1/72 B-17G Airfix, Released. New boxing Fortress MK.III also released. New B-17G boxing for 2021

[mungo1974]

Blah...Halifax...I just hope they get to scan Duxford's B-29 before it goes back in the American Air Museum once the building work has finished.

Edited September 1, 2015 by mungo1974

[593jones]

Come on, what we want is a new 1/72 Victor and B52, let's get those Cold War warriors!

[old thumper]

Then let's all start a Congo line at Margate (or wherever their shop is) and all walk out with a newly boxed/old tooled Halifax.

That might get them thinking !!

Cheers .. Dave

Yes down Margate in the rain, just like in the Chas and Dave song.

If they are using old kits to test the water I would take a further guess at a new B25 Mitchell as the old kit was back on the shelves for a while and sold quite well considering it's problems. I would also really like a new Battle but unfortunately the recent re-release died on the shelves after having never been a constant member of the Airfix range.

Blah...Halifax...I just hope they get to scan Duxford's B-29 before it goes back in the American Air Museum once the building work has finished.

I also would like a new B-29 despite my remembering building the original kit which was at the time the biggest and most expensive of the Airfix 1.72 aircraft range, the most boring to build and most bland finished model.

[mungo1974]

Yes the markings in the old B-29 werent the most inspiring.

But their 100's of nice WW2 and Korean cheesecake girly nose art options if we had a nice kit...as even the Academy kit has issues.

As I've posted before we need a B-24 too!. And a Mitchell and a Invader to replace the Italeri/Revell abomination

Chop,Chop Airfix....I'm waiting..LOL

[GreenDragon]

Might buy the B-17 though I have the 1/48th Monogram sitting on a shelf with Pluto riding a bomb on it's nose! Will definitely buy a new B-29, have the Monogram in 1/48th and the Academy in 1/72nd (also 3 B-50's) in the stash plus built the the old Airfix kit in the 70's which is mostly in my spares box now.

Will also buy a Mitchell and Invader if they do new ones. Something that really needs replacing is the Me262!

Paul Harrison

[sroubos]

Funny, I just bought 2 Hasegawa 262s over the weekend, thinking it was a bit superfluous with two Revells and an Academy already in the stash... all very decent kits. Not much for Airfix to add to the market there, but then that's how I feel about the B-17

[Dave Fleming]

Funny, I just bought 2 Hasegawa 262s over the weekend, thinking it was a bit superfluous with two Revells and an Academy already in the stash... all very decent kits. Not much for Airfix to add to the market there, but then that's how I feel about the B-17

Different markets; Airfix, in the Uk atleast, stretch beyond the 'committed' modeller who might have heard of Hasegawa or Academy

[occa]

A B-17 test build and sprue shots and more are shown in the new Workbench 18/12/2015

http://www.airfix.com/uk-en/news/workbench/boeing-bristol-blenheim-be2c-and-more/

[Homebee]

Thanks occa

Quote

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Uncle Sam’s Fortress in the Sky

When the Boeing Model 299 prototype took off on its maiden flight from Boeing Field, Seattle on 28th July 1935, it must have made for an incredibly impressive sight. At that time, Boeing’s new aircraft was the largest landplane in the US and this vision in polished metal weighed around 15 tons and was bristling with defensive armament. The aircraft had already been given its nickname of ‘Flying Fortress’ by a journalist who was present at the aircraft’s roll-out ceremony and had noted the significant defensive armament included on the new bomber.

The Boeing Model 299 developed into one of the most famous aircraft of WWII and arguably more than any other aircraft of the conflict symbolised the awesome industrial prowess of the United States. During an impressive ten year production run, no fewer than 12,732 Flying Fortresses were produced, which went on to serve in every theatre of operation during the Second World War. Tragically, out of this number, 4,735 bombers were lost in combat, which clearly illustrates the perilous nature of the missions B-17 crews were forced to endure. Perhaps for this very reason, the Flying Fortress is viewed as something of an American icon and it remains a popular subject for modellers and aviation enthusiasts all over the world.

