Egilman

Yeah it looks like it, and back then there was no internet either, that's how you missed the OD/Grey wing tip also, you can't do it if you don't know about it........ Nice build though of a very venerable kit........

Absolutely Fantastic, especially taking essentially a toy and turning it into a work of art!!!

Ya beat me to it! I use that technique for doing Motorcycle rims.......

He was a great flier.... The classic attack for an FW on an "F" model 17 was a nose on attack... Shortest on target time, but most vulnerable angle with the least risk..... The chin turret was developed to counter this tactic...

Yeah, it would be almost vertical pointed down as it spun trying to track, you would see both barrels.... Unfortunately, the FW would be long gone out of range.....

NICE JOB!!!! Had to be a ANG bird, the AF would never let them get that dirty...... (at least not an operational aircraft) EOL is not something modeled that often.... Well done...

Seriously, the wife is going to give me the askance eye and eventually ask about her boat.... But I'm strongly leaning towards the Revell 1/32nd scale Corsair..... I suppose it will fit on my shelf if I fold one of the wings...... I'm being corrupted by great modeling......

My understanding was they were green, but as they aged, like all the other colors, they faded, eventually to yellow, then eventually to grey.... So it would really depend on the time period your depicting as to what color it was.... Personally the areas that were shaded most of the time stayed green the longest. Wheel wells were shaded most of the time so I would go with green....

Absolutely, and like previously said Black in color but polished enamel production paint instead of restoration Lacquer.... And black porcelain coated exhausts, now that I didn't know.... Great find, Thank you...

You are aware I"m sure than most descriptions of the ship depict her as a for -n- aft rigged topsail schooner.... But there are several people that describe her alternatively as a square rigged carrack, or even a three masted square rigged sloop.... (too big to be what they have found) The size of the wreck and the fact that it only shows the bones for a single deck with hold heavily favors the schooner size and rig.... I would say a topsail schooner rig is probably the most accurate....

Ok I"m going to stop de-railing your Belle build..... Sorry...

My understanding of that kit you can build 3-4 different variations of B-17 from that kit from an early "F" model to a late "G" model... They figured that to build the version they depict on the cover, a simple "greying out" of the parts you won't use was the most efficient way to go for the builder... but they don't actually tell you that in the instructions do they? It's a great kit and f you do your research and know what your looking at you can pretty much build any mid-latewar B-17 from that molding.... A couple more of "Little Miss Mischief...... (and she carried both type tail turrets during her service life) Note the left wing outer section is OD over Grey and the Ailerons & Elevators are new aluminum painted fabric, the Rudder & tail turret is NMF .... Last picture is flak damage from a different raid than the first picture. She was definitely in the thick of it.....

And you stumbled into my other passion, historical research...... If you want to do a "G" compatible to the Belle your building, that RG kit that Javelin posted pics of is better than most.... The box art is of the "Little Miss Mischief" B-17G 42-97880 who also saw more than her share of action. She eventually would wind up flying her last 14 or 15 mission with parts from no less that 13 different B-17's. Her nose and basic wing structure was from her original frame built in the Burbank Lockheed Vega plant while her tail came from from Seattle Boeing plant and was painted olive drab. She had that BMF/Olive Drab color scheme for the rest of her 51 missions.... it is believed that the tail section came from B-17G 42-31405 "Wallaroo Mk II " reg # BN-X Happy to be here my friend and glad to be helpful in some little way....

Sitting in here if you don't mind....

yep... B-17 44-6302 / Shoo Shoo Baby II; B-17G-50-DL: 44-6251 to 44-6500 Was battle damaged over Merseburg 11/30/44 and force landed at Melsbroek, Belgium; Salvaged 12/21/44. According to the B-17 Database, there were 9 different B-17's that carried some form of Shoo Shoo Baby as a nickname..... Here is an image of Shoo shoo Shoo Baby as a Swedish Airliner..... Correction: this image of her is in her Danish airline livery after the swedes sold it to Denmark. (I completely missed the "Danske" in the caption below the image)

Yes, The "Swoose", B-17 40-3097 flew combat missions Over Rabaul and New Guinea and was damaged several times in air combat and in bombing attacks eventually being consolidated with a second "D" model B-17 40-3091 to become a personal aircraft of a General.... (amongst her notable passengers was one Commander Lyndon Baines Johnson) It is the oldest B-17 in existance and the only one to be in service for the entire war.... And The "Memphis Belle", B-17F 41-24485 whose combat record is widely known.... They also used to have "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby", B-17G 42-32076 who is the most complete and original B-17 in existence... also with a well known combat record was shot up by flak and forced down at Bulltofta Airfield, near Malmo, Sweden, recovered by the Swedish government and used an an airliner reg. SE-BAP then sold to Denmark for $1 and called the STIG VIKING, later renamed STORE BJORN for the African routes; bought by IGNF (Institut National de l'Information Géographique et Forestière) as F-BGSH for geographical survey work before retiring at Creuil, France; sold to the USAF for 20 cents and fully restored at Wright-Patterson AFB and displayed at the USAF museum until she was transferred to the Smithsonian in exchange for the "Swoose" which is considered the more historically important aircraft.

