Airfix 1/72 B-17G (new tool) as 43-37913 / OR-A / Seattle Sleeper - lost November 26th, 1944.

[elger]

This weekend I finished Airfix' 1/72 B-17G as the Seattle Sleeper, lost on November 26th, 1944. The entire crew survived, and some evaded capture. More background and details of the build in this thread:

It was a challenging but in the end very satisfying build. The Airfix kit is not easy - some parts, notably some clear parts, fit rather poorly. I also made a point of carefully filling the gaps around cheek window parts, and scribing some of the panel lines since the poor fit of these parts detract from some otherwise excellent other builds of this kit.

 

Some of Eduard interior and exterior sets are used, and the propellers and hubs are from B-24 Quickboost sets (they need modifying - see the build thread). Brassin exhausts, and replaced the barrels with brass items from Master.

 

Painted with Vallejo Chrome overall, and Mig Ammo red and olive drab. The Vallejo Chrome is actually more forgiving than I thought - you still need to handle it carefully, but I had two little spots where it was lifted by masking tape but no scratches from where I had it resting between coats. If there was dust I sanded it off with some 1500 grit sandpaper, and I should have done that more because that was an effective technique. I only sanded the worst chunks that had landed on the surface, but I could have done more because I left the lesser offending bits because I wasn't sure how it would look with sanding - but as I said it looks good and if I do another neutral metal aircraft I'll make sure to sand off as many offending particles that land in the paint as possible.

 

Finished with kit decals and the code letters are from Kits world - the A is basically an upside down U from the sheet because the A was the wrong font, and I realized too late that the R is the wrong font. Oh well.

 

Anyway, on to the pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now the crucial question... what next? Thanks for looking, comments & feedback is always welcome.

[SAT69]

Very nice build. The somewhat subtle engine exhaust and gun smoke stains look very convincing. Well done!

[Farmerboy]

Everything you have done with this build is inspired, the interior is fantastic, really good job!

[RMCS]

Very nice 

[Wulfman]

Fine Flying Fortress !

 

Wulfman

[Rob K.]

Great looking b-17 and tribute. B-24 next?

 

Rgds,

 

Rob

[kapam]

Superb rendition of the classic B-17G!

Matching it up with a reference photo shows just how skilled you are.

I never tire of seeing B-17 builds, especially in my favorite scale and especially as nice as this one.

[MRMRL]

That's a really good finish, the details with your stains and panel variation are great. Really nice photos as well, 

[F-32]

That's a first class build, great job

[djos]

Beautiful B-17.

NMF is great

Regards Djordje

[kev67]

Looks excellent, nice subtle weathering, from a fresh aircraft, I might get one of these, not sure which is best Revell or Airfix

[elger]

38 minutes ago, kev67 said:

Looks excellent, nice subtle weathering, from a fresh aircraft, I might get one of these, not sure which is best Revell or Airfix

 

Having built both, I'd say Revell is the better kit (easier to build, fewer fit issues), Airfix is the better model (more accurate shape, and clearer transparencies although they don't fit particularly well).

 

Revell has some shape issues: the fuselage is less tall than Airfix and the wings are thicker, and the tail planes are too thin. It has very heavy panel lines all over. And I don't like the engines out of the box. But if you're building a mid/late production F or an early/mid G Revell is a perfectly good option. If I wanted to build another late G (with staggered waist windows and the Cheyenne turret) I'd build another Airfix any day.

[Snafu35]

Hello, elger

 

Bravo for this construction, the result is magnificent.
I myself never tire of looking at a superb B17 construction!

The pictures are very nice, thanks for sharing.

I agree with your comparison between the Revell and Airfix models. The Revell kit was however my preference because of the possibility to represent early G models. I will however try to transform an Airfix model into a G early model, as vppelt68 did:

 

Have fun in modeling...B17! 

Regards,

Eric-Snafu35

[vppelt68]

Superb Fort, congratulations! You've really fixed the cheeks and that model looks great . Join the B-17 STGB Vol.2 too? V-P 

[Bertie McBoatface]

Excellent. I like that last photo with the photo. 

[Maginot]

You've certainly done the big Fort justice. Very nice overall finish indeed. I like the paint variation to differentiate several wing panels. Good work with the transparencies and interiors. Not sure if there's a minor issue with the nose transparency attachment, either glue used or thickness of fuselage plastic? Really like the early pics with concrete apron against woodland backdrop; it oozes rural setting somewhere in wartime England (though I suspect the trees are Dutch?).

[IanC]

Fantastic. You've achieved a really subtle and realistic finish. 

[elger]

36 minutes ago, Maginot said:

You've certainly done the big Fort justice. Very nice overall finish indeed. I like the paint variation to differentiate several wing panels. Good work with the transparencies and interiors. Not sure if there's a minor issue with the nose transparency attachment, either glue used or thickness of fuselage plastic? Really like the early pics with concrete apron against woodland backdrop; it oozes rural setting somewhere in wartime England (though I suspect the trees are Dutch?).

 

yeah it's the fuselage plastic that's thicker in certain areas. And yes it's a Dutch treeline

[scalemodeller54]

A very nice looking B-17 , you done a grand job

[Josip]

It is done! No small achievement for any four engined aircraft model. 

The main deficiencies have been corrected. It shows that Airfix B-17 with aftermarket guns is the best 1:72 B-17 model today. 

However to my eyes it still looks too monotone and too clean. I'll stick to riveting and Model Master metalizer drybrushing when I get to building mine. 

 

[Farmerboy]

Elger, just a quick question, can you fit the ball turret after closing the fuselage or is that to difficult? I’m at that stage now in the build.

[elger]

1 hour ago, Farmerboy said:

Elger, just a quick question, can you fit the ball turret after closing the fuselage or is that to difficult? I’m at that stage now in the build.

 

I was going to reply 'no', but as I typed up my reply I changed my mind because it just might be possible. I couldn't get that ring from the suspension mechanism to fit properly - it left a bit of a gap, so mine doesn't pivot anyway along that axis because I glued it in place, but it does rotate. That ring that fits horizontally around the top of the turret is invisible once the model is complete.

 

 

I suppose you could try to slice off the pegs that go into the holes in the sides of the turret halves - you might be able to slide it in place after completing the fuselage but then like mine it won't pivot and it's a lot weaker - but I think that way you can leave the turret off until completing the fuselage.