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  1. I'm masking a Revell 1/72 B-17G using Eduard's mask set cx279. To my annoyance Eduard has made a stupid mistake with the nose, they have interpreted the plexiglass framing (or whatever it is) that is on the inside as being something that is on the outside. Therefore only only one part for the nose was usable. Even worse their masks for Airfix's B-17 has the same mistake. But what colour is the framing that is shaped a bit like an upside down triangle with rounded corners? My aircraft will be in olive drab. Looking at restored B-17Gs, on both camouflaged and natural metal aircraft the framing seems to be unpainted, something like steel. Was this also the case during the war? Should I paint it with some metal colour or olive drab?
  2. Ran across this very interesting color film of B-17G's being assembled. Very interesting to see how complete some of the subassemblies were, before being attached, as well as some having markings already applied. You can see instances of untinted and tinted zinc chromate primer. Almost looked like an HK B-17G kit being assembled! I hope this one is new to most of you. Video via You Tube. Mike
  3. Hi All Usual reluctance to post anything in this fabulous forum! Nothing special just the 2001 RoG boxing of the near 50-year old Revell B-17G OOB with Tamiya Fuel Truck & ICM Bomber crew. Thanks for looking and see you at Telford! Best Regards Ben
  4. Kits-World (KW172241) has the bomb that Pluto is resting on in olive drab, but other decals (Superscale & Monogram) depict it as red or red yellow. Thinking logically it should of course be olive drab, not brightly coloured. But maybe there's a reason that it's depicted in red, if the nose art was inspired by a Disney cartoon, and the bomb was bright in that cartoon. Does someone have any info on this matter? Edit. I must be quite thick, of course the aircraft is in olive drab, so that's an explanation why it could be bright, as otherwise it doesn't stand out.
  5. A little backstory for context: I'll confess it was hard to go back to the hobby bench when I saw this STGB come up. I haven't touched a plastic part since I put down my Xacto knife during the Mediterranean Group Build. My wife passed away from a sudden stroke right here in my office, and building models hasn't even been close to being on the list of things that have needed to be done around here. I still haven't really looked at the stuff on my workbench in more than a year/half -- I may discover I left glue or paints open. But I did pull some of the Fortress kits out of the garage to choose what I might do for this group build... so that is a start. The kit candidates: Has it really been a decade? I pre-ordered the massive 1/32 Fortress before HK released it in 2013, and haven't even opened the sprue bags even though it has sat on the shelf taunting me for more than 10 years now. I think I am still too nervous to build it at this point, but if I ever WHEN I eventually build it I will deck it out as B-17G-85-BO 43-38450 Lucky Partners -- the plane my friend's father flew out of Rattlesden with the 447th BG. --------------------------------------- The oldest kit in my stash is the old Airfix 1/72 B-17. I'd rather just hang on to the kit because it looks like hell... well, everything except the beautiful 447th BG markings as Bit O Lace, of course. --------------------------------------- I still have two unopened boxes of the classic Monogram 1/48 Fortress (ignoring the big Revell logos on the box) left over after the dust settled on the previous B-17 STGB. I really enjoyed clumsily working my way through my Ol Scrapiron build back in 2018, so I think I will build another (hopefully better) for this group build as well. My grandfather flew 11 missions on Ol Scrapiron, so I grew up thinking that was "his plane." At some point, I was doing deeper research and learned that not only did he fly several planes during his 30 missions, but that his second most frequent airframe was Lucky Stehley Boy, and that was actually the plane he flew his two D-Day missions on. --------------------------------------- I also have one of the odd-scale kits (forget the brand and can't find the box) I bought a couple of years ago at Hobby Lobby and an Academy/Minicraft 1/72 B-17F Memphis Belle.... but they're not really in consideration this time around. And the winner is... So the winning option is the Monogram (Revell) 1/48 Fortress to be done as Lucky Stehley Boy. I will have to decide if it will be marked as it was when my grandfather climbed aboard for two missions on the morning of June 6, 1944... or afterward when the extra D-Day references were added to the nose art. This plane also has another bit of significant history, but I'll wait to share that as the build progresses. I'll shoot some of the sprue pics when I decide to break the seal and get started. Won't be tonight, I'm too distracted by the many fine builds going on already in this group. Hopefully, I will have learned from some of the (many) mistakes made the last time, so I'll be free to make a whole new set of mistakes this time. What confidence LOL
