b-17 flying fortress 1/48

[ridgers22]

i have a spare hour so i thought id start this thread.
This is my entry into the GB a revell 1/48 flying fortress. This is a bigkit and i know a few others are doing B-17s but thats no biggy. (and it the only bomber i have in my stash)
There will be a few firsts in this build for me. I have a lot of photo etch for this and iv never used photo etch before so lets see how that goes
I really want to do this old kit justice so will be definitely taking my time on this

Anyways here is the kit in question



Photo etch


Decals (all the ladys dont come with the kit i bout them separate so i can choose what nose art i want )


Sprues








Clear parts and a few loose pieces


So there you have it. My entry. Cant wait to get stuck in to this lady

[Rob]

That'll be a big one then! Looking forward to seeing more of this

[ridgers22]

First a little background on the B-17



Home > Fact Sheets > Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

BOEING B-17G FLYING FORTRESS

Posted 2/4/2011 Printable Fact Sheet

Photos
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Boeing B-17G
DAYTON, Ohio -- Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Download HiRes

The Flying Fortress is one of the most famous airplanes ever built. The B-17 prototype first flew on July 28, 1935. Although few B-17s were in service on Dec. 7, 1941, production quickly accelerated after the U.S. entry into World War II. The aircraft served in every combat zone, but it is best known for the daylight strategic bombing of German industrial targets. Production ended in May 1945 and totaled 12,726.

In March 1944 this B-17G was assigned to the 91st Bomb Group -- "The Ragged Irregulars" -- and based at Bassingbourn, England. There its crew named it Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby, after a popular song. It flew 24 combat missions in WWII, receiving flak damage seven times. Its first mission (Frankfurt, Germany) was on March 24, 1944, and last mission (Posen, Poland) on May 29, 1944, when engine problems forced a landing in neutral Sweden where the airplane and crew were interned.

In 1968 Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby was found abandoned in France, and the French government presented the airplane to the U.S. Air Force. In July 1978 the 512th Military Airlift Wing moved it to Dover Air Force Base, Del., for restoration by the volunteers of the 512th Antique Restoration Group. After a massive 10-year job of restoration to flying condition, the aircraft was flown to the museum in October 1988.

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Armament: 13 .50-cal. machine guns; normal bomb load of 6,000 lbs.
Engines: Four Wright Cyclone R-1820s of 1,200 hp each
Maximum speed: 300 mph
Cruising speed: 170 mph
Range: 1,850 miles
Ceiling: 35,000 ft.
Span: 103 ft. 10 in.
Length: 74 ft. 4 in.
Height: 19 ft. 1 in.
Weight: 55,000 lbs. loaded
Serial number: 42-32076

Since i will be Chow Hound i thought i would put the story behind her on here to for you all to read

Chow-hound Factoid - Sometime after the 15th mission, a flak splinter or machine gun bullet penetrated the nose, right where the dog's (Pluto) stomach had been painted. Starcer (Who chose Pluto riding the bomb motif) painted a Purple Heart medal beside the shiny new flak patch.

The Chowhound was ferried to the United Kingdom in December 1943 and our crew was assigned this plane. Our crew was assigned to the 9th Air Force and we were stationed at Belfast, North Ireland in medium bombers, the B-26 Martin.

The 8th Air Force had suffered extensive losses over France and Germany and came to Ireland and asked for volunteers to transfer to the B-17. Our crew of 5 men transferred to the 8th Air Force and we were shipped to Bassingbourn, England for a brief training in the B-17.

Shortly, thereafter, we were assigned to the 9lst BG, 322 Squadron. We acquired 5 more crewmen and was soon operational.

Julian Murdock was the crew chief and lives in Georgia. All of the crew finished their tour of duty and most of us were in a 26 ship convoy headed for home the morning of the invasion of Normandy. I was the Bombardier-Navigator on the B-26 and assumed the duties of navigator on the Chowhound.

[Rodney]

I was looking at this kit at my local hobby shop.. Would like to build it but no idea where to put it..
Going to watch this build

[ridgers22]

UPDATE 1

This is the first of many updates on this. I started by skipping a a few instructions and getting on with the cockpit area, well the instrument panel. This was also the 1st time iv EVER used aftermarket photo etch and i must say its one long and slow task. but the results are FANTASTIC!!

