patricksparks Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 (edited) Following in the footsteps of LSP's own "brahman 104" I have decided to take a plunge into another overhaul, I,m planning the conversion of HK's model B-17 E/F into a B-17 "D" model. I'm starting with removing the aft fuselage from the radio compartment back, I plan on resin printing the aft end including the tail planes. So far I have removed the rear fuselage retaining the ends of the wing's fairings. Edited March 30, 2020 by patricksparks Landrotten Highlander, Alain Gadbois, John1 and 15 others 16 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Great start Pat! I can't wait to see your approach to the project. Many, many ways to skin the cat so to speak! At least you have a good idea of what doesn't work from me . Glad you've started a thread for this. Good luck! Craig Martinnfb, patricksparks and Dennis7423 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricksparks Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 Have cut the forward fuselage down, about 10MM needs to be removed from the length in the front. In the attached photos you can see a light pencil line running vertically on the fuselage side just in front of the wing root fillet and up on the side of the cockpit turtle deck, these 2 places is where I cut the 10MM out of the fuselage to get a "close" approximation of the corrected length for an early model B-17, plus cutting there moves the lower crew entry hatch back as well which needs to happen. In other photos I have put the new project next to an original HK "G" model to kind of show the difference in the altered length. I did a quick cad drawing of a new fuselage section and printed as an experiment, I'm not overjoyed with it yet, I have to thin out all the internal ribbing for a better scale look and also thin everything down to reduce shrinkage. I plan on doing the finished parts in "full" round sections not in halves which should keep everything completely round in section, I should end up with 3 major sections. Hopefully... Dennis7423, Gazzas, D.B. Andrus and 17 others 18 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 The rib detail looks fantastic! If I had have had a resin printer when I did mine, this definitely would've been the way to go! Looks like you'll have this done in no time..... probably before I finish mine! Craig Anthony in NZ, Gazzas, Martinnfb and 1 other 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Very impressive, I'm blown away we have two of these on the go, fantastic. Martinnfb, Gazzas and patricksparks 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricksparks Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 9 hours ago, brahman104 said: The rib detail looks fantastic! If I had have had a resin printer when I did mine, this definitely would've been the way to go! Looks like you'll have this done in no time..... probably before I finish mine! Craig Many thanks to you Craig, for the help you have given me !!! Martinnfb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricksparks Posted March 31, 2020 Author Share Posted March 31, 2020 Had great unplanned help today, to build a proper early B-17 you need 8 "bucket " seats, it suddenly dawned on me that when I bought the Hobbyboss B-24 over a year ago I decided to buy a full set of HK models B-17 engine sprues, for the engines, main wheels and props to supplement the B-24's looks, I remembered today that each 2 engine sprues have 2 buckets on them, now I have them all, just have to make cushions ...nice break ! Also sat down and cut the cockpit windows back to match the "D" model and cut the rest of the turret ring off the roof. Landrotten Highlander, scvrobeson, MikeC and 13 others 15 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 patricksparks and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Martinnfb and patricksparks 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricksparks Posted April 1, 2020 Author Share Posted April 1, 2020 (edited) I have been doing a lot of detective work on the cockpit/flight deck, I have looked at the Boeing blueprints(sorry can't post them) and I have found some things I didn't know about the early model B-17s. The rear flight deck floor is not raised higher than the later models, the rear seats are significantly lower than the pilots seats, there are raised floor panels that are mounted to the pilot's seat frames that run back to the rear seats. I wondered how someone could use the overhead observation dome if the floor wasn't higher, turns out there is a fold up step just below the bomb bay entry door. One reference clue I found about the height of the rear seats is a photo of the real "SWOOSE" flight deck it has a rear seat frame still in place, but there is a small black object mounted to the rear bulkhead and I realized that the HK kit has the same detail molded on the bulkhead, this answered a lot of speculation for me as to where the bottom of the seats end up. Not sure if the floorboards I added are 100% but it was my best guess on the length of them, I didn't see anything on the SWOOSE's rear seat frame that show extra attachment. Edited April 1, 2020 by patricksparks D.B. Andrus, Kagemusha, Troy Molitor and 9 others 11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrish Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Good progress here! Martinnfb and patricksparks 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonio Argudo Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 really nice job, love that version, some refs I had hope they help , cheers! sandokan, MikeC, GMK and 4 others 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricksparks Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 A little more work on the flight deck, I was able to get an image posted of an original Boeing drawing showing the seat arrangement , unfortunately it's an ancient blueprint so much of it is barely visible(it's only about 80 years old...) I set the 2 back seats with a solid strip for more strength, it won't be seen once closed up, I will add some small framing to the sides next to the walkway(visible) I also added the commander's table onto the back of the copilot's seat. johncrow, sandokan, MikeC and 8 others 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Egaaads ! , there's way too much modeling going on here . patricksparks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Very interesting! You know I never even noticed those floorboards you are talking about, nor that the rear seats were lower than the front. I think mine are pretty much level, but I'll keep them that way as I've done enough damage to the forward section as it stands! Looking great Pat, and great research too. There's some very interesting photos getting posted here, especially the one of the B-17E interior with the remote turret.... that'll come in handy in the future! Keep up the good work. Craig D.B. Andrus and patricksparks 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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