  6. I'm going to build a B-17 that I've been thinking about for a long time: N809Z, with the Fulton Skyhook system. This B-17 has a fascinating post-war history. It was originally 44-85531 and doesn't seem to have seen operational service during WWII. I can't find much info about it in the immediate post-war years but it ended up at Clark Field in the Philippines in the hands of the CIA. It was painted flat black, given the serial '639' with no other civil or military serial, and used for overflights of China. During that time this B-17 is said to have flown the longest mission ever flown by a B-17 at over 19 hours. '639' went back to the US in the early 60s where it became N809Z, registered to Intermountain Aviation (a CIA company), and fitted with the then-experimental Fulton Skyhook system. N809Z's most famous mission was to pick up James Bond at the end of Thunderball. But it really should be Operation Coldfeet - one of those Cold War spy missions that sounds too good to be true but really happened. Major James Smith (a parachutist and Russian linguist) and Lieut. Leonard LeShack (a former Antarctic geophysicist) were parachuted onto an abandoned Soviet arctic drift station (a research station on an Arctic ice floe) to retrieve whatever equipment and information had been left there. They were dropped from N809Z - from a door in the floor, in the ball turret position - and picked up three days later using the Fulton recovery system. Three extractions were needed - one for the Soviet equipment and one for each man. The mission is said to have yielded useful information on Soviet activities in the Arctic including research on acoustic methods of submarine detection. Apart from its appearance in Thunderball N809Z doesn't seem to have had much use for a few years after that. In 1969 it was converted into an air tanker and used in a firefighting role until 1985. During that time Intermountain Aviation became part of Evergreen and was re-registered as N207EV. N207EV was restored to B-17G configuration with a full set of turrets and flown as a warbird for a while before going to the Evergreen museum in Oregon. The Collings Foundation has recently acquired it and is restoring it to airworthy status. I'm going to build N809Z with the Fulton recovery system but haven't decided which stage of its life it will be yet - ideally it would be as flown in Operation Coldfeet but I can't find a lot of information about the colour scheme. There are a couple of black and white photos in William M.Leary's excellent book on Coldfeet and I've found a painting which shows it with red markings on a white upper and grey lower fuselage, but that's all I can find. For Thunderball N809Z seems to have been in white and grey with blue trim: And later in the 60s N809Z was photographed at Marana in natural metal and white with light blue trim: Much as I'd like to go with the Coldfeet scheme, one I have the most complete info on is the late-60s scheme. So I think that's what it's going to be. The kit will be the fairly recent Airfix kit, I've got the RAF boxing. All conversion parts will be scratch-built - I've got some 3D printing to do - and decals will have to be custom printed. more soon Julian
  7. After a lot of deliberation, this choice has been made. I'll be building this kit As this option The kit isn't totally accurate for this particular aircraft - but we'll just have to put up with that.
  8. This is my second build of this magnificent kit of my one of my favourite Boeings. Extras included Master metal MG barrels, Yahu instrument panel, HGW fabric seatbelts, Master Details nose turret zip inserts, nose defrost pipe, control columns. Kits world decals. I did a build video series on YT if anyone's interested https://youtu.be/m-ncuQwvgcI Displayed with her sister ship "a bit o'lace" which I did earlier this year and motorised, but this one is just static. I just had to have a metal one and an OD one, but that's me done for big bombers now as have no more room (this is the only kit I know of supplied with these ingenious wall mounts). I know there's a nasty gap from the top section, but I am living with it as I value being able to pop the top off and look at the inside. Normally that kind of work is lost forever. Thanks for looking.
