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B-17G Late - HKM - plane_mc


plane_mc

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Thanks all.

 

I don't have any pics to post, but I have been making some progress.  I got 6 of the main fuselage pieces cleaned of ejection pin marks.  That took a while.  I still have the top piece to do.  I also have been making some of the hydraulic system parts that go behind the copilot seat.  I have them made up, but am waiting for some putty to dry to install them.  I also created some filler pieces for the bomb bay where the top piece doesn't meet the fuselage sides.  I glued them in yesterday and need to add the ribbing still after the glue is dry.  

 

Hopefully I will have some more pictures soon.

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Here is how I closed off the top edges of the bomb bay.  I used 0.010†sheet styrene and 0.020†x 0.030†strip styrene.

 

First I cut a rectangle of the .010 sheet to fit the opening and glued it only to the top edge of the detail in the bomb bay (fuselage sides) leaving the top of the piece free to move.

 

2014-04-01DSCN1702rm_zpse6222454.jpg

 

2014-04-01DSCN1703rm_zps1d2e11f3.jpg

 

I modified the tabs for the bomb bay portion of the fuselage top piece by cutting off most of the tab.  This still allows the top piece to have a positive connection in the bomb bay area, but leaves room for the new detail piece.

 

2014-04-01DSCN1705rm_zpsd1560eb6.jpg

 

Here is how it looks inside and outside after the ribs are added using the .020 x .030 strip.

 

2014-04-01DSCN1706r_zps825dccd7.jpg

 

2014-04-01DSCN1708r_zpsf1a76357.jpg

 

2014-04-01DSCN1709r_zps537536a6.jpg

 

I will glue the outside of the new piece to the top of the bomb bay piece during final assembly, that will take care of the gaps that show in pictures.  It's not perfect, but it does add some detail where there wasn't any.

 

Thanks for looking

 

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Wow Mark, that is an excellent solution you've come up with there and some very neat styrene work too! Just so you know this build has finally made me succumb to the lure of having a big B-17. I crumbled the other day and one is on the way. So it's pretty much your fault that I'm weak…………  :innocent:  haha, actually I'm pretty excited about it coming and I think it was only a matter of time, but what you're doing with your build here is really inspirational and I'm learning a lot in the process. Keep up with the great work  :goodjob:

 

Craig

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I'm glad to see you got one too, Craig.  This model is addicting as all get out.  The other problem is that when you touch the plastic, you can't leave the thing box stock.  

 

Haha, yep SD, I can believe that! And I was doing so well to resist after reading about your builds :) I don't think OOB was ever going to be an option for me…...

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Wow Mark, that is an excellent solution you've come up with there and some very neat styrene work too! Just so you know this build has finally made me succumb to the lure of having a big B-17. I crumbled the other day and one is on the way. So it's pretty much your fault that I'm weak…………  :innocent:  haha, actually I'm pretty excited about it coming and I think it was only a matter of time, but what you're doing with your build here is really inspirational and I'm learning a lot in the process. Keep up with the great work  :goodjob:

 

Craig

 

Thanks Craig, welcome to the B-17 funhouse. 

 

I'm glad to see you got one too, Craig.  This model is addicting as all get out.  The other problem is that when you touch the plastic, you can't leave the thing box stock.  

 

Like SD said, it's hard to leave it box stock, there are just too many opportunities to add detail - as much or as little as you like.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had the great good fortune of being able to actually get into one of these years ago. I was doing yard work one afternoon and heard a loud airplane approaching. Looking up, I was amazed to see it coming in on approach to the local airport. I dropped everything, hopped in my car and drove down to have a look. Once there, I began talking to the crew--this was in the early '90's and access to the tarmac of a small city's airport was (surprisingly) easy. My knowledge of and enthusiasm for the Fortress apparently caused them to offer me a walk through. I jumped at the chance. It's funny, the most lasting impression I have of the B-17 is how cramped it was inside. I'd always imagined the Flying Fortress to be, well, bigger. I also remember thinking how vulnerable the men inside were. Flak, fighters, fatigue...it just made me shake my head in awe. It remains one of my favorite memories.

 

Sorry to divert from your build. You are doing some top notch work here. I will certainly be watching with great interest!

 

Greg

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Wow, what a great story, Greg.  I also was one of the lucky ones who watched a B-17G 909 come into an airfield.  It was during a meeting of the 8th AF Historical Society of which I was an associate member.  I was there in an antique uniform and was even able to get a flight in her.  It was 1986 and it only cost me $75 bucks.  Now it's over $400 clams a flight.  It was the smoothest flying aircraft I've ever been in.  You're right about one thing.  There definitely was no abundance of walking room.  Imagine what that would be in a full set of shearlings and a floatation vest.  Forget about the parachute.  Again, Craig, you're doing a great job.

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I have seen 909 many times over the years and finally got a chance to go for a flight in 2012.  Worth every penny it cost and I recommend it to anyone that gets the chance.

 

I hope to have an update soon.  I have been working as I get time, but I have mostly been doing the mundane cleanup of parts and removing ejector pin marks, etc., nothing that shows up good or looks exciting in pictures. :mellow:

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That's great, Mark.  I'm glad to see you got a flight.  Every B-17 nut should get at least one of those.  It's something you'll never forget.  I just wish I had done mine in a n A2 jacket.  Then the mission bomb I painted on it would be for real.  I wore navigator wings on my uniform on that flight.  We bombed Hollywood, Florida.  I just wish I could find the picture of me then.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

I finally got some pictures taken for an update.

 

I decided I wanted to show the plexiglas over the chin turret, so I cut out the openings in the nose floor piece.  I opened the 4th segment so it completed the circle.  The ammo box will cover most of it, but looking at pictures, the plexiglas would have gone out to make the full circle.  I still need to make the turret details.

 

2014-04-27DSCN1733r_zps8147088c.jpg

 

 

This next photo shows a detail I hadn't noticed before seeing SD's pictures of his bomb bay.  I drilled out the bottoms of the bomb racks to make them look like open tubes.

 

2014-04-27DSCN1735r_zpsa9880907.jpg

 

 

I made up a bunch of oxygen hoses by wrapping some small wire around a larger core wire.  I then cut off the molded hoses in the cockpit and repaired the detail under them.  I also removed the molded hydraulic pump detail, made my own details and added plumbing.

 

2014-04-27DSCN1731r_zps631d4c01.jpg

 

2014-04-27DSCN1727r_zpsce2ada01.jpg

 

 

For the control column, I made up a control lock and holder for the lock when not in use.

 

2014-04-27DSCN1746r_zps19b605f1.jpg

 

 

I have been debating on how to handle the wooden portions of the floor and desks/tables.  I know there are great decals out there, but I am trying to work on a budget, so I attempted my first ever try at doing wood grain using oil paint over a light base.  I think it turned out OK for a first try.  I need to practice some more, but it is a start.  It was much easier than I thought it was going to be, so I have some hope that it will turn out.

 

2014-04-27DSCN1736r_zpsa8f517f9.jpg

 

To be continued . . .

 

 

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