Well I have my 1st figure under my belt. And I have gained a lot of respect for those of you that primarily do figures. OMG that’s a lot of painting. I wish I had a dollar for every color change and brush cleaning.
I touched up the gunner a bit with the light gray at some wear points. I don’t know if I did enough but was afraid to over do it. The straps and other light colored stuff is washed out in the pics becuase I forgot to undo an exposure setting from something else.
Comments and critiques welcome (Just in case I ever do another figure[:)])
I think you did a great job. Better than what I paint. The wear you did with the grey turned out fine. BTW is that 120mm? Keep up the good work and good luck.
The wear looks good. Remember, these guys were supposed to rotate out after 25 missions. I don’t know if the coats were recycled. On on hand, it would make sense, but then I’m not sure I’d want someone else’s coat and whatever karma, ju-ju or bad energy might have been accumulated by the previous owner. I like the rivet work you did on the outer fuselage, nice touch.
Nah… I don’t think I would want to wear someone elses gear. You never know what else may have been in the suit after seeing a dozens of 109s, 190, etc. On the other hand, if you are getting from a guy that made it through 25 missions…
I had the gun mounted wrong and the ammo did not fit. After getting the gun right, the ammo can on and some spent shell casing strewn about, I decided to go with the anti-skid flooring and like the look better than before.
Looks great. Who makes the figure/base? I like it and may have to get one for myself. You have done a great job on it.
Also, I thought the .50 cal ammo was in a wooden box mounted onto the side of the fuselage and was belt-fed from a feed chute? At least it is that way in all the B-17s I have seen and the one restored B-17 I flew in. Anyone know for sure? Or was this a later set-up, etc.?
EDIT: Disregard, found it. Verlinden: “Bandits! 2 O’Clock”
Gino you are correct in that was the way it done the vast majority of the time. Bigger box, more ammo, more shoot time before reload. I did come across a few photos of this set though so it is technically accurate. My 1st idea for scratch building the feed chute was a horrible disaster so for now he just has to reload quick and not get his butt shot off.
When you get a chance, try to go to Republic Airport in Farmindale N.Y. They have vintage restored WWII planes and time to time, they have B-17 that you can fly in. Until I stepped inside of one, I didn’t realize how narrow passage was (especially where waiste gunners were at).
If you are interested in seeing or going up in a B-17, B-24, or B-25, check out The Collings Foundation Wings of Freedom Tour. They take the above, fully restored aircraft across the country to airshows and local airports for display and rides. A few years ago, my wife’s grandfather (who was a B-17 ball turret gunner, shot down, and a POW in WWII) and I went up in the B-17 None-0-Nine. It was awesome and even better since he was with me. They are great to just look at and walk through as well. They have a bunch of other aircraft that they take around to shows too.
Rick, M1, HArty, Mucker… guys, thanks vm. Should have said thankss a while back… that was rude[V]… but I kinda went back to my old habit of just hangin’ in the "things that fly"section[;)]
Great job! Looks like the box art! That must have been a lot of super glue… the Verlin 1/16 kits I have scare me…
Not to mention you’ve got more guts than I do messing around with the whole gun set up and ammo issue after you already finished it. I personally like the wooden floor simply for astetic color differences, but Im sure this is more accurate and Im glad you liked the way it turned out. The spent shells are real sweet! Definitly not bad at all for your first figure…
Although after all that painting and everything I wouldnt be surprised to find most of your future stuff in the things that fly half of the forum
They’re okay to train on, but generally leave a lot to be deisred in pose, often very stiff and awkward. Weapons are often held in open hands in defiance of gravity. Pour plugs are excessive ond sometimes in places that will leave you cleaning up for ages. You will need to do research on exact colors and the box art is the color guide/insruction sheet. If you can find some of the older kits, they are actually much better than the more recent offerings.
heya marc[:D]absolutely beautiful work man[tup][tup] – a pleasure to view-- now get to work on your t-34!!— lol–really man, great job on gunner-- very impressive!!-- tread[8D]
Ajlafleche you are right about the weapons grip. That is really more butted aging his knuckles than anything else.
Treadwell I really want to start that bad boy. My problem is I am a one-at-a-time modeler mostly and I know that kit is gonna take forever LOL. I have to figure a way to weave it into the aircraft builds.
Marc, that’s fantastic work. I won’t even say "for your first blah blah blah " (oh, but I guess I just did)… it’s just simply a great piece. I, too, like the wood floors. Brings a “era” feeling to me. Does that make sense?
