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B-17G 'A Bit O' Lace'


Iain

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Suitably inspired (nagged!) by my 9 year old son Cameron to dig out our respective B-17 projects, I thought I ought to put a stick in the ground and post a thread here.

 

Cam is a huge B-17 fan (especially the 'Memphis Belle) as so last year we got him the old Revell 1:48th 'F' kit. He was very excited - and then a little put off by the complexity of it all so I had 'another bright ideaTM' and suggested that if he had a go at his, I'd dig my 1:32 monster from the loft and we could build both in parallel.

 

This weekend just gone Cam has called 'in' on the deal - so, well, here we are!

 

No digs, or jibes about Connie et al and my ability to get majorly sidetracked - oh look - there's that squirrel again!!!

 

Add to that I'm seeing some majorly superb B-17 projects on the go and I'm kinda thinking just how hard can it be?  :hmmm: :frantic:

 

backside_zps3wqhzt1n.jpg

 

Plan is to make some corrections (nothing major) and, having discovered AK Interactive Xtreme Metal paint, go for 'Bit O' Lace'. OK - she's been done before - but the decals are available - and she's a well photographed airframe. Will have to 'un-stagger' the waist guns and vac some bulged 3 window waist gun positions - that's the plan anyway.

 

IMG_8141_zpsgitfrvwj.jpg

 

Now, I wasn't going to get too much aftermarket stuff for this project - I already had the beautiful Master gun barrel set I acquired a good 18 months ago at a bargain price - but, hey, ho, you know how it is and, whilst surfing for B-17 info the other night I spotted some Brassin engines going cheap - at least engines 2,3 and 4. Now I recon that 1 and 4 are most likely identical (and a quick look on the Eduard site shows all the same part numbers on engines 1 and 4) - so the eagle eyed will spot the odd box numbering.

 

If I mention the engines were only £8.17 each you'll understand my madness a little better!  ;)

 

Oh - and the wheels just had to come along for company!

 

IMG_8143_zpsglhdono3.jpg

 

These should dress up the model nicely - but I've succumbed to a little more today - details to follow when they arrive - but I recon main areas to concentrate on detail-wise are the cockpit and nose area. I'll be cheating a little - if it's unlikely to be seen on the final model then I'm not going to worry too much.

 

Have a few refs. dug out so far - but my absolute fave is 'The Mighty Eighth In Colour' - full of cracking period colour images - and heaps of inspiration!

 

IMG_8144_zpsxjvp4m3r.jpg

 

Here's Cameron with his B-17F:

 

IMG_8140_zpsvcxwp9yn.jpg

 

And holding the HK Models 'G' - whilst we were trying to guage the magnitude of our folly yesterday:

 

IMG_8138_zpsuhzlknbj.jpg

 

More soon*...

 

Iain

*No warranty given, or implied!  :)

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Will watch this closely, Iain. Am especially interested to see your three-piece waist windows.

 

The B-17 is my all time fave and I literally have hundreds of references. If you need any info regarding interior colours then shout - despite us regularly seeing B-17 models painted US Interior Green throughout, not a drop was ever used on the Fortress, regardless of mark/model. It's a *very* common error made *very* often!

 

Tom

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Guest Peterpools

Iain

What a fantastic project for both you and cam. Looking forward with eager anticipation of each update.

Keep 'em comoing

Peter

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Fantastic you're building along with your son!! What a great way to learn, from a master modeller!! I'm going to get nostalgic here, when i was a young lad not much older than your son i built the AirFix 1/72 kit with "A Bit o Lace" markings, that kit and especially the box art left a huge impression on me, helped start me building 45+ years ago. Really looking forward to this build.

 

Don

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Now that was a great heads up about those engines - although I had to do a little detective work to find them at creativemodels:-)

All this hype on forum about the status on other B-17 builds just might be what I need to (re)kickstart my build.

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Great detective work Stormer - I would have provided details if asked...  :)

 

But a complete set of brand new Brassin engines at that price - plus strong Euro/£ from Denmark - are a steal IMHO!

 

Did you order same as me - #2, #3 and 2 x #4? I've not found anything yet (including the assembly .pdfs) that shows any difference between engines 1 and 4 - and #1 was over £18.

 

Has everyone seen David Parker's (AIR Modeller magazine) superlative B-17G build yet? Photos of his build are stunning - and it's even better in the 'flesh'.

 

Looks like more of these are being built now - must admit I was a little put off by some of the shape issues that were found - but they really don't shout at me on finished builds as much as I thought they would...

 

It really is a stunning looking kit!

 

Iain

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Thanks guys - going to be fun juggling this build with Cameron's 'F' (and a pile of other stuff) - but we're both feeling inspired.

 

Need to ask Cam if he wants a separate thread...

 

He's still afraid of painting anything - wants to be perfect - but I keep telling him to relax, enjoy and learn as he goes - and not beat himself up if it falls below his expectations. I think youngsters can be just as interested as we were as kids *if* they are exposed to the hobby and given guidance and support.

 

He's only 9!

 

With his B-17 I've tried not to push him - just pick up on his enthusiasm as and when.

 

Iain

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I had ruled out the engines due to the high price (4x£20), so I just jumped at them believing your research 1 and 4 being the same.

I have a lot of etch and other stuff at the ready...

 

David's build is an absolute must as reference and although I have all the magazines I strongly consider buying the booklet with the entire build.

 

The shape issues means nothing to me. It looks very much like a B-17, and that's enough for me.

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Feel free to shoot me when we find #1 and #4 are completely different!  ;)

 

I'd not even considered them - but up they popped on my screen - taunting me - and I'm easily led! 

 

Suspect you got some of the last - they only had a few. They also had the four engine pack at £44 which is a good price.

 

Iain

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