Help identifying plane and scale

[aurfalien]

Hi,

A very good older friend of mine wishes to restore his dads wooden airplane model.

It's got some missing parts and no decals really.

I'm curious if some one could identify what WW2 bomber it is and the scale?

Wingspan is ~17" and length is ~11.75".

My idea would be to buy the plastic version of it for parts, decals etc...

Also, what would you use to strip a wooden model of paint, ELO?

[Snake45]

It's a B-17, probably an F model. I'll see if I can work out the scale, and maybe even the maker. 

[aurfalien]

  On 5/19/2020 at 8:19 PM, Snake45 said:

It's a B-17, probably an F model. I'll see if I can work out the scale, and maybe even the maker. 

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Oooo nice man many thanks!!!

[Snake45]

B-17 wingspan is 104 feet, so your model is probably close to 1/72 scale. 

If made from a kit, it might be from Strombecker or Testors. Or it might have been homemade from government-furnished plans--millions of such were made as "recognition models" during WWII. 

1/72 scale plastic B-17 models are easy to find, and the cheapest available should serve you well. 

You might want to poke around in this interesting site: 

http://www.doxaerie.com/doxaeriethemodels.htm

[aurfalien]

  On 5/19/2020 at 8:28 PM, Snake45 said:

B-17 wingspan is 104 feet, so your model is probably close to 1/72 scale. 

If made from a kit, it might be from Strombecker or Testors. Or it might have been homemade from government-furnished plans--millions of such were made as "recognition models" during WWII. 

1/72 scale plastic B-17 models are easy to find, and the cheapest available should serve you well. 

You might want to poke around in this interesting site: 

http://www.doxaerie.com/doxaeriethemodels.htm

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I can't thank you enough as it means a great deal to my friend in restoring his dads old kit.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Never mind.

Edited May 19, 2020 by Ace-Garageguy

[aurfalien]

  On 5/19/2020 at 8:28 PM, Snake45 said:

B-17 wingspan is 104 feet, so your model is probably close to 1/72 scale. 

If made from a kit, it might be from Strombecker or Testors. Or it might have been homemade from government-furnished plans--millions of such were made as "recognition models" during WWII. 

1/72 scale plastic B-17 models are easy to find, and the cheapest available should serve you well. 

You might want to poke around in this interesting site: 

http://www.doxaerie.com/doxaeriethemodels.htm

Expand  

Yep, just ordered a rather nice looking Revell B17F in 1/72 scale.

Almost a pity to simply pilfer it for parts but sentimental value trumps all that.

[Snake45]

Been thinking about this. 

Not sure how far I'd go with a "restoration." It is what it is. 

Putting myself in the shoes of Mike of American Pickers, I can easily imagine him offering $50 for it, and pricing it at $75-$100 in his shop. And I might even be low on those numbers. Cleaned up, repainted, with new parts added and looking pretty, he wouldn't be interested in it at all. 

Your friend's dad built this. This! Just this way. Time hasn't been kind to it. (It's not kind to ANY of us.) "Fix it up" and repaint it and whatnot, and it'll look just like the common, mass-produced inexpensive model you're going to use for parts. And be about as unique and interesting. 

If it were mine, I'd try to clean it up as best I could without disturbing the fragile decals, and maybe fabricate a period-looking in-flight display stand for it. Maybe even try to make a replacement nose and paint and weather it to match the rest of the model. 

This thing has character. It has what I've heard Mike call "The Look." Your friend's dad probably built this as a kid (as my own Dad did as a kid during WWII). It's a piece of Americana, and it's a relic of your friend's dad's past. Build him the "new" Revell model if he wants a nice B-17. Clean this one up as best you can, fix only what's really necessary, and honor it for what it is.  If you think about it, it's beautiful. 

Just my opinion, worth of course exactly what you paid for it. Either way, thanks for sharing it with us. 

[aurfalien]

  On 5/19/2020 at 10:42 PM, Snake45 said:

Been thinking about this. 

Not sure how far I'd go with a "restoration." It is what it is. 

