Revell's 1/48 B-17F Flying Fortress "Mini Movie Memphis Belle" Completed!

Greatmaker

Fantastic build Keyda You put a lot of effort into it and it shows Thanks for sharing

 

 

Thank you!

Fantastic build Keyda You put a lot of effort into it and it shows Thanks for sharing

Shipwreck

Looks good Keyda; and in 6 weeks! I was actuallysurprised that you did not go for the 1/32 HK B-17 F. They have a 1/48 G, maybe a F will follow. The difference between 1/48 and 1/32 scale is about $150.

 

It had to 1/48 so it was the same scale as Mini Whiskey 7.  It barely fits in the stand with Mini W7 though, lol.  I've heard and F is supposed to follow, nothing confirmed yet.  But that would be nice. 

Thanks Mongoose!  She's got a place in my heart, so I had to make sure I did the best I could.  A few little things aren't exact, but it's pretty close to the real MMB.

Wow this turned out really well. The nose shot you took one over the other really showed how well you replicated the real thing. Stupendous!

Looks good Keyda; and in 6 weeks! I was actuallysurprised that you did not go for the 1/32 HK B-17 F. They have a 1/48 G, maybe a F will follow. The difference between 1/48 and 1/32 scale is about $150.

mustang1989

That looks very good Keyda! You really nailed the look of this aircraft and I like that flattened umbrella in the back ground as well. Are those builds in the bottom case sealed off by way of plexi glass? I'd be protecting the hell out of those beauties! 

 

Thank you!  I had to put the umbrella in there just to irk hubby.  He was a bit annoyed when the umbrella got broken, but I thought it was hilarious.  Yes the bottom of the case is sealed off.  The front piece is a piece of acrylic sheet with a knob glued onto it, so I can open it if need be.  So they are pretty protected from dust. 

That looks very good Keyda! You really nailed the look of this aircraft and I like that flattened umbrella in the back ground as well. Are those builds in the bottom case sealed off by way of plexi glass? I'd be protecting the hell out of those beauties! 

Thanks Baron!  Maybe they should of sued, lol.  I still couldn't believe there was no interior detail past the cockpit, and the fuse interior was smooth.  There was no way I wasn't going to build an interior for it.  Thankfully I had the G kit to rob some interior parts from.

Thanks lawdog!  The nose was a confusing thing to me.  I had to do some research, even though MMB was supposedly modifed to be an F model, her nose is different.  She just has the 3 little windows on each side.  No astro dome in the top of the nose either.  From what I could figure out the nose was from an E model.  I don't know if I would ever attempt to build another, lol.  Even with a better kit.  This one turned out pretty well, and for now I'm happy with it.

Looks great Keyda.  The OD looks fine to me. I once took this kit and turned it into my Grandfather's Lockheed-Vega built F, so I feel your pain there. The good news is HK has a brand new B-17G out and it's my understanding an F is coming as well.  I'm not sure how they plan to tackle all 800 different nose configurations.  It was fun following your build and thanks for sharing.    

Great finish, Keyda!  And a nice tribute display! I like your umbrella story.

Yeah, the -G is Monogram, regardless of any box label.  And Revell's -F kit was made by using Monogram's -G kit for a master, and modifying it into an -F.  Monogram's board sent Revell's board a letter saying they wouldn't sue, but not to do it ever again.

Mini MMB is now done!  Took a lot of PE, scratch building, and swearing, lol.  She's not perfect, or 100% accurate, but passes as MMB.  Happy to finally have her in the case with Mini Whiskey 7.  I now have the museum in my living room, lol.  We really need a new 1/48 F model kit.  The Revell one sucks.....so bad.  The G kit, which I'm pretty sure is the old Monogram mold is quite a bit better, but still lacks a lot.  I used both kits to build Mini MMB.  Along with resin wheels, metal landing gear, the Big Ed PE set.  Which some stuff I used, other stuff I didn't.  Some of it just isn't worth the headache, lol. 

There is a story behind the broken umbrella.  When I took my first flight on Whiskey 7 hubby was there with the camera taking pictures for me.  Both Whiskey and MMB were going out for ride flights.  Hubby was using an umbrella to shelid himself from the blazing July sun.  Well when MMB turned around the prop wash killed the umbrella, lol.  So I had to include it just for hubby.  It was hilarious. 

In the case with Mini Whiskey 7, and Mini L-21.

B-17 Guy

You know to paint the crank case on the engines gray right?

 

Yep, they are painted grey.  I matched it to my pictures. 

Spent the afternoon and part of the evening doing decals.  Currently waiting for everything to dry so I can spray a dull coat. 

Next step will be detail painting and weathering.  Fingers crossed I get done sometime this week.

I made quite a bit of progress yesterday.  I decided I would rather work on Mini MMB than spring clean, lol. 

I decided to darken the overall color of the plane a bit, and concentrated it more where the sun doesn't really hit.  I just did a 50/50 mix of paint and thinner, and did a couple of light coats.  On the top of the fuse and wings I moved the airbrush around totally random so it looked a bit more splotchy.  It's kind of hard to see in the pics.  Painted on the de-icing boots, and painted the ailerons and elevators. 

Started working on the engines as well.  I still have to paint the spark plug leads on 3 more engines, lol.

