My latest, hot off the bench, is the B-17B Flying Fortress from Academy. I’ve always liked the look of the earlier Fortress variants, so even though I have built a number of -17s in the past, including Academy’s G variant, I opted to add this one to the stash several years ago.
When I built the Academy B-17G, I had just returned to the hobby back in the mid-90s. I had not yet even discovered Fine Scale Modeler, and as such, the idea of scratch-building details not included in the kit was a future improvement to my modeling toolbox. So for this build, I opened up the vents alongside the wing’s leading edge and fashioned crude intakes for them, and I closed up the big openings into the wing interiors that are clearly visible from the wheel wells.
Now of course, none of this is really all that visible unless you get up close and personal with the build, but I know it’s there nevertheless.
I opted for the boxart, as I was wanting a nice shiny B-17 with the red-white-blue rudder. I tried to research this actual B-17 but never could find anything specific to the B variant, other than posts from other modelers who have built this kit.
The paint is various shades of Alclad (airframe, dull, dark, and white aluminum) sprayed over a basecoat of decanted Krylon gloss black. I’ve followed this process on other NMF builds, but this one caused me some issues. When I had completed the painting and allowed it to sit up over night and had begun applying the decals, I noticed a tacky feeling in some areas. This of course meant fingerprints - big, ugly fingerprints that were crystal clear against that otherwise wonderful shiny aluminum. I’ve never had a problem like that with these paints or the process I followed. The only thing I can think is that perhaps I didn’t allow sufficient curing time for either/both the Krylon or the Alclads?
And this model is pretty fragile. I already busted off one of the pitot tubes (or whatever those things located on the lower side of the nose are) and one of the antenna mounts. Fixed with no issues, but makes me want to avoid handling this one.
I painted the red-white-blue rudder striping, as well as the black wingwalks and “no walk” lines. The other decals performed quite well despite some reviews I found marking the decals as potential problem areas in this build.
This was my 8th build for the year. I doubt it will be my last, but as of tomorrow, I am re-joining the ranks of the employed. I’ve been out of work for a number of years, during which time I cared for an ailing parent and upgraded my skills in software engineering, so finally it’s good to be going back to paid work. Once I adjust myself back to a working frame-of-mind, I’m sure I’ll find time to head back to the bench for possibly a P-47N Thunderbolt or a C-54 Skymaster.
