Revell 1/72 B-17G Flying Fortress

[Yvan S]

A mix of circumstances have made it possible for me to begin a new model. Considering the amount of time I will have on my hands, I have decided to try something a bit more difficult, yet not without pleasure : the Revell Boeing B-17 in 1/72 scale. I've read a lot of articles about how nice of a build it makes and I was curious to try it out for myself. Hopefully, with the help of my little workshop and some 'forum assistance' I'll be able to successfully recreate something worthy of 

 

As of now it is clear that there will be lots of detail present on the interior. Very unfortunate that it all becomes mostly invisible when the two fuselage halves are connected. As such I'll focus on the cockpit area and the bombardier nose section, it will require enough effort anyway.

 

 

 

With gathered information I painted the interior wall surfaces (thanks Tom Probert!). 'NMF' finish everywhere with the exception of the cockpit. The green is a zinc-chrome instead of a bronze but I didn't have any in stock, and with the -30°C outside at the moment it isn't really possible to go to my local hobby store. I'm sure it will do the trick overall.

 

 

 

The bomb bay. Unfortunately the actual pieces should've been painted green, I misinterpreted the instructions. At this point I will either have the bomb bay closed or with the bombs falling out, as to draw attention elsewhere.

 

 

 

 

 

Floors and the inside of the reactors also painted in green. 

 

At this early point I'm pretty happy about how everything is coming together, I've mostly built Airfix so I'm engaging on some new terrain here. Clearly Revell makes some more advanced models but I'm sure I'll get by.

 

Stay tuned for upcoming updates, they shouldn't take long to arrive (hopefully).

 

 

[neil5208]

Just done one of these, nice kit but the instructions ref colours is terrible. I did the same as you and painted the engine cowls cowls green but the should also be aluminium and the floors should be unpainted wood with black rubber mats for walk ways. If you go to the B17 group build there is a very good picture section regarding interior colours

 

[Yvan S]

9 hours ago, neil5208 said:

Just done one of these, nice kit but the instructions ref colours is terrible. I did the same as you and painted the engine cowls cowls green but the should also be aluminium and the floors should be unpainted wood with black rubber mats for walk ways. If you go to the B17 group build there is a very good picture section regarding interior colours

 

Well that's a shame, seems like I will have to waste some more paint on those sections, especially considering one can see inside the engines! I very much appreciate your input there Neil, definitely will put it to good use.

[Yvan S]

Interior detail is almost complete. I dread the moment when I will have to connect the fuselage halves, hopefully I will have enough rubber bands and clamps. Everything glued in very well. One recommendation for attaching the bombing bay however is not to glue the bulkheads, simply to place them in which permits them to slide up and down within their 'rail'. When placed in, they must be touching the bottom of the aircraft otherwise fitting issues occur.

 

 

 

 

 

I really tried to do the least possible amount of work on the interior as it is almost entirely hidden once the fuselage halves are sealed. I am sure it will give an adequate effect once seen from the tiny windows.

 

As of now I must only assemble a few turrets, then I will be able to finish the fuselage and move on to the wings. :)))))

 

 

[Nikolay Polyakov]

Hello Yvan!

 

A lot of aluminum - I love it! Nice progress, so far 👍 Any plans to do some weathering inside the fuselage?

 

Cheers! 🙃

[Yvan S]

On 2/14/2019 at 8:44 AM, Nikolay Polyakov said:

Hello Yvan!

 

A lot of aluminum - I love it! Nice progress, so far 👍 Any plans to do some weathering inside the fuselage?

 

Cheers! 🙃

Hi Nikolay,

 

I unfortunately do not have the expertise or the materials necessary to accomplish such a thing. However I plan on experimenting weathering on the outside, especially because this bird flew quite a lot! The work I did not put in on the inside will be applied to the exterior instead. 

 

Your support is also much appreciated. If you have any tips for me, please send them my way!

 

Cheers,

 

Yvan

[Yvan S]

I am now finished with what seems to be the longest section of the B-17 build. It is quite depressing to think the inner detail will all disappear never to be seen again.

