MrB17 Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 Slowly but surely I am getting all the panel lines done. It has been measure 3 times for most of this, I had hoped to be done last weekend, but I am confident about this weekend. I’ve gone well beyond the stock panel lines and it’s been made difficult by certain features out by a scale foot or two. I wasn’t happy with the spacing of ribs on the ailerons, it didn’t look right, so after checking the maintenance manual, I decided to redo them and used Tamiya tape to mark the ribs. There’s 29 stitched ribs, and I only had 14. One of the nice things about cutting raised lines in plastic is the ability to burnish them back down if you happen to wander off course. After that I brushed on a coat of Tamiya cement and left it alone for a couple of days, then wet sanded smooth again. I have scribed the crew doors and flaps and a few major panel joints. I screwed up on the flaps so I had to fill the scribed lines with ca and wet sand. Getting the geometry right for the cockpit windows and nose required measuring and marking with fine masking tape. I wet sanded the cockpit smooth and polished it. Once I set the datum line on the fuselage, and using the fuselage joint as a centre line, things were easier to measure from. I got the tail turret glazing installed and used crinkled tissue to fill the hole and scratched a styrene section for the panel with the signalling lights. I’m about 90% finished with the lines, then on go the wings and horizontal stabilizers. I am expecting to have to fill some substantial gaps at the wing to fuselage joint, but the horizontal stabilizers are a pretty good fit. Cheers Jeff 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 There's some incredible work going on here Jeff, the time invested to get the panels lines correct is mid blowing! Cheers,, Dave 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Great modelling Jeff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 No pics right now, I am watching my granddaughter today. Later I will have the wings and horizontal stabilizers on. I cut off the elevators and have positioned them slightly down with elevator trim deflecting slightly up. I would imagine a bit of nose down trim would be a good idea with one engine out, as well as some right rudder. I made a completely new set of control columns and wheels and positioned them for slightly nose down in the cockpit, there are no rudder pedals and they wouldn’t be visible anyway. This has definitely been an exercise in trying techniques and patience. I have had to deal with some side effects of my medication which causes shaky involuntary movement of arms and hands. So I have dropped the fuselage twice and one wing, as well as numerous small pieces. The pilot was thrown clear on the first fall and the bombardier on the second fall. In spite of my having a hard floor, the damage was minimal, being only some split seams. I have a meter stick with tape looped backwards on the end to pick up pieces off the floor, no need to bend over all the time. I need to get it in primer so I can see what I have done to this poor creature. I still want to try some new techniques with the hairy stick, but I think spraying the primer in a few thin coats will keep the panel lines intact. With drying time in between painting colours, I will start in on the Beaver soon as well, it’s much less work than the B-17. It’s a learning experience but fun at the same time. Should have some pics tonight. Cheers Jeff 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted March 6 Author Share Posted March 6 Well the wings and horizontal stabilizers are glued on finally. I placed the rudder and elevators and cowlings on for the pics, they’ll go on after I prime and touch up any anomalies. The elevators won’t be that far down, they are just loosely in place. I quickly cobbled together a bomb bay today, no bulkheads, but some scribed plastic sheet to cover the unsightly things in there. The catwalk and racks were scratched from plastic sheet and an I-beam. I found better bombs, I think they’re from Academy. I have an idea for the in flight display on the kit stand, we’ll see if it works out. I can put some primer on tomorrow. And finally I am going to go down to the lounge room and toast @Troy Smith for his excellent FROG Irish Hurricane 🍀 Cheers Jeff 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 Frog’s dark blue plastic highlights the amazing amount of rescribing you’ve performed on this great build. I cannot wait to see this one painted and decalled. It’s gonna be just fantastic. Cheers.. Dave 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 Finalized the panel lines after puttying the wings and horizontal stabilizers. Got a coat of Mr. Surfacer 1000 on and it’s starting to come alive now. I have to figure out how to make the stand work, the area just behind the bomb bay where the stand attaches is very weak and the plane tips onto the left wingtip. I have the right wingtip just under the drawer handle, in the photo, to show the way it should be. The stand is monstrous, I think the Shackleton has it as well. I am trying to figure out what kind of paint and graphics I will use on the stand, I don’t believe FROG ever did a nameplate decal for the B-17, so I might just make one up. So when the primer has cured, just a light wet sanding and some masking before applying some colour. Cheers Jeff 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 That stand is massive isn’t it!! Looks very impressive, the B-17 is primer is especially nice. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 14 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said: That stand is massive isn’t it!! Looks very impressive, the B-17 is primer is especially nice. In addition to the stand being massive, the underside has a beefy tube moulded in, probably to screw the stand onto something. I ended up puttying the top of the stand, it has a streamlined half teardrop in 2 pieces and the fit was not too good. I am going to paint the stand today and MacGyver something to make the plane sit level and a bit nose down. Curiously, the model is unbalanced with the left wing weighing more than the right wing by quite a bit, probably because the thickness of the plastic varies quite a bit, some areas of the fuselage are down to about .5mm, while others are 2-3mm. Anyway, up I go to deal with it. Cheers Jeff 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig of the Week Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 That looks brilliant "flying" on its stand 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 I can't remember ever seeing a model this big on a stand, it looks epic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 Looks even better on the stand than it does on the bench! I like the Spitfire Mosquito and Swordfish boxes lurking on the background too. Regards, Adrian 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 I was going to paint the stand today, then I realized that the weak area on the belly where the stand attaches to had to be dealt with. Again I went overboard, I decided that in order to beef up the belly, I needed to make a bulkhead and attach a styrene box to the back that would also surround the slot for the stand. I then made a second bulkhead for the front of the bomb bay, to complete the look. I just scribed some frame details on the bomb bay side of the bulkheads to make it look a little less barren. I also modified the top of the stand, by drilling and pinning with brass rod and sandwiching some styrene clap board siding on either side of the pins. I put one rod all the way through the mounting pivot as well as the other two just into the mounting pivot. I forgot to take a picture of the box I made on the back of the rear bulkhead, but you can see the shape of it on the modified pivot and you can just see the inside of the box through the slot in the belly. The clapboard styrene makes a nice snug fit that’s easy to insert yet difficult to pull out, reducing risk of the plane falling off the stand. The plus from making the bulkheads, was a secure way to attach the catwalk and bomb racks. Now it is sitting pretty and very secure, happy happy joy joy! Cheers Jeff 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 That looks nice and solid now! The bulkheads improve the look of the bomb bay no end too. Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 20 hours ago, JOCKNEY said: I can't remember ever seeing a model this big on a stand, it looks epic Hi Pat, Did you ever build the Airfix B-29? That stand really is massive! I had to glue the plane on to the stand as it too was out of balance. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matford Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 (edited) Wow that looks really good on the stand Edited March 13 by matford 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventora3300 Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 On 11/03/2024 at 06:22, MrB17 said: I was going to paint the stand today, then I realized that the weak area on the belly where the stand attaches to had to be dealt with. Your B17 is looking magnificent, Jeff - heavy metal indeed! That's a Top Tip on the stand - this made me look at how the VC10 sits on the big blue stand provided and the fuselage plastic does seem pretty flexible where the stand clips in. I'll do a bit of strengthening there too. Thanks! All the best. Mike. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 Thanks Mike, I just revisited your VC-10 build and it’s going to be a head turner for sure. Cheers Jeff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 A lot of wet sanding to level out the Mr. Surfacer, resulting in the loss of most of my raised panel lines! So I put it all back and added a few things I missed. Brushed on a very thin coat of Tamiya XF-12 this time and the result is much more promising. I am going to mix my own colours for the camouflage, using gloss Testors enamels which I happen to have a lot of. I have done this before and for the hairy stick, it results in no brush marks. Properly thinned, they flow beautifully and make the decalling a lot easier. So later today I shall have some colour on, and the frames for the glazing will also get filled in. I noticed that the perspective in the digital photos make the wings appear