Boeing B-17 by popeye the sailor - FINISHED - Lindberg - 1:64 scale - nose art edition

[popeye the sailor]

you noticed the light refraction too, eh Ken..........when I saw the photos ( I turned on the crane light to take 'em),  I knew this would be a better color.   now,  if I was doing a "toy story" B 17,  the other color would have worked    I have the time available,  so I'm taking tomorrow off ........I'm trying to get up the gusto to paint the other parts tonight.   the stabilizer top is still the forest green......it and the fuselage halves need to be painted.  I hope to have more to show tomorrow    thanks for the kind word gents!

[Javlin]

My father was in the 92BG was the first BG to make it to England was a radio operator I use to look all over the net for pics and was informed by Bill Runnels a couple of years ago he worked Communications at HQ.I think he only went up 3 times always wanted some kind of medal for 5 missions I am glad he lived though it he was good guy.Keep at it Denis I may have to throw in a plane down here I have Revells 1/32 Mustang kind of nipping at me. Kevin

Dad's BG.rtf

Edited October 9, 2019 by Javlin

[popeye the sailor]

Big Beautiful Doll........or Miss Marilyn II {I have decals}...........I think 1:72,  but I don't recall the scale {I did my own thing}      hmmmmmm....classified information........DAMN!.......I saw it!  now I'll have to go have my eyes poked out!!!      Nawwwww.........I'll just have 'em scramble my eggs     '49..........that's an old piece of paper!!!  thanks for the good word   

 

anyway..........didn't do the painting last night....I had vision problems {couldn't see myself doing it}   old joke.........but nawww......was too pooped to pop!  since I had the day off today,  I figured I'd wait.  so the first order of business was to mask up all the windows and do the fuselage and upper tail surface.

when dry,  I pulled off all the maskings.........and this is what I have now.

I'll be doing the underside a bit later........but first,  some of the other markings.   I noticed this on the Nine O Nine........there are black walkways on the wings.   I was going to do them as decals,  but I decided to go another route.   I'm going to paint them on.   rather than go through all the trouble to make stencils for them,  since the nacelles are involved,  I'd just mask 'em out.  I did these by eye......a few measurements to help me out.  to make the center masking area,  I took some wax paper and laid a couple pieces of tape on it.  then I cut out the shape I needed.......peeled it off the wax paper and centered it in the middle of the rectangular area.  then came the flat black......

what I ended up with after removing the masking,  was these......

they look a little wonky,  port wing is a bit off...........    heck.......it passes muster  

I'm going to try and do the Nine O Nine........I ordered some decals for it.   the supplied decal sheet isn't very detailed anyway.........no markings for the props,  or hatch labels.   I think the only thing I won't have,  are the swastikas for the nose art........but I've seen pictures of the plane without them,  so I don't feel so bad    in weighing out the scale difference,  I decided to go with 1:72.........I have some spare decals,  and there isn't too much of a difference between them.   we'll see when I get them........I have plenty of things to do in the meantime.

[thibaultron]

In the Italian bombing front, an Italain Ace was flying a captured P-38, and shooting down Allied bombers who were mistaking it for one of their fighters. There was a version of the B-17 that was fitted out with extra guns, and no bomb load. Its fault was that the other bombers got faster after they lightened their load, after dropping their bombs, but this variant did not, thus slowing down the retreating formations. A pilot got the bright idea to have US intellegence investigate this ace. They found that was an insanely jealous man, who had been away from his wife for a long time. They then painted nose art on this B-17 with some saying and a likeness of his wife. Sure enough on a run shortly there after, he spotted the plane and attacked it, and they managed to shoot him down. They did not get away without damage and injuries, but they got him.

[popeye the sailor]

interesting story Ron.   the B 17 has several gun placements.......only a couple more places where a gun could be placed.   there were 15 variants of this aircraft. 

 

more painting today.......I started the day with the Ghost gray.  first the stabilizer underside...

