Testors Store Display

[TonyW]

And now for something completely different...

 

I've wanted a model of the B17 on the cover of the 1940's Testors US Army Air Corp paint set for as long as I've owned the set, ten years or more now! This GB gives me the KUTA that the job needs. I'm going to use an Airfix B17 as a base and backdate the whole thing to resemble a forties wooden model. The plan is to use the plane as part of a fictitious store display for the paint set. 

 

Here's the paint set in question, complete with a gloriously inaccurate B17 colour scheme! The doner Airfix kit is an ebay cheapy, missing it's clear parts and in a beat up box, but coming with decals for five other B17's, Lassie and her Lads, Idiots Delight, Ikky Poo, and Worrybird on a PrintScale sheet and Flak Eater on a separate sheet. I've also got a few original Bit 'O Lace decals if I decide to go all traditional during the GB. 😁

The clear sprue in the box is nearly empty and for a different kit altogether!

I've got another B17 on its way, a Minicraft 1.72 B17G, missing its decals, so one of these sheet options will get used there on another build. Lassie and Her Lads is the current favourite here, the replacement outer wings would make for an interesting scheme.  

 

 

Work has started, with a bit of basic assembly. The Airfix mould seems to be nearly worn out at this point. there's a ton of flash everywhere and the bigger parts are somewhat warped. This kit was made in 1975 so it seems Airfix had this mould running flat out all the time for it to be so worn at that point.

 

More later.

 

Tony.

Edited October 20, 2018 by TonyW

[TonyW]

Another view of the paint set.

The model box unfortunately doesn't contain a Fortress, the company used a generic box for its kits. The end flap got a stamp detailing the contents. This one has a B29 inside.

 

Edited October 20, 2018 by TonyW

[Thom216]

Love this idea! Very cool and interesting.

[malpaso]

21 hours ago, TonyW said:

Another view of the paint set.

The model box unfortunately doesn't contain a Fortress, the company used a generic box for its kits. The end flap got a stamp detailing the contents. This one has a B29 inside.

 

Is it a wood model in that box?  I have most of a "Grace" (I think) B-17G wartime wood kit to build/complete one day.

Cheers

Will

[TonyW]

It is a wooden model in the box, a real piece of modelling history. I found the picture while trawling through my files, looking for stuff to add here. I can't find more detailed pictures of it at the moment.

I have a Grace Hurricane and Ju88 tucked away in the loft. The Hurricane was sealed when I got it, I couldn't resist opening it. The contents look like an incendiary bomb! Solvent based bottles of paint and glue, wooden kit parts with paper instructions, all sat on a bed of wood shavings!! Probably a bit less than legal today.

 

 

I'm still trying to locate this one. I know it's in the loft, but where in the loft is the problem...

 

A kit from a British company, Airyda, and their take on the B17. Once I find it I'll add a bit in the reference thread for the GB.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by TonyW

[MarkSH]

Great stuff, this really appeals to me, I love the 'More that a toy for man and boy' & 'Temporary wartime packaging' lines on the label.

[TonyW]

The early stuff has quite a grip on me as well.

 

Check out this Aeromodeller cover. Men and Boys building models on Government time!

 

 

I don't have one of these Testors B17's, but would dearly like to own one someday. To have a built model sat alongside the original boxed kit and the paint set would have me a bit wobbly around the knee's!

 

 

I'll crack on with the modified Airfix kit for this build but I can see me wanting to have a go at a wooden kit, possibly for this GB. The collector in me won't let me hack up an original, but I can't see too much of a problem copying the parts from the Airyda B17 shown above, for instance.

 

Tony. 

 

 

[TonyW]

Although the paints in the Testors set are rock hard now, enough of the old pigment is visible to give a fair indication as to what passed for authentic colours back then. I'll try adding a bit of thinners to the bottles but I don't hold out much hope after all these years.

 

 

The green looks like it was a close match for the box top colour. That's fine, I can match that. The Sand/Tan has a pink tint to it that might be down to pigments separating. It's not a million miles away from the box colour, so I'll go ahead and copy that as well. The Grey looks very dark. I'll use something a bit lighter and just say the old stuff darkened with age!

 

More later.

 

Tony.
 

[TonyW]

A bit of cosmetic surgery smoothed out the Airfix airframe over the weekend. The poor model didn't know what hit it! 

