Global Scale Modeller

Captain #06 making a late entry with Revell 1/72 B-17G Flying Fortress "American Beauty"
OOB build except for the decals.







"American Beauty" completed 56 combat missions:

Delivered Dallas 30/4/44; Kearney 14/6/44; Presque Is 5/7/44; Assigned PFF 834BS/486BG [2S-G] Sudbury 7/7/44; 61m transferred 92BG Podington 7/7/45; Returned to the USA Bradley 8/7/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 11/7/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 23/11/45.

The 486th Bomb Group flew both B-24s and B-17s, swapping from the former aircraft to the latter in late July 1944 after 49 missions. In total the Group flew 292 missions during the war and remarkably the 834th Bomb Squadron lost no aircraft or personnel on its first 100 missions. The Group bombed strategic sites in Germany and in northern France before D-Day, and after 6 June 1944, the Group undertook a greater number of missions in direct support of ground forces in France, Holland and on the Rhine.

http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/11083

Welcome to the SIG. Great background info on the plane and the unit it served in

Hey here we go, you gotta get up and in formation or you are the sitting duck!!
As Stokesy said, welcome to the sig and I wish you best of luck with the build
Scott

demarcation wrote: Mon May 07, 2018 9:24 pm Captain #06 making a late entry with Revell 1/72 B-17G Flying Fortress "American Beauty"
OOB build except for the decals.

Two of us building the same kit but different ships, looking forward to the comparison when I can actually make a start that is

That's a great kit built one a few years back look forward to seeing how this turns out love the markings you have chosen good luck

Nice choice mate

Thank you guys!!

I finally managed to get some work done on American Beauty.

Tried to create the look of unpainted plywood that sometimes was used for the floors, doors etc. in the B-17.
The interior in this kit is quite sparsely detailed but it will hardly be visible on the finished model. Still some work to do before I can
close the fuselage......

great paint job

Working well and coming together nicely

Les

Very good so far and the wood looks great.

Fantastic interior work, looking spot on
Door prize draw coming up this weekend

Very nice detail there mate

digger303 wrote: Sun May 13, 2018 1:40 am great paint job

Les0012 wrote: Sun May 13, 2018 9:30 am Working well and coming together nicely

Les

pourquoi61 wrote: Sun May 13, 2018 8:38 pm Very good so far and the wood looks great.

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Mon May 14, 2018 5:14 pm Fantastic interior work, looking spot on
Door prize draw coming up this weekend

gaz45 wrote: Tue May 15, 2018 12:18 pm Very nice detail there mate

Cheers lads, thank you for the kind words!!

While doing some research I came across this site "Diary Of A B-17 Ball Turret Gunner" http://users.cloudnet.com/jfb/

Very interesting to read.

Oct. 7, 1944:"We Bombed Politz Today. All Three Ships In The Lead Element Were Shot Down Over The Target. Colonel Luper, Our Group Commander Was Lost. I Think Two Men Got Out Of His Plane. We Were Hit Over Fifty Times, Holes Everywhere. Every Direction I Looked Flak Was Bursting. I Must Have Prayed Out Loud. I Could Smell The Flak Through My Oxygen Mask. I Was Sweating Even At 40 Degrees Below Zero. The Ship Flying On Our Left Wing Got A Direct Hit In The Nose. It Almost Crashed Into Us Out Of Control. One Man's Body Was Hanging Half Way Out Of What Was Left Of The Nose, Most Of His Clothes Blasted Off. In The Ball I Was Practically Looking The Bursts In The Face As They Tracked Us Along And Kept Exploding Right Under Me..."

Nov. 2, 1944:"Our Target For Today Was Merseburg. There Was Very Little Flak Over The Target But There Were Enemy Fighters Galore. I Was Blasting Away At The Nearest One As He Was Coming Up On Us. I Saw His Prop And Cowling Go Flying Away And Part Of His Wing Tip Go Sailing Behind Him. The Ship Behind Him, I think I damaged. Our Tail Gunner Was Also On Him. He Turned Away Smoking. Then, Like Last Time, Our Fighter Escort Was There And It Seemed Like There Were Planes Falling Everywhere. One Fortress Exploded Behind Us. A Man Was Thrown Through The Side. I Think We Lost Nine Fortresses..."

Imagine sitting in that position with your oxygen mask and heated suit(That wasn't always working) with bursting flak and angry guys in Focke Wulf's just outside the window.....

I have a busy work schedule right now which means very limited bench time....But here's a small build update.

I did the upper and lower gun turrets and masked off some clear parts.



Waist gunners positions were finished.



I cut some small pieces of paper for flak maps, manuals etc. lying around.



Then it was time to glue the interior into the fuselage.



And finally the fuselage halves got together. Also managed to install the rear gunners position. The kit includes both the early style turret which
was used on "American Beauty" and the modified “Pumpkin” or "Cheyenne" style turret....



That's all for now

Great work on the interior! The build is coming along well

I read all the diary stuff you posted...terrifying being put into that position especially in the ball turret.
I remember from the Red Tails stories that many fighter escorts were more interested in chasing kills than protecting the bombers
I could not even imagine how tough a job flying in one of those bombers must have been

Absolutely stunning work on the interior - that's building up really nicely.

