DaveyGair Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Ok, don't know if I'll get this done as I'm having a bit of 'modellers block' (see 'Butterworth Blenheim' in the Pacific at War GB). Sprue shots show wing parts, fuselage removed just to test fit. I'm doing Kitsworld's 'Hekla Hettie', an early 'F' model, so using the 'E' as a basis as this has the correct forward fuselage side glazing. I have QB paddle blades, engines and cowlings (apparently the kit parts aren't that good), Falcon clear parts for the frameless nose glazing, don't know how much I'll use of the Eduard Etch I'll use as I'm late into this! Davey. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Great choice Davey, nice to have another Coastal Fort being built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Yes, the CC colours are very striking! Welcome! V-P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 After a huge lack of 'modelling mojo' I've finally got round to getting on with 'Hettie'. 19 days left, doable? well, gonna give it a go. Fortunately the Academy kit is very simple in its breakdown of parts and lacks a fair bit of smaller details, so just going for 'effect' rather than adding a lot of said details. I was going to add a radio room which the kit lacks, but that's going by the wayside! I started adding some Eduard etch into the cockpit, but lately I've lost any sort of 'steady hand' and the throttle levers etch aren't going to make it in! I tried a bit of 'smoke and mirrors' by spraying a darker shade of Aluminium over some strips of masking tape to show some ribbing but don't know how that'll turn out when closed up. Bit more paint to do in the cockpit yet, and I've started adding the small glazing in the nose which, so far, fit quite well. Hope everyone had a good Christmas and have a Happy new Year! Davey. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol' Scrapiron Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 The painted tape is an interesting idea since you only need the visual effect of ribbing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 19 days is more than enough, and your doing fine! V-P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 Whilst looking on the net for more photo's of CC Fortress's, and having another look at the only shot of 'Hettie' I have found, I noticed she hasn't got an upper turret! See here on this link https://wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/view.php?uid=226205 I continued to try to find photo's of 251 (MET) Sqn machines, and I came across some pages from the book by Robert M. Stitt, of which I don't have a copy. There were a couple of shots of 251 Sqn machines which show both no lower or upper turret, unfortunately not 'Hettie', but I'm now going with the fact that these all had them removed for the role they were employed for. The pictures show they still retained rear guns. Interestingly, the book describes the two upper nose windows were 'plated over', so will incorporate all of this in my model. Watch this space. Davey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted January 6, 2019 Author Share Posted January 6, 2019 Bashing on with this, as previously mentioned not going to attempt scratch building the radio compartment, so, with all the glazing installed the fuselage is ready to close up. Anyone adding the Eduard detail set, be aware that the throttle/engine control quadrant fouls the seats, so remove the seat tabs and install them after fitting the etch part. It makes a tight squeeze when installing the cockpit though. The fuselage halves look as though they will fit together very nicely, with minimal filler if any at all (famous last words!) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 Quick update, have added the blanking plates into one of the fuselage halves, then sprayed with aluminium. Joined the fuselage halves and started sorting a couple of minor join faults. The lower blanking plate had 'sunk' a bit so building up with filler. Also noticed the starboard waist gunner's window had dislodged, so had to get it out.... good job I had left off the radio room upper glazing! The bomb-bay doors weren't a good fit, but maybe just my poor modelling! , so will need some tidying up. Busy sorting the wings, and tail gunner's position, which is made up of separate clear halves. More to come, but don't know if I'll get this done in time. Davey. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 A bit more done, started on the resin QB engines, cowlings and props. Much removal off casting plugs on the engines and back plates which have to be glued together. The cowlings had difficult (for me!) to remove casting plugs inside the front of the cowl itself, to preserve the rounded edge, but found it difficult to blend in a round smooth edge. 12 separate blades to assemble, a jig is supplied to do this, got to take care to remove the blades and the hubs, the detail is superb on the hubs and can be broken off quite easily when handling, as I found out! Photo's are a bit blurred, the auto focus on my camera has packed in and I'm not an expert at photography! Davey. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 Bit more done. Forgot, I had to add an astrodome to the nose so have been making some modifications 🙄 I've also been starting to tackle the overdone main wing dihedral. I decided to glue on the lower wing halves, adding some plasticard fillets to drop the angle. I also added the main wheel gear legs, which you have to do anyway before adding the top halves, to make sure they were going to be set correctly. There is some flex in the wings, and when I add the upper halves, holding them against the root with tape across the full span, the dihedral will look better.... I think 🤔. This isn't scientifically done, I'm just comparing it to drawings on the net, on my ipad. The tailplanes are a nice fit, hardly any filler required. Tailgun position also added, used superglue which has affected the plastic, hope it doesn't look too bad on the glazed areas! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 Still plodding on with this, I think the Dihedral looks a lot better with placing 10 thou plasticard wedges in. Had to make sure the undercarriage legs were still correctly aligned. Just got the joins to sort out and install the cockpit glazing, mask the glazed areas and do an initial undercoat to check all is well. Hopefully will get this done before next weekend. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 Quick update, paint going on for better or worse! Took ages to get the white on, Ultimate white primer which does not cover as well as their grey or black primers. Used Vallejo ModelAir RLM21 White. Masked off and put on Xtracrylix EDSG, ( I've had problems with this make of paint in the past but have now got to grips with, just me, not the paint, it covers well ). Letting this harden a bit till I mask off for the Dark Slate Grey. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 Colours on, some overspray in places that I'll just make into 'weathering'. Going to put a gloss coat on later and get on with the decaling this weekend. Have one of the grandchildren all day tomorrow so gonna get nowt done then! Quickboost engines and cowlings are a bit better than kit items, someone with more patience and skill than me could add more to the engines but I just left them as is. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Looks the business Davey, race you to the finish line cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 16 hours ago, JOCKNEY said: Looks the business Davey, race you to the finish line cheers Pat Well, I'm up to this point at the moment Pat, also busy painting the props and wheels. Still all the 'fiddly bits to do and needs A LOT of touching up here and there. Hopefully see you t the finishing line but whether I get across before you remains to be seen 🤔 Davey. The fact that there is no upper turret, and the upper camo scheme extends along to the prop end of the cowlings (unlike what is shown on the 'Kitsworld Drawings) are based on photo's you can see following this link, just scroll down a bit and you'll find 'Hettie', 'Bess' and an unidentified B-17; https://wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/airfields/airfield.php?pid=1883 The placement of the codes and the sharper angle of the upper scheme towards the tail are based on another 251 Sqn Fortress AD-E, shown on the middle photo of this link; https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/472878029601067836/?lp=true 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 Hope you get Hettie across the line today Davey, she looks good so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 Come on Davey.... Watch you don't lose any bits between the cushions on the sofa ! Big push to the finish we are all behind you cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 Plenty of hours left Davey, you'll make it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyGair Posted February 3, 2019 Author Share Posted February 3, 2019 Well, I was determined to get her finished, and here she is. The Kitsworld decals went on really well, responded well with Micro Sol/Set. I fashioned a tailwheel strut but it collapsed during photography! Back to the drawing board 🙄 Overall a fair build, a lot of the tribulations were down to me and not the kit. It's a pity they have done the Dihedral way out but it is easily fixed. I ended up using the nose gazing from the Revell kit as I made a mess of the Pavla Vac-formed one! The glazing does not fit well but serves its purpose. Apologies to the B-17 'Buffs' for not improving/correcting the Carb'/Oil Cooler intakes, I'll do better next time 😉 Thanks for the words of encouragement and to the Host's for...….. well, hosting it! Well done to everyone on their excellent builds, hopefully 'Hettie' will fit in well 🙂 Davey. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 E's only gone an dun it ! Much like yourself mate, its a thing of beauty I have always thought these tail wheels were overrated, when a skid works just as well. @vppelt68 is serving drinks and nibbles after midnight when the Gallery closes, look forward to meeting you cheers Pat 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 Sure, whoever of you B-17 builders rings MY doorbell here in Finland shall not be disappointed regarding the number and quality of drinks and nibbles I shall serve . 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 12 minutes ago, vppelt68 said: Sure, whoever of you B-17 builders rings MY doorbell here in Finland shall not be disappointed regarding the number and quality of drinks and nibbles I shall serve . Ding Dong ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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