Graham77 Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Morning all, here is my entry to the B17 GB. It’s Academy’s SB 17 kit (with a box that opens correctly requiring no modification😉) As you can see I shall be improving the wheels with the assistance of Eduard and also using a slightly stronger undercarriage courtesy of Scale Aircraft Conversions, apart from that though it’ll be all Academy’s finest plastic. I’ll do some shots of that as I build it rather than one large one here. So what was the SB17 and who is Pop Pop? Firstly Academy sum up the SB17 quite nicely on the instructions Onto Pop Pop, well he is my Wife’s Grandad and towards the end of WW2 he joined the Army Air Force as a pilot and started flying the PT 17, no sooner had he started the war in Europe finished and so the requirement for pilots reduced and he was re-trained as a radio operator/waist gunner on the B17 and as part of this he got to float around in the sea waiting for these boats to be dropped for training and testing as the system was developed. Alas before he was signed off operationally the war in the Pacific finished and he spent his whole time training in the states. At the time he was upset like the rest of his course, looking back he reckons he had one lucky escape. He talks fondly about the B17 and the PT17. For his 85th Birthday he got to fly in one again at Fantasy of Flight near Orlando, not to far from where he now lives. A while back I built him a PT 17 in the old Army colours he remembered and he has it on a wooden pole next to his TV, not too sure how to get this from Merry Old England (as he loves to call it) but that’s a problem for another day! I’ll fish out some photos of him in the Stearman for later on in the build, until then looking forward to getting started on this beauty! Cheers for now Graham 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 A great background story with personal and human interest included! Welcome and enjoy the flight. Glad you got a first rate box for your kit too 👍. V-P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Great tale and a fitting build tribute. The box theme could be a long runner and should appear more often in kit reviews! I hate end opening boxes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham77 Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 It has the makings of a whole GB, forget what the model is it just can’t be an end opening box😂. Here are a couple of pics of Pop Pop, a sprightly mid 90’s gent with my 2 boys, in the front seat of a Stearman and his little PT17 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham77 Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 Finally got stuck in to this build and got started with the traditional B17 starting sections. Cockpit, navigator station, wings and Lifeboat. Here is the boat and the sub sections. The sub sub assemblies ready for priming and painting before assembly Primed, ready for a test fit and then painting and some details depending on what you can see (I’ll definitely be building another B17 in the future but with this one time is of the essence and I’m going to spend my time on the bits you can see) That is it for now, hopefully a couple of nights of painting and we should then be able to close up the fuselage and turn my attention to the undercarriage and wings! (I nearly forgot all the windows to fit and mask🤯) cheers for now Graham 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 Watching with interest. I don't recall seeing many of that version modelled. Don't forget to correct the dihedral on the Academy kit - there's far too much. This is my Airfix Re-box of the Acedemy kit. I can't recall how thick the shim was that I added to the top of the wing root, but without it, the incorrect dihedral makes the model look ridiculous. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham77 Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 Thanks for that top tip, I’ll start having a look at that once I get this closed up. I think I have a 3 view drawing of the B17 somewhere.......or I’ll google another build and see what they did to correct it🤫. edited to say google got the answer in 15secs...looks like a 10 thou shim and a tweak to the undercarriage to make it straight with the new lesser dihedral (which should be straight forward with the metal gear I’m planning to use🤞. BTW lovely build of a great restoration project! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 A nice variant, and a colorful bid at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham77 Posted November 23, 2018 Author Share Posted November 23, 2018 The fuselage is closed up with all the blanks and glazing in place (except the nose) Before the nose goes on a quick peak inside, I added a search map and some papers to the tables to busy it up a bit, then realised it’ll all be hidden. Next up I think I’ll get the glazing on and masked before a coat of primer and a clean up of the fuselage before moving on to the wings. Cheers for now Graham 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Glad to see your progress! Though I know nothing about Pop Pop´s SB, I think the chin mg-turret controls could and should be removed (and saved or sent to someone needing it for his/hers Revell B-17G that lacks it completely ). The same of course applies to bomb sight too. According to a review of the kit, Academy instructions aren´t quite accurate about the SB-versions differences to regular G:s, unfortunately. But removing them would also open the view to the nose compartment nicely! V-P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Very nice, clean building going on here. keep us updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Very nice. You're making me want to buy one of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham77 Posted November 25, 2018 Author Share Posted November 25, 2018 On 11/23/2018 at 10:37 AM, vppelt68 said: Glad to see your progress! Though I know nothing about Pop Pop´s SB, I think the chin mg-turret controls could and should be removed (and saved or sent to someone needing it for his/hers Revell B-17G that lacks it completely ). The same of course applies to bomb sight too. According to a review of the kit, Academy instructions aren´t quite accurate about the SB-versions differences to regular G:s, unfortunately. But removing them would also open the view to the nose compartment nicely! V-P Will remove and forward if you PM your address😉. Have to confess there is a fair bit of artistic licence going on with this as Pop Pop spent most of his training as a waist gunner and radio operator, his SB dealings were predominantly water based. Ie bobbing in the sea waiting for the lifeboat to parachute down. However all his good B17 stories involved those training sessions😉. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham77 Posted December 31, 2018 Author Share Posted December 31, 2018 Long time since I posted but progress has been made. First up the wings were adjusted and attached, the seams sorted out and then the lost panel lines rescribed back in. Then the sun came out so it was time for some primer, sanding, primer and then some colour First up the yellow, then masked it and added the silver and unveiled to get my first look at what is becoming one of my favourites this year. Next up is adding the rest of the details that need painting, anti glare strips etc, the engines and the cowling, then it’ll be time for gloss and decals! 👍. But that’ll be a job for another year! Thank you for looking, have a great New Years and I’ll see you in 2019 to finish this off! Cheers Graham 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Delighted to see your update! Happy new year to you too! V-P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham77 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Decals and props ready for varnish and some weathering....it’s going to be tight but should get it finished in time. Hopefully the next ones will be nearly finished...... I guess this variant traditionally followed behind the rest so seems apt it’s one of the last to finish😀. Have a good weekend Graham 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 That looks really smart. A great scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 That yellow is really popping! Great job on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol' Scrapiron Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 That looks great!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham77 Posted February 1, 2019 Author Share Posted February 1, 2019 First up the scary and then rewarding weathering process Then it was just the aerials and lifeboat to attach and she was ready to rescue the stragglers Now to get a couple of good shots for the gallery! Cheers for the comments and help along the way, this has been a lot of fun 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Army_Air_Force Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Looks great and lovely finish. Just needs some pictures out doors with a real background. That will really show it at its best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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