  9. In the words of @AdrianMF, more Fortressy goodness. This is the 2017 Boxing of Airfix’s 2016 B-17G of an RAF machine of 223 Sqn, 100 Group. OOB save Eduard harness and Uschi line. Paints were Xtracrylix with Humbrol Hu.33/78 for the interior. Exhausts were bespoke mixtures involving Humbrol aluminium, black and Bronze. Matt varnished with Windsor and Newton. Decals went on well and took solvents without issue. First of all a big thank you to Lynne Stirrups at Airfix Customer Service without whom this kit would not have been made. I ordered it from an online supplier but when it arrived and I opened the box the sprue with the wing spar was defective. Having determined the spar was essential and couldn’t easily be replicated, or bodged, I contacted ACS, got a replacement only to find it broken on arrival. No issues, a second was sent and I could start. Second, with new Airfix it is well known they are made to exacting tolerances. A lesson that I have to relearn every time. On this I cemented one of the pieces that make up the engine nacelle slightly off as I was rushing and oh boy what a problem that turned into. If the nacelle assembly is off you have a very visible misalignment of the nacelle body and therefore prop but also the undercarriage. A lot of swearing, filing, sanding, repainting and disassembly took place. I think it’s invisible now. I was also forewarned of problems with the closed bomb doors piece. I therefore inserted it earlier in the building sequence than Airfix would have you do and it fitted like a glove. Can I also thank @tonyot for his build and article which was invaluable. His influence can be seen eg in the scratch built wind deflectors for the waist gun and the scratch curtains and infra red, formation keeping thingy, in the nose which are quite visible in original photos. I started this in November. Worked on it solidly thru Xmas and then leant a bit heavily on the rear and the tail wheel snapped off. Repinning a tail wheel in 1/72 is, for me, too difficult and a sudden mojo loss occurred. A few weeks ago I dusted it off, bodged a repair such that from 12 feet away, if you don’t look too closely, it’s invisible and now it’s done and we can move on. Excellent. Tremendous subject, a bit left field and accurate. Subject to being careful on tolerances, it will go together well and to my eye looks the business.
  10. Hi, One project that never seems to come of the ground properly is the Monogram B-17G in my stash (for years). Especially since a new tooling by HK has surfaced. Always liked the B-17 and an earlier effort was sadly ruined by my inexperience at the time. So I chose to find a reasonably priced b-17 on an auction website in a tatty box, but to keep the costs down, I went for the transparent version (which I regret now). Nevertheless, I am going to attempt to finish it using the Big Ed photo etch set. Not sure how long it will take me and if I am able to preserve sanity through the torture of photo etch bending and glue-ing. Nevertheless, I'd really like to get better at photo etch, so by the time the b-17 is finished (one day), I should be pretty proficient at the skill. Already tried to replicate the framing on the (formerly) transparent inside. Hopefully I will finish it one day and this post may assist in further driving the motivation. Here some early pics below, although the paintwork on some parts need further tidying up and some panel wash etc. Thanks for watching
  11. The most expensive kit with the most extras I’ve ever tackled. Painted in mostly Alclad airframe aluminium but weathered with the kitchen sink. Master Details pilots navigator & radio operator, brass gun barrels, magic scale modelling light & sound kit, brassin resin wheels. If you decide to watch the video at the end be sure to turn the sound up! Thanks for looking. She’s a bit of a modelling cliche but I love the scheme so here’s my main reference pic: couple of views from before I sealed her up Here she is in action
  12. Hi there, This is my recent project, a nice Airfix kit. Not my usual scale, but this bird in 1/48 just won’t fit my space here. Except Eduard Masks, a must for all these clear parts, everything else OOB. Fitting is nice in general, except for the clear parts that build into the tail gun structure being too narrow for the fuselage, which causes a step. Also, after glueing the fuselage halves, I ended up with a gap right in front of the windshield. Despite this, the clear part for the “canopy” structure fitted well with the gap. So, instead of forcing the halves to join, I just put some additional plastic between them and the result was fine. Decals a little bit too thick, but with the help of Mr Setter, went really well. Hope you enjoy! Cheers!
