Revell B-17 1:48 scale

[JerseeJerry55]

Hello all,

I hope everyone’s well. I just picked up the Revell B-17G in 1:48 scale at Hobby Lobby. Haven’t built a plane since the early 1970’s. So I do have some questions. Do I paint it in aluminum, Olive Drab, or Camoflage. If I go the Olive or Camo route I know what paints to use. However if I go with Aluminum what is a good rattle can brand to use? I have used various brands over the years with my cars, and trucks but my planes I always did bottle enamels on my planes. Any suggestions, tips are appreciated. Thank you.

Regards,

Jerry

[mustang1989]

Honestly Jerry, while there are some really good paints to use for bare aluminum these days I'd stick with camo for now so you can get the feel for building aircraft again. I was always pretty partial to the G variant as it just looked bad a$$. I've recently ventured back into the aircraft realm myself after switching to cars 7 years ago and am having a really good time with it. Looking forward to your build. If you need anything input wise lemme know and I'll do my best to help you out, Joe 

[JerseeJerry55]

7 minutes ago, mustang1989 said:

Honestly Jerry, while there are some really good paints to use for bare aluminum these days I'd stick with camo for now so you can get the feel for building aircraft again. I was always pretty partial to the G variant as it just looked bad a$$. I've recently ventured back into the aircraft realm myself after switching to cars 7 years ago and am having a really good time with it. Looking forward to your build. If you need anything input wise lemme know and I'll do my best to help you out, Joe 

Joe

Thank you for your reply. Probably will do camo. If so then I have to source the proper aftermarket decals for her.

Regards

Jerry

[mustang1989]

11 minutes ago, JerseeJerry55 said:

Joe

Thank you for your reply. Probably will do camo. If so then I have to source the proper aftermarket decals for her.

Regards

Jerry

No problem Jerry. Sourcing those decals should be fairly easy to do. 

[bisc63]

No shortage of B-17 decals available. Search on ebay and your eyes will fatigue from the list! Don't be afraid to try a metal finish, though. Get yourself a decent airbrush if you don't already have one, and you have multiple choices for nice paint finishes. I would recommend the Alclad line without hesitation; lots of metal finishes to choose from.

[TransAmMike]

My all time favorite WW2 Aircraft with a storied history.  I will be following closely Jerry. 

[JerseeJerry55]

Hello all. Quick question how do I create the exhaust trails behind the engines on both upper, and lower wing surfaces? I don't want to make it look like a 4 year old built it. Although I have been known to act at times like I'm around that age.

[bisc63]

Get yourself some cheap pastels, Mungyo makes a decent set or two, and rub your chosen color on some very fine sandpaper to make a fine powder. ( recommend 600 grit or finer)  use a Q-tip to drag the powder across your wing in airflow direction. This makes realistic stains, and the pastels work great for weathering of all kinds. Some apply a sealer, but I prefer the more realistic look of the "stain" on top of the finish. Yes, you will have to touch it up occasionally if the model is handled much, but worth it IMHO.  Important note: pastels are NOT oil pastels, but dry,  chalk type. Here's a set that will last you years:  https://www.amazon.com/Mungyo-Pastel-Color-Square-Chalk/dp/B010MZ9ISW/ref=pd_sim_201_17?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B010MZ9ISW&pd_rd_r=8d2cf136-0fe9-11e9-ae26-cff8d3fcce0e&pd_rd_w=WPT6r&pd_rd_wg=3Wafi&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=1TA2M77224CPGTDEA5H0&psc=1&refRID=1TA2M77224CPGTDEA5H0

[JerseeJerry55]

49 minutes ago, bisc63 said:

