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Does anyone have a picture or pictures of the large plexiglass window in the radio compartment (preferably the framing portion underneath)? Either the window on it's own or how and where it is positioned if the .50 is pulled out to be able to fire?

Thanks in advance,

Mark.

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Shawn,

This was one of the ref. pictures I was using for the framing going back. Great pic, however, as mentioned - where would the .50 be? There isn't a .50 mounted there, as there's no rail system, nor is it permanently fixed in place at the aft end of the opening. It's easy enough once on the ground to open it up and put it there to keep it out of the way, but if there was the sliding .50 mount (where the MG is mounted on the ring), there wouldn't be any place for it in that 'bin'

Mark.

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And thus, I am confused. Unsure. Not fully informed on the matter. Lacking the proper information. Lacking in reference. Missing the mark.

That picture reminds me, I need to drill out the hole in the frame section at the end of the rail, and add a couple of small pieces. But, right now, I'm thinking that plexiglass window will be removed completely, and put up on the side of the diorama somewhere, it would seem with folks moving back and forth that it would only be in the way - either that, or it would be left mounted in, but then that takes away from the ability to see everything, something I'm not happy about, so I'm taking my artistic licence and tossing it on the table... the large plexiglass window that is.

What is interesting about that ring (that the .50 is mounted on) is that it looks as though it's made of copper pipe! I'm sure it isn't...

That picture you posted though of the gentleman in the picture has an interesting story as well. His farther was the RO in a B-17 in the Pacific. Father went down with his -17 when the guy pictured was either 6 months old, or his mother was 6 months along with him. This was the first time he stepped foot in a B-17 in 67 years. Great story.

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Would you guys be interested in photos of the wings and nacelles taken from above? While flying with "Journey" I took a number of photos of the TOP of the wings and nacelles, a view most people don't get. I was interested in panel lines and such and thought they would be of interest to modelers such as ourselves. Here is a link (I hope) to the photobucket site. I will continue to add to it as I find more.

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a259/KPH...and%20Nacelles/

Edited by 100th BG
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Well, the main things are the oil tank, the supercharger oil tank, and the engine air filters along with their associated ducting. I don't think I ever took a photo in there, even though I was in there with great regularity checking the turbo oil. The air filters were long gone, which made climbing in there a little less of a challenge. Fortunately, I am not a big guy. There is a panel through the firewall so you can access the back of the engine (mags, generator, etc.)

EDIT: Here are some diagrams from the Parts Manual showing some of what is in the outboard nacelle.

First is the oil system for the engine with the tank on the outboard side of the nacelle:

OBOiltank.jpg

Next is the lubrication system for the supercharger with the tank in the upper inboard section of the nacelle:

Superchargeroiltank.jpg

And next is the induction system showing the carb air filters and the intercooler. These items were no longer installed on "Sentimental Journey" and you can see that they occupied a lot of space:

Induction.jpg

Edited by 100th BG
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Karl, those are awesome, I was hoping you'd post up the front end.

Do you or anyone out there have good pictures from the inside as to what the updated cheek gun positions looked like (specifically the framing)? Thanks in advance,

Mark.

Edited by Kostucha
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Thanks Karl. As you said - it's a start. It became very evident that there is no framing within these areas on either the kit part, or any of the AM sets. Given how open the area is, I can't just make believe that there was no framing there, and as all the glass is going to be fairly thin and transparent on this one, I'm thinking it'd be a good idea to put in the framing along with all the extra "guts" that go along with the .50 that pokes through it. I might cut the cheek sections out of the fuselage halves and scratch them, but most likely I'll be building in the appropriate framing within them.

Honestly, I'm almost done the Starboard fuselage half - the framing that is...

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The cheek gun is made from a fairly substantial hunk of metal and the formers and stringers did attach to it. In these photos of the left side, you can see where the upper longeron carries onto is is attached to the cheek gun position.

Leftcheekinteriornoted.jpg

Leftcheekdetailnoted.jpg

And this drawing of the right side, although too large for my scanner, shows where it is rivited to the formers and stringers. The circled area at the top shows how the rivits are marked.

Leftcheekdrawing.jpg

Do these help?

Edited by 100th BG
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They are an aluminum alloy, very stout. I suppose they were made with one of those huge drop hammer type machines and then heat treated, although that is just a guess on my part. Perhaps someone with more expertise in manufacturing processes can chime in here?

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If only my talents matched the information I have available!

Mark wanted to know what the area above the pilots looked like, so, in case anyone else is interested:

CommandRCcontrols.jpg

You can see the fabric on the roof and, in this factory photo, there are curtains for the overhead windows. Don't know how long those lasted... There is also a checklist stuffed above the radio controls mounting plate. The instruments on the small panel are (L to R): clock, magnetic compass, and a de-icer pressure gauge. In other installations, this third one was a thermometer or a hydraulic pressure gauge.

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