1/48 B-17G Chowhound...Decals and into Darkness

Post by **fightnjoe** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 3:49 am

Well time to start another project.

This will be a familiar one with just a bit of a familiar twist.

This will be for a tribute build on YouTube. The Year of the Dog.

More soon.

Joe

Post by **fightnjoe** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 3:57 am

First up will be to show you what I have begun to collect for this build.

For most this will be enough to tell you what the twist will be.

More to come.....

Joe

Post by **CJSomerset** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 10:59 am

Settling in for this one. As it's a Revell I hope you have plenty of sanding stick

Post by **TheWeasel** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 12:42 pm

Judging from his amazing BF109 build, I think he's well stocked on "plastic removal tools" for this one...

Looking foward to seeing this one built up!

Post by **fightnjoe** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 3:55 pm

Plenty of sanding materials are at hand.

I hope to do her justice.

Joe

Post by **Nige201980** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 4:50 pm

Looking forward to this one Joe

Post by **fightnjoe** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 6:23 pm

Me too.

Joe

Post by **fightnjoe** » Sun Mar 22, 2015 6:23 pm

As with all builds there is a starting point.

For this build it starts with the kit pieces. For me it means what do I need to do to prep this for what I am planning to do. This kit as most know, has a lot of moulded in detail. It all has to go. For my plan to work it needs to be a clean slate. I also need to remove all the positioning points for the flooring and bulkheads. For that I will need to fashion different ones that will be out of sight when I cut into the fuselage.

So out came the white glue and the flooring and bulkheads were set into place.

May take a while to get through the detail to a clean slate.

Joe

Post by **fightnjoe** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:18 am

Just a quickie of an update to show the first cuts.

Large chunks have been cut out to show different areas of the interior. What you see is after six hours of grinding, sanding, repeat.

This will turn out good, I hope.

You will also notice I have drilled and then cut out the access doors. These will be cleaned up and the edges thinned a bit.

Next up will be to clean up the cuts and move into the interior with grinding and sanding away that detail.

All comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.

Joe

Post by **fightnjoe** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 3:36 am

Well I have gotten to what I am calling the final stage of my prep work for the interior of this build. The framing.

One thing to remember, this is not intended to be an exact replica of the actual B-17G. It is intended to give the illusion. For that reason you will notice that I did not put every frame in. Two reasons, the interior would be more than a bit cluttered and I do not have enough styrene strip to actually do each frame. As it is I used three packages of strip. Also please notice that i really only concentrated on the Port side of the fuselage. The Starboard will not be seen as well so I skipped all but what would be seen. After I took the pictures I noticed that there are a few places I need to add some strip and also some backing. All in all I am pretty satisfied with how this looks. I will tidy up the last of it and then starting with the nose the detailing will begin.

Pictures.

Starboard side:

Port side:

Now there is no framing at the bomb bay area. This is by design as I need to build that up and to do that I will need to do the sides as well as scratch a bomb rack.

More to come....

All comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.

Joe

Post by **Nige201980** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 6:54 am

Cracking work buddy

Post by **fightnjoe** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 1:39 pm

Many thanks for looking in. Greatly appreciated.

Joe

Post by **martin57** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 4:08 pm

Looking good so far , hopefully all goes well with the rest

Post by **fightnjoe** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 12:29 am

Many thanks Martin, me too.

Joe

Post by **Hawkins6685** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 2:55 am

I have no idea what your doing with this lol. But your braver man than me. I love the b17'S will be following with interest.

Post by **fightnjoe** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 5:00 pm

Glad to have you along.

Joe

Post by **fightnjoe** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 3:46 am

Well here I am yet again.

Time for a smallish update on what is going on.

Work has begun to detail the Nav Station in the bomber nose. I have fabricated some electrical panels and some of the odds and ends that are in the real thing.

First up the Starboard side and the little bit I did, the tank holder and the Drift Meter. Now throughout you will not see wiring yet. I have not gotten that far.

The different panels and boxes on the Port side.

And the flooring of the station.