Get yourself some cheap pastels, Mungyo makes a decent set or two, and rub your chosen color on some very fine sandpaper to make a fine powder. ( recommend 600 grit or finer)  use a Q-tip to drag the powder across your wing in airflow direction. This makes realistic stains, and the pastels work great for weathering of all kinds. Some apply a sealer, but I prefer the more realistic look of the "stain" on top of the finish. Yes, you will have to touch it up occasionally if the model is handled much, but worth it IMHO.  Important note: pastels are NOT oil pastels, but dry,  chalk type. Here's a set that will last you years:  https://www.amazon.com/Mungyo-Pastel-Color-Square-Chalk/dp/B010MZ9ISW/ref=pd_sim_201_17?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B010MZ9ISW&pd_rd_r=8d2cf136-0fe9-11e9-ae26-cff8d3fcce0e&pd_rd_w=WPT6r&pd_rd_wg=3Wafi&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=1TA2M77224CPGTDEA5H0&psc=1&refRID=1TA2M77224CPGTDEA5H0

Thank you. I will try that

[vamach1]

My father flew several different B-17’s in WWII on mission out of England to bombing targets over Germany.  I have found only a few black and white and color pictures of some of the planes he piloted.  The colors depend on what time period of the war and where they were based (England, Pacific, etc).  My suggest is to search for color pictures of a B-17G with a paint scheme you like and as long as decals are available you should find plenty of reference material from books and old FSM magazines.

[JerseeJerry55]

7 minutes ago, vamach1 said:

My father flew several different B-17’s in WWII on mission out of England to bombing targets over Germany.  I have found only a few black and white and color pictures of some of the planes he piloted.  The colors depend on what time period of the war and where they were based (England, Pacific, etc).  My suggest is to search for color pictures of a B-17G with a paint scheme you like and as long as decals are available you should find plenty of reference material from books and old FSM magazines.

Very cool. Thanks for sharing the pics.  I will do that.

 

[64Comet404]

1 hour ago, vamach1 said:

My father flew several different B-17’s in WWII on mission out of England to bombing targets over Germany.  I have found only a few black and white and color pictures of some of the planes he piloted.  The colors depend on what time period of the war and where they were based (England, Pacific, etc).  My suggest is to search for color pictures of a B-17G with a paint scheme you like and as long as decals are available you should find plenty of reference material from books and old FSM magazines.

That's really neat that you can print out your Dad's flight logs. I will need to see if that can be done when my Grandfather's records become available for access. My grandmother tossed his logbooks out, so it will be interesting to find out everything he flew.

[vamach1]

1 hour ago, 64Comet404 said:

That's really neat that you can print out your Dad's flight logs. I will need to see if that can be done when my Grandfather's records become available for access. My grandmother tossed his logbooks out, so it will be interesting to find out everything he flew.

Most of the information was obtained via a contact I found on the 452 Bombardment Group Facebook page and websites.  From that info I spent several hours researching my father’s missions at the National Archives in Maryland.  I made dozens of copies of the flight logs and was amazed at the detailed information they had there and once I figured out the system it was pretty easy to locate the records.

[TransAmMike]

Wow, what cool stuff Rex.  Your Dad was one of the lucky guys to live to fly another day in a Fortress what with the tremendous loss of life on B-17 missions.

[bisc63]

400 holes blasted in his plane, and all he had to worry about was the flu!

[ChrisBcritter]

I've built three of these so far - one was the Revell B-17F clone, backdated to a B-17E - and it goes together very well. The fourth will be a bit different - as it belonged to my dad's Boy Scout troop. He used to tell me about how in June 1946, the BSA had a group called the Air Scouts, and the troop leader had a surplus B-17 flown to a little airport in Paducah, KY - then this photo turned up with my aunt:

I was determined to find the serial number and history of this plane. At first online searches revealed no info, but a trip to the Paducah library yielded this:

That gave me the first three of the tail number. With the help of some online forums, I found this plane didn't go overseas - the "H" on the tail showed it was a trainer last based at Hobbs, NM. Then the son-in-law of the troop leader contacted me and said he didn't have pictures, but he had the plane's paperwork - which revealed the serial and field ID numbers. So this is my dad's plane:

As far as what happened to the plane - after the novelty wore off and the plane was stripped out by local souvenir hunters, it was scrapped around 1948-1950. I met the gentleman with the paperwork a couple years later, and he had the last remains of it - a few instruments, the radio, and three headsets.