Just about a full tube of green stuff, the last of my milliput and a razor saw and 120 grit paper were involved. Savage stuff, but the pure lines of the aircraft are starting to emerge from the wreckage.

 

 

I've added a bit of thinner to a couple of the paint bottles to see what happens there. If I get lucky, I'll use 1940's paint on the build. Woo Hoo!

 

There's a ton of filling and sanding still required, but the build is well and truly underway now. 

[malpaso]

Watch out, those period paints were usually cellulose dope which won’t do the Airfix kit much good!

[TonyW]

52 minutes ago, malpaso said:

Watch out, those period paints were usually cellulose dope which won’t do the Airfix kit much good!

 

Very true.

I usually use car primer over plastic to get around that scenario. For some reason celly primer does not eat plastic at anything like the same rate as top coats. 

[Ventora3300]

5 hours ago, TonyW said:

A bit of cosmetic surgery smoothed out the Airfix airframe over the weekend. The poor model didn't know what hit it! 

 

I've added a bit of thinner to a couple of the paint bottles to see what happens there. If I get lucky, I'll use 1940's paint on the build. Woo Hoo!

 

Now I understand where you are going with the 'wood look', Tony, and I was just about to ask if you were going to be using the original paints... Very good luck and fingers crossed for that.

[Thom216]

Quite the bit if elbow grease must be tapped for this. You won't want to sand anything else for the next year!

[TonyW]

6 hours ago, Thom216 said:

Quite the bit if elbow grease must be tapped for this. You won't want to sand anything else for the next year!

 

 

Tell me about it!  Fill, sand, prime... repeat.... 

 

I'm getting to know all the curves and crevasses of a B17 airframe at the moment. The filling and sanding will be going on for some time by the look of it, although things are moving in the right direction.

 

I've also topped up the dried up original paints with cellulose auto thinner and it seems to be working. The Olive Drab is nearly usable. the Neutral Grey needs more of a soak apparently, but it's getting there. The Grey is also very dark. The Sand has a very strong pink tint to it. It could be used as a flesh colour as it is. I doubt I'll be using it on this build.

 

 

The next progress report will be along later, there's not much point posting more similar sanding and priming pictures, I'll hold fire until it's ready for a bit of proper paintwork.

 

Tony.

[TonyW]

The Airfix airframe has been filled, primed and sanded about a million times now! it's nearly ready for paint. The yellow finish on it at the moment is Hi Build Primer. The colour of it isn't too far removed from the box top finish, so a bit of experimenting with a coat or two of Tamiya clear colours is on the cards here. It's all starting to look like an old wooden kit to me, so I'm moving in the right direction.

 

More as it happens....

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2018 by TonyW

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Great work on your build, however I have to say that is one nasty color. 

[Thom216]

Eh, with the green on it'll look super!

[TonyW]

Now there's two sides of the same coin😁

 

The colour is a bit of a fright as it sits, I'll give you that one. But if I told you it's correct for the lesser known Paraguayan Air Sea Rescue scheme it would suddenly be fine! We get used to certain colours for certain planes.

It's early days for the top colours. The primer is close to the box top colour but not quite close enough. I'm after a paintjob that looks old, not necessarily anything accurate either!! The box top is my guide.

I'm fairly sure a mist of either Tamiya clear orange or clear yellow, suitably thinned, will get me where I want to be. Once the cammo is done, the whole plane will get a bit of burnt sienna oil paint applied overall, then polished back until it's only just there. I've used this method on a couple of FROG Penguin restorations and it seems to work well. It's a subtle effect that works for me. Here's a Penguin Do217 I restored a while ago. The oil paint has dulled the scheme down quite nicely, giving an old look to the restoration. it was a bit vivid before the oil treatment.

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

13 hours ago, TonyW said:

But if I told you it's correct for the lesser known Paraguayan Air Sea Rescue scheme

I forgot about that scheme. 😉

[TonyW]

Getting there, slow but sure...

 

Things were coming along just fine with the primer filler stage but something was just not right. The look was wrong somehow. Sitting the plane alongside the other B17  I have on the go brought home the problem, such as it was. The backdated B17 was too detailed in the engine department!!  Its smoothed out rather basic lines didn't sit right with the detailing of the Airfix engines showing.

I've now filled the cowls on all four engines and smoothed out the insides. The plan worked. The model has lost all traces of its Airfix origins and now has a full on forties build look about it. It's enough to give a superdetailer a fit, but it's got me smiling at the daftness of it all. There's a few tiny bits of filling still needed, but paintwork is near.

