Mighty 8th GB 1-Nov-2010 - 31-Oct-2011

redraider:

thanks; I'm not sure that the lettering color is the only snafu in the decals.  Do you have a source for the color difference?  I didn't find any color photos on the web.

I did find other models of the plane, and some of them also showed NMF de-icer boots.  In painting, I slavishly followed the profiles that came with the decals.

I'm almost certain now that by the time the plane had the second version of the noseart, it also carried more mission markers and had a radar antenna on the nose.

Years ago, when I was doing German Messerschmitts from the old MicroScale sheets, I found that they took markings from the front of one plane, plus markings from the back of another of the pilot's planes, and combined them together.  You couldn't build a correct version of either.  Don't remember whose plane it was, but the sheet also included a 109 for Erich Hartmann--which was also wrong.

With decals, I guies "it is what it is."  Thanks for your comments and observations.

Excellent build Check, only thing I noticed is that the nose art should have white letters, not yellow

Funny you should mention the wing. I glued the left wing halves together yesterday. The front of the wing lined up fine, though there were a few small gaps around the engines. The back of the wing was ok at the wing tip, but the bottom half did stick out sligthly further down the wing, but not alot. Not sure if its me, but the rear of the wing does seem a bit thick, not as fine an edge you you normally see on 72nd aircraft.

As it turned out i was getting ahead of myself. I remembered that the BIG ED set i am useing has PE for the undercarrige. So i had to take the wing apart. I did test fit the main landing gear, as i wanted gto see if i could fit it after the wing halves had been joined so i could fit it after painting. And ye, i see what you mean about the plastic being to thick. Thanks for the heads up again. I think a bit of fine sanding will resolve these, the bottom wing issue doesn't look to bad. I will have to check out the right wing.

Thanks to both of you for the generous comments.  Sometimes during the build I wondered if it would ever turn out.

Bish:  have you glued the wings halves together for your "F?"  "Little Patches" was the second Airfix/Academy "G" and I built one Academy "F," and noticed that the wing halves don't align very well fore and aft.  The top of the wings overhand noticeably at the front, particularly evident at the nacelle faces, and the bottom of the wing protrudes beyond the back of the top of the wing at the rear (if I'm explaining adequately).  I was going to experiment with the next Fort by cutting off the alignment pins and seeing if the top and bottom wing pieces would fit better.

I was wondering if you have the same issue, because it's always possible that I've just been careless and not observant enough.

Also, another unsolicited comment:  when you install the main landing gear, it's helpful to trim a little of the forward opening where the braces at the front of the gear "intersect" the front wall of the gear well.  The plastic is too thick there, and tends to prevent the brace from seating properly.  I'm not sure I'm explaining this very well, but if you dry fit the gear into the well, you'll probably see what I mean.

Great build and thank you very much for the background info. I'll add it to the front page soon.

Finally got some plastic glued together last night, so the B-17F is under way.

GREAT WORK Check!!!! Awesome build and nice story behind her!! WELL DONE!!

Here is my second contribution to the group build, and not one I planned on when we began; but I had the decal sheet, and thought I'd use it before moving on to the 100th Bomb Group's "Our Gal Sal." 

This is "Little Patches," from the 91st Bomb Group's 401 Bomb Squadron.  First, some background on the original craft, sourced from:  http://www.usaaf-noseart.co.uk/misslist-31678.htm

LITTLE PATCHES --- B-17G-25-BO --- 42-31678

91st Bomb Group 324th & 401st Bomb Sqns Codes: DF-L & LL-L

To USAAF : 6 Dec 43
To Kearney AAB : 19 Dec 43
To Presque Isle : 9 Jan 44
Arrived ETO : 18 Jan 44 (Nutts Corner)
Ass'd to 91BG : 27 Jan 44
BASSINGBOURN, England
Crew Chief : M/Sgt Arthur Hole

The name "Little Patches" was acquired after the aircraft's first combat mission with Lt William Major's crew when Frankfurt flak put many splinters through the ship. The damage was primarily cosmetic but the skin required numerous small aluminium patches prompting Lt Major to name the ship. Starcer's original pin-up painting portayed a blonde wearing an Air Force cap. His artwork was probably based on the popular Gil Elvgren illustration entitled 'Net Results' painted in 1941 -- which was based on his earlier rendering called 'Forced Landing'.

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After the 29th Mar 44 mission to Brunswick, "Little Patches" caught fire during maintenance and was so badly damaged that it was removed from operations and sent to the sub-depot for extensive repairs. It was not fit to return to combat flying until early in May when it was re-assigned to the 401st Bomb Squadron.

