B-17C/D W.I.P. ...

I hope you don't mind some critique.  I know how important this build is for you to get it right.  I saw a few issues in your masking that I circled in the pic below.  The masking tape does not seem to line up from one piece to the next and there looks to be some gaps.  I would hate for you to pull the masking off after painting only to find these issues and have to correct later, expecially if the part is attached to fuselage.

The metal templates I have may offer better shapes to cut out the masking tape to better match the shape of the framing.  Let me know if want to arrange to meet up over the weekend to tackle this.

Here are the waist windows. Whew! Time for break and then the canopy(?).

Thanks, Route62. So much great information.

I might call on you when it comes time to do the nose glass!

I hear you on the 1/72 masking.  I also have to use all the same tools and magnifiers.  Not a necessary step but an option since 1/72 clear parts are so hard to mask and fix if you have any bleed thru.

After you have masked all your clear parts, consider shooting them with another thin coat of future with your airbrush.  This will seal the edges of the masking tape with the first coat of future and insure a crisp edge and no bleed thru.  Do not re dip in future as this is too thick a coat of future.

Starting to mask the clear parts today. I dipped them in Pledge a week or so ago. Now the really difficult part -- masking all of those 1/72 scale clear parts. I don't know how long it took to maks the turtleback window, maybe 30-45 minutes. Eraser shield, #11 x-acto blade and pointed tweezers. Plus my Optivisor. Since I had cataract surgery, I can't see anything closer than my hand unaided.

Jon_a_its

Not to hijack your thread...

Info request for B17f interior pics & EXTERIOR Lights info,

According to the Monogram B17G instructions, this was lit up like a Christmas tree…. See where I’m going with this?

 

 

 

No. Not quite sure what you're asking.

The airplane has lots of exterior lights?

Not to hijack your thread...

Info request for B17f interior pics & EXTERIOR Lights info,

According to the Monogram B17G instructions, this was lit up like a Christmas tree…. See where I’m going with this?

That Swoosie Kurtz article was just fascinating and TY so much for posting that.

I wonder if the real airplane was actually mottled in appearance or is that just how it looks because of some kind of photographic anomally.

I just now found two more pictures of MD105 by doing a Google image search. Apparently, the gun tub was not installed on this particular airplane. Good to know. The finished model will have a much sleeker appearance. Thanks, GreenStyrene. I do need to move the Commander's Bubble to the right though.

Man! Photobucket is such a P.I.T.A.!

Thanks, GreenStyrene. Not having the gun tub on the underside saves me a lot of work.

I met Jeff Ethell many years ago at the TICO Warbird Airshow, when the group that is now the VAC was still part of the CAF. I think he was writing an article on the airshow for Air Classics magazine.

I saw a picture of MD 105 on the ground showing it doesn't have the belly gun position attached.  Haven't seen it online but it's on a Jeff Ethell book called Bomber Command.

Found a copy online:

http://www.anigrand.com/images/items/AA4087_B-17B/AA4087_B-17B_real-2.jpg 

Thanks, Richs26. Maybe I have a piece of clear plastic I can put in there instead.

Swoosie Kurtz's dad, Frank Kurtz, piloted the Swoose. 

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/FRANK+KURTZ%2C+%60SWOOSE%27+PILOT+AND+OLYMPIC+DIVER%2C+AT+85.-a084002143

fotofrank

I don't know if this was the case or not way back when, but since this B-17is unarmed, I filled the opening in the gun tub with styrene to close up the big hole.

 

 

 

Actually, Frank, the bathtub opening has a plexiglass cover so the gunner can see what is  behind even when it is unarmed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycPmZ85xn5M&t=151s

Building up the wings today on the B-17. Went to Harbor Freight to get some plastic clamps to help in the effort. 99¢ for six. 69¢ for a couple of larger clamps. Not bad.

Top 'O the page! A round of IBC root beers for everyone!

I hadn't thought about that, you know, painting the rudder first. I know that the Alclad is easy to mask after it goes down and then cures, so I'l do that then. I'll be doing one the the P-36's (maybe both of them) and the B-17 in NMF with the red, white and blue rudder.

As for "diving right in," having been out of the hobby as long as you have been in the hobby, I have a lot of time to make up.

Sorry, the meet is this Monday, not Friday JayJay. 

A suggestion to get a better paint job Frank,. I would recommend you mask off the tail rudder after you have done the NMF on the entire model.  This will eliminate any chance of a sliver of unpainted area between the NMF and the painted rudder.  Even with careful masking it can be hard to get it just right.  Painting the blue over the NMF is much easier then trying to do NMF over the blue without creating a ridge of paint from layers of primer and gloss black.

