Hi all, I have got hold of a Monogram B17 kit and want to add quite a few extra details and was wondering if anyone knows a good site to order them, I have already ordered some bits for a different project from Hannant’s and after looking on their site I think I should be able to get quite a few extras from there unless anyone has better advice. I have seen they do engine detail kits, but wanted to ask if the set is for one engine or for all four?
I best point out I dont have the skills to scratch build anything and believe me I have tried, lol
I would deffo recommend hannants as they have a wide range of stuff, they are always my first choice when buying anything. I have a CMK engine for the Academy B-17 and as far as i know it can be used on any of the 4 engines, the same should applies to yours.
Thanks, enjoying my return to modelling so much I really wanna make a top job of this kit so plan to buy all the extras I can, just got to settle on the sqaudron I guess as well
This is a link to Swanny’s page with all the accessories made for the 1/48 B-17. You ill have to check availablity, but this a good start to see what is actually out there in terms of accessories
That kit REALLY lends itself to learning a LOT about little scratch-built details that don’t need to be bought, and the beginner can do…
Not ALL scratch-building is actually “building”… Much of it is “Creative Gizmology”… That’s when you take something from another kit, or something that’s totally un-related to kit-building and make a part out it… See, the PART you need is already in there… You just have cut/sand/grind away all the stuff that ISN’T…[;)] Add a little “Imagineering” and you’re on the way…
Evergreen Styrene strip (and rod, for that matter) of various sizes are something you should have on-hand all the time… All you have to do is cut them to length and glue them to the interiors for the fuselage ribbing… Bulkheads/Doors/hatches are sheet styrene, cut and sanded to shape… Hinges are just strips, with nuts shaved off from old wheels, or “salami-slices” of sprue.
Stretched sprue cut to length, painted brass, and scattered about the floors are empty .50-cal casings…
Machine gun cooling jackets can be black dots from an ultra-fine Sharpie. Ring-sights are fine wire with hair for cross-hairs…
Ammo chutes are cable flex-ties… The toilet is just a chunk of sprue or rod, and some stretched sprue glued around it, and a sheet styrene lid/seat. Floors are sheet-styrene or basswood… Navigator’s tables are basswood too…
I could go on, but there’s a LOT to said, so I won’t go into detail any farther… Check out Tiny’s B-17 Group Build here: /forums/t/105108.aspx?PageIndex=1
There’re all sorts of tips & tricks in there with details galore, some scratched, some store-bought… It’s about the best surce on this site for what folks did with that kit…
Right, done some browsing and whilst I admit I am not the best at scratch building I cant hope to compare to some of the fantastic stuff I have seen on the group build page, so with that in mind I am ordering the following
Eduard ED48534
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress engine detail
Eduard EDEX106
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress, masking set
True Details TD48010
Boeing B-17E-G Flying Fortress tyre set
True Details TD48509
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Cockpit set
I plan to order the middle gunner and tail gunner with next months wage packet
Still need to decide on the nose art, and paint scheme, with so many decal sets available it’s not an easy descision.
I’m honestly not too big on buying all this after market stuff, mainly because I couldnt afford it for so long, now I’m just used to getting along without it. The big exceptions being major conversions such as the D model conversion from koster. I try to scratch build what I can, add detail here and there such as engine wires and that’s it, the kit does the rest.
Keep in mind that to get that True Details Cockpit set to fit properly you need to do a lot of thinning. Both on the fuselae panels on the kit as well as thin the backs of the resin pieces. It’s even more work to get the nose section parts to fit around the bombadier/navigator section if you get that set. Lots of dry fitting is critical before you glue anything permanently.
Well , I spent a few mins looking through the kit and I’m not impressed, there seems to be a heck of a lot of flash on loads of the parts, think I will change my mind about all those extras tilI get a better kit,
Flash is really not that big of a deal, a pain to clean off but not hard to do. And unless you get one of the newer releases of that kit such as the visible kit or the pro-modeler kit, there is no better B-17 kit in 48th scale, unless you wanna hold your breath waiting for the very long anticipated tamiya B-17 with rat a tat tat machine gun action. Seriously, this kit dates back to the 70’s and it’s not a shake and bake tamiya kit, modeling skills are required.