 

 

The back detailed engines will be getting basic spinners made, along with clear disc props. Skybirds tried using watchsprings for a spinning look, and sold them as accessories. I've copied the idea on the Dornier posted above but getting four springs all the same for the B17 would be a bit of a task, it was hard enough finding two for the Penguin Dornier! It does give a very period look to a model though.

 

 

I'll  dig out a few of my solid scale kits, to show what early kits used for engines. They ranged from clay cowls with basic cylinder detailing to round wooden blanks you carved to shape yourself, via fairly detailed cast metal parts. Things were a whole lot simpler back then, and manufacturers tried many different materials on their products. A fascinating time.

[TonyW]

A bit of an update...

 

Here's the plane with its new engines, or lack of them really. Sat in front are the engine parts from the Airyda Solid Scale B17 I mentioned above. The balsa nacelles need carving into shape to match the cowls shown.  They are made of some kind of early plastic. They are quite dense and heavy for their size. My modern take on the look seems close enough to pass inspection, to me at any rate.

 

The second picture is of a FROG Penguin cowl and engine in cast metal. Not to shabby for a pre-war kit!

 

 

Edited November 16, 2018 by TonyW

[TonyW]

The airframe has had its first coat of proper paint!  The seemingly endless priming and sanding is finally over. Hoo Bloody Ray!

 

The paint used is Humbrol No6 or maybe No9, either could be right looking at the tin lid. It's a bit darker than the box top but a lighter version I tried earlier didn't look right. The match was closer but something wasn't quite right. The current finish will get a flat down and a  second coat tomorrow then it's on to the green areas. Humbrol green No3 is a bit dark, but the addition of something like a 3:1 mix with Humbrol  Yellow No69 is very close to the box top and will be the probable colour used, after a quick trial. I'm hoping a coat or two of Tamiys Clear Yellow over the green and brown will give something like the transparent looking finish of the box top rendering.

Clear colours seem to loose transparency under flat varnish finishes, so if I go that route the plane will end up in a semi or full gloss finish. That's for later though.

 

 

 

I've made up a top turret using part of the lower ball turret and a bit of Milliput, sanded to something like the shape of the odd looking turret on the box top. I'll fit and fair it in tomorrow, before any more paintwork. Brass tube gun barrels will be used here and at the tail end. I'm unsure if a ball turret will look right for this particular build, I'll offer one up and check it out though.

 

This build it too old school for decals. Transfers however, have been found that should fit the bill. A couple of old FROG B17 sheets have provided suitable sized stars and they are ready and waiting for the paint to dry. They aren't forties transfers, but they are about forty years old now, so they fit in with the spirit of the build. The same sheets have also provided wing walkways on my Lassie and her Lads build.

 

It's quite refreshing doing this build alongside Lassie and her Lads. One is getting smoothed out and finished with toy like colours, the other is getting a bit more detail thrown its way. I'm enjoying the contrasting styles of building going on here.

 

Tony.

[Thom216]

That's really coming along. Are you going to do blurred props?

[Ol' Scrapiron]

If you put some streaks in that finish it looks like it is carved out of a really nice piece of oak. Suitable for the executive desktop.

 

Looking forward to seeing your green mix go on and what the colored clearcoat does for it.

[TonyW]

The plane does look very much like a wooden one at the moment, A bit of Sienna or Umber oil paint, streaked into a wood like pattern might well be a convincing looking finish. Not for this particular build though, I'm set on a box top re-creation this time around. It's something to think about for a future build and may well get attempted at some point.

 

Props are undecided at the moment. Clear discs as on the box illustration are the most likely choice or possible stamped metal ones, like came in many forties kits. The problem there is that I don't have four spares! They also look a bit too toy like, rather than the almost cartoon look I'm after here. Nothings set in stone yet and I'll be trying a few different ideas before committing to anything in particular. Another decision to be made is, Do I add undercarriage or sit the plane on a stand? I'll probably make a removable set of wheels to allow me to have my cake and eat it!

 

A Store Display base will be next in line for construction. It's got to look like a period piece and show off the paint set and plane to equal effect. A larger version of something like this Lindberg Glue Display is what I'll be aiming at.

 

 

More as it happens.

Edited November 23, 2018 by TonyW