dominic_2005

Hi all, been a while as not had much time to spend on this recently. I have however been making a little progress. All 4 engines are done. I did add ignition wires as the pins were present although the kit provided no other parts. I did manage to screw up in my haste and neglected to add the manifolds. Time I realised it was too late to be able to do anything about it, which is a shame. I then assembled all 4 props. Next I tried to replicate the discoloration on the Super-Turbochargers. I don't think they came out too badly... I also did the exhaust/heat stains on the lower wing. For this side panel, I noticed on some B17's (not all) this was left bare metal. I quite liked the look so I'd planned quite early in the build to do the same. And finally, engines meet wing. Thanks for stopping by.

Yeh I personally don't see the issue with portraying them. They are part of our history. To pretend it didn't happen is to doom to repeat it. Yes it does. It can be assembled closed but there is just too much detail inside to lock away. Caveat is you will see an obvious joint, especially at the front as I couldn't get that to quite go down completely and didn't want to keep trimming plastic as the frame for the windows was thin and the section on the main fuselage was right at the joint for the nose section so also thin. Having to turn it sideways to get it out of my workshop does that quite effectively too lol Thanks folks.

Quick update. Model has been clear coated and decals all applied. Matt or Satin coat to follow then can get on with the rest of the build. I censored the Axis logo as I am unsure about the rules here.

Does seem to have landed in a Jules Verne type field though!

It will be mounted on the wall using the included (yes, INCLUDED) wall mount.

Basic painting done on the upper surfaces. Lower surfaces all done except for the fuselage. Getting really hard to photograph this now.

I know where you are coming from, however I think they are/were green. Eyedropper in Photoshop tells the tale. Sampling a darkened/shadowed area we know is bare metal, gives a completely different Hue than sampling a darkened/shadowed area we know is green. Now sample the darkened/shadowed area we suspect to be green, and the hue matches the green areas.

Both wheel wells are done. Fairly straightforward section this one was. Quick and easy.

Hi Eric, Thanks for giving me some confirmation. It was really tricky using photographic references as the shades and tones really change depending on the lighting, (outdoor/outdoor sunny/outdoor cloudy/etc) and state of the aircraft, (original in-service/preservation mode/etc). I had noticed the washed out appearance though, and made a mental note that that is something I will need to address, either before the pseudo-camouflage is applied or after as a sweeping measure across the whole thing. I've not yet decided how to approach this as yet. Previously I used a combination of post-shading and an overall coat of a highly thinned white, but even this ended up much darker than I intended.

I used an old kit as a paint mule to test out how I am going to do the primary colours on this. (ignore the rubbish on the paint job, was a quick n dirty session) I'd like some opinions please as I am struggling to get the pseudo camo colour (darker green) correct. I think I am pretty close with this though... PS: I've also gone through and fixed my images. Apparently using my public Facebook page as an image host isn't reliable lol. Now it's OneDrive so they might be sluggish to load, but they do load...eventually lol.

Nose section is semi complete. Not the easiest part of the build by any stretch. I tried to simulate the plywood deck as best I could, and added a WWII map and photo to the desk. Getting the position of the ammo box and belt on both sides was tricky as had to part be done before assembly so was a challenge to align, I think I got it about right. I'd have preferred to fit the barrels after painting and final assembly as I just know they are going to get knocked at some point. Fitting the nose to the rest is going to be tricky, as the diameter of the nose is slightly too small for the lip on the fuselage. I may have to remove the lip to get it to fit and try and get a really secure bond. That's a task for later on though.

Tail gun and tail cone in place, windows masked. Top part windows fitted, which is the highlight of this kit. The glassware is superb. Sharp, crisply molded, nice raised rivet details, and the fit is just incredible. All the glass parts just drop into place and in most cases hold themselves, particularly the three piece front wrap around window. (They weren't glued in until after I masked them). Work will stop on the main fuselage for a bit whilst the nose section gets done.

Finally, after a 3 hour process (not including wait times between) the fuselage is together reasonably well. Top (removable) section has a snug fit so far, just some more work to do at the front so it just sort of drops in.

Port and Starboard waist doors and guns in place, along with the platform and side catwalks.

I am not sure what has happened to some of my images. I'll correct it when I can.