Jerry, if you want to try something different, here's a trainer for you, based from Rapid City, SD - it ended up being used for the scenes in The Best Years Of Our Lives at the aircraft scrapyard where Dana Andrews crawls inside it to get the war out of his system:

The Round ? Trip name and bombing mission symbols were added by the studio - the plane spent its career as a trainer.

 

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by ChrisBcritter

[Mike999]

For anyone interested in more unusual B-17 versions...here's a great book about the B-17s that survived WWII and what happened to them.  They were used as fire bombers, in movies both in front of and behind the camera, as transports and in many other jobs. 

One of the more unusual versions was the SB-17 search and rescue aircraft, with a radar in the nose and a big lifeboat under the fuselage. The lifeboat was stocked with supplies and could be air-dropped to survivors at sea. Academy did an SB-17 in 1/72 scale.

"Final Cut: The Post War B-17 Flying Fortress, The Survivors"

https://www.amazon.com/Final-Cut-Post-War-Fortress-Survivors-dp-1575101564/dp/1575101564/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
 

[ChrisBcritter]

^^^ I'll second Mike's motion, and not just because I was an editor and proofreader for the third and fifth (current) editions of the book . 

Edited May 10, 2021 by ChrisBcritter

[mustang1989]

On 5/9/2021 at 11:32 PM, bisc63 said:

400 holes blasted in his plane, and all he had to worry about was the flu!

And those were from 88mm & 155mm flak shells as well. A man had to have nerves of steel to fly through that and what awaited them in the skies enemy aircraft wise. 

Towards the end of the war more and more German fighter aircraft were equipped with Mk108 cannon instead of piss ant machine guns and one or two well placed rounds would end it for a B-17.

Mk108 round...

Edited May 13, 2021 by mustang1989

[vamach1]

Here’s a very interesting mission during the Cold War that led to a James Bond movie stunt scene.

[TransAmMike]

On 5/6/2021 at 12:07 PM, JerseeJerry55 said:

Hello all,

I hope everyone’s well. I just picked up the Revell B-17G in 1:48 scale at Hobby Lobby. Haven’t built a plane since the early 1970’s. So I do have some questions. Do I paint it in aluminum, Olive Drab, or Camoflage. If I go the Olive or Camo route I know what paints to use. However if I go with Aluminum what is a good rattle can brand to use? I have used various brands over the years with my cars, and trucks but my planes I always did bottle enamels on my planes. Any suggestions, tips are appreciated. Thank you.

Regards,

Jerry

When ya gonna get started on it Jerry, I can't wait,  and please do a WIP on her.????

[Twostepn2001]

Here is a interesting version of a B-17....with 5 engines. lf l remember right, it was a test plane for different Pratt & Whitney engines.

 

[JerseeJerry55]

1 hour ago, TransAmMike said:

When ya gonna get started on it Jerry, I can't wait,  and please do a WIP on her.????

I will after my oldest Son's Wedding in a couple of weeks. Time is not on my side now. Plus a bit apprehensive about starting "The Beast". 

[TransAmMike]

1 hour ago, JerseeJerry55 said:

I will after my oldest Son's Wedding in a couple of weeks. Time is not on my side now. Plus a bit apprehensive about starting "The Beast". 

Saying it's a "beast" is about right. It is a pretty large model with long wingspan. I started one years ago, messed up the silver paint when I didn't have better skills and never finished it. I did do a 1/72 scale in camo (Memphis Belle), but that was also a long time ago.   Like I said before, my favorite WWII aircraft.

[bisc63]

Love those alternate and experimental B-17s, heck, love 'em all! Somewhere on the interwebs I saw a photo of one decked out with the engines and nacelles from a P-38 (x2).