trailerfor his diorama. Below is a picture of what the bomb lift trailer looked like and Russ' version of the control end. He first used wheels from a HO scale semitrailer. They were a bit too large but they're the only ones he could find at the time in this format and close to theactual size. They were later replaced with more accurate ones - from a Hasegawa US Aircraft Weapon Loading set. The scale is closer now to the actual unit.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Here is the bomb lift trailer with the three units assembled.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Below a picture of the lift trailer essentially finished until another clip assembly is built and placed inside the trailer. Russ said that he didn't have any pictures of the inner part of the lift trailer so what is shown in the picture below is just an approximation. Fortunately this will all be hidden with the clip inside.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The bomb lift trailer was called a Munitions Handling Unit (MHU). It was built in a "U" shape so that a bomb clip transporter could be backed into the open end. The lift arms inside the trailer engaged brackets attached to the bomb clip cradle and lifted the bomb clip while the transporter was removed. Then the bomb clip was lowered to a few inches above the pavement. All the wheels were swiveled 90 degrees and the MHU was pushed under the bomb bay. The bomb clip was then lifted up inside the bomb bay and attached to a frame at the top of the bay.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Russ was also kind enough to provide detailed instructions for building the bomb clip transport trailer:

Building a Big Belly bomb clip transporter

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Another vehicle that Russ decided to build for his diorama was the truck tractor with a flatbed semi-trailer used for transporting bombs. The folowing photos show the build process.

Since there were no 1/72 civilian tractors available, Russ decided to model an Army tractor which was also used by the Air Force. He used the Academy M35 2.5 ton cargo truck kit and modified it. He shortened the chassis and made his own fifth wheel.

Academy 13410 1:72 U.S. M35 2.5ton Cargo Truck

Following modifications had to be made:

NOTE: You can add the front winch per the instructions or leave it off and mount the front bumper directly to the chassis. Both configurations appear to have been used by the Air Force.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The photo below shows the finished tractor before weathering. The mud guards are from the Academy kit and are attached with strips of styrene.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The flatbed semitrailers most often used could carry a full twenty-four 500lb or 750lb bomb loads for the two B-52 pylons. The picture below shows the actual trailer with a load of 500lb bombs.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Photo courtesy of Gary James.

These trailers were also used to haul partially assembled bombs from the bomb storage area to the munitionjs hardstand, a building where the bombs were finally assembled and then loaded onto the bomb clips and the bomb trucks. The picture below shows the massive amount of bombs that could be carried on these trailers.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

For the trailer wheels, Russ used the rear wheel assembly from the Academy M35 2.5 Ton Cargo Truck kit. The pictures below show the build progress and a comparrison in size between the new trailer and the previously attempted trailer.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The photo below shows the first rendition of the flatbed trailer loaded with 750lb bombs before weathering. The bomb on the end will be shown about to be lifted by a jammer (MJ-1 Bomb Loader). The "Explosives A" sign is held on with a single strand of Russ' lovely wife's hair:

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Another instructions that Russ kindly provided show how to build the maintenance stands used by the crew to access the B52 parts that cannot be reached from the ground:

Instructions for building a B-4 maintenance stand

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Instructions for building a B-5 maintenance stand

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

NOTE: Any email addresses in the above manuals are no longer valid so please contact the Virtual Museum for any inquiries.

The image below shows an MJ-1 ("jammer") taking a 750 lb bomb off the bomb truck. There were usually two jammers working together to load bombs. While one held a bomb to be attached to a pylon, the other was picking up a bomb from the bomb truck.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Photo by David Buris

Note that there are two extenders - one short and the other long - bolted together and attached to the load table. These extenders were necessary in order to lift a bomb high enough to reach the pylon attachments on the B-52, and also to load bombs directly onto the clips in the bomb bay or at the munitions facility.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The second image shows the two extender assemblies Russ had built for his jammers. Assembly of the jammers had to be postponed until it was certain what height the jammer tables will need to be in the diorama.

Russ recalls that as an ECM tech on fighter aircraft, he was required to become proficient in using the jammer as he often had to load and download ECM pods

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Russ has also managed to scratchbuild an MD-3 power unit. While in the Hasegawa US Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE) set, there is the -60 power generator which wasn't available for B-52s back in 1968, other power unit, in this case a MD-3 is needed.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Scratchbuilding starts. That oval object on the front is the gas tank.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Russ recalls:"These generators were far to heavy for someone to push around so they have a built in motor that runs off the generator. The motor drives the front wheels. To move it, you release the handle and pull it down level. This activates the handle control. There is a spring-loaded switch just below the tow ring at the end of the handle. Push it away from you and the unit backs up. Pull it towards you and the unit will follow you."