Yes they were marvels of engineering, and Caddie's engine color was black in those days.... (packard's was green) but the original finish is hard to discern from a polished lacquered museum display piece. I know they were not that shiney during production.... That is black lacquer on those engines...... Polished aluminium on the rocker covers and chromed accessories. Standard restoration finish on a collectors piece. I'm sure you will do it justice.....

It always amazed me the intricacies of Olive Drab camo. it can run from a greenish brown to a deep green depending on when it was painted and how long it had been on the surface... and the sun would fade it proportional to the thickness of the paint application.... Most of the B-17's went overseas in BMF and were painted in the field by either the maintenance facilities or the crews themselves by hand.... wipe brushing is a good way to replicate the look and spongeing is another..... I believe there is even fade powders that can replicate the look if used sparingly.... Me, I'm looking for a "D" model to model the "Swoose" There are very few combat used B-17's left most of them were sent to the scrappers immediately after the war..... Almost all the B-17's on display are post war manufacture.....

I better get busy, your battalion would kick mine's butt in any engagement... Very Very nice......

The president addressed that yesterday, he would like to see the national infrastructure preserved rather than shut down everything. the idea is leaving a legacy of a destroyed economy to our children or preserving what we can.... I mean someone has to think forward to the outcome right? it is surprising everyone that Trump is turning out to be a much stronger president than anyone imagined.... He may be a cad, but he is also a leader..... Also yesterday there was one of those REMF's from the department of health on the radio saying that we will need to go into complete lockdown with military enforcement probably for two years.... I wonder if he still has a job... It's isn't about putting money ahead of lives, it about having a nation for those lives to live in afterwards. That trumps profit every time.... and yes there are forces within the government that would like to take complete, enforced, control..... The govenuer here was asked by the media the other day after his stay at home order if he was going to enforce this order, he responded not at this time but that they were considering their options... the sherrifs of the three largest counties then announced that they would refuse to arrest anyone under such an order.... We all need to understand one thing, politics does have it's fingers all over this response, muted and under the surface, but there are some that think this is the perfect opportunity to implement policies they could only dream of in anything other than a national emergency.... we as citizens need to be extra vigilant that the baby doesn't get thrown out with the bath water under the auspices of "Saving" lives....

That pic shows two things, first the BMF on the turret and fairing, and second the ability of the aircrews to follow the regs handed down by the upper echelons.... :-)

Yep nothing about that engine was chrome....... I wonder why the model companies always chose to chrome the darn engines?

I do believe that the nose turret and it's fairing were bare metal. I believe the reason was that the paint interfered with the operation of the turret, (but I've lost that link, looking for it) It was this way on all B-17G's....

There was actually four of them brother, three "F"'s and a "G" that carried the Little or Lil Audrey name.... 41-24560 B-17F one of the first Fortresses in England 368th BS - 306th BG code: BO-D carried the "Little Audrey" name her entire service life she was eventually scrapped in Texas during '44 42-29477 B-17F Assigned to the 369th BS - 306th BG code: WW-H. Also carried the name "Little Audrey" until she was transferred into the same squadron as 41-24560, she then became "Joan of Arc" she was on the second Schweinfurt mission 10/14/43 when she was lost over Bamburg to a Messerschmitt antiaircraft rocket. 41-24523 B-17F Assigned to the 323rd BS - 91st BG, code: OR-N, you covered her naming history and loss... 42-32008 B-17G Assigned to the 551st BS - 385th BG code: HR-T her name "Li'l Audrey" she also survived the war eventually being scrapped in New Mexico 02/07/46. You can find any B-17's in the B-17 Database... Also for many, their service life and final disposition.... I find it an invaluable resource brother when researching B-17's... It was hard to find a color and marking reference for it though, there is only a few decal sets made for the 551st squadron and the best one is for a silver bird or the one I posted above... and her scheme changed after she arrived in Europe going from an unpainted NMF to a drab over grey scheme that most of them wore....

I forgot, we can cast our own parts now, that definitely a better option....