Fozzy Posted December 12, 2018 Author Share Posted December 12, 2018 5 hours ago, K2Pete said: Fozzy ... pleas forgive my language, but this build of yours is re-FRIKKIN-markable! Pete Thanks Pete! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 Well hi there one and all! After a long long break which included Christmas/New Year and a trip to San Diego to see family I have finally returned to my office and the B17G.......I do hope the start of this year has been kind to you all so far! So what have I done?...well I have done all the basic construction for the top half of the radio room. It took some time as the sky light above the radio room proved to be a bit of a pain to get it together...I just hope that it looks ok! The insides to the Balsa fuselage was covered with the plastic from yogurt pots as I usually do and then the ribs and other detail was glued into place using plastic card. Here are the photos starting with just the top half of the fuselage.................. ...and here are the two halves put together temporarily using some masking tape!......... A bit of a boring post I must admit but...... the next few posts to come will be much more interesting as I will be starting scratching all the radios etc ....after I have given the inside a spray up!! So until then...once again thanks for looking in🙂 Fozzy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted March 15, 2019 Author Share Posted March 15, 2019 FUSE PANEL ,RADIO ROOM HATCH AND CONTROL CABLES! Hi guys Hows it all going in the model world? Here we have the next installment of the radio room build for this B17G...as the the title states I managed to get 3 things completed since the last post....so starting with the fuse box here are some photos............ Quite straight forward really...a thickish piece of plastic was cut and manipulated into the fuse box!! It was then painted and cables added to it ....and here it is installed in it's rightful position! I then played around with the radio room hatch by adding the 4 escape/securing handles....basically I bent a sliver of aluminum from a cola can Then started the real fun and games! I never thought that adding the control cables would be such a pain!..I mean I put the cables into the nose section and the bomb bay without the blasted hassle I had this time.....it was all done by trial and error...starting over twice as I just couldn't get it to look right...I tried different gauges of electrical wire....I even tried using some fishing line!..the glue wouldn't set or I couldn't get the cables to tighten...but in the end I found some other small gauge electrical wire which wouldn't bend and made some guiders(for want of a better word) so that the cables were at equal distances to each other!.... Not sure if I know what I'm talking about!!....so here are the photos of the end result!! Oh .....I also sprayed the internal walls and placed the two window perspex on either side of the fuselage. So that's it for another week guys.........thanks a lot for looking in Laters Fozzy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hawkwrench Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 UNBELIEVABLE, simply amazing scratchbuilding Fozzy!!! This is one cool thread to keep watching! Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted March 17, 2019 Author Share Posted March 17, 2019 Thanks Tim! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 It'w always a pleasure for me to see another update showing you progress. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
striker8241 Posted March 18, 2019 Share Posted March 18, 2019 (edited) Really a phenomenal build! You must have nerves of steel. BTW, if you are still looking for a source of fine wire that is easily bendable and even solder-able, try taking a piece of co-axial television cable and carefully cutting away the vinyl cover (the cover is only about 0.5 mm thick). Inside should be a woven shield made up of hundreds of very fine tin-coated copper strands. Looking forward to more updates, Cheers, Russ Edited March 18, 2019 by striker8241 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 7 hours ago, striker8241 said: Really a phenomenal build! You must have nerves of steel. BTW, if you are still looking for a source of fine wire that is easily bendable and even solder-able, try taking a piece of co-axial television cable and carefully cutting away the vinyl cover (the cover is only about 0.5 mm thick). Inside should be a woven shield made up of hundreds of very fine tin-coated copper strands. Looking forward to more updates, Cheers, Russ Thanks Russ!....also thanks for the heads up on the co-axial cable!....I have boxes of wire and cable that I use not sure if I have any TV cable...but I will soon! Cheers Fozzy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 BITS AND BOBS ABOVE THE RADIO OPS DESK Hi chaps Another week gone by and more equipment scratched There is so much equipment in the radio room that I decided to break it down into areas.....so today's post will be concerning the gear above the radio ops desk including what would have been on the desk! So to start with I knocked up the ops table...... ....and on this table we first need the Liaison Receiver. ....a 4 sided plastic square with scrap plastic and wire for switches etc! A bit of paint applied and a paper dial glued into place and hopefully all is well! So I then scratched the radio ops headset....darn fiddly especially with the small gauge wire I had to use! Here is the transmitting key and Liaison transmitter master switch (the pin is to show the scale)........... ...and the radio ops light...built using thin gauge wire.... this is the spare turbo amplifier..... The next few photos are of the equipment so far upon the radio operators desk..... Here is the Command dynamotor and modulator and its little shelf bracket before and after painting The IFF crash switch ( I believe this was activated to destroy all radio equipment in an event of a crash!) The portable oxygen bottle......... ....and the fire extinguisher....