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Good afternoon everyone
Time for an update!
In the last post I mentioned that I was having a problem with finding information and photographs of the area immediately to the rear of the tail wheel tub........Well since then I have had great help with photos and info from some fellow modelers ....so a BIG THANK YOU goes out to Ol'Scrapiron for his help in sending me the photos that I desperately needed to continue with this part of the build. I also reached out to the museum that looks after B17G "Fuddy Duddy" to see if they could help me but I never got a reply!
So after shifting through all the photos and studying them I came to the conclusion that a lot of the detail that I had already built into the area had to be changed as I was just guessing what it looked like from the photos I had!......so I carefully took pieces off here and there ready to start a fresh......very frustrating but it had to be done!
..................but before we get into all that I can show you some new detail that didn't need ripping out!
I made a fire extinguisher out of a plastic cocktail stick!......this first photo is of the real extinguisher....
...and here is my effort.... I placed it in the rear of my model.....can you see it!!!
...and here is my effort....
I placed it in the rear of my model.....can you see it!!!
Ready for Inspection 1:24 Scale Spitfire.......Scratch built Lysander....1:24 Scale Stuka
goldhammer You might shoot an e-mail to the Erickson Collection in Madras Oregon. They have a "G", now named Madras Maiden. Used to be"Chucky".
You might shoot an e-mail to the Erickson Collection in Madras Oregon. They have a "G", now named Madras Maiden. Used to be"Chucky".
Thanks for the heads up!....I am actually getting quite a bit of information and photos from fellow modelers across on other forums which I am pleased and somewhat relieved about!
keavdog Really nice work. Very fun to follow along. Thanks for sharing your build.
Really nice work. Very fun to follow along. Thanks for sharing your build.
Well...thank you for taking a look!....posting actually helps me with the progression of the build!
Thanks,
John
Hi there guys
Time for another update
My last post was the building of the bottom half of the tail wheel section and this time its the detail above the tail wheel!....I have had a lot of trouble finding information and photos of this area as I mentioned in the last post which forced me to kind of use my imagination a bit!....Well I was photographing what I had done and decided to take it all apart because I came across a photo of a C-1 auto pilot unit that sits on a tray just above the tail wheel!(2 days of work down the drain!) .....I have found that there seems to have been different pieces of equipment depending on the model and year of the aircraft!....this of course gave me a headache because I had to decide what I was going to place in this area ....so I went with the C-1 autopilot.
The other big problem I had was the fact that some of the parts extended from the roof of the fuselage down to the floor!....this was difficult for me as I had to line it all up so that when the upper and lower halves were joined it all connected up!...so a lot of trial and error and dry fitting took place!...the joys of scratch building!
So the first 2 photos is of the retracting gear assembly just above the tail wheel it self....I built this out of bits of plastic and a cutting of one of my Bass guitar strings (kind of looks like the activating screw!)....
A few more parts now added and more Bass guitar strings! The two white unpainted plastic parts you see in this next photo was the real problem lining up with the bottom section! Here is my attempt at making the C-1 auto pilot unit....... ...and painted... So after it was all painted ,here is the end result with the two halves together showing you different angles.... ...and my favourite shots of looking down through the fuselage!!.... I still have to place a few cables coming from the Auto pilot unit but that's basically the tail wheel area complete. So I turned my attention to the control line rigging that I thought would be easy compared with the last bit....I guess it was just time consuming and fiddly! I first made 8 x cable guides that keep the control lines away from the fuselage sides...it took me hours!! The cable guides were then put in place and then using some fishing line I pulled it all taught from one end of the fuselage through to the rear. I did made a mistake and had to move the position a tad as I forgot to line the cables up with the cables on the front section of this B17G already built ...duhh! Okay.....so now I had to turn my attention to the area between the tail wheel and the Cheyenne turret at the rear. This is causing this project to come to a grinding halt! I have trawled the internet for hours and hours...looked in books and I just cant seem to find any photos/drawings/diagrams....absolutely nothing except the flooring!...There is the Elevator and hinge control cable actuated mechanisms above the floors ....but alas nothing but a few obscure photos either out of focus or just a slight glimpse of what I need!....I resorted to looking at photos of damaged B17s that have the tail unit blown off!....you kind of get a rough idea of the area but of course it's all mangled metal!....I have also written to the Lyon Museum in California who have "Fuddy Duddy" on display to see if they can help me...waiting for a response. Here is the said area.... So if any of you great modellers have any info or photos that I haven't seen then please please give me the heads up!....but I'm not holding my breath! Well that's it for now.....till the next time... Cheers for looking in Fozzy
A few more parts now added and more Bass guitar strings!
The two white unpainted plastic parts you see in this next photo was the real problem lining up with the bottom section! Here is my attempt at making the C-1 auto pilot unit....... ...and painted... So after it was all painted ,here is the end result with the two halves together showing you different angles.... ...and my favourite shots of looking down through the fuselage!!.... I still have to place a few cables coming from the Auto pilot unit but that's basically the tail wheel area complete. So I turned my attention to the control line rigging that I thought would be easy compared with the last bit....I guess it was just time consuming and fiddly! I first made 8 x cable guides that keep the control lines away from the fuselage sides...it took me hours!! The cable guides were then put in place and then using some fishing line I pulled it all taught from one end of the fuselage through to the rear. I did made a mistake and had to move the position a tad as I forgot to line the cables up with the cables on the front section of this B17G already built ...duhh! Okay.....so now I had to turn my attention to the area between the tail wheel and the Cheyenne turret at the rear. This is causing this project to come to a grinding halt! I have trawled the internet for hours and hours...looked in books and I just cant seem to find any photos/drawings/diagrams....absolutely nothing except the flooring!...There is the Elevator and hinge control cable actuated mechanisms above the floors ....but alas nothing but a few obscure photos either out of focus or just a slight glimpse of what I need!....I resorted to looking at photos of damaged B17s that have the tail unit blown off!....you kind of get a rough idea of the area but of course it's all mangled metal!....I have also written to the Lyon Museum in California who have "Fuddy Duddy" on display to see if they can help me...waiting for a response. Here is the said area.... So if any of you great modellers have any info or photos that I haven't seen then please please give me the heads up!....but I'm not holding my breath! Well that's it for now.....till the next time... Cheers for looking in Fozzy
The two white unpainted plastic parts you see in this next photo was the real problem lining up with the bottom section!
Here is my attempt at making the C-1 auto pilot unit....... ...and painted... So after it was all painted ,here is the end result with the two halves together showing you different angles.... ...and my favourite shots of looking down through the fuselage!!.... I still have to place a few cables coming from the Auto pilot unit but that's basically the tail wheel area complete. So I turned my attention to the control line rigging that I thought would be easy compared with the last bit....I guess it was just time consuming and fiddly! I first made 8 x cable guides that keep the control lines away from the fuselage sides...it took me hours!! The cable guides were then put in place and then using some fishing line I pulled it all taught from one end of the fuselage through to the rear. I did made a mistake and had to move the position a tad as I forgot to line the cables up with the cables on the front section of this B17G already built ...duhh! Okay.....so now I had to turn my attention to the area between the tail wheel and the Cheyenne turret at the rear. This is causing this project to come to a grinding halt! I have trawled the internet for hours and hours...looked in books and I just cant seem to find any photos/drawings/diagrams....absolutely nothing except the flooring!...There is the Elevator and hinge control cable actuated mechanisms above the floors ....but alas nothing but a few obscure photos either out of focus or just a slight glimpse of what I need!....I resorted to looking at photos of damaged B17s that have the tail unit blown off!....you kind of get a rough idea of the area but of course it's all mangled metal!....I have also written to the Lyon Museum in California who have "Fuddy Duddy" on display to see if they can help me...waiting for a response. Here is the said area.... So if any of you great modellers have any info or photos that I haven't seen then please please give me the heads up!....but I'm not holding my breath! Well that's it for now.....till the next time... Cheers for looking in Fozzy
Here is my attempt at making the C-1 auto pilot unit.......