Putting myself in the shoes of Mike of American Pickers, I can easily imagine him offering $50 for it, and pricing it at $75-$100 in his shop. And I might even be low on those numbers. Cleaned up, repainted, with new parts added and looking pretty, he wouldn't be interested in it at all. 

Your friend's dad built this. This! Just this way. Time hasn't been kind to it. (It's not kind to ANY of us.) "Fix it up" and repaint it and whatnot, and it'll look just like the common, mass-produced inexpensive model you're going to use for parts. And be about as unique and interesting. 

If it were mine, I'd try to clean it up as best I could without disturbing the fragile decals, and maybe fabricate a period-looking in-flight display stand for it. Maybe even try to make a replacement nose and paint and weather it to match the rest of the model. 

This thing has character. It has what I've heard Mike call "The Look." Your friend's dad probably built this as a kid (as my own Dad did as a kid during WWII). It's a piece of Americana, and it's a relic of your friend's dad's past. Build him the "new" Revell model if he wants a nice B-17. Clean this one up as best you can, fix only what's really necessary, and honor it for what it is.  If you think about it, it's beautiful. 

Just my opinion, worth of course exactly what you paid for it. Either way, thanks for sharing it with us. 

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Well, these are all very good points and so I'm appreciative, thank you.

Let me read your post to him as it conveys the point and thought perfectly.

Edited May 19, 2020 by aurfalien

[stavanzer]

I can't tell you much, but the large A  on the tail is an ETO (European Theatre of Operation) Squadron marking. It should not have the Star&Bar on both wings, so it is obviously Kid Built. The White w/ Blue cowlings is sharp, but not seen on the real thing.

It is a Time Capsule, and window into the young man who built it.

Good Luck.

[Snake45]

Aurfalien, I've spent some time trying to research what you've got. 

I believe (from the window decals, among other clues) that this was built from a kit, not a homemade. Exactly what kit, I don't know. They were made by Strombecker and Testors, and at least a couple variations of each. What I've seen so far doesn't exactly match yours, but I'm leaning toward the Testors. It's not impossible that kits were made by someone else, too.

There's a print ad for the Testors kit on eBay right now, that might be of interest. Pretty reasonable Buy It Now price: 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1945-Testors-Solid-Scale-Model-Airplanes-Aircraft-B-17-Bomber-Print-Ad-/153710900626

Here you can see the instruction sheet for one: 

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/testors-17e-72-wwii-id-program-wood-1802382780

Here's a couple links about Strombecker: 

http://collectair.org/strombecker2.html

http://collectair.org/strombecker.html

https://www.planetdiecast.com/index2.php?&option=com_content&task=view&id=78137&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=885

 

 

[styromaniac]

That's some excellent research right there.

[aurfalien]

  On 5/20/2020 at 12:46 AM, Snake45 said:

Aurfalien, I've spent some time trying to research what you've got. 

I believe (from the window decals, among other clues) that this was built from a kit, not a homemade. Exactly what kit, I don't know. They were made by Strombecker and Testors, and at least a couple variations of each. What I've seen so far doesn't exactly match yours, but I'm leaning toward the Testors. It's not impossible that kits were made by someone else, too.

There's a print ad for the Testors kit on eBay right now, that might be of interest. Pretty reasonable Buy It Now price: 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1945-Testors-Solid-Scale-Model-Airplanes-Aircraft-B-17-Bomber-Print-Ad-/153710900626

Here you can see the instruction sheet for one: 

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/testors-17e-72-wwii-id-program-wood-1802382780

Here's a couple links about Strombecker: 

http://collectair.org/strombecker2.html

http://collectair.org/strombecker.html

https://www.planetdiecast.com/index2.php?&option=com_content&task=view&id=78137&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=885

 

 

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Wow thank you very much!

My friend said that his dad bought it while serving in WW2 and sent it back home wrapped in Life Savors as those were a rare commodity back then.

PS I just tried to send you this message but you don't seem to be accepting any at this time;

Man I am so grateful for your time spent researching this.

Thank you very much!

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by aurfalien

[Snake45]

The PM system doesn't work for me here for some reason. Just email me: 

SnakeACP45 at AOL dot com