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

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

Thank you!

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.

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.

Looks awesome B-17Pilot! Nice work!

Great thread! It covers a few years which is cool, with nice builds. I can't believe  I read through all 92 pages!! :)  

It's been about 30 yrs since I built models, but I've got a b-17g 1/48 that I should have by Wednesday. Bought my supplies, AB, compressor etc and trying to read up on all the new tricks. My dilemma on this B-17 is how I want it painted. My heart is saying late model like milk wagon in Aluminum, but tackling Aclad out of the gate may be challenging. I'm in no rush to get her finished so the extra prepping is ok.

Thanks

Don

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

Here's more on the the nose conversion.

Roughly how the bulged cheeks will look...

Also, a few B-17 modeling tips. B-17 interiors are NOT interior green throughout. The nose, radio room and waist were bare metal. The cockpit was not either but it is more acceptable to paint this area because it was mainly covered in the green quilted sound proof material. The bomb bay was either natural metal or neutral gray. And fire extinguishers were brass colored, not red. 

CJ, I understand how you feel about B-17's!

I see what you mean about the vega built forts. Been there and done mods for this.

Modification can be done!!!

This group build thread is neither dead or gone. It's regularly brought back up and there is a lot of good info and reference material in here, keep it going!  

Looking forward to your build with interest.  This has been my favorite thread to follow on FSM and people have been continuing to contribute within the last few months.  Whether this forum continues right here or opens up a "B-17 Group Build Part 2", I'll be watching for your progress on Shack Bunny.  I've got 4 different 1/48 Forts in various building and parts accumulation myself, so let's keep it going!

Nice start. Recommend you start a new post in aircraft forum. This build is already finished. Would love to see your in progress pics.

Nice start, and great history story to go with it. This thread is dead and gone, I'd suggest posting in the aircraft forum and sharing your progress there, for all to see.

Hi folks, I'm jumping into this thread with my submission. I've always had a love affair with B17's, I just think they are the definition of sexy lines on an aircraft, though I have no family connection to them like many folks do. I recently learned that my wife's grandfather was a decorated waist gunner in the 551st squadron, 385th bomb group. He documented the war very well and we recently acquired just a small sample of his effects from her former uncle who he was very close with, including hundreds of photos, logbooks, records etc. His aircraft was "Shack Bunny", a B17F-35-VE. I'm starting with the Revell kit but I plan to do LOTS of scratch building. I think the hardest part for now is going to be modifying the nose to reflect a Vega B17, which had reversed and unique gun windows.

Her grandfather actually had two airplanes, the first one, 42-5913 crashed in the Netherlands with a different crew so they acquired a second which had the blonde nose art babe painted by Anne Haywood, a red cross nurse who painted many of the groups nose art. The first aircraft flew on the Regensburg mission and I have dozens of photos from the raid as well as in Algeria. He scored a kill on a JU88 that day so I've decided to build the aircraft as it looked that day. His second aircraft was heavily damaged by a direct flak hit on their way back from the target during the crews 25th mission, and was repaired several weeks later. By then they had all made it back stateside and finished out the war instructing new crews. I considered building that aircraft but I'm a long ways from being able to model battle damage.

I'm going to try my best at a hyper detailed build on this one using aftermarket parts extensively as well as scratch building. No timeline set for it, so it may take a while.

Here are a few photos to start with.

I started out by removing the elevators by scratching the seams with a sharp scribe until they parted. I've never seen a B17 parked with the elevators level so that was an issue for me. I'm slowly filling the gaps with styrene strips.

i301.photobucket.com/.../B17tail_zpsc98ff384.jpg

i301.photobucket.com/.../shackbunny1_zps118a4ea1.jpg

i301.photobucket.com/.../shackbunny3_zpsf19181be.jpg

i301.photobucket.com/.../shackbunny_zpsed86df9f.jpg

B17Pilot, I used the halves that came with the kit. It was a bear to get them fitted and glued together but I finally got it. I put the seam vertical so you can only see it from the bottom and is not noticeable from the sides. That is definitely the weak part in the conversion kit. It should have been molded as a single cone instead in halves.

bigfoot01

Since this thread has been revived yet again, here is the result of my latest B-17 project that I did under the "B-17D or bust" thread:

src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/BigFoot01/Aircraft%20Collection/DSCF5097_zpsbce813c9.jpg" border="0">

I'm going to start one of these some day, considering I have 3 in the stash.

It's a -G kit. I got it off ebay several years ago in two pieces and have slowly fixed/repaired it has a side project. I would recommend the -F kit, which is what I'm going to use when I make the -C version.

Looking good B17Pilot! Did you start with a Revell F or a Monogram G?

Thank you Tony!

Nice looking builds, there, John!

And to keep the thread going, here are some pics of my recently completed E from the Battle of Midway:

A while back on this thread I posted my "Betty Boop the Pistol Packing Mama". At that time I built it with the two gun nose that came with the Revell F kit . When I bought the Koster B-17 Nose set for my E conversion it included the correct single gun nose. So here she is, Betty Boop with her new nose!:

I received the "Little Miss Mischief" decals, now just need to get paint and decide when I'll build her.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your compliments! Nathan, actually the earth could have been more dug up... maybe next time I'll do it better. The panel lines and all the aircraft/weathering ( and the whole dio, figurines and terrestrial vehicles) are  brush  painted ( I have not the airbush ) using acrylic colors... ( Lifecolor and Italeri ). I defined each panel with a very little brush and a lot of patience :))  About the weathering, I haved used a couple of the "True earth" effects. I found the grass/wheat here:

www.modellismo.it/visualizzaxcat.php

Thank you for your suggestion, I'll post it in the aircraft/dio thread when it will be finish.

Ciao!

Ordered the decals to do "Little Miss Mischief". Can't wait to get them in!