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The fire damage affected the nose section of the plane and Tony Starcer repainted the pin-up girl at this time and made some slight amendments to his original imagery. The girl became slightly slimmer as well as a brunette, the Air Force cap was omitted and the dress received a different pattern. The title lettering however remained identical and untouched.

At least 34 different combat crews were assigned to "Little Patches" during its operational tour. The first pilot to take the ship after it was transferred into the 401st Sqn was Sam Newton -- immortalised in Bert Stiles' famous book 'Serenade to the Big Bird.' Stiles later flew as co-pilot with John Green on 29th July to Leipzig when "Little Patches" took 20mm cannon hits, caught fire and was forced from the formation to return alone. It flew to all the toughest targets including Schweinfurt, Regensburg, Augsburg, Munich, Merseburg, Frankfurt and Berlin (at least 8 times). Serious battle damage over Merseburg on 2nd November put the ship out of action for most of that month. Repaired, it was put back into combat and continued flying missions until the end. In the final month of war, "Little Patches" notched up nine raids -- the last being to Brandenburg on 20th April 1945.

Finally when it was all over, "Little Patches" landed just north of Berlin on 8th May to collect RAF prisoners of war and ferry them back to England. One month later, it took off from Bassingbourn for Valley in Wales on the first leg of the return flight to the USA and ultimate scrapping, piloted by Francis Breidenbach. After landing at Bradley Field, Connecticut, it passed on to Romulus Field, then Topeka and finally Kingman RFC, Arizona.

 Here is a crew photo sourced from:   

http://www.kits-world.co.uk/index.php?&CONTENT=37

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No indication of which crew, as "Little Patches" was flown by several crews in her career.  A complete list is included in the first website cited.

The kit is the Airfix 1/72 B-17G, which is a virtual copy of the Academy model.  A few minor modifications were apparently made by Airfix, such as crudely etching into the starboard fuselage the rear crew entry door (it is missing entirely on Academy kits, at least the early ones I have; and adding a little placement "nodule" for the RDF football--also not there on the Academy effort).

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The decals apparently represent the second version of the noseart.  It is also evident there is no stencil data on the prop blades.

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I used AeroMaster paint, no longer in production, for the OD and neutral gray colors.  The decals are also 11 year old AeroMaster products.

After I took the pictures, I noticed one gun had disappeared from the ball turret.  I found a spare in the parts box, and the situation has been remedied.  Thanks for looking.

All advice is welcome, more so from those who have had hands on with the kit yhour doing. I am doing an open bomb bay, adding the Eduard PE set. I have some M5 bomb trolleys so going to have a dio with the bombs being loaded. So i might put a couple of bombs in and have the rest on the trolleys. I am not sure if you are going to be able to see inside the bomb bay, maybe a little. But at least i will know it is as good as i can get it. I will have to study the Eduard instructions carefully. And i will be that about the turret in mind.

The only thing i am missing is a truck to pull the bomb trolleys. trying to get hold of an M6, but having no luck.

Look forward to seeing some pics. Hopefully i can get enough done, work allowing, next week, to get some pics up next week.

Bish:

that will build up into a nice Fort.  It has a pleasing appearance when finished.  If I may offer unsolicited advice, be sure to test fit all pieces--as some require some sanding down to fit.  If I remember correctly, the top turret is one of them (I sanded the hole in the fuselage, rather than the turret itself), and some of the interior bulkheads.   

Are you going to buid with an open or closed bomb bay?  If open, I found it necessary to drill a hole through the bomb rack (in the back of the rack, at each proper spot) and into each bomb, then securing each bomb with a cut-off pin glued through the rack and into the bomb with superglue.  Otherwise, it was too easy to knock the bombs off the rack during the rest of construction. 

Once you close the fuselage around the bomb rack, there is no way to get in there and put back any erring bombs (this is the frustration of experience speaking!). 

Good luck with construction.  I'll be looking forward to seeing it.

And. . .I am nearly done with B-17G "Little Patches."  I have a couple more of the final, fiddly pieces to install. 

Cheers mate!!

Thanks. I know the feeling. I have had to pull out a couple of GB's. I will be lucky to complete 3 builds this year. I will leave you on the front page just in case, can always change your entry.

back Bish!! Hope all is well. I'm probably going to have to pull my entry out of the lineup as there is no way I am going to be able to even get started. Alot has happened since I've been away from the forums and over-committed before my abscence. Will definately be hanging around to see everybodies work for sure!!!! Who knows, later on, I might can get something cheap and nasty under the wire LOL!!!