 

 

Interesting technology with the ball turret, very smooth turning which will definitely be accessible on the final product!

 

 

 

Quick snapshot of the complete inside of the fuselage.

 

 

 

This time I decided to pre-mask all the clear parts, it took a VERY long time but I have seen good results on other builds. While this does occasionally give headaches, it normally gives a better finish then painting the lines with a brush.

 

Fuselage is now closed, however there is a sizeable gap on the underside of the nose. This seems to be due to a misplacement of the floor in that area. Hopefully some filler will do the job. Stay tuned as I move onto the wings!!

Edited February 27, 2019 by Yvan S

[dogsbody]

Greetings fellow Albertan! I missed this build when first posted. I won't miss anymore now.

 

Your Fort is looking good so far. I await further development.

 

 

Chris from Fort Mac.

 

 

 

 

[foresterab]

Yvan S...nice start on this and greetings from down the highway from you,

 

I think I built the same kit back when I was a teenager....hopefully my skills have improved a bunch.     Keep your eyes peeled because you never know what will be flying through...the Confederate Air Force flew theirs through Edmonton and northern Alberta many moons ago and offered tours.    So who knows...it might pass through again enroute to Alaska.

 

Kit is going together well.  Seem to remember both props and wheels movable as well but I built it "wheels up" so didn't have that option.  Or I glued them in place.  Can't remember.

 

Keep it  up and looking forward to seeing more.

foresterab

[AdrianMF]

Looks good. It’s too easy to get carried away with detail that will never be seen - I blame digital cameras!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Yvan S]

11 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Looks good. It’s too easy to get carried away with detail that will never be seen - I blame digital cameras!

 

Regards,

Adrian

A most remarkable and accurate analysis. I would have to agree! Those damned cameras.

 

Cheers,

 

Yvan

11 hours ago, dogsbody said:

Greetings fellow Albertan! I missed this build when first posted. I won't miss anymore now.

 

Your Fort is looking good so far. I await further development.

 

 

Chris from Fort Mac.

 

 

 

 

Thank you neighbour!

[Yvan S]

11 hours ago, foresterab said:

Yvan S...nice start on this and greetings from down the highway from you,

 

I think I built the same kit back when I was a teenager....hopefully my skills have improved a bunch.     Keep your eyes peeled because you never know what will be flying through...the Confederate Air Force flew theirs through Edmonton and northern Alberta many moons ago and offered tours.    So who knows...it might pass through again enroute to Alaska.

 

Kit is going together well.  Seem to remember both props and wheels movable as well but I built it "wheels up" so didn't have that option.  Or I glued them in place.  Can't remember.

 

Keep it  up and looking forward to seeing more.

foresterab

Confederate Air Force eh? I may just need to do a bit of research on the topic. It would most definitely be a memorable experience, and I have never been to a WW2 airshow before. 

 

As for the wheels, it doesn't seem that Revell included a 'wheels up' option. So I would assume you simply glued them into their cavities. I would like to do the same and I have found this to be quite disappointing. 

 

Your support is very much appreciated! 

 

Yvan

[thorfinn]

11 minutes ago, Yvan S said:

Confederate Air Force eh? I may just need to do a bit of research on the topic. It would most definitely be a memorable experience, and I have never been to a WW2 airshow before. 

  

As for the wheels, it doesn't seem that Revell included a 'wheels up' option. So I would assume you simply glued them into their cavities. I would like to do the same and I have found this to be quite disappointing. 

 

Your support is very much appreciated! 

 

Yvan

Just an FYI...seeking, I suppose, to forestall heat from the usual political-correctness advocates, the Texas-based 'Confederate Air Force' changed their moniker some years ago to 'Commemorative Air Force.' They still do an impressive schedule of airshows and fly-ins every season, with a variety of 'bases,' 'groups' and 'squadrons' based all over the US. Great bunch of folks.

 

Anxiously following the build BTW, as I've got the same pretty bird languishing in my stash.