...and painted... So after it was all painted ,here is the end result with the two halves together showing you different angles.... ...and my favourite shots of looking down through the fuselage!!.... I still have to place a few cables coming from the Auto pilot unit but that's basically the tail wheel area complete. So I turned my attention to the control line rigging that I thought would be easy compared with the last bit....I guess it was just time consuming and fiddly! I first made 8 x cable guides that keep the control lines away from the fuselage sides...it took me hours!! The cable guides were then put in place and then using some fishing line I pulled it all taught from one end of the fuselage through to the rear. I did made a mistake and had to move the position a tad as I forgot to line the cables up with the cables on the front section of this B17G already built ...duhh! Okay.....so now I had to turn my attention to the area between the tail wheel and the Cheyenne turret at the rear. This is causing this project to come to a grinding halt! I have trawled the internet for hours and hours...looked in books and I just cant seem to find any photos/drawings/diagrams....absolutely nothing except the flooring!...There is the Elevator and hinge control cable actuated mechanisms above the floors ....but alas nothing but a few obscure photos either out of focus or just a slight glimpse of what I need!....I resorted to looking at photos of damaged B17s that have the tail unit blown off!....you kind of get a rough idea of the area but of course it's all mangled metal!....I have also written to the Lyon Museum in California who have "Fuddy Duddy" on display to see if they can help me...waiting for a response. Here is the said area.... So if any of you great modellers have any info or photos that I haven't seen then please please give me the heads up!....but I'm not holding my breath! Well that's it for now.....till the next time... Cheers for looking in Fozzy
...and painted...
So after it was all painted ,here is the end result with the two halves together showing you different angles.... ...and my favourite shots of looking down through the fuselage!!.... I still have to place a few cables coming from the Auto pilot unit but that's basically the tail wheel area complete. So I turned my attention to the control line rigging that I thought would be easy compared with the last bit....I guess it was just time consuming and fiddly! I first made 8 x cable guides that keep the control lines away from the fuselage sides...it took me hours!! The cable guides were then put in place and then using some fishing line I pulled it all taught from one end of the fuselage through to the rear. I did made a mistake and had to move the position a tad as I forgot to line the cables up with the cables on the front section of this B17G already built ...duhh! Okay.....so now I had to turn my attention to the area between the tail wheel and the Cheyenne turret at the rear. This is causing this project to come to a grinding halt! I have trawled the internet for hours and hours...looked in books and I just cant seem to find any photos/drawings/diagrams....absolutely nothing except the flooring!...There is the Elevator and hinge control cable actuated mechanisms above the floors ....but alas nothing but a few obscure photos either out of focus or just a slight glimpse of what I need!....I resorted to looking at photos of damaged B17s that have the tail unit blown off!....you kind of get a rough idea of the area but of course it's all mangled metal!....I have also written to the Lyon Museum in California who have "Fuddy Duddy" on display to see if they can help me...waiting for a response. Here is the said area.... So if any of you great modellers have any info or photos that I haven't seen then please please give me the heads up!....but I'm not holding my breath! Well that's it for now.....till the next time... Cheers for looking in Fozzy
So after it was all painted ,here is the end result with the two halves together showing you different angles....
...and my favourite shots of looking down through the fuselage!!.... I still have to place a few cables coming from the Auto pilot unit but that's basically the tail wheel area complete. So I turned my attention to the control line rigging that I thought would be easy compared with the last bit....I guess it was just time consuming and fiddly! I first made 8 x cable guides that keep the control lines away from the fuselage sides...it took me hours!! The cable guides were then put in place and then using some fishing line I pulled it all taught from one end of the fuselage through to the rear. I did made a mistake and had to move the position a tad as I forgot to line the cables up with the cables on the front section of this B17G already built ...duhh! Okay.....so now I had to turn my attention to the area between the tail wheel and the Cheyenne turret at the rear. This is causing this project to come to a grinding halt! I have trawled the internet for hours and hours...looked in books and I just cant seem to find any photos/drawings/diagrams....absolutely nothing except the flooring!...There is the Elevator and hinge control cable actuated mechanisms above the floors ....but alas nothing but a few obscure photos either out of focus or just a slight glimpse of what I need!....I resorted to looking at photos of damaged B17s that have the tail unit blown off!....you kind of get a rough idea of the area but of course it's all mangled metal!....I have also written to the Lyon Museum in California who have "Fuddy Duddy" on display to see if they can help me...waiting for a response. Here is the said area.... So if any of you great modellers have any info or photos that I haven't seen then please please give me the heads up!....but I'm not holding my breath! Well that's it for now.....till the next time... Cheers for looking in Fozzy
...and my favourite shots of looking down through the fuselage!!....
I still have to place a few cables coming from the Auto pilot unit but that's basically the tail wheel area complete. So I turned my attention to the control line rigging that I thought would be easy compared with the last bit....I guess it was just time consuming and fiddly! I first made 8 x cable guides that keep the control lines away from the fuselage sides...it took me hours!! The cable guides were then put in place and then using some fishing line I pulled it all taught from one end of the fuselage through to the rear. I did made a mistake and had to move the position a tad as I forgot to line the cables up with the cables on the front section of this B17G already built ...duhh! Okay.....so now I had to turn my attention to the area between the tail wheel and the Cheyenne turret at the rear. This is causing this project to come to a grinding halt! I have trawled the internet for hours and hours...looked in books and I just cant seem to find any photos/drawings/diagrams....absolutely nothing except the flooring!...There is the Elevator and hinge control cable actuated mechanisms above the floors ....but alas nothing but a few obscure photos either out of focus or just a slight glimpse of what I need!....I resorted to looking at photos of damaged B17s that have the tail unit blown off!....you kind of get a rough idea of the area but of course it's all mangled metal!....I have also written to the Lyon Museum in California who have "Fuddy Duddy" on display to see if they can help me...waiting for a response. Here is the said area.... So if any of you great modellers have any info or photos that I haven't seen then please please give me the heads up!....but I'm not holding my breath! Well that's it for now.....till the next time... Cheers for looking in Fozzy
I still have to place a few cables coming from the Auto pilot unit but that's basically the tail wheel area complete.
So I turned my attention to the control line rigging that I thought would be easy compared with the last bit....I guess it was just time consuming and fiddly!
I first made 8 x cable guides that keep the control lines away from the fuselage sides...it took me hours!!
