Messages

5026

Aircraft Modeling / Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale

« on: March 02, 2010, 11:48:46 PM »

If your profile isn't too far along , this is the ship I'm modeling.

The cowls are yellow and black checkerboard, and I have a color profile of the Squadron emblem somewhere in the reference photos for the project. She was in the 38th Recon Squadron at the time this photo was taken. There is a color photo of her and a sister in flight in the group of pictures you posted earlier.

Scott

5027

Aircraft Modeling / Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale

« on: March 02, 2010, 10:05:00 PM »

Well, the evil PC is working right now, so here is the nose photo of the prototype 299:

The small ball pivots in the nose piece and the entire nose rotates. That might be one of the most challenging parts of the model to construct. I have a Mattel Vacuform machine so can experiment until I find the correct solution. Also, all four of the aft gun positions will be vacuformed but these should be a bit easier to fabricate.

Here is a photo of the first time I mated the two fuselage sections.

S

5028

Aircraft Modeling / Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale

« on: March 02, 2010, 09:37:40 PM »

You're correct--the entire nose transparency rotated on a set of rollers so that the gun could be brought to bear on targets. I don't exactly know how easy it was to operate, but it must have kept the gunner very, very busy! I have a good photo of the nose of the Model 299 but I'm having computer issues right now......

Scott

5029

Aircraft Modeling / Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale

« on: March 02, 2010, 08:54:10 PM »

Thanks for posting those pics, Srecko. When I first ran across the two camouflaged airplanes in the Amarillo Army Air Field Historical Records I was surprised a little that they were still around in 1943/44.

I'll transfer the photos from WIX over here as I get time to do so, and then (hopefully) some new progress as I move forward.

Here are a few photos of the transparencies in the Koster kit, starting with the overall sheet less the early cockpit enclosure:

These two are the early effort at fitting the new cockpit area. I had to remove the Airplane Commander's observation dome as these were not used on the YBs.

More later,
Scott

5030

Aircraft Modeling / Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale

« on: March 02, 2010, 02:52:18 AM »

Thanks for the interest--now you'll have to be patient as I am a rather slow modeler! I will have several posts to add to the thread before I get caught up to the current state of the project. I've not been able to spend more than a couple of evenings on it this winter. Fortunately, for the first time, I've kept documentation of how I fabricated parts so that duplication for the other side of the airplane is much easier.

Here is a general photo of the finished product. I will be using a slightly different paint scheme and the airplane I'm building will have the later Hydromatic propellers.

Scott

5031

Aircraft Modeling / Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale

« on: March 02, 2010, 01:02:26 AM »

I have been far too slow to put up my first thread on the Forum.

I started this model over a year ago and am making slow progress. I find most of my weekends taken up with working on a 1/1 scale B-17, 44-8543, known as Chuckie, at the Vintage Flying Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

I started with a 1/48th scale Monogram B-17G and Koster B-17C/D conversion kit. If you have never built a model using a Koster product I highly recommend his kits. Here are a few photos of the very beginning of the project:
The initial cut of the aft fuselage:

The shortened forward fuselage common to all small-tailed Fortress variants:

This is what comes with the Koster kit. Not only the parts for the "shark fin" C and D model Fortress, but the transparent sheet also include the pieces needed to build a Cheyenne tail turret for the later Gs.

If anyone is interested I'll post more in-progress photos and text.

Scott