First i started with the basic kit part. it looks ok and could be used itself but well since i had the photo etch i thought lets go for it


This is the photo etch cockpit parts


After much sanding to get the dials off the original piece i went ahead and painted up the panel with Tamiya XF-71 Cockpit green


When this was dry i carefully started the photo etch. Using a sharp blade and a tile i cut the small delicate pieces from the fret and and began the long process of bending and super gluing the parts where the instructions showed (Thank god for the ultimate products photo etch picker upper ). I then used some pigments to do a little weathering on the pedals.


This is the reference picture i will be using for my cockpit build as well as others


Im very happy with my 1st attempt at photo etching but still got a long way to go yet

Thanks guys

Wayne

[Paul]

Great work mate and wow look at all those nose art ladies, superb

[Rodney]

Wow the photo etch really makes the dash come to life

[Mambri]

Jesus, thats gonna be a big one! really nice

[ridgers22]

Thanks guys. yes shes going to be big alright. Its going very slowly but hopefully be worth the effort when its done

[T3hGuppy]

Great start the photo-etch detail in the cockpit really does add alot.

Where did you get those nose art decals? they really are cool.

[ridgers22]

cheers guppy and i got them from a well known auction site iv had them a while and dont know if you can still get them.

[Tiger131]

that looks so much better the difference is unbelievable

[ridgers22]

UPDATE 2

Just being working on the nose area mainly the bombardiers position. So far the kit is going together very smooth. After painting the main section in Tamyia XF-71 i added the parts where they needed to go with no problems. I proceeded with the photo etch on the controls and the thrusts.





After this was done i painted all the detailed parts and added the Photo etch seatbelts to the Navigator and bombardiers chairs (They really make the chairs come to life)

just a reference picture i used


Next task was the bomb sight. Having gone hunting i found this amazing picture of it and tryed as much as i could to paint on the details just like the real thing. When this was dry i used gloss varnish to represent thee glass in the sight.





Next was the navigators table.. just a wooden table looked boring so i looked for some pictures (and found them ) and noticed the lamps fixed to the table. So out with the spares box and found some old sprue. Using the heat stretch Technic i stretched it to what looked like the right thickness and began cutting and gluing (using superglue) to the shape that looked good. i found a little piece that looked like a lamp head and stuck that on to the pieces made before then painted it black (must admit it looks pretty good )
I still thought the table was to bare so i deside to add a map.. this was just a peice of paper cut tho the right size and with a ball point pen i drew a little picture of berlin folded it up a few times to get the texture of a real ap and using white glue i glued it in place and added a little compass (that doesnt look like a compass)

The refrence picture ( note the lamp on the right)




Map











Im calling the nose section done now and will be moving onto the cockpit now. Not really much to go into the cockpit but as always i will look at picture and reference to see what needs added. Im really enjoying this built (so far)

Next update soon guys
Wayne

[ridgers22]

Just noticed some of these pics are rubbish haha. Will try get better ones for the next update

[Paul]

More brilliant work, look forward to your next update

[Nige201980]

Stunning work mate love it

[Joesdad]

That really is top notch stuff Rig

[ridgers22]

wow thanks for your comments guys

[conradschmid99]

The cockpit looks amazing
will you be re-scribing the raised panel lines?

[ridgers22]

The cockpit looks amazing
will you be re-scribing the raised panel lines?

iv not decided yet.. iv never re-scribed anything before so im a bit scared But i will decide nearer the time

[patrickroos]

Cockpit looks top drawer!
Bombsight, map

[ridgers22]

Cockpit looks top drawer!
Bombsight, map

Thanks patrick

[Rodney]

WOW looking real nice the PE really makes it pop

[T3hGuppy]

Fantastic work on the interior so far dude.

Love it.

[ridgers22]

UPDATE 3

Not really a big update this time guys..

Had some spare time this weekend so thought id work on this a bit more. I managed to get the cockpit complete and must admite it looks the dogs danglie bits.

Using the referance pics i managed to get hold of this picture that i found really intresting. It also gives a good view of the whole cockpit area


Next challange on the list was the pilot seats, i sprayed them with the cockpit green and when dryed i reserched and found out the custions were yellow ( not olive drab as the instrutions said) i paited them with the only yellow i have close to it which was Humbrol 24. The acual seat itself was a darker green so i used olive drab on them. I also noticed on the real seat custions there was writing saying U.S ARMY so i tryed with the smallest brush i could find to paint this on.. After the photo etched seat belts were added the seats themselfs looked not to bad at all








With the seats done i moved on to the Bulkhead at the back and also the side walls of the cockpit itself. these were sprayed in the green and then washed and dry brushed. when this was dry i went on and painted the details and intruments in the colours i saw in the refrence pictures. The decals for the doors on the bulkhead were terrible so i hand painted the notices and writing.













