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HK Models B-17G 1:48 scale

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18 replies
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  • Member since
    April 2008
  • From: Fox Lake, Il., USA
Posted by spiralcity on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 11:57 PM

Looks great to me. Nice work on this big bird. Yes

 

 

  • Member since
    March 2015
  • From: Close to Chicago
Posted by JohnnyK on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 10:29 AM

That a great looking aircraft model.  I love that large scale. 

Your comments and questions are always welcome.

  • Member since
    August 2021
Posted by lurch on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 7:04 AM

I think you did a great job on it. I like it.

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Northern California
Posted by jeaton01 on Monday, May 13, 2024 7:21 PM

It does have a nice presence about it.

John

To see build logs for my models:  http://goldeneramodel.com/mymodels/mymodels.html

 

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by keavdog on Monday, May 13, 2024 2:52 PM

Nice job.  Now, where to put it ;)

Thanks,

John

fox
  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Narvon, Pa.
Posted by fox on Monday, May 13, 2024 1:54 PM

Looks pretty good to me! The photos are pretty good too so it's easy to see the good work you put into this bird. Back in the old days Wink, in the R/C planes they had a "Stand off scale". You set it down, back off about 5 to 10 feet and if you can say "Looks great from here" you were a winner. The longer you're building, the better you get and the closer you can stand to the model and say "Looks great to me".

Hang in there. You'll get better with time spent.

Stay safe.

Jim Captain

 Main WIP: 

   On the Bench: Artesania Latina  (aka) Artists in the Latrine 1/75 Bluenose II

I keep hitting "escape", but I'm still here.

  • Member since
    May 2011
Posted by dazzjazz on Monday, May 13, 2024 5:52 AM

Okay, I'm calling "done" on this massive bird. Overall I'm happy with it, but it's not a great kit. Too many bummers along the way. Maybe there are better HK Models kits to build? For the price, they should have at least included a canopy masking set -  bought the Eduard one - no way was I going to mask that amount of clear parts by hand.

on a positive note, the engineering of the wings is incredible - there's no need to glues them, and they can be detached at any time for storage purposes.

the gun mounts are a disaster, and caused me to lose the two guns mounted for bombardier and navigator positions. As mentioned above, all my interior work is hidden.

I've never made a kit so large, so I'm proud of how it turned out. 
cheers

Darren

  • Member since
    May 2011
Posted by dazzjazz on Sunday, February 18, 2024 1:22 PM

I haven't built the Revell kit, so I can't comment. It will probably be a long time before I attempt something if this size again. 

  • Member since
    May 2022
Posted by Eugene Rowe on Saturday, February 17, 2024 11:43 AM

How does it compare to the older Revell version?I made the old Chow  Hound and it went together quite well.

  • Member since
    May 2011
Posted by dazzjazz on Saturday, February 17, 2024 12:50 AM

Yes it should be much better for the price. It should be much better fit all round and come with masking set for all canopies. There's no way I could make my own masks for that. So much detail that I'd go mad trying. 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Northern California
Posted by jeaton01 on Saturday, February 17, 2024 12:03 AM

Worth the work, I think, but for the price something ain't right!  You will like it on your shelf.

John

To see build logs for my models:  http://goldeneramodel.com/mymodels/mymodels.html

 

  • Member since
    March 2022
  • From: Twin cities, MN
Posted by missileman2000 on Thursday, February 15, 2024 9:53 AM

Wow, that looks great!

  • Member since
    June 2023
Posted by burrito king on Thursday, February 15, 2024 1:35 AM

Hi dazzjazz, that is an amazing build. The interior work is top notch, too bad most of it is hidden. And the exterior metal finish is beautiful. I will be referring to these photos for ideas on my own models. Thanks for sharing!

  • Member since
    June 2023
Posted by burrito king on Thursday, February 15, 2024 1:33 AM

Hi dazzjazz, that is an amazing build. The interior work is top notch, too bad most of it hidden. And the exterior metal finish is beautiful. I will be referring to these photos for ideas on my own models. Thanks for sharing!

  • Member since
    May 2011
Posted by dazzjazz on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 10:56 PM

Yes, the wingspan seems like it's actually too big. Perhaps the secret of the B-17s success.

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by keavdog on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 9:13 PM

Looking good!  Gotta do the anti-glare panels.  Man that is one big model.

Thanks,

John

  • Member since
    May 2011
Posted by dazzjazz on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 6:32 PM

So I'm about 7 months into this build. Work committments and fluctuating enthusiasm for this kit account for the slow pace of progress. This is my first HK models kit. While there's a lot to like about it, there's an equal amount of aspects to dislike. 

First here's a picture of where I'm at today. Overall it's looking good. I still have to paint the olive drab in front of the cockpit and engines - not sure I can be bothered, but I will probably do it. I think the tonal variations in the aluminium finish look okay. After trying various shades of aluminium from Vallejo on a mule, I decided their plain aluminium looked the best. 

Going back to the start now.

I was surprised by the hardness of the HK plastic. When removing pieces from the sprue and cleaning up with my Tamiya clippers, despite being careful and gentle, some excess plastic was torn away, creating one of many putty jobs necessary on this kit.

You can see the style of plastic I was removing here:

They are chunky indeed.

Here's a few interior shots. I didn't bother with too much authenticity here, as it's all hidden once the fuselage is zipped up. I did try a few new things to extend my skills, like the wooden desk surfaces. I know many of the people reading this can do way better.

I had watched Doog's Models YOutube on this, and in anticitpation of the PITA he describes of getting the fuselage halves together, I masked off the bulkhead grooves before painting to ensure a clean surface for the cement.

Anyway, on to the interior pieces. 

Radio room,

Anterior view

Cockpit - just basics. I did make those yellow parachute bins (?) look better. No photo though.

Rear wall of navigators position.

Navigators desk

Installed

Rear fuselage view. Like I said, nothing too fancy - it's all going to be hidden, forever.

Rear gunners position

Here's the whole body zipped up. This was a nightmare trying to get the fuselage halves together. I had to sand the bulkheads quite lot. Even then I had trouble with gaps here and there. It was painful and shouldn't be necessary. The cockpit roof piece was also troublesome and you can see the putty job around the entire join.

Another strange thing was the machine gun bodies would simply not glue in place. There must be something different about them. I tried several kings of cement and had to temporarily insert the aftermarket barrels to create a more rigid situation so the guns wouldn't move as the cement dried. You can also see just how poor a fit exists on the starboard nose section. I gave up trying to fix it. Seriously, I put a lot of care into each step but it wasn't rewarded with a good fitting kit.

The other major issue I had was with the decals. These are supplied by Cartograph. THey look good. Some are very thick. I found out the hard way that they're incompatible with My Hobby Decal softener. I managed to strech them as I gently used a cotton swab to get out any air bubbles.

You might be able to see this on the star decal on the port wing. Not so obvious at this angle.

That's it for now. I hope this is of some use or interest.

Darren

 

 

  • Member since
    January 2013
Posted by seastallion53 on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 5:23 PM

I have one waiting for me to have a shelf wide enough to put it on.

  • Member since
    May 2011
HK Models B-17G 1:48 scale
Posted by dazzjazz on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 4:09 PM

Hi all,

it's with some trepidation I have begun this monster of a kit!

anyone else here built it? I would love to hear your experiences.

I think in the Doogs models YouTube, there's some issues around authentic interior colours - can anyone weigh in on that topic please?

in the meantime, I'm pondering how much work to put into the interior when most of it will be completely hidden from view...

here's some fabulous photographs from inch high guy

https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2019/09/11/b-17-flying-fortress-interior-colors-part-i/

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