BACK IN THE SPOTIGHT--THE BOMBER GROUP BUILD (Medium and Heavy bombers from all eras)

YOW !

Will ya look at all the glass framing on Betty !

Man - I thought my B-24D was alot. That's a ton - and on a 1/72 ! The rear turret looks like it must have been especially tough.
I am humbled.

Great job man !

Chris

Jay:
that's a fine looking betty, alrite !

& the Lady Be Good, wow.... Vintage Aircraft, a topnotch job !!!

i pulled out my b-17 & did some work filling the seams on the
wings at the roots & leading edges...

frosty

More work on my MB-2:

So I got my Aeroclub scarff ring and guns...

... and they're beautiful!

In 1/72 scale, they look like perfect little gems.

I bought two, single-gun mounts with guns. One goes in front of the cockpit on the MB-2 bomber I'm building, and one goes behind it. The guns and Scarff rings that come with the kit are grossly over-scale, and the new ones look much better.

One of the consequences of the kit's parts being larger than the replacement parts is that the opening for the gunners' cockpits are too large by just a smidgen for the new rings to fit well.

So, in a flash of brilliance, I bought some plastic strip stock .10" wide. I forget the thickness, but when wrapped in a spiral three times, it is just thick enough to fill the cockpit openings enough to provide a good seat for the Scarff rings. A very little bit of putty and everything looks great!

I'm hoping to get some photos up, but right now due to time constraings, it's a choice between taking photos and playing with my web site, or working on the model. I think I'd rather work on the model.

Regards,

B-24D "Moby Dick" Progress Update:

Wings, Tail section, and Fuselage assembled. Looks like a HULK of an airplane - so I guess I'm on the right track. (I wonder how these things got off the ground).

Neutral Gray and Olive Drab Scheme doesn't look as boring as I thought it would. I need to clean up the lines where the OD & Neutral Gray meet. Trying to get a bit of a "fuzzy edge" appearance with a brush. We'll see.

Chris

Quick update on my Martin MB-2: I've got the fuselage primed and the rudders on the horizontal stabilizer and the underside is primed.

I still have some sanding to do on the fuselage, however, before it's ready for paint and decals.

Regards,

Another quick update:

I've finally got the seams on the fuselage looking as good as I can get them, and the wings, fuselage, and tail unit are ready for the olive drab paint coat.

Next up are the complex strut around the engines, and the engines themselves.

Regards,

Ok - here's "the unveiling" Monogram 1/48 B-24D "Moby Dick"

No - It's not done - but it's the first pic that I've ever posted ... ever ... anywhere ...

Tonight you are a witness to a rather bland piece of history - and it's not even a very good pic - probably a good thing. But I'm psyched anyway. It's a start. Hopefully the pictures will get clearer, I'll figure out how to get more space on my website hosting deal, and most of all - the quality of the builds might even improve to the point where a crisp picture will look good.



This build has been a blast. Albeit a long blast. You may notice that all that's left is some finish painting, decals, and the fiddly bits that I'll tack on after some weathering and oil staining. I think I'll re-do the dark green camo edges on the wings. I'm satisfied with the color I guess - I just got a little overzealous with the number of "triangles" - The painting guide in the directions is almost useless on this point and I couldn't find a decent reference on how many of the darn things there are and where they're placed.

Pics are courtesy of the digicam that I was able to borrow from work (Yes - legally ! I even signed it out !)

Thanks for allowing me to share this with you (Man it feels good to say that)

I'm thick skinned and realize that I could use a constructive eye to help me out - so if you've got any ideas that could make this a better build - let me know.

Drew - you done sanding yet ? Seems like that was a common theme for both your build and mine.

Chris

Chris,

I may in fact be done sanding now! YAY!!!!! The major parts of the plane are assembled, sanded and primed. Because this is a biplane, I'll have to paint and decal the major sub-assemblies before putting them together. I'm going to start on the engines and cabane struts next. Wish me luck.

Regarding your photo, I think you're your own worst critic. From what I can see, she looks like a fantastic build! I really like the variation in tone with the different greens, and I like the triangles too.