The cable guides were then put in place and then using some fishing line I pulled it all taught from one end of the fuselage through to the rear. I did made a mistake and had to move the position a tad as I forgot to line the cables up with the cables on the front section of this B17G already built ...duhh! Okay.....so now I had to turn my attention to the area between the tail wheel and the Cheyenne turret at the rear. This is causing this project to come to a grinding halt! I have trawled the internet for hours and hours...looked in books and I just cant seem to find any photos/drawings/diagrams....absolutely nothing except the flooring!...There is the Elevator and hinge control cable actuated mechanisms above the floors ....but alas nothing but a few obscure photos either out of focus or just a slight glimpse of what I need!....I resorted to looking at photos of damaged B17s that have the tail unit blown off!....you kind of get a rough idea of the area but of course it's all mangled metal!....I have also written to the Lyon Museum in California who have "Fuddy Duddy" on display to see if they can help me...waiting for a response. Here is the said area.... So if any of you great modellers have any info or photos that I haven't seen then please please give me the heads up!....but I'm not holding my breath! Well that's it for now.....till the next time... Cheers for looking in Fozzy
The cable guides were then put in place and then using some fishing line I pulled it all taught from one end of the fuselage through to the rear. I did made a mistake and had to move the position a tad as I forgot to line the cables up with the cables on the front section of this B17G already built ...duhh!
Okay.....so now I had to turn my attention to the area between the tail wheel and the Cheyenne turret at the rear. This is causing this project to come to a grinding halt! I have trawled the internet for hours and hours...looked in books and I just cant seem to find any photos/drawings/diagrams....absolutely nothing except the flooring!...There is the Elevator and hinge control cable actuated mechanisms above the floors ....but alas nothing but a few obscure photos either out of focus or just a slight glimpse of what I need!....I resorted to looking at photos of damaged B17s that have the tail unit blown off!....you kind of get a rough idea of the area but of course it's all mangled metal!....I have also written to the Lyon Museum in California who have "Fuddy Duddy" on display to see if they can help me...waiting for a response. Here is the said area.... So if any of you great modellers have any info or photos that I haven't seen then please please give me the heads up!....but I'm not holding my breath! Well that's it for now.....till the next time... Cheers for looking in Fozzy
Okay.....so now I had to turn my attention to the area between the tail wheel and the Cheyenne turret at the rear.
This is causing this project to come to a grinding halt! I have trawled the internet for hours and hours...looked in books and I just cant seem to find any photos/drawings/diagrams....absolutely nothing except the flooring!...There is the Elevator and hinge control cable actuated mechanisms above the floors ....but alas nothing but a few obscure photos either out of focus or just a slight glimpse of what I need!....I resorted to looking at photos of damaged B17s that have the tail unit blown off!....you kind of get a rough idea of the area but of course it's all mangled metal!....I have also written to the Lyon Museum in California who have "Fuddy Duddy" on display to see if they can help me...waiting for a response.
Here is the said area....
So if any of you great modellers have any info or photos that I haven't seen then please please give me the heads up!....but I'm not holding my breath! Well that's it for now.....till the next time... Cheers for looking in Fozzy
So if any of you great modellers have any info or photos that I haven't seen then please please give me the heads up!....but I'm not holding my breath!
Well that's it for now.....till the next time...
Cheers for looking in
Fozzy
Good day all!
Hope all is good where you all are and that everyone is staying safe from this virus!...2020 has been a terrible year for us all and the sooner it's all over with... the better! Lets hope and pray for a better 2021!
So on with the next part of this project!.....the tail wheel section!.....I have been kind of dreading this next part as there is lack of information and photos of this area of the B17. If you look for photos in books or the internet it's always the same.The whole area is covered with tarpaulin blocking out all the parts you want to see! Enthusiasts go for visits to see the B17 armed with their cameras and they can crawl all over the fuselage snapping away but the tail wheel well area is nearly always out of bounds!
I believe this is because the area is so confined that visitors would have to get on there belly's to crawl through and for health and safety issues. Well of course this doesn't help us modellers!
How ever I did managed to find a few photos of said area after hours of searching...(although only seeing certain angles on most of the photos) which meant I had to use my imagination for the areas that I just cant see!....the usual artistic license had to be got out of the draw!
So as you know I am building this fuselage in two halves....top and bottom ...so I have started with the bottom half.
I had to make the tail wheel tub that the wheel retracts to and this was molded from plastic food packaging.
Here is the balsa wood plug that I made....
After heating up the plastic and using the plug (plug and mold procedure) and ended up with this. You can see that I have added some detail with strips of plastic The wheel well floor was then made from plastic card..... ..and from the underside... The wheel tub was then glued into position... Now for the wheel. I hate making wheels!...I find it difficult!...I usually make them out of balsa wood and this time it was no exception!...it's my own fault as I haven't invested in a mini lathe....but that is all going to change soon....going to look for one!....meanwhile this wheel was whittled to shape by eye! Time to paint the wheel tub area.... Here is the tail wheel strut... Here is the tail wheel assembly fork head attached to the wheel.... The rest of the frame was then made from metal and electrical cables were added from wire... Here you can see that I have placed the tail wheel onto the tail frame..... I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame..... The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
After heating up the plastic and using the plug (plug and mold procedure) and ended up with this. You can see that I have added some detail with strips of plastic
The wheel well floor was then made from plastic card..... ..and from the underside... The wheel tub was then glued into position... Now for the wheel. I hate making wheels!...I find it difficult!...I usually make them out of balsa wood and this time it was no exception!...it's my own fault as I haven't invested in a mini lathe....but that is all going to change soon....going to look for one!....meanwhile this wheel was whittled to shape by eye! Time to paint the wheel tub area.... Here is the tail wheel strut... Here is the tail wheel assembly fork head attached to the wheel.... The rest of the frame was then made from metal and electrical cables were added from wire... Here you can see that I have placed the tail wheel onto the tail frame..... I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame..... The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
The wheel well floor was then made from plastic card.....
..and from the underside... The wheel tub was then glued into position... Now for the wheel. I hate making wheels!...I find it difficult!...I usually make them out of balsa wood and this time it was no exception!...it's my own fault as I haven't invested in a mini lathe....but that is all going to change soon....going to look for one!....meanwhile this wheel was whittled to shape by eye! Time to paint the wheel tub area.... Here is the tail wheel strut... Here is the tail wheel assembly fork head attached to the wheel.... The rest of the frame was then made from metal and electrical cables were added from wire... Here you can see that I have placed the tail wheel onto the tail frame..... I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame..... The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
..and from the underside...
The wheel tub was then glued into position... Now for the wheel. I hate making wheels!...I find it difficult!...I usually make them out of balsa wood and this time it was no exception!...it's my own fault as I haven't invested in a mini lathe....but that is all going to change soon....going to look for one!....meanwhile this wheel was whittled to shape by eye! Time to paint the wheel tub area.... Here is the tail wheel strut... Here is the tail wheel assembly fork head attached to the wheel.... The rest of the frame was then made from metal and electrical cables were added from wire... Here you can see that I have placed the tail wheel onto the tail frame..... I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame..... The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
The wheel tub was then glued into position...
Now for the wheel. I hate making wheels!...I find it difficult!...I usually make them out of balsa wood and this time it was no exception!...it's my own fault as I haven't invested in a mini lathe....but that is all going to change soon....going to look for one!....meanwhile this wheel was whittled to shape by eye! Time to paint the wheel tub area.... Here is the tail wheel strut... Here is the tail wheel assembly fork head attached to the wheel.... The rest of the frame was then made from metal and electrical cables were added from wire... Here you can see that I have placed the tail wheel onto the tail frame..... I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame..... The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
Now for the wheel.
I hate making wheels!...I find it difficult!...I usually make them out of balsa wood and this time it was no exception!...it's my own fault as I haven't invested in a mini lathe....but that is all going to change soon....going to look for one!....meanwhile this wheel was whittled to shape by eye!