(I have just noticed that when I accidentally knocked off the top of the extinguisher I super glued it back on upside down!ha ha!...will have to fix that later!) ...and finally here is the oxygen regulator and panel...... So that took all week to do! The next post will be all that you see here placed into the radio room on the model. Thanks for taking a peek! Cheers guys! Fozzy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted April 4, 2019 Author Share Posted April 4, 2019 RADIO EQUIPMENT ABOVE THE RADIO OPS DESK INSTALLED Hi guys We continue!............... I spent all this week since the last post installing all the radio equipment I scratched......As a reminder this included ..the radio ops desk that had the Liaison Receiver ,spare turbo amplifier ,headphones ,transmitter master switch ,transmitting key and desk lamp. I also installed the Command dynamoter and modulator ,the fire extinguisher ,portable oxygen bottle , IFF crash switch and the oxygen regulator and panel...I don't think I left anything out! Here are some photos............... So staying in this area I will now scratch build all the equipment that can be found underneath the radio ops desk....not as much gear so I will make the radio ops chair as well! Happy modelling guys and see you on the next post! Cheers for taking a look Fozzy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 THE EQUIPMENT BENEATH THE RADIO OPS DESK Hi to all! Here is the next episode to this never ending saga! Before I start I want to say that I do realize that this scratch build is not 100% accurate.The interior colours I have chosen are a mish mash taken from hundreds of photos I have collected.The other problem is that it seems that The Flying Fortress's interior used different equipment and placed them in different areas of the aircraft....for example the Tokyo shut off valves. I have placed them on my model beneath the Radio ops desk ...which some of the G variants were... whereas other "Gs" had them on the aft bomb bay bulk head. This of course causes me confusion and I have to go one way or the other. At the end of the day I have to convince my self that this is my own interpretation of this glorious Aircraft and it's never going to be completely accurate and to exact scale as scratch building is really flying blind!! Reason why I am rambling on is because this project is taking so long and at times I feel that I have bitten off more than I can chew and I have to convince my self to carry on...regardless! ANY WAY.............................................. I have scratched all the bits and bobs that seem to be under the radio ops table although as I said ...difficult to know what was and wasn't installed!. ....but starting with the radio ops seat...here it is ready for painting.... here's the scale....... All painted with the seat straps fixed.... I have labeled whats what with the various equipment in the next couple of photos...the usual plastic scraps and wire were the order of the day!............. I attached the top section and tried to poke the camera through the back end and sides to get the shots of the equipment!.... I then glued the seat in position and took a few more photos...... OK....so that's that part done! I am going to go to the rear port side of the radio room now to scratch what ever I see in the photos I have! Thanks for taking the time to look in Fozzy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 Wow. Just...wow! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ol' Scrapiron Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 This gets more amazing every time... Great work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted April 22, 2019 Author Share Posted April 22, 2019 Cheers guys! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted April 22, 2019 Share Posted April 22, 2019 On 4/15/2019 at 8:22 AM, Fozzy said: Before I start I want to say that I do realize that this scratch build is not 100% accurate.The interior colours I have chosen are a mish mash taken from hundreds of photos I have collected.The other problem is that it seems that The Flying Fortress's interior used different equipment and placed them in different areas of the aircraft....for example the Tokyo shut off valves. I have placed them on my model beneath the Radio ops desk ...which some of the G variants were... whereas other "Gs" had them on the aft bomb bay bulk head. This of course causes me confusion and I have to go one way or the other. At the end of the day I have to convince my self that this is my own interpretation of this glorious Aircraft and it's never going to be completely accurate and to exact scale as scratch building is really flying blind!! Reason why I am rambling on is because this project is taking so long and at times I feel that I have bitten off more than I can chew and I have to convince my self to carry on...regardless! Hm-m-m ... I sure hope you're not getting grief from other 'modellers' about your build. While I have indeed seen 'critiques' from other posters about one build or another, almost invariably, these critics ... don't build anything. They expect a kit to 'fall together' and then whinge and whine when they have to ... fill a seam ........ poor things. And funnily enough, we never see their finished product. Your scratch building, and I love this type of model building myself, is re-frikkin-markable. It really is! Don't apologize to any of these modelling morons. You can be justifiably proud of this model. Look at this as if this is a sculpture ... it's YOUR model, your artwork. You can edit anything out, or into, this piece of art, any which-way you wish. You put a piece of Balsa , which we perceive as a piece of equipment, in a spot which balances out something, or just 'looks' better. Good for you! Critics be damned! Colours off by a shade ... too bad!!?? And it IS taking a long time to do. But, so what? Are you enjoying it? If not, take a break. A few years ago I built a Space Shuttle Cutaway and it took about 16 months. It was a slog toward the end, but it was a lotta fun and the end result is still very satisfying .... the research, the problem solving and building those details. Yours is at another level, a higher level, than mine. And it's spectacular! Your attention to detail, your building skill, is a visual treat! Hopefully, this build is an inspiration to the modelling morons, but more than likely not. So phukk 'em. I'm loving this thread! I hope you'll finish it ... whenever that'll be. I'll be watching. And I'm hoping you're having as much fun in the build as I get from imagining you going through your process. Thanx Fozzy ... till next post! Pete ... near Niagara Falls Canada Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted April 22, 2019 Author Share Posted April 22, 2019 2 hours ago, K2Pete said: Hm-m-m ... I sure hope you're not getting grief from other 'modellers' about your build. While I have indeed seen 'critiques' from other posters about one build or another, almost invariably, these critics ... don't build anything. They expect a kit to 'fall together' and then whinge and whine when they have to ... fill a seam ........ poor things. And funnily enough, we never see their finished product. Your scratch building, and I love this type of model building myself, is re-frikkin-markable. It really is! Don't apologize to any of these modelling morons. You can be justifiably proud of this model. Look at this as if this is a sculpture ... it's YOUR model, your artwork. You can edit anything out, or into, this piece of art, any which-way you wish. You put a piece of Balsa , which we perceive as a piece of equipment, in a spot which balances out something, or just 'looks' better. Good for you! Critics be damned! Colours off by a shade ... too bad!!?? And it IS taking a long time to do. But, so what? Are you enjoying it? If not, take a break. A few years ago I built a Space Shuttle Cutaway and it took about 16 months. It was a slog toward the end, but it was a lotta fun and the end result is still very satisfying .... the research, the problem solving and building those details. Yours is at another level, a higher level, than mine. And it's spectacular! Your attention to detail, your building skill, is a visual treat! Hopefully, this build is an inspiration to the modelling morons, but more than likely not. So phukk 'em. I'm loving this thread! I hope you'll finish it ... whenever that'll be. I'll be watching. And I'm hoping you're having as much fun in the build as I get from imagining you going through your process. Thanx Fozzy ... till next post! Pete ... near Niagara Falls Canada Thanks very much for your support and nice comments about my model Pete!....I'm not really getting grief from other modelers except for the usual " interior colour police! "....but it's nice to hear you say these things as it convinces me to continue with this huge project I have taken on!....cheers mate! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
freshnewstart Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 18 hours ago, K2Pete said: Hm-m-m ... I sure hope you're not getting grief from other 'modellers' about your build. While I have indeed seen 'critiques' from other posters about one build or another, almost invariably, these critics ... don't build anything. They expect a kit to 'fall together' and then whinge and whine when they have to ... fill a seam ........ poor things. And funnily enough, we never see their finished product. Your scratch building, and I love this type of model building myself, is re-frikkin-markable. It really is! Don't apologize to any of these modelling morons. You can be justifiably proud of this model. Look at this as if this is a sculpture ... it's YOUR model, your artwork. You can edit anything out, or into, this piece of art, any which-way you wish. You put a piece of Balsa , which we perceive as a piece of equipment, in a spot which balances out something, or just 'looks' better. Good for you! Critics be damned! Colours off by a shade ... too bad!!?? And it IS taking a long time to do. But, so what? Are you enjoying it? If not, take a break. A few years ago I built a Space Shuttle Cutaway and it took about 16 months. It was a slog toward the end, but it was a lotta fun and the end result is still very satisfying .... the research, the problem solving and building those details. Yours is at another level, a higher level, than mine. And it's spectacular! Your attention to detail, your building skill, is a visual treat! Hopefully, this build is an inspiration to the modelling morons, but more than likely not. So phukk 'em. I'm loving this thread! I hope you'll finish it ... whenever that'll be. I'll be watching. And I'm hoping you're having as much fun in the build as I get from imagining you going through your process. Thanx Fozzy ... till next post! Pete ... near Niagara Falls Canada I second that, this projekt is what modelling is all about! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted April 23, 2019 Share Posted April 23, 2019 I will never complain that anything is unbuildable ever again. -co Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted April 23, 2019 Author Share Posted April 23, 2019 FORWARD STARBOARD AREA OF THE RADIO ROOM Hi guys Another week gone by and another area of the radio room complete!....and another week nearer to starting the rear section of this build!... So a few things had to be scratched and so I started with the Command Receivers...here they are before painting and wiring up!......... Being approx 3 cm long it was a bit fiddly...I had to drill tiny holes to accept the pins I used for the cable connectors and switches etc ....here it is painted....... Above the Receivers there are the Command Transmitters...just as fiddly! However the tiny Antenna Relay was a bit of a challenge!..... So here are all the 3 units complete ........... ...and here is the Connector for the Antenna and the cables that will connect to the Transmitters and Receivers..... The next few photos are of everything in place......... So turning round now and facing the rear of the radio room I will attempt to build all the equipment that was found in that position. Have to say that I am having a blast doing all this detailing...but the next post might take some time to appear as I have to do some house repairs this next week....what a drag eh?......chores getting in the way of modelling! Cheers once again for looking in Fozzy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 EQUIPMENT ON THE REAR PORT BULKHEAD Hi Guys There is a lull in the good weather so I have found the time to do another posting here rather than concreting! This will be the penultimate posting of the Radio room before I tackle the complicated mechanism above the Ball Turret!....something that's going to be a tough one no doubt! ....but first lets get to today's posting! Not too much stuff had to be scratched...there is a spare oxygen bottle....Liaison Transmitter ....Liaison Antenna Tuning Unit and a few bits and bobs on the side wall. So here is the Liaison Transmitter and Liaison Antenna Tuning unit before painting............... After I painted it this is how the Liaison Antenna Tuning Unit turned out......... ....and the Liaison Transmitter...... Below this equipment a spare oxygen bottle was stowed....(this varied from aircraft to aircraft)....... This next photo is of some of the gear that could be found...I say could be found ...as once again info on the many different specs of the B17s is huge!........ This was now all installed into the radio room and as I usually do here are the photos to show this........ Looking forward now to the last part of the actual Radio room and that is all the Transmitter Tuning Units that are stacked up on the other side of the aft bulkhead. Of course that is in between more darn concreting!!! See you later lads and Lasses! Fozzy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 Hi guys Today I would like to show you the completion of the radio room it self. This section of the build will still be on going as I have to get the ball turret installed and a shed loads of other details on the exterior....which brings me to a BIG problem!☹️ As normal with scratch building ...sometimes mistakes are made!...well I will own up to my mistake and tell you that the position of the ball turrets aperture is slightly out!.....( it needs to be a tad more to the rear)... I might be able to get away with it but it means a lot of re adjusting which means destroying a lot of the detail I have already completed! I always thought this next stage would be challenging as I am trying to get the turret installed in two halves because I am building this B17G in two halves!....I find that constructing the aircraft this way makes it a lot easier than the method of Port and Starboard construction. That is until it comes to the part whereas the ball turret is connected to both top and bottom of the fuselage! I did think of displaying the ball turret separately but then thought that nothing else on this model is separate....at the moment!....no doubt that when I start to install it , possible ideas will float around in my head ...well I hope so else this project will temporarily grind to a halt!!...........no one said that this would be easy!! So putting that nightmare to one side........lets get to the last of the radio room detail. A rather laborious task but here are the 5 x unpainted Transmitter Tuning Units..... The radio room door was made from a sheet of plastic card next. There was 2 doors in the radio room one on the forward bulkhead and one on the rear bulkhead....some information and photos I have seen show that the rear door wasn't always on...this could be just for the War birds so for aesthetic reasons I have left it off!....here are parts all painted and ready to be installed..