Hey everybody, I’m in need of some help researching for an up coming B-17 group build on the ARC forums. I plan to build a B-17D with help from the koster conversion kit, and an RAF fortress III of either 214sq or 223sq form No 100 group. I’ve been having a difficult time trying to find pics of these forts, even on the web, google has brought me next to nothing.
These forts were the radar/radio countermeasures forts, apinted in night camo similar to the lancaster. If anybody has pics, may you please share them?
Hans, good stuff there, thanks buddy. The fortress III/B-17G is what I’m looking to build, so the first color profile you posted is pretty much what I’m looking to do, just cant seem to find any pics with out having to buy a bunch of books that I dont really want.
I’m a keep digging. May have come across something good.
If you PROMISE (and also swear to Great Fortress your eyes will fall out if you fail to do so) to mail it back to me when you’re done, I have an issue of “Wings of Fame” that has a few more color drawings, including top views, of the No. 214 Squadron Mk IIIs (along with gobs of USAAF, USN, even CIA B-17 pics)… They show all the antennas to a fair degree as well…
OR… I guess I could pop across the street to Copyworks a scan the pics… Then you can keep 'em…
A any rate, that issue contains No. 214 Sqn Fortress Mk III and Mk II pics I’ve never seen anywhere else, as well as many other B-17 pics that’re fairly rare… Including some interesting nose armament arrangements on F models… Remember the F that had a canvas boot panel for twin flex-mount .50s, above the flat bombsight panel and the blister on top of the fuselage for the bombardier’s head to poke up into?
Hans my good friend, I would absolutely appreciate scanning them, not saying I would’nt send this magazine back to you, just saying there are too many variables in the mail process to chance losing that info. And I’ve gotta see these pics, I cant remember the F model your talking about, I’ve seen some with twins in the nose but dont recall a blister for the bombardiers head! Cant wait to see the pics. Thanks again Hans.
You need to get ahold of the book “A Thousand Shall Fall” by Murray Penden, I used it to build a 214 squ. fort an apart from a fair number of decent pictures I used the descriptions of what was done to the planes to guess a bit, things like it mentions that they painted lower parts of some windows black and such. I thought an interesting mod was the waist guns, they put on brackets so you couldn’t shoot your own wings and tail. What ever they had in the nose behind the glass was tough to figure, I had to make a best guess.
Hans, whenever you get a chance, no big hurry. Yeah, I hear ya about the VA, hell of a alot of hurry up and wait.
Toomanyslurpees…More pictures please, they would for good refference material. I’d appreciate as much info on your build as possible, where did you get those decals or did you paint them on? Do you have WIP pics?
I’d be interested in seeing that Paragon kit, thought about getting myself. If’n it ain’t much trouble, I’d like a copy of them scans. IIRC the -Ds where used in the begining of the war, found out they weren’t combat ready and then assigned to coastal watch
