1:72 B-17

[Ant]

Hi All,

I fancy having a go at a B-17 (not sure / fussed which type) in 1:72. I've not built one before, and know little about the kits available. Any recommendations? I like the look of the Academy B-17G, but I noticed that Hasegawa, Airfix and Revell have one also.

Cheers,

Ant.

Edited August 9, 2008 by Ant

[CPNGROATS]

Dear Ant: I would recommend either Academy or Hasegawa...for a 1/72 B-17..The Airfix and Revell are ancient molds...

HTH

Cheers,

ggc

[turnerdad]

Academy, nice recessed panel lines, shape looks good. However I've seen a few built up with much to much wing dihedral, this may be a problem with the kit, but very easy to fix if it does exist.

[Heraldcoupe]

for a 1/72 B-17..The Airfix and Revell are ancient molds...

I believe the more recent Airfix release is the Academy kit,

Cheers,

Bill.

[Oliver]

The Academy kit is the newer of the two good kits, but the kit has a couple of major flaws. As already mentioned the wing dihedral is too great, also the engine cowls are wrong. The hasegawa kit has raised panel lines and the interior is slightly less detailed than the academy one, however the wings are almost spot on and the engine cowls look right.

My personal preference is for the hasegawa kit, though the Academy kit is just as good.

[CPNGROATS]

Bill: Thanks for that clarification, I was thinking of the older Airfix kit...BTW, is there a reference somewhere that lists the "New Airfix" issues and if they are using someoneelses mould..???? I'm aware of the Wellington [MPM] kit.

Cheers,

ggc

[BAC]

Airfix B-17's shown in Olive Drab on the box art are the Acadamy kits. It was available from 1999 to 2003 and it's just been released again this year.

I havn't built Acadamy's B17G, but have done the 'C' and it was a pretty good kit, so I assume the 'G' should be similar as they all came out roughly the same time.

The old Airfix 'A Bit o' Lace' was a good kit in it's time with lots of working parts (if you like that sort of thing) but the mold is now worn out and the kit is best left for collecting.

The old Revell 'F' model is similar to the Airfix one but probably a bit less 'clunky'.

Cheers!

[theplasticsurgeon]

As others have pointed out inaccuracies, I won't repeat them all.

Old Airfix B-17G A Bit'o'Lace

Academy B-17E

Academy SB-17G. Newer Airfix kit uses this mould

This is how the Academy B-17 model can finish up.

Excellent model in every respect - except the dreaded dihedral.

Hasegawa B-17F Memphis Belle. Hasegawa would be my favourite

[CPNGROATS]

Plastic Surgeon: Wow, what nice B-17's, thanks for the info. and for sharing....kinda makes you want to build one....

Cheers,

ggc

Edited August 9, 2008 by CPNGROATS

[Ant]

OMG, that dihedral is insane! Now I've seen the coastal command one, I think my mind is made up.

Thanks for the info chaps.

[CPNGROATS]

OMG, that dihedral is insane! Now I've seen the coastal command one, I think my mind is made up.

Thanks for the info chaps.

Dear Ant: If you notice that particular B-17 was being evaluated by the Luftwaffe.. The increased dihedral occured after cheif test pilot Eric von Schoopt looped and rolled the subject B-17..It is said that their was'nt a clean pair of shorts on board after the incident...

Cheers,

ggc

[Ant]

Dear Ant: If you notice that particular B-17 was being evaluated by the Luftwaffe.. The increased dihedral occured after cheif test pilot Eric von Schoopt looped and rolled the subject B-17..It is said that their was'nt a clean pair of shorts on board after the incident...

Cheers,

ggc

Thanks ggc, the picture makes a lot more sense now! I was thinking I'd have a mammoth task on my hands to correct that kind of dihedral.

[theplasticsurgeon]

OMG, that dihedral is insane! Now I've seen the coastal command one, I think my mind is made up.

Thanks for the info chaps.

Academy can be built with correct dihedral - without too much effort.

For my Coastal Command B-17E and Rescue-plane, I put this pieces of plasticard between the upper wings and fuselage - this resulted in a LOT of gaps and cleaning up.

For this Academy B-17D, I fitted the upper wings to the fuselage first, checked the dihedral, then fitted the lower wings and dealt with the gaps.

Academy is a good B-17 kit, and I've got another to convert to an XB-40 gunship.

It's just edged out by Hasegawa in my preference. I've got the B-17F and B-17G kits waiting in my stash for a rainy day.

[Ratch]

The Academy F is a nice kit

Whereas the Revell F is positively agricultural by comparison

[Oliver]

Academy can be built with correct dihedral - without too much effort.

For my Coastal Command B-17E and Rescue-plane, I put this pieces of plasticard between the upper wings and fuselage - this resulted in a LOT of gaps and cleaning up.

For this Academy B-17D, I fitted the upper wings to the fuselage first, checked the dihedral, then fitted the lower wings and dealt with the gaps.

Academy is a good B-17 kit, and I've got another to convert to an XB-40 gunship.

It's just edged out by Hasegawa in my preference. I've got the B-17F and B-17G kits waiting in my stash for a rainy day.

Thats a lovely B-17D you have there, and a good tip for doing the wings. I deffinately think the dihedral problem is more acute on the 'big tail' 17's of the academy series. Its still there on the early ones too, just not as bad.