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Academy B-17 (early)


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This is a bit out of my usual run, but I have wanted to do one of these, and do it in bare metal, for a long time. I was hoping to get it done in time for the Fourth, and took a solid two-week rush at doing so, but could not quite manage it (in part because of the damned heat). However, here are a couple of pictures of how far I have gotten....

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It will be finished as a machine of the 50th Reconnaissance Squadron at Hickam Field in the summer of 1941.

I want to thank Mr. Aitken and Mr. Matsuoka for cuing me in to a genuine Pearl Harbor subject (the kit markings were spurious and only D-types were at Hickam in bare metal that spring and summer), and especially to thank HyperScaler Steve Nelson, who was kind enough to send me gilled cowlings for a D (my old 17C boxing had only the solid cowls included).

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Looking good ! Keep it going!

Thank you, Sir.

I expect to have it done in a couple of weeks. There really is not that much left to do on it. It has been quite a bit of fun so far....

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Wow! what a job that must be to cover the whole thing in foil. Do you have any pics of you applying the foil? It looks really cool!

Glad you like it, Sir.

I have no pictures that are that in-progress, but it putting the foil on is not that hard, though it takes practice. Basically you cut a piece to the approximate size you need (a little over-size), put it on the plastic, and burnish it down with a Q-Tip and toothpicks. Start at the center of the piece and work outwards (usually). If you get a bit of 'bubble', just prick it with the knife-point and press down again. You do have to be sure there is nothing on the surface, and that the surface is smooth, but I do not think it needs to be quite so mirror finish as the metallizer paints require. Once it is down, cut along the panel lines that define the edges of the area you set out to cover (you want a new or at least new-ish #11 blade for this). Pick up the excess with the tip of the blade and a tweezers, then repeat....

In preparing the foil, I take regular kitchen foil, sand it pretty thoroughly with fine steel wool on both sides, boil it with a lot of egg-shells for a few minutes in a little water, then hit it again with the steel wool, and once it is dry, press it flat in a heavy book, then tape a piece of it to a piece of tempered glass, and apply the Micro-Scale adhesive lavishly. The rest is just cutting and rubbing with Q-tips and toothpicks, and sometimes keeping an eye out for where you have to cut a slit to let the stuff lay down right. If you have to take stuff up, CA kicker washes off any adhesive residue readily.

Nothing looks quite so much like metal as metal does....

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Edited by Old Man
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Great looking B-17!

And thanks for the tutorial on using foil. But I have two questions: why the steel-wool sanding and why the boiling with egg shells? I think I read somewhere that the kitchen foil can be used as is, without sanding. And that boiling with egg-shells is used to change the aspect/color of the foil for panel variation but you seem to boil the entire bunch of foil you're using so I'm wondering if there is another purpose to that procedure.

Thanks is advance.

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Great looking B-17!

And thanks for the tutorial on using foil. But I have two questions: why the steel-wool sanding and why the boiling with egg shells? I think I read somewhere that the kitchen foil can be used as is, without sanding. And that boiling with egg-shells is used to change the aspect/color of the foil for panel variation but you seem to boil the entire bunch of foil you're using so I'm wondering if there is another purpose to that procedure.

Thanks is advance.

Thank you, Sir!

The steel wool treatment grew out of my desire to have the dull side of the foil exposed. The adhesive does not grip so well on the shiny side, so I tried roughing the shiny side up with steel wool, and found this did the trick, and let me put the adhesive to the originally shiny side successfully. I noticed that it also made the foil more flexible, or at least it seemed to me that after the foil treatment it went over things like blisters and strakes better. So I kept at it, and took to doing it on both sides. The stuff can certainly be used 'as is', but thinner is better. It is a good idea to wipe down with a damp cloth, or rinse under running water, after you have done the steel wool step, to be sure any little fragments are gone.

My main aim with the eggshell treatment is to dull the foil somewhat. Even the dull side of foil as it comes off the roll is just too bright, at least for my tastes, and does not look quite right to me on a model. It is sort of like 'scale effect' with paint. When putting multiple pieces of foil to the eggshell treatment, there will be variations in color, as they will not all be in for the same length of time, nor will the strength of the shell liquid remain the same. So there are appreciable differences between the tones of the sheets. The alteration in the color from the eggshells is not so much a 'greying' but a 'browning', by the way, and if you have to try and match the tone with paint, a touch of deck tan in silver paint comes pretty close....

Edited by Old Man
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Thank you very much for the added data! That makes sense. I have been gathering info on how to do a BMF with foil for a while now. I have an Eduard Mirage IIIC in my stash and I'm toying with the idea of using this technique on it but my dream is to do a B-58 in 1/48 scale with foil. I think that'd make an impressive piece on anybody's shelf.

Thanks again for sharing and have fun finishing your B-17. I'll be watching! :)

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Thank you very much for the added data! That makes sense. I have been gathering info on how to do a BMF with foil for a while now. I have an Eduard Mirage IIIC in my stash and I'm toying with the idea of using this technique on it but my dream is to do a B-58 in 1/48 scale with foil. I think that'd make an impressive piece on anybody's shelf.

Thanks again for sharing and have fun finishing your B-17. I'll be watching! :)

Happy to be of some assistance, Sir. A 'Hustler' in foil in 1/48 would be a sight to see....

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We don't have the micro scale adhesive here...

Any other alternative besides that?

Cheers,

Mario

Indonesia

Not sure, Sir. There are adhesives for putting down gold leaf, which I have seen modelers say they prefer for foiling, but the craft brands available here in the U.S. may not make it out there, either. Some of the larger hobby shops in Japan or Hong Kong or Australia might stock the Micro-Scale, and be able to mail order it.

Years ago, people used furniture varnish for the purpose, but from reading I gather that that is pretty tricky, though it does work: the stuff is not sticky for a while, and then sets pretty quickly, so that a practiced knack is definitely necessary.

Edited by Old Man
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Fine build of a fascinating subject. The long-winded debate on strategic bombing has produced some interesting books in the past decade or two, on prewar air bombardment doctrine. Reading some of that stuff has made me more and more interested in these pre-combat B-17s.

Years ago I foiled a Ki-61, and concluded that the technique was worthwhile. But I was using Bare-Metal self-adhesive stuff. Your use of kitchen foil is more inspiring, as it occurred to me that the Bare-Metal stuff could be pricey for a bigger build than a 1/72 pursuit plane.

Do you anticipate sealing in the decals in some way? In the long run, I've seen that decals don't last unless sealed beneath a varnish, which I find is always frustrating for any metal finish. On my Tony, I didn't seal 'em, but so far they haven't discolored or lifted.

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