...then the underbelly.......

the belly paint was supposed to curve upward at the tail and follow along the stabilizer,  but I decided to keep it simple.  the under wings was next.

the paint is still a little wet.   some parts will be done with a brush........the small stuff.....I made sure I got where the wheel wells are.

other small parts were being done as well.......

.........and also some assembly for parts that are ready.

as for the cowls.......I decided to go without underbelly paint on them.  I still need to paint the engine detail.

now.......ya gotta have at least one revelation in any given project,  or it wouldn't be normal.  I was unsure how the red played into the mix,  so I browsed through pictures I have of the plane.  at first I though that only the top surface of the stabilizer was painted.......and only a portion at best.  I was surprised to find that the complete top surface.........as well as the complete bottom surface was painted red...only the flaps bore the green and gray.  I saw how much of the rudder was painted and masked it up.  the stabilizer was done {again}......as well.

after some minor touch ups.........only the flat black is left to do....and the turbo chargers.  I did notice that there will be a few gaps I'll need to take care of when the fuselage is finally joined together.  more to come soon.

 

thanks for look'in in and the likes  

[lmagna]

I like the new exterior colors. It is certainly going to be a showy B-17.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Lou.........yet another goof I'm ashamed to say.........I painted the wing flaps upside down    I was going to say the heck with it and paint both sides green,  but looking at the pictures again,  I can't.  so, I'm in the process of correcting it.  not real pleased with the way they have the wing gears.......very hard not to get glue on the gear tabs while cementing on the hold downs.  not a big deal,  since I plan on having the wheels up.  one thing I did notice too,  is that the B 17 doesn't have as much of a rudder crown,  as this kit has.  if I had a revell kit,  I could compare.......but looking at the real aircraft,  there is just enough of a crown to allow for the upper rudder attachment.  the kit has the crown arching across the whole upper rudder surface

the kit is like this.....

...spans the upper surface of the rudder.

as I mentioned,  there are 15 variants of this airship.  perhaps one of them has this shape.   a quick look through internet pictures show that not all kits are designed like this.  Revell is normal.....this is a 1:48 kit

Airfix does too.......this is 1:72..

at this scale though,  some don't even go there........Academy has the rudder molded on the tail.  it's a split hair kind of thing,  I guess........it boils down to kits having their inaccuracies.  to some it might not matter.......but for those who want an authentic model,  this might not be the kit for them.  rest assured gents...there is a manual out there  

you know........this is probably a decent book to have.  it likely has the most detail oriented pictures,  one will ever find   

[CDW]

Seems so odd to see aircraft workshop manuals by Haynes. Until recently, never realized they did manuals for anything other than cars and trucks.

[mtaylor]

Haynes has tapped into a good market for them.  The "do it yourself" maintenance books just aren't selling well as the cars/trucks become more computer controlled.   I guess the computer and then the cost of test equipment scares folks off.  I do like their "owners" manuals for the off the beaten track stuff like aircraft, etc.  

[thibaultron]

The B-17 gunship was the YB-40. Basically added another dorsal turret, and made all the single mounts dual mounts. The bombay was used for ammo storage.

[popeye the sailor]

you mean this Ron...

Boeing YB-40 Flying Fortress - Wikipedia

 

these are one of the variants.........there were even some that were converted to transport carriers -  C 108's.  I wonder if there is a kit out on this variant........would make a great looking model     I never knew there was a manual out on planes either......surprised me to find it   

 

[popeye the sailor]

....a few more additions on the paint.   frankly,  I might as well shot myself in the foot........it might have been more productive    getting my bearings on the orientation of the wing flaps,  I tried to correct them with a brush.......it might have worked,  but I used the paint that was used for the airbrush {of course it's too thin for this}.  I only did one of the flaps - green side........

it can be seen through the green,  that terrible sheen........the paint is persistent,  just to be mean..........I should have known this,  the scry bowl foreseen    I did one of the gray sides,  just to be stupid.  though not shown here....it does look cool though   

in between all this,  I was working on the fuselage,  making progress to get it to close up the gaps.

the stabilizer wing(s) are fairing better than the rest of the plane.........the only thing left is the black on the leading edges.