Side Walls









With the cockpit now complete i mover in to the radio room. The kit detals for the table were rubbish so i ordered photo etch.. until they are here im at a stand still but i went and removed the chunk of plastic that revell call a wooden table and filled it






The next update will hopefully be soon as i have the rear to do and have all the parts here for it. eather that or ill wait on the nice post man to bring me more ecth

Can i also take this opertunity to thank everyone for there comments so thank you guys so much

Wayne

[ridgers22]

Some more backround on this beautiful aircraft.

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a World War II bomber used primarily in Europe. B-17s from the Eighth Air Force participated in countless missions from bases in England. These missions often lasted for more than eight hours and struck at targets deep within enemy territory. Because of their long-range capability, formations of B-17s often flew into battle with no fighter escort, relying on their own defensive capabilities to insure a successful mission.

During the War, B-17s were among the most modern aircraft in the U.S. inventory. However, the advent of the jet age and advances in technology made the Flying Fortress obsolete soon after the conclusion of the War. In the years following World War II, most B-17s were cut up for scrap, used in Air Force research or sold on the surplus market.

In 1934, the Boeing Aircraft Company of Seattle, Washington, began construction of a four-engine heavy bomber. Known as Boeing model 299, it first took flight on July 28, 1935. The government ordered production of 13 of these aircraft, now designated the Y1B-17. Delivery of these first production models was between January 11 and August 4, 1937.

The B-17 received the name Flying Fortress from a Seattle reporter who commented on its defensive firepower. The B-17 underwent a number of improvements over its 10-year production span. Models ranged from the YB-17 to the B-17-G model. Throughout the War, the B-17 was refined and improved as battle experience showed the Boeing designers where improvements could be made. The final B-17 production model, the B-17G, was produced in larger quantities (8,680) than any previous model and is considered the definitive Flying Fort. With its 13 .50-caliber machine guns -- chin, top, ball and tail turrets; waist and cheek guns -- the B-17G was indeed an airplane that earned the respect of its combatants. In addition, air crews liked the B-17 for its ability to withstand heavy combat damage and still return its crew safely home.

Between 1935 and May of 1945, 12,732 B-17s were produced. Of these aircraft, 4,735 were lost during combat missions.
Today, fewer than 100 B-17 airframes exist and fewer still are in airworthy condition. At one time, more than 1,000 B-17s could be assembled for mass combat missions, less than 15 of Boeing's famous bombers can still take to the air.

Some VERY intresting pictures i found...








Now off to get some din dins and then a WHOLE night at the bench

Wayne

[HistoryRider]

Absolutely Amazing work in my eyes! Well done! I can't wait to see that all finished up!!

[Jamesday1998]

The work on the cockpit is absolutely stunning! I love the way you've done the seats as well

[T3hGuppy]

great work dude.

The extra detailing is really paying off

[Gav0909]

Looking good buddy, the PE really adds to it. Are you planning to rescribe the main body or not?

[ridgers22]

Thanks guys your comments are always to nice

Gav no i dont think im going to. iv never rescribed anything apart from little joins at the fusalage... im not extremely confident in doing somehing so big. I might try get a little practice in before im onto the main body but we will see right now its a no though

The photo etch arrived today so i can finally crack on with this build

[ridgers22]

UPDATE 4

Think its time for an update

First some refrence pictures i was using for this part of the build.





I was consentrating on the mid and tail sections this time with yet MORE photo etch parts. The first job was to get the radio operaters section all done. This was easy enough the main thing i had to do was fill the hole in the floor where i cut the so called table and replace it with the photo etched table. Next was the bulkheads themselfs.. these laked the detil in the radio controls so i sanded them off and used the photo etch to replace them. I must admit the diffrence is superb.

















I then went on to the side walls of the fusealage this was just basicly adding photo etch details like switchs, controls and ammo boxes. All the detail was then painted and weathered.














I must admit im dreading putting the 2 halfs together and hiding all this detail.. but im really enjoying this build. Its a great learning curve for me as up until now i have never used photo etch before.. i think i will be a master at it soon though

Thats all for now guys

thanks
Wayne

[HistoryRider]

Holy Smokes!!! Thats looking great!!! How's your eyesight holding up?

[DBMiller]

Holy Smokes!!! Thats looking great!!! How's your eyesight holding up?

No kidding! All that equipment looks like it should really work.

[Nige201980]

WOW mate great looking interior

[rip1978]

loving it.... looking great

[UKscalemodeller]

Beautiful work going on here, keep it up that man!

