Revell B 17 'Memphis Belle' - 1:72 by Popeye the Sailor - finished

[Edwardkenway]

Denis, 

Finally caught up with your numerous builds although I think you dropped a juggling club over on the Marcel Bloch build😏😉.

You seem to be doing good on the Belle, she's looking dandy 👍

[Landlubber Mike]

Looking really nice!

 

[popeye the sailor]

thanks all for the kind comments and the likes   I haven't done much other than add a few more decals.  I hope to have more soon!

[popeye the sailor]

there was a sense of doom of late for our great war bird.   I decided to try and tidy up the nose panels.   the first problem was the decals........I looked through the 'now' immense collection of 1:72 B 17 decals I've acquired during the B 17 glut.......and I don't have another pair of 'babes' in the event I can't save them.  so I tried.......got a large piece of used decal paper from the trash and got it wet,  hoping that there is enough adhesive on the paper to be able to put them back on with no trouble.  this part was relatively easy...they came off even though they have been on there a while.   I don't have the ball turret guns or the tail guns in place yet,  but the waist, nose and top guns are there........just waiting to be knocked off {Murphy waits with bated breath}.   the port side was a no go for the removal prospects.......it was firmly cemented in place.  what I did was scrape down the edges that were raised......to my shame,  there was even some flash that I had missed.

sanding it down to make it look better,  it was touched up with paint.........I tried putting more along the top to fill in the thin gap that is there.  it didn't totally work,  but it does look a little better.  the decals are back on now and there is some improvement  

  

the norden bomb sight fell victim to brash handling.......knocked out of place.   I also noticed that the bombardier's seat was at an angle too...looks as though it got pushed by the port gun when the halves were cemented together...had to fix that.   I wasn't going to do much with the starboard side panel........thinking that it would be impossible to remove as well.  but I tried anyway.  all went well until I got to the lower corner aftward....the panel snapped off leaving it there    I wasn't going to try to remove it,  but I did and......of course Murphy saw his chance..........it popped off onto the floor!  I searched for a while.....not having much success.  then things got a little more complicated.........Gibbs came over seeing his chance for a 'cuddlefest'.  we had given him a bath the other day,  so { as all American Eskimos are} he was 'extra' fluffy.  this is bad,  because if he lays on the floor,  the I fear all will be lost!  the part may stick to his fur,  and god knows where it will end up!  but Murphy miscalculated the telemetry of the flying part.........it had landed on my seat cushion...between my legs   

  

in the picture to the left,  the broken piece is the triangular looking blotch next to the other olive blotches.   apparently,  the big difference in the many variants of the B 17,  is this starboard side window arrangement.  I dug out the other variants and noticed that they are all shaped the same way.  the gun cold be centralized as I have it here..........or it could be centrally raised,  or raised toward the front of the panel

  

I put on the maskings when I did all the other parts....guess that was smart on my part    I'm going to confirm that I'm using the right panel.........but in the meantime,  I will repair the one I took off.

[popeye the sailor]

I had to see the doctor today...the referral to that vascular Dr.   basically there is a one way check valve in the vein to my leg that need to be closed off.  not to worry........there are two other veins that do the same job.  as a matter of fact....if they need to transplant a section of blood vessel anywhere in the body,  this is usually the vein they use    easy procedure.......done in-shop.  won't be until six weeks......until then,  I need to wear a compression sock.  more as it happens......

 

anyway.......I did another dry fit before I left.....thought you might like to see it.

  

  

yea......the fuselage got a case of the measles........haven't done the wings yet.   .......and yes,  I goofed again.  the panels should have been the raised panels rather that the flush mount windows.  I could change the starboard window since I have it out,  but the overall plane wouldn't look right.  so I'll put that one back on.  I'd rather get another kit and start from square one.   I did add one more decal to the mix.......below the port gun window,  there is a single swastika that was not on the kit decal sheet.  I have the letters and numbers sheet and it has bomb run markings and kill stats.......got it from there.  if I get another kit,  I'll re-decal this one to an unnamed bomber......but that's the future    

 

after some cleaning and trimming,  the window panel was cemented back in place......looks much better.