  13. An image I did of the Calamity Jane (one of several with the same name, apparently) a B-17G that crash landed in Sweden, August 1944 due to flak damage on a raid against Peenemünde
  14. Ok, here I am with Airfix's RAF fortress mk.III. I realized that kit offers also parts for B-17G as well. I am stuck between RAF one or an USAF profile. I may purchase Kits world decals; maybe famous 'swamp fire' or ' 2nd patches' I dont know... Lets start with building at first;
  15. 'The Swoose II' B-17G-30-BO 772 BS / 463rd Bomb Group The name Swoose originated from a B-17D that was one of 19 out of 35 Fortresses in the Philippine Islands that survived ground attacks from Japanese forces on the 8th Dec '41 shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbour. It was given it's name by Captain Weldon Smith following repairs undertook in Australia in January 1942 where the tail of another aircraft was grafted on, the name being derived from 'Half swan, half goose' inspired by a song at the time called 'Alexander the Swoose' about such a bird! The aircraft was later flown by Captain Frank Kurtz choosing the aircraft as a personal transport for General George Brett. Later in 1944, Kurtz commanded the 463rd BG in Italy as part of the 15th AF and had a B-17G named after after his earlier aircraft, Christened by his wife 'Swoose II' shown in the photo above. It survived the war and was eventually salvaged in May '45 despite a few scrapes along the way. When I heard that HKM were releasing this in 48th scale, I had to get my hands on one. I had been planning to build the Monogram one, but kept stalling because of the work that would need to be involved to get it to a decent finish although the shape is very good. The HK kit goes together very well and the nose shape was corrected following the evident inaccuracies of the 1/32 kit. The only major issue in my opinion is engines being about 3mm too high, but I decided to leave as they are to prevent ruining surface detailing. It's been a pleasure to build and has plenty of detail straight from the box. As with most builds, I try something new. This was the first model I've painted with the MRP paints which are a delight to use although due to not being happy with the shades used, I ended up going over it with a mix of Tamiya paints - mainly khaki lightened with some white. Another step forwards was a rather heavy weathering approach, particularly on the under surfaces where photo's show a lot of mud splatter. I used a toothbrush at the suggestion from @Josip and following reference pics from @Rakovica. The build can be seen here Anyway, here's the finished result. I appreciate some don't like excessive weathering, but I've tried to replicate what I've seen on photo's of weathered B-17's. Cheers Neil
  16. This was my Christmas present from the missus (thank god I'm through the socks & undies stage of life 😂) . I've been umming and arring about whether to start this or the 1/48 B-24 in the stash, but this has won. I spent an hour or so removing all the little sprue bits that festooned the fuselage parts and have taped the big bits together because I never grew up and just needed to see it so! Glad I did, it looks gorgeous in the flesh. EDIT:I couldn’t sleep tonight so been looking for schemes and decided on The Swoose based in Italy, a nice weathered bird so should have fun on the paint work The real aircraft I have only managed to find two photo's so far, but it has some unusual art work positioning which stood out and an opportunity to practice faded olive drab along with a plash of colour on the rudder. There's a great profile on Mark Stylings website, I hope he is OK with me taking a snippet as I've put a link to the original to respect his copywrite. All I've found out so far is that it was salvaged 16th May 1945, so if anyone can shed any light on it's operational career, I'd be most welcoming of your research. The kit And just look at these instructions, lovely! Cheers Neil
  17. Hi all, I'd like to participate to this GB with this kit: to make this model: As usual a quick look inside the box: And I'll use these aftermarkets:
  18. Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my latest, the 1/72 Airfix B-17G (new tool) built from the box with the addition of photo-etch-seatbelts from my spares box. "Mah Ideel" operated with 401st Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, out of Bassingbourn/Cambridgeshire in fall of 1944. The model was painted with Alclad II lacquers and Gunze/Mr.Hobby acrylics. All photographs by Wolfgang Rabel. Thank you for your interest in this topic. Best greetings from Vienna Roman
  19. It's been ages since I've posted any work here, but having a big bit of time off due to having a little girl 2+ years ago... I'm finally getting back into it, and having time off due to COVID19 is also helping.. HK Models 1/32nd B-17G coverted by myself into a fire bomber. Here is where it's at now... I did start this years ago, but did little to it, cockpit etc... but recently brought it back up to speed by blanking off the turrets and modifications needed to make it into the aircraft I want to finish it as. First coat of primer last night over the modified areas is bringing up some minor defects in the milliput, but that'll be easily sorted. Big old girl... had to photo her on my rug for the time being... but when done i'll take it somewhere (work maybe) and find a bigger space..
