Parabat Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Fantastic and inspired building, really incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plimsol Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 formula 560 will stick even better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 I've been beavering away at the innards of the top turret & am about halfway done... I finally got some paint onto it & it's now easier to see everything coming together. Here's a view looking upwards into the turret of the Duxford B-17. Once again I have used these images purely for illustrative purposes: Here's some images of my turret: And some views from above - I added the forward part of the cradle onto which the gunsight is mounted. Belted 0.50 cal ammo passes from the ammo cans up through the holes and feeds into the guns. I will add the guns' top covers and electrical heaters later - I needed to attach the bodies to make sure everything fits correctly And here's the gunsight on its cradle, ready to attach. There's a few more wires and things to attach. Next task is to make the supporting 'legs' and the base. Finally for now here's a few shots of the turret framing test fit - thankfully a good one. I will use RB or Aber brass barrels for the guns, and I think I will get hold of some Archer transfer rivets for the outside turret framing . As I mentioned previously, the biggest challenge is going to be the glass for the windows That's it for now - comments & questions welcomed! Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Madness, genius... Who cares?! This is a visual feast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 Madness, genius... Who cares?! This is a visual feast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttoncup Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Wow that's some great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warhawk Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Some might say it's a crappy kit, but some look at it as a canvas for their art. Fantastic build so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Simeral Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Rich, I think you missed some detail! Fantastic work! I can't wait to see it finished. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 (edited) *update 16 July 2012* Hi everyone, Welcome to my latest update. I have been pretty busy over the last few weeks trying to decide what to build...and what not to. I always intended to show a gaping hole in the fuselage side, maybe from a flak burst or rocket attack, which would show off the interior. I decided to cut a large hole in the port side, just behind the radio room - mainly because I knew from photographs that the bulkhead just in front of the ball turret (ie bulkhead 6 - the radio room bulkhead) acted as a kind of blast-wall - ripped metal from an explosion stopped abruptly at this point - here's an image from the 'daveswarbirds' website for illustrative purposes only - this is actually the starboard side - you can see on the left that the damage stops at the fifth bulkhead. I am going to apply the same principal to the port side damage: And here's a picture from the net of the backside of bulkhead 6, just in front of the ball turret & looking forward towards the cockpit - it has been stripped bare in this image - I have replicated the details here only (for now) until I can find more images: Here are a couple of shots of the port side fuselage. At first I removed the 'battle damaged' area in a haphazard way. Later I realised that for realism' sake I should have followed the panel lines, which I duly did. In order to replicate the damage, I will wait until the final stages of the build when I am skinning the model with pewter sheet - I can then fashion some ribs and some damaged panels, and attach them in the correct place - the end result will look like the picture I posted above of the damaged aircraft. The plastic of the vacform fuselage is also way thicker than is realistic, and would require an age to sand down - this way I can blend the pewter panels in and have the exposed torn edges a realistic thickness. To make the bulkheads themselves, I used a piece of wire & trial and error / sanding. Curl the wire around inside the fuselage, bend to shape & then draw roughly around the wire, which holds its shape. Pretty crude, and takes a while, but do-able with some patience. I made a start of the ribs by layering 0.75 x 0.75 plastic strip three deep for each rib. Notice how the 'damage' stops abruptly at the bulkhead, as previously described - I also decided to add a little damage just behind the cockpit, so you can see the workings of the top turret. You can see that I have cut a rough, jagged hole but I will probably enlarge it along the panel lines later... In the last image you can see that I cut the door opening - this leads through to the radio room. So....here is another image I found on the net. This is the front of bulkhead 6 (ie inside the radio room, looking rearwards). Here is found a bank of tuning units on the left. Above that there are stored some tools - the emergency crank extensions for the bomb bay doors (x2), and the manual engine starter crank extension rod. On the right are the antenna tuning unit (top),the transmitter (centre) and transmitter tuning unit (bottom) - in this image there is a modern fire extinguisher where the transmitter tuning unit should be - the transmitter