New 1/72nd Airfix B-17G, built as an RAF Fortress Mk.III.- FINISHED

[tonyot]

I couldn`t resist having a go at the Revell kit too in order to make the silver Coastal Command aircraft and as I had already pre painted the interior of one previously, I assembled this one last night;

And here is a close up of the nose area with its heavy panel lines and showing the clear nose cone which has been scraped and sanded inside to make it thinner and remove the awful mould lines apparent in it,........with toothpaste used to help polish it back to clarity again. The nose panel lines will be filled and sanded smooth;

 

 

In a lot of ways the new Airfix kit is broken down in a similar manner to this Revell kit and just like the Airfix kit it is very easy to assemble,

 

Cheers

          Tony

 

PS- I`ll be leaving the bomb doors open so this area was painted silver,....the detail inside is excellent.

Edited November 27, 2016 by tonyot

[tonyot]

Just thought I`d add these too,......I know the interior is the wrong colour before anybody says,.......but my family and I were lucky enough to get inside B-17G 44-83542 Piccadilly Princess while on holiday in Florida years ago, at the now closed Fantasy of Flight Museum,.........here is my lad Rob, looking very hot and tired,  trying out the waist gunners position,......to show you how long ago it was he goes to University next year!;

Going further up the rear fuselage,...the ball turret isn`t fitted;

The cockpit;

The nose;

And the exterior of our mount which was situated in a very convincing East Anglian wintery diorama;

 

It was strange seeing snow in almost 100 degree heat!!  The tarpaulin hides a screen underneath the opened bomb bay which displays enemy territory thousands of feet below with flak burst going off as you walk gingerly along the narrow catwalk between the bomb racks with bombs hanging along each side.,

the exit is through a hole cut under the nose where the ladders are. 

Cheers

          Tony

 

Here are some more pics from the web;

And some period posters;

Edited November 28, 2016 by tonyot

[woody37]

Hi Tony,

 

ive git a vac formed nose cone for a G model if you want one rather than that thing that comes in the Revell kit, let me know. Great photos from your Florida trip, missed that opportunity when I was over

[Mancunian airman]

On 21/11/2016 at 4:47 PM, krow113 said:

Thanks.

 The leaflets were dropped from the bomb bay in a special canister.

Tondalayo's waist windows were staggered.

Codes could be grey or yellow as I have seen. The kits world decal set they are yellow, but could be grey.

These guys were spooks.

Spy's.

Special ops.

The squadron was small and changed airfields and planes , commanders and tasks at a rapid pace.

 More info in these two books:

 One of these has the dimensions and a pic of the leaflet canister for dio purposes.

These will help too:

 

 My Tondalayo will be in 1/48 on an airfield dio. Using the Visible B 17 kit.

 

 Started long ago and stalled out on the p/e application. I'll use every available a/m set , I have them all. The dio will have over 50 figs and numerous vehicles when its done.

 

On 21/11/2016 at 4:47 PM, krow113 said:

Now THAT will be something to see 

 

Edited November 27, 2016 by Mancunian airman

[tonyot]

3 hours ago, woody37 said:

Hi Tony,

 

ive git a vac formed nose cone for a G model if you want one rather than that thing that comes in the Revell kit, let me know. Great photos from your Florida trip, missed that opportunity when I was over

Cheers Neil,......I`ll let you know how I get on,......I`ve got cramp in my hands tonight after sanding this sod! 

Thanks

           Tony

[woody37]

As long as it is from sanding 😅

[tonyot]

2 hours ago, woody37 said:

As long as it is from sanding 😅

Naughty lad,........what did you think I meant,......typing!!!

 

Sod

[The Spadgent]

Great build. I'm a little late in joining in but it's been a fascinating WIP so far. I've  almost bought this sooo many times over the last few weeks but the stash must come down. I'll live vicariously through your wonderful build if you don't mind.

painting with a hairy stick too! Hat doffed sir. 

 

John.

Edited December 2, 2016 by The Spadgent

[tonyot]

Cheers Jonn.....I`m really impressed by it and you should get yourself one! 

Anyway,......another update,.......I`ve finished the upper surface camouflage and then masked off the undersides, ready to add the black;

And then with the masking in place the black sides and undersides were applied. This is the result, although some tidying up still needs to be done before I can add gloss varnish ready for the decals;

For anybody who might be inteested, I`ve also done the silver scheme for the Coastal Command Fortress Mk.III using the Revell kit,....which was sprayed with rattle can Tamiya Bare Metal Silver;

  Just need to mask off the anti glare panels as black rubber de icer boots don`t seem to be fitted, which saves a job.

 

Cheers

           Tony

Edited December 5, 2016 by tonyot

[The Spadgent]

Ooh, looking rather splendid there. 

I love the Silver variant too. Can't believe your building two at the same time. genius at play. 

 

John.

Edited December 5, 2016 by The Spadgent

[Jonny]

BOTH B17's  on show!!!

 

I was beginning to thing Tony had gone to sleep ...

 

Seriously, it did seem a long time since we've had an update.  So very pleased to see one.

 

Someone else said every time one of Tony's WiP's appeared they have the urge to buy the same kit and gave a go.  I'm trying hard to resist this one too.  The boxes in my stash containing only-opened / part-started is attracting more blunt comments from SWMBO lately.

 

Best wishes, Tony.  The RAF 's 100 Group aircraft are fascinating aren't they?  

