¹⁄35

The Mother Child ReUnion

At this point I mounted all but the “exposed” engine to the airframe, along with the canopy (the framing if which was painted in place, using a toothpick and my special bottle of silver, I mentioned earlier), and other clear components. Why not mount the “exposed” engine, you ask? There was a lot of additional handling to take place. Both aircraft were now essentially complete, now they could be used to provide me with reference as to the proportion of the Diorama base features, and other Add-On components. Granted the Diorama base is pretty simple, after all it’s just a big flat piece of aircraft parking area, with one little difference, it’s got a big ramp and pit in it. I needed the XF-85 “Goblin” to figure out the depth and width of the pit, and the B-29 to figure the length. With the pit constructed, I needed both aircraft in their “final” positions the figure out the most important part of the Diorama, the “Trapeze”.

The “Trapeze” is the apparatus used to launch and retrieve the XF-85 “Goblin” from the aft bomb bay of the B-29. As mentioned but aircraft in their “final” positions were required to estimate the proportions of this apparatus. Having photos but no drawings I estimated the size of each section, and scratch build the apparatus in the partially deployed position ready to receive the XF-85 “Goblin”. The “Trapeze” was made from various standard sizes of Evergreen plastic rod, and a piece of solder bent to shape and painted to represent to “nose cradle”.

My goal was/is to show the B-29 as “Monstro” (the whale in Disney’s Pinocchio), in one of its incarnations as a “Mother ship” for test vehicles at Edwards AFB / Muroc Lake. This particular version is for the FICON, parasite fighter evaluation, before the B-36 became available.

Well there it is both Aircraft, the Diorama base, the “Trapeze” figured out and built, all in position; all done right? WRONG. Remember that “exposed” engine, well it now gets attached, but looks a bit plain. I constructed two “work platforms” using the same rod the “Trapeze” was made from and some corrugated sheet. Of course a couple of mechanic figures were needed to put the platforms to use. A few other figures were added to the work areas around the B-29 and “Goblin” as well as a Bomb Cart and Lighting Unit Generator, from a Hasegawa Ground Equipment Set, just to “fill out” the scene.

Oh and finally a little side building just knocked together really, to hold the batteries, for the lights under the B-29 and in the pit. The building was made using textured plastic sheet from Evergreen, originally intended as railroad car siding. I added the lights, really to call attention to the fact there was something going on under the B-29. Turns out the B-29 sort of overwhelms the diorama, simply due to its size. A single AA battery powers the lights. The large light in the Pit is a small flashlight bulb designed for single cell operation (Ray-O-Vac T1AAA), I found at Wal-Mart. The two smaller bulbs on the “work stands” are ones I found at the local Model Railroad Shop, I just selected the smallest I could find, they had an in-line resistor, as they are intended for 12 volt use, which I removed. The bulbs are simply wired in parallel, each bulb connected directly to the battery, this to provide the “best” brightness.

As I said previously, the Diorama took on an energy and mind of its own. Original plans for something simple soon went by the way side. With so many interesting features showing up in the reference photos, and having “invested” in building a fairly large Diorama, I incorporated several “extras”. Having been a “model builder” for some 50 years now, this is only my third attempt at building anything of this magnitude. I hope I have time left to do at least a couple more I have planned, in my head, as they do prove quite enjoyable, for me.