  20. Edit 1.4.: Hello! I started this build as a waist window conversion only, in "regular" aircraft modelling section. Giorgio and Enzo were kind to allow me to continue the build within a Group Build theme. "Strangers In Town" indeed were the first American Bombardment Groups when the "Friendly Invasion" began. The local people were all not too enthusiastic about the Yanks, for three reasons: "They were overpaid, oversexed and over here". End edit . V-P Could I do that? Would it be too difficult for a clumsy, regular kit builder like me? That's what I was thinking thursday night, two days ago. During the friday I decided to try that. Here's where we start. The newish Airfix B-17G staggered waist fuselage halves. Port will be untouched but acts as a template for the starboard modification, which I believe was close enough to a mirror image in the prototype. I drew the new opening to the inside of the fuselage. Airfix has been kind to supply the framework which helped tremendously in locating it. Then I drilled 0,5mm holes in the corners. The vertical cuts I made starting with a hobby saw and finished near corners with a knife. The horizontal cuts were all knife made. Voilá the crude new waist gun position opening is there! The removed fuselage piece is already cemented from upper, long horizontal edge and lower corners, with a thin styrene patch support on the inside. That was yesterday, when I also applied a good layer of putty on the old window. The new one is being trimmed to its shape. I needed to add some strips of styrene here and there. Some kind of success! There's a see-through opening now and the old window position looks neat too. I may add a dab of filler here and there, but nothing major is needed, please remember my regular level of model building... Here you see the waist window dry fitted in place. It's lost all of its attachment "lips" from the inside but is surprisingly tight. I was reminded at a B-17 fb group that most of the unstaggered G:s carried three panel waist windows. I intend to take care of that by just masking and painting the frames on Best regards, V-P
  21. Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress (A08017A) Extra Schemes 1:72 Airfix One of the most famous aircraft to see action in World War 2, Boeing’s B-17 nearly didn’t make it into service at all. Despite the fact that it enjoyed clear advantages over the competition, the relatively high cost of the aeroplane, combined with the loss of the prototype in a fatal crash, nearly ended the Flying Fortress’s career before it had begun. Such was the strength of the design, however, that Boeing were awarded a contract for thirteen more development aircraft and never looked back. The B-17 was used by the USAAF mainly for daylight strategic bombing duties over Europe, although it was also used in the Pacific Theatre. The type also saw service with many other air forces around the world, including the RAF. The ‘G’ version featured here was the final production variant. Airfix's released this kit back in 2016 and then followed it up a year later with an RAF Fortress III version. This kit is essentially the original release but with extra decal options courtesy of Kits-World. Inside the red top-opening box adorned with the usual high-quality Adam Tooby artwork, are nine frames of grey plastic and a single clear frame, holding over 240 parts in total. The mouldings are clean and crisp, with fine, recessed panel lines throughout and plenty of nice detail on smaller parts such as the .50 cal gun barrels. The small print on the side of the box states "the additional schemes contained within this box may not be suitable for those aged under 21". On closer inspection, the decal sheet does indeed contain a tiny picture of a bird in the nip. I don't know about you, but I think the 10 year old version of me would have been fine with that. The assembly instructions are divided into 137 stages, which gives a good indication of the complexity of the model. The kit has an astonishingly detailed interior, construction of which takes up no fewer than 55 of those 137 stages. Assembly begins with the cockpit, which includes loads of detail for the control columns and seats, and works its way back through the bomb bay and main wing spar and then the various crew stations and beautifully detailed turrets. The amount of interior detail is nothing short of spectacular, particularly so for the scale. All of the interior details, right down to the .50 cal Brownings, are beautifully moulded and I’m willing to bet a few modellers will actually think twice before finally gluing the fuselage halves together. The bomb bay is particularly nice and includes a full load of bombs. Once all of that interior detail is in place, the fuselage halves can be sandwiched together. The large wings feature separate ailerons and are packed with detailed parts such as the engine firewalls and fuel tanks. Each engine is made up of four parts, as well as the exhausts and turbochargers. The cowlings can be build up with the nacelle cooling air gills open or closed. The tail planes feature separate control surfaces. In keeping with the rest of the kit, the undercarriage is very nicely detailed, and the tyres of the main wheels are moulded separately to the wheels themselves, which will help achieve a nice, neat finish once painted. They have flat spots moulded in place too. The wings slot onto the fuselage with the help of the spars, which should provide plenty of strength as well as helping to achieve a positive fit. If the bomb bay doors are to be displayed open (and it would be a crime not to), they will have to be cut in half prior to assembly. Construction then concludes with the installation of the chin turret, the tail turret and the cheek turrets. The parts for the latter items are moulded entirely from clear plastic, which saves