BOOM XB-1

[neil_w]

I tend to think the wings *do* have a fade in the 3D model. But it is not all the way from black to white, more like black to grey.

One additional possibility to consider is that the fade can be done with decals if you have solid black on one side, and when not dealing with compound curves.

 

[mooffle]

BABAR makes a good point. Especially with a light color the shadows from the sun alone would make those natural lines really show on the pad/sky.

The fade itself did turn out pretty cool, with no other accents it kinda looked like an orca.

 

[mbeels]

I tend to think the wings *do* have a fade in the 3D model. But it is not all the way from black to white, more like black to grey.

Yeah, I that's the conclusion I reached. It looks like a black to a darkish grey. Decals are an interesting possibility that I hadn't considered, but it opens up some new options.

BABAR makes a good point. Especially with a light color the shadows from the sun alone would make those natural lines really show on the pad/sky.

That's true, with directional lighting, the shadows would show the shape.

The fade itself did turn out pretty cool, with no other accents it kinda looked like an orca.

Thanks. Yeah, all it needs is two big round black circles up front!

I'll have let some ideas percolate for a while, and come back to this with a fresh perspective.

 

[Nytrunner]

The fade looks good, makes me think of a shock cone forming.

 

[BABAR]

Yeah, thanks for the honest opinion. I'm not super thrilled with the fade either. Sometimes less is more.

It's hard to tell from the 3D model, but I'm not even sure that the wings have a fade, it might just be a result of the lighting and reflections. I'll sit on it for a bit and ponder what to do for paint. The simplest option would be to go solid black on the wings. Another option would be go all white (or off-white as you suggested) and some simple stripes, like the artists rendition in my avatar.

The finishing and painting steps are my least favorite part of the process, anybody want to paint a rocket?

I really like the Avatar! Add some panel lines and maybe a few “No Step” decals.

This is NOT a “Fly me until I break” bird, although not necessarily a hangar queen either. It is DEFINITELY worth a 2 foot finishing job!

 

[bobbyg23]

That's what I'm thinking. It would be noticeable close up, but this is going to be a flying rocket anyway, so my main goal is to look decent from the launch rail.

I don't know HOW @bobbyg23 does the painting and masking in one day! That still boggles my mind.

Fir some reason it just works for me.

 

[mbeels]

Fir some reason it just works for me.

Yeah! You definitely get good results. You've got the green thumb of painting. What would that be?

 

[kuririn]

Just read a Business Insider article that says the Air Force has awarded a contract to Boom Supersonic to develop a supersonic Air Force One from the Overture. Last month a contract was awarded to Hermeus to also develop a supersonic AF 1. Seems to me an AF 1 based on a production SST like the Overture makes more sense than a one off. How about an Overture with AF 1 livery for the next project? You would scoop Boom by several years.

 

[mbeels]

Just read a Business Insider article that says the Air Force has awarded a contract to Boom Supersonic to develop a supersonic Air Force One from the Overture.

That's pretty cool. At first glance, the Overture looks an awful lot like the Estes Low-Boom SST. The engines under the wings are different, and the Overture has additional engines at the tail. If I took the Overture as a cylinder with a tailcone, it would be quite a bit easier than the XB-1. And, a much easier paint job (I like that).

 

[BABAR]

Better hurry before @burkefj builds the glider version.

Neh, probably too late already!

 

[mbeels]

Better hurry before @burkefj builds the glider version.

Neh, probably too late already!

True! And a kit is available with both 24 and 29mm motor mount options..... (actually, that'd be a pretty cool rocket glider)

 

[mbeels]

Alright, after setting it aside for a bit and coming back to it, I think it will be ok. It seems my memory of the painting result was somewhat worse than reality. I totally agree with @BABAR that this would look fine with a very simple paint scheme, but I'm going to keep going forward with my attempts to match the 3D model. It is going to be somewhat different, I can't perfectly duplicate that paint scheme, but I think it will still be an ok result in the end.

I worked on the canopy lines this morning. First I masked off with Scotch 2098, it has a sort of plastic-like feel, and conforms somewhat to the curves of the nose cone. I used a piece of paper (folded in half) to get an approximately symmetrical pattern for cutting out the mask.



And then cutting out with a sharp #11 blade:



I started by spraying a coat of clear gloss to seal the paint mask, and then put on a coat of flat black because I didn't have gloss black. After that was dry enough, I put a few coats of gloss clear on top to give it a clear glossy windshield finish.