I will continue on this section and fill it out with the little things and then some of the major objects like the guns and such.

All comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.

Joe

Post by **qeialto** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:31 am

Amazing job.
I really like your creativity, looking forward to see more.
Cheers,
Antonio

Post by **fightnjoe** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:57 pm

Very kind. Thank you.

Joe

Post by **UKguyInUSA** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 5:52 pm

Looking awesome, as always, Joe!

Post by **fightnjoe** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:40 pm

You are very kind. Thank you.

Joe

Post by **Thomas2542** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:42 pm

Looks good. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Post by **fightnjoe** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 8:18 pm

You are very kind. I cannot wait to see how it is going to turn out either.

Joe

Post by **Amishhitman13** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 7:48 pm

You are a sick sick man lol . Looking forward to seeing this be built. Subscribed

Post by **fightnjoe** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:54 pm

I agree 100%.

Glad to have you along.

Joe

Post by **spock1701** » Fri May 01, 2015 2:01 pm

I built this kit several months ago, and I personally preferred to build it without cutouts, and I put it in a diorama. The cutout idea is interesting though, and I might try that now with a B-25 I've been meaning to build. Yours looks good so far. Keep going strong.

Post by **patrickroos** » Sat May 02, 2015 5:03 pm

Let the styrene-o-mania begin!!!

Loved the Bf 109 and am sure I will love this one!

Great start, I personally would love to see more of Your actual work, as in when You go from sheets and strips to finalized objects.
I think we all can learn a few things from You skills mate.

Post by **fightnjoe** » Sun May 03, 2015 1:12 pm

Many many thanks.

Patrick I am working towards that but I keep forgetting to set up the pictures.

Joe

Post by **fightnjoe** » Tue May 05, 2015 5:03 am

I am back.

The progress will not look like much but it is one subassembly at a time and move forward.

For this update it is all about the bomb sight and the crew access area under the cockpit. For reference the gray is kit, the white is resin (oxygen bottles and Instrument Panel) and styrene.

Wiring is getting done and some things are in place permanently.

The Bomb Sight took a while but it is almost done.

And the crew access area both in place and out.

Moving forward I plan to keep going on the fabrication and at some point I will start the pit area.

All comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.

Joe

Post by **fightnjoe** » Wed May 13, 2015 4:36 am

Me again.

Just another small, but to me kind of important, update.

This I believe will be the last picture of the forward sections without paint. That means they should be finished the next time you see them.

The major construction I think is done. All that is left is to plumb it up. So the next step is to paint.

Pictures of the Nav Station.

And the work on the pit. This included the seat framing, the Throttle Console, and the Bottles at the rear. Note that the pilot frame is off a bit. That has been fixed. Also the canvass is in place.

Like I said not much but it is significant in that I am ready to paint this. I hope to have these painted by the end of the weekend. I hope to have these areas finished off in the next week or so.

All comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.

Joe

Post by **TheWeasel** » Wed May 13, 2015 6:34 am

I'm in awe!

I have only just started improving builds with self cut styrene/wires and it takes me huge amounts of planning, patience and time to get it almost right.

GREAT JOB! Can't wait to see it painted up.

Is the instrument panel removable still for detail painting?

Post by **peaceduringwar** » Wed May 13, 2015 7:30 am

I'm excited to see this start to come to life with paint.

Post by **newpapajack** » Wed May 13, 2015 9:17 am

Very impressive so far looking forward to this one!

Post by **fightnjoe** » Thu May 14, 2015 2:37 am

I thank all of you.

The instrument panel is removable for painting.

You are all very kind.

Joe

Post by **patrickroos** » Thu May 14, 2015 10:57 pm

Agree, very much look forward to see all that awesome detailing with paint on!

Post by **fightnjoe** » Sat May 16, 2015 12:27 am

Me too.

Many thanks for following along.

Joe

Post by **mincemeat** » Sat May 16, 2015 12:34 pm

Just came across this. Your scratch building is amazing! I'll get the courage for a B-17 someday. Great work!

