Visible B-17, Finally Finished - new pic, last page

Gigatron wrote:

Thanks, slingshot.  Just be weary around the front end, from the top turret, forward.  There's not a lot of room to get sanding sticks in there and there's a lot of detail that is easily obliterated. I ended up not sanding the front seam after I almost erased one of the top observation windows.  Maybe with better planning and better tools, it would be possible, but not with what I had on hand. -Fred

Thanks for the heads-up!  Sometimes when I'm not feeling overly lazy, I will put some tape over detail and then carefully sand up to the tape, it helps protectthe detail somewhat.  It would probably saved me more time if I remembered to do it more often!

Thanks, slingshot.  Just be weary around the front end, from the top turret, forward.  There's not a lot of room to get sanding sticks in there and there's a lot of detail that is easily obliterated.

I ended up not sanding the front seam after I almost erased one of the top observation windows.  Maybe with better planning and better tools, it would be possible, but not with what I had on hand.

-Fred

Thanks for the info, waikong.  Still haven't heard back, but now I won't be as concerned

B17, Hope you've got an airfield to display those birds.  Mine's sitting on top of my display cabinets (two ikea deltofs, pushed together).  Otherwise, I'd never have built it.

Thanks, Borg.  Even after working on it for 10 months, I still like to peek into it and see all the nifty details - half of which I scratchbuilt.  You'd think I'd know this bird inside and out

Hey Dog, this is a commercially available kit from Revell.  Goes for about $25, give or take.  I have considered making a vac table to make my own kits.  I just don't know about getting clear material (acrylic/styrene/lexan) to make my own.

-Fred

Hi

I'm new to this thread. Did you create the clear fuselage yourself, or are these visible models available to purchase?

I'd love to have a crack at a 1:72nd scale Lancaster, or even the large 1:48 Tamiya with this technique.

I guess you could use a vacform box to blow, or is that suck :-) your own clear parts.

Thanks,

Ted.

Looks great!  I got a visible as well, but I'm going to wait on it as I want to work on other B-17 variants after I finish my early G.  Next in the pipeline is a B-17D I got half assembled from e-bay a couple years ago.  After that I want to get a YB-40 going.  Doing these variants is nice as it is something different than the normal G or F, yet it is still a B-17!

 Can't wait to see it in FSM!

Thanks again, guys

I wanted to give them the kit info, so I resubmitted the pic, but included a few more, just to give them choices.  I haven't heard anything back, yet, but I don't know if that's necessarily bad news. 

-Fred

A very nice build Fred!

Thanks for sharing that with us. Fantastic!

Thank you, Bud.

Randy, for any trick you learned, I hope they serve you well.  And if you improve on them, feel free to share

-Fred

Gigatron wrote:

Thanks, Randy .  Normally, the recognition from you guys is more than I need and certainly more than I deserve.  But, after 10 months of hump busting, I figured this bird needed a little extra appreciation.  And hopefully, it'll encourage more people to try methods they wouldn't have before. -Fred

Fred you deserve every bit of recognition on this build, you truly out did yourself on this one. I do admit I took some tricks from your build and put them to use. I look forward to seeing more of your builds, maybe one day I will reach your skill level.

Thanks, Randy .  Normally, the recognition from you guys is more than I need and certainly more than I deserve. 

But, after 10 months of hump busting, I figured this bird needed a little extra appreciation.  And hopefully, it'll encourage more people to try methods they wouldn't have before.

-Fred

Well, I decided to submit a picture to FSM, so we'll see what happens.

Here's a small version of the one I sent.

Though, when I submitted it, I didn't remember to put the kit info in the box where I told them about the technical specs of the picture.  Hopefully, if they contact me, I can give them the build info, then.

-Fred

Thanks, Jet.

The kit is Revell's 1/48 and if I recall, it ran just under $30.  I want to say somewhere around $27, back when I got it.

-Fred

Thanks, Justin

Most of the adjustment was indeed in highlights and shadow, followed by a tweak in brightness and contrast and a slight bump in hue and saturation.  Normally, the D90 produces beautiful pictures with almost spot-on color reproduction.  But that night, something seems to have gone wonky and I couldn't get a decent picture.  I may have forgotten to reset something after my last outing, so I'll have to walk through the menu tree to see if I disabled anything.

Once I get decent pictures going, I'll submit them to the magazine and see what they say.

-Fred

Gigatron wrote:

Thanks, Randy.  I guess that would be up to the fine folks at FSM and Kalmbach .  First, I need much better pictures, though.  For some reason, these were turning out dark, even with 2 light sources and a flash.  The pictures here were heavily tweaked in photoshop to bring out the colors and lighten them up. -Fred

I was going to ask you about your pictures, they almost have an HDR look to them.  You adjusted the shadow/highlightsthe most, didnt you?  Pics are awesome...turn them to black and white, and age them a bit, and it would almost appear as though they are from 1944! 

Beautiful.

Simply Beautiful.

Justin

depending on how much detail you want to add, I find it's best to leave this one as a "this is my last model for XX months" type of deal.  I made sure I had no other kits in the stash when I started this bad boy

My next "last one for months" is a Titanic that I inherited from my friend.  Her husband was never going to build it, so she gave it to me to get it out of the house .

But tomorrow, I start on a Sherman, followed by an Me262 for a GB, a Mosquito, then either the Titanic or a Capt. Cardboard X-wing that I picked up on the RPF for cheap.

-Fred

I have a few other models I'm working on at the moment before I get going on it again.

I did build the same model when I was younger but in several moves it was destroyed so this one will be a replacment.

Eric... 

Thanks, guys

C'mon Eric, drag that thing out of the closet.  Hiding it away won't make it build itself .  If I can build it, I'm pretty sure anyone can.

-Fred

Nicely done.

I've been following your build here and on RPF cataloging images for inspiration when I get back to working on mine, poor things been in the closet for over 10 years.

Eric... 

Thanks again, guys

Ken, I just used my trusty airbrush; 8psi and a whole lot of time.  Though, I did need a tray of windex to take it off, the first time I goofed it up.  Dipping or airbrushing is the only possible way to do a piece this size.  Hand brushing is a complete fiasco - ask me how I know...

Frank, that really means a lot, coming from you.  Let's trade for a month - my patience for your skill at detailling

-Fred