Matchbox B-17G Flying Fortress

[flak88]

Hi to all. Since I lost the in-progress photos from the original thread, I'll start all over again.

Here's an very long-term project of mine. Older folks probably knows the Matchbox Flying Fortress, or at least have some idea about its crudeness and lack of almost any finer details. While I didn't see many of them built over the internet, some time ago I decided to build one on my own, but with a lot of improvements and corrections, in effort to bring it close to the modern B-17 kits standards. And that won't be an easy task, that's for sure.

As the original kit has no interior at all, here are a few shots of my effort in the radio room. Everything is 100% scratch built.

And here's how much will be visible once the fuselage is closed.

The markings will be for an Douglas produced 15th AF machine, most probably the well known 99th BG ''2nd Patches'', though I have a few more candidates. With all the inevitable putty & sanding work, the olive drab & neutral grey camouflage seems like the much more acceptable option than the shiny natural metal. In each case, I will have to make the decals on my own, as those from the box are both incorrect and useless.

Feel free to comment, ask and suggest. :)

Edited February 9, 2015 by flak88

[Eric2020]

I like this keep posting!

[crackerjazz]

You're going all-out on this -- keep up the good work! Are you using just plain putty for those seams and joints?

[flak88]

Hi, thanks for your support.

I'm using basic Revell putty for the rough works first, and then Tamiya surfacer for the smooth finish, combined with the fine wet sandpaper of course. And so on, over and over, until I'm satisfied with the results.

Now, since some of the raised panel lines are inevitably lost, I also need to remake them with a stretched sprue, but that will wait for a later phase.

Here's a patched appearance of the real one, which will help to cover all the surgery works I hope. Also note the shark mouth.

Though I'm trying not to fall into a trap of overdetailing it, I promised myself to do it properly, something like it's the HK models 1/32 giant. And after all, why not? :)

Regards!

Edited February 9, 2015 by flak88

[flak88]

Slowly progressing through the interior. :)

Here's a shot of heavily corrected pilot's & copilot's seats.

Materials used were a few salvaged paperclips, tweezers, superglue and a lot of patience!

Edited February 9, 2015 by flak88

[flak88]

Hi again,

The fire extinguishers are done, one CO2 and two Carbon Tetrachloride units, as the 30-DL block aircraft most probably used to carry.

* Many thanks to Karl for all the help! :)

Edited February 9, 2015 by flak88

[Major Walt]

This just blows me away! Great job so far.

[flak88]

Thank you Major, sir! :)

A few more details from the nose compartment: navigator shelf, bombardier commands and twin ammunition boxes.

Much more is in the production and hopefully coming soon.

Edited February 11, 2015 by flak88

[crackerjazz]

Keep up the good work, flak88! :)

[Bigasshammm]

A matchbox 17 has never looked so good.

[flak88]

Thanks guys! :)

A few words about the nose compartment exterior works. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of its original appearance, but you can get an idea from the kit instructions.

The cheek windows were pretty crude and inaccurate, so I removed them, corrected the whole area and prepared it for the Squadron vacuform replacements which should look much better. The other clear parts will also be replaced with the scratchbuilt ones.

Another issue is the chin turret and its fairing which are both way undersized, so they too are trashed and will be replaced with the Academy or Revell kits surplus parts. Also, although Matchbox suggests to glue the separate nose compartment first and than to attach it to the rest of fuselage, I did the opposite to achieve a better fitting among and between the two fuselage halves. However, it still requires a lot of putty & sanding work nevertheless.

At the moment I'm working on the waist windows & crew entry hatches. See you soon. ;)

Edited February 13, 2015 by flak88

[flak88]

After quite a struggle with tough & thick Matchbox plastic, the crew entry hatches are finally cut out. Since I'm planning to scratchbuild the entire interior from nose to tail (except of the bomb bay), this should allow a better look to at least some of the details, hopefully. Speaking of that, note the driftmeter seen through the nose hatch & first bulkhead passage. :)

The waist door and tail gunner hatch had to be moved a bit backwards, as their original engraved positions were incorrect.

And here's the mentioned first bulkhead, before and after the canvas covers were added.

Coming up next, the nose compartment & cockpit interior various details. :)

Edited February 15, 2015 by flak88

[willc453]

Watching with a lot of interest in your build.....but then nothing since Feb. 2015?

[Major Walt]

This is a major effort and I'm amazed by the interior detail. I love seeing work like this done on the old vintage kits seeing them brought to life. This is going to be a winner!

[flak88]

Hi again, very sorry for the late response.

 

I didn't have much time for the project during all this time, but there was some progress nevertheless. Slowly but safely, as they say. :D

 

Anyway here are a few photos. I managed to fit in the Revell canopy along with many other surplus parts, improving the kit's overall appearance significantly.

I also reworked and corrected heavily the tail turret area, adding the Pavla vacuform canopy instead of the way too wide original part.

And one provisional test fit shot with the horizontal stabilizers.

Of course, there's still much work to do on both exterior & interior, but luckily I have no deadlines with this one.

 

See you soon, hopefully. :)

 

[Jay Chladek]

Wow! This is some incredible work! You have a gift for scratchbuilding skills.

[Trojan Thunder]

Impressive work there correcting the issues and enhancing the interior 

Edited January 3, 2017 by Trojan Thunder