Evening everyone, figured it was about time I share some of my progress on this beast! I started work on it sometime in 2017 (if I remember correctly) and have been working on and off since. I've been using the original Martin blueprints and photos of the wooden mock-up as reference, which I got from Stan Piet at the Glenn L. Martin Museum. I chose to build the final revision of the model, but might also build some of the manned turret options and the old Marauder-esque plexiglas nose section. I'm using Blender 2.7 for all my modelling.
Pictures (left to right): Front view, side view, top view, close-up on nose section, nose landing gear bay, nose landing gear retracted, main landing gear extended, main landing gear retracted, tail close-up with rudders 15 degrees to the right and elevators 10 degrees down, flaps fully extended (40 degrees).
For those interested in this aircraft, I'll take the time to address two small misconceptions about it:
I often see the aircraft modeled with a very large protrusion at the top of the engine nacelles to accommodate the landing gear (It's even present in the Anigrand 1:144 resin kit), which as far as I can tell was never actually used. Wind tunnel videos from NASA show a mock-up with smaller, less drag-inducing protrusions for the individual wheels. I've also seen people frequently call this 4-engined version the "XB-33A", but none of Martin's documents ever refer to it with the A designation, so I'm not sure where that comes from. That being said, finding performance information on this plane is a nightmare since information tends to be a mix of the original twin-engined version and the final version.
What still needs to be done on the model (in no particular order):
1- Add turrets
2- Rebuild the engine cowlings and nacelle as my previous approach to the air intakes makes it almost impossible to add the cowl flaps and also just looks unrealistic Done.
3- Remodel auxiliary nose landing gear doors (Blueprints don't show the actual design. Older mockup had a single door that opens forwards, unsure if that was maintained or not. The current design leads to the gear's scissors hitting the small doors when the nose gear is rotated) Done.
3- Remodel engine nacelle
4- Remodel wings
5- Fix discrepancies between model and listed dimensions
6- Add hinge brackets for the control surfaces and actuators for the flaps
7- Add trim tabs
8- Finish the aircraft's interior, including nacelle bomb bays
9- Model the auxiliary components of the engine, including oil tanks, oil cooler, air ducts and turbocharger
10- Texture mapping and painting
11- All the coding
If anyone has any questions regarding the aircraft or my modeling process/plans, let me know I'll do my best to answer them! There are a few things I myself am curious about, and so far only have theories about. For example, there are small flaps just aft of the main landing gear compartment on the nacelles. No one I've asked seems to know their purpose, and they're only present in the inboard nacelles. The theory I have formulated with some friends is that the flap opens when the landing gear is extended so that air going into the nacelle is directed outwards again instead of creating drag by hitting the back of the nacelle's interior. I also have yet to figure out where the oil cooler and exhaust stacks are in the aircraft, but I'll explain these problems (and my theories about them!) in a future post
The only reason I haven't provided specifications and whatnot is because I have to find out where I wrote the information down. Like I said, I've been working on it on and off, so I sometimes tend to forget where I've placed my references. Hope you guys like these progress shots!
Cheers,
-Matt
Pictures (left to right): Front view, side view, top view, close-up on nose section, nose landing gear bay, nose landing gear retracted, main landing gear extended, main landing gear retracted, tail close-up with rudders 15 degrees to the right and elevators 10 degrees down, flaps fully extended (40 degrees).
For those interested in this aircraft, I'll take the time to address two small misconceptions about it:
I often see the aircraft modeled with a very large protrusion at the top of the engine nacelles to accommodate the landing gear (It's even present in the Anigrand 1:144 resin kit), which as far as I can tell was never actually used. Wind tunnel videos from NASA show a mock-up with smaller, less drag-inducing protrusions for the individual wheels. I've also seen people frequently call this 4-engined version the "XB-33A", but none of Martin's documents ever refer to it with the A designation, so I'm not sure where that comes from. That being said, finding performance information on this plane is a nightmare since information tends to be a mix of the original twin-engined version and the final version.
What still needs to be done on the model (in no particular order):
1- Add turrets
3- Remodel engine nacelle
4- Remodel wings
5- Fix discrepancies between model and listed dimensions
6- Add hinge brackets for the control surfaces and actuators for the flaps
7- Add trim tabs
8- Finish the aircraft's interior, including nacelle bomb bays
9- Model the auxiliary components of the engine, including oil tanks, oil cooler, air ducts and turbocharger
10- Texture mapping and painting
11- All the coding
If anyone has any questions regarding the aircraft or my modeling process/plans, let me know I'll do my best to answer them! There are a few things I myself am curious about, and so far only have theories about. For example, there are small flaps just aft of the main landing gear compartment on the nacelles. No one I've asked seems to know their purpose, and they're only present in the inboard nacelles. The theory I have formulated with some friends is that the flap opens when the landing gear is extended so that air going into the nacelle is directed outwards again instead of creating drag by hitting the back of the nacelle's interior. I also have yet to figure out where the oil cooler and exhaust stacks are in the aircraft, but I'll explain these problems (and my theories about them!) in a future post
The only reason I haven't provided specifications and whatnot is because I have to find out where I wrote the information down. Like I said, I've been working on it on and off, so I sometimes tend to forget where I've placed my references. Hope you guys like these progress shots!
Cheers,
-Matt
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