B-17 Flying Fortress

[Don Boose]

Good update, John!

I look forward to 666/Old Lucy.

I met with the USAHEC folks today regarding the 1 April 2017 Military History Through Paper Modeling event. Perhaps you will have one or both of those models built by then. It is even remotely possible that I will have built 666 by then. It would be great to have a B-17 model with a Carlisle connection on display.

Don

[John Dell]

Thanks Don,

My plan is to get Lucy/Old 666 done as soon as possible so you can have a chance to build it for the April event. Hopefully this will be sometime in December. Will that give you enough time?

I plan to build “A Bit O’ Lace” in 1/48 scale since this kit will have some new parts such as the Cheyenne tail turret and a different type of enclosed waist windows. I also want to see how the weathering looks at full size. I’ll probably only build Lucy/Old 666 in 1/72 scale so if you build one at full 1/48 scale, that would be a bonus. I’m looking to get these two, as well as at least one or two others (a B-17B and perhaps a German B-17F) done by the April event at the USAHEC.

[3Turner]

Originally Posted by John Dell

I sent in the files for my latest kit to Ecardmodels last week, the B-17G “Flak Eater”. Hopefully it will be available soon.

Sorry John....busy week for me. I see it's still sitting in the queue....it will be listed tonight.
Stay tuned for the link post.

[3Turner]

And Flak Eater is now available....
https://www.ecardmodels.com/index.ph...per-model.html

[Texman]

John,

Any update on the possibility of the turbo prop test bed version?

[John Dell]

Hi Texman,

I guess I am due for an update, here is what’s going on.

I have been keeping myself busy, I have five additional B-17s close to being finished. I’m pushing to have at least four of these to display at the modeling event at the Army War College on April 1st. One of these will be a stepping stone to a fifth engine test bed.

Over the holidays I did an olive drab over neutral gray B-17G, the 91st Bomb Groups “Man O’ War II”. This kit is pretty much done. I just have to do some of the extras and write up a history. Another B-17G is almost finished. This is the 447th Bomb Groups famous “A Bit O’ Lace”. I know other kits have been done of this B-17, but I couldn’t resist the challenge of doing all that weathering. See below. This kit will finally have the Cheyenne tail turret. This is an essential element for a future kit of one of the fifth engine test beds as well as any other later B-17 variants such as fire bombers and movie B-17s such as “Piccadilly Lily” from Twelve O’ Clock High. There will also be another shark fin B-17. I originally wanted to do a B-17B but with the various structural changes, I wasn’t sure I could get it done by April 1st. So I decided to do a B-17D. I found a nice color photo of an 11th Bomb Group B-17D in the Philippines right before the start of the war. As I started to research this aircraft I discovered (an added bonus) that this was the B-17D that was eventually captured and repaired by the Japanese. So this kit will include parts to build both the U.S. and Japanese versions. Don should like this kit. All of these kits are nearing completion. I’m in the process of trying to get all of them assembled in time for April.

Another one I know Don is looking forward to is the B-17E “Lucy/Ole’ 666”. This kit is fairly complete. I’m still waiting for some feedback from an author I’ve been working with who is writing a book on this B-17.

I recently read that the Air Force Museum is planning to finish the restoration of the “Memphis Belle” in 2018. I plan to complete a kit of this B-17F to coincide with this event. I also plan to do a kit of “Hells Angels” (which was actually the first B-17 to complete 25 missions) to be released at the same time as “Memphis Belle”.

At this point I only have two more of the basic B-17 variants to do, the Y1B-17 and the B-17B. They share many of the same features which will speed them up. At that point I can get into the lesser variants such as the XB-38, YB-40, PB1-W and fifth engine test beds.

[Don Boose]

Excellent update, John! I look forward to the Pacific B-17s and am eager to see the new (and old) airplanes on 1 April.

For those following this thread, John will be displaying a lot of his models at a 1 April 2017 event at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle (1 April 2017 Paper Modelers' Event at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center). If you are interested in participating in this event, lease send me a private message.

I am afraid I have no progress to report on my current attempt to build a displayable model of 40-2074. The current version (below) is not yet ready for prime time. I am a slow and inept builder and all too easily distracted by new projects, but hope springs eternal.

Don

[smithdr]

Don,

Not too shabby from this angle! I wish there were some paper folks out on the west coast. Your meeting would be lots of fun and especially instructive for a newbie.

Good luck on the rest of the '17.

Dan

[elliottsprings]

John, I just want to jump in and tell you how much I enjoy your B-17 models. I have built three so far (B-17C, B-17E and B-17G) and don't think I'll stop there. The quality of your designs and colors and especially the extras your provide is fantastic!
Come to think of it, I built your JU-52 from Fiddler's Green and it was outstanding also.
Can't wait to see the new models your releasing.
Thanks for your efforts, it is very appeciated.

Hank

[missileer]

John,

Thanks for picking up the lesser variants. I will be watching for those. I'll want a copy of them all!

John