B-17 Flying Fortress (hopeless tinkering content)

[deeaa]

Heh, something to do over the holidays..

First, here's the actual plane the model is based on:

http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/bellemem.jpg
And my model version:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_6nk96PAbWiI/TRmTWO0AY_I/AAAAAAAADe8/zRrW5blAEVw/s912/2010_12%20131.jpg
Here's a few more pics:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_6nk96PAbWiI/TRmTWgo2T8I/AAAAAAAADfA/W77Th7uHxyY/s912/2010_12%20134.jpg
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_6nk96PAbWiI/TRmTXVoWb4I/AAAAAAAADfE/NaLYuAbD9D4/s912/2010_12%20138.jpg
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_6nk96PAbWiI/TRmTXg8AZ6I/AAAAAAAADfI/R3u5BsSg9uE/s912/2010_12%20139.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_6nk96PAbWiI/TRmTYMvNgPI/AAAAAAAADfM/RW_l4WxSx8A/s912/2010_12%20149.jpg
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_6nk96PAbWiI/TRmTYpBhHGI/AAAAAAAADfQ/kQRCFCasv2c/s912/2010_12%20142.jpg

[deeaa]

I just realized I'm missing the bombardier's name tag.

Funny that in the model sticker set they changed the swastikas symbolizing downed fighters into simple plus signs :-) well I'm not about to try painting such tiny markers by hand.

I really should get an airbrush...very hard painting all the lines and borders by hand only. I really like the modern water-based paints though, beat the hell out of the enamels I used to use in my youth, but they have one big problem: you can't use lining tape as it will rip the paint right off when you remove it. Thus, all the lines had to be hand painted (sigh).

For the next time I should get some matt fixative spray for the paint so I can use lining tape, and a tiny weeny spray gun would be superb. Can't really get any hazy or soft paint changes otherwise.

[guitarhack]

Nice work. I can sympathize with the hand-painting. Model-building is a fond memory now, but was one of my favorite hobbies before I got my driver's license.

[Brian Krashpad]

That's great work, Dee. I used to do armor, mainly WWII. I never had an airbrush either.

[deeaa]

Yeah, getting a driver's licence pretty much killed it for me too. Luckily I saved all the stuff and misc parts and whatnot. Some 5-6 years ago I came accross a truck diorama I never quite finished back in the day, so I built it ready one xmas holiday, only to have it drop on the floor and bust to smithereens just a few days later :-) but when my first son was born, I dug out all the models that had survived thanks to my mom packing them in the basement, and hung the planes from his room ceiling for a nice boy's room backdrop.

Now that my older son (5) is getting into it, I bought him a small plane and we built this B-17 and his smaller jet side by side, I showed him what to do with the bigger model and he built his. I helped only a little to make sure the wings are straight etc.

Xmas holidays here are completely dead time...shops are closed, it's -20-30 outside and nothing to do...people just stay home and it's a perfect time for some tinkering. I won't likely have any other time of the year I could have so much time on my hands as to build models, far from it...but I think I'll make it a tradition to build a model every xmas with the boys. It's a great way to spend the quiet days inside :-)

There's still a few days left of the holiday and I have a next project up already: I have to build a watertight openable, see-thru container for the boat to house a smartphone I'll be using for GPS navigation on the waterways. Got some large pieces of acrylic, a dremel tool and a nice plastic box...now I have to make some sort of cradle for the phone inside the box so it can just be put in it and it will charge it at the same time...a nice challenge, perfect for tinkering with!

[Geraint Jones]

That's a good job mate , the stains you've got on the wing surfaces are spot on . I've thought about buying a spray gun to shoot some nitro lacquer on my next guitar project, that girl decal would look good on a '52 Tele {blonde of course} .

[Eric]

That's pretty cool! I'm not sure if I have the patience for that sort of thing, but it's impressive from where I sit.