1/48 Monogram B-17G

[WymanV]

While finishing up a 1/48 Revell B-17E conversion from a different group build I got the itch to do a B-17G in NMF. Since I've been building Revell/Monogram B-17s for some 35 years now it's about time I tackled it.

The donor kit:

And I'll finally break out all the bells & whistles on this one:

True Details cockpit, nose compartment and waist position, Eduard interior and exterior photo etch sets, Paragon hatches, tail position and intake block-offs, and leftover bits from the Verlinden detail set. Also in the pic is a set of detail pics I've taken at the Oshkosh Fly-In over the years. And just purchased is the Kits World decal set for Miss Conduct, a Fort from the Bloody 100th. It's about time they were represented in the collection, and the nose art is hot ;)/>/>/>

I doubt I'll finish this by 1 July with all the stuff on the bench (not much really, but one is Revell's USS Constitution...) but I'll post build progress as I go and we'll see what happens.

Ken

Edited January 21, 2013 by WymanV

[Spokane-Modeller]

Looking forward to this one.I've got the 1/72 scale g model, along with kits world decals for little miss mischief of the 91st BG "The Ragged Irregulars". May have to look into those dress up pieces for my kit.

[WymanV]

I am too. I've been accumulating detail bits for B-17s for years now and I haven't had the heart to use them on the last few Forts I've built so if anything, it'll be nice to get them out of the stash and into something on display ;)/> Not to mention I can see which ones do any good for future builds.

And speaking of which, I have already ruled out the waist detail set. It's set up for the normal windows and they did it so anything you don't see isn't actually cast in the resin. Specifically, the interior bits around the windows are short. Staggering the windows will make them too short to see, if you can even see them through the windows. That being the case I may use parts like the floor as a pattern to scratchbuild some parts but it'll end up back in the bag for a future build. I think the F might be more appropriate a kit for the set as the windows are open.

Painted some green today. And I see the floor for the nose has a scratch in it already

Ken

[WymanV]

And the decals showed up earlier this week. Doing that 381st ship down the road is rather tempting, but after this one I get the feeling I'll want to go back to OD/NG Forts.

Ken

edit: Love the disclaimer at the bottom :)

Edited February 3, 2013 by WymanV

[WymanV]

Well, there's been some progress in spite of my stash's best efforts to sidetrip me. I'm working this one from the nose back so this saga begins with fitting True Detail's Bombardier Compartment set. Here we are, so far:

To begin with, this was quite troublesome to cut it away from the molding blocks. They reinforced the points where the sidewall contacts the stubs and cutting the delicate parts away from the thick stubs was a very hairy thing. Not to mention not all the stringers/formers had full contact with the sidewalls. Many gaps, places for detailing to break away and I'll likely be getting out the strip styrene to replace a few of the more high profile ones that were destroyed in handling. Also, note the poor fit at the contact points. The foremost one isn't even molded the same top and bottom and the bottom piece was cast too long and had to be cut down. Not a deal breaker in itself, until you note the gaps in the second and third going aft. This is the way they were molded, and not a result of cutting the piece off the mold stub too short. This is the way it had to be put together in order to make the window openings line up with the kit openings.

I shall indeed proceed with the other side as I'm committed to it. However. If you're considering getting the set to jazz up a future build of your own, I can state with confidence that I will not be buying another set. The way Monogram did it is better than this.

Other things: It seems the 100th B.G. had 2 B-17Gs named Miss Conduct, one spelled for the record as Miss Con Duct. Cross referencing the serial number with Joe Baugher's website was interesting as he doesn't note 43-38525 but 38524 and 38526 were both Boeing B-17G-95-BO. factory fitted cheek guns, staggered single pane waist windows, sealed radio compartment with .50 and "pumpkin" (Cheyenne) tail turret. So this venerable old Monogram B-17G will be about as modified as it gets ;)/>

Ken

Edited May 11, 2013 by WymanV

[HOLMES]

Ken,

Just caught up with this OUTSTANDING Choice fir a build...

Good start ..keep it coming..

[WymanV]

Thankee, suh! It's a pretty safe bet that this won't finish in the time frame here, but I'm into this build and it WILL get finished.

Figured out a way to deal with the window frames:

And this is the other side, BTW. Look at the "fit" around the cheek window.

So what I did was this: I dug out a window from a long deceased hanger queen, cleaned up the edges (including those obtrusive tabs) and wrapped a piece of tape around the outer edge. I marked the tape where the cut end laid down and there was my length. I cut Evergreen strip to length using the tape to measure (that tape is in the pic, with the "pip" just visable), rolled the strip round, glued the ends together and clamped it to dry in the flat tweezers. Once dry, I stuffed it into the trimmed opening and glued it down bit by bit with CA and accelerator. You can just see where the front one cracked on the corner but it'll fill when I clean up the openings. Since the pic was taken I did the front window as well, using a straight piece and again glued down bit by bit. This was an easy thing as the front of that window frame is the former the nose cone attaches to so it's only 3 sided for now.

Progress is slow but I expected that. But as long as the build lasts I'll keep posting updates. I'm trying stress metal techniques for the first time on a Nichimo Jake right now and if it works to my satisfaction, I may use it on this build as well. Should look pretty sharp on a NMF.

Ken