<------top

<------bottom

the gray was sprayed on the flaps.......the green will be next,  once they are dry enough.  then the process was begun to add the red wing tips,  top and bottom.   yes.......this is a very colorful plane.  masking the wing halves up was easy enough.  one must be mindful of the dreaded over spray though...it's one of Murphy's best weapons.  they sprayed fine........but then I noticed the faint over spray on the side of the outer nacelle   the gray and green muddled with red was a very unwelcome sight.  tearing away some of the paper I used for masking,  a spritz was all that was needed to erase away the red tint.  first the gray.........

then the green...........care was taken not to ruin the walkways.

you can tell where I had to hit them.  I should think myself lucky that it wasn't any worse.  I thought back through the numerous planes I've built..........I don't recall going to the extreme that I am with this one.  I've done camo before,  but most of them were done freehand.   should look really neat when I'm done   

[hexnut]

On 10/10/2019 at 12:32 PM, CDW said:

Seems so odd to see aircraft workshop manuals by Haynes. Until recently, never realized they did manuals for anything other than cars and trucks.

 

[CDW]

Just now, hexnut said:

 

Who woulda' thunk it?

[lmagna]

7 hours ago, CDW said:

Who woulda' thunk it?

It goes even further:

https://www.amazon.com/Haynes-Explains-Marriage-Management-Conversions/dp/1785211048/ref=asc_df_1785211048/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312111884081&hvpos=1o7&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15774639416975362059&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-562565061100&psc=1

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Javlin]

Pillow torque Build is looking good Denis Kevin

[lmagna]

43 minutes ago, Javlin said:

Pillow torque Build is looking good Denis Kevin

I was more intrigued by "Every manual based on a stripdown and rebuild"

[Old Collingwood]

3 hours ago, lmagna said:

I was more intrigued by "Every manual based on a stripdown and rebuild"

Android springs to mind  lou.

 

OC.

[mtaylor]

I'm quite surprised.  I didn't think that marriage could be explained.  

[CDW]

13 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

I'm quite surprised.  I didn't think that marriage could be explained.  

Even the Church admits, it's a mystery. 😄

[lmagna]

2 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Android springs to mind  lou.

Or one of those animatronic dolls they sell these days.

46 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

I didn't think that marriage could be explained

It Can't, but on page 19 they list it as "Marriage basically lets you annoy one special person for the rest of your life"

[mtaylor]

Ah... you bought the book then!  

[lmagna]

3 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Ah... you bought the book then! 

No, just looked at the sample pictures on the advert. But what I was able to read made me think it could be funny reading. I just may get it. But on the other hand it looks like they have a lot more books out there that they do not advertise all that well, like the B-17 book. Maybe they have something I have been looking for. Their prices aren't too outrageous.

[popeye the sailor]

OMG Lou........too funny       I clicked on some of the pages in the first link........the last one had me rolling on the floor!  

 

I never could Mark........not rationally anyway   

[popeye the sailor]

I got some interesting news about the Nine O Nine.........the plane that the Collins Foundation flew,  was not the original 9 0 9.   the original 9 0 9 was built in 1943,  and after the war,  was delivered to kingsman Arizona,  where it was eventually scrapped.  a fellow modeler friend on mine at work told me about all this.........he is quite heavy into aircraft.  I looked into this new revelation,  and this is what I found........wiki is very quick to add the updated info about the plane's demise.

Nine-O-Nine - Wikipedia

[popeye the sailor]

after posting this......I looked in my camera.  I knew I had done a bit more to her.  I had finished the painting of the stabilizer wing(s).  they are now complete........

the deicing panels are now painted...........I need to do the wings and rudder.

[popeye the sailor]

not much going on this week.........I have been under the weather.    who would have though I'd get a cold this soon...........not like I sleep with my feel hang'in out the winda!!  I have done a few things though.......glued the wing halves together and paint.....I'll post pictures later.  I'm still waiting for the decals........I ordered them from France.   1001 model kits........has anyone used them before?  

