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CONTINUATION OF MY 1:20 SCALE SCRATCH BUILT B17G (RADIO ROOM)


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25 minutes ago, Fozzy said:

Thanks Joel for your kind words!

 Hey Fozzy,

 No need to thank me. You skill level has produced a remarkable one of model that keeps on getting better and better.  👌🏆

Joel

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  • 3 weeks later...

Afternoon all!

Been a while but work on my house was required which didn't give me much time to get on with the radio room...plus I am getting ready to return to the UK for the summer which I do each year due to the extreme hot weather here during the summer months.....which of course means that this will be the last post until I get back to my office at the end of August.

 

So I have made a start on the radio room with the lower half and the flooring. It's nowhere finished but it's a start!

 

O.jpg

 

As you can see the fuselage is Balsa based and the floor was built up also with pieces of balsa which I covered with "ye olde yogurt pots".....usual trick of mine to save money on plastic card!! 

 

O_(1).jpg

 

The center of the floor has the bay constructed for the camera section that the radio operator could gain access through a trap door.....yet to be built! 

 

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The last few photos are of the radio room floor in place leaving the camera bay open minus the hatch  for the time being....I will build the hatch door when all the camera equipment is installed....... 

 

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That's all until I get back from my summer break!

 

I hope you all have a great summer this year and I'll catch you all later!😎

 

Cheers

 

Fozzy 

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  • 3 months later...

Good afternoon guys

 

I do hope that everyone is "A" OK and you all had a great summer!...I certainly did!😎

 

Seems like an age since I last posted on here...in fact it has been nearly 4 months!😮..I went back to Blighty for the summer and when I returned life's little distractions kept me away from my work shop...what with fixing things around the house ...car maintenance etc etc...you all know how it is!

 

Any way I have found a bit of time until I get my family  knocking on my door for their yearly visit and until they come lets see if I can continue with this Radio room for my B17G!

 

Not an awful lot of progress I have to say but I have managed to prep the bottom half of the construction ...covering and strengthening the Balsa construction.

 

I think the photos will show you what I mean........ 

 

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The openings you see cut away are for viewing all the gubbings that's found under the Radio room floor...like camera equipment...Oxygen bottles and prop anti icing main tank... 

 

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This photo shows the side of the fuselage and the opening will be for the viewing of said tanks! 

 

 

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Here are the oxygen tanks and anti icing glycerol tank ....made from block balsa for the oxygen tanks and a converted 550lb bomb from a Stuka kit!

 

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The two halves temporarily together to get the effect!

 

P_(9).jpg

 

Well that's all I have had time for so far but at least the ball has started to roll again with this build.

 

....Next up I will get the top half of the Radio room prepared the same as the bottom half...

 

Great to be back again BTW....and thanks for looking in !

 

Cheers

 

Fozzy 

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Fozzy,

    Nice to see you back at the bench. 

    Your start for the radio room looks really quite good. Certainly up to your usual standards. The drilled out viewing hole does make a lot of sense. Lets hope your next update doesn't take 4 more months.

Joel

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi there

 

Time for an update. .....its a tad boring though as this part of the build always is!...but it has to be done!

 

Basically I have been shaping the balsa down on the top half of the radio room. Its a little time consuming but it has to be right at this stage else this part of the fuselage (radio room) will not look right!

I had to make the extended part on the top as well as cutting aperture's out for the perspex windows on the side and cutting the access doors out.

The photos will show what I am waffling on about!😉

 

upper_half_fuselage_construction.jpg

 

Looks a mess but this is a sort of template for the raised bit on the top.as seen in the next set of photos.

 

upper_half_fuselage_construction_(1).jpg

 

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upper_half_fuselage_construction_(5).jpg

 

...and so you can see where this will all eventually sit..... 

 

upper_half_fuselage_construction_(6).jpg

 

upper_half_fuselage_construction_(7).jpg

 

upper_half_fuselage_construction_(8).jpg

 

upper_half_fuselage_construction_(9)-cro

 

If this gets any longer I am going to need a bigger office!,,,,,,,So there you have it.

 

Hopefully I will be able to start detailing in the next post,,,starting with the bottom half ,so until then chaps....

 

Thanks for looking in

 

Fozzy 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Guys

 

Back again with another installment!...have had more distractions than you can shake a stick at but found some spare time again to try and continue with this build!

 

I managed to complete both port and starboard Oxygen and Glycol tank bays which are under the floor of the radio room.A bit difficult finding photos of said area but I found a diagram giving the positions of the tanks and decided to roll with that!

 

So here we have the areas prepared for the tank installation....both port and starboard.......... 

 

Oxygen_and_Glycol_tanks_bay.jpg

 

Oxygen_and_Glycol_tanks_bay_(1).jpg

 

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Starting with the port side ..here are the 2 oxygen tanks installed with all the connecting air lines... 

