Snafu35

Or simply leave the floor as it is, without a door. After all, are we obliged to follow a "diktat of veracity"? 😉 Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello, Roger/Dunny. Unfortunately, I think you're a bit right. But the weather is fine and we're all still at the beach! ⛱️ Great job on your B17 interior!👍 I have an interior photograph of the B17D bathtub (in a book!); your interpretation is very convincing. Since you have broached the subject of ageing and weathering, I suggest you research photos of British B17s. Were these flying fortresses as dirty as American bombers? Wright engines "eat" oil, which alters and cooks the olive drab paint. There are therefore a huge number of baked-on paint effects to be achieved around the engines. A B17 in aluminium has tints of burnished, baked, heated metal. And then there are the black streaks. What could be simpler than to make them with oil paint drawn on with a cotton bud?: First I spray a Gunze smoke veil, then I apply a small dab of black artist oil at the front of the engine nacelles (I had glued the covers on with white glue to make them easier to remove after painting the camouflage) I can wipe it off if I don't like it, and start again. Notice how the black oil paint glistens... just like oil! I enclose a photo of Knock Out Dropper, which is an early B17F (41-24605) and shows the airflow on the upper surface: The following view shows the underside of an all-aluminium B17G, but the idea for a camouflaged aircraft is the same: Have fun in modelling! Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Good morning to B17's addicts. I'm posting photos here that show a detail that may be important in the radio compartment. There is a door on the floor of the radio compartment. This door is covered with a black rubber anti-slip coating. Under this door, there is: What is it? This is a Fairchild K8A vertical camera. A ventral hatch was opened during the bombing run, and photos of the drop were taken. These images were used to study the bombardment and its effects. I add a small sheet of plastic to the floor, which I paint tyre black: (Photos of my buildings at 1/72 scale) I presented them in Dominic_2005's remarkable construction thread, and I'm sharing them with the whole community. Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello Dominic, Allow me to laugh when you write: "I don't build generally to the same level of quality and accuracy as you guys do" I can tell you've got talent! All right, then. You're building a 1/32 model, but what you're doing is superb. 👍 May I make a suggestion? There is a door on the floor of the radio compartment. This door is covered with a black rubber anti-slip coating. Under this door, there is: What is it? This is a Fairchild K8A vertical camera. A ventral hatch was opened during the bombing run, and photos of the drop were taken. These images were used to study the bombardment and its effects. I add a small sheet of plastic to the floor, which I paint tyre black: (Photos of my buildings at 1/72 scale) I'm saying this as if I'm not saying anything, please note. It's a dilemma for you now, because your floor painting is very well done. Have fun in modelling Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello Don, It's a shame to see you leave the boat! But don't go too far away, because the need might come back! And maybe you can add your comments! Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Good morning to all B17 lovers! I am seriously working on the fuselage: There are two things to note about this photo: Academy did not engrave the escape doors for the crew and the rear gunner (the upper fuselage is a Hasegawa model). Academy has engraved a deflector for the side gunner, and this engraving is located on the non staggered waist gun. So I seal the engraving with cyanoacrylate glue. I am doing the same on the port side because the deflectors are no longer needed on versions of the B17 that have closed lateral firing positions. I am adding engravings that are missing from the airframe. Well, you can see that I have engraved a line like a "pig"!. So I put the glue back in with my ciano glue, I am going to sand it down and start again. Go on! Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello all. I'm going to take this idea on board, Ol' Scrapiron. I'd like to give you some information about my current build: All engines are fitted with rocker arm rods: I'll add the ignition wires after painting. I've finished modifying the stabilisers: I started riveting the fuselage: Regards, Eric-Snafu35

hello, Ol Scrap' Thank you very much for sharing these photos. I couldn't help but feel a little sad when I saw shots of Nine O'nine, Liberty Belle and Texas Raider... I'm going to be painting my engines soon, so that'll be an inspiration. For my part, I dug up the information that MrB17 shared on Dunny's thread about the air intakes that surround the engines: I was wondering about the little scoops you see under the outboard engines, referenced 143 on this plan: . So these are air intakes designed to cool the turbo superchargers, and these are the long intakes that surround the inboard engines on the lower surface. I'm also putting on this thread the information reported by vp about the situation of the single brake installations on the landing gear legs: On 04/09/2023 at 12:25, vppelt68 said: I just noticed a post by a true B-17 Guru at the B-17 Scale Modeler's Workshop fb group saying: "the single brake installations had the deboost valve on the forward side of the strut and the dual brake installations have it on the back. Dual brakes were installed starting with F-85-BO, F-30-VE and F-35-DL." So here we have Academy again using their B-17C/D parts in the wings for G kits. Here is a Boeing advertisement showing the installation on the first models: a screen capture from William Wyler's film of the Memphis Belle taking off. Memphis Belle is a B17F-10-BO s/n 41-24485: B17F-30-BO s/n 42-5077: B17F-20-DL s/n 42-3073: Regards, Eric-Snafu35

The neutral grey should be neutral grey, and in the photo the colour is in shadow. Eric-Snafu35