...and with the decals restored.....

   

the Norden bomb sight was put back in place...

the nose has also been cemented in place.   the repair work is done.......mov'in on  

 

[Egilman]

Nice recovery brother...

 

Anyway you go it will be a nice B-17....  there were thousands of schemes to choose from.....

 

Praying everything turns out fine with the doc...

[Old Collingwood]

Same sentiment  as EG,  doe s that cause loss of  sensation and feeeling  in the one leg?

 

OC.

[Landlubber Mike]

Nice job Popeye - coming along great!  Wishing you the best on the recovery.  Get well soon my friend.

[mtaylor]

Denis, I hope all goes well in the medical area for you.  The bomber looks great.

[Javlin]

Like the looks of that Denis Kevin

[Edwardkenway]

Also wishing you well with your leg Denis. The Belle?? looks fine, nice recovery.

[Fright]

I have enjoyed watching your adventures on building this plane. I'm sending out good vibes for your upcoming procedure 

[popeye the sailor]

thanks to all for the well wishes.......I'm alright.  the left leg gets pretty sore by the end of a work day,  and so far,  everything I've done to get rid of the sore,,,,lesion...whatever you want to call it,  on the side of my heel,  hasn't worked too good,  and is one of the symptoms.  they were supposed to check out both legs,  but the tech only did my left leg.   I have to wear compression socks for six weeks before we can get to planning the procedure.  at that time,  they will do the ultrasound to my right leg,  but it's a sure bet they will need to do both.  it all outpatient.......minimally invasive,  so I won't have to deal with any real down time........just can't overdo for a week.   ....not a tough pill to take    it hard to believe,  but some folks elect to have an amputation,  rather than have what I'm going to have done.  I would imagine they might have an extreme case.....I've seen pictures of some really nasty stuff 

    it's estimated that around 50 % of the folks in my age group,  have some form of this condition........unless it gets to the point that it makes itself known,  most don't even know there is a problem.

 

I guess I should finish this up.........I started to write this,  this morning.  since then,  I've walked the dog,  mowed the lawns,  assembled an oscillating fan,  and other small tasks around the house.  tangents just don't apply to my model building     so of all this,  I'm fine........the procedure should be a piece of cake,  and it's still a ways off yet    I appreciate the kind comments and support........and yea,  the bomber isn't look'in half bad either     more to come........I hope to do some decal work on the wings,  so I can finally get them on the plane.

[Old Collingwood]

Looking forward to more update Denis  - keep em  coming mate.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

I got a little progress done..........got some more decals on............then the fridge issue hit,  and there went my morning    one small mishap.........I have accumulated quite a collection of decals for the B 17.   ....you figure I ordered a set for the Nine........then a set for the Wulfe Hound.  I had the pack I was working from up on top of my printer.   I reached for it and some of the cut pieces of decals fell into the water that was directly below.  I managed to use a few for the MB 200 {since there aren't too many decals for it},  but sadly,  the rest went into the trash.   I added some more to the fuselage........but the bulk of the work went into the wings.   I had selected and cut out a bunch of them,  and I needed to get them on........tired of picking them up off the floor {wind effect}.

I'll see if I can get more done tomorrow..........no surprise though that there are errands to run.   we'll see how that goes  

[Old Collingwood]

What is it about decals  - have a mind of thier own,    looking nice  Denis   do you bother to settle yours down with Micro Sol  etc?

 

OC.

[Edwardkenway]

Coming on Denis,  (oh less beans and cabbage should lessen the wind) 😉😋

[popeye the sailor]

knocking them on the floor with my arm actually, Ed.........I had them in a pile off to the side.   I have been very lucky with the wind aspect........even have the ceiling fan going    I use decal set OC.........I use it when there is a lot of panel lines  and contours.