 

well errand time........but first,  my son Kevin is going to show me where HobbyTown moved to.   I tried to find them one day and couldn't .......don't know Londonderry that well.  I've got paints in mind,  but who knows 

[popeye the sailor]

ohhh.........be still my heart.....   here's a little story for yas.........    my son showed me where HobbyTown moved to........sad to say that they aren't fairing well in this new location.   they don't have as much as they used to,  although the owner is really big on R/C cars and planes and the like.  the selection of kits is fair,  but the wood kits is dirt poor....only had a few on the shelf.  one that he did have is a Dumas PT 109 kit......1:30 scale,  so it's a relatively large box!  they want $153.00 for it......I checked the Dumas site,  and they list it for $195.00....it's quite a deal.  now folks,  I knew that if I brought this home,  the admiral would have hit the roof........bad enough that I picked up my latest model kit on a whim,  and I saw the whites of her eyes    she knew I was picking up some paints........and she probably figured that I'd come home with something,  so I picked up a couple small kits, thinking she wouldn't be too miffed about it.  I told her about the Dumas kit....and she didn't even flinch over it.....>what<?    so I asked her........you mean you wouldn't have gotten mad if I bought that kit???  she said no...when was the last time she got mad for me buying a kit?!?!   wait........did something come loose when I last shook my head?   more news on this soon.......definitely worth taking about   

 

of late,  I have had this nasty cold.......settled in my chest { a really icky bugger too}.  took the day off yesterday 'cuz I didn't want to deal with the nonsense at work............the place is gett'in on my nerves💩  today,  I feel a bit better.....good enough to get something done on the Nine o Nine.  I had done some painting on it previously.......rims on the tires,  the figures,  guns........other minor stuff.   the wings have been assembled,  after cementing the landing gear in place......I left them movable,  since the tires aren't ready to be put on yet.  the exposed turbos under the nacelles were also painted and need to be touched up.

the cowls were taken off at this point.  I used them to hold the wings together as they dried.  the engines will be painted and somewhat detailed.   the fuselage also need to get to the point where I can join the two halves together....the glass needs to be installed.   not happy with them........they are too thick for one thing,  and I also noticed that there isn't any glass for the tail windows.  I tried to use the window maker for this,  but found that they are too large for the stuff to close up.  they also have enough of a curvature,  so that trying clear cello might be out of the question {I'm still experimenting}.   

I did manage to get that side pane into the starboard side { due to the bulkheads}.  engines have been painted,  the turbos have been touched up,  and the tires are on the wing gears.

the interior has begun to get more populated.........since the glass acts more like a prism,  than real windows,  I didn't go to great lengths with the figures.   I don't think this will matter.

the top and bottom turrets have their own problems.........looking at how they are assembled,  it's hard to figure out how they are assembled in the first place {Lindberg's enigma}.   I thought there was glass for the mid ship ports,  but there isn't.......another make do moment    I hope I have a better time with the Revell B 25..........when I get to it.  the wheels look good tucked into the wings.

....and the added detail.......it's minor really  .........   I was in the process of adding the yellow tips on the props,  to finish the cowl assembly,  when the admiral asked me if I wanted to walk with her and Gibbs.  so.....that's where I left off at this time.  I still don't have the decals..........I'm hoping tomorrow.  there's still more to do,  and I really don't want to use the supplied decals until I know how much of a scale difference there will be.  I should have more to add tomorrow..........

[Old Collingwood]

She's looking really good denis  - hope that cold goes away soon mate.

 

OC.

[lmagna]

1 hour ago, popeye the sailor said:

 I thought there was glass for the mid ship ports,  but there isn't.......another make do moment

Denis

I think you refer to these as the tail windows further up in your post. If they are the waist gunner positions then in almost all cases they were like the side doors on Hueys, they weren't there! The waist gunners normally had nothing between the great outdoors and them other than their cold weather gear. 

Your build is really looking good!

Edited October 23, 2019 by lmagna