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

Little, i found the same info, also mentioned there was an ole puss II aftre the first one was written off. This and the photo is good enough for me. I would imagine of the 2 serial number site i got that one got its info off the other. Just a bit odd that neither of the 96th decals sheets i have seen are on those lists. If i do find at a later date that the sheet i already have is correct, i can always do another 96th 17.

I will let you know how i get on.

And...Petie 2nd is DONE!

For kicks, side-by-side with the -B I build when I returned to the hobby last year:

All comments and critiques welcome!

Bish,  I did a quick search on the internet for "Ole Puss" and from what I can see the serial number 42-30073 is correct on the decal sheet.  She started out with the 384th BG at Grafton Underwood, (station 106) and was transferred to the 96th BG in April of 1942.  The call letters for her stint with the 384th Bg were SO * E.  

I have just e-mailed the company little gave me the link to asking if i can send an order by e-mail, as i don't have a fax. Hopefully i can, and if so i will put the 24 back in its box and re-paint the 17 and do everything else that needs doing until they arrive.

Thanks Bish. 

Yeah, I hope you get the Fortress done also....shame to get this far and have to regroup.

Little, your a star. I just did a quick search, and unlike the other 96th decals i ahve, i can find some info on the ole puss. But the odd thing is, just like the other decals i ahve, the serial number on this one also does not appear on either of the lists of US aircrfat serial numbers. But i have found a photo of ole puss, so it is real. I guess those lists ain't 100% and my other ones might just be real. But seeing as the superscale decals have nose art, i am going to order them now. So the 17 might just be back on.

I owe you one.

bob, the Stang is looking very nice. Might not be as nice a kit as the Tamiya, but your certainly makeing a good job of it.

I really hope i can get this 17 done as well as i already have a built B-24, so would love to add the other heavy to it.

Thanks Bob!

I'm actually thinking of using the legos to create that protective frame, then yeah, foam or something lining them to protect the kits. Just seems infinitely more flexible and convenient than custom-cutting a bunch of foam.

The Mustang's got a few things going on. Black undercoat, deliberately half-hearted spray onto the wings to let some of that show through. On the fuselage, it's Alclad Airframe Aluminum (one of their high-shines), with the panel centers sprayed with Aluminum, Duraluminum, and Magnesium. The high-shines are semi-transparent, so the black shows through, creating a darker shade than the regular finishes. So you can totally treat it as a pre-shade if you're not going for super-shiny.

It's got a wash now, too. Just waiting for Flory black wash to arrive now. The dark dirt wash looks fan-friggin-tastic on the fuselage, but looks very, very brown on the blue nose. And since it's already in there, I'm hesitant to try to use oils or anything to darken it.

Bish,  I found a set of 96th bomb group decals on the internet.  It is a Super Scale set  and the number is SS72-547  for $10.00 U.S. .  You can find them at   www.aviausa.com and their phone number is 1-919-233-0212.  The aircraft is "Ole Puss" a B-17F-85-BO of the 413th squadron 96th Bomb Group.  She ended her career with a belly landing at East Wretham on 18 April 1944.  The nose art looks great on this ship.  The artist was Sgt. John White who had been an animator for Disney before the war.

Thanks Doogs.  The Monogram kit isn't quite up to the standards of the Tamiya kit, but for the price difference, I can live with it.  For someone who has more skills & time, it would build into a respectable model.

I wish those were Legos.  They are some old Mega blocks....a very cheap knock off.  Fit is marginal at best.  I'm about to raid my son's Lego collection and 'upgrade'.  For transport, you might want to cover the blocks that make contact with some felt, maybe rubber cement some sponge type foam, etc.  I'd be interested in seeing what you come up with.  And it might be worth your while to submit it to the Readers Tips section.

btw, I love your Mustang.  Did you pre-shade, post shade or use a wash to get your weathering?  Looks great.

Bob - your pony is lookin' pretty sweet! And I LOVE the lego holders you've got going on. In fact...I think you just helped me figure out how I'll transport a few builds to the local contest in a few weeks. 