Looking good mate I'm absolutely busting to start my build

Just read the diary. Bot those guys had guts to climb back into the plane and go back and face it again. Knowing this might be the last time as it was for so many.

Beautiful work on the interior and you've got the look of the plywood just right.

What he said ^^^^^

Looks fantastic. Love the wood effect.

InvalidUsername wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 12:34 am Great work on the interior! The build is coming along well

Thank you!!

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 1:58 am I read all the diary stuff you posted...terrifying being put into that position especially in the ball turret.
I remember from the Red Tails stories that many fighter escorts were more interested in chasing kills than protecting the bombers
I could not even imagine how tough a job flying in one of those bombers must have been

Yeah and those bomber crews were so young, some still in their teens!

Tomcat64 wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 8:59 am Absolutely stunning work on the interior - that's building up really nicely.

Thanks for the kind words!!

Kevthemodeller wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 9:17 am Looking good mate I'm absolutely busting to start my build

Thanks mate!

digger303 wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 11:25 am Just read the diary. Bot those guys had guts to climb back into the plane and go back and face it again. Knowing this might be the last time as it was for so many.

Yes! A bomber over Germany was one of the most dangerous places to be in the entire war! The life expectancy of new recruits was only a couple of weeks....

alextheblue wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 3:28 pm Beautiful work on the interior and you've got the look of the plywood just right.

ElCapitan wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 3:55 pm What he said ^^^^^

Looks fantastic. Love the wood effect.

Thank you guys!!

A small build update.

Engine bays painted interior green and wings glued together.



Almost ready for paint.



Primer on. Some small gaps showed up and was filled with putty.



Then a coat of gloss black was sprayed on.



And finally a coat of Alclad polished aluminium.Now I'll let it cure for the next 2-3 days.




That's all for now,

Wow a beautiful build.

pourquoi61 wrote: Fri May 25, 2018 11:15 pm Wow a beautiful build.

Thanx mate!!

Small build update:

Played around with my Alclad metallizers to create some variation in the NMF. Fortunately the masking tape didn't create any paint lifting.
Then the OD sections were painted on.





I started to work on the engines and cowlings.





Engines and cowlings were installed and the OD sections got a light coat of OD mixed with white to create the look of faded paint.



Then it was time for decals. Not completed but this is how she looks now.

Oh she is really coming along
Some excellent paintwork to get your aluminum and I love the panel variations
Decals are icing on the cake
This will finish off spectacularily

Really nice so far, and I always love the look of weathered natural metal war birds. Eager to see this one finished.

Keep up the great work!

Beautiful paint job mate

Is she going to be factory fresh or a dirty old hanger queen? Either way, she looks great right now

Lovely finish on the bare metal mate

She is looking awesome, a great build and the detail is so good too.

Les

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sun Jun 03, 2018 5:03 am Oh she is really coming along
Some excellent paintwork to get your aluminum and I love the panel variations
Decals are icing on the cake
This will finish off spectacularily

DRUMS01 wrote: Sun Jun 03, 2018 7:24 am Really nice so far, and I always love the look of weathered natural metal war birds. Eager to see this one finished.

Keep up the great work!

Kevthemodeller wrote: Tue Jun 05, 2018 8:50 am Lovely finish on the bare metal mate

Les0012 wrote: Thu Jun 07, 2018 2:38 pm She is looking awesome, a great build and the detail is so good too.

Les

Thank you very much for the kind words guys!!

Stokesy44 wrote: Sun Jun 03, 2018 9:19 am Beautiful paint job mate

Is she going to be factory fresh or a dirty old hanger queen? Either way, she looks great right now

Thanks Stokesy!! She will be weathered, read somewhere that operating at high altitude gave the NMF
a battered look!

Update:

The decal work was finished when the nose art decal went on.



I then proceeded with the wheels and also finished the spinners.





Then it was time to finish the bomb bay doors.



Landing gear was installed along with the superchargers.





Bomb bay doors were glued into position and I also did som exhaust stains from the engines.





I did the last details and the B-17G "American Beauty" was completed. This is how she looks.



More pics in the reveal section. viewtopic.php?f=662&t=24952

Oh she looks great. Look at what you have made

super work on the NMF.
How `durable` do you find it once cured ? for picking it up to move or photograph, and did you clear coat over the metal ?
Dull or gloss?
Lots of questions, but so many reviews about `fragile` finish on metal paints that it puts me off that kind of bird.

What a beauty mate

I only wish I could get some bench time

Kevthemodeller wrote: Mon Jun 18, 2018 12:41 pm What a beauty mate

I only wish I could get some bench time

Thanks mate. Yeah can be very frustrating to be kept away from the bench...

barrythornton wrote: Sun Jun 17, 2018 10:25 pm super work on the NMF.
How `durable` do you find it once cured ? for picking it up to move or photograph, and did you clear coat over the metal ?
Dull or gloss?
Lots of questions, but so many reviews about `fragile` finish on metal paints that it puts me off that kind of bird.

Thanks!
I did clear coat mine with Alclad aqua gloss before the decals went on. Without clear coating the Alclad metalizers can be quite fragile, especially to decal softener and fingerprints.

Les

Alclad nmf, I will have to have a go some time.

What process/product did you use for the exhaust/oil stains. The effect looks great