jeroen_R90S Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 Awesome work, looks like you have loads of attention span and persistence! brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted November 13, 2022 Share Posted November 13, 2022 Well all I have to do is be away for a while, and I have missed the boat! You have been busy Craig. That nose glass and frame look very very B-17'ish!! You should be proud. brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted November 14, 2022 Author Share Posted November 14, 2022 On 11/13/2022 at 9:04 AM, scvrobeson said: Oh man, the silver dolphin is all coming together now! Looks awesome Craig, can't wait to see what's next. Matt Hahaha! Very true! Maybe I should rename the post Thanks Matt scvrobeson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted November 14, 2022 Author Share Posted November 14, 2022 On 11/13/2022 at 9:50 AM, LSP_Kevin said: Fantastic stuff, Craig! Kev Thanks Kev! LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted November 14, 2022 Author Share Posted November 14, 2022 On 11/13/2022 at 10:52 AM, Jim Barry said: Love it. I'm near this stage with the Bearcat. Aluminum tape is great in so many ways especially 1/24 and larger. Keep it up! Thanks Jim . It certainly has its uses, although it can be tricky to handle. I think I'll stick with the litho the big sections. Looking forward to seeing the next stage of your bearcat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted November 14, 2022 Author Share Posted November 14, 2022 On 11/13/2022 at 11:01 AM, jeroen_R90S said: Awesome work, looks like you have loads of attention span and persistence! Or am I just a glutton for punishment? Thanks mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted November 14, 2022 Author Share Posted November 14, 2022 On 11/13/2022 at 3:53 PM, JayW said: Well all I have to do is be away for a while, and I have missed the boat! You have been busy Craig. That nose glass and frame look very very B-17'ish!! You should be proud. Thanks Jay! When I redid the nose, I made the new fuselage match the kit supplied piece. It'd just taken me lots of procrastination to get the framework done . Definitely looks a bit more complete now! JayW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted December 29, 2022 Author Share Posted December 29, 2022 I have some unfortunate news to share with you. If you've been following this build for some time you'll know Terry aka TKB has been a constant source of encouragement and inspiration (even more so offline, with much email correspondence regarding all things B-17). Terry joined this forum specifically to comment on this build and since then we have formed a unique friendship of sorts, despite being at opposite ends of the world. He became my "quality assurance guy," keeping me on the right path and backing up any points he had with photos or logical interpretation. The biggest coup came when he managed to secure a full drawing of the C model fuselage that directly contributed to the move from vac form to 3D printing and the subsequent "nailing" of the shape. To say this build is indebted to him would be the understatement of the century, and probably the reason why it's still going after 8 whole years! Sadly a few weeks ago I was contacted by his son who told me that Terry had passed away very suddenly. We had never met or even talked on the phone and yet Terry had come to have such an influence in this part of my life; when Dan asked me if I'd like to write on his tribute wall I felt very honoured to do so. I hope he won't mind me sharing what I wrote below: It's such a shame he won't get to see it finished but I definitely owe him big time to see this build through. So this build is dedicated to Terry and his memory..... Thank you for your service! One of the last "conversations" we had was around the representation of the bombsight. As you know, the Norden was considered one of the great secrets of the war (whether justified or not) and you'd be hard pressed to find a period photo of it being shown. What did that mean? Well the best way to represent it may in fact just be a canvas cover over the over to simulate it being kept away from prying eyes. So with that in mind, a little lead sheet wrapped around the sight for sizing and this was the result. Lazy or accurate modelling? I think oddly in this case both! This allowed me to finally attach the nose cone permanently, and that should go a long way to keeping dust etc out. I just have to be super careful about knocking it now! Also as some of you may recall in early 2020 I packed up my life and moved to New Zealand with my wife to pursue a change of pace and new opportunities. Unless you've been living under a rock you know exactly how bad our timing was to undertake an international move! Needless to say things haven't worked out here (that's a whole other story) and we're heading back to Australia. If you hate moving around the corner then spare a thought as this will be the second international move the B-17 has been through and I am dreading it! With airline travel the way it is these days there's no way I can take it with me, so it's going to have to go in a container.....not looking forward