[Steve Collins]

Yvan and Chris, you may be talking about two different iterations of the Revell B-17 (depending on how long ago you were a teenager, Chris).  This particular one came out in about 2011 and is an entirely new mold.  The previous version was done in the '60s originally and was a B-17F (usually released as Memphis Belle).  That may be where the wheels-up/wheels-down difference comes in, among a host of other things, most especially quality and level of detail.  By the way, Yvan, the build is looking good.  I'm looking forward to seeing it progress as I have a couple of these to do myself.

 

Steve

[ArmouredSprue]

Nice project

[Yvan S]

On 2/27/2019 at 8:24 AM, thorfinn said:

Just an FYI...seeking, I suppose, to forestall heat from the usual political-correctness advocates, the Texas-based 'Confederate Air Force' changed their moniker some years ago to 'Commemorative Air Force.' They still do an impressive schedule of airshows and fly-ins every season, with a variety of 'bases,' 'groups' and 'squadrons' based all over the US. Great bunch of folks.

 

Anxiously following the build BTW, as I've got the same pretty bird languishing in my stash.

I would definitely recommend it, it looked complicated at first but turns out it combines detail with relative easiness. Overall an absolute pleasure.

On 2/27/2019 at 10:53 AM, Steve Collins said:

Yvan and Chris, you may be talking about two different iterations of the Revell B-17 (depending on how long ago you were a teenager, Chris).  This particular one came out in about 2011 and is an entirely new mold.  The previous version was done in the '60s originally and was a B-17F (usually released as Memphis Belle).  That may be where the wheels-up/wheels-down difference comes in, among a host of other things, most especially quality and level of detail.  By the way, Yvan, the build is looking good.  I'm looking forward to seeing it progress as I have a couple of these to do myself.

 

Steve

Thank you mate!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Great work on the Fortress. 👍

 

On 2/27/2019 at 9:24 AM, thorfinn said:

I suppose, to forestall heat from the usual political-correctness advocates, the Texas-based 'Confederate Air Force' changed their moniker some years ago to 'Commemorative Air Force.

To bad politics caused that. I still call them the Confederate air force though. 

[Yvan S]

Sorry all for a lack of updates in the last two weeks. I've been busy with school, and that of course comes as the number one priority.

 

This is where I've gotten to:

 

On its left is a P-51 Mustang to give a sense of the size of these birds. 

 

As of now, I just have to fill the gaps in the fuselage and a few in the engines, and I'll move on to priming and painting!

[dogsbody]

Yvan, is it possible for you to post some larger pictures? Something in the 600x800 range?

 

Your 500x375 size is just a bit too small for an old codger like me to see the details clearly.

 

 

Chris

[Yvan S]

On 3/19/2019 at 8:43 AM, dogsbody said:

Yvan, is it possible for you to post some larger pictures? Something in the 600x800 range?

 

Your 500x375 size is just a bit too small for an old codger like me to see the details clearly.

 

 

Chris

Most certainly!

[Yvan S]

Sincerest apologies to everyone following this topic for not posting in 3 months. However I got extremely busy with school (it is my final year after all) and have only found some time to put into my B17 now. 

 

 

Primed her yesterday

 

 

 

And added the red touches today. The computer does not render how bright of a red it is, but I love the brightness it brings. Those Americans must of been some level of cocky to use such vibrant hues on their "Flying Fortresses". Nonetheless, I respect it.

 

Will be updating more this week so stay tuned! Now just have to let her dry for the night.

[T-21]

Nice build I believe the red is insignia red ? The 398th Bomb Group at Nuthampstead their red always seems brighter in wartime photos.

[Yvan S]

On 6/19/2019 at 2:35 PM, T-21 said:

Nice build I believe the red is insignia red ? The 398th Bomb Group at Nuthampstead their red always seems brighter in wartime photos.

Hi T-21. 

 

Yes, the red is insignia red however my local hobby store does not have the largest selection of paints, so I had to settle with a very bright red Vallejo shade. While it may not be truly realistic, it gets the job done anyway. 

 

Thanks for the kind words!