HK B-17

[Propwash]

My response to those who are critical of the HK B-17 is: Contact HK and tell them about your concerns, if you haven't already. They've made it clear that they are dedicated to making their kits as accurate as possible and have shown themselves to be responsive to customer feedback. If enough people squawk loud enough, bye and bye they'll get around to correcting the problem, if not on this kit, maybe on the F.

 

Myself, I'm not going to let a detail like a too round upper nose compartment keep me from a kit I've waited thirty years for. I'd rather concentrate on what's right about this kit than what's wrong. I suspect that this flaw won't be all that noticeable to most of us in the finished model anyway.

 

Jerry Peterson

[Tony T]

...

As for the B-17, I've gathered that it's too round and needs to be squished (if that's the right term) a bit.

The opposite to Trumpeter then, who seem to favour the 'squished' look. Shame HKM aren't doing the LTV A-7 then (says he trying to legitimately weasel A-7 into every possible thread - no, just coincidence, like the large number of lovely red heads appearing in TV commercials these days. Am I the only person to notice that?!?

 

The B-17 is bound to be a winner, and then we can have a Lanc. and a set of Meteors and Mozzies (assuming all proceeds to plan).

 

Tony T

[geedubelyer]

like the large number of lovely red heads appearing in TV commercials these days. Am I the only person to notice that?!?

 

 

Tony T

Hmm,...more of a brunette man myself Tony. Long, flowing raven locks...... Sorry, I digress.

 

It's a shame that we modellers are n't able to wait until a kit is released before passing judgement. I know very little about the B-17 and the photos that appeared in the recent review looked absolutely fantastic to me.I hope I'm in the majority in that I could build it and not be concerned over shape issues. I found myself drooling at the thought of being able to get stuck in to such a beautiful model kit. I'll never buy one though. It's just not my thing. But, in a way, I do kinda envy everyone who will

[jozef]

Myself, I'm not going to let a detail like a too round upper nose compartment keep me from a kit I've waited thirty years for. I'd rather concentrate on what's right about this kit than what's wrong. I suspect that this flaw won't be all that noticeable to most of us in the finished model anyway.

 

Jerry Peterson

I am in the same boat with you, Jerry.

I have waited too long not to be happy that it exists.

 

Jozef

[Juggernut]

Woah. - Surprised that someone with subject matter knowledge isn't blinded by the upcoming release?

 

You can always wait for the next 1/32 B17 off the block. - If they don't fix the nose with this release, it probably won't get fixed in any subsequent releases.

 

No model is perfect & I'm sure that an AM correction kit will be launched if the error is so marked, or you could always do some modelling & fix it. - The aftermarket companies will need to redo the entire nose section, upper fuselage section, windscreen and nose perspex. The correction kit will probably end up costing amost half of what the kit costs. For my $285 I'm not spending another $100 - $150 on a fix. I just won't buy the kit to begin with (like I initially said). Et to, if I did purchase the kit as is and were "to do some modeling" as your snide remark would suggest I am incapable of; I would need to redo the entire nose section, upper fuselage, windscreen and nose perspex. My available time and skill are nowhere near where they'd need to be to fix the issue.

 

 

My response to those who are critical of the HK B-17 is: Contact HK and tell them about your concerns, if you haven't already.

 

I already have contacted HK about the issue (including the photo from my original post in the contact) and this is the reply I received: Thank you so much for your comment on B-17 nose section. I will consultant to our engineer and RD team for this issue. We are much appreciated your advise and help. So you see, they may be looking into the issue. Whether they do anything about it has yet to be determined. The amount of retooling involved will be extensive to get the nose, instrument panel, windscreen, astrodome and nose perspex accurate.

 

I too am very happy that the HK team decided to take on the task of producing such a grand model in such a large scale. Having said that, there's no reason why the kit cannot be as accurate as possible with the research, technology, the availability of people with knowledge of the subject that goes beyond casual familiarity to aid them in making such a kit. I think with just a little bit of prodding from the studio audience, they could produce a kit that will be as impressive in accuracy as in sheer size.

 

It's a shame that we modellers are n't able to wait until a kit is released before passing judgement.