Time to steal some of the boy's Duplo!

Bish-sorry to read about your misfortune with the B-17 decals.  Hopefully you can find a set soon to meet the build that you're working towards.  I really want to add a Fortress to my collection.  Just lacking space & time....

I've made a little progress on the P-51.  This is the old Monogram kit-good detail but the fit can be lacking at places.  I made the mistake of overlooking a few seams that I decided to go back (after painting & decaling) and correct.  Think I'm done now.....not my best work, but given the time constraints, I'm going to move to weathering next.  The Mustang has been Future'd so maybe an oil wash later this week.

I had some trouble with the prop hub & cowling decals.  If I had the time and a different scheme, I'd repaint and start over.  I'll make do with what I've got now.

Cheers

Been doing some more searching today and i am convinced there's decals do not represent a real aircraft. Either they were totally made up, or they made an error with the serial. To that end, i am going to put it to one side until i can find some markings for a real 17F of the 96th BG. To that end, i am going to change my build to a B-24D lead ship of the 445th BG based at Tibenham in Norfolk. Its not the one shown on the box but the alternate markings. And i have pics of the real thing this time.

I know its a bit late, just under 2 months to do. But as a lead ship it has no weapons and the rear interior will not need much detailing as the hatches for the waste guns will be closed.

OWl, ye, this is part of a presonal project to build aircrfat from all the airfields of Norfolk. There were only 3 that used B-17's. I have the decals and aircrfat for Thorpe Abbots, Deopham Green only had B-17G, so that leaves the 96th at Snetterton.

J, thanks, i ahve seen there sheets on Hannants, didn't realise they were from the UK though. But again, they don't have anything from the 96th.

I am happy to live with it. I am sure not every B-17 was photographed, and if i find out later that the decal company made an error, i am sure it can be chagned. My guess is that one of the serial numbers is wrong, an easy mistake.

As for the colour, i am going to try a light misting of the faded OD to see if i can recover some of the colour. I wanted to try something different and knew it was a risk. I don't think it payed off, so thats anothe rlesson learned.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, much appreciated.

Bish,  there is a company in the U.K. called Kits World.  They have decals sheets with call letters, serial numbers, bomb groups, mission, and kill marks.  I hope this helps.

Bish

If i could find the right decals, then i would be able to get them in time. But i can't find any for the 96th BG, let alone for a 17F.

does it have to be the 96th BG? or could you get another?

It does look more OD in the flesh. I have done an OD before on my B-24, but not tried to go to this level. If nothing else its a lesson learnt, i have a bit of time, so i may be able to correct it.

If i could find the right decals, then i would be able to get them in time. But i can't find any for the 96th BG, let alone for a 17F.

Bish

The fadeing of the main part of the aircrfat is not that much. The control surfaces did fade more as they were fabric, but i have over done it.

This aircrfat doesn't have any nose art, which is one thing that got me suspicious. Not all B-17's had nose art, but there weren't many. I have tried useing the aircrfat codes letters, even the pilots name, which appears on the decal instructions. But they are from a small Czech company, which doesn't even seem to have its own website.

IDK, the pics make the OD body seem really really washed out, more like a dusty grey color than an olive drab green.

what is the problem with getting correct decals? The GB ends in October, surely they would arrive in time, even with snail-mail.

The fadeing of the main part of the aircrfat is not that much. The control surfaces did fade more as they were fabric, but i have over done it.

This aircrfat doesn't have any nose art, which is one thing that got me suspicious. Not all B-17's had nose art, but there weren't many. I have tried useing the aircrfat codes letters, even the pilots name, which appears on the decal instructions. But they are from a small Czech company, which doesn't even seem to have its own website.

that is a really light colored B-17. I didnt know the OD faded that much!

Does the specific B-17 you are modeling have a name? If it does would it be possible to look up the name and discover its serial number, and then rearrange the decal?

