AnonymousDFB1 Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 (edited) 'Little Miss Mischief' B-17G 1st Air Division, 1st Combat Wing, 91st Bomb Group 323rd Bomb Squadron, Bassingbourn, UK, Feb 1945 Kit: Revell 1:72 Decals: Supplied Paint: Tamiya, Lifecolor, Gunze, Citadel, Model Air. Extras: None, OOB Build Thread: HERE Built for the USAAF In Europe Group Build LMM is a true cut and shut build having the front of the original aircraft and the rear of another. In fact she is reputed to have the major parts from 13 different aircraft! A little of the history of LMM "Lt Paul McDowell was flying her on the 15 October 1944 mission to Köln (Cologne) when she became a victim of antiaircraft fire. Flak blew a large hole in the left side of the fuselage just above the ball turret, trapping gunner Sgt Ed Abdo inside. The same explosion wounded right waist gunner Glenn Slaughter. The rudder and trim cables were shot through as well. McDowell salvoed the bombs while flight engineer Jim Hobbs grabbed and repaired the control cables flapping in the waist. Ball turret gunner Abdo was given blankets and oxygen bottles, and administered himself morphine, amazingly surviving the whole ordeal. The aircraft dropped down to lower altitude and flying at only about 100 miles per hour eventually made it home to Bassingbourn. Before landing the crew had to crank the landing gear down by hand. The fact that the aircraft had suffered such major damage, yet stayed intact long enough to bring her crew home, was a testament to the strength of the Flying Fortress and the indomitable spirit of the people who built them. But, it certainly appeared that LMM had flown her final mission. At the 441st Sub Depot, the service unit attached to the 91st Bomb Group, Col Frank Kamykowski decided to make an extraordinary effort to repair this ship. He combined its undamaged front portion and wings with the rear fuselage from an older aircraft, most likely 42-31405 "Walleroo Mk. 2," a camouflaged B-17G-15-BO that had served with the 303rd Bomb Group's 359th Bomb Squadron and was salvaged on 12 August 1944. By the time they were finished the repaired plane incorporated parts from 13 different aircraft! LMM's "half and half" finish made her one of the most conspicuous aircraft in the Eighth Air Force. After yet another raid on Köln, she was forced to make an emergency landing at Merville, France, on 6 January 1945, remaining on the continent for about a month. She rejoined the 91st upon her return, but lost an engine on 4 April 1945 while setting out to attack Fassberg, Germany, and was forced to abort the mission. Upon return to Bassingbourn her landing gear collapsed on landing and she again suffered major damage. Repaired yet again, she transferred to the 306th Bomb Group at Thurleigh in May 1945. Presumably she was eventually scrapped—a sad end for one of the thousands of aluminium warriors that refused to stop fighting. All told, she flew more than 50 combat missions." Edited August 18, 2012 by Mish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Jephcott Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Lovely work Mish. Loving the subtle weathering and colour scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spad Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Lovely job there Mish. Loving the faded paintwork effects and the attention to detail with that complex scheme. Enjoyed reading the wip thread and really pleased that Mungo1974 picked up on the replacement left wing issue - looks much better for it! I can safely say that must be the nicest 1/72 B-17 I've seen yet - top job! cheers Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasticbutcher Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Excellent job Mish, Really top notch work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 SUPERB ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungo1974 Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Superb job Mish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Starling Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Looks very, very good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luis Alfonso Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Just a wonderful job!! Thank you very much for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul A H Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Ogilvie Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Beautiful Mish! Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiton Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Model looks very nice. Only I miss the close-ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbuna Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Very nice indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Wow, that weathering is spot on for the model. Looks brilliant. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llking Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 very nice MIsh, great job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Nice one Mish! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avro683 Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Spot on Mish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Lovely mish, really suits a bit of weathering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Lovely work, really nicely done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Excellent work! Really inspirational ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 top notch work the painting is excellent, love the weathering great stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatcliffeDemon Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 That looks really nice. Great paint finish really doing justice to this fascinating aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Thanks folks, I'm really pleased with this one, the kit goes together a dream. If I was building it again I would replace the kit decals with either Kitsworld or preferably Dave Klaus' wonderful if expensive Pyn-Up decals. The lit decals are good and settle down well but a couple are incorrectly sized. They are also short of one that makes the kit look more 'authentic' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pompey Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Very nice build, love the scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stryker Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Eeeeeeeeeggcellent!! Love it Mish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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