Any definitive corrections to the HK B-17 nose in sight?

[Thunderbolt]

I would build one if the nose wasn’t so incorrect. Anyone?

[Juggernut]

Nope, not a chance....  If you want a correct nose, you'll have to do it yourself.  Me, I've got the 17E/F kit and while I realize the nose is misshapen, I'm not into doing the work to correct it as the nose will just be the tip of the iceberg.

[ghatherly]

What we need is WNW to do the B-17 and do it right, along with the P-38, B-24 and B-29.

[DeanKB]

25 minutes ago, ghatherly said:

What we need is WNW to do the B-17 and do it right, along with the P-38, B-24 and B-29.

Unfortunately, they'd be so expensive as to be out of reach of most modellers.

[Rowen]

2 hours ago, ghatherly said:

What we need is WNW to do the B-17 and do it right, along with the P-38, B-24 and B-29.

 

I'm perfectly fine with the HK B-17's. Have both the e/f and g. Great kits! So are the B-25's.

But before we get anything else we NEED a Martin B-26 Marauder!

 

-Ro

[ghatherly]

16 hours ago, DeanKB said:

Unfortunately, they'd be so expensive as to be out of reach of most modellers.

Why is it" unfortunate"that they would be expensive?    I ask sincerely as I respectfully disagree with your conclusion.   Expensive items, especially in the modeling kits sell very, very well if done right.   By your logic there will be no WNW Lancasters at all as I bet they are will be in the $400-$500 range.   No one thought $150 Bi Panes would sell either but they do, and they sell very well.   Modelers readily paid  $300 for the B-17G HK that sold out even with serious shape issues. I also point you to the Tamiya WWII kits with $150 corsairs and $225 Mosquitos.   

14 hours ago, Rowen said:

 

I'm perfectly fine with the HK B-17's. Have both the e/f and g. Great kits! So are the B-25's.

But before we get anything else we NEED a Martin B-26 Marauder!

 

-Ro

I agree on the B-26, and glad you are happy with the others.   Many are not, and no one has done a P-38 of any quality.  Would love to see a Tamiya P-38 with the quality of the Corsair kits.      

[Thunderbolt]

1 hour ago, ghatherly said:

Why is it" unfortunate"that they would be expensive?    I ask sincerely as I respectfully disagree with your conclusion.   Expensive items, especially in the modeling kits sell very, very well if done right.   By your logic there will be no WNW Lancasters at all as I bet they are will be in the $400-$500 range.   No one thought $150 Bi Panes would sell either but they do, and they sell very well.   Modelers readily paid  $300 for the B-17G HK that sold out even with serious shape issues. I also point you to the Tamiya WWII kits with $150 corsairs and $225 Mosquitos.   

I agree on the B-26, and glad you are happy with the others.   Many are not, and no one has done a P-38 of any quality.  Would love to see a Tamiya P-38 with the quality of the Corsair kits.      

 

 

an OOB WNW lanc would still be better than an HK B 17 with $150-350 of aftermarket 

[DeanKB]

1 hour ago, ghatherly said:

Why is it" unfortunate"that they would be expensive?    I ask sincerely as I respectfully disagree with your conclusion.   Expensive items, especially in the modeling kits sell very, very well if done right.   By your logic there will be no WNW Lancasters at all as I bet they are will be in the $400-$500 range.   No one thought $150 Bi Panes would sell either but they do, and they sell very well.   Modelers readily paid  $300 for the B-17G HK that sold out even with serious shape issues. I also point you to the Tamiya WWII kits with $150 corsairs and $225 Mosquitos.   

I agree on the B-26, and glad you are happy with the others.   Many are not, and no one has done a P-38 of any quality.  Would love to see a Tamiya P-38 with the quality of the Corsair kits.      

How do you know expensive items sell very, very well? 

 

There are many, many modellers on here who struggle to purchase a $100 kit.  Revell are an absolute godsend. Roden offer a way to model biplanes for far less than $150.

 

I'd prefer, all things considered, a decent shaped model with reasonable detail at a reasonable price - like Revell kits and HK's B-24. This allows most everybody to buy and build it as they want, or as their budget allows, using Eduard to jazz things up.

 

The WNW model is akin to Tamiya - top quality at top price. If you are lucky enough to have the money, it's all good.  But I say "unfortunately" because the kit will be beyond the means of many, many modellers - I'd guess the large majority. Yes, the WNW Lancaster will sell, but in pretty small numbers, to a small group of modellers, maybe a couple of thousand or so?

 

[cbk57]

Frankly the size of 1/32 four engine bombers is a bigger obstacle than price for me.  For the amount of time and entertainment I get out of a nice model, spending even several hundred on a kit does not bother me that much.  It just limits how many I buy.   I would rather buy a really well engineered kit at a higher price than a more basic kit that would tempt me to attempt lots of corrective work and resin bits to make the same kit.   It is easy to spend a lot of money on a Hasegawa Bf-109 or FW-190 series kit in 1/32.  The basic kits are not bad but then I find the temptation to replace the cockpit, then the wheel wells, then do riveting, then the landing gear and oh wait I need a fuel tank now.  It is easy to drop quite a bit on a cheaper more basic kit as you try to upgrade it.  

