Boeing b-29 superfortress

[eaglewing7]

I'm starting to think that it is a combination of proportional issues...

 

From what I can tell, the rudder may actually be too big, or rather, too wide as a whole.  From what I have seen, the rudder should not extend to or past the peak of the vertical stabilizer.  

 

As for the vertical stabilizer, I think it is actually too small.  

 

Finding a good set of three view drawings would be a great asset to help ensure everything is scaled correctly.  And, a thank you for taking the constructive criticism as such.  I look forward to seeing further development screen shots as they come in.

[Flying_pig]

Actually after staring at some blueprints and comparing them to my screenshots it turns out the tail is the right size but when it begins to slope up it should be a more gradual slope unlike mine which is actually pretty steep and the vertical stabilizer is just a bit to small here are some revised screenshots

Edited January 1, 2013 by mj12345

[eaglewing7]

I have no idea then why the stabilizer looks off to me then.  If the plans you have appear to match, then it must be fine.  It could be the fact that the pictures are fairly small, so the general scale could be skewed because of that...

 

One thing I will point out though, is that the rudder is definitely off, because the edge where the rudder connected or hinged to the vertical stabilizer should be a straight edge, with no angles or bends in it.  Also, the rudder is too wide, and needs to be made a bit skinnier.

 

As for the horizontal stabilizer, your changes are definitely an improvement, but it still needs a bit more refinement before it will be completely accurate.

 

I'll try and find some pictures to show what I mean more clearly next year.  

[Flying_pig]

i think the reason that the vertical stabilizer is off was because the curve was still pretty bad i tried to refine it a bit more but it still may look off as far as the tail goes though there actually is a very slight curve at the top of the tail but you are right that there are no curves near any of the rudder supports however in my model i had positioned one of my supports near the very top of the rudder so i had to move it down also i am aware that currently the end of the fuselage looks more like the back of 787 engine than part of a b-29 but when i deleted that end of the fuselage it just was way to funny looking so i decided to post these screenshots with it since there more about the rudder and vertical stabilizer not the shape of the back of the fuselage anyway here's the screenshot

[eaglewing7]

After the rear end of the fuselage is rebuilt, it should be in much better shape than the original.  

 

I guess the question I have to ask though, is what variant of the B-29 are you looking to replicate here?  Are you going for an early model, with all of the remote control turrets?  A Silver Plate version (nuclear bomber)?  Etc...?  There were some differences when it comes to smaller details on each different variant, but generally your model should be fine.

 

I came across a three-view drawing that gives a good representation of the vertical stab and rudder, to show you what I meant about the size and shape of the stab, and the size and shape of the rudder.  It also gives a good view of the horizontal stab, which is looking pretty good.

 

 

With that drawing posted, it gives a pretty broad view of what the '29 looks like.

 

A book like this might be useful as well, although the price is a bit high.  Your local library might have a copy, sometimes it's good to check with them.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Boeing-B-29-Superfortress-Warbird-Tech/dp/0933424795

 

Here are some more pictures of the tail:

 

 

 

 

The three-view should be pretty good for helping with the horizontal stab changes needed.

 

Keep up the good work.

Edited January 1, 2013 by eaglewing7

[Flying_pig]

i am currently basing all modeling off of FIFI this is because of the fact that a color photo is much easier to use then one that is black and white and because since fifi is still in use the commemorative air force actually has a gps in the cockpit which would be nice for users who don't know how to navigate without one but the exterior model should look about the same as one from world war 2

[Flying_pig]

Finished most of the tail section (the tail gunners area needs another window and one window needs curved edges)

Also finished all of the gun turrets and a few other random little details on the fuselage

Edited January 2, 2013 by mj12345

[eaglewing7]

FiFi must not have been a Silver Plate model, because they removed almost all of the defensive armament from them, because they were not necessary at that point in the war.  Then again, even non-Silver Plate models that were dropping conventional ordinance usually had the majority of the turrets and guns removed because they were unnecessary.  Although, I have heard stories that the remote turrets were a major pain in the arse for aircrew and mechanics...

 

Seeing the whole aircraft in the second shot, I think you might be right, the aircraft does look a bit short, but I think there is a different issue that may be causing it to appear shorter than it should be.  Looking at drawings, and a model I have of the "Enola Gay" made by Boeing, it appears that your model's fuselage is tapering down towards the tail too far back.  That is, the fuselage begins to taper down towards the tail before the last "porthole" style gunners window near the last rotating remote turret.  From the three view drawing I posted, the fuselage actually starts to taper down near the rear end of the aft set of bomb bay doors.