 

Oxygen_and_Glycol_tanks_bay_(3).jpg

 

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Oxygen_and_Glycol_tanks_bay_(5).jpg

 

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...and here is the starboard side that houses one oxygen bottle and the Prop anti icing Glycol tank 

 

Oxygen_and_Glycol_tanks_bay_(7).jpg

 

Oxygen_and_Glycol_tanks_bay_(8).jpg

 

Oxygen_and_Glycol_tanks_bay_(9).jpg

 

So now the next section will be the camera bay under the floor of the radio room...again not many photos and diagrams of that area but I will have to do my best with what I have!😉

 

So until the next post ...cheers for looking in !

 

Fozzy 

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Fabulous progress Fozzy! ... and your photos are most excellent!  :thumbsup:   The lighting, the multi-views makes it so-o-o easy to see what you've done ... and it's remarkable!

 

Thanx a lot! Take your time, we'll still be here!  :popcorn:

Pete

 

 

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PART 1 OF THE CAMERA PIT

 

Hi guys

Not much is known of the contents of the Camera pit and to that end it was difficult to find information and photos but after endless trolling of the internet and many B17 sites I came across just a few photos and info of the area. I don't know why more info and photos (even drawings) are not out there to see as I think its quite important to show how the bombing photos were taken. For me this is frustrating because if you have been following this build you can see that I am trying to show every aspect of the B17.

However I have started to build the camera pit (as it is seemed to be known as) ..and I hope that I am on the right track.

I haven't finished it yet but have made a good start with the basic equipment at one end of the pit.

 

So the camera pit is in a small bay centrally placed beneath the radio room and access to it is under a hatch(not built yet). Here the radio operator could operate the camera via an intervalometer which operates periods of time for the camera shutter to operate....hence hopefully capturing the target hits.

 

The first 3 photos shows the area where the camera pit is located............. 

 

Camera_pit_part_1.jpg

 

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The Propeller anti icing pumps were next scratched out of a couple of old radio capacitors with a few pieces of plastic and wire...these pumps had nothing to do with the camera operation but were stowed in the pit and were used to pump the glycol from the Glycol tank to the propeller's stopping them freezing over....here's the photos..... 

 

Camera_pit_part_1_(3).jpg

 

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Part of the forward floor ...which was made from wood...was now constructed. The circular glass thing represents the view finder aperture.

 

Camera_pit_part_1_(6).jpg

 

Here is a photo of the floor placed in the pit and the camera door control also added.... 

 

Camera_pit_part_1_(7).jpg

 

The frame work for the operators seat was now constructed out of plastic..... 

 

Camera_pit_part_1_(8).jpg

 

..and the wooden seat built. 

 

Camera_pit_part_1_(b).jpg

 

The Wing Flap hand crank location hole was then built on the underside of a section of the forward floor....I did this by constructing out of wire insulation......... 

 

Camera_pit_part_1_(a).jpg

 

These items were then placed into the pit and these last 2 photos show how far I have got so far!....... 

 

Camera_pit_part_1_(c).jpg

 

Camera_pit_part_1_(d).jpg

 

Phew!!......

 

So I will be back with the second half of the camera pit as soon as I have completed it.

 

Thanks again as always for your interest in this megga build!

 

Cheers

 

Fozzy 

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  • 3 weeks later...

CAMERA PIT PART 2

 

Hi guys

I have now managed to complete the camera pit after rather a difficult week or so trying to find information about the equipment that is found in the pit. I do hope that I have done the area justice and hope that it is realistic enough!

 

Its rather a large post so lets get on with it!.😉...

 

To start with I made the main Junction box and wired it all up.....here's a photo.....

 

Camera_pit_part_2.jpg

 

Here it is all painted.....

 

Camera_pit_part_2_(1).jpg

 

Camera_pit_part_2_(2).jpg

 

 

I then had to make the Intervallmeter power box which is connected to the camera which allows photos to be taken at intervals for photos of bomb blasts on the target ......this was a fiddly affair being so small but got there in the end!.....

 

Camera_pit_part_2_(3).jpg

 

...and painted.....

 

Camera_pit_part_2_(4).jpg

 

This insect posed for me whilst taking the shot!!

 

Camera_pit_part_2_(5).jpg

 

Here we have a couple of Supercharger control Amplifiers!....who knows what they do!...amplifies the super charger?..ha ha..haven't a clue!

 

Camera_pit_part_2_(6).jpg

 

Here they are installed at the back of the camera pit......

 

Camera_pit_part_2_(7).jpg

 

The Camera support frame was then built using plastic and wire......

 

Camera_pit_part_2_(8).jpg

 

Here is my attempt at scratching the Fairchild K17 camera which was largely used on the B17s......