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

"When you you have it in the location you want, you push the handle vertical and it latches to the frame. At the same time, some metal snubbers attached to the bottom of the handle just above the tires press into the tires, preventing the MD-3 from accidentally rolling. BTW, there were various versions of the MD-3, hence the difference in vent panel locations."

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

"All AGE equipment with wheels had to have some kind of safety brake built in. The maintenance stands had locks on the wheels just like some push carts you can buy. Power AGE like the MD-3 had some sort of snubbing device. Trailers and tractors had a set of wheel chocks. The Air Force was very adamant about securing AGE and other objects used on the flightline - for obvious reasons."

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Another unit to be built was the NF-2 light cart. As Russ has put it: "These carts provided bright light for nighttime maintenance. There was usually at least one cart stationed in each revetment; often there were two. They were basically a metal shell with a small gasoline engine that drove a generator. The generator powered the lights and also outlets on the end panel where you could plug in test equipment or a soldering iron."

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

"Because the engine and generator took up only about a third of the interior, there was plenty of room to climb in on a cold day and warm up your frozen body. You had to keep the doors open though because of the danger of carbon monoxide."

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The model is from the Hasegawa US Aerospace Ground Equipment set. Russ corrected the brackets that hold the lights as they were too thick and shaped wrong. He also ground out the solid plastic that represented the lenses and made some clear plastic lenses. The exhaust pipe (lower right corner of the first picture) that wasn't modeled, was also added.

There are also models of the delivery vans from the Hasegawa Hasegawa X72-07 (#35005) US Pilot and Crew set. The numbers on the sides of those vans are the vehicle identification numbers (for control purposes - they're not serial numbers). The three letters above them indicate what maintenance squadron they belong to: AMS (Aviation Maintenance Squadron), OMS (Operations Maintenance Squadron), FMS (Field Maintenance Squadron) and MMS (Munitions Maintenance Squadron).

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Russ used the tractor models from the Hasegawa US Aircraft Weapon Loading Set X72-05 (#35005). However, the version from the set is not the same Russ remembered having when he worked on B-52s. It only has one door and that is in the back. That setup is entirely impractical for a busy tow tractor working on the flight line.

Russ said: "Our tractors had two doors in the front, one on either side (as shown below) because the operator had to be constantly climbing in and out to hook up and unhook trailers and stands. Trying to do that from a single door in the back would be too difficult and time consuming."

Russ decided to modify the kit version to the two-door version, which turned out to be a time consuming project. In addition to opening the doorways in the sides of the cab, he also had to modify the rear wall of the cab since, in the two-door version, there was no door at the back and the lower window was shaped differently.

Some further modifications include thinning out the rear-view mirror arms, removing the warning light assembly from the roof, rounding off the roof edges, thinning out the steering wheel, removing the oil breather from the top of the radiator, adding a tank and tail lights in the back, correcting the rear hook assembly and adding one to the front. Russ also added glass to the windows (not included in the kit). The radiator and the fenders are not shaped quite right but they would require too much work to modify. It still looks pretty close to the original.

The small tank at the back is not a fuel tank. Russ suspects it's a compressed air tank for the tractor itself or for trailers that have air brakes - like maybe the bomb clip transporters. He haven't been able to find any information on the bomb transporters but they weighed over 8 tons fully loaded and disk or drum brakes likely would not be enough to safely control them. This is just a guess though.

The reflective striping on the tractors was often hand painted and varied from base to base. The stripes on the back bumpers were often painted quickly and not very neatly, hence the finish on the models.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Russ also had a plan, at one point, to show another B-52 scene, where an engine would be changed. He started with a miniature J57 engine from Roll Models, Inc.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The whole surface was stippled and there were some serious holes in the casting. In addition, the shape of some of the engine sections was wrong, especially the exhaust nozzle. It had a solid plug flush with the end of the nozzle and the cone was too large and too long. Russ drilled out the nozzle and reshaped the cone so it looked much better.

Below is the reshaped engine with the molded on details removed. Now it's ready to take the fuel pumps, tubing, wiring and etc. Russ also added 7 mm to the front of the engine to replicate the intake shroud representing the water injection shroud.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Here's the engine after painting. Ready to add the detail.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Below there is a photo of the pump assembly and the engine with added detail:

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The engine needed an engine trailer that was used to transport engines to and from the flight line and frequently to work on the engine while in the shop. It looks like a simple structure but there are some really small and delicate parts there. In the real thing the front wheels were attached to the frames by a vertical pivot bar and each wheel had a steering rod that attached to the tow bar. The hinge points were so small that Russ didn't try to make the wheels moveable.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Having an engine detailed and on a trailer, Russ next went on to find a suitable truck with a crane in 1/72 scale which proved to be difficult. After doing some research into different types of crane trucks he discovered that the Air Force used Army style M246 wreckers for all sorts of lifting jobs including engine changes. These trucks were produced in the 50s and were used well into the 70s. There were three variants of this wrecker: M246, M246A1 and M246A2. Russ patterned his model after the M246A2 variant shown below.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

But then… There were no M246 kits available in 1/72 scale either. However, Russ had already used Academy's 1/72 M35 2.5 ton truck for his bomb truck so he decided to see if he could morph one into an M246 wrecker.

