B-17

Great news, but a little disappointed that they recycled the decal options. Bring on the nose section kits!

Congratulations Damian. I just placed an order for the HSG 109G and RVL 262 gear. I noticed that the cart seems to reflect your real time inventory. Is there any way you could add clarification on the website regarding the items you plan to restock vs. what has been discontinued? Jeff

Hi again, My job has kept me busier than expected lately, and it is hard to model when I'm out of town. I am trying to keep my updates spaced out over time to prevent clogging up the message boards. I haven't made terribly much "progress", but I was starting to lose track of what I had actually done since last update. I figured that it was time to create a checkpoint. First, I had to make sure the scaling was correct for the markings because the forum member who was helping design them did not have the 1/32 kit. I also tried out several different paint samples to try to match the interior color correct. I had the highest hope for MRP229 "Interior Dark Dull Green", but in the flesh it just didn't look dark enough. I ended up deciding on a custom mix using Gunze C383 "Kawanishi Dark Green" as the base. Around the same time that I was experimenting with interior colors, I had an idea to create the pathfinder H2X radome that would replace the ball turret. The biggest hurdle, in my mind, would be the fairing between the standard ball turret opening and the radome. I found this photo of a restoration project that shows the fairly complex shape. My plan was to temporarily mount an appropriate diameter rod where the H2X would go, create a makeshift barrier around it, and pour RTV rubber into the cavity. This would give me the rough shape of the fairing that I could then refine. This took a couple of attempts to get a satisfactory result. (Removed rubber mold in bottom left.) This gave me the fairing that I was after, but not in a material that I could work with. I now had to make a mold of the shape so that I could create a resin part. This is where progress really slowed down. I tried and failed 4 separate techniques/materials before I found a solution. I was able to make an RTV rubber mold of the RTV by painting the entire part in Gunze gloss black paint. This acted as enough of a barrier to keep them from bonding together. I was then able to make the original part (photo above) in resin. From here it was just a lot of sanding, fitting, and filling. Below is a photo of the attempts/steps (final part in bottom right.) I then made a mold of the radome/fairing for two reasons. 1) In case I screwed up and ruined it, and 2) so that I could hollow the radome out and save some weight. The final radome assembly is basically designed to "plug" in to where the kit ball turret was supposed to go. It still needs some surface finishing, but it is essentially what I was after. Here it is without any glue: Those with sharp eyes might notice that the waist windows in the photo above are unstaggered. This is because I did the final dry fitting to my B-17F. I stupidly decided to store my B-17G fuselage on a small coat rack while working on the H2X radome because of how frequently I needed to set it aside. One day it slipped out of my hands and fell knocking the tail turret off. No big deal. I moved my chair back to pick it up and heard a crunch. My heart sank. Luckily, I have another B-17G in the stash that I got on sale. I will begrudgingly use the fuselage/nose from it while I set this damaged one aside to reassess on another day. The good news is that my Magic Scale Modeling sound and motor sets came in. I opted not to get the lights, which helped keep the cost down and will hopefully keep the build complexity down as well. This decision was completely inspired by FreightDog's beautiful B-17 build. His videos of it in action were just too cool. I hope that wasn't too long of an update . Also, since I dug the B-17F out for fitting, the thought of possibly making this a double B-17F & B-17G build crossed my mind. What do you guys think?

Hi, I am currently working on a DIY resin project. I have a fairly rough shape in resin that will require sanding. The problem that I am finding is that the resin itself is still fairly "soft" compared to the consistency you get from Eduard (or similar). I have let my part cure for approximately 24 hours. Does anyone have suggestions of brands or techniques to get a better/harder cure that will hold up better to sanding? I am currently using Alumires RC-3 casting resin by Alumilite. Thanks in advance, Jeff

Antonio, Brilliant article. I was going to take a guess on the soundproofing color, but now have something to try to color match. Thank you so much for linking it. Jeff