 

Camera_pit_part_2_(9).jpg

 

...and so you can get the scale of it........

 

Camera_pit_part_2_(a).jpg

 

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Camera_pit_part_2_(c).jpg

 

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Now comes the unsure of what's what section!!

 

On the floor of the camera pit there is a viewfinder aperture....as far as I can make out ,the operator would attach a view finder onto the aperture which was long enough for the operator to just bend forward and look through it whilst sitting in the chair.

 

This is what I think it looks like from some dodgy photos.........

 

 

Camera_pit_part_2_(f).jpg

 

So then....here are a few photos of the now complete camera pit.......

 

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I will leave the camera pit door open so that all this work can be seen.

 

So that's another section complete and it's now onto the radio room itself starting with the lower section....lots of radios to be built!

 

As usual thanks a lot for your interest in this build especially to the guys who have followed this for over the past 4-5 years...you will deserve a medal...along side me!!

 

Cheers for looking in and all the best!

 

Fozzy

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4 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

Astounding work on the intervalometer.  I assume the supercharger amplifiers bump up the current to the wastegate activators.

 

Well I guess they could be......I do understand that the wastegate activators control the excess gasses to the turbines but wouldn't know why the current would have to be increased ...but then I don't profess to knowing too much about tech stuff and I expect you know a lot more than I do!....Interesting stuff...thanks for your input!

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Those turbos are rather large and the wastegate valves would need stout motors to operate them.  The amps would take the high-voltage, low-amp current provided by the generators and bump the current to achieve the necessary wattage to run the motors.  Today we would use a relay or a digital amplifier.

Edited by Slartibartfast
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13 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

Those turbos are rather large and the wastegate valves would need stout motors to operate them.  The amps would take the high-voltage, low-amp current provided by the generators and bump the current to achieve the necessary wattage to run the motors.  Today we would use a relay or a digital amplifier.

 

Thanks for the information!....I need people like yourself to educate me on the ins and outs of the operating systems...really appreciate it...cheers!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Good afternoon to you all!

 

It's me back to bother you once again!!

 

My last post showed that I had finished the camera pit and so it was on to completing the radio room floor and the floor area that houses the ball turret.

 

So we will start of with the constructing photos I took of the floor area behind the radio room bulk head.....

 

consructing_the_area_for_the_ball_turret

 

 

The big hole will be for the ball turret!...eventually!

 

consructing_the_area_for_the_ball_turret

 

Here you can see the Azimuth gear ring for operating the 360 degree turret swivel....this took some time and patience as I made it out of scores of very small cut pieces of wire....aaaaggghh!

 

consructing_the_area_for_the_ball_turret

 

...and here is the walk way for the ball turret.

 

consructing_the_area_for_the_ball_turret

 

The next few photos are of the area painted .....

 

painting_the_area_for_the_ball_turret.jp

 

painting_the_area_for_the_ball_turret_(1

 

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painting_the_area_for_the_ball_turret_(4

 

So now it was back to the radio room floor that had to be finished off.

 

You will see that I have made the hatch for the camera pit which I will display open to show the pit ...as not many people know of the area!!....the wooden floor boards put in place (lots of carpentry in the B17....less weight!)...and the walkways.I also put in a couple of hand cranks on the bottom of the forward bulkhead which were for the adjusting of heat in the cabin.....as far as I'm aware!

 

finishing_off_the_radio_room_floor.jpg

 

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finishing_off_the_radio_room_floor_(5).j

 

What I wanted to do now was have a look at the initial fit for the ball turret. A few adjustments here and there and she slotted into position......this is just a dry fit as later on I have to do a lot more work on the top of the turret.

You can also see in the last photo that I have shown the scale by putting my coffee cup next to it!.....

 

checking_the_fit_for_the_ball_turret.jpg

 

checking_the_fit_for_the_ball_turret_(1)

 

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checking_the_fit_for_the_ball_turret_(4)

 

checking_the_fit_for_the_ball_turret_(5)

 

checking_the_fit_for_the_ball_turret_(6)

 

So that's the lower half completed at long last.

 

I am now going to start on the upper half the radio room but I haven't got long before I depart from my office for a couple of months for the Christmas period. I will try and get another post ready but not sure of the time I have.

 

In the meantime I do hope you are all enjoying preparing for Christmas....not sure if I am!!...Bah Humbug!

 

Cheers for taking a peek!

 

Fozzy

 

 

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5 hours ago, southwestforests said:

Count me among those who didn't know of the camera pit area; and, had never really thought about exactly how the photos were acquired.

Now I wonder if the hatch for that camera is shown on the underside of the plastic models.

 

Yes it's usually is molded on most kits.....as long as you know where to look.......

 

article-2324886-19-C952-BE000005-DC-518-

 

Not the greatest of photos but "x" marks the spot!

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