Popular Post Columbia20713 Posted August 27, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted August 27, 2021 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed for the US Army Air Force. It took part in numerous roles, by far the most famous of which is the Allied strategic bombing campaigns in World War II over Europe. It excelled in this role and went on to be one of the most iconic US bombers of all time and one of the most produced, with 12,731 examples being made. This example is "Hell's Angel", a B-17G-45-BO that operated with the 535th Bomb Squadron. It was particularly infamous for a tragic incident during a bombing run over Cologne, during which 110 lb bombs dropping from a B-17 flying overhead struck the nose of "Hell's Angel", destroying the nose and killing the bombardier. This example is of Revell's 1/72 B-17G kit (Promodeller boxing). Decals came from the Academy boxing, and this was painted with Mr. Hobby Super Metallics. The Revell kit in itself is, in my opinion, a pretty great kit. People smarter than me have already done the measurements and rivet counting regarding the inaccuracies of this particular kit, and it is generally regarded as being slightly behind the Airfix offering in terms of accuracy and proportionality. With that being said, I had a surprisingly good time building it. The parts fit together just fine, the interior is detailed and the whole kit can be expected to go together easily. Things to watch for in terms of assembly would include extremely thick sprue gating that makes it difficult to trim fragile parts, difficult assembly with parts such as the landing gear and cowlings, and instructions that are hard to follow. The kit also has extremely thick clear parts - particularly pronounced in the clear nose - and panel lines that are too deep for the scale. Overall, it's definitely a great kit and if you can get past some of the errors, it builds up really well. Definitely one of my better build experiences. Thanks for reading! 79 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 Well after showing me that first photograph, I was a little disappointed that you hadn't modelled the damaged nose. That little point aside, you have shown us a lovely model. I note that you have correctly painted the oil streaking and how it gets blown away by the vents aft of each engine. So many modellers show oil coming from those outlets. Your construction is excellent too, as even in NMF I can see no seam lines. That pleases me because I always seem to leave traces! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 Lovely! Very nicely modelled! Cheers Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 That's very nice and having both the Airfix and Revell kits. I agree Airfix is a little better. But it's much of a muchness. Both stand alone as decent representations of the B17. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark4700 Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 Excellent build. I agree with you, I built this kit a few years ago and remember being very impressed with how it went together. Lots of internal detail that is forever lost once the fuselage halves are joined too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 An excellent build! What more can I say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Excellent job on the B-17! I have this kit also, and it looks very nice to me - now I just have to decide what aircraft to build. Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Ooh, nice and shiny. Love the exhaust staining, very realistic. But I'm a sucker for a B17G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedders Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Mmmm... I like! Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SafetyDad Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Nice job - well done! Excellent paintwork and convincing weathering too. SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza l Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Very nice work. gazza l Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Schilhart Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 You've put a lot of effort on the weathering, and that's what makes your model stand out. I much prefer worn & dirty surfaces over a new and shiny look! I agree that the Airfix B-17 is better than the Revell offering (with the Lancaster, it's the other way around for me!). What type of paint did you use for the NMF? I like the weathering effects you created. In my opinion the anti-glare panels are too brown-ish, shouldn't they be olive drab? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robgizlu Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Beautiful finish - superb model Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 Lovely ! This looks superb. The weathering is very well executed.! I've made this kit and yes it's not perfection but I don't mind. I , like yourself , enjoyed the build and learnt a lot about The B17 and the correct weathering patterns. Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 On 28/08/2021 at 01:10, Learstang said: Excellent job on the B-17! I have this kit also, and it looks very nice to me - now I just have to decide what aircraft to build. Regards, Jason Jason.. Little Miss Mischief! ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 14 minutes ago, Col Walter E Kurtz said: Jason.. Little Miss Mischief! ... That was my first choice, but now I've been thinking about doing an Israeli bird for the Suez Operation in 1956. In that case, however, it would need the offset waist positions, I believe (this kit doesn't have those, although it does have the "Cheyenne' tail; the Airfix kit would be better for this version as it has the offset waist positions). Regards, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binbrook87 Posted August 29, 2021 Share Posted August 29, 2021 That's a real stunner! Love the natural metal finish and the exhaust staining is real very realistic indeed. Fantastic job! 👍👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Columbia20713 Posted August 29, 2021 Author Share Posted August 29, 2021 Thanks for the comments guys! On 8/28/2021 at 3:24 AM, Bertie Psmith said: Well after showing me that first photograph, I was a little disappointed that you hadn't modelled the damaged nose. That little point aside, you have shown us a lovely model. I note that you have correctly painted the oil streaking and how it gets blown away by the vents aft of each engine. So many modellers show oil coming from those outlets. Your construction is excellent too, as even in NMF I can see no seam lines. That pleases me because I always seem to leave traces! I wish lol, modelling a damaged nose would be far beyond my modelling skills. It's somewhat unfortunate that the mistake about the vents still occurs, but to be fair, having exhaust pass around the vents instead of from inside is a somewhat subtle distinction that can easily be missed. 20 hours ago, Roman Schilhart said: You've put a lot of effort on the weathering, and that's what makes your model stand out. I much prefer worn & dirty surfaces over a new and shiny look! I agree that the Airfix B-17 is better than the Revell offering (with the Lancaster, it's the other way around for me!). What type of paint did you use for the NMF? I like the weathering effects you created. In my opinion the anti-glare panels are too brown-ish, shouldn't they be olive drab? . The metallic was Mr. Hobby Super Metallic SM206 Super Chrome. In hindsight, the anti-glare is a little too brown, I agree. I was trying to go for what some of the color photos from the time show olive drab to be, like on this B-17F. I couldn't find much of a consensus or proper conversion for B-17 antiglare olive drab colors either so I picked the closest Tamiya paint I had on hand. In my eyes, I kind of preferred a more brown hue for aesthetic purposes. It certainly could have been more green though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 Beautiful work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted August 31, 2021 Share Posted August 31, 2021 That is a beast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Brilliant! I just love it! The general grime and staining looks perfect to me - among the best B-17's I've seen in the scale. Thanks for the comments about the kit, in comparison with Airfix. I have Hasegawa's B-17G in my stash and will be quite content to build it one day. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Fantastic B-17G with a lovely finish, and nice to see a 381st BG ship from Ridgewell. Used to explore the place back in the 90s. Still got some of the bits found there, including some 1944 dated Coca Cola bottles. If I remember correctly, the only 8th heavy bomb group to stay in Essex throughout the war. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby No Mac Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 I can't resist giving a thumbs up to a grubby natural metal finish on an old warbird . Really like the dull red on the tail and wingtips too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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