42 replies to this topic

[soccerkid6]

Wow   That's one big plane! I can definitely see how designing the wing to be sturdy enough would take some though, glad you could pull it off  

[streifen]

Wow! What a great pose (by you!)! haha!! Just joking here. Great B52! I like that it is minifig scale too!

[Ralph_S]

Thanks guys.

Kai NRG, on 11 September 2012 - 11:48 AM, said:

That amazing!  I love how big it is, it must have taken a LOT of time!  All that grey works very nicely as well!  

the amount of building time was actually not that bad. I built it spread out over a month, during which I also built a van (which I didn't post here because it doesn't fit anywhere), went on holiday for a week and spent another weekend away from home. I'd expected it to take longer.    

streifen, on 11 September 2012 - 12:38 PM, said:

Wow! What a great pose (by you!)! haha!! Just joking here. Great B52! I like that it is minifig scale too!

It's bigger than minifig scale IMO. My face in the picture where I swoosh it shows the strain of lifting this thing. It's heavy and its size makes it awkward. I didn't want to hit the ceiling (I almost did), I didn't want to poke my eyes out with the wings and I didn't want to drop it either.

Cheers,
Ralph

[GabryS]

Oustastanding masterpiece, nothing else I could say.
I really admire the amout of bricks, time and cool techniques you put into the model.
Can't wait to see how else could you amaze us, since it's going to be harder now, after this giant.
Best regards,
Filip

I also wonder, did you have all the pieces "around", so yuo just could just sit and build, or did you hav to make some BL orders all the time?

Edited by GabryS, 11 September 2012 - 04:02 PM.

[Tervlon]

Wonderfully done, Ralph! This is gorgeous. That you can lift it over your head is a testament to your outstanding engineering skills!

[DraikNova]

You have to much time on hand. Awesome.

[ShaydDeGrai]

Great job on the wing mounting!  Between the sweep and the torque those things must withstand, there's got to be some cool engineering going on under the covers.

Oh yeah, the outside is impressive too  

[Commander_Rob]

Excuse the smashing sound, that was my jaw hitting the floor.

Absolutely astonishing in scale and detail, and really does justice to the sheer size of the real deal.

[DLuders]

What a great model!  I work at Fairchild AFB, Washington (where B-52s used to be based).  We still have a B-52D "Tall Tail" aircraft on "static display" in a park right down the road.  The B-52 is considered to be one of the Top 10 greatest aircraft of all time, and your LEGO model is too!       

[Ralph_S]

GabryS, on 11 September 2012 - 03:56 PM, said:

Oustastanding masterpiece, nothing else I could say.
I really admire the amout of bricks, time and cool techniques you put into the model.
Can't wait to see how else could you amaze us, since it's going to be harder now, after this giant.
Best regards,
Filip

I also wonder, did you have all the pieces "around", so yuo just could just sit and build, or did you hav to make some BL orders all the time?

I'm not about to build anything bigger than this any time soon. I did manage to make it work, but this is already a bit larger than is sensible, really. I didn't have to put in any bricklink order once I started building, although I did raid a friend's collection for a few small bits and bobs. I didn't have the slopes I used for the engine pylons, for instance, and didn't actually know they existed in dark bley until I saw them at his place. I started buying parts more than three years ago, initially with a B-2 Spirit in mind, but later thinking of a B-52. I was well prepared and my LEGO-room well stocked. There are a few parts that I have run out of (dark bley 2x3 plates, 2x8 plates, 2x10 plates, 1x6 tiles) but I've got lots of others left over.

Tervlon, on 11 September 2012 - 04:06 PM, said:

Wonderfully done, Ralph! This is gorgeous. That you can lift it over your head is a testament to your outstanding engineering skills!

Thanks. Obviously some thought went into making it strong, but I think it's also a testament to how strong LEGO actually is. I seriously didn't expect the structure and the material to be stiff enough for the outrigger wheels to not hit the ground.

DraikNova, on 11 September 2012 - 05:01 PM, said:

You have to much time on hand. Awesome.

I know you mean the comment in a humorous way, and I am glad you like the model, but if I had too much time on my hands, I'd have built it much sooner. I got the final parts I needed for this about half a year ago, and this summer was the first time where I actually had more than two days to work on it in a row.

ShaydDeGrai, on 11 September 2012 - 06:21 PM, said:

Great job on the wing mounting!  Between the sweep and the torque those things must withstand, there's got to be some cool engineering going on under the covers.

Oh yeah, the outside is impressive too  

Apart from the carry-through structure, which I do think is pretty cool myself, the rest of the structure is really quite simple. there's basically a box structure of interconnected Technic beams running through the fuselage. This was one of the advantages of building a B-52 rather than, say, a cargo aircraft. The upper fuselage of the real aircraft is filled with fuel tanks, so i could easily use that space for the structural bits.

Commander_Rob, on 11 September 2012 - 06:48 PM, said:

Excuse the smashing sound, that was my jaw hitting the floor.

Absolutely astonishing in scale and detail, and really does justice to the sheer size of the real deal.