Post more photos soon! I'll try to do the same.

Regards,

Almost finished applying Moby's decals. It was as bad as I suspected it would be - but not as bad as it could have been. (I have had decals simply dissolve in the past) These decals are very thick, very old, very stiff, and they do not respond to Micro-Sol at all - it simply had no effect (!?!)

So what did I do ? I was worried about the backing adhesive on these old decals, so after the Future coat cured and just before the decals were applied, I put down a thin coat of watered down "clear parts" glue in the area the decals were to be applied. It seems to have worked well. The national insignia decals that went near the waist gunner positions needed to go through more contortions than a yoga practicing pretzel twister in order to conform to the deep surface irregularities. I knew they wouldn't respond that well. I cut the decals in a few key places, applied them, left them to dry for a couple days - same thing with the nose art decals and those on the wings. Last night I started just picking away at the loose pieces with an exacto, then I painted the gaps that were left where the decal parts had been picked away.

Surprising ! The Black, Red and Blue areas look good ! It's tough to notice unless you're really looking for the edge of the decal. The white areas are another story all together. The look lousy right now. I'm regretting not investing in some after market decals for the National insignias. But I'm not done yet.

More to come - Jan 1 is on the way ! I don't mind spending alotta build time now - but there are a few other things to do before Christmas, somethins gonna suffer.

Chris

OK - so here's a shot of "The belly of the beast" so to speak. Taken at the same time the last photo I posted - so it doesn't show the decal work.



Hope you like it.

Chris

well, it looks like a lot of folks r missing in action on this GB...
here's where i'm at w/ my build at this point:



the kit is minicraft 1/144 scale b17g.
so far, i have opened up the port waist gun position
& rebuilt the pilot's canopy w/ clear acetate & strip styrene
& added some clear acetate circles 2 simulate spinning props..
painted the tailfin/rudder...
i'm pretty sure i'll make the deadline on this build !

frosty

Nice job Frosty.
It should build into a really interseting dio with that red-tail mustang.

Thanks for the progress pics - I love watching everyones stuff as it's being built.

Chris

Hi all,

Well, the bad news is that I won't be able to finish my Glencoe MB-2 kit by the deadline for this build. There's just way too much clean-up work to do before I can even paint, assemble, decal, and rig the plane.

The good news is that things are going pretty well with the build.I got the engines assembled, and one of them is cleaned up and puttied. I still need to work on the radiators and the rear of each engine nacelle.

I also got the fuselage attached to the lower wing. I had to add thin styrene strips to the wing root area on each side to improve the fit, and a little putty will be needed there too. As soon as the engines are done, I'm going to assemble and rig the cabane strut assemblies. After that, I'm going to paint, decal, and rig the lower wing, fuselage, and tail.

Regards,

boy its been awhile but i looks as though im not going to finish. ive had a lot of car trouble this past couple months, plus i messed up the windows and im waiting for replacements. ill try to post pics later.

Well - I'm with the rest of yous guys and gals - looks like I might not make the deadline either... but I might just get all outa control and sneak my finished pics in here anyway

Hopefully the hangar is big enuf to fit a few more B-24s, He-111s, MB-2s, B-17s, and whatever else is unfinished.

Chris

Well, I wish I had checked all the forums right after I joined. I have an SM-79 and a B-29 that would have qualified, but I just found out about the Bomber Group Build. Oh well. Looks lioke there is some pretty nice kits out there. But what is with the red x thing?

Derwin

QUOTE: Originally posted by trck69drvr ... But what is with the red x thing? Derwin

welcome 2 the forum, Derwin !
the red x indicates a picture which was either improperly linked,
blocked or deleted from the host site...

frosty

QUOTE: Originally posted by Bossman Nice job Frosty. It should build into a really interesting dio with that red-tail mustang. Thanks for the progress pics - I love watching everyones stuff as it's being built. Chris

thanx, Chris !

i did some work on the waist gunners position, adding strip styrene
2 make the window framing... i'll keep at it...
will try 2 post updated pix asap ...

frosty

Finally received the decals of the nose art for my B-17 yesterday....I have an hour or two left of work to do on this one and then I am done

Hi all,

If nobody minds, I'd like to keep this thread going by continuing to post my progress on the Martin MB-2.