The Boeing Model 299 prototype aircraft at Boeing Field

In the fourth edition of our Workbench blog, we announced that Airfix would be producing a totally new 1/72nd scale tooling of the Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress and from the feedback and forum comments received since then, it appears that a great many modellers are very much looking forward to its release. Produced as a late model ‘G’ variant of this famous US bomber, the new kit will faithfully reproduce the improvements and modifications incorporated in the design of this particular version of the B-17, which were developed as a direct result of the combat experiences of Flying Fortress crews over Europe. Even though the US airmen were forced to endure the savage aerial battles in the skies above Germany and occupied Europe, this version of the aircraft was introduced to build on the many impressive qualities of the earlier B-17 designs and improve on both mission effectiveness and crew survivability.

The new Airfix kit presents the modeller with a late model ‘G’ variant of the Flying Fortress, which is generally regarded as the definitive version of this famous bomber. Many of the improvements on the ‘G’ were around the defensive capabilities of the aircraft, including the new remotely operated ‘Bendix’ chin turret, altered side mounted gun positions in the nose of the aircraft and the distinctive ‘Cheyenne Tail’ gun unit. Other significant changes included staggered waist gun positions, which were now fully glazed and featured an effective coiled spring gun support system, which performed like something of a gimbal and made the operation of these heavy guns much less labour intensive for the crew. By staggering the waist windows, B-17 gunners would no longer bang into each other, during combat situations, which could be both annoying and potentially life threatening. The dorsal gunner’s turret was also modified to remove much of the framing associated with the previous version, allowing a much clearer view for the gunner.

Exclusive image of the built up test model on the Airfix desk

Obviously of great interest to the modeller, the new B-17G Flying Fortress model project is progressing towards release in late 2016 and the Airfix team have kindly sent us an update for inclusion in our latest edition of Workbench. As with many of the new model projects announced this year, they have been brought to the attention of modellers much earlier than was previously the case, with the subsequent release dates usually being many months in the future. The huge benefit for us is that we can keep an eye on the project as it progresses through the various stages as it heads towards release, which gives us a fascinating insight into how much work is involved in bringing a new model tooling to market.

The latest images from the B-17G project include some fascinating pictures of the test frame model components, which must be an exciting time for the designers who have put so much effort into producing this model. They clearly show the impressive levels of detail that have been incorporated into this new model. As the first plastic frames to be produced from the new tooling, this is a critical stage of the process. Taking a complete set of the components, the Airfix designers will have to construct the kit, assessing every aspect of the fit and construction at each stage. The constructed model will then be sprayed with grey primer, as this how we finish test builds.

This single colour will allow designers to assess the fit of all the major parts, before they compile a report on any issues raised during the process. This will then be sent to the manufacturing facility, so that alterations and modifications can be actioned where necessary, before the model can be released for full production.

Exclusive kit frame images of the newly arrived B-17G test model

The new Boeing B-17G built up test model, with test frame components

This is currently the stage at which the Airfix Boeing B-17G project is at and these exclusive images are the very latest updates from this exciting new kit. They are being included in Workbench on the understanding that readers accept that these are the latest development images and there could be some significant modification required before the model is released for production. They do allow us a very interesting insight into the processes involved in the development of a high quality plastic model tooling and will certainly leave many modellers looking forward to getting their hands on this extremely impressive new model. As the new B-17G tooling progresses and the model moves closer to production, we will include further updates in future editions of Workbench – there are more details and you can pre-order your new Airfix Boeing B-17G (A08017) here.

Computer rendered cut-away image of the new Airfix B-17G

V.P.

[mungo1974]

H2S Dome on clear parts so i guess we are getting a 100 Group Fortress III option at some point

[PhantomBigStu]

I'd bet its an option included with the kit, 100gp, bare metal usaaf and olive drb usaaf

[mungo1974]

A Olive drab option would be nice but if they want to include a Camouflaged WW2 Fort rather than a Warbird they will have to do some research as only one small batch of Douglas built Fort's left Long Beach as the model is moulded...ie staggered waist,cheyenne tail still wearing camouflage...i forget which block off the top of my head...Tom Probert will know he did one from this production block in 1/32 with the HK Models kit.

[Knight_Flyer]

Alternatively, it would be nice if Airfix did the other variants and not just the "G".

