vppelt68

Yes, the CC colours are very striking! Welcome! V-P

Welcome, fellow Triangle-L builder 👍. V-P

Ah, thousandths of an inch then... now I see, thanks! Does the kit really need a different amount on the starboard and port sides? That´s bad... V-P

One stupid question from a metric part of the world: how much is 10 thou or 30 thou in understandable units ? I´m close to buying an Academy B-17 kit next! V-P

Welcome Ray, we're glad to have you aboard too!

Let's all say a collective to @tomprobert ! V-P

Check the references thread at this GB! I've learned that you cam finish a Fort with nothing but aluminium . Seriously, you need at least Hu 56 Alu, 149 Dark dull green, black and some wood colours. No need for interior green or zinc chromate yellow. V-P

Thanks pizzapaolo that is some super sheet!

Looking very good! V-P

I´m afraid I can´t help you a lot... but what I´ve learned is that the central panel of outer wings might have been painted by a subcontractor in a different shade of green paint or olive drab than the other parts of the wing, just like the central part of the fin (that has often been misinterpreted in b/w pics as being red). The lower surface was most probably neutral grey. Mark Styling has drawn a profile of Lassie: https://www.markstyling.com/mto_b17s4.htm

Right, fuselage next! If the wings were built oob, the more I looked at the bombardier's and navigator's (empty) workspace the more I wanted to add something in there... Cheek gun ammo boxes were quite easy to add as Revell supplies two extra for F type waist guns. They were glued together and I chopped a few mm:s from the bottom. Now I need to try to roll the ammo belts using the @MarkSH method - thanks yet again for the tip! I made a crude bomb bay door etc. levers from a stretch of sprue and brass rod. Ugly but good enough for me. The white box taped between the navigating table and those levers shall represent the instrument panel there. The chin turret azimuth motor was chopped from the kit's bomb bay door actuating rod. Haha. Last but not least, the chin turret control set was assembled from brass rod and pieces of plastic. Those yellow handles, from a Matchbox Ju 188 control column (!) shall yet be deleted and replaced... Isn't the Revell kit's raised front floor too short? I think it should come further back, up to the nav table leg? Which I also trimmed so that there now is just "a leg". Best regards, V-P

Great work Mark! Did you too use those extra F-model waist gun ammo boxes for cheek guns or are they all scratch built? I've been scratching my boldish head for the last few hours, trying to come up with a solution for how to represent those ammo belts. If you don't mind, I say a big "thank you" and buy a roll of solder! V-P

Good to see these operational variants too! V-P

Welcome aboard Mungo, we've only just began and you'll catch us up fast! V-P

Found a neat way to display the finished wings. Work continues with the fuselage interior next. So far so good, thanks Revell! V-P P.S. No, the bomb bay section is NOT cemented together with the wings, and the props are also "loose".

Well done Airfix!

Glad to have you aboard! A perfect opportunity to build this Take 2 here and also finish the Take 1 in the current KUTA GB when you get to that stage, they'll go hand in hand 👍. V-P

We are closing the third week of this GB today and I think we´re doing just fine . So far we have 21 builds started, and they can be divided by manufacturer: Revell 7, Academy 5, Airfix 3, Monogram 2, Minicraft, Italeri, Hasegawa and Maquette each 1. The Italeri is actually an Academy but it says Italeri on the box, so... variant: G 12, F 4, C 2, B, E and the Model 307 each 1. British Fortress types are included in the number of their nearest US equivalent. scale: 1:72 whopping 18, 1:48 2 and 1:144 1 air force: USAAF 16, RAF 5 Me myself building a Revell G in 1:72 and in USAAF markings am clearly in the majority . Let the fun continue! V-P

Oh... You´re not doing a sister ship of my DREAMBABY, the VP-X called "Princess Pat" . ! V-P

I´ve done something... can´t remember what that was, oh it was replacing some davits on an old Matchbox 1:700 warship! - by first cementing one end of a straight piece of brass wire to the deck, and when it had set, I bent it and cut at correct length. Helped a lot handling those pieces. V-P

The first step is the hardest, and you've already taken it! V-P

I love painting and decalling the outer surfaces of kits, so my Fort will get minimum interior work. Seen pics of those visible fuselages though and they do look nice, but not my cup of espresso! V-P

This is what I call good, old school model building; improving each and every bit along the way 🙇‍♂️. V-P

Oh it shall be Sally B! Sorry, I'll get me ! Glad to see the manageable footprint Fortresses getting their share. V-P

Truly admirable modelling, Thom!