Thank you. I worried about the detail when building it. It's a big jet and I was afraid that it would look like a big grey sausage with wings if I didn't get it right. Since I'd been thinking about building one of these for a long time, I'd gathered a lot of reference pictures that I could pour over for the details. They were a big help.

DLuders, on 11 September 2012 - 07:46 PM, said:

What a great model!  I work at Fairchild AFB, Washington (where B-52s used to be based).  We still have a B-52D "Tall Tail" aircraft on "static display" in a park right down the road.  The B-52 is considered to be one of the Top 10 greatest aircraft of all time, and your LEGO model is too!       

Much appreciated. Any such list is undoubtedly somewhat arbitrary, but it is undoubtedly a classic. It's amazing to think that the newest aircraft in the fleet was delivered 50 years ago. I did look at a B-52D briefly, because the Vietnam camouflage is interesting, but with dark green and dark tan only being available in small quantities (and with me already having bought a lot of grey, as mentioned above) I decided to go for more current B-52H. There are lots of other B-52s that would probably look more interesting than this one. The NB-52A used as a mothership for the X-15, for instance, would also have been neat.

Cheers,
Ralph

[Darth Dino]

Hi

Ralph, what can i say the other did not say already?

Two things: Your B52 is that big, it swooshes you, not you swooshing the model.

I did not know there are dark blueish grey wedges. It seems, if there have been some dbg wedges, there are not available anymore. You purchased them all!

Realy great mocing. Now i look ashamed to my passenger plane i build for my so that uses a single piece nose...

Dino

[nerick906]

WOW !!!! THATS ONE MASSIVE GREAT PLANE !!!

congratulations !!

[Slick Willie]

Oh, my!  How I love Lego Airplanes!  This one is a 'beut!  You have gone above and beyond anyone's expectations.

[gratefulnat]

I really admire your building prowess

I have always enjoyed seeing you present your creations   
Your ability at constucting airplanes/jets (amongst many other things) with such such attention to detail, scale, and structural soundness is astounding.

Thanks for sharing another mind-boggeling build!

[Derfel Cadarn]

Beautiful work Ralph, Your planes are always a joy to see. I really appreciate the lengths you go to when designing these, to always get the details just right. All I can say is stunning! Please tell me you are bringing this to STEAM next month!

[Ralph_S]

Thanks guys. I want to push my own boundaries  a bit with every new project. I think that with this one, I pushed them a bit more.   

Darth Dino, on 11 September 2012 - 10:54 PM, said:

Hi

Ralph, what can i say the other did not say already?

Two things: Your B52 is that big, it swooshes you, not you swooshing the model.

I did not know there are dark blueish grey wedges. It seems, if there have been some dbg wedges, there are not available anymore. You purchased them all!

Realy great mocing. Now i look ashamed to my passenger plane i build for my so that uses a single piece nose...

Dino

Seriously, the dark grey 3x12 wedges I used for the leading edges were the bits that took me the longest to source. There were some in a Star Wars several years ago, but they only became available in larger numbers this year. I used about 50 on each wing.

Cadarnold Schwarzenegger, on 12 September 2012 - 09:00 PM, said:

Beautiful work Ralph, Your planes are always a joy to see. I really appreciate the lengths you go to when designing these, to always get the details just right. All I can say is stunning! Please tell me you are bringing this to STEAM next month!

Thank you. Sadly, no. I will be at STEAM, but I cannot get this behemoth to the show. Since I don't live in the UK any more and don't drive, I have to limit myself to stuff I can fit in my suitcase. At approximately 15 kg and with a span of 1.6 m, that's not an option for this model. Perhaps some time in the future. I have no intention of taking this model apart any time soon.

That said, I think I've got some pretty cool stuff to show.  

My display at the National Railway Museum (1) by Mad physicist, on Flickr

(and perhaps something new.)

Cheers,
Ralph

[Foggy]

I just "discovered" you planes world and as I'm keen on them, I'm simply without words. HAT OFF man!
Last year saw for the 1st time the B-52 flying at Nellis AFB Las Vegas and a dream came true and this model is PERFECT.

BIG BIG COMPLIMENTS for all your models, especially planes, you left me without words       
Ciao flavio

[Ralph_S]

Foggy, on 19 September 2012 - 10:07 AM, said:

I just "discovered" you planes world and as I'm keen on them, I'm simply without words. HAT OFF man!
Last year saw for the 1st time the B-52 flying at Nellis AFB Las Vegas and a dream came true and this model is PERFECT.

BIG BIG COMPLIMENTS for all your models, especially planes, you left me without words       
Ciao flavio

Thank you very much, Flavio. I've never seen a B-52 in the air myself, but have seen one in the Wings over the Rockies museum in Denver. Last year, whilst I was in Washington for Brickfair, a B-52 flew over the apartment I was staying at, but unfortunately I was sat on the toilet at the time (with some intestinal discomfort due to Korean food I'd eaten the night before) and missed all the fun  

Cheers,
Ralph