[ridgers22]

Thanks guys

You are all to kind.

Holy Smokes!!! Thats looking great!!! How's your eyesight holding up?

Haha my eyesights doing fine. Was only doing a few hours at a time This photo etch is fiddely work

Thanks
Wayne

[ridgers22]

UPDATE 5

Before we start this update here is a little bit about what it was like flying in a b-17

"I'm sorry, sir, I've been hit..."

Joseph Hallock was a twenty-two-year-old first lieutenant serving as the bombardier aboard "Ginger" a B-17 flying out of its base north of London. Hallock dropped out of college to enlist in the Army Air Force in June 1942. After training as a bombardier, he arrived in England in November 1943 and began his combat career on the last day of the year:

"My first raid was on December thirty-first, over Ludwigshaven. Naturally, not knowing what it was going to be like, I didn't feel scared. A little sick, maybe, but not scared. That comes later, when you begin to understand what your chances of survival are. Once we'd crossed into Germany, we spotted some flak, but it was a good long distance below us and looked pretty and not dangerous: different-colored puffs making a soft, cushiony-looking pattern under our plane. A bombardier sits right in the plexiglas nose of a Fort, so he sees everything neatly laid out in front of him, like a living-room rug. It seemed to me at first that I'd simply moved in on a wonderful show.' I got over feeling sick, there was so much to watch.

We made our run over the target, got our bombs away, and apparently did a good job. Maybe it was the auto-pilot and bomb sight that saw to that, but I'm sure I was cool enough on that first raid to do my job without thinking too much about it. Then, on the

The B-17G way home, some Focke-Wulfs showed up, armed with rockets, and I saw three B-I7s in the different groups around us suddenly blow up and drop through the sky. Just simply blow up and drop through the sky. Nowadays, if you come across something awful happening, you always think, 'My God, it's just like a movie,' and that's what I thought. I had a feeling that the planes weren't really falling and burning, the men inside them weren't really dying, and everything would turn out happily in the end. Then, very quietly through the interphone, our tail gunner said, 'I'm sorry, sir, I've been hit.'

I crawled back to him and found that he'd been wounded in the side of the head - not deeply but enough so he was bleeding pretty bad. Also, he'd got a lot of the plexiglas dust from his shattered turret in his eyes, so he was, at least for the time being, blind.Though he was blind, he was still able to use his hands, and I ordered him to fire his guns whenever he heard from me. I figured that a few bursts every so often from his fifties would keep the Germans off our tail, and I also figured that it would give the kid something to think about besides the fact that he'd been hit. When I got back to the nose, the pilot told me that our No. 4 engine had been shot out. Gradually we lost our place in the formation and flew nearly alone over France. That's about the most dangerous thing that can happen to a lame Fort, but the German fighters had luckily given up and we skimmed over the top of the flak all the way to the Channel."





Not a big update this time but i have done a enough for an update. Mainly putting windows in and the last of the photo etch. I have donr the bomb rack to but desided as you wont see it i left the bombs out. The interior sections are now glued into place as wel as a few guns. The ammo belts have being added to the ammo boxes and guns and everything painted (apart from the acual guns themselfs) Little bits and peices were added and painted

Heres the pics of where im at now.



















So with that (and the guns painted) the interior will be complete. Its a shame as im sitting looking at this and thinking its all going to be closed away But i know its there and you guys know its there so its all good

Next update will be the fuselage closed up

Thanks for now guys
Wayne

[T3hGuppy]

Great work on the interior dude.

Will be using your work as inspiration when I finally get on to this bomber.

[ridgers22]

Great work on the interior dude.

Will be using your work as inspiration when I finally get on to this bomber.

Thanks mate.. its slow prosess and is still in 2 halfs on the bench.

hopefully get her going again this weekend

Thanks
Wayne

[muskegman]

That looks brilliant, the detail is amazing

Mark

[Nige201980]

stunning mate

[SgtSaboo]

Great work! Lovely job

[ridgers22]

A little bitmore of Life on board the B-17

"They came so close that I could see the pilots' faces..."

In early 1944 the number of missions required to complete his tour of duty was extended from 25 to 30. This meant that Lt. Hallock and his buddies, each of whom had been counting down each mission, now had five additional to fly. We pick up his story as he begins his 27th (and worst) mission:

"We had a feeling, though, that this Augsburg show was bound to be tough, and it was. We made our runs and got off our bombs in the midst of one hell of a dogfight. Our group leader was shot down and about a hundred and fifty or two hundred German fighters swarmed over us as we headed for home. Then, screaming in from someplace, a twenty millimeter cannon shell exploded in the nose of our Fort. It shattered the plexiglas, broke my interphone and oxygen connections, and a fragment of it cut through my heated suit and flak suit. I could feel it burning into my right shoulder and arm. My first reaction was to disconnect my heated suit. I had some idea that I might get electrocuted if I didn't.

