Natural Metal B17--F

[TPReggie]

Hi all,

I have the Revell B-17F Memphis Belle kit, and have been looking for any B-17F's that may have been in a natural metal finish that I could build as I thought this could be a great kit to try my first NMF on. I have been through 3rd party decal options on the web for a couple of hours looking for anything I could use. However I have not managed to find any, it seems that B-17F's where pretty much all olive drab, all the NMF B-17's I have found have been "G" models.

So I figured I would check with the Britmodeller pool of knowledge, sadly a forum search has not pulled anything obvious up. Are any of you guys aware of any NMF B-17F's, or am I looking at going non historical, or sticking with an olive drab finish?

Any tips and advice gratefully received.

[tomprobert]

All B-17Fs would have left the factory in olive drab over neutral grey - paint wasn't dispensed with until well into G model production.

The only F models you're likely to find in NMF would have been stripped of their paint, for purposes such as executive transports or hack aircraft.

I'll have a hunt through my references, but don't hold your breath!

Tom

EDIT: Just had a look through a few books and General MacArthur had a natural metal E model as an executive transport whilst in the Phillipenes.

Not an F model I know, but it did in fact have an F nose piece fitted, as well as an astrodome above the nose compartment.

Google "General MacArthur's B-17" and you'll find numerous images. It'll be a relatively straightforward conversion from the Revell F kit.

Edited October 17, 2015 by tomprobert

[TPReggie]

Thanks Tom, really appreciate the tip. I will have a look

[Doug A Jones]

A number of B-17F's in the Pacific were converted to unarmed transports at the end of their combat lives, and in some cases stripped back to NMF. One example was Lulu Belle, B-17F #41-24358 of the 43rd BG. Images can be seen here: http://kensmen.com/63b6.html

Cheers

Doug