The M35 kit provided the chassis, cab, wheels and assorted other details that Russ could use, but a lot of modifying and scratchbuilding had to be done to turn it into an M246 wrecker. The chassis had to be extended and the rear axels had to be shortened. The decking, crane and cabin and the fifth wheel were all scratch built, as well as a lot of minor details like the air filter, muffler and mud flaps. Below are some pictures of the model as it stands now.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The plan was to show the truck in the deployed configuration with it preparing to lift an engine. If there was a 1/72 kit of a 5 ton truck of the M54 family, it would be more correct to use such a kit with an extra long wheel base chassis.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

One more thing to take care of were the fire extinguishers that will be placed in front of the aircraft. These are from the Hasegawa US Aerospace Ground Equipment set. They were pretty accurate out of the box, except the handle frame was overly large in diameter, not round, and the tow ring at the top was grossly incorrect.

Russ cut off the kit's tow rings and replaced them with slices of round sprue. It took a lot of careful sanding to get the handle assembly even close to scale. The bottom feet of the stand were just large triangles and had to be trimmed and sanded down to a rounded shape. Otherwise, the extinguishers looks pretty close to scale.

The red rectangular piece on the front is a cabinet that houses a rolled up fire hose.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

With ground equipment basically completed, Russ then directed his attention to the figures and other details such as tool boxes. Russ recalls: "When we reported for duty at a new base, we were issued a complete tool box. They were usually a large affair that weighed around 75 pounds. Naturally, we couldn't carry these around on the aircraft so we were also issued tool bags. These were made of sturdy canvas and were large enough to carry the most often used and necessary tools. A picture of one of these bags is below."

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Russ wanted to model these bags because they were the most prevalent tool carriers on the flight line. He considered using modeling putty to shape a bag but discovered it was much easier to carve one out of a stick of styrene. Below is the first of his model tool bags. At first they didn't look exactly like the original but then got better as he made more.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Another important object on the diorama would be the revetment. Again Russ was friendly enough to provide detailed building instructions for those wanting to build their own revetments:

Instructions for building a large aircraft revetment

NOTE: Any email addresses in the above manuals are no longer valid so please contact the Virtual Museum for any inquiries.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

While he struggled with the framework for his diorama, Russ has been experimenting with creating some scale pavement. Russ decided against manually marking and detailing such a large expanse of parking ramp and went on to create it in Photoshop instead.

This idea of using Photoshop to create the tarmac turned into a real challenge. The biggest problem was the overall size of the ramp in the diorama (~ 38 in x 38 in). Since Russ' printer would only print 8.5 in x 11 in sheets, he had to print the ramp in segments.

But this presented another problem because of positioning the tie down points, grounding points, fuel ports, etc. as well as the oil and fuel stains, tire tracks and blast marks in the correct locations relative to the aircraft - but with the correct portions of these details on specific segments.

Russ added six ground points and two fuel pit covers. While he didn't actually have a diagram that shows the correct position and number of ground points, he worked with various pictures showing them near the bomb bay, front main gear and nose so he assumed assuming there were at least six, three on each side.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Grounding point

Russ found a TO (tech order) that shows a B-52 with a fuel pit cover just behind the right wing root. The manual shows only one fuel pit but with a plane that size, I can't believe there would only be one, so I added a cover on the left side as well.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Fuel pit cover

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Below is the basic tarmac pattern that created from an actual photo. Russ also added other details such as oil and fuel spills, previously mentionend fuel covers and static grounding point marks. There are also jet blast stains, tire tracks, and what Russ called the "grunge" layer - the general dirtiness around the areas that see the most traffic and maintenance. Russ printed them out on a heavy matte paper, pieced them together and then sprayed the whole thing with lacquer dullcote.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

Russ constructed a base for his diorama aout of plywood on wooden frame. The base is meant to be separated in two halves for transport or storage:

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The two halves are held together by strong magnets eliminating the need for brackets or screws:

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The base in the picture below is stained and in process ot applying the tarmac sections. The edge of the base is prepared to take a plexiglass enclosure. The separation line between the halves goes from front to back along the centerline of the aircraft so it would be less obvious from the front:

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

The next picture shows the two halves separated. Strong magnets, together with locating pins hold the two halves solidly together without using brackets and screws.

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

And another one with the aircraft in place (the wings aren't completed in this shot):

Monogram 1:72 B-52 Stratofortress/BUFF by Russ Feldt

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Part 1 - Fuselage Interior

Part 2 - Fuselage exterior

Part 3 - Wings

Part 4 - Base and ground equipment

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