fiddling around with small clear parts and getting gluey marks all over thme. Two options are provided on the original decal sheet, with a further two on the Kits-World sheet: B-17G 'Mah Ideel', 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, Eight Air Force, US Army Air Force, RAF Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, England, early 1945; B-17G 'Skyway Chariot', 351st Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, Eight Air Force, US Army Air Force, RAF Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk, England, March 1945; B-17G 'Looky Looky', 851st Bomb Squadron, 490th Bomb Group, Spring 1945; and B-17G 'Heaven Sent', 350th Bomb Squadron, 100h Bomb Group, Early 1945. The decals themselves look thin and glossy and a full set of stencils are included. Conclusion This isn't the only available kit of the B-17 in this scale, but it is up there with the best. Just like the Revell kit, this one has a fantastic amount of detail and even more parts. It won't be a quick build, but it should result in a rewarding experience. Overall this kit is a real gem and should build up into an excellent model. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  22. Dear Fellow Modellers Greetings to all! Please find enclosed my Airfix 1/72 B-17G. It is loaded with the Eduard PE and Quickboost resin guns and turbochargers. I did my own representation of riveting. The decals are for the 306th BG based at Thurleigh in England in 1944-45 from Kits World. This recent Airfix kit shows a more restrained panel line representation than previous kits. The transparencies are absolutely outstanding and shape looks spot on. Regards Andrew
  23. I don´t usually dare to do RFI- posts outside the comfort of the GB section, but this time I thought maybe quantity * size > requirements for quality 🤭. So here are my builds from the recently ended B-17 STGB at this forum, of course. I´m halfway building a B-17G from each four squadrons of the 381st Bomb Group and I hope the second half will be done next summer in the GB section, where else? I first built a Revell B-17G kit, externally out of the box but adding some interior details that were never to be seen again after the fuselage was buttoned up. You live and you learn. She´s the rather well known B-17G-35-BO 42-32025 "DREAMBABY" from the 533rd Bomb Squadron. Decals by Revell and Kits-World. The plane name is hand painted, pin-up chick comes from Little Miss Mischief and was used as a stand-in as good enough pic for trying to depict the correct one didn´t come up though I looked for it. The kit was brush painted with Humbrol enamels. EDIT: I forgot to mention, that she does indeed carry my initials 😘 As there was time left in the GB I decided to try build another one, so I bought an Airfix new tool B-17G kit. She´s a somewhat freelanced representation of B-17G-70-BO 43-37852 "Betty Lou" from the 534th BS. Decals again a combination of kit supplied and Kits-World. The plane name again was hand painted as there´s a good pic of the plane nose with one of her crews. The rear fuselage appearance though is based on a civilized guess only. This kit was also brush painted with Humbrol enamels. Actually, all my kits are. Best regards, V-P
  24. B-17G Upgrade sets 1:72 CMK From Special Hobby The newly tool B-17 kits from Airfix are vastly improved over what came before. For those modellers who want more then there are plenty of aftermarket sets available including these four from Special Hobby under there CMK brand. Each comes in a plastic blister pack with a car back which also hols in the instructions. Bomb Aimer's Station (7383) This provides for the bomb aimer's station in the nose forward of the cockpit. You get a new bulkhead to separate the two spaces, the bomb aimer's seat, ammunition boxes for the nose guns, and a norden bomb sight. Bomb Bay Set (7382) This is a complete resin bomb bay to fit into the kit. With a curved roof, sides, front & rear bulkheads,interior bomb racks, and bomb bay doors. Engines Port & Starboard (7384 & 7385) These are complete resin engines and cowls with PE. The engines build up from a central hub with the individual cylinders being added along with other parts, rods and the wiring harness. The Two sets only differ by the appropriate cowls for Port & Starboard. Port Stbd Review samples courtesy of
  25. My attempt at the old 1962 Airfix B-17G "a bit of lace" kit, built as part of the radial engines group. I know a lot of people will have fond memories of this old kit and it's artwork, I know that I certainly do. With four new B-17s in the stash I was not looking to get anything accurate, detailed or impressive from this build, all I wanted was a nice neatly built retro looking model of this old favorite. Unfortunately this old kit is an absolute stinker to build, the reason why is because the kits many transparencies are simply the wrong shape and size and do not fit the fuselage. Before beginning the build one of my main hopes was to keep as much of the riveted surface detail as possible, the reality was however a choice between keeping the rivets and the windows fitting neatly, and the windows won. I could of course have kept the rivets on the wings and tail but decided it was better to keep everything looking the same. What you see here is a sanded down finished model with a two tone salt weathered alclad finish. I decided to model "a bit o lace" as it was before it received flak damage to the rudder but with the earlier damage to the port wing. All original parts except a few guns and windows. The last picture is of the Matchbox B-17G kit, which as much as I love Matchbox was another stinker to build thanks to its transparent parts. It is a toss up which is the worst kit of these two kits to build. I am happy enough with the finished builds though.
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