thicker than they really are. Cheers Jeff 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 The grandkids are down under for their spring break, so I had the opportunity to catch up on some modelling. I managed to mask all the transparencies except for the majority of the ball turret. Mixed up some custom Testors gloss in Dark Earth and Dark Green and did some tinting on a tin of Humbrol sky type S. The colours were not exactly to RAF standards, and there are some colour Kodachrome images of some of these aircraft, that give a good idea of the colours. So I started by matching the green and brown gloss close to spec and then lightened and changed the tint a little. The ball turret has a gunner in it, but nothing else, so I painted parts of the turret dark green first, and then painted the inside of the two circular sides. The early ball turrets had a transparent cover over the side, that completed the shape of the ball, later turrets did away with them. FROG has made an attempt at replicating the spherical sides, so I am trying to make it look as close as possible. I drilled out the crankcases on the engines a bit so I could make a smooth shaft and bushing. I hope I can make them spin, it would make a good photo. I’m leaving the stand until last, so I can get on with the model. The first coat of paint should cure for at least 24 hours before I add the green. The underside will go on last because it appears that way in photos and I may be able to feather it out to look similar. I started doing a few things on my Beaver, so I hope to update that WIP soon. Please excuse the mess on my desk. Cheers Jeff 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted March 24 Author Share Posted March 24 Well, I got the green on, and then some slight wrinkles formed around some of the edges when I came back to check it. So hi - ho hi - ho, it’s off to the stripper I go. At least I have the FROG Beaver to work on while I am waiting for the stripper. Cheers Jeff 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 Great to see some paint being applied here. Those colours remind me of my very first Spitfire my Dad built for me painted up in Humbrol #2 and Humbrol #5 I think... very bright and glossy. I'll have to search online for some colour period photos of these B-17E's, I would have thought they'd be a little more closer to RAF colours, although to be honest am really not sure. Cheers .. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted March 24 Author Share Posted March 24 Thanks Dave, the digital photo makes it look much brighter than it actually is. The plan was to apply a tinted flat clear coat, to darken and tone down the gloss. You’re right about the colours, it’s supposed to be close to RAF, however the camouflage pattern was not standard, with each aircraft being slightly different, while some more closely followed the RAF pattern. The underside colour has been described as light grey, light blue, duck egg blue or sky type S. There are a few Kodachrome images (not colourised) of some of these 97th BG B-17E’s and the underside does look closer to sky type S, but not as green. The way the underside demarcation lines are applied is also different on each aircraft with some having wavy lines and some straight. The green also looks a bit lighter than RAF dark green, but the brown looks closer to the RAF dark earth. However I am not happy with the vintage Testors paint results, I would say my experiment was a failure, and plan on airbrushing Tamiya acrylics after it is stripped. Apart from the colour, the gloss Testors all but eliminated the panel line details, and I know Tamiya is a very thin coat when dry and Future clear is also very thin, so that’s plan B. It’s going to have to be stripped in stages, so I am working on the FROG Beaver in between. My Daughter, Son in law and grandkids were down your way, near Brisbane for a few days at the Steve Irwin resort, but are now in Adelaide and then on to Melbourne where the kids were born. I only made one trip myself to Melbourne and popped in to Hearn’s only to leave with a Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire VIII and a 1/48 CAC Boomerang. I really wanted the Montex 1/32 Boomerang, but no luck finding one. I also got a flip in a Tiger Moth at Point Cook, but had no time to check the museum. I hope to return again soon. Onward and upward… Cheers Jeff 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB17 Posted March 24 Author Share Posted March 24 Stripping has begun, and going very nicely so far. I used to use Easy-Off Oven cleaner to strip plastic, but lately I can only find the lemon scented variety, which doesn’t work at all. I came across this ZEP grill and barbecue cleaner, which is like the old Easy-Off if not better. It doesn’t smell as bad, but gets the job done much better than anything I have used before. I will just need to exercise caution around the nose area. Cheers Jeff 2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Hi Jeff It's sad seeing your build going backwards but I'm sure this reset will be worth it when it's finished. Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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