Time to paint the wheel tub area.... Here is the tail wheel strut... Here is the tail wheel assembly fork head attached to the wheel.... The rest of the frame was then made from metal and electrical cables were added from wire... Here you can see that I have placed the tail wheel onto the tail frame..... I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame..... The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
Time to paint the wheel tub area....
Here is the tail wheel strut... Here is the tail wheel assembly fork head attached to the wheel.... The rest of the frame was then made from metal and electrical cables were added from wire... Here you can see that I have placed the tail wheel onto the tail frame..... I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame..... The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
Here is the tail wheel strut...
Here is the tail wheel assembly fork head attached to the wheel.... The rest of the frame was then made from metal and electrical cables were added from wire... Here you can see that I have placed the tail wheel onto the tail frame..... I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame..... The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
Here is the tail wheel assembly fork head attached to the wheel....
The rest of the frame was then made from metal and electrical cables were added from wire... Here you can see that I have placed the tail wheel onto the tail frame..... I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame..... The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
The rest of the frame was then made from metal and electrical cables were added from wire...
Here you can see that I have placed the tail wheel onto the tail frame..... I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame..... The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
Here you can see that I have placed the tail wheel onto the tail frame.....
I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame..... The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
I then glued the painted tail wheel strut onto the frame.....
The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect! The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it! Here is the cover...... So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
The tail wheel area was in fact covered with a fitted tarpaulin and I thought about leaving it off because it would cover all the detail and at the end of the day this project is all about showing the workings of the B17G ....so I then I had an idea of making a cover and having it pulled back so a mechanic could get at it to inspect!
The tarpaulin was made from a painted sheet of tissue paper....the eyelets made from small cuts from a piece of wire insulation and the tie cord was made from thread from the wife's sewing box and threaded by one of her needles....that took some doing I'll tell you!...I broke off the Wheel strut in the process and had to re set it!
Here is the cover......
So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete. I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post! So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build! Cheers Fozzy
So that is the lower half of the tail wheel area complete.
I have started the upper half of this area and it involves the re tractor motor and gears to bring up the tail wheel....and if I thought that this lower half was difficult I thought wrong!.....but we will leave that till the next post!
So until then ...Thanks a lot for looking and following this non stop build!
Cheers
Lets try that again!
So I built it by stages and hope the photos explains how I got it together.....here goes......
OK....so now it's time to paint it ...the best part!.....but not before building the frame that it will sit on in the rear of the fuselage.. So here it is all finished........ ...and up on it's frame...... As I said ....really had a lot of fun with this generator build!....excuse the amount of photos! Onwards ever onwards!....to getting the tail wheel assembly built......till then Cheers once again for looking in! Fozzy
OK....so now it's time to paint it ...the best part!.....but not before building the frame that it will sit on in the rear of the fuselage..
So here it is all finished........ ...and up on it's frame...... As I said ....really had a lot of fun with this generator build!....excuse the amount of photos! Onwards ever onwards!....to getting the tail wheel assembly built......till then Cheers once again for looking in! Fozzy
So here it is all finished........
...and up on it's frame...... As I said ....really had a lot of fun with this generator build!....excuse the amount of photos! Onwards ever onwards!....to getting the tail wheel assembly built......till then Cheers once again for looking in! Fozzy
...and up on it's frame......
As I said ....really had a lot of fun with this generator build!....excuse the amount of photos! Onwards ever onwards!....to getting the tail wheel assembly built......till then Cheers once again for looking in! Fozzy
As I said ....really had a lot of fun with this generator build!....excuse the amount of photos!
Onwards ever onwards!....to getting the tail wheel assembly built......till then
Cheers once again for looking in!
Afternoon all!
This post is likely to be a bit photo heavy of building the Auxiliary DC generator for my B17!
The generator was built by looking at just a few photos I found and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed making it!....I used scrap plastic and wire as materials and I have taken a photo of each stage of the build.
First off....this is a photo of a real generator that I am trying to replicate......
***.....means my ability to carry on with this project....M O J O!!!...don't know why I cant post that!!
My *** has returned!
I'm in the middle of scratch building a auxiliary DC generator for the rear section. I have seen photos with the generator in the rear and I'm defo going to put it in mine as it looks fun to build and will make the rear section look more busy! This afternoon I sprayed it with my new airbrush (Paasche H... as my old Badger gave up the ghost before my summer break)...and will post it on my next update!
As for now I will give you a quick update on the trailing antenna mechanism that I have made for the rear section.
It was a bit fiddly due to the size but here are some photos.......
This next photo shows the tube that the line feeds to the outside of the aircraft.....made from a Biro pen... ...and here are the two parts attached... ...and just to show you the scale...... Here is the electrical box that operates how much cable leaves the aircraft.... All finished and all wired up..... OK......that was a short post! So the next post I will show the DC generator! Until then....thanks for looking in! Cheers Fozzy
This next photo shows the tube that the line feeds to the outside of the aircraft.....made from a Biro pen...
...and here are the two parts attached... ...and just to show you the scale...... Here is the electrical box that operates how much cable leaves the aircraft.... All finished and all wired up..... OK......that was a short post! So the next post I will show the DC generator! Until then....thanks for looking in! Cheers Fozzy
...and here are the two parts attached...
...and just to show you the scale...... Here is the electrical box that operates how much cable leaves the aircraft.... All finished and all wired up..... OK......that was a short post! So the next post I will show the DC generator! Until then....thanks for looking in! Cheers Fozzy
...and just to show you the scale......
Here is the electrical box that operates how much cable leaves the aircraft.... All finished and all wired up..... OK......that was a short post! So the next post I will show the DC generator! Until then....thanks for looking in! Cheers Fozzy
Here is the electrical box that operates how much cable leaves the aircraft....
All finished and all wired up..... OK......that was a short post! So the next post I will show the DC generator! Until then....thanks for looking in! Cheers Fozzy
All finished and all wired up.....
OK......that was a short post! So the next post I will show the DC generator! Until then....thanks for looking in! Cheers Fozzy
OK......that was a short post!
So the next post I will show the DC generator!
Until then....thanks for looking in!
Scale-Master Wow! That is impressive! I'm looking forward to seeing it in person at the Joe Martin Museum in Carlsbad.
Wow! That is impressive! I'm looking forward to seeing it in person at the Joe Martin Museum in Carlsbad.
Thank you!....I am trying to get it finished up this year if posible... then take it with me on a flight to the States....of course that all depends on the Pandemic!..The Joe Martin Museum is a wonderful museum and I am so pleased that I can donate my B17G project there!
Build what you want and build it for yourself, the rest will follow... Mark D. Jones
Tanker-Builder Good Gosh FOZ! And I thought I was a glutton for punishment with my ship-" Shipping " LOL. You have definitely stunned me with this very articulate and detail oriented build of a famous Aircraft in an unusual scale. Looking Good!
Good Gosh FOZ!
And I thought I was a glutton for punishment with my ship-" Shipping " LOL. You have definitely stunned me with this very articulate and detail oriented build of a famous Aircraft in an unusual scale. Looking Good!
Thanks a lot!
Graham Green Brilliant, true scratchbuilding at it's finest. No such rubbish as to start with a kit here, just go for it, with whatever is on hand. Will be waiting for the finished item, even if that takes another seven years, it will be worth the wait.
Brilliant, true scratchbuilding at it's finest.
No such rubbish as to start with a kit here, just go for it, with whatever is on hand.
