Mjwomack Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I'm regretting this already! But I was in search of a mojo restorer (maybe a B-17 what if), and seeing as 1:72nd is well catered for, and not being convinced that 1:48 is going to restore my mojo I thought, why not go the other way? So, I've got a minicraft 1:144 B-17G and some decals that apparently make it for Sally B... what could be more fun, a little bit off the beaten track and with some personal history from my South Cambs villages thrown in? Sally B it'll be http://www.sallyb.org.uk/index.htm Bit of an imposter as she never saw war service, but there were some bizarre mods in her life http://www.sallyb.org.uk/history.htm Photos to follow, but the mini craft kit has a decidedly 'toy' feel to it- maybe it'll actually match my skill level. And for all the discussion of interior paints, the mini craft advice is straight from the Rolling Stones- Pain it black (all of it!!) And the decals are rudimentary at best, and omit the crucial feature of Sally B, the yellow checkerboard on #3 engine Photos and progress coming over the weekend with a tailwind, but I'm in! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 Oh it shall be Sally B! Sorry, I'll get me ! Glad to see the manageable footprint Fortresses getting their share. V-P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol' Scrapiron Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 I may be just a little biased, but I would certainly throw a vote in to depict her when she wore the 447th BG markings on her tail in the mid-80s (the following are not my photos -- found at robineldridge.co.uk via Google search ) - - ----- And two others found via Google search - 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjwomack Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 (edited) @Ol' Scrapiron I think I can spot a trend here! I remember this scheme, in the Boy Scouts we got a gig for a Duxford airshow as car park attendents and selling programmes and this is the livery she was in back then. About the same time the chap who had a Saturday job in the local model shop (they were sooo common back then) was a volunteer on the ground crew and fashioned the machine guns from broom-sticks. (He also got thrown out of a sweet job for making an impression of a Phantom taking off, but that's for another build maybe) But I'm going with the current Sally b/ Memphis Belle scheme as I enjoy the curiosity of Memphis Belle with a chin turret! Edited November 8, 2018 by Mjwomack Added info 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 The more the merrier! Welcome aboard. Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjwomack Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 And now some pictures The box- this may yet be the best part and even that's got a dent in it! The parts, instruction sheet- though I'm not encouraged by the built example at the top of them. Replacement decals - such as they are (grumble grumble) and the rest of the instructions with such advice as BLACK inside and that all the gun barrels should be painted gun metal- that's a big help; I was wondering. Right, and this is going to restore my mojo so in we go 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted November 8, 2018 Share Posted November 8, 2018 The first step is the hardest, and you've already taken it! V-P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjwomack Posted December 25, 2018 Author Share Posted December 25, 2018 And I'm still here! A little progress has been made. Possibly too long has been spent researching and pondering,but my mojo is stirring Here's a before and after of the fuselage, cheek gun positions have been removed and the waist position opened up Hoping progress will speed up,especially with a few days off 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjwomack Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 One of the more intriguing features of the Minicraft kit is the rarely modelled, let alone existed, clear chin turret... Obviously, being rarely seen it is hard to see in this picture, but nothing that a coat of paint won't take care of. An attempt at the waist gun position, the edges will get tidied up with clearsil when the other glazing gets filled in. Scribed in the crew hatch- this is a very important and personal detail because it was how w got my dad inside when he was in the later stages of his life; we weren't sure he was agile enough, but determination overcomes a lot of things and we got him in, sat on the flight deck (even though he was a 73sqn Spitfire man) and out again. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjwomack Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 Whoops,it wasn't only Burton Albion who had a bad night.. In my eagerness to make progress,I forgot to mask the waist positions before painting. Schoolboy error,and our with the scalpel to scrap 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjwomack Posted January 21, 2019 Author Share Posted January 21, 2019 Sigh of relief for the extension, I should finish for this weekend. Scraping away on the mistakingly pained waist positions. Also reworking the checkerboard on no 3 engine as my first attempt was too toy-like to even take a pic of. Pics soon when there's something less embarrassing to show. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 Push it push it now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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