Great builds btw!!!

Time to get this out of the depths of page 3 and back into the light. Heres the B-17 kit i hope to be making a start on next Sun or Mon.

Hopefully can kick some life back into this and jog a few memories.

I have just added chechmates B-17G and Clebode's P-38J to the front page. I think theres were the only completed builds while i was away. But if i have missed yours out, please let me know.

Odd things with kids, they love getting things out, but seem to hate putting them away afterwards.

Bish: I just got back from two weeks of non-stop handcycling... the older I get the longer it takes me to get back in shape after the winter. Didn't have much in the way of internet time but I ordered the Beech today... along with new paint brushes. My girlfriend's grandkids like painting they just don't like clean-up. I'll get you unit and station in the next couple of days.

Sorry for not being a good host the last few months. But back in the UK now, so hope to get this back on track. I know i have a few completed builds to add to the front page. Going to get started on my build in 3 weeks after my leave is over.

I will give it till the end of May and start messageing people who haven't started building yet. So if your on the front page, please get in touch, whether you intend to start your build soon or feel you are not able to complete it. And lets get some models built.

Well I did get to take a look at my builds over easter lol but didnt have time to do any work on them.  I did notice though that I must have not paid attention to the over spray from the yellow on the P-51 and discovered small yellow spots all over the Jug so fixing up that engine is gonna be fun   Between that and school and trying to find a job stress is kinda taking its toll right now bu hopefully both my planes will be done sometime in May

I'm building # 2057, the aircraft that North Korean pilot No Kum-Sok defected with in 1953 at the end of the Korean war. His youngest son Edmund was my best friend. I have actually had the pleasure of having dinner twice with Mr. Rowe (as he is now known) and his wife, he is quite a good storyteller and a fascinating man. He wrote a very good book on his defection entitled "A MiG-15 to Freedom"...it is out of print after 4 printings, but you might find it at your library or online.

Doog, i look forward to seeing anything you build. Unfortunatly, with the limited net time i have i haven't been able to check the forums every day and when i do its usually just a quick scan through and the odd post. But i have 3 weeks leave when i get back. As i can't do any modelling then i will use the time to catch up on everything, especially the GB's i am commited to but haven't looked at, such as your weathering build. But i am really looking forward to getting back behind the bench. Thats only second to seeing the other half and spending some time with her.

manji, ye i know the feeling. I think i will be lucky if i get 3 builds done this year, going to be pretty hectic. What MiG 15 kit are you building.

Getting ready for finals here. Next 3 weeks will be bad for anything. Have a MiG-15 to finish before mid-June, then will be building the Doublebolt concurrently with a B-52I "Old Dog".

Plus there is the rest of life. New girlfriend, taking care of my 16 year old son, and the dojo. I don't know how much more life I can enjoy at one time. Have taken to sneaking sniffs of model enamel just to feed the addiction.

Busy, busy, busy.

I'm still around...just caught up in three different builds right now.

Trying not to make up my mind what I'll build once the Pup and LaGG-3 are done, but there' s a decent chance it'll be 8th AAF.

I think alot of people who were doing multiple builds are taking a break from this GB for a bit. I know i haven't been around much as its a bit difficult to get on. But i am home in just over a week so will start chaseing people up. And i should be able to start on my build at the end of May.

It is really quiet here.    I hope everybody is ok.

The Beech has always been one of my favorites... even have a few hours in my logbook from the early 70's. The start on the build is at least a month away. I'm doing a side-by-side build of two B-25's right now.

nice one j, i will add that once you get the unit info. Look forward to seeing this, nice to have somthing different.

jbrady

Bish: Put me down for one of those Beechcraft. I'll get squadron and station to you as soon as I do a little research.

Sweet! I'll be watching that one with much interest.

Bish: Put me down for one of those Beechcraft. I'll get squadron and station to you as soon as I do a little research.

Wish that Staggerwing came in 1/72.  Not sure what AF or Bomber Group she's supposed to represent, but here's a link to some stunning footage of the CAF's Sentimental Journey over the Superstition Mountains in the Arizona Desert.  Be sure to watch it in full screen.

http://vimeo.com/18135369

In case anybody's interested, Roden's new Beechcraft Staggerwing looks all kinds of interesting. Markings include an 8th AAF bird. I'm tempted, but the last thing I need right now is ANOTHER kit.

http://store.spruebrothers.com/148-roden-beechcraft-uc-43-staggerwing-442-p26853.aspx

Thank you much