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share Posted May 14, 2019 This photo shows the hand cranks on the bulkhead wall........ ....and here is an assortment of photos showing everything in place ...including the camera door hatch.... So for me its time to put my thinking cap on and try and sort out this Ball Turret mess.....once I get somewhere I will report back!....could be some time!!! Cheers for looking in Fozzy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, Fozzy said: well I will own up to my mistake and tell you that the position of the ball turrets aperture is slightly out!.....( it needs to be a tad more to the rear)... I might be able to get away with it but it means a lot of re adjusting which means destroying a lot of the detail I have already completed! I think you'll need to try to look at your "mistake" objectively. It is off by 23mm's? ... or 2mm? or even less. Will anybody besides a Turret gunner himself notice? Yes, your standards are extremely high and your attention to detail, as demonstrated by your Transmitter Tuning Units and the Radio Room door's hinges and latch, but are you thinking someone else is gonna notice it and critique it? If so, then look at it from the point of view that they were so-o-o fascinated, so-o-o intrigued, by your scratch built piece of art that they devoted hours searching through obscure reference material to find out a piece of minutiae to show off their own perceived 'brilliance'. When the whole model is completed, or even the front section which is, is any one of us gonna notice the threads on one of your bolts are the incorrect count per inch? I ... think ... not. Take an objective look at your superb model and see it as we see it ... all those incredible details, like the switches and dials on your Transmitter Tuning Units, will we really notice your ball turret is off by 2 mm? But, if you put an engine on backwards ... that ... I think we'll notice! This is a remarkable build Fozzy and your photos are excellent too! Thanx Pete Edited May 14, 2019 by K2Pete spelling Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 To quote Firesign Theatre, "Forward, into the past!" I agree with Pete: so what? It's close enough. Keep on going forward, it'll be the rare bird indeed who notices and even the rarer bird who will comment on it, what with all the other phenomenal work you've done. I mean, gee! A 1:20th B-17?! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fozzy Posted May 15, 2019 Author Share Posted May 15, 2019 (edited) 15 hours ago, K2Pete said: I think you'll need to try to look at your "mistake" objectively. It is off by 23mm's? ... or 2mm? or even less. Will anybody besides a Turret gunner himself notice? Yes, your standards are extremely high and your attention to detail, as demonstrated by your Transmitter Tuning Units and the Radio Room door's hinges and latch, but are you thinking someone else is gonna notice it and critique it? If so, then look at it from the point of view that they were so-o-o fascinated, so-o-o intrigued, by your scratch built piece of art that they devoted hours searching through obscure reference material to find out a piece of minutiae to show off their own perceived 'brilliance'. When the whole model is completed, or even the front section which is, is any one of us gonna notice the threads on one of your bolts are the incorrect count per inch? I ... think ... not. Take an objective look at your superb model and see it as we see it ... all those incredible details, like the switches and dials on your Transmitter Tuning Units, will we really notice your ball turret is off by 2 mm? But, if you put an engine on backwards ... that ... I think we'll notice! This is a remarkable build Fozzy and your photos are excellent too! Thanx Pete Thanks Pete for your in sight into how I have been approaching this project. At the end of the day I am my own worst enemy when it comes down to accuracy!....if something doesn't look right then I just have to try and fix the problem....not for the viewer of this model but to satisfy myself! A classic example of how I think would be... I know that no one could possibly see what's behind a panel but never-the- less I would go ahead and still scratch build it! As for the ball turret problem I will somehow rectify it one way or the other until I am personally satisfied that it looks OK! Thank you Pete and Slartibartfast for taking an interest in this project ☺️ Edited May 15, 2019 by Fozzy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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