My 5 year old soon looks on with a critical eye, while my 1 year old takes responsibility for all the yard work I've been neglecting.



It looks like the clear gloss somewhat dissolved the black underneath, so we'll see how it turns out in the end.

 

[Nytrunner]

Oooh, you put clear on wet paint......

 

[mbeels]

Oooh, you put clear on wet paint......

I waited about 30 minutes, it was dry to the touch. But yeah, it definitely mottled over the masking tape. I'll see how it turns out over the actual canopy area. I think it looks ok, so far.....

 

[mbeels]

I have some thin black anodized aluminum tape, so I added a bit of trim around the windshield. It helps add some detail and breaks up the texture.

 

[neil_w]

That looks excellent.

 

[Nytrunner]

That is super fine detail work!

Where do you get that super thin tape?

 

[mbeels]

That is super fine detail work!

Where do you get that super thin tape?

Thanks, I cut it out from a sheet. I used the mask that I cut out for the windshield, stuck it to a section of the aluminum tape, cut it slightly oversize, removed the mask, and then free hand cut inside with a little width. The small windshield is one piece, but I had to do the big one in two pieces because the tape wasn't big enough. It's a bit flimsy to work with, but with some prodding, got it more or less close enough.

 

[kuririn]

Nice touch. I like the contrast of the gloss and the flat.

 

[mbeels]

Nice touch. I like the contrast of the gloss and the flat.

Thanks, I'm working on incorporating more texture and surface detail on this model.

BTW, I did send an email to BOOM some time ago mentioning that I was building a model of the XB-1, and asking how the plane will be painted. They responded with this image. It differs from the 3D model slightly, it has yellow on the leading edges of the horizontal stabilizers and vertical stabilizer (the 3D model doesn't). So now I'm considering how to add yellow over the black I already painted. Maybe mask -> white base coat -> yellow.

I'm also not sure how to best do the black and white logo on the vertical stabilizer. That probably needs to be printed, either water transfer or vinyl.

 

[neil_w]

I'm also not sure how to best do the black and white logo on the vertical stabilizer. That probably needs to be printed, either water transfer or vinyl.

If you're going to be doing any other vinyl printing, then definitely throw that one in... otherwise, probably not worth it just for that, do it with waterslides.

Have you found a good source image for that logo?

 

[jqavins]

For the leading edge stripes: these are 1/4" wide, but I bet you could find 1/8" if you keep looking longer than I did.

 

[kuririn]

If doing waterslides, use white laser decal paper, then clear coat after application
BOOM and logo in black
XB-1 and logo in white(yellow?) on black background.
Logo on stab, white (gray?) on black background.
Clear decal paper would not work well on a black basecoat.
Yeah, as Neil said finding a high res source image to scale and print is the key.

 

[mbeels]

If you're going to be doing any other vinyl printing, then definitely throw that one in... otherwise, probably not worth it just for that, do it with waterslides.

Have you found a good source image for that logo?

I may attempt some waterslides then, I've never done that before, but worth a shot. The file that they sent me is pretty good resolution, better than anything I found on the website.

For the leading edge stripes: these are 1/4" wide, but I bet you could find 1/8" if you keep looking longer than I did.

Yeah, I think I actually have some yellow striping, but it doesn't stick well on hard curves, I doubt I'd get it to wrap around the leading edge and stay down.

 

[Nytrunner]

That's really quite nice of them to provide!

You wouldn't get a response like that from xspace

 

[neil_w]

I may attempt some waterslides then, I've never done that before, but worth a shot. The file that they sent me is pretty good resolution, better than anything I found on the website.
View attachment 432535

Recreating that in an image editor should be fun. If you'd like, I'll be happy to take a crack at it, but first I'd need the exact profile of the vertical stab. Doing waterslides isn't bad, although given those are all on black background makes it a little more exciting to be sure. With a bit of effort, they can produce excellent results.

I'd say go for a fluorescent for the yellow highlights, but fluoro paints are a bit of a pain to deal with. Still, find the brightest yellow you can, the contrast looks great.

I assume you saw that on October 7 they're having some sort of official unveiling of the plane.

 

[kuririn]

Yeah, before you put paint on wait for the unveiling.
Prototypes tend to be a work in progress.
Look at SLS over the years.

 

[jqavins]

[F]irst I'd need the exact profile of the vertical stab.

Hope it helps.

 

[neil_w]

View attachment 432564
Hope it helps.

That’s a 3/4 view.

 

[mbeels]

Hope it helps.

!! That's a sort of horizontal to vertical transition