Will be waiting for the finished item, even if that takes another seven years, it will be worth the wait.
Thanks a lot Graham!.....I am also looking forward to the finish!!!
That's me trying to get my act together!!
How ever.... I decided to start off again with something simple...although I still had problems with super glue not setting (Bulgarian!)...and the white glue hardened in the tub (Bulgarian!) I thought I would get the walkways done.
Here is a photo of the main walkway that runs through the rear of the fuselage down to the rear entrance door. I used a thin sheet of balsa wood and covered it with simulated wood courtesy of Mr B+Q (paper wood examples!) and then glued a sheet of wet and dry emery paper to that!
Here it is in the base of the bottom half of the rear fuselage...... A crawl way was then placed at the rear to allow the rear gunner to access the rear turret and a another floor was placed near where the tail wheel housing will eventually be...... With the two halves together this is what it all looks like...... OK....so now that I have re started this B17G.....I better buckle down and get as much done before the Xmas break! Thanks for having a look guys Cheers Fozzy
Here it is in the base of the bottom half of the rear fuselage......
A crawl way was then placed at the rear to allow the rear gunner to access the rear turret and a another floor was placed near where the tail wheel housing will eventually be...... With the two halves together this is what it all looks like...... OK....so now that I have re started this B17G.....I better buckle down and get as much done before the Xmas break! Thanks for having a look guys Cheers Fozzy
A crawl way was then placed at the rear to allow the rear gunner to access the rear turret and a another floor was placed near where the tail wheel housing will eventually be......
With the two halves together this is what it all looks like...... OK....so now that I have re started this B17G.....I better buckle down and get as much done before the Xmas break! Thanks for having a look guys Cheers Fozzy
With the two halves together this is what it all looks like......
OK....so now that I have re started this B17G.....I better buckle down and get as much done before the Xmas break! Thanks for having a look guys Cheers Fozzy
OK....so now that I have re started this B17G.....I better buckle down and get as much done before the Xmas break!
Thanks for having a look guys
Good morning chaps!
How are you all getting along?...still staying safe in this bl##dy pandemic I hope!
Long time no modelling!......I'm back from UK now and back in Bulgaria to start once again on this mammoth task I have given my self!.......after a such a long period away from scratch building it seems to have taken me a few weeks to get my act together!
I can only dream of having your skills mate , superb work .
Incredible work! The attention to detail is fantastic.
Too many models to build, not enough time in a lifetime!!
Hi guys
Well this will definitely be the last post before I return to the UK for a month or so....I will be returning back in September to continue with this project!
What I wanted to do was get as much done as possible with the tail /rudder and dorsal fin before my break and so first off I sprayed the tail unit yellow. This was more difficult than I thought as my airbrush decided to give up the ghost!...when I turned the outlet valve on the compressor to send the air flow to the brush the blasted thing kept spraying and I couldn't stop it! the only way was to turn the outlet *** off to stop spraying! I have had the air brush for many years so I am not surprised to be honest. I think the air in let valve is knackered...thought it might be blocked with dried paint but that isn't the case.Any way I will buy a replacement when I'm in the UK.
So I manged to cope with the yellow paint being half sprayed on the model and half all over the place!.....here is the tail unit now sprayed!
Now came the tricky bit!.....no decals in 1:20 scale so I had to make them all. The base colour of black/white was sprayed in the appropriate place and then I made the markings by cutting out the numbers/letters from some sticky back Teflon....you can see I am in the process of doing this in this next photo........ Once the paint had dried I took off all the masking and here is the end result...... There are two greenish stripes that also have to be sprayed on the tail but need to have the two half's completed and skinned before I can do that. So the tail is now virtually complete (a few more minor details to add later). Of course there is all the interior parts to be scratched yet ,which is what I will look forward to do in September! I needed to take a look at the whole thing to see how she was looking so far!....by doing this you can also see if there are any headaches to sort out down the road. So to that end I got the completed front section out of it's box and temporarily attached it to the rear section and took a few photos.....what do you think so far?.... Its huge!...the model that is!...like a meter in length....don't quote me on that....but it's ...HUGE!! OK....So I will continue with this beast in September and so until then happy modelling and stay safe guys! Cheers Fozzy
Now came the tricky bit!.....no decals in 1:20 scale so I had to make them all. The base colour of black/white was sprayed in the appropriate place and then I made the markings by cutting out the numbers/letters from some sticky back Teflon....you can see I am in the process of doing this in this next photo........
Once the paint had dried I took off all the masking and here is the end result...... There are two greenish stripes that also have to be sprayed on the tail but need to have the two half's completed and skinned before I can do that. So the tail is now virtually complete (a few more minor details to add later). Of course there is all the interior parts to be scratched yet ,which is what I will look forward to do in September! I needed to take a look at the whole thing to see how she was looking so far!....by doing this you can also see if there are any headaches to sort out down the road. So to that end I got the completed front section out of it's box and temporarily attached it to the rear section and took a few photos.....what do you think so far?.... Its huge!...the model that is!...like a meter in length....don't quote me on that....but it's ...HUGE!! OK....So I will continue with this beast in September and so until then happy modelling and stay safe guys! Cheers Fozzy
Once the paint had dried I took off all the masking and here is the end result......
There are two greenish stripes that also have to be sprayed on the tail but need to have the two half's completed and skinned before I can do that. So the tail is now virtually complete (a few more minor details to add later). Of course there is all the interior parts to be scratched yet ,which is what I will look forward to do in September! I needed to take a look at the whole thing to see how she was looking so far!....by doing this you can also see if there are any headaches to sort out down the road. So to that end I got the completed front section out of it's box and temporarily attached it to the rear section and took a few photos.....what do you think so far?.... Its huge!...the model that is!...like a meter in length....don't quote me on that....but it's ...HUGE!! OK....So I will continue with this beast in September and so until then happy modelling and stay safe guys! Cheers Fozzy
There are two greenish stripes that also have to be sprayed on the tail but need to have the two half's completed and skinned before I can do that.
So the tail is now virtually complete (a few more minor details to add later). Of course there is all the interior parts to be scratched yet ,which is what I will look forward to do in September!
I needed to take a look at the whole thing to see how she was looking so far!....by doing this you can also see if there are any headaches to sort out down the road. So to that end I got the completed front section out of it's box and temporarily attached it to the rear section and took a few photos.....what do you think so far?....
Its huge!...the model that is!...like a meter in length....don't quote me on that....but it's ...HUGE!! OK....So I will continue with this beast in September and so until then happy modelling and stay safe guys! Cheers Fozzy
Its huge!...the model that is!...like a meter in length....don't quote me on that....but it's ...HUGE!!
OK....So I will continue with this beast in September and so until then happy modelling and stay safe guys!
Don Stauffer Foz .. PHEW!................. I decided to prepare the balsa wood fuselage for skinning with the aluminum sheets ,which I will do at a later stage...(it also strengthens the fuselage)......so to that end I covered the fuselage with tissue glued on with PVC glue and then brushed on shrinking dope. Now its as tough as old boots and I am as high as a kite! .... It was always amazing to me as a kid when I built stick and tissue flying models. The balsa framework was so weak and flexible. I was sure it would fall apart if I tried to fly it. Then, the tissue covering to strengthen it a bit. Shrinking the tissue with water- gee it got stronger yet. Then, doping the model- boy, that really stiffened it up. This thing may fly okay after all.