One of the reasons I have been hesitant to start painting the cockpit is because I'd really like to get the colors as accurate as possible. Total color accuracy, however, seems to be an almost impossible task considering the number of different B-17 factories, models, sub-assemblies, modifications, and (frankly) what materials they had available that day. The research that I have done has pointed me to my best guess of cockpit/flight deck colors for a mid-production B-17G: Floor (elevated area) - aluminum Floor (lower area behind pilot seats) - plywood, NO anti-skid coating Crawl space to nose - aluminum Sidewalls - canvas/khaki color w/ dull dark green window frames Ceiling - canvas/khaki color w/ dull dark green window frames Instrument panel glare shield - dull dark green Center console - mainly dull dark green, some black placards Pilot seats - dull dark green seat and frame w/ interior green or olive drab armor plating Top Turret - dull dark green frame, anti-skid foot platform Oxygen tanks - yellow Rear bulkhead - dull dark green Door to bomb bay - plywood I'd like to hear what others think about these conclusions I have come to before I start painting. Thanks in advance, Jeff

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I spent the day trying to track down a pool noodle, so I could fashion together an assembly/painting box. I couldn't help but do a quick assembly to get a sense of the size. Penny for scale. I also got a book in the mail. I spent half an hour flipping through it and was left pretty happy. My only gripe was the addition of some (maybe 10-15%) photos of restored warbirds mixed in throughout.

Kagemusha: Thank you, the nose art was definitely one of the reasons I chose this plane. It is pretty impressive to think that Jay Cowan, the young man who painted it, was 23 years old. brahman104: I couldn't agree more. I honestly do not have words to describe my awe at your B-17 project. chuck540z3: I'm in agreement on 1/4 of your bullet points. Very Good modeling Very Good photography Very Good subject and Very Good descriptions! Thanks for your kind words though. Uncarina: I used "Model Master Liquid Cement for Plastic Models" No.8872. I used this stuff when I first started modeling and has worked pretty well for me when I need something a bit thicker than Tamiya Ultra-Thin cement. tomprobert: I am well aware of Eduard's baffling choice of interior green for their photo-etch. I don't plan on using any of the parts that are interior green. I am hoping to get by with some airscale placards. Additionally, I am getting ready to re-open a can of worms regarding interior colors in a post below. MARU5137: Thanks for the link. Sometimes, I feel like my ratio of modeling to browsing pictures of airplanes on the internet is WAY off.

I also heard that one of the shortcomings in this kit was a potential "step" caused by assembling the nose and tail turret separately from the main fuselage. This is what the instructions recommend, but I decided to deviate and install them to the corresponding fuselage halves. It was a little disappointing that not all of the kit panel lines lined up. I'm fairly happy with how the port side turned out: The starboard side must have slowly pulled apart after I removed the tape holding it together. It will require a bit of fixing. A similar process was used for the tail turret, which came out fairly well. That's all for now.

Not much progress to show so far, but in order to actually be a "Work in Progress" here we go... The cockpit will have a bit of scratch building, photo etch, and HGW fabric/resin. The canvas control columns were made from Miliput (inspired someone else's build). Progress so far: A comparison between the Yahu IP (top) and Eduard (bottom). I will likely go with the Yahu panel when the time comes. Rear bulkhead progress so far. The door was opened and will have to be scratch built to pose open. I added some wiring running into the circuit breaker panel. The oxygen bottle holders by Eduard were way too fiddly for me, so I have opted for styrene instead. I'm also considering trying to replicate the canvas sound/(fire?) proofing on the sidewalls, but haven't been able to find definitive evidence that they were on B-17Gs. If anyone else has pictures or knowledge, feel free to chime in. The seat cushions/ flotation devices by HGW:

Hi, I originally bought the HK kit with intentions to build it as part of the multi-engine group build, but life and then covid got in the way. I recently got it back out with the intentions of building it as a fellow 490th BG ship '5# with Breakfast'. While searching for the Zotz decal sheet (which is apparently impossible to find), a helpful forum member offered to help me with the markings. One thing led to another and now he is helping me create a set of markings for "Bobby Sox". This is a pretty well known B-17 that had a variety of different markings during its career. I plan to build it as it *probably* looked while serving with the 490th BG. It will involve a "Pathfinder" conversion. Progress will be slow *disclaimer* I figure that the most fitting way to start this build is with the aircraft and wonderful nose art itself.

