1/48 B-17 Group Build...ALL INVITED TO JOIN!

Wow B-17 Guy your photos are inspiring. I've thought about moving the right window back on my F but the left side had a funny shape so I'm probably going to scratch build a few test pieces from styrene sheet until I get it right. Most of my photos are from just after the Regensburg mission so I'm trying to duplicate how it looked when it landed in Algeria. In every photo I have the elevators are down slightly so that's what I'm going after. When I get home I'll scan all my photos and post them here as reference for other builders. One thing I've noticed is that the top of the nacelles have much heavier exhaust staining than I've ever seen before, the logbook I have for the aircraft says they flew 11.1 hours that day so I'm wondering if this is the cause. It was only their 7th or 8th mission so I'd imagine the aircraft would have been fairly fresh then.v

Most photos out there are of the aircrafts right side since this is typically where the noseart was painted. Here is a great shot of the left side of a Vega B17F showing  the unique gun window.

I got a little bit of work done on Shack Bunny, finally got back in the rhythm of daily life after my trip. I stitched up the elevator gaps with evergreen .020" sheet and some putty, then started on the wheels, a set of Squadron True Detail numbers. I painted the first one silver and flat black, but by the time I was done the black had turned to a gummy mess, even after thinning the paint down quite a bit. I did the wheel in silver, then decided I didn't like it so I painted over it with a homemade mix of gloss grey and flay white. When I brushed it over the silver it gave a really ice raw aluminum look. I think I'm going to go away from enamel paint all together, it just gets too sticky too quickly here in Florida. I've never used acrylic on models but I like the idea of being able to thin it with water.

I've been talking with Mike at Drawcustomart.com about making custom decals for me, anyone ever used him for models? I've heard good things about him.

I have a quick question about the engines for this beast. So far I've found engines from Aires, CMK and Engines&Things. I'm leaning towards the Engines&Things set because they come in a pack of 4 for $32, vs. $15-$25 for the other two. Here is tonight's update.

CJSpencer, I might want to give egines&things a look. Can you provide a link to them?

Thank you!

CJ, do you airbrush or old school brush paint? And did you wash the resin wheels before painting them? if you brush paint and didnt wash the resin parts before paint, thats why the paint turned out that way.

I generally airbrush the big stuff, but there's no way I am airbrushing the small stuff. I didn't wash the wheels, but I wiped them down with some thinner to clean the dust off before painting. Basically the issue I was having was with the paint drying before I was able to get it all on uniformally. I'd do a light coat on one side of the wheels, then I'd accidentally touch  the drying paint on the other side by the time I got back around, and it'd get into the bristles and just create a sticky brush stroke. I got it mostly how I wanted after it dried by sanding then light washing with really thinned paint to cover any light spots. I just want to find a paint that is easier to work with than Testors enamel. For all of my modeling life this has been all I have used, now that I'm back in the hobby I see there are a million other options, I just don't know which to choose.  Can anyone suggest a good painting tutorial? I think I need t o go back to basics.

CJ, I find that Testors works best if it is so thin that it just flows off the brush, and I use long bristle soft round brushes with it.  Also it is best if the spot you are retouching is completely cured first.  For a really flat finish, though I still prefer the airbrush no matter how small the part.  My gravity feed airbrush is very easy to clean so I use it for the small jobs and that helps.

Thanks for the tips everyone, I played around a little with some smaller parts and got great results both with hand brushing and airbrushing. I started working on the cockpit details, and painted some of my True Detail resin bits. I did the rear bulkhead with a combination of humbrol and model master enamels and a brush, then painted the floor with my Paasche VL#3 airbrush. I like the way it came out. Does anyone have any tips for reproducing a plywood look or will it even be visible enough when closed up to matter?

I've made a little progress on Shack Bunny. The cockpit is mostly finished. I don't think the interior color is quite right but since most of it will be covered I think it'll look ok and convincing to all but the super picky. I removed the giant fire extinguisher, which I later realized was switched with the hydraulic accumulator part,  from the circuit breaker panel and did as best I could painting the instrument panel. I broke one of the control yokes while trying to remove it from the resin block and that kind of put a damper on my motivation. I think I may leave them off as they'll be invisible anyway. I started to question why I was doing so much detail that would later be hidden, but I think the personal satisfaction is worth it.

The interior was starting to drain my patience so I started working on the engines. I'm still not sure if I want to detail out the kit engines or buy a complete resin set from Engines & Things. I'm trying to keep the budget down and while they are nice, I don't now if my skill level warrants spending $42 on parts that are so small. Painting the engines has proven to be pretty stressful already.

B17Pilot

Now, which version should I make next? Got 8 more versions to make. PB-1W, SB-17G, -E, -F, -C, Late -G, YB-40, One with a Mickey radar....decisions, decisions

Aren't going to do a B model?  You could do 38-215 which is the one from the Cold Weather Test Detachment at Ladd Field, Alaska which was sent to the Aleutians on June 1, 1942.  It was the only B in active combat against the Japanese.  Somebody has done one in 1/48 as seen in Google Images.  To read up on it, google for the Marks Report by Capt. Jack Marks.

