popeye the sailor

hello Lou.........I will say this........for anyone who like to do German planes, this book is a must have! it even has some color pictures.........it doesn't have them all, but it covers quite a few. they also housed quite an array of captured planes. B 25's....B 24's.......Spitfires......even a couple Lockheed Lightnings: a P 38G, and a brand new {at the time} F 5E. the pilot of that aircraft was court martial-ed and served a long prison sentence. makes you wonder what went on there?!?!? through the war, the Germans had around twenty B 17's, as well as several B 24's.........the book gives a pretty good outline concerning KG 200. it corrects what I've read in a couple of ways as well.......all of the Lt. Flickinger crew were captured, and that the nose art wasn't on the starboard side, but on the port side instead. here is what the nose art looked like: I hope you can read the text......it's true......the text "wulfe Hound" was spelt incorrectly in some of the articles I read. they broke the nose glass to get at the Norden bomb sight.........unknown why Flickinger didn't destroy it. of course......it could be possible for the art to be on both sides.........I've never seen it though. it does save me though...the Germans did remove it. note the striping on the prop blades.......something that the Germans didn't do on their own aircraft. vulnerable parts of the B 17 was marked out and shown to fighter pilots, so they would have a head's up on where to strike. the wing tanks were highlighted, causing manufacturers of later models to move them further outboard. something I didn't know, but located just aft of the top gunner bubble on both sides of the bulge atop the fuselage, there are compartments for rafts, in the event that a water landing was made. paint is going to be fun to do for this one........a lot of fading has occurred. 99% of the early model B 17's were painted olive drab with gray under belly. it wasn't until later model emerged, that they stopped painting them, leaving them in their natural aluminum. some were painted in the field, or simply dolled up..........some even got camo, leaving no real bad way to paint a B 17 one thing I forgot to mention about this bird......when it crash landed, the under belly turret was in the down position. it was never repaired and likely removed. I will need to patch over the hole somehow. it's likely that some of the damaged interior wasn't repaired or replaced, unless it was important. some of the captured B'17's were never used and were cannibalized for parts. for this reason, and the simplicity of the kit at the time, doing interior embellishments is not in the cards. I'll do what I need to, but I want to focus on the exterior. as you said........not too many planes have been modeled relating to this subject matter.

some very nice work .......even though you found a snaff-fu. you have the knack for mak'in 'er right

through all the info I've dug up on this plane so far, it's been touted as the first B 17 to have been captured and flown by the Germans. I read about a few others, but this one caught my eye first........so 'tag'.......your it one article I read stated that the Germans named the ship, but further digging revealed that she was listed in the USAAF 360BS 303BG "Hells Angels" squadron, as 41-24585, and so named. one photo sticks out and shows that the Germans were not impressed with the nose art........a hound with a broken German fighter in it's mouth......the text "Wulfe Hound" scrawled above the image. it can be seen on the starboard nose, the scrunge of paint that blotted it out. the Wulfe Hound was a B 17F-27-BO Bomber, flown by Lt. Paul Flickering and crew. on Dec 1942, while on a mission to bomb the rail yard in Rouen / sotteville, France {German occupied}, the squadron of 12 { 8 aborted the mission earlier due to difficulties}, were attacked by German aircraft. One went down.............the Wulf Hound soon left formation with five fighters on her tail, subsequently losing them in the cloud cover. damaged and not being able to make it back, Flickering set her down gear up, in a hay field near Melun, France. no one was killed.........after trashing the radio and equipment, they headed of into the woods. Flickering and the Bombardier were captured....two others were caught by the Gestapo, and the rest, along with the crew from the earlier downed plane {they met up somewhere} made it to freedom. from what I read, it was moved to Leeuwarden AFB by the Germans and repaired to be airworthy....German markings and call letters were added. they studied for a time, checking for weakness and vulnerabilities, and then flown to Lars AFB, where she was reviewed by higher ups, along with other planes they had captured. she then went to Rechlen AFB in 1943, and put into service with the Luftwaffe, KG 200.........a top secret squadron.........."the Spook Squadron" it was nicknamed. they did change the call letters to A3 E3, but I have seen no pictures of her with them shown. for Christmas, I got the perfect kit to build her with........this is a Revell kit {the Miami Clipper} that was produced back in 1989. the kit is in 1:72 scale....plenty big enough for the project. I don't plan on going too crazy with the interior, although Revell did right by a few things that the Lindberg kit lacked. I was going to buy another to do it, if Christmas didn't pan out. during the initial idea to do the plane, another more recent offering of the Revell kit {the Memphis Belle} appeared at my door. it being a 1:72 scale kit as well, in looking it over, I felt that the kit was too good for the project.........it's even better than the kit that I'm using! again, I really want to thank the person who sent it to me..........not to worry.......it will get it's turn the nose art is a huge thorn in the side.......of all the articles and pictures, I have seen and read, the only glimpse of the nose art I saw, was a small portion of the lower half of the hound. the worst part is that none of the decal sheets I seen so far, include it either. it's not a super big deal, since I found that it had been removed, but it would have looked good on a stand or plaque. one suggestion for study and it is referred to in a few of the articles, is a book about the KG 200.........like the one I have in front of me right now gotta be honest.......I peeked.........it IS in here! gotta run and go shopping, but when I get back,.. I still have a bit more to add about the kit and such. so it begins again......I haven't even ripped the plastic bag for the parts yet.....this kit was sealed when I got it I'll be back

the paint job looks great coming along very nice!