The work on the engines has gone well. I will prime them tonight and start painting in a day or so. I'm also planning on priming the parts for the rather complicated cabane struts.

I got some filler putty on the gaps where the lower wing meets the fuselage and I'm very pleased with the results.

Regards,

Drew, I certainly wouldn't mind. I'd be disappointed if you didn't !

I'm just one vote, but I think it would be great if us slowbies were granted the freedom to continue to post our finished work here.

Of course It is possible that the world could spin uncontrollably off its axis as a result... but I'm willing to take a chance. You with me ?

I seem to remember some sanding maniac that promised some buildup pictures a few pages ago. Don't wait till it's all done !

Chris

I'll do my best to get some additional pictures posted soon, but here are some that I took a few months ago:

These show all the work I put into the wings, and also the wood decal I used on the cockpit floor:
.

.

.
Regards,

Drew,

Nice job man ! The topsides of those wings look really sharp. Did they need as much work as the underside that is shown in the lower pic ?

Like the floor decals too - she's lookin like a real beauty - thanks for the pics.

What's the wingspan ? about 1 foot ?

Chris

QUOTE: Originally posted by Bossman Drew, Nice job man ! The topsides of those wings look really sharp. Did they need as much work as the underside that is shown in the lower pic?

Thanks, Chris! The topsides didn't need very much work, except for the removal of some odd protuberances on the ailerons. If you look closely at the photos you can probably see where I took them off.

What you don't see is all the putty and sanding on the undersides; that work was covered by the primer coat. The white stuff is actually White-Out!

QUOTE: Like the floor decals too - she's looking like a real beauty - thanks for the pics.

No problem. I've gotten a lot of work done since then. I'm going to try to get more photos taken this weekend. I either have to go to my parents' house and borrow their digital camera, or I take regular film, get it developed, and scan the photos I want to use.

QUOTE: What's the wingspan ? about 1 foot ?

Yeah. The plane is kind of odd with the wingspan a bit longer than the fuselage.

Regards,

I am in the same place as you guys... while I did get my Black Cat posted a ways back, I am just finishing the second build in this GB-- my B-17F...wasn't there a website elsewhere that was featuring pics of this build??

that goes 4 me also...
hard 2 believe anyone could take so long building a 1/144
kit w/ only 16 parts.... LOL !
so i guess we few stragglers will b keeping this thread alive 4 awhile yet....
hope the bogeyman don't get us while we're limping home.

frosty

Jeeves,

I read more about your B-17 build on one of the other threads - sounds like a ton of work that you're putting into it. When you said "this build" - did you mean Drew's MB-2 ?

If you did - He had a link to another site with photo's a few pages back in this thread.

Chris

No-- I mean I am featuring 2 models in this Bomber GB-- a PBY Black Cat I finished earlier this year...and a B-17 which will be done tonight...

OK...here we go:

It's done- and I am happy to be able to add another notch to my model belt. May I present "Idiot's Delight" from the 94th BG based in Bury St Edmund. I started this one back in the summer and got sidetracked by a gazillion things. This was built for a veteran in town who manned the ball turret of this bomber...and despite some hardships with printing the yellow in the nose art, we have a finished product :)

First up we will start with some shots of the markings- including the excellent decal work of Pete at Sparetime Hobbies in Winnipeg:



Very nice!!

Now for some weathering on the engines using pastels and Tamiya Smoke:


And lastly some detail pics:

Added wiring to the Cyclone engine:


Cut open the turret hatch and added a seat and a gunsight inside:


This was a rough build- between the decal printing problems and the fact that it is a Monogram kit...but I am pretty happy with the results. Luckily I got my pic of Rita inside and added a whole bunch of other extras that you can't see [:( ] Hope he likes it. I apologize for the rough setting of the pics, but this thing is big! I can't wait to get it out of here LOL

Jeeves that looks great love the exhaust stains. Jason