XB-70 Valkyrie

Choppa Nutta
that's gonna be one big model !
never seen this plane looking so worn as in the photos.
Interesting project Don 🙂

Stephan Ryll
I'll take a seat - that will be very interesting🙂

Konrad -
Watching too. 👍

Donald Dickson II
Choppa, it is huge for a 1/72. I just have to figure out how I am going to get it to look like that. I am thinking masking fluid over primer, spray the white then go to town with a tooth brush. Of course, any ideas would be appreciated.

Stephen, Konrad. It's going to be a bit. I have 3 or 4 projects up before this one. This one is gonna take some planning.

Augie
try this on some scrap first..

undercoat to be metal color in enamel
overcoat spray white in acrylic..
use something like a scotch brite pad on desired areas to create the wear

[img1]

Choppa Nutta
....... masking fluid ?!?!? ..... do you mean chipping fluid ?

The worn areas have some blending to them,
I'm thinking a couple decent strong coats of dark grey primer and plenty of drying time,
with as few coats as possible of the white
brushed on in the same direction as the airflow
so that any patchiness in the white looks natural,
then I would use a fine sand paper to wear out the areas as indicated in the photos
Using masking tape to respect wear up to certain panel lines etc. as seen in the photos.

Though I might use masking fluid or salt chipping for the more defined areas of wear and then sand to blend them in a bit.
Another trick I might use is to apply masking tape before the white is properly dry and peal it off pulling up some of the white paint and then blend with fine sand paper.

All sanding done in the same direction as the airflow 🙂

Choppa Nutta
just saw Augies suggestion,
.... is the colour showing through bare metal ?

Augie
Looking at the pictures and a couple of others I have found regarding the XB-70 construction I think it literally burnt off the paint down to the bare metal hence my suggestion

Donald Dickson II
I was thinking down to primer, but it could well be bare metal as Augie said. Gonna have to do more research. Masking fluid, chipping fluid, same thing. Thick blue gunk you brush on to keep paint from areas. I use it mostly to touch up areas on canopies where I cut the para film wrong.

Augie
Hi Don,

these may help

First is this from construction

[img1]

Can see the base metal colour from under the paint

a bigger one of it after some peeling

[img1]

and this one is slightly more helpful, its pictures of some parts found from the crashed one which show the metal under the paint which shows very little in the way of primer

[img1]

[img1]

[img1]

berni
Hi Donald, an interesting project 👍 im in.

Donald Dickson II
A shame that happened. And to this day no one knows why it happened.

That aside, Augie, I think you are right. I can find nothing showing any kind of real primer on the plane.

Donald Dickson II
And this is part of what I love about this hobby. It motivates me to do research and learn a lot more about the subject. Which usually in turn leads me to other related stuff. Check the video at the bottom of this page. At the 1:50 mark showing it with the B-58.

popularmechanics.com..0-supersonic-bomber/

Augie
Hi Don, the evidence points to a lack of primer for the paint..

as to the crash I have heard a few potential reasons, one being that the 104 had tucked in closer, which due to the huge votex created by the 70, got pulled in till it stuck the wing tip and was flipped over onto the back of the 70..

Even worse really was that they were moments away from breaking the formation to landing.

Donald Dickson II
The accident report also said that he simply lost site of the wing tip and could not determine his spot in relation to the 70. Basically, it was so freaking huge it filled his vision and he didnt realize how close he was. Regardless, it was tragic.

i am going to go ahead with the presumption of no primer. There is nothing to say there was any.

And this may jump ahead of the others and be done right after the B-1. We shall see.