Timmy, Thanks for the suggestion. Lots of great stuff in that video. Jeff

Thank you very much, Thunnus, for that response. Your idea crossed my mind, but I was hesitant to take a pair of scissors to shorten a set of brush bristles. Thank you everyone for the responses. You all have given me some renewed life to experiment with different techniques. Jeff

Thanks. I will experiment with both suggestions. Jeff

Does anyone have suggestions for tools/techniques to remove sanding dust from panel lines and rivets? I'm currently in the process of filling/sanding a set of 1/32 Tamiya P-51 wings. One of the hurdles I'm finding is that some areas are being filled with Mr. Surfacer, but others are just filling up with compressed dust from sanding. I normally use an old tooth brush to clean the panel line dust, but it isn't working very well on the fine surface detail of the Tamiya P-51 wings. Any help or suggestions would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks for looking. -Jeff

Hi, I was hoping to model a Ju-87G-1 from a well known series of photos. The problem is that I can't find high resolution photos to make out the fuselage codes other than a "G". I was hoping someone out there might be able to help shed enough light on this aircraft to help me build a reasonably accurate replica. I tried registering on the Bundesarchiv website to download them, but the process was a bit too complicated for me to successfully complete. Here is the series of photos that I believe are all the same aircraft.

The RB productions photo-etch erla canopy comes with a template to reshape the fuselage. I am working on a 109K with the RB erla canopy, but have not yet had a chance to compare the template with the canopy from the Hasegawa G-14 kit.

Damian, That's exactly what I'm looking for. It looks like the up-lock hooks (#7 in the illustration) are indeed faced in opposite directions because they are connected to a single release cable. Back to the bench. Thanks again! Jeff

Hi, Does anyone have pictures or drawings of the landing gear wheel wells on the Bf-109K? I'm working on a 1/32 Bf-109K and using the RB productions photo etch wheel wells. The instruction photos aren't very detailed. I'm specifically wondering if the outboard gear door up-lock hooks on the sides of the wheel well face the same direction. I'd love to get my hands on the Japo book, which probably has the answers, but can't justify the price tag. Thanks in advance for any help! -Jeff

I was at the USAF Museum a few years ago. One of his paintings was on display called, 'Red River Thunder'. Here are a couple pictures I took. The painting in the flesh was sublime. Sad news. Sorry for your loss.

The box art appears to be by Piotr Forkasiewicz. He seems to be doing artwork for all the recent HK reboxings and some stuff for Eduard. His website is worth a browse while having a coffee/beer. https://peterfor.com/ I'm tempted to buy this reboxing, but man... I was really hoping for a 345th BG boxing. I am really disappointed by the lack of 345th markings on offer for the glass nose HK B-25. I guess the wait continues for that, the B-17F rebox, and B-17 nose section kit.

This is an example of the SOW design I was trying to describe. He contours a metal rod to match the shape of the entire strut. This reinforces the entire strut including the axel. He then surrounds it with a section of stainless tubing in the shock strut area. I am wondering if the ones in the review are just stainless tubing in the shock strut area, while the rest of the gear is resin. Hope that clarifies

Is it just me, or is anyone else skeptical that the metal rods inside those stretch the entire length of the strut like the SOW ones do?

John, Congratulations on such a terrific build. . On an unrelated note, I tried to email you with a decal order and got an automated response saying that you were recovering from surgery. I hope all is well for you. Jeff

I have personally taken apart a 21st Century pre-finished model. It is the 21st Century Toys mold, but doesn't include the bombs, or pilot figure. Additionally, the decal sheet has werk numbers that are in an.... interesting font selection https://www.modellboard.net/index.php?topic=64186.0 I agree, though, that the 262's were the creme of the crop when it came to 21st Century 1/18 aircraft.