Post by **fightnjoe** » Sun May 17, 2015 5:19 am

Humbling, thank you.

Joe

Post by **ladip63** » Sun May 17, 2015 6:24 pm

Joe
What is your You Tube channel? I would love to follow this one

The B-17 is my favorite bomber. I would like to do that sometime when I get a lot better at building.

Post by **Nige201980** » Sun May 17, 2015 7:54 pm

Great work as always mate.

Post by **fightnjoe** » Mon May 18, 2015 2:28 pm

Many many thanks.

Lynn I have added my YouTube page link to the signature.

Joe

Post by **ladip63** » Wed May 20, 2015 2:38 am

Thanks Joe

Post by **fightnjoe** » Thu May 21, 2015 4:22 am

Well there has been a bit of a change.

Sometimes you guide a build, sometimes the build guides you. At this moment the build is starting to guide me.

I am not able to proceed the way I wanted to. It just will not happen that way. I need to let the build guide me as to what to do next. To that end I am posting a small update.

I was painting and assembling the cockpit as well as some of the ins and outs of the build and hit a block. I could not proceed without changing what I was doing.

First the pictures.

Some long awaited colour for the front sections.

Now for the change. I need to continue with the major construction moving toward the tail. The Bomb Bay is next up. I need to do the major construction. I will be working on some of the stuff left in the sections I have been working on but the bulk of my time will be in the major construction. Once the major construction is done I will go back to tie up all the loose ends. I cannot do that until I am just about ready to close up the fuselage as too early and the parts will break off and the build will become incredibly difficult.

Thank you for following along with this, as always, all comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.

Joe

Post by **heel** » Thu May 21, 2015 12:15 pm

Good luck on the next stage Joe. It's inspiring work you are doing here. What did you use for painting the wooden sections?

Post by **fightnjoe** » Thu May 21, 2015 2:30 pm

The wooden sections are a base coat of Testors (Turn Signal) Amber bristle brushed on so that the brush strokes are evident, then a dry brush of Testors Flat Light Tan, then just a little work with Oil Paints, Raw and Burnt Umber. As I went I gave it just the eye test and when they looked about right I stopped.

Many thanks for looking in.

Joe

Post by **fightnjoe** » Mon May 25, 2015 5:42 pm

A quick update, two days off and hoping to get a lot of rest as well as just a little bit done on this.

So here I am.

The next major obstacle to tackle is the bomb bay. As I seem to be going all out on this build I figured why not? How bout a scratched bomb bay. So after a few nights of tinkering here is where I begin my process. The major framework is about 150 pieces. More is coming.

The outer racks are also ready for the detail work.

And finally, for this update, the rack in place with the pit/nav station and the radio station.

And so the next phase begins.

All comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.

Joe

Post by **shortCummins** » Mon May 25, 2015 7:43 pm

Hi Joe

this is fantastic

can I ask where you find the detail from, presumably the internet? and do you find the detail before you decide on what to build or decide what to build and go searching?

I loved your bf109 and this build is proving just as

rgds
John(shortCummins)

Post by **fightnjoe** » Mon May 25, 2015 9:48 pm

John the information is out there. A lot of what I am using is from the Warbird Information Exchange website and the Sally B restoration thread. For most of my builds I try to find the information before I begin but there are times that I find the information after the fact and then went back and redid it.

You are very kind and I thank you.

Joe

Post by **fightnjoe** » Tue May 26, 2015 9:24 pm

Well my friends, taking advantage of some time off, more has been accomplished.

Continuing with the bomb bay, yesterday and this morning were for some of the bigger structures.

The forward bulkhead.

The rear bulkhead.

The "walls" of the bay.

And the attachments for the payload.

Not striving for 100% accuracy here but want to give a fair representation of some of the internal bits and bobs. That being said there are still a handful or more of things that require attention yet. however the major stuff is ready.

Next major construction will be the radio station.

All comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.

Joe

Post by **Nige201980** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 5:39 pm

Great work Joe loving ALL the extra work your putting into this one.