 

Progress looks great, by the way.  I noticed that you are going to model the somewhat more modern cockpit of FiFi, any chance of having another cockpit available as an option so that you could swap them out, and use a purely Second World War pit, without the aid of more modern instruments?

[Flying_pig]

Fixed the fuselage up

also i don't see why i can't do a world war 2 era cockpit model as well since the only real modern instrument i would include in the modern cockpit would be a gps and i also redid engines 2&3 (1&4 are slightly shorter then 2&3)

[eaglewing7]

Looking good, and as for having both cockpits, as long as it isn't too much work for you.

 

As for the aircraft as a whole, it looks good.  The wings need a few more degrees of anhedral, and need to be more elliptical like the  horizontal stabilizer.  As for the horizontal stabilizer, it is the correct shape, but the elevator needs to taper a bit more from the rounded tips of the stabilizer, to the gunners position.  It is a relatively subtle taper, but it's there...

 

As for the engines, looking good, and yes the inboard engines certainly were much longer than the outboard, because of the landing gear being stowed in the nacelle.

[Flying_pig]

made the bomb bay (minus the doors)

 

and made the norden bomb sight

Edited January 3, 2013 by mj12345

[Ntr09]

Wonderfully quick progress!

 

-NR

[karingka]

Yeah, this looks amazing!

[Ryan M.]

Wow you work fast!

[Flying_pig]

did some more work on the engineers panel and did one of the compasses and the turn coordinator as well as did a test night render (i realize you can't back textures in the cycles render engine yet that was more for fun) also the compass is so reflective because otherwise you could barely see it much less make out if it looked good or not

and made the aft gunners compartment

Edited January 13, 2013 by mj12345

[Flying_pig]

ok since i only have around five gauges left before i am done with modeling (except for tweaking of the actual model) i am going to start adding animations and such to aircraft because of this it might be awhile before i post another update however hopefully by the end of this (no guarantees) i will be able to release a version with only the exterior complete and a nonfunctional virtual cockpit and then hopefully sometime between august and December release the virtual cockpit

anyways here's a render of the exterior of the aircraft since it occurred to me i haven't posted one of these since i started the project (except ones that were closeups of a particular part) also unrelated but since i have never been the worlds best at texturing i was wondering if any one would like to texture this aircraft due note that currently the aircraft is not UV unwrapped due to the fact that i'm not good at texturing and therefore would not know a good layout to UV unwrap something anyways if you would want to please tell me

[Gjalp]

Is it just me or are the horizontal stablilzers in the wrong place? According to the 3 view you posted the elevators are positioned behind the rear guinners "cockpit:, on your model they end at the MG pivot in the fuse. Apart from that this is looking awesome!!!!! Great work so far and I cant wait to see what you do next!

 

Slainte,

 

Andy

NZCH

[Flying_pig]

Thanks for pointing that out good news is this time this is a really easy thing to fix (though I can't believe I never noticed that)

[eaglewing7]

I think the cockpit windows also need some slight adjustments.  The windows that run along the sides should come a bit lower on the fuselage, to offer a greater amount of view towards the wings, and also around the nose of the aircraft.

 

Also, the scoops on the bottom of the forward engine cowling could use a bit more rounding out.

[Gjalp]

Hiya mj12345,

 

no worries, glad I could help Keep up the great work....its fun watching you model this mighty bird!

 

Slainte,

 

Andy

NZCH

[Flying_pig]

I think the cockpit windows also need some slight adjustments.  The windows that run along the sides should come a bit lower on the fuselage, to offer a greater amount of view towards the wings, and also around the nose of the aircraft.

 

Also, the scoops on the bottom of the forward engine cowling could use a bit more rounding out.

Those windows have actually been annoying me for a really long time and I actually have already been working on the engine problem for a while it's just that due to the angle of the shot you can't see the engine I had been adjusting

[Gjalp]

Hmm...sounds like we need piccies, lots of them from different angles of every part of the plane....hint hint hint

 

Slainte,

 

Andy

NZCH

[Flying_pig]

Will 487 be enough? (in a video of course) if so I should have that many up in roughly 4 hours 30 minutes

[Flying_pig]

here's those 487 pictures

 

b29_1.wmv

Edited January 19, 2013 by mj12345

[Gjalp]

nice!!!!! You might want to push the front landing gear towards the forward part of the bay and angle slightly towards the nose, and bring the tail feathers back as well, they still seem to be sitting too far back.....just me being picky is all. Apart from that its looking really nice....cant wait for more!

 

Slainte,

 

Andy

NZCH