 

Jonny

[Stew Dapple]

Those are looking very nice indeed, but I think the RAF night bomber scheme edges it for me, it looks at once both strange and familiar

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

 

 

[woody37]

Both are looking fantastic mate, decals next.... the best bit IMO!

[tonyot]

Thanks for your kind remarks chaps,..... yeah been a bit quiet for a while due to the old parachuting injury flaring up yet again,......thankfully the pain is slowly wearing down a bit.  The NHS have been worse than useless yet again (so much for the Armed Forces Charter eh!) but thankfully I have a private physio who is steadily getting me to a stage where I can get a bit more modelling done and get around using a couple of sticks, 

 

If you have any interest in the B-17 you have to get one of the new Airfix kits,....they are superb! 

 

Yeah Neil,.....almost at the decalling stage,.......my favourite stage too but I`ve learned to be in the right frame of mind and try not to ruh into it otherwise it can be a disaster! The DK Decals 100 Group and Commonwealth B-17`s sheets are superb and yes Jonny,.....100 Group id fascinating and quite contagious,.....I can feel a Liberator and a Mossie coming on for starters!!  

 

Cheers

            Tony

[PhantomBigStu]

Looking good tony, really tempting to me to make the fort my first purchase of the month.....must resist until my lanc is done

[Thom216]

She's looking great. Those colors look good on a Fortress.

[modelglue]

...waits patiently for his Airfix "G" to arrive. The brush painting looks incredible. You do the medium and application great service by illustrating that those results can be had. 

 

Where on earth do you keep your kits when you're done? I would love to see a shot of your collection if possible, and you feel up to humoring me?

[Patrick Martin]

Do you have a build where you go into your non-airbrushing of main colours?

PatMartin

[Drift]

Interesting choice!!!  The B17 G is by far my favorite aircraft. 

[FalkeEins]

11 hours ago, tonyot said:

....I can feel a Liberator and a Mossie coming on for starters!!  

 

 

 yes please Tony, I've gone and got the DK  Decals 100 Group sheet now- the 'Commonwealth' sheet is sold out everywhere - and after the B-17, which will follow your build, I've no idea what to do with the rest of it..

 

...lovely paint job

[tonyot]

11 hours ago, modelglue said:

...waits patiently for his Airfix "G" to arrive. The brush painting looks incredible. You do the medium and application great service by illustrating that those results can be had. 

 

Where on earth do you keep your kits when you're done? I would love to see a shot of your collection if possible, and you feel up to humoring me?

Glad you like the brush painting,......it is just years of practice really,..... you asked where I keep my models, well I have this custom made cabinet in the living room. To give some scale,....the SHAR`s on the top shelf are 1/24th scale and the others on the shelf 1/32nd;

Which is a bit more jam packed looking nowadays!  I also have a cellar with shelves too;

But I have run out of display room now really,......I might have to have a cull!

Cheers

           Tony

Edited December 6, 2016 by tonyot

[tonyot]

8 hours ago, Patrick Martin said:

Do you have a build where you go into your non-airbrushing of main colours?

PatMartin

Hiya Pat,

              I`ve written quite a few magazine articles over the years which have gone into this but basically it is a case of using thinly applied coats of paint (but not necessarily thinned paint though), sanding each one when it is dry and for large areas I use a flat wide brush to cut down on brush marks and give greater coverage,..... the narrower the brush the more chance of leaving brush marks,......plus blending brush strokes together also helps to keep the paint nice and flat,......ir when you brush on the main demarcation line,......then go to fill in the remainder of the same camouflage colour,....then scrub them both together, otherwise you can leave a definable brush mark. I also lightly apply the final 3rd or 4th coat in a dry brushing manner, otherwise the paint ends up being too thick.

Does this make sense? To be honest it is just years of trial and error until I arrived at my preferred technique, but as paint ranges are deleted or introduced this is always developing and I use the same basic principles for acrylics and enamels alike!

Cheers

           Tony 

[Beard]

50 minutes ago, tonyot said:

Hiya Pat,

              I`ve written quite a few magazine articles over the years which have gone into this but basically it is a case of using thinly applied coats of paint (but not necessarily thinned paint though), sanding each one when it is dry and for large areas I use a flat wide brush to cut down on brush marks and give greater coverage,..... the narrower the brush the more chance of leaving brush marks,......plus blending brush strokes together also helps to keep the paint nice and flat,......ir when you brush on the main demarcation line,......then go to fill in the remainder of the same camouflage colour,....then scrub them both together, otherwise you can leave a definable brush mark. I also lightly apply the final 3rd or 4th coat in a dry brushing manner, otherwise the paint ends up being too thick.

Does this make sense? To be honest it is just years of trial and error until I arrived at my preferred technique, but as paint ranges are deleted or introduced this is always developing and I use the same basic principles for acrylics and enamels alike!

Cheers

           Tony 

 

Duly noted. Thanks.

[mungo1974]

I swear those shelves are starting to bend under the strain of all those models.

 

So both B-17's on the bench side by side..what's your honest opinion of the Airfix kit compared to the Revell version?

[Sobby_23]

54 minutes ago, tonyot said:

I also lightly apply the final 3rd or 4th coat in a dry brushing manner, otherwise the paint ends up being too thick.

 

Hi Tony, could you elaborate on this a little? What do you mean by dry brushing in this case?

 

I also brush paint and I've had great success with some kits (and some paint brands) and altogether less satisfying results in other cases. White, generally, is my nemesis but I've found Hataka's white very workable whereas Vallejo's white was a misery to work with. Like you said, its a case of finding the preferred brand as much as technique.