Foz .. PHEW!................. I decided to prepare the balsa wood fuselage for skinning with the aluminum sheets ,which I will do at a later stage...(it also strengthens the fuselage)......so to that end I covered the fuselage with tissue glued on with PVC glue and then brushed on shrinking dope. Now its as tough as old boots and I am as high as a kite! ....
..
PHEW!.................
I decided to prepare the balsa wood fuselage for skinning with the aluminum sheets ,which I will do at a later stage...(it also strengthens the fuselage)......so to that end I covered the fuselage with tissue glued on with PVC glue and then brushed on shrinking dope. Now its as tough as old boots and I am as high as a kite!
....
It was always amazing to me as a kid when I built stick and tissue flying models. The balsa framework was so weak and flexible. I was sure it would fall apart if I tried to fly it. Then, the tissue covering to strengthen it a bit. Shrinking the tissue with water- gee it got stronger yet. Then, doping the model- boy, that really stiffened it up. This thing may fly okay after all.
Too true Don!....I love working with balsa!
Don Stauffer in Minnesota
Morning fellow modelers!
I have been doing the laborious task of making up the entire interior with all the ribs etc!....this was only achievable by listening to all my favorite bands on my player ...taking the occasional paracetamol when my head started to ache from staring at hundreds of little pieces of plastic!!....and having the time on my hands to get through it!!..........still needs must and all that!
I'm so pleased that this phase is over because from now on the build becomes more interesting ....and hopefully for you guys as well!.......so here are the photos of all my effort!
First I glued strips of plastic onto the yogurt pot walls representing the vertical ribs ...and then I had to cut hundreds of pieces of plastic representing the horizontal ribs.... so that I could glue them between the vertical ribs .....this sounds as boring as it was!
So here we go then!............. .....a week later it was time to spray the base interior green! PHEW!................. I decided to prepare the balsa wood fuselage for skinning with the aluminum sheets ,which I will do at a later stage...(it also strengthens the fuselage)......so to that end I covered the fuselage with tissue glued on with PVC glue and then brushed on shrinking dope. Now its as tough as old boots and I am as high as a kite! This afternoon I will have a go at preparing the riveting on the dorsal fin and then maybe spray it tomorrow! Probably one more post to go for a while as I'm off to see my wife in UK....due to this Pandemic I have been stuck here in Bulgaria and haven't seen her since last March! See you on the next post! Cheers Fozzy
So here we go then!.............
.....a week later it was time to spray the base interior green! PHEW!................. I decided to prepare the balsa wood fuselage for skinning with the aluminum sheets ,which I will do at a later stage...(it also strengthens the fuselage)......so to that end I covered the fuselage with tissue glued on with PVC glue and then brushed on shrinking dope. Now its as tough as old boots and I am as high as a kite! This afternoon I will have a go at preparing the riveting on the dorsal fin and then maybe spray it tomorrow! Probably one more post to go for a while as I'm off to see my wife in UK....due to this Pandemic I have been stuck here in Bulgaria and haven't seen her since last March! See you on the next post! Cheers Fozzy
.....a week later it was time to spray the base interior green!
PHEW!................. I decided to prepare the balsa wood fuselage for skinning with the aluminum sheets ,which I will do at a later stage...(it also strengthens the fuselage)......so to that end I covered the fuselage with tissue glued on with PVC glue and then brushed on shrinking dope. Now its as tough as old boots and I am as high as a kite! This afternoon I will have a go at preparing the riveting on the dorsal fin and then maybe spray it tomorrow! Probably one more post to go for a while as I'm off to see my wife in UK....due to this Pandemic I have been stuck here in Bulgaria and haven't seen her since last March! See you on the next post! Cheers Fozzy
This afternoon I will have a go at preparing the riveting on the dorsal fin and then maybe spray it tomorrow! Probably one more post to go for a while as I'm off to see my wife in UK....due to this Pandemic I have been stuck here in Bulgaria and haven't seen her since last March! See you on the next post! Cheers Fozzy
This afternoon I will have a go at preparing the riveting on the dorsal fin and then maybe spray it tomorrow!
Probably one more post to go for a while as I'm off to see my wife in UK....due to this Pandemic I have been stuck here in Bulgaria and haven't seen her since last March!
See you on the next post!
I have just about managed to finish the basic construction of the rear fuselage and tail section with just a few details to add at a later stage. So after this post I can get on with working on all the internal detail!
So first up I had to think about how I was going to go about making the structure of the Cheyenne rear turret. After measuring up for scale from photos I got a sheet of plastic card and put together the frame work. I won't be glazing the turret or fixing it in place until all the internal detail in the turret is complete...this is because I will never get my fingers in there to do anything!.....so here is the Cheyenne turret frame work.....
After fixing some sort of band of plastic around the aperture so that the frame would have something to adhere to I placed the turret in position to see what it looked like......I am happy with the out come as I thought it would give me no end of problems considering I had no scale plans to go by. Here it is in place..... So it was back to the tail section. I decided to skin this section now in preparation of spraying. Most of this B17G Fuddy Duddy I am depicting is bare metal except for the tail section where there is a splash of yellow. So first up was to mark the rivet lines with pen.... The material I am using to skin the tail is quite simply sticky back silver paper which is thinner than the aluminum skin I will and have been using for the bare metal sections.You can see in this next photo that after I traced a template the rivets were punched by my handy rivet maker tool (a safety pin inserted into a piece of plastic sprue!....no expense spared!) and its ready to be glued to the tail section.... ...and here is the tail unit skinned..... The next job was to sand down all the formers making way for all the internal detail that I will be starting on soon....this was done on both top and bottom of the fuselage half's Using some of my collection of yogurt pot plastic tubs cut to shape!.. I started on covering the internal floors and side walls... The last 3 photos are of some of the detail to the rudder... eg...the trim tab rod connection and the rudder connection fittings to the tail section... That's it for now guys. Next up is making the ribs for the floors and side walls on the lower half of the fuselage and possibly spraying the tail unit....so until then stay safe! Cheers Fozzy
After fixing some sort of band of plastic around the aperture so that the frame would have something to adhere to I placed the turret in position to see what it looked like......I am happy with the out come as I thought it would give me no end of problems considering I had no scale plans to go by.
Here it is in place.....
So it was back to the tail section. I decided to skin this section now in preparation of spraying. Most of this B17G Fuddy Duddy I am depicting is bare metal except for the tail section where there is a splash of yellow. So first up was to mark the rivet lines with pen.... The material I am using to skin the tail is quite simply sticky back silver paper which is thinner than the aluminum skin I will and have been using for the bare metal sections.You can see in this next photo that after I traced a template the rivets were punched by my handy rivet maker tool (a safety pin inserted into a piece of plastic sprue!....no expense spared!) and its ready to be glued to the tail section.... ...and here is the tail unit skinned..... The next job was to sand down all the formers making way for all the internal detail that I will be starting on soon....this was done on both top and bottom of the fuselage half's Using some of my collection of yogurt pot plastic tubs cut to shape!.. I started on covering the internal floors and side walls... The last 3 photos are of some of the detail to the rudder... eg...the trim tab rod connection and the rudder connection fittings to the tail section... That's it for now guys. Next up is making the ribs for the floors and side walls on the lower half of the fuselage and possibly spraying the tail unit....so until then stay safe! Cheers Fozzy
So it was back to the tail section. I decided to skin this section now in preparation of spraying. Most of this B17G Fuddy Duddy I am depicting is bare metal except for the tail section where there is a splash of yellow.
So first up was to mark the rivet lines with pen....
