Sorry about the first two photos guys!.....I accidentally deleted them off postimage hence breaking the link!...I will re post them!!

Hi guys

Well it's been nearly a month now since my last post what with family staying and this and that etc etc( you know the drill...getting in the way of modelling!)...but finally I'm now back at dealing with this B17G!

...and it was time to tackle the complicated ball turret hanging system!.......After looking at loads of confusing photos of the task at hand I decided that the only way to replicate it was to try and break it down into small stages.....wasn't going to be easy ...but then that's the challenge I guess!

So I started with the frame work and the bits and bobs at the bottom that fits onto the turning mechanism above the ball turret...here's a few photos......

I was about to attach the upright tube ( plastic flag stick that luckily was the correct scale!) when I noticed that I would have to adjust the walkway that goes around the turret as it was too large and I would never be able to continue with the hanging structure!.....annoying as I had to take of the glued floor carefully off and then re shape it and then replace it and make good!...any way after that problem was solved I had the next problem of repeatedly placing the top section of the fuselage.... as a dry run fit ....to see if the tube aligned up correctly with the ceiling connection!....that I have to say took some time and patience!...of course in the process I knocked of the radio ops seat and some radio stacks from the radio room floor!...I have left them off for the time being whilst I deal with this nightmare!

Now......I could have left it there!.......but I think you know me by now

It was time to attach the ammo cans to the hanging structure.......

The next task was nearly impossible to do and that was to make the lower supports for the cans.....it took ages but got there in the end!.......all I had to do now was to paint it all.....

OK

Afternoon guys!

This post will finish up all the interior detail I needed to do before closing both top and bottom halves of the fuselage and then I can proceed to finish off the detail on the exterior of the fuselage.

So what needed to be done was the ammunition belts from the emergency ammunition cans and the oxygen bottle for the gunner.

I'll start with the ammunition belts.....By using just paper and wire I'd thought I would show you how I went about this task ..photo by photo...

1. The first task was to cut 4 pieces of paper to the length/width of the belts....I used paper as it will bend like a real ammo belt...

2. As you can see I then cut all 4 pieces..(you will see in the next few photos why I did this!)...

3. I then got some garden metal wire twine (I chose this as it looked the right scale for the rounds)...

4. This then had to be straightened using a flat piece of metal rolled across the top of a length of wire......

5. After measuring the width of the pieces of paper I then had to cut... (loads!!).... of pieces of wire which would replicate the rounds,....laborious task!...although I don't actually mind doing it!!

6. These were the super glued onto 2 of the 4 strips of paper....

7. Then the other strips of paper were glued over the top of the rounds  This is the time that I bent the paper to the shape I needed....

8. A couple strips of paper were cut and glued to both sides of the belts to make them look more authentic and I then painted them.....

So now all I had to do was super glue one end of the belts to the ammo cans and hook up the other ends on a couple of posts....(the reason for this is that because I have exposed the top of the ball turret I couldn't glue them to the entry point of the turret!)...here are a few photos of the task complete......

So now its at long last time to place the top to the bottom!!..ha ha!

I am now getting close to the end of the Radio room section of this B17G....the external detail will now have to be thought about before proceeding......so I'll see you all the next time around! 

Hi there

A few weeks have passed and I am a tiny bit forward with this build than I was in the last post!...and I want to tell you where I am at with this!

For a long long time now I have been fretting over how I will display this B17G when it is all done!....I felt I just had to  make a decision before I continued on what was to be done.

Originally it was going to be so simple as I was only planning to build the nose section and just put it on some sort of stand!....but of course with a little encouragement from some of my fellow modellers on this forum!!... I decided to continue with the rest of the fuselage....I mean... I really enjoyed building the nose section...lets do the rest of it!

So I then separately built the bomb bay and the the radio room (as some of you who are following this are aware) and started to build stands for them to sit on. I put the nose section/bomb bay and the radio room next to each other and it just didn't look right!....not only that , it was almost impossible to try and build a stand for the radio room section because of the ball turret hanging below!....the stand would have got in the way of the turret!

There was only one solution to the whole mess and that was to permanently attach all sections together making one complete fuselage ...as it would be on the real thing......that's when the real problems started!