Hello vp, Interpreting colours is always quite a subtle exercise, however a colour photo is more affordable than a black and white shot. Little guy seems to have an aftermarket at the port wing panel, so Olive drab and Neutral Grey. The flap seems to be darker than aluminium, compare with the lower right flap. I'd see it in Neutral grey too. The starboard flap is an aluminium colour in my opinion. It looks darker because the brightness must change with an angle set by the pilot, perhaps. Note also that the tab on the port aileron has also been changed. Also note that the outer panel of the starboard wing has a different aluminium colour to the panel supporting the engines. This makes it possible to create a patchwork with different shades of aluminium. ( I don't think the dark line on the leading edge is a de-icer boot. Why would there be one on the right wing and not on the left?) Finally, the stabilisers ailerons also appear to be made of aluminium. This one must be dull, it doesn't shine. The low angle view also changes the lighting. VP°S gives the impression of having a dark port stabilizer, again it's the angle of the shot that picks up a certain amount of light. Interpreting the colours in this way, I'm still convinced that Sleepy Time Gal's port wing aileron is a replacement part painted in Olive drab and Neutral Grey. You're going to have a lot of fun representing the exhaust and oil marks on the underside of Little Guy. They are particularly pronounced. But maybe I've got it all wrong...😏 Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Welcome to the group build, Dunny! This will make it easier to follow you in this gathering of "dicke autos". Regards, Eric-Snafu35

ah, I know the same thing! The preparation of the parts will be finished soon, so we'll be able to see a whole host of flying fortresses taking shape! 😀 Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello vp, Here's some information I didn't know, thanks for sharing! So I did a bit of research, and indeed this detail comes up when you care about it. I found a Boeing advertisement showing the installation on the first models: the deboost valve is on the forward side of the strut. The following photo is a screen capture from William Wyler's film of the Memphis Belle taking off. B17F-10 -BO s/n 41-24485. another exemples: B17F-30-BO s/n 42-5077. B17F-20-DL s/n 42-3073. We're tackling a subject that's mainly aimed at crazy B17 lovers! The model to come is a G, with the deboost valve on the rear side of the strut. I haven't yet taken any photos of the progress of my work. Soon, no doubt. Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Good evening everyone, I'm not showing any photos tonight, but I'll give you an account of what I did: I'm currently working on building elements by subset, so as to streamline the painting activity when I get the airbrush out. I've finished preparing the engines and landing gear. So the wings are ready for painting. I'm not going to go into detail about the wheel wells, as the B17 will be installed on a diorama. I'm currently working on horizontal stabilisers. A particular feature of the B17 is that the elevator flaps 'drop' when the aircraft is parked. So I'm riveting the plans, and I've cut out the flaps. I opened a door and the angel hatch under the cockpit. The shape of this hatch given by Academy is wrong, so I used a cast of the hatch suggested by Hasegawa. I'm going to start dressing the interior. I'll make do with the parts suggested in the box, because in the end you can't see anything in the model. To add a bit of colour to the cockpit, I'll put yellow on the seats, and I'll put the red hatch repeater box on the inside edge of the windscreen. Photos ASAP. Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello, I would also like to take part in this GB; I haven't finished building anything in this theme yet, as I'd like to build a few more aircraft: French DB7s, P38s, Typhoons, a diorama of US paratroopers climbing into a C47... crazy stuff, in short. Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello, I'm interested. I don't ONLY make B17s, as I have three Liberators in my stock. Participating in this group build will motivate me to finally build them. And don't three forthcoming buildings represent three votes to boost this future group build? Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello Roger, You're doing a great job here. Fortress Mk 1 is rarely represented. I'm making the same improvements on a B17 Academy model. I'm currently taking part in the group build dedicated to the B17. I've noted a few modifications to be made, such as removing the scoop on the A16R and A16L exhaust pipes. I look forward to continuing. Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello, All. I removed the sprues from the engine covers: I currently work for engine manufacturer Wright: I've drilled small holes on each engine to fit the ignition wires, and I'm now fitting the rocker rods. These are pieces of plastic stretched over a flame. It's boring to do but the result is convincing when it's finished. I've already done this exercise to dress up 1/72 B24 engines: More to come. Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello, It's done: I did a little work on changing the undercarriage: I also installed the pipework and gripping rings: I'll carry on with the engines. I'm going to have fun sanding resin sprues, cool! I'm also going to start dressing the engines, installing the rocker rods and ignition wires: To be continued... Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello, Tom, Beautiful work and superb finish. 👍 Are you deliberately turning into a gremlin to tempt your model-building buddies? I picked up a 1/48th scale B17 from my garage, I think I'll give it a whirl in the GB dedicated to the B17. Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello everyone, It's summer and some of you are at the beach. 🤿 🏖️ I'm still building my kits. I've almost finished preparing the wings and I've partitioned off the air intakes: I'll be starting on the fuselage soon. Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello everyone, I've finished changing some engravings on the wings, and I've applied the riveting: It's a tedious little job, but it will produce a certain result in the end. The subject of wingtip vents is a recurrent one, especially as Douglas 42-107112's B17G Block 35 was equipped with them, like its colleague 43-37675 built by Boeing in the foreground: These vents were installed on the chains from block 25 for Douglas, from December 1943. the Academy kit doesn't have these wingtip vents, unlike Hasegawa, for example. Do you think I should graft the wing from the Hasegawa model onto the Academy model I'm building, or should I pass? (Let's not forget that we're building models for our own pleasure !!!) Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Well, I've just learned how to use Dropbox to get close-ups!. So forget my previous request. It's really very nice!👍 Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello, It looks like a great diorama. Can we have some close-up photos of your work, like the figures, the weapons bays, close-ups of the planes? It would be a shame to settle for general views, as there are so many wonderful things to discover. I think the painting of the figures is excellent, but I say that from a distance! Thanks for sharing. Regards, Eric-Snafu35

Hello DJJunis, This colourful B17 will make a great addition to your collection! This colour photo shows the chin turret in Neutral Grey. This will add extra character to your flying fortress. This photo was taken at the Kingman depot in Arizona. Milk Wagon was stored there until its destruction. The aircraft was struck off the register on 21 November 1945. To Trevor L: You should go ahead and take advantage of this group build, which is an extra motivator. Regards, Eric-Snafu35