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Belly Tank kit in styrene


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On 2/11/2018 at 7:10 PM, Howard Cohen said:

Easy to build one, get an airplane kit, a saw and some glue, any airplane kit, they all have the right shape :) 

I have to disagree here Howard. I unboxed a mint in box Fokker world war one tri-wing fighter plane and applied my saw in several places and no matter "how I cut it" it makes a terrible looking belly tank racer with zero aerodynamics. I moved the engine to the center like the photos shown here and everything. Still looks awful. Sorry,no photos available for posting 🙂

 

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A injection plastic belly tanker kit was announced by American Satco years ago. The owner announced 3 plastic kits but none were ever cut in steel....just plans and drawings. I have a sales sheet around somewhere...I'll post if I can find. 

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12 hours ago, Rocking Rodney Rat said:

Thanks, TIM....That was a collaborative effort with Kit Karson and me. -RRR

Rodney and Kit....even more impressed after looking through your Fotki build album link posted above. 

And big kudos to you both for some VERY realistic weathering and patina....looks so real, especially when compared to the overdone weathering and patina that seems to so heavily prevail among the military models crowd these days.  

TIM

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12 hours ago, tim boyd said:

Rodney and Kit....even more impressed after looking through your Fotki build album link posted above. 

And big kudos to you both for some VERY realistic weathering and patina....looks so real, especially when compared to the overdone weathering and patina that seems to so heavily prevail among the military models crowd these days.  

TIM

It's easy to get carried away with weathering....-RRR

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On 2/11/2018 at 11:34 PM, Art Anderson said:

Except that the quintessential "belly tank streamliner" body shell was the long-range, aluminum "ferry tank", used to give the P-38 Lightning transatlantic range for ferrying to England during WW-II--and I know of no 1/24 scale Lockheed P-38 Lightning kit.     As for a styrene kit, too many unanswered questions, starting with "Which one should be kitted", and secondly, perhaps more important:  "Would enough modelers buy such a kit, should it be offered?"  As iconic a dry lakes/Bonneville straightliner car as belly tankers were,  in a very real way, I wonder if one would have enough following to generate the sales needed for such a kit to be profitable?  (not that I'd not buy one, for I would in a New York Minute).  

As Art posted above...When the Covid lock down started March 2020 I dove into this very subject. Not having a 1/25 scale aircraft kit or somewhat suitable submarine or rocket fuselage as a start point I located an actual P-38 drop tank online that a seller discarded from a Trumpeter kit...only problem....it was 1/32 scale. Thus commenced the search for compatible engine, wheels and everything else in suitable enough detail to render a decent enough outcome. If you think 1/25 scale presents a challenge stuffing all that stuff in such a small size....try 1/32!

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Edited by styromaniac
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  • 1 month later...
On 2/12/2018 at 3:13 PM, alan barton said:

Every time someone does a post on bellytankers I feel guilty because my vacforms have been a W.I.P. for WAYYYY too long. 

The tanker was scaled up from the dimensions quoted in the 1962(?) Hot Rod magazine article on the  360D car shown above. I also have a version with a flat bottom. Some cars seem to have done this to get the whole show a little closer to the ground.

The Vesco - Nish streamliner was commissioned by a guy in the States who bought twenty off me.  He was somehow associated with the team and provided me with a calendar that had enough photos and dimensions to work from.  Kicking myself now that I never copied the calendar before returning it to him!  Did anyone here ever buy one of these off him?

Probably the thing that put this on the backburner was doing the clear parts.  Anyone who has ever done any vacforming will know that the tiniest spec of dust on a clear vacform will look like a tennis ball in scale!  Still, I know more now than I did then - it's at least 25 years since I made these moulds, so maybe it's time to drag them out and try again.

Cheers

Alan

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Really nice job on the Vesco - Nish streamliner, beautiful lines.

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Thanks John.  The fin is now on and all blended in but the primer split on me ( a long crack down the inside of one of those tyre fairings) so I have a bit of repair to do before I finally get some paint on the thing. It is a very pretty racecar, very smooth flowing lines as you would expect from a LSR car but still, very pretty.

Cheers

Alan

Edited by alan barton
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  • 1 month later...
46 minutes ago, CabDriver said:

It just occurred to me today that this could be a GREAT project (and a decent seller) for one of the 3D print manufacturers...

 

I agree Jim.  I am some what surprised one has not shown up yet. The frame and body would be right up a 3d printers wheel house. 

 

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I remember California Model Works advertised a belly tanker kit- tried ordering one and no one could get one for me. I do have a vacuum formed body that is warped with the ends touching and the center areas gapping. Came with what appears to be jenny aircraft wheels and tall skinny tires.

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