[mungo1974]

I'm 99.9% sure we'll see either a early G or F boxing too,Airfix would be silly not too.

Then we just need someone who can cast clear resin to give us all the cheek gun variants and F nose gun set ups and a B-17E backdate....Cough..Blackbird Models??

[VMA131Marine]

I'm 99.9% sure we'll see either a early G or F boxing too,Airfix would be silly not too.

Then we just need someone who can cast clear resin to give us all the cheek gun variants and F nose gun set ups and a B-17E backdate....Cough..Blackbird Models??

The fuselage halves are the only two pieces on their own sprue so it should be easy for Airfix to make new parts for the early G, an F, and even an E. It's hard to tell from the photographs of the built-up test shot, but I don't see any evidence of the wingtip vents that were added to prevent the build-up of petrol vapours when the Tokyo tanks were installed. I should think that all the aircraft covered by this first release should have the vents. However, if they aren't there then the wings should be good for the earlier versions, although a lot of aircraft had the vents fitted as a field modification. There is a good discussion of the rationale for installing the vents at:

http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?113305-B-17-Wing-Tip-Vents-fit-date

Edited December 18, 2015 by VMA131Marine

[Homebee]

Source: http://www.airfix.com/uk-en/news/workbench/workbench-2015-review/

New Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress Update

Built up test model of the new Airfix Boeing B-17G (late) - The unmistakable profile of the beautiful Flying Fortress

As the previous edition of Workbench was being produced in the hectic few days leading up to the Christmas holiday and we were working with some especially tight deadlines, our new 1/72nd scale Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress feature had to be published without some of the very latest images, as the built up test model was still being prepared and photographed. Thanks to our colleagues on the Airfix development team, we now have more images available which we thought you might like to see. Clearly illustrating the impressive levels of detail that have been incorporated into this new model, these latest pictures will certainly leave many modellers keen to get hold of one of these beauties. With a proposed release date of October 2016, we will be bringing you regular updates on this new B-17 throughout the year, but for now, feast your eyes on this beautiful trio of built up test model images.

Built up test model images of the new Boeing B-17G

V.P.

[VMA131Marine]

Source: http://www.airfix.com/uk-en/news/workbench/workbench-2015-review/

V.P.

Still no wingtip vents!

[occa]

An early workbench update, I like it

[Roman Schilhart]

I'm looking forward to compare it to the 1/72 Revell B-17G I've built some time ago.

I'm constantly amazed by the evolution of Plastic Modelling since my childhood days;

the ancient Airfix B-17G (aka The Rivet Monster) was my very first "Heavy" back in my childhood days!

So I will be up for one of these as well, no matter if it has the "wingtip vents" or not.

[mungo1974]

looks like they have added the chin turret sighting windows...good job Airfix..

Can't wait to see the finished kit....and the decal options.....which i hope will be new and the same old 91stBG options.

Need to sort out getting some custom artwork done myself for one of those 200 or so Douglas built B-17G-30-DL's that had staggered waist's and camouflage!

[Wez]

Still no wingtip vents!

Pictures would help here, if it's just a pipe to be added no big deal, if its something far more adventurous I may cry all the way to the chip shop!

Is it a massive fundamental flaw and the whole thing is ruined? Or is it, as I suspect a minor detail which is easily replicated.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Wez

[AlCZ]

Wooow, niiiice but in bad scale.... I hope a Airfix released 1/48 soon after small scale Fortress.

[Knight_Flyer]

I don't think it will be soon. Should Airfix decide to do 1/48 heavy bombers it will be the Lanc before any others.

[mungo1974]

Pictures would help here, if it's just a pipe to be added no big deal, if its something far more adventurous I may cry all the way to the chip shop!

Is it a massive fundamental flaw and the whole thing is ruined? Or is it, as I suspect a minor detail which is easily replicated.

Vents highlighted

There was a earlier single vent design too used on late B-17F's/early B-17G's....easiest option would be separate wing tips at the break point for real aircraft which on the above image is basically the red area.

Edited January 10, 2016 by mungo1974

[Wez]

Thanks Mungo, that makes things a lot clearer! Now I understand.