Subject: Re: 1/144 Minicraft B-17G
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: "Pieter Stam" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:36:15 -0800

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
ARC Air - Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.arcair.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Pieter Stam 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2013 7:48 AM
  Subject: 1/144 Minicraft B-17G

  Gallery Article Template

  "1/144 Minicraft B-17G" 

  by "Pieter Stam"

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  Hello fellow modellers, today I want to show you my latest model. It is the famous B-17 in a not so famous paintjob. After the C-46 I showed a few months ago, I wanted to put it in a diorama with another Bolivian 'carnicero' airplane. I could've done this with a DC-6, but I decided to go with the B-17. Mainly because I could get this kit very cheap from my favorite local hobby store. This 'cheapness' would bite me in the behind later in the build.  And of course this is a very fascinating aircraft, whatever the paintjob. 

  The B-17 was one of the most iconic US aircraft in the second world war. They were known because of their sturdy nature, surviving lots of damage that would've finished off aircraft of lesser structural integrity. After the war, many of them were left behind in dumps, scrapped, or soldiered on in various military and civilian roles.  The aircraft I wanted to make was the CP-891 in the scheme it was last seen flying. A brief history if this particular aircraft can be found at http://www.warbirdregistry.org/b17registry/b17-446393.html 

  It is now restored to static condition and on display with March Field Air Museum.

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  I bought the 1/144 Minicraft B-17G, as far as I know, the only B-17 in 1/144. Upon opening the box, I immediately spotted that this kit would require a lot of work to make it look acceptable. Since I didn't trust the dimensions of the kit, I printed out some side views on scale to  check the measurements. Side views from various sources were checked, but they were pretty much all the same. They showed that the fuselage of the Minicraft B-17 was too short and the vertical stabilizer wasn't entirely correct either. So I cut up the fuselage with my trusty JLC saw and used a few pieces of sprue to glue the parts to the correct length. The JLC saw did see a lot of more action on this kit. I used plastic card and putty to fill in the gaps. Also, the chin and ventral turret had to be sanded/cut off. I used plastic card for the windshield, since I lost the clear part.

  The really horrible part of this kit is that it isn't symmetrical in any way! I observed that the left and the right wing had a different dihedral! Also, the fuselage halves aren't symmetrical. To correct the wing problem, I used my JLC saw to cut into the lower part of the left wing, but not all the way trough. I used a bit of plastic card to form a wedge to increase the wing dihedral. To add to the fun, I actually had to do this twice. Also, I had to cut off both of the horizontal stabilizers and reattach them so they were level. But that was really my own fault. I corrected the fuselage symmetry with a little putty and careful sanding. I couldn't use any jigs for this. I only used my eyeballs and a little help from a ruler. At some point, I thought I was done with the sanding and someone on a forum made a remark about the windshield being incorrect. I really did not notice this before. So, out with the JLC saw again and I cut off some part of the upper fuselage. I used the same side views I had printed out earlier to cut out a template for the ´new´ windshield to cut the plastic card to size. But I ended up cutting all the parts, purely on sight again. This is because not anything on this kit is exactly the size it should be, or even symmetrical. It took a lot of work, putty and sanding sessions to make it look right, but I think the effort shows on the model. The shape of the windshield/cockpit now looks a lot better.

  Next up was the paintjob! This is the first model that I painted with the airbrush. A few months ago, I invested in a Harder & Steenbeck Evolution airbrush and a compressor. The nice people of http://www.airbrush-services-almere.nl sold it to me. I first tried the Vallejo primer on the B-17, but I must've done something wrong. The airbrush clogged up very quickly and the primer really didn't cover very well at all, even though I diluted it. I did not have this problem with the normal paints. I used a can of Mr.Surfacer (white) as a primer and this turned out to be excellent after some practice. I then used Vallejo white with a few drops of grey to cover the entire model. I lost count of how many layers of paint I needed to cover the entire model. The masking and the bare metal color went on without problems. The landing gear was next. The main gear from Minicraft looked horrible, so I looked for aftermarket items to replace it. Since I didn't find anything for a 1/144 B-17, I had no other option then to scratch it myself. I used  wheels from the spare box (I think it used to belong to a long forgotten 1/72 Mustang) and the struts were made with different sizes of metal wire. When I was done, it looked a lot more satisfying. 

    

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  I then made the mistake of starting with the decals. I designed the decals myself and the friendly people of http://www.blackliondecals.nl/ printed them for me. The decals went on without much trouble. Although the cheatline took some work to align. I still had a lot of painting to do and I discovered that decals aren't really stuck to the model very well. Even though they had been sealed with Parket+. (Local variant of Future) I had to paint the anti-glare on the nose and all the windows. The tape I used damaged the decals quite a bit. Painting the windows was also a lot of work. This is because I had to align everything by eye and I couldn't brush them all at the same time. Come to think of it, it is a funny expression: "Painting on the windows". I also relied on the "Fri Reyes" titles for the size and alignment of the windows on the rear and side of the fuselage.

  Attentive readers might already have noticed that I did something weird with the nacelles. The nacelles in the kit were. well. also horrible. But since I always intended this model for a diorama, I could cover two nacelles and use a pair of left-over DC-3 engines for the other side. Of course I had to sand the nacelles that were not to be covered to the correct shape, since they were not circular. I will use the second DC-3 engine in the diorama. I used a pieces of paper towel, dipped in a bath of white glue and water for covers for the engine. Toilet paper is designed to fall apart when it comes in contact with water and is unsuitable for this. Different antennas were scratched with various bits.  The pointy antenna (VHF NAV?) was made with tin foil from a wine bottle. This is great stuff! I had to cut a few of them before I had the proper shape. The strut was a bit of Evergreen plastic. The arrangement of the wire antennas is a bit of an educated guess, since the antennas on the CP-891 could not be seen entirely on photographs. I think it looks authentic. Weathering was done with a bit of dry-brushing and a lot of various Tamiya weathering sets. The paintchips were applied with a small pin and Vallejo aluminum. This is the same paint I used to cover the underside of the model. These covered the damaged decals very well. 

  Conclusion: I ended up only using the major parts of the kit and none of the 'extra' stuff like wheels and props. And even those parts needed to be modified to make it look like an actual B-17. I will not attempt to build another Minicraft B-17 very soon. I also learned to paint really EVERYTHING before applying decals. This B-17 will go into a diorama with my C-46 wich you can see here: http://www.arcair.com/Gal12/11801-11900/gal11848-C-46-Stam/00.shtm But the diorama is a different project. I also made a mistake of sanding the tip of the nose flat. The Bolivian B-17's did not have this. Also, I don't think the B-17 and the C-46 ever sat next to each other with these liveries, so historical, they won't fit into the same diorama. But it will look nice in my living room. The full build (in Dutch) and more pictures can be seen at: http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=37539#.UPLPPPqoGjc 

  "Pieter Stam"

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  Just delete any of the boxes below you don't need.....it's not important to include them.....they are there to give you an idea of the finished article.  It is best to limit your article to no more than 60 or so photos, so the finished webpage won't take too long to open.Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 11.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 11.jpg   Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 12.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 12.jpg             Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 13.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 13.jpg              Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 14.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 14.jpg

   

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  Photos and text © by "Pieter Stam"

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