The material I am using to skin the tail is quite simply sticky back silver paper which is thinner than the aluminum skin I will and have been using for the bare metal sections.You can see in this next photo that after I traced a template the rivets were punched by my handy rivet maker tool (a safety pin inserted into a piece of plastic sprue!....no expense spared!) and its ready to be glued to the tail section.... ...and here is the tail unit skinned..... The next job was to sand down all the formers making way for all the internal detail that I will be starting on soon....this was done on both top and bottom of the fuselage half's Using some of my collection of yogurt pot plastic tubs cut to shape!.. I started on covering the internal floors and side walls... The last 3 photos are of some of the detail to the rudder... eg...the trim tab rod connection and the rudder connection fittings to the tail section... That's it for now guys. Next up is making the ribs for the floors and side walls on the lower half of the fuselage and possibly spraying the tail unit....so until then stay safe! Cheers Fozzy
The material I am using to skin the tail is quite simply sticky back silver paper which is thinner than the aluminum skin I will and have been using for the bare metal sections.You can see in this next photo that after I traced a template the rivets were punched by my handy rivet maker tool (a safety pin inserted into a piece of plastic sprue!....no expense spared!) and its ready to be glued to the tail section....
...and here is the tail unit skinned..... The next job was to sand down all the formers making way for all the internal detail that I will be starting on soon....this was done on both top and bottom of the fuselage half's Using some of my collection of yogurt pot plastic tubs cut to shape!.. I started on covering the internal floors and side walls... The last 3 photos are of some of the detail to the rudder... eg...the trim tab rod connection and the rudder connection fittings to the tail section... That's it for now guys. Next up is making the ribs for the floors and side walls on the lower half of the fuselage and possibly spraying the tail unit....so until then stay safe! Cheers Fozzy
...and here is the tail unit skinned.....
The next job was to sand down all the formers making way for all the internal detail that I will be starting on soon....this was done on both top and bottom of the fuselage half's Using some of my collection of yogurt pot plastic tubs cut to shape!.. I started on covering the internal floors and side walls... The last 3 photos are of some of the detail to the rudder... eg...the trim tab rod connection and the rudder connection fittings to the tail section... That's it for now guys. Next up is making the ribs for the floors and side walls on the lower half of the fuselage and possibly spraying the tail unit....so until then stay safe! Cheers Fozzy
The next job was to sand down all the formers making way for all the internal detail that I will be starting on soon....this was done on both top and bottom of the fuselage half's
Using some of my collection of yogurt pot plastic tubs cut to shape!.. I started on covering the internal floors and side walls... The last 3 photos are of some of the detail to the rudder... eg...the trim tab rod connection and the rudder connection fittings to the tail section... That's it for now guys. Next up is making the ribs for the floors and side walls on the lower half of the fuselage and possibly spraying the tail unit....so until then stay safe! Cheers Fozzy
Using some of my collection of yogurt pot plastic tubs cut to shape!.. I started on covering the internal floors and side walls...
The last 3 photos are of some of the detail to the rudder... eg...the trim tab rod connection and the rudder connection fittings to the tail section... That's it for now guys. Next up is making the ribs for the floors and side walls on the lower half of the fuselage and possibly spraying the tail unit....so until then stay safe! Cheers Fozzy
The last 3 photos are of some of the detail to the rudder... eg...the trim tab rod connection and the rudder connection fittings to the tail section...
That's it for now guys. Next up is making the ribs for the floors and side walls on the lower half of the fuselage and possibly spraying the tail unit....so until then stay safe! Cheers Fozzy
That's it for now guys.
Next up is making the ribs for the floors and side walls on the lower half of the fuselage and possibly spraying the tail unit....so until then stay safe!
Hi everyone
I'm still battling away with the construction of the tail section of this B17G..... long old slow process but I have made some good progress!
I was about half way through constructing the tail out of balsa wood in my last post ....so here are some photos of where I am at the moment.
Here you can see that I have filled with scrap balsa in between the longerons on the section I built in the last post...
The next 3 photos show that I have built the rudder and temporarily attached it the the tail assembly...... After giving it some thought I decided that the rudder would eventually look better if I skinned it with tissue. So after sanding down the rudder as smooth as I could get it , I applied the tissue with a couple of coats of shrinking dope....time to get as high as a coot!!... The trim tab I left as solid balsa wood..... The fun really started then as whilst looking at the scale plans I am using I realized that the tail gun position was of the old "stinger" configuration!...as shown in this next photo.... I needed the up dated Cheyenne turret...as in this next photo..... Well this caused me all sorts of worries as I would have to some how build the Cheyenne turret with out any scaled plans. I down loaded and printed off a drawing of the turret using Foxit reader and tried to get it to the same scale as my existing plans...I got it as close as I could but it was really just a guide of sorts! I then basically had to take a look at photos and transfer what I saw into some sort of balsa construction! So it was a bit of a challenge to say the least! So first up .....I placed the built fuselage onto the drawings and literally drew in the shape that I needed to get the width of the turret ...trying to remember that the drawings were slightly out of scale and then looked at photos of the side of the turret to get as close as I could the height and shape dimensions!....crazy way of doing it but this was all I could do. Here is that process on the go...... I then filled in between the stringers with balsa and literally whittled the shape of the turret!...getting the aperture shape for the ball was a nightmare but managed to do it in the end... To make the ball that fits into the hole....for want of a better description!!....I thought best to make a plug in the correct shape out of balsa and do a plug and mold procedure! I placed the mold into the hole!....to check out what it looked like....I thought ...so far so good! I got the mold ready to push onto the frame where I attached a piece of food packaging plastic ready to be heated... ...and fired up my old Bulgarian grill machine!...perfect for the job! Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me! After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
The next 3 photos show that I have built the rudder and temporarily attached it the the tail assembly......
After giving it some thought I decided that the rudder would eventually look better if I skinned it with tissue. So after sanding down the rudder as smooth as I could get it , I applied the tissue with a couple of coats of shrinking dope....time to get as high as a coot!!... The trim tab I left as solid balsa wood..... The fun really started then as whilst looking at the scale plans I am using I realized that the tail gun position was of the old "stinger" configuration!...as shown in this next photo.... I needed the up dated Cheyenne turret...as in this next photo..... Well this caused me all sorts of worries as I would have to some how build the Cheyenne turret with out any scaled plans. I down loaded and printed off a drawing of the turret using Foxit reader and tried to get it to the same scale as my existing plans...I got it as close as I could but it was really just a guide of sorts! I then basically had to take a look at photos and transfer what I saw into some sort of balsa construction! So it was a bit of a challenge to say the least! So first up .....I placed the built fuselage onto the drawings and literally drew in the shape that I needed to get the width of the turret ...trying to remember that the drawings were slightly out of scale and then looked at photos of the side of the turret to get as close as I could the height and shape dimensions!....crazy way of doing it but this was all I could do. Here is that process on the go...... I then filled in between the stringers with balsa and literally whittled the shape of the turret!...getting the aperture shape for the ball was a nightmare but managed to do it in the end... To make the ball that fits into the hole....for want of a better description!!....I thought best to make a plug in the correct shape out of balsa and do a plug and mold procedure! I placed the mold into the hole!....to check out what it looked like....I thought ...so far so good! I got the mold ready to push onto the frame where I attached a piece of food packaging plastic ready to be heated... ...and fired up my old Bulgarian grill machine!...perfect for the job! Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me! After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
After giving it some thought I decided that the rudder would eventually look better if I skinned it with tissue. So after sanding down the rudder as smooth as I could get it , I applied the tissue with a couple of coats of shrinking dope....time to get as high as a coot!!... The trim tab I left as solid balsa wood.....
