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B-17G Little Miss Mischief


Uncarina

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The HK 1/32 B-17G kit is an impressive build, but out of the box the build options are limited to a late "G". Thanks to the insights, advice, and balanced discussion from many of you--with special thanks to Tom Probert, Dennis7423, Juggernut, Iain32SIG, and David Parker--I will be attempting to backdate the kit to an earlier version: Little Miss Mischief, a B-17G-35 91st Bomb Group, 324th Squadron.

 

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http://www.91stbombgroup.com/crewphotos/littlemissmischief.html

 

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http://fineartofdecals.com/goodies/b-17g-little-miss-mischief/

 

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http://www.usaaf-noseart.co.uk/plane.php?plane=little-miss-mischief#.WvNSs5dlC70

 

You can read her history here: https://b17flyingfortress.de/en/b17/42-97880-little-miss-mischief/

Being rebuilt from 13 different aircraft made her one of the most distinctive B-17's that flew, with a natural metal forward fuselage and an olive drab rear half.

 

I'm planning to address some inaccuracies for this version but not all, in no particular order: unstagger waist gun positions, remove wingtip vents, fix the radio room rear bulkhead, add detail to the top turret, correct the nose turret, and possibly, possibly, backdate the tailgunner position. Please feel free to share advice or give feedback!

 

Cheers, Tom

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What I will bring to the party:

Miracle Masks markings for Little Miss Mischief

Kitsworld LMM decals

Eduard Brassin wheels and guns

Eduard interior, nose, radio, waist sections, and exterior photoetch

Eduard masks

Master Details O2 set, control columns, chin turret inserts, ammo belts

LiveResin flexible ammo belts

Resin2Detail seats with belts

Uschi wood decals.

HK B-17E/F kit (for reference)

 

To start I dove right in by unstaggering the waist windows, one of the most obvious differences from later "G"'s. First I started with making the plug for the existing starboard window out of sheet plastic, curved it by attaching to a Tamiya empty paint jar with rubber bands and immersing it in hot water for several minutes. I then marked the spot for the new position inside and out, used a Dremel to open up the position, then sanded to shape, using the kit window as a guide:

 

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I will be adding a second curved piece to the plug to match the kit thickness, sand to shape, then add ribbing and rivets to blend it in.

 

Cheers, Tom

Edited by Uncarina
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Great start Tom. I'll be following along for sure! I always wanted one of these kits but haven't been able to justify the cost with so much money already tied in to the existing stash so I've lived vicariously through other people's builds.

 

Cheers,

Wolf

Edited by Wolf Buddee
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Cool project Tom, I have one in the stash and will be watching with great interest.

 

Regards. Andy

Andy, welcome! Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

Great start Tom. I'll be following along for sure!

 

Cheers,

Wolf

Wolf, thanks! It's great to have you along.

 

Cheers, Tom

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Wow! The Rodney and now a B-17G mod! Guess you need something to keep you out of the heat in Tucson! I have the B-17F kit...gonna do mine as "Knockout Dropper". Will watch this build as well...learn some new skills to use on mine! 

 

Ron

Ron, I hope this build log will be useful, and you picked a great subject for your kit!

Great start there Tom!

When the HK kit first came out, I thought of grabbing one and doing Little Miss Mischief as well but it didn't happen.

Carl

Carl, thanks! You would definitely do a stellar job with this kit.

 

Cheers, Tom

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I'm really looking forward to this - it looks like an excellent start.

 

I've built two of these and the only pitfall to watch out for when building it is the join between the nose and main fuselage parts. The diameter of the nose sections is slightly less than that of the fuselage which leaves a nasty step. On my second build I joined each of the nose sections to their respective fuselage halves first, which meant it was easier to get a perfect join. I was left with the need to insert a small plastic shim just in front of the cockpit, but this was easily hidden under the OD anti-glare panel.

 

Also, I think the sit of the model isn't quite right, and I narrowed it down to the main landing gear legs being too long. This is exacerbated by the cockpit sitting too high due to the incorrect circular cross section of the forward fuselage - it should be flattened just in front of the cockpit. The solution was to remove 5mm from the main gear legs, and this has the effect of the model sitting as it should and reduces the 'I'm on tip-toes' look. I think the kit parts are molded with the oleos fully extended.

 

And please remember not to paint the interior 'Interior Green!' Only the flight deck was painted - and this was the exposed metal - which was Bronze (or sometimes referred to as Dark Dull) Green. All other parts were left in natural aluminium.

 

On that note, I've done loads of research on the interior colours so feel free to ask if you want any info. :)

 

Tom

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Tom,

 

Thanks for following along and your advice! With such a popular subject and large build it's nice to know that I can count on your insights and those of others. I was aware of joining the kit halves, and was planning to add the shim to the bottom of the fuselage, but with a natural metal finish it didn't occur to me that hiding it would be easier under olive drab. For the landing gear I was planning to shorten the oleos: don't want her on tip-toes!

 

Was the cockpit sound-proof padding along the sides also bronze green or a different shade? Also, are the tail-gunner halves a good fit to the fuselage, or does this leave a gap as well?

 

Thanks, Tom

Edited by Uncarina
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Hi Tom,

 

The cockpit sound-proofing was an olive green. All other exposed metal areas such as the window frames, roof, seats, central pedestal, rear bulkhead (including the door), flooring below the instrument panel as well as all of the fixtures and fittings were in bronze green. The lower floor section (below the top turret) was natural wood with black, rubber anti-slip matting. The instrument panel was a satin black.

 

The tail turret fitted really well from memory, and as long as you align it correctly the fact that it falls on a natural panel line (where the tail turret was mated to the rear fuselage) you won't need any filler at all for this section. It will help with painting as you can leave it off until the end and spray it natural metal separately from the OD/NG rear fuselage section. If I recall, David Parker put the anti-draft zip-covers on the gun apertures in the tail turret: don't - they weren't fitted to the rear turret and were only used on the chin turret. The interior of the tail turret was aluminium with natural wood flooring, again covered in black rubber matting. Ammo boxes were natural wood with stencilling giving instructions on the direction of the bullets.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Tom

Edited by tomprobert
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