Excellent work on the rescribe.  I just starting rescribing only 3 years ago after decades of modeling and you are diving right in... I see a master modeller in the making.

Well maybe next year when you start the meet up again, I hafta work  ( nights at the Daytona Speedway whenever they have events there

I don't know if this was the case or not way back when, but since this B-17is unarmed, I filled the opening in the gun tub with styrene to close up the big hole.

I shimmed the tabs on the wings to make sure the tabs fit tight into the slots in the fuselage. In test fitting, the fit was pretty sloppy and as a result the dihedral might have been incorrect when the wings were attached. I think I'll have to do the same with the horizontal stabilizers when it comes time to put them on.

Well, the re-scribing of panel lines is complete(?), I think. I've masked off the rudder to get ready for primer and the red, white and blue paint.

Re-scribing panel lines today on the B-17. Route62 suggested that I put a needle in my pin vise and use Dymo label tape as a guide to bring the panel lines back. Using very little pressure I'm able to re-scribe the lines pretty well. My hand-done lines seem to match up with the kit panel lines pretty good. I have a couple more academy B-17C/D kits so I taped together another fuselage to show me where the panel lines should be. Actually, this part is going pretty fast. I should be able to mask off the rudder for paint later today or tomorrow morning. Cool.

We have our last meet of the year this Friday Jay Jay.  It's at the Herndon library at 7pm, 

4324 E. Colonial Dr. Orlando, FL 32803

 It's about an hour drive straight down 50 from Daytona.  Would love to see you there.  I'll be there with the F-86 NMF I am working on along with Frank.

Looking good Frank. Inspiring me to dig mine outta the stash.  Someday I'm gonna make the trip from Daytona to the build day to meet Y'all

Man that's looking good Frank, inspiring me to start mine from the stash.  Someday I'm gonna make the trip from Daytona to the build day and meet y'all

Progress has been slow on the B-17 lately. I've been working in Photoshop editing pictures from our trip to Moody AFB for their Community Appreciation Days open house and airshow. When I finish working on those pictures, I'll be sharing them with y'all.

With the B-17, I've been filling and sanding the seams on the fueslage. I want to be sure the seams are smooth and not at all evident before laying down primer and the Alclad NMF finish. After the debacle that was the LT-6G, I want to be sure the B-17 finish looks as good as possible.

The nose and turtleback showing the four seats on the flight deck. I first filled the seams with Bondo glazing & spot putty and got everything as smooth as I could. Of course there were still tiny pits in the Bondo after I polished the seams.

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The rear fuselage. After the Bondo, I brushed on Tamiya's gray primer in the bottle. Then I wet sanded all of the seams. The gray primer also helped to fill some of the sink marks in the plastic.

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The underside of the nose. After the wet sanding, I polished the seams and surrounding plastic with emery boards. These little 3" Tropical Shine emery boards are excellent for working on the 1/48 and 1/72 scale airplanes.

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As you can see from the picture of the nose area, I had to glue in all of the little windows before closing up the fuselage. They were painted black on the inside before I shot the interior with green zinc chromate. Now it's time to rescribe panel lines that were filled during the sanding and polishing, then mask the rudder and fin so the rudder can be painted red, white and blue, instead of using the kit decals.

Thanks for looking in.

Build day tomorrow at the hobby shop. I'm taking my B-17C and one of the P-36A's with me to work on and get recommendations for the natural metal finish for both airplanes.

Cool, thanks, Frank!

Frank, your MD 105 is actually a B model which prototyped the gun positions at Wright Field for the new C/D models and the revamping of the B models.  As I mentioned before, the bubble is on the right side denoting a B.  Italeri has not done much research for accuracy as the boxart shows a B model in British markings when the British received C models with the bubble being on the center line of the cockpit.  Another faux paux is that Mary Ann is a B model as I noted earlier.  One other one is the G example said to be at March Field, January 1941.  That is totally bogus because during  the winter of 40/41, it belonged to the Cold Weather Test Detachment (CWTD) at Ladd Field, Fairbanks, Alaska painted in Mandarin Red.  On June 4th, 1942, it was sent to Kodiak in preparation for the defense of Alaska from the Japanese.  It performed bombing missions over Attu and Kiska, until it crashed returning from a weather mission on July 18, 1942.    

Fantastic work thus far.  I’ll be following along.

Your friend, Toshi