The fun really started then as whilst looking at the scale plans I am using I realized that the tail gun position was of the old "stinger" configuration!...as shown in this next photo.... I needed the up dated Cheyenne turret...as in this next photo..... Well this caused me all sorts of worries as I would have to some how build the Cheyenne turret with out any scaled plans. I down loaded and printed off a drawing of the turret using Foxit reader and tried to get it to the same scale as my existing plans...I got it as close as I could but it was really just a guide of sorts! I then basically had to take a look at photos and transfer what I saw into some sort of balsa construction! So it was a bit of a challenge to say the least! So first up .....I placed the built fuselage onto the drawings and literally drew in the shape that I needed to get the width of the turret ...trying to remember that the drawings were slightly out of scale and then looked at photos of the side of the turret to get as close as I could the height and shape dimensions!....crazy way of doing it but this was all I could do. Here is that process on the go...... I then filled in between the stringers with balsa and literally whittled the shape of the turret!...getting the aperture shape for the ball was a nightmare but managed to do it in the end... To make the ball that fits into the hole....for want of a better description!!....I thought best to make a plug in the correct shape out of balsa and do a plug and mold procedure! I placed the mold into the hole!....to check out what it looked like....I thought ...so far so good! I got the mold ready to push onto the frame where I attached a piece of food packaging plastic ready to be heated... ...and fired up my old Bulgarian grill machine!...perfect for the job! Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me! After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
The fun really started then as whilst looking at the scale plans I am using I realized that the tail gun position was of the old "stinger" configuration!...as shown in this next photo....
I needed the up dated Cheyenne turret...as in this next photo..... Well this caused me all sorts of worries as I would have to some how build the Cheyenne turret with out any scaled plans. I down loaded and printed off a drawing of the turret using Foxit reader and tried to get it to the same scale as my existing plans...I got it as close as I could but it was really just a guide of sorts! I then basically had to take a look at photos and transfer what I saw into some sort of balsa construction! So it was a bit of a challenge to say the least! So first up .....I placed the built fuselage onto the drawings and literally drew in the shape that I needed to get the width of the turret ...trying to remember that the drawings were slightly out of scale and then looked at photos of the side of the turret to get as close as I could the height and shape dimensions!....crazy way of doing it but this was all I could do. Here is that process on the go...... I then filled in between the stringers with balsa and literally whittled the shape of the turret!...getting the aperture shape for the ball was a nightmare but managed to do it in the end... To make the ball that fits into the hole....for want of a better description!!....I thought best to make a plug in the correct shape out of balsa and do a plug and mold procedure! I placed the mold into the hole!....to check out what it looked like....I thought ...so far so good! I got the mold ready to push onto the frame where I attached a piece of food packaging plastic ready to be heated... ...and fired up my old Bulgarian grill machine!...perfect for the job! Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me! After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
I needed the up dated Cheyenne turret...as in this next photo.....
Well this caused me all sorts of worries as I would have to some how build the Cheyenne turret with out any scaled plans. I down loaded and printed off a drawing of the turret using Foxit reader and tried to get it to the same scale as my existing plans...I got it as close as I could but it was really just a guide of sorts! I then basically had to take a look at photos and transfer what I saw into some sort of balsa construction! So it was a bit of a challenge to say the least! So first up .....I placed the built fuselage onto the drawings and literally drew in the shape that I needed to get the width of the turret ...trying to remember that the drawings were slightly out of scale and then looked at photos of the side of the turret to get as close as I could the height and shape dimensions!....crazy way of doing it but this was all I could do. Here is that process on the go...... I then filled in between the stringers with balsa and literally whittled the shape of the turret!...getting the aperture shape for the ball was a nightmare but managed to do it in the end... To make the ball that fits into the hole....for want of a better description!!....I thought best to make a plug in the correct shape out of balsa and do a plug and mold procedure! I placed the mold into the hole!....to check out what it looked like....I thought ...so far so good! I got the mold ready to push onto the frame where I attached a piece of food packaging plastic ready to be heated... ...and fired up my old Bulgarian grill machine!...perfect for the job! Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me! After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
Well this caused me all sorts of worries as I would have to some how build the Cheyenne turret with out any scaled plans. I down loaded and printed off a drawing of the turret using Foxit reader and tried to get it to the same scale as my existing plans...I got it as close as I could but it was really just a guide of sorts! I then basically had to take a look at photos and transfer what I saw into some sort of balsa construction! So it was a bit of a challenge to say the least!
So first up .....I placed the built fuselage onto the drawings and literally drew in the shape that I needed to get the width of the turret ...trying to remember that the drawings were slightly out of scale and then looked at photos of the side of the turret to get as close as I could the height and shape dimensions!....crazy way of doing it but this was all I could do.
Here is that process on the go......
I then filled in between the stringers with balsa and literally whittled the shape of the turret!...getting the aperture shape for the ball was a nightmare but managed to do it in the end... To make the ball that fits into the hole....for want of a better description!!....I thought best to make a plug in the correct shape out of balsa and do a plug and mold procedure! I placed the mold into the hole!....to check out what it looked like....I thought ...so far so good! I got the mold ready to push onto the frame where I attached a piece of food packaging plastic ready to be heated... ...and fired up my old Bulgarian grill machine!...perfect for the job! Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me! After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
I then filled in between the stringers with balsa and literally whittled the shape of the turret!...getting the aperture shape for the ball was a nightmare but managed to do it in the end...
To make the ball that fits into the hole....for want of a better description!!....I thought best to make a plug in the correct shape out of balsa and do a plug and mold procedure! I placed the mold into the hole!....to check out what it looked like....I thought ...so far so good! I got the mold ready to push onto the frame where I attached a piece of food packaging plastic ready to be heated... ...and fired up my old Bulgarian grill machine!...perfect for the job! Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me! After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
To make the ball that fits into the hole....for want of a better description!!....I thought best to make a plug in the correct shape out of balsa and do a plug and mold procedure!
I placed the mold into the hole!....to check out what it looked like....I thought ...so far so good! I got the mold ready to push onto the frame where I attached a piece of food packaging plastic ready to be heated... ...and fired up my old Bulgarian grill machine!...perfect for the job! Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me! After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
I placed the mold into the hole!....to check out what it looked like....I thought ...so far so good!
I got the mold ready to push onto the frame where I attached a piece of food packaging plastic ready to be heated... ...and fired up my old Bulgarian grill machine!...perfect for the job! Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me! After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
I got the mold ready to push onto the frame where I attached a piece of food packaging plastic ready to be heated...
...and fired up my old Bulgarian grill machine!...perfect for the job! Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me! After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
...and fired up my old Bulgarian grill machine!...perfect for the job!
Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me! After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
Placed the prepared frame under the grill.....waited for the melt!....and boom!....managed to get it right first time...something that doesn't always happen for me!
After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret.... ....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
After cutting out the slots for the machine gun barrels, I cut the mold out and super glued it to the turret....
....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!! The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
....and finally here it is attached to the fuselage with pegs!!
The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!! Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round! Cheers Fozzy
The fun and games doesn't stop there for this Cheyenne turret as I have to somehow get
the perspex enclosure built....again this will be done by staring at photos all day!!
Thanks as always for taking a look guys and see you next time round!
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