a plane is considered a 'ship' as well.............but they don't tread water very well ....that is........unless your James Bond

you could look for any box cars that are compatible and get the parts from it. these cars are quite common. look here for one.......the prices aren't too bad either Old Plastic Model Kits: model airplane kits, Revell, Monogram, Aurora I have one that was given to me by a co worker....now quite a while ago. I've been tempted to get a few more kits, but I've been so busy with wood ships and plastic planes, I haven't had the time to devote to another medium. some of them do not include the trucks and couplers...you need to get them from a hobby shop. these places can be of help....sure you can contact them with questions: www.walthers.com -- main page Model Train Stuff - HO Scale Microscale Decals Valley Model Trains -HO- Precision Lasercraft the roof is either a flat gray or a very dead flat black {thin it out some }

Hello Lawrence........and a belated happy holidays to you and your admiral as well! I spent the day today taking down the tree and putting away the last bits of holiday cheer, that the admiral hadn't done. I also did a few odd jobs that I let go during the holidays. I'll be getting back to the lighthouse soon.......as well as other projects that clutter my tables........yep........tables! I'm usually not such a slouch, but my moods are a bit variable of late.......the B 17 has really given me a run for my money. I have two others on the roster. wood envy has affected me as well......half done with the frame for another hull {news on that soon}. so even though it looks like I've been off the radar, I've been keeping myself busy. top it off.......I got a new scroll saw! the admiral wanted to hear how loud it was.......I've been runn'in the old one in the spare room.......it has a lot less noise. for a test, I tried to cut a circle freehand.........best darn circle I've ever been able to do! the best thing is that it takes the 5 inch blades.......it'll save me a lot of time trying to find the 3 inch blades for the old one {I have the thicker ones...it's the thin ones that's a pain to find, since Sears went out of business 'round here}. thanks for look'in in........I hope to add more soon. I hope every one had a great holiday season

really sweet trippe looks small for 1:72.........I recall the pair I did when I first got back into modeling........seems like eons ago. I got 'em from a gent in England off of E-bay. the red baron and Werner Voss's.....I forget the scale. wonderful job........I hope I get the same resultz when I get into the Roden kit... I would like to get one in 1:28 scale.........a very nice scale to work with. I built the Revell Fokker D VII in 1:28........

the only jet I have in my stash is an F 14 Tomcat.........the last one I built was an F 15 Eagle

look'in superb Danny........quite a bit of progress since I last looked in!

nice looking craft the markings look so subtle........I wonder if that's a 'stealth' thing. in a couple of pictures, it looks as though there's a scrape on the port wing.....must be the camera the interior looks awesome! congratz on sweet looking model

that's what I'm thinking

looks like a very interesting project Yves. I dabbled with Apollo when I was in school. looking forward in seeing your progress. you are correct in thinking that round tube brass will work better than solid brass rod.....

I have some catching up to do..........you've already got a head start on this project! with those graphics, you will have one sharp looking model. to me, for the landing gear, it looks like white mixed with a little silver or aluminum.......kinda like a baked on finish.

looking really good hope you had a great holiday season.

bookmarked it........I'll check it out

catching up on your sub Yves........the engine room is really awesome! complete with lighting, it is an very well detailed model to be sure. I hope you had a super Christmas.........I hope the New Year brings us back to htis wonderful project

catching up on your progress......really nice work on the structures so far the railing bases could have been done in brass sheet too.......eliminate any chipping. smart thinking on gauging the height......not all eye bolts are alike look'in good !

...and there's Michael....."trying to shed new light!" I can agree with you........some of the kit supplied stuff is terrible. so far your enhancement of the lantern is looking quite promising!

super job on the hull.......the studding really make her looks rustic glad to see some of your work

comm'in along splendidly Danny very nice!

looks like it turned white on you...unless it's the angle your holding it. I got the roden kit @ 1:32 scale for Christmas.........showcases the same paint scheme, along with three others. I have a small collection of D VII's and Dr 1's. I hardly have any luck using other paints or stains......I stick mainly with enamels.

you did a great job on the plane......great look'in collection too the dresser looks really good too. I used to work in a cabinet shop in Florida in my younger days......mainly prefab .....assembly line. my best friend's mother used to run the vacuum form machine for the vanities......I used to router the fillers for her, when I wasn't run'in all over the paint room filling in. we did nothing like that though........some really nice work

look'in really....really nice! I admire you paint work........well done

I have never seen one of these kits before..........very interesting and a very nice start {again}. are you using clay to make any bricks that you might need special?