CJ, you got me thinking when you mentioned Engines and Things. If I were to buy resin engines for the fifteen bombers that I have in my stash; it would cost about $500. That would be $500 for an incremental enhancement of the kit parts. There might be better ways to spend money, especially on a fixed income!

The kit engines can look pretty good with a little attention.  I just did a set of the Quickboost engines and I think they came out really nicely and aren't quite as expensive.  Quickboost engines for your 15 bombers would only cost about $200!

I'm working on The Latest Rumor, it was a B-17G-40-BO that flew well over 100 missions with the 100th Bomb Group out of Thorpe Abbotts, England.  That particular block is well represented by the Monogram 1/48th scale kit so I won't have to make any significant modifications.  The finished model will be displayed as a diorama of TLR on her hardstand #12 and crew posing in front based on this picture.

My wife's father flew about 20 of those missions as her tail gunner, he's far left in the back row above and his photo is my profile pic.  I have his photo album with a lot of pictures of the plane, and the 100th BG has a great website and Facebook page where I've been able to find others for reference.

I want to detail this model as much as I can and photograph the interior details that will be lost as I close it up.  My modeling skills are very rusty, due to a 25 year break from the hobby, and I'm finding I need to work on my photography skills also, but we'll get there.

I started with the wings, not wanting to tackle the fuselage and interior just yet.  I wanted to upgrade the engines without spending too much, so here's the Quickboost engines I referenced in my earlier post.  They were painted Alclad aluminum given a wash to bring out the detail.  Added some plastic rod painted black for the push rods and then the Eduard wiring harnesses.

And one more from closer up. I added a placard decal from the Airscale Cockpit Placard sheet to add a little interest.  Also added the Paragon prop governors.

I was undecided about tackling the significant scratch building required in finishing the wheel wells but decided to improve my technique here where it won't be very visable.  I like the results, but it sure took a lot of time.

I opened up all of the intakes and vents in the wings, and added the Eduard components inside to cover the inside of the air intakes and oil coolers.

And you can see the oil tanks

I made a little bit of progress on the Vega F nose conversion. The biggest job was cutting the hole for the large left side window. I'm trying different materials to make the window with, I think .010" clear sheet will work best because it is flexible. Once the windows are cut I can start building on the nose section interior.

I got a set if quick boost engines and sprayed them with model master chrome silver, followed by a very light dusting of model master grey thinned 50:1 and sprayed at 10 psi, just enough to full down the metal a little. The props have been causing problems, mostly because of all the masking, and the fact that I am brush painting them. I haven't decided whether I will strip them or leave them be yet. I talked to one of the bomb group historians and we agreed the green in the domes is a close match. I also picked up a trumpeter riveting tool and have been having fun in the fuselage and tail with it.

If anyone has a Koster F single gun nose bubble they'd be willing to sell I'd greatly appreciate it. 

Looking forward to seeing your conversion.  Which bomb group is your plane from?  I have decals for the original Piccadilly Lily of the 100th BG that I'll build some day.  It's a B-17F-30-VE.  I have another B-17F-85-BO on the workbench now, Wolff Pack, also of the Bloody Hundredth.  Both will have that Koster nose with the single gun.

My plane is the original Shack Bunny, from the 385thBg, 551st squadron based at Great Ashfield from. May to October 1943. Her crew went on to complete 25 missions in December 1943 in a second, Douglas built plane which I plan to build in 1:72 next. This one is a B17F-35-VE and was taken down by flak over the Netherlands on October 20th 1943 with a different crew borrowing her. All survived.

Hi, I will be getting a Flying Fort at my next model club meeting (2nd Saturday in May) from a another club  member. I will be posting and since I came accross this thread, I hope it will be okay to post here.

You guys ('n gals?) are doing something like this:

;-)

I love the look of that one. I've never seen anyone do an early paint scheme on a G model. It looks very cool.

Hi Everyone: I got my B-17G (in 48 scale) yesterday. I was hoping it would be an E model. But I can't complain. I only paid 15 for it.

I'll have pics later this evening.

The only way to get a 1/48 E model is to cook your own with a Koster conversion.

CJSpencer

I love the look of that one. I've never seen anyone do an early paint scheme on a G model. It looks very cool.

To be precise, late F's from block 100-BO to 130-BO had chin turrets also, so one has to look at the serial to know either late F or early G with OD. 

This thread has me wanting to get a Fort and get to building!

The 12 or so pictures I was able to find of B-17F's from the above 100-BO - 130-BO blocks, show one of them with a chin turret. This was B-17F-115-BO ( 42-30631) that Boeing used to develope the the "G" series including the staggered waist gun positons.

All the rest of the photos show B-17F's from these blocks as not having chin turrets. I realize 12 aircraft out a production run of 700 is just a small sample, but it seems pretty consistent that they weren't equiped with chin turrets. I'd welcome some pictures if they're out there.

There were 2 blocks of B-17F-DL's, 70-DL (21 built) and 75-DL (59 built) that were contructed with chin turrets and sometimes these are listed in official records as G-1-DL's and G-5-DL's respectively.

HTH

Tony H.

Okay, Here goes. The first pic of my 17

Ken