itself is also a slightly different model to the one in my aircraft. note that the layout varied greatly according to the machine, and there was no 'standard' configuration. Here's what I built according to my sources: the three pencilled circles on the transmitter are where I need to fit some instrument bezels later. I also made a start on the opposite corner, which is the radio operator's station. So far I've made only the chair and the table. Here's an image I found from the net for illustrative purposes only - these views are looking forward towards the bomb bay. The radio operator sits on the port side behind bulkhead 5: and some images of what I've made so far: the two little gadgets above the table mounted on the bulkhead wall are (left to right) the warning bell, and the ASH receiver. Finally, an overview of the compartment - very small but very busy: lots still to build, will post an update ASAP but it's slow going! Comments welcomed stay tuned Rich Edited July 16, 2012 by richdlc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Looks great... stop skimping on the detail though - put your back into it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Looks great... stop skimping on the detail though - put your back into it! ha, thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robw_uk Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 is the only word for this... only just seen your work - now watching avidly..... of course if you were a "real" modeller you would be doing this in 1:72 ;-) (joke, dont hit me)..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 is the only word for this... only just seen your work - now watching avidly..... of course if you were a "real" modeller you would be doing this in 1:72 ;-) (joke, dont hit me)..... haha thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Jellyfingers Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Very very impressive work, love the detail that's going in. This looks like a nice scale for some serious detailing and that's what we are being treated to, looking forward to more! Si. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 Hi everyone - here's my latest update (August 25 2012) for the B-17 build. I have been beavering away on the interior - got a lot of work done on the radio room & have started on the cockpit. There's a hell of a lot to scratchbuild, but that's all part of the fun! I have been helped a great deal by images of the restoration of the Duxford B-17G, which has been documented over on the Warbird Information Exchange website - I have been given special permission to use & reproduce the amazing images, so I must give credit to David Whitworth & WIX forum member 'Bomberflight' (who also runs the www.bomberflight.info website) - David has allowed me to use the pics to illustrate my posts, and asked me to mention Bomberflight - so a massive thanks to them! Okay - back to the build - last time I showed you how I was working on the radio room - this time around you can see that I have added most of the radio equipment. Last time I had built a bank of tuning units on the left hand side, and the antenna tuning unit, the transmitter and transmitter tuning unit on the right hand side. I had also started on the radio operator's station. I noticed that the operator sat more or less directly underneath the small window in the fuselage side - I'd made the table too short, so firstly I lengthened it - I then added the receiver unit (possible a touch overscale but I can live with it) , desk-mounted swiveling lamp, fire extinguisher, cabin light, oxygen regulator and oxygen tank - oh, and of course I added ribbing to the fuselage side! I added the RTO's headphones for a touch more accuracy. I also added a door to the bomb bay - I decided it wasn't worth detailing the bomb bay itself as it would be invisible once the fuselage sides were buttoned up - so I depicted the door slightly ajar...but otherwise closed. First up - some images from a useful site I found that provides 360 degree panoramic views - all images strictly for illustrative purposes only: Things to note: I made the swivel lamp 'shade' too long - I subsequently removed the end 'cone' bit. And the fuselage ribbing isn't strictly kosher - but I only found that out after I'd finished it, and I don't think it'll matter much. Here's how you make oxygen hoses - take a piece of fuse wire, wrap much smaller gauge fuse wire around it, secure with dabs of superglue - quick and effective! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 On the right hand side of bulkhead 5 is the command radio equipment - transmitter on top & receiver below - I made these using the same method as the others, namely make a box from styrene & then detail it according to my references: Behind these radios, on the right hand side of the fuselage is the auxiliary crewmember's seat - I made this from plastic card with milliput for the seat cushions - the oxygen regulator was made as per the one on the other side, and the fuselage ribbing the same. Seatbelts from thin metal sheet & some random photoetched buckles from the spares box A frame runs around the underside of the large (removable) observation window in the roof - I'm not sure if this was just for support, or to mount the .50 cal on - my Fort will be a late version 'G' which dispensed with the .50 cal in any case.... but the frame remains, so I had to make it. Here's some more pics from that 360 