 

I apologize for the digression from the nose correction.  I suspect HK is not going to do it.  I don’t find it fatal myself.  I really like the HK B-17 just find it too damn big.  I would have to have someone commission a build for me to consider building one.  I don’t have a place for it to sit around my shop or home.  Now the WNW Lancaster with the removable outer wings might be a different story.  I can see how I could display that with the outboard wings off.  

[Juggernut]

The HK B-17's have removable wings (if you don't glue them on) and also come with a wall mount....

[ghatherly]

On 5/5/2019 at 11:45 AM, DeanKB said:

How do you know expensive items sell very, very well? 

 

There are many, many modellers on here who struggle to purchase a $100 kit.  Revell are an absolute godsend. Roden offer a way to model biplanes for far less than $150.

 

I'd prefer, all things considered, a decent shaped model with reasonable detail at a reasonable price - like Revell kits and HK's B-24. This allows most everybody to buy and build it as they want, or as their budget allows, using Eduard to jazz things up.

 

The WNW model is akin to Tamiya - top quality at top price. If you are lucky enough to have the money, it's all good.  But I say "unfortunately" because the kit will be beyond the means of many, many modellers - I'd guess the large majority. Yes, the WNW Lancaster will sell, but in pretty small numbers, to a small group of modellers, maybe a couple of thousand or so?

 

I know because I am in the business.  I would also wager that the WnW Lancaster will sell as well if not better than the HK.   Why, because if it is like the pictures on their web site it will be worth it.   Once you go over $300, going to $500 is not a financial challenge if the product is worth the higher price.

[Thunderbolt]

Has anyone corrected the nose? Does anyone know of any builds that show it?

Thanks

[brahman104]

6 hours ago, thunderbolt1988 said:

Has anyone corrected the nose? Does anyone know of any builds that show it?

Thanks

Guess you haven't seen my build then?

 

https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/54022-hk-b-17c-294-running-the-bath/

 

Not the only way to do it. My next build will be rather different in approach. I went this way because I had to shorten the fuselage forward of the wing for an early model.

 

For what it's worth, if you want to be absolutely true to the clean lines of the B-17, the entire nose needs correcting, not just the number three bulkhead. It's really up the individual how far they want to go to correct it.

 

Craig

Edited May 31, 2019 by brahman104

[Thunderbolt]

2 hours ago, brahman104 said:

Guess you haven't seen my build then?

 

https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/54022-hk-b-17c-294-running-the-bath/

 

Not the only way to do it. My next build will be rather different in approach. I went this way because I had to shorten the fuselage forward of the wing for an early model.

 

For what it's worth, if you want to be absolutely true to the clean lines of the B-17, the entire nose needs correcting, not just the number three bulkhead. It's really up the individual how far they want to go to correct it.

 

Craig

 

Your imagination and skill are quite incredible! Good luck with the rest of your project...how much longer do you think you'll need?

 

I wonder what your thoughts are on my own proposed approach to correcting the nose (for a late-war B-17G)

 

1. Fix nose to the fuselage 

2. remove upper third of nose just aft of bubble as one unit (section should be neatly inline with turtleneck)

3. with obstructing round nose plastic now clear, modify windscreen until achieved result is desired, fixing everything to cockpit roof (or maybe fix windscreen after nose has been rebuilt, would have to trial this in vivo; I do not yet own a kit)

4. thin excised upper third of nose from underneath until it is flexible enough to be flexible and therefore flattenable  

5. remove 1 mm plastic along the full length of the both lateral aspects of the excised upper third section (so that when one reattaches this section to the lower 2/3 of the nose, it can only sit flush if it loses significant curvature)

6. gradually refit the removed third to fit the corrected windscreen, then attach 

7. plasticcard/putty/sand/rescribe/etc.

 

thoughts? 

[Tnarg]

One response to the nose issue of the B-17 might include the following steps:

 

1) Cover an appropriate section of the side front right fuselage with resin and cast an impression of the detail.

2) Vac form several copies of that section of the right (or left) side of the front fuselage.

3) Trim the edges of the vac formed sections rather irregularly as if cut by a torch.

4) Paint or finish the section as per the prototype (natural metal or an appropriate color).

5) Decal with your choice of nose art.

6) Hang up on a scale wall of a nose art museum.

 

There you have it. Many versions of the B-17. Add a B-25 and B-24 to the collection since they have similar alternatives for interesting nose art.

 

Doesn't fix the problems with the kits, but lets you build and store a lot more projects than the other way.

 

(Dodging incoming flak)

 

Tnarg