Now ...because I built each section separately and now have decided to join them all together I realized that the length of the fuselage will be too long by at least 1.5cm...maybe 2 cm...this is because I built each section from one bulk head to the next (for example bomb bay was built from Bulk head no's 6-8 ....and then the radio room was built from bulk heads nos 8-10.....each bulk head is about 5 mm ....so when you put the bomb bay section to the radio room you have gained 5mm!)....and so on adding to the length of the damn thing!!.....I hope you understand my ramblings!!!

I had to lose those millimeters!...and so you can imagine what I had to do!.........

Now I can get on with the wing root detail ........here is as far as I have got so far!......

Yesterday I made these two plates that will eventually be attached to the wing root...

Hello there guys!

I have managed to move on from the shock of re adjusting the sections to fit one and other and onto the wing fillets!....a bit fiddly but got there in the end!

This is how I achieved it..................

The first job was to cut to shape a piece of yogurt pot plastic (to save using expensive plastic card)....and glue it on the bottom of the fuselage to make up the bottom section of the fillet and then to place a few ribs on the plate to secure it....

All the wiring and pipes etc were then placed in position.......the cover plate I previously made on the last post is in the foreground of the photo......

The same was then done on the starboard side.......

The front plate which was cut from plastic card... was then glued into place after first painting all the detail previously scratched....here are a few photos.......

The next task was the hardest part and that was to cut another piece of yogurt pot plastic to the shape of the top part of the fillet and glue it in position....here is the finished construction......

So all I had to do now was to paint the face plate and I attached some aluminum tape to the top of the fillet to see what it looked like.

So I am now going to do the hopefully last part of this Radio room section and that is to place the Aluminum tape over the fuselage....

Ive just finished reading through this thread... this is absolute madness at its finest. Absolutely jaw dropping attention to detail.

Now while obviously a b17F, when I was a boy they gave studio tours at Movie World on the Gold Coast. Part of that was a Memphis Belle experience, if you will. They operated a scale studio model which must have been around 1/20. Props spinning,  all the turrets moved and fired! Large muzzle bursts streaming out of everywhere. I would love to know how they achieved that. 

Its always left an impression on me so to see you creating this work of art, gives me no end of enjoyment! 

Josh

Josh_the_painter

Ive just finished reading through this thread... this is absolute madness at its finest. Absolutely jaw dropping attention to detail.

Now while obviously a b17F, when I was a boy they gave studio tours at Movie World on the Gold Coast. Part of that was a Memphis Belle experience, if you will. They operated a scale studio model which must have been around 1/20. Props spinning,  all the turrets moved and fired! Large muzzle bursts streaming out of everywhere. I would love to know how they achieved that. 

Its always left an impression on me so to see you creating this work of art, gives me no end of enjoyment! 

Josh

 

Thanks Josh!...I am pleased my B17G build has given you great memories!...I also remember as a boy seeing models of the Flying Fortress and thinking what a marvel it was! 

Hi there guys! 

All done!........well not actually the whole B17 but I have finished the Radio room section and all 3 sections have now been attached. Getting the nose/cockpit section to line up with the bomb bay was a real nightmare but managed it in the end!

....and it's BIG!!......well it would be at 1:20 scale!.....in fact so far it is just over 2 feet and 2 inches long (66cm).....and of course I haven't started on the rear section yet!

When all 3 sections were secured together I had to touch up the joints the best I could because originally this project was going to be built in separate sections but realized ...too late to be honest....that it would look so much better if it was one complete fuselage. This in turn caused me no end of problems lining everything up and trying to lose at least 1.7 cm in the length. In fact in the end it will be about 5mm too long but I can live with that!

When I start with the rear section I will build it as just one section right back to the rear gunner position this will just give me the one join onto the radio room!

I managed to modify the display stands I originally built for each section and have made 2 stands which can take the weight of the model so far!

I am going to have a rest from this build now and come back to start on the rear section in a few months time.

So here are photographs of just over half the fuselage of "Fuddy Duddy" .........unfortunately taking photos of her being so big half of my house and garden get in on the act!....really difficult!!!!....WARNING! PHOTO HEAVY!

I have temporally attached the bomb bay doors on to see the effect....these will be attached permanently when the whole B17 is finished!....here are a few shots......

So there you have it guys!