walkaround site I mentioned: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 Here's my frame - I made a mistake - it should arch up at the front and back - mine is flat...again, I'm not too fussed, it looks the part! Next up - the life raft compartment. There's no need really to have this open, but I have plenty of pics & thought 'why not?' - besides, it will give a nice extra dimension of detail. I made a plastic sheet 'tunnel' between bulkheads 5 and 4, and blocked off the ends I also added plastic rod for strength & positioning purposes - I'll fill any gaps and add more details during final assembly, but for now I just wanted to make a rough impression of what it'll be like so I could carry on with building more floors and bulkheads - the construction is starting to take on the characteristics of the 1/48 and 1/72 kits available - ie everything built in sections & connected - then the whole lot can just be inserted into the fuselage shell: After I had connected bulkheads 5 and 4 I was able to start fashioning the cockpit area. You can see in this pic that I have made the floor to which the top turret is attached the sides slope upwards (and are covered by fabric in the real thing) - forward of that it steps up in height to the cockpit floor - underneath the cockpit floor is the crew forward entrance hatch, and immediately in front of that is bulkhead 3 with a doorway through to the bombardier's station - this also acts as a support for the main instrument panel - phew! got that? The hole you can see in the fuselage side just in front of the bulkhead is where I am going to have some more battle damage - I really wanted to show off my top turret and some of the detail I'm going to put into the cockpit area between the pilot & co-pilot's seats is an opening so crewmen can get to the flightdeck, and also get to the forward entrance hatch - here you can see that I have also made the support frames for the seats - plenty more details to add, but you get the gist of it: This is where I give credit to the guys on the Warbird Information Exchange website for their fantastic pics - including loads of the cockpit area! Seat frame details: by good luck & co-incidence, the Verlinden 'Lock On' book covered the Duxford B-17 also - here's a scanned image from that publication showing the same detail: I made another mistake - I glued the seat frames in too far forward - the rear of the seats themselves should overhang the lip of the cockpit floor - in other words the edge of the 'trench' should be slap in the middle of where the seats are.... I have remedied this somewhat by hacking a section out between the seats - once again I don't think it'll look too shabby when everythings glued in place & painted. The final part of this update deals with the main instrument panel. I have numerous images of both the front and back, again thanks to my friends at the Warbird Info Exchange site - again, the Verlinden book (and co-incidentally the Aero Detail book) have some great pics - here's a scanned image from the former showing the rear of the I.P. and more images from the W.I.X. site and here's what it looks like with its fabric cover on: guess which one I chose to do! The I.P. rear has 3 sections - the backside of the I.P., a wooden protective guard, and a further bulkhead - here's the first two: and all 3 plastic card, strip & rod with very fine wiring for the, er, wiring - I stripped this from some electrical wire I bought at a local hardware store that had a lattice-work of super fine wires. Finally, here's the I.P. fascia in progress: There's an absolute shedload more work to do, and what you see here is barely scratching the surface, but I am loving it! well that's about it for now - as always, feedback welcomed! Rich 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noeyedears Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 (edited) ninja skills !! awesome!!! Edited August 25, 2012 by noeyedears Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammerUK9 Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 ...Please tell me you have not just gone and scratch-built all of that... Looks like Scratcher and Melchie are really going to have to pull their fingers out to win the title of most amazing build ever Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 haha thanks Tim! In other news - HK Models announce the release of their 1/32 B-17G around Christmas time or early New Year, bloody typical !!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratcher Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 That's fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basosz Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Well that's just simply fantastic. And a useful reference for anyone building (or planning to build) another B-17. Sweet mother of the baby jesus you've put in a lot of detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 This is model making of a different class... simply phenominal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I'm chiming in way late, but I see you've discovered that "Combat models" is a description and not a brand name. Your work is splendiferous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Jellyfingers Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Awe inspiring work, a proper treat for the eyes on this dull rainy day! Si. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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