to that!!! There's clearly no way in hell I am trusting a removalist to pack it properly so I made a purpose built box and then carefully packed foam around it to the point where it can't move. This will then go inside a hard plastic trunk (foot locker) with other delicate items packed by me. At that point it's out of my hands, so here's hoping for the best! Don't worry, there's LOTS more foam that went into this box! It's basically mummified..... It struck me that at that point in the photo above, it kind of looked like swamp ghost sitting in the Kunai grass prior to her recovery in 2006. If a real B-17 can survive what she did, then hopefully mine will too, fingers crossed! The irony that this build is now paused for possibly the next 6-12 months while we get our lives back on track is not lost on me with the timing; it's kind of as if by being packed away the B-17 is itself taking some time to reflect on Terry's passing. In the words of a certain well known General though: "I SHALL RETURN!" Craig panzerrob, MikeC, LSP_Kevin and 15 others 12 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landrotten Highlander Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 Sad to hear of the passing of your source of information AND inspiration. Condolences to his family and friends and that includes you, Craig) brahman104, Antonio Argudo and chrish 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark64 Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 The level of craftsmanship on this is through the roof. So well done. brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Well shoot - that is indeed sad Craig. And sorry NZ isn't working out. I'm kinda surprised but I don't know your situation. AS for te hbuild, I think that canvas cover over the Norden is kinda cool! I am going to miss your updates. Take care and good luck on the move. brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archimedes Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Hi Craig, I have been watching your build for a long time and have always been hugely impressed at your willingness to go the extra mile to get details right and your incredible execution to nail them. It is heartbreaking to read about Terry but your tribute to him was wonderful to read. I am sorry you are having to move internationally (again). As a veteran of several I made sure I not only packed my models carefully but also insured everything. It is not nice to contemplate losing what is now 8 years work but there are more accidents involving bulk carriers losing containers at sea than one may imagine. I don’t want to be the voice of doom and gloom but honestly: although any insurance could not get your model back if it were damaged or went missing, you would at least get something for it. But, suffice it to say I very much hope that your move goes well and your B17 arrives safe and sound at the other end! Kind regards, Paul brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 5 hours ago, Landrotten Highlander said: Sad to hear of the passing of your source of information AND inspiration. Condolences to his family and friends and that includes you, Craig) Thanks mate. Luckily for me that Terry did such a good job of supplying me with information, interpretation and pictures that he got me through probably the most difficult aspects of the build. The wings by comparison are pretty straightforward as is the tail. Both are done, but just need skinning and the inevitable tweaking. Believe me, by the time I can this build on the bench again, whenever that will be, I'll be chomping at the bit! Until then, I'll have to live vicariously through everyone else's builds! Craig Landrotten Highlander, KiwiZac and chrish 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 3 hours ago, shark64 said: The level of craftsmanship on this is through the roof. So well done. Thank you so much Oliver! That is indeed a high compliment coming from you . I definitely think I need a helicopter on the bench next...... Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 20 minutes ago, JayW said: Well shoot - that is indeed sad Craig. And sorry NZ isn't working out. I'm kinda surprised but I don't know your situation. AS for te hbuild, I think that canvas cover over the Norden is kinda cool! I am going to miss your updates. Take care and good luck on the move. Thanks Jay. That's life for you! I can't paint the NZ experience all as doom and gloom...... It was my choice to come here and I got to do some amazing things working with some amazing people. I've learned a lot and hopefully contributed to the organisation in a positive way. We realised a while ago that it just wasn't sustainable long term, so we've made the move to come home. At the end of the day I'm glad I did it, I'm a better person for it (just not financially!) and at least I'm not wondering "what it would've been like" if I'd never tried. It sucks to have to put it in a box for a while but trust me, as soon as I can, it'll be back on the bench. In the meantime, I have your immaculate corsair and many others to follow! Thanks mate! Craig chrish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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