 

I'm not really passing judgement. I'm expressing an issue of inaccuracy (which is a fact, not perceived, a guess, hunch or opinion) that I feel is important to the subject to capture the subject as accurately as possible. If HK fixes the issue then as I said in my original post, I'll be buying many B-17's (only one of the very late G though) but if they don't fix it and release the kit with the misshapen nose, no matter how trivial to anyone else, I'll pass (as I know of several others who will as well). And, as I also said in my original post, others may not feel it's a huge issue and that's completely ok. I'm not going to tell you your kit is fatally flawed because it's not; far from it in fact. HK have done a very good job of capturing the look of the late block B-17G. Now I'm hoping they will fine tune it so that it's the absolute best it can be.

 

Back in 1975 when the Monogram 1/48 B-17G first came out, I wrote a letter to Monogram asking them if they could release the B-17G in 1/32. The reply I got was that the wingspan would be over 38" and would (at that time) cost too much to manufacture. So you see, I too have been waiting for 38 years for someone to release a 1/32 B-17G. I'd just like the HK kit to be as accurate in shape/proportion as the 1/48 Monogram kit is.

[scvrobeson]

I already have contacted HK about the issue (including the photo from my original post in the contact) and this is the reply I received: Thank you so much for your comment on B-17 nose section. I will consultant to our engineer and RD team for this issue. We are much appreciated your advise and help. So you see, they may be looking into the issue. Whether they do anything about it has yet to be determined. The amount of retooling involved will be extensive to get the nose, instrument panel, windscreen, astrodome and nose perspex accurate.

 

I too am very happy that the HK team decided to take on the task of producing such a grand model in such a large scale. Having said that, there's no reason why the kit cannot be as accurate as possible with the research, technology, the availability of people with knowledge of the subject that goes beyond casual familiarity to aid them in making such a kit. I think with just a little bit of prodding from the studio audience, they could produce a kit that will be as impressive in accuracy as in sheer size.

 

 

I'm not really passing judgement. I'm expressing an issue of inaccuracy (which is a fact, not perceived, a guess, hunch or opinion) that I feel is important to the subject to capture the subject as accurately as possible. If HK fixes the issue then as I said in my original post, I'll be buying many B-17's (only one of the very late G though) but if they don't fix it and release the kit with the misshapen nose, no matter how trivial to anyone else, I'll pass (as I know of several others who will as well). And, as I also said in my original post, others may not feel it's a huge issue and that's completely ok. I'm not going to tell you your kit is fatally flawed because it's not; far from it in fact. HK have done a very good job of capturing the look of the late block B-17G. Now I'm hoping they will fine tune it so that it's the absolute best it can be.

 

Back in 1975 when the Monogram 1/48 B-17G first came out, I wrote a letter to Monogram asking them if they could release the B-17G in 1/32. The reply I got was that the wingspan would be over 38" and would (at that time) cost too much to manufacture. So you see, I too have been waiting for 38 years for someone to release a 1/32 B-17G. I'd just like the HK kit to be as accurate in shape/proportion as the 1/48 Monogram kit is.

 

 

 

So, you can't fix the problem yourself? The errors I've seen so far are that the nose in front of the cockpit needs to be flattened down. Couldn't you just sand it down to the right shape, and re-scribe/re-rivet the nose? Probably wouldn't be more than a 20 minute fix?

 

 

I can at least promise that the HK kit will fit better than the Monogram one, and no more raised panel lines to deal with.

 

 

Matt

[Juggernut]

So, you can't fix the problem yourself? The errors I've seen so far are that the nose in front of the cockpit needs to be flattened down. Couldn't you just sand it down to the right shape, and re-scribe/re-rivet the nose? Probably wouldn't be more than a 20 minute fix?

 

 

I can at least promise that the HK kit will fit better than the Monogram one, and no more raised panel lines to deal with.

 

 

Matt

 

 

The flattened area in front of the windscreen is lower than the plastic is thick and if I were to do as you suggested, how do I reshape the windscreen (increasing the rake) to put the apex of the windshied where it's supposed to be? The flattened area runs from the windscreen tapering down through the astrocompass dome (which is why it sits a little proud on top of the circular nose in the test shot photos) and ending in the nose perspex. The astrocompass dome needs to be reshaped and the nose perspex needs to be flatter on top (but not much...it is very close to being correct, something I could probabaly live with). I don't have the time or desire to do that much reshaping/rebuilding. I'd rather just put the issue to HK and let them fix it (or not). While I like the B-17G I'm not into so much plastic surgery on a model that cost upwards of $300. Even if it were only $50-$60, I still wouldn't do that much reshaping. I would end up, throwing the kit in the trash or waiting for the aftermarket community to make an affordable fix.