Another update on the B-17. I have added white oil to the faded OD. I have gone a bit to far. And the upper control surfaces should really be lighter than the rudder, but i don't want to go any further. Hopefully i can darken it up a touch. this time i didn't use my lamps to add lighting when i took the pics, and the real colour of the aircraft has come out in the photo's.

have alos found out, with the help of forum member B17, that the markings for this may not be real. The serial number matchs a C-46. So either they made an error and printed one of the numbers wrong, or its a total fiction of someones imagination. Either way, to late to get any replacements, even if i could find decals for another 17F  of the 96th, which i can't. So, it's possable this aircraft doesn't even fit into my own GB

Ye, it is a bit, deffinatly need to work on my photography. There is a bit of an issue as to the decals, i am not very sure they represent a real aircrfat from the 96th. But as i can't find any more right now, afraid they will have to be good enough.

Once again your up there with the best of them. This is the shrot of finish i really hope to get on my 3 Bodney P-51's and why i did other kits first.

Top notch mate

Bish - the OD is looking good. Hard to tell the difference between the last two shots, but I think that's probably the result of the lighting.

My P-51 got its decals last night. Insignia and stencils were stolen from a Tamiya P-51 "9th Air Force" edition I have in the stash. Usual P-51D, but the decals are printed by Cartograf, and a big step up from the Tamiya usual. Nose and squadron art, letters, tail number from the kit's decal sheet. 

Finally getting some good progress going, so now i got the OD on thought i would do an update. It had a coat of straight xtracolor OD on Monday, then tonight i faded it. I used xtracolors faded OD, first by adding a few drops of normal OD so it made less of a contrast. Then i added 3 more layers, each lighter in shade and how much i layed on.

Straight OD

The seam between the top turret and radio compartment isn't perfect, but i decided i could live with it to get this done.

Then after 3 coats, each lighter in shade and finer coverage.

After leaving it for a few hours, i applied a final coat with the faded OD lightened with some white, lighter misted over the upper wings and fuselage. Doesn't look much different from the pic above, it is only slight.

The final stage will be to get some faded OD lighted with white oil's to dry brush the rudder.

First time i have tried this approach, and i am pretty happy with it.

I thought so. One problem i had on my Alclad painted builds was sealing the decals. But then i saw a post the other week where the guy used an Alclad product i wasn't aware of which allows you to seal the decals yet no spoil the NMF finish. I couldn't recall from your previous NMF builds if and how you sealed you decals. Was woundering if you used the same stuff or not.

Alclad

Thanks, got the first coat of OD on last night. I plan on doing it in several stages to try and get a slightly faded look. I will do a more detailed update on that on the weathering GB.

Mustang looks great, i will deffinatly check out your masks, sure i can pick up some tips there. What did you use for the NMF again.

Bish - the Fort's looking mighty fine! Can't wait to see it with paint!

Speaking of paint...my masks showed up today...sans the 1/48 cowl masks. Long story, but Kenny @ Gators Masks basically gave me the P-51 masks gratis in exchange for ordering several national insignia masks, so it's not like I'm out cash on the missing ones. Anyway...made my own masks (details here) and painted the nose tonight with Vallejo Prussian Blue:

Up next - clear coat and decals!

I am glad this is now coming along, i see some light at the end of the tunnel. This week i have finished the engines and added the cowls. Even the resin quickboost cowls were not 100% and need a little help from Eduard. These are now added, and the masking done. Wedensday i got the underside grey painted. Now home for a long weekend so by Monday i will be able to mask the bottom and spray the TD. That going to be done over a couple of days as i want to get a bit of variety in the OD in certain areas, but fingurs crossed i can have the decals on by the end of the week.

I have also been working on the undercarrage and weaponds, so hopefully these will be ready by the time the painting is complete.

Thanks for looking, and as always, comments welcome.

Just a quick update to get this page on page one. Got back to the 17 on Monday. Almost got the engines done and should be adding them today. I hope to have the underside painted by tomorrow night, so then i will be able to get the OD on next Mon. have also added most of the canopies and got them masked. Will add a few photos at the weekend.