 

I have an update on her progress.   as mentioned,  I've added more decals around the engines and the fuselage.

the decals are now cleared up.....a little less clutter on the desk.........the wings are assembled onto the fuselage.

one of the nose guns broke off.........so that will be repaired.  here are the props

 

[lmagna]

Looking REALLY nice Denis. You must be getting the hang of building B-17s.

[Old Collingwood]

Now she is looking the business  Denis  - very nice work.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks   OC & Lou........one more day of work........I might be  able to finish it      I should say anything,  butt the existing guns have faired well...haven't broken any off .  actually,  all of  the B 17's so far have been good in that respect.  near the end of the last session,  the luck failed on the nose guns.......one of them broke off.  there's still the belly turret and tail guns to add to the mix.  they will be the last part to be put on.

 

thanks for all the likes  

[Egilman]

Very Nice Dennis...

 

Anticipating it being finished........

[Edwardkenway]

Getting there nicely.

I'll look forward to the end result Denis 😁

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the good word gents    I would have done something on her today,  but I got saddled with a couple outside chores.  I did get the broken gun back on though.  I hope to get her back on the table tomorrow........good chance I can finish her off      thanks again for all the interest!

[popeye the sailor]

I kept to my word today..........the Memphis belle was back on the table.   of course there was a short interlude with another project,  but I'll get to that one when I really start to build the model.   flipping her over,  once I got a sturdy box to lay her on,  I got a better look at the gap along the mating of the nose.   I couldn't pull the nose together when it was time to join the halves.......likely something to do with that round part under the bombadier's station.  I'll fill it with window maker and touch it up......should do well in getting rid of it    the bomb bay doors are the focus here........the two doors and the four arms that open and close them.

yup!........heard ya gasp!  

 

I know........the belly turret is an eyesore........not too much thought in the color dept.   too late to change it now.......pretty sure the colors are what the instructions said.......I'll look it up,  if only for future reference.  the gun barrels are installed,  as you can see.   the tail guns are too.

 

 

closed up the gap reasonably well.......could add another layer,  but since no one I know will be looking at the under belly,  it passes muster     hey........we're done here.........let's go do some dorsal work.  the antenna has been cemented in place already.........now to drill a hole in the vertical stabilizer and CA in some thin wire,  my old stand by  

a hole was drilled through the starboard side wall of the navigator's station,  and the second line was run to it.  I kept the feed end short,  or it would be seen through the dome glass.

it was painted flat black and the rest of the job was touched up.   now........we move onto the wings and put the props on the engines.

 

this too a whole ten mins............if I'd stop dropp'in stuff.   with a quick look over,  I call this plane done    you can't really see how close,  but this is how close the belly turret is to the ground in the lowered position.

the gallery is next......want to do something special.  I'll have a better picture of this then.   thanks for look'in in and following along

[popeye the sailor]

....and here are the gallery pictures     I wanted to print pages of asphalt and tape them together to put the plane on..........but apparently,  the ink cartridges must be dust by now.  I haven't used the printer for some time now    it's a bust,  but I saved the images for future projects.   this is a very good kit......can't stress this enough.  I could have gotten closer to the subject.....there are some mistakes.  this plane is a great subject....worthy of taking another stab at her...........but not at this time    I have a few more projects I'd like to do.........but the call of the boat is getting stronger......I recently started the Steingraber twins,  but the room is pretty warm {been hot here},  so I haven't wanted to spend a lot of time in there.

     I hope I did the Memphis Belle some justice. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

with the project finished,  she will join the other two B 17's..........distinguished planes of honor,  of time past.

 

 

again........thanks for your following along and your many comments and suggestions.......  

 

[Egilman]

Nice Job my friend....

 

You almost have a flight..... (need one more)

[Old Collingwood]

She looks great Denis  - credit to you for keep going and overcoming some of the hick ups you had, she really looks the part now.

 

OC.

[Jack12477]

Great job, Denis. Looks good 

[mtaylor]

Nicely done, Denis.  Looks super.