I crawled back in the plane, wondering if anyone else needed first aid. I couldn't communicate with them, you see, with my phone

A B-17 succumbs to an attack. dead. I found that two shells had hit in the waist of the plane, exploding the cartridge belts stored there, and that one waist gunner had been hit in the forehead and the other in the jugular vein. I thought, 'I'm wounded, but I'm the only man on the ship who can do this job right.' I placed my finger against the gunner's jugular vein, applied pressure bandages, and injected morphine into him. Then I sprinkled the other man's wound with sulfa powder. We had no plasma aboard, so there wasn't much of anything else I could do. When I told the pilot that my head set had been blown off, the tail gunner thought he'd heard someone say that my head had been blown off, and he yelled that he wanted to jump. The pilot assured him that I was only wounded. Then I crawled back to the nose of the ship to handle my gun, fussing with my wounds when I could and making use of an emergency bottle of oxygen.

The German fighters chased us for about forty-five minutes. They came so close that I could see the pilots' faces, and I fired so fast that my gun jammed. I went back to the left nose gun and fired that gun till it jammed. By that time we'd fallen behind the rest of the group, but the Germans were beginning to slack off. It was turning into a question of whether we could sneak home without having to bailout. The plane was pretty well shot up and the whole oxygen system had been cut to pieces. The pilot told us we had the choice of trying to get back to England, which would be next to impossible, or of flying to Switzerland and being interned, which would be fairly easy. He asked us what we wanted to do. I would have voted for Switzerland, but I was so busy handing out bottles of oxygen that before I had a chance to say anything the other men said, 'What the hell, let's try for England.' After a while, with the emergency oxygen running out, we had to come down to ten thousand feet, which is dangerously low. We saw four fighters dead ahead of us, somewhere over France, and we thought we were licked. After a minute or two we discovered that they were P-47s, more beautiful than any woman who ever lived. I said, 'I think now's the time for a short prayer, men. Thanks, God, for what you've done for us.'"

Last Mission: "One more, one more, one more."

The twenty-eighth [mission]was on Berlin, and I was scared damn near to death. It was getting close to the end and my luck was bound to be running out faster and faster. The raid wasn't too bad, though, and we got back safe. The twenty-ninth mission was to Thionville, in France, and all I thought about on that mission was 'One more, one more, one more.' My last mission was to Saarbriicken. One of the waist gunners was new, a young kid like the kid I'd been six months before. He wasn't a bit scared - just cocky and excited. Over Saarbriicken he was wounded in the foot by a shell, and I had to give him first aid. He acted more surprised than hurt. He had a look on his face like a child who's been cheated by grownups.

That was only the beginning for him, but it was the end for me."

My next update on the build should be sometime this week.

Thanks
Wayne

[ridgers22]

UPDATE 6
The Fusealage

Now that all the interior is complete it was time togo and cover it all up I was acually a bit upset in doing this as you can hardly see any of the detail inside now.

Anyway it had to be done. After a test fit it seamed to go together quite well but a lot of gaps round the seams. after numerous times sanding and test fitting i got to the point where the seams looked good enough and easy to sand and fill in places.
Gluing the two halfs together took what felt like a life time and an endless supply of glue. When the glue was finally applyed the halfs went together no problems (thanks to my earlier prep ) When they were together it was a case of lots of masking tape and pegs to hold her while the glue set. I also noticed at the back near the vertical stabiliser theres a little step which is a little anoying

The post man was also kind enough to bring me these



Anyways heres the pics









The anoying little step


As you can see from these pics theres not much you can see inside which is a shame but we know its there







As the last picture shows i have replaced the door for the photo etched door so i can have it open and hopefully see a bit more of the inside

Thats all for now guys (i have college work to do now )

Hopefully an other update soon

Thanks
Wayne

[chrismoseley]

Awesome Work Wayne Wont Belong Until She's All Done!

Alex

[ridgers22]

Thanks alex

still got a bit of work todo on her but shes getting there. Hopefully a few more weeks

[ManCupboardModels]

The cockpit! The interior!! Simply stunning!!!

[ridgers22]

The cockpit! The interior!! Simply stunning!!!

Thanks daddy. your to kind