SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

[draken35]

[Second Air Force]

I'm going to rename the thread now that the quiz is complete. Also will try to post up a few photos of the humble beginnings tonight if time allows.

Scott

[Second Air Force]

Here is the starting point for this model. I found a nice three-view and scaled it to 1/48 scale. All of the numbers and figuring on the paper is the start of my dimension-finding arithmetic. Nico later linked me to a nicer three-view with more detail but the overall dimensions and outline were identical, so both diagrams will be used.

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

Much thought went into how to construct the B 17 in this scale. At first glance the fuselage looks much like a Vought Kingfisher in general shape. When I laid an old Monogram OS2U fuselage on the blueprint it turned out to be much too small in every dimension. An easier conversion seemed to be needed. More on that later. The wings were a bit easier. The outer panels, from the landing gear out, will come from an old P-36 model. The wing center section must be completely scratchbuilt from a two-part filler material.

More later!

[draken35]

[No.1]

This will be nice to see in progress

[Second Air Force]

The first idea for the wing was to scratchbuild the entire span from the two-part resin/microballoon mixture. The outer panels didn't turn out as I'd liked so I turned to an ancient AMT P-36 model from the salvage bin. Here's the resin center section and plastic outer panels laid up for the first time against the drawing.

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

Much yet to be done and a decision made about the center box where it passes through the fuselage.

[No.1]

  If you wanted beer- you get it 

[draken35]

[Second Air Force]

Back to the wing build later, now it's time to give a preliminary look at choosing the fuselage.

As I mentioned, the little Kingfisher has a general shape that reminds me of the B 17. After cutting the float from my OS2U I offered it up to the print and you can see that it is quite a lot smaller than the SAAB.

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

This bothered me and I started thinking about other possibilities. The thing that stuck in my mind was the F4U. A little digging in the "unfinished projects" pile and I had an Arii Corsair in hand. Here's a view--almost a match!

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

You'll notice that the conversion is already being started in this photo. The wing center section has already been installed and the remaining opening faired in with sheet styrene.

As you can see this has potential, at least in the basic shape and diameter of the fuselage. Everything else is made easier by having the proper section at the firewall and windscreen area.

Next was to get the belly to conform. The SAAB has a deeper belly and the bomb bay so I had to decide how to extend the Corsair underside. To do this I simply made a scribe line in the fuselage interior and bent the skin outward until it matches the drawing. Two photos of one modified and one original fuselage section:

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

And, the payoff--this now has the basic shape of the B 17. Moving the vertical stabilizer and reshaping the aft upper fuselage won't be too difficult now that the rest is forming up. The hard part will be to keep the two halves separate during the modifications so the cockpit can be built up at the same time.

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

[No.1]

Excellent fuselage conversion

[draken35]

[Sall]

Wow! Going excellent for now!!

[Second Air Force]

It's still in very rough form but the basic outlines are coming into focus.

Here's a small update on the outer wing panels. The P-36 wing offered me a chance to recycle some parts that I'd never use otherwise. However, the panels needed some modification in order to fit the profile of the SAAB planform. First I cut the wing sections to match the outer panels of the B 17 in span. The inboard end has exactly the same chord as the SAAB wing panel. The tips are far too narrow with more taper, so a way to widen the wing was needed. The best way to accomplish this was to simply ripsaw the wing spanwise and spread the panel until it had the correct chord at the tip.

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

To fill the gap in the panel I tapered styrene strip to fit into the narrow end and a styrene block at the tip. Here's the left panel laid against the blueprint during the process.

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

The next step was to fill the void left over with a bit of resin. All that remains to finish each panel is to fill in the small section of wheelwell remaining at the root and sand/putty/sand the resin/styrene modification. You'll note the .040 wire sticking out of the wing root--this will serve as the wing spar that will attach the outer panels to the new center section.

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

After correcting the shape of each wing panel I removed the ailerons. These are replaced with more accurately shaped surfaces that I sourced from an old Monogram P-40B/C wing in the spares box.

SAAB B 17A In 1/48 Scale

None of this looks like much just yet, but it's all in the process of finding and modifying parts out of a box of junk. Next will be some work on the horizontal stabilizers and elevators.

[Sall]

 

[Second Air Force]

It really looks like a pile of garbage right now, doesn't it!? I should have stripped the old paint off of the parts first.......but the idea popped into my head on how to do this so I started cutting right away. It'll all clean up later!