 

As old as the Monogram kit is, it's still the best scale model of any B-17 to date raised panel lines et al. Shapes and proportions are right on and even though it has some detail omissions and some spurious details that weren't added until much later in the B-17G production run, it still is the best kit going, in any scale (pending the HK release).

 

 

See how the instrument panel hood is not semi-circular? It's representative of the curvature of the entire top of the nose. Once the nose up by the windscreen is fixed (and the windscreen itself), I think the rest will fall into line and will probably be just fine. After looking very closely at the area in the vicinity of the astrocompass and forward (again), the nose ahead of the astrocompass may not be as bad as I originally thought.

 

Oh well, it all boils down to who's going to spend the money and who isn't. Again, I'm in no way saying that this kit is in any way a bad, horribly inaccurate or a waste of time kit. Hell, it hasn't even been released yet how could I? But based on the test shot photos, all I'm saying is that portion of the nose that is inaccurate is a major factor in my buying decision. Like I said, if they fix it, I'm on the bandwagon for every G that they release and probably a great many F's as well. If they don't fix it, I won't.

Edited April 5, 2013 by TimC

[Gunnar J]

Hi all

 

I'm by no way ent expert on the B-17 though I like the looks of it and I agree the nose section is a prominent area that need to look good for getting me buiyng this kit. ;-)

 

One thing I reflected on is the clear nose dome (sorry perhaps not the right word).

 

I know so much that they had different shapes and protruded different on earlier and late versions but to me the kit "dome" looks to "short" even for a late version.

Compared to the pic of the original plane in the link posted earlier that clear dome seams "longer" and protrudes more from the front fuselage.

 

What do you think? Have they got it right in the kit?

 

Regards/ Gunnar

[Juggernut]

I know so much that they had different shapes and protruded different on earlier and late versions but to me the kit "dome" looks to "short" even for a late version.

Compared to the pic of the original plane in the link posted earlier that clear dome seams "longer" and protrudes more from the front fuselage.

 

What do you think? Have they got it right in the kit?

 

Regards/ Gunnar

 

I think the clear perspex is pretty good. It may not be 100% accurate but I can live with it if it's not. The only thing that jumps out at me is the top of the nose section in front of the pilot's windscreen (and the windscreen itself).

[wunwinglow]

What a pity no-one spotted this when the CAD renderings were published, because fixing the issue would have been a simple thing at that point. Now some MASSIVE tools have actually been cut to the point where thay can be used for making actual mouldings, the time and expense of sorting it out will be several orders bigger. And therefore much more unlikely to be done, simply because they are already too far into their investment program. A big delay, and a big repair bill would probably be a killer.....

 

Tim

[Guest Vulcan32]

Hello,

 

the production of the B-17G will be finished this month and the kit should be available in June.

Also a B-17F with "Memphis Belle" markings is scheduled for release this year.

 

Cheers, Heinz

[Juggernut]

Hello,

 

the production of the B-17G will be finished this month and the kit should be available in June.

Also a B-17F with "Memphis Belle" markings is scheduled for release this year.

 

Cheers, Heinz

Memphis Belle? Really, are you serious? That airplane has been done to death and if its accurate then it severely limits the marking option for F models.

[Fred Jack]

I have an ID Lancaster. I hope you guys know how much room a 17 takes.

[fastzx]

I have at least 15 books on ww2 nose art.

Decisions decisions but I have plenty of time to wait and have yard sales and get the wife back into a job and get my finances in order.

This is going to really open up the decal options aftermarket. So many great nose art on these planes. I've been going to the US Air Force museum since they only had one hanger and spinning the turbo supercharger since I could reach it just once and lightly - amazing how long it spins after all these years. Sigh!

 

Heck I still have to get a B-25 someday darn if it isnt the highpoint of 1/32 kits and now funds are required to just live. I suppose I could sell my Yamaha R1.....nahhhh!

Jon

[Bill M.]

I think the Memphis Belle is fine-- quite an airplane really. as for other versions, either HK or after market folks could offer a single .50 nosepiece as well as the navigators dome and that would cover a whole bunch of other F's. Heck, im just happy to see an F!

Memphis Belle? Really, are you serious? That airplane has been done to death and if its accurate then it severely limits the marking option for F models.