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B-17F Scrapping - Storage Depot 41, Kingman, AZ.


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The next stage was to try and replicate the torn metal from the 5,100 pound steel blade used to cut up the aircraft. The plastic was softened with a soldering iron, then pushed and twisted with a paint brush handle and scalpel. I tried to distort the plastic in a direction it was most likely to take, depending on where on the fuselage the cut was.

 

b17boneyard067.jpg

 

So on the top of the fuselage, the metal was bent downwards, sheared down and wrinkled at the sides, bent down on the lower areas and flat where the fuselage was crushed against the ground as the blade stopped.

 

b17boneyard068.jpg

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After the melting, further shaping was done with a scalpel and needle files, trying to create sharper edges where they had been rounded from the heat of the iron. I may do a little test painting on the area to see how it would look complete. So far, it doesn't look too bad.

 

b17boneyard069.jpg

 

The tail was weighted down and an old knife handle used to press the tailwheel housing down to the fuselage side it wasn't yet glued to.

 

b17boneyard070.jpg

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So this was where I was up to by the end of today. I'm not sure when I'll next work on it, hopefully not after another two years, but this isn't going to be an every evening project. I may even complete each section up to the painted stage to keep the variety and interest going. 

 

b17boneyard071.jpg

 

b17boneyard072.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

Indeed!  A very nice project.  I like how you planned it out from the start and then proceeded to scratch build those areas that will be seen.  Very convincing.  Keep up the great work! 

R/ Dutch

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Hi guys, no progress of late. Now that we're into the military vehicle season, I'm away almost every weekend at shows and that leaves me with very little time for modelling. It's not forgotten however, just a slow burning fuse on this one!

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  • 4 months later...

Great work! What I appreciate the most is the detail shots of how you did these mods. Also the jigs you used for soldering the brass etc are really helpful. Hoping you feel inspired to get this going again. My daughter worked in the offices at the Depot in the nineties, and we got to tour the place. Truly impressive, and sad.

 

Carl

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  • 4 weeks later...

I did a little tinkering on the B-17 today. Some parts of the fuselage had already been scribed, but nothing had been sanded and neither of the horizontal stabilisers had been scribed. So the first job today was scribing the stabs, followed by wet sanding.

 

b17boneyard073.jpg

 

The two fuselage sections had already been scribed, but both pieces needed the scribing slots sanding and cleaning out. The fuselage seams also needed sanding and there were some areas of filler to be sanded too.

 

b17boneyard074.jpg

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The elevator halves were glued together today, but still need a new leading edge fitting and the hinge slots cutting out. The false trailing edge of the stabiliser had previously been filled with styrene, but needed some sanding. It would also need a little filler here and there.

 

b17boneyard075.jpg

 

A piece of scrap styrene was fitted into the top of the fuselage, under where the rudder sits. After a time to dry, it was trimmed and sanded flush with the top of the fairing that leads into the tail gunner's glazing. The vertical stab false trailing edge was then sanded. After a bit of trimming and sanding of the stab root, the port stab was glued in place and left a while to harden up before moving.

 

b17boneyard076.jpg

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The second stabiliser was glued in place and thick tube glue used to do a little gap filling on the underside. I then applied some filler, thinned with a strong acrylic solvent that I normally use for assembling parts. The parts were taped in place to hold it all still while the glue hardens up over night.

 

b17boneyard077.jpg

 

Here you can see the vertical stab false trailing edge with filler applied and also the fairing leading into the tail gunner's glazing. I'll probably get primer on and check the look of everything before I consider fitting the tail glazing.

 

b17boneyard078.jpg

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It was very cold out in the workshop this morning, but I did a little sanding of the filler applied late last night and got some primer on the tail and waist.

 

b17boneyard079.jpg

 

The wooden floor in the waist still needs the ends snapping/tearing from the guillotine, but they won't go in until the fuselage is painted. I'm tempted to paint,decal and weather both of these sections before moving on to the rest of the airframe.

 

b17boneyard080.jpg

 

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After a bit of a sanding here and there, I glued the tail gunner's glazing in place. It would require a bit of filling around the fairing joint, which was left until the glazing joint had hardened up.

 

b17boneyard083.jpg

 

The next step was to add some styrene into the leading edge of the elevators. Both elevators were clamped between some scrap wood to hold everything straight. They also required a little filler. Once dry, the edge will be sanded flat and a new piece of styrene added which will be sanded into the leading edge radius.

 

b17boneyard084.jpg

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The rudder leading edge also needed a little filler. It had previously had styrene added to the leading edge.

 

b17boneyard085.jpg

 

I also gave the ragged sheared metal, where the aircraft was cut, a coat of silver paint. I'll probably use some form of masking fluid randomly along this joint before spraying the top coats.

 

b17boneyard086.jpg

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