Got all the prop tips painted yellow.  I'll paint the flat black later on today.

I did get a gloss coat on last night, so once I get a couple decals made up, I'm going to try and make the tiny "The Movie" that goes above Memphis Belle, and her N number that is under the horizontal stablizers on both sides.  N3703G.  I also have to scratch make a few things, wheel chocks, and ladders.  But if I'm lucky I might just have her finished up this week. 

Shipwreck

 

 

Keyda81

It really does depend on the lighting, it looks different from one room to the next in my house, lol.  The coat actually is pretty molted, and splotchy, hard to tell from the pics though.  I'm going to play around with it until I like it, or at least I think it's good enough. 

 

 

 

Keyda, have you considered oils? Some dots might work out well!

 

I've never attempted the dot filtering thing.  I do use oil paints for staining and streaking.  I honestly think I'm just over thinking it, lol.  I need to focus on one picture, and one picture only.  I keep looking at all the different pictures I have, and they are all different because of where the picture was taken, and at the angle of it.  I'm going to try and find one that is out in the sun light, and not edited.  I realize what the sun hits is going to be a bit more faded than the rest.  I will simply have to play with it until I'm happy, lol.

Keyda81

It really does depend on the lighting, it looks different from one room to the next in my house, lol.  The coat actually is pretty molted, and splotchy, hard to tell from the pics though.  I'm going to play around with it until I like it, or at least I think it's good enough. 

Keyda, have you considered oils? Some dots might work out well!

TheMongoose

Hmmmm, it does look awful light but that could be the camera or flash if you're using it. Maybe it's that the color is uniform? Those birds were pretty mottled in most pics I've seen. I tend to think your idea of adding some different shades is a good one.

 

It really does depend on the lighting, it looks different from one room to the next in my house, lol.  The coat actually is pretty molted, and splotchy, hard to tell from the pics though.  I'm going to play around with it until I like it, or at least I think it's good enough, lol. 

Hmmmm, it does look awful light but that could be the camera or flash if you're using it. Maybe it's that the color is uniform? Those birds were pretty mottled in most pics I've seen. I tend to think your idea of adding some different shades is a good one.

Thank you!

Got some paint laid down.  I'm still on the fence about the color.  I can't seem to figure out if the color is off, or if it's just me.  I've looked at so many different pictures, and honestly the shade varies a lot depending on the type of lighting.  I am going to go back in with the airbrush and vary the shades a bit.  Maybe I'll like it better then.  Anyway, here are some pics.

Keyda - you certainly are doing some very nice work with this B-17. It looks great so far!

Finally done with the putty, sand, prime, repeat phase.  Any other small imperfections can be covered up with weathering.  MMB is a pretty dirty bird, lol.

She's just about ready for paint.  I have to go through my pitcures and make sure there isn't anything else that should be added before paint, along with putting some primer on the engine cowlings.  Working on spring cleaning the house too, so maybe I can get some paint on her today....maybe.

Got the wings, and horizontal stabilizers glued on, and have some gaps, and seams to work on. 

After two rounds of putty, sand, prime, repeat.  Still have at least a few more to go.

Keyda81

 

the Baron

Great detailing, Keyda!  I may have missed this, but what did you use to replicate the fabric panels in the cockpit? 

 

Thanks!  I used Lindor truffle wrappers, lol. 

Well thanks to the Coronavirus I've been at home a bit more than usual, and have plenty of time to work on Mini MMB. 

Nose interior.

Cockpit.

Bomb bay and radio room.

Mid section.

Both halves ready to be closed up.

The picture reads 7/10/2019.  The day me and my daughter flew in MMB.

Finally, the fuse closed up!

I get to start masking, and work on the putty, sand, prime, repeat phase.  Hopefully it goes a bit easier than Mini W7 #2.

the Baron

Great detailing, Keyda!  I may have missed this, but what did you use to replicate the fabric panels in the cockpit?

 

Thanks!  I used Lindor truffle wrappers, lol. 

Great detailing, Keyda!  I may have missed this, but what did you use to replicate the fabric panels in the cockpit?

mustang1989

Well.......look who wasn't paying attention. Sorry bout dat Keyda. I'd probably tackle a 1/48 scale version of this. On second thought.........it'd most likely mean mass sensory overload at all the detail a person could add to some thing like a B-17. lol 

 

No worries, lol.  Sensory overload on this build is happening for sure.  Between checking the instructions, then the PE instructions, then the pics of MMB to see what detail she has or doesn't have compared to the PE, and kit pieces.  Fortunately once I'm done with the inside things should go a bit easier.

Well.......look who wasn't paying attention. Sorry bout dat Keyda. I'd probably tackle a 1/48 scale version of this. On second thought.........it'd most likely mean mass sensory overload at all the detail a person could add to some thing like a B-17. lol 

mustang1989

Your efforts are payin' off so far. I've always had strong admiration for anyone that tackles 1/72 scale subjects. Some of the work that I've seen folks do in that scale is off tha charts. This build looks like it's gonna be along those lines.

 

Lucky for me, it's 1/48, lol.  Still not big enough really.  Some of the PE pieces are so small if I drop it I don't even think about looking for it.