The B-17 Flying Fortress has been one of my favorite WWII aircraft since I was a kid. I finally broke down and purchased Revell-Monogram's 1/48 scale kit of the B-17G through an online hobby store. For the aircraft markings I decided to go with Eagle Strike's - Actung Vermots Part 1 and purchased a set from Squadron.com.  The markings of "Pist'l Packin Mama" was just what I was looking for, a early B-17G in olive drab finish with the black de-icing boots along the leading edges of the wings and tail surfaces. I thought about adding some after market accessories, but decided to keep my investment to a minimum by implementing a few hand crafted details of my own.  I fabricated and installed a map and compass for the navigators table up in the front nose and a clipboard and headset for the radio operators station. I also added ammo boxes made from Evergreen plastic sprue for the ball turret, waist and tail gunner positions. For the floor in the waist gunner positions I used what I believe was once a wood bumper from a 1/35 scale car model. I found this in my spare parts box that I have had for 30+ years. Regrettably this added interior detail would rarely be seen, but I had fun doing it.  I used Testor's Zinc Chromate and Aluminum for the main interior painted areas.  During test fitting of parts I noticed a nice little gap existed on both sides of the waist gunner windows. To solve this I installed a piece of Evergreen plastic sprue U-Channel  along the bottom edge of both window openings. This not only solved the problem, but also provided a nice little channel for the gunners window to fit into. 

    Since I knew the placement of my finished "Fortress" would be at eye level on top of my dresser I decided to pay extra attention to the front section of the aircraft. I fabricated eight separate enclosed air intakes and screens using Evergreen square tubing and some fine netting like fabric borrowed from my wife. I fitted and installed each air intake behind the openings on the leading edge of the wings before gluing the wing halves together. I used a small drill bit to open up the ends of the exhaust pipes as well. For the engine detail I studied as many pictures as I could find in my personal library and on the internet. Then I painted them so the molded in engine detail would stand out. I used an acrylic bronze paint from Michael's for the rust effect on the lower part of each engine cylinder. The finish color was just a bit too metalic for my liking, but it created the pop out effect I wanted for the engines. Then I ever so lightly dry brushed the top of each cylindar head, props, engine cowls and wing edge with Testors enamel Aluminum. I painted the prop tips with Tamiya Flat White and then a second coat of Testor's Flat Yellow so the prop tips would really pop out. I utilized some wire for the hydraulic brake lines on the landing gear. The exhuast on the underneath side of the wings was painted with Testor's Military Brown and a touch of Aluminum on the turbocharger. Next I applied a wash mix of acyrlic Flat Black and Burnt Umber from Michael's (actually borrowed from my wife's acrylic paint scollection in our garage). This provided a nice worn in rusty effect without being too over done. I also used the wash mix around the engine cowlings, landing gear, bomb bay doors and fabric covered control surfaces.

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    For the overall finish colors I airbrushed Testor's Model Master Enamels using my Badger 150. I painted the underside of the B-17 with Neutral Grey. I then masked off the sides of fuesalage for a clean demarcation line before applying the first coat of Dark Olive on the upper surfaces. After the first coat dried I applied Olive Drab and Field Drab to selected areas. The fabric covered areas were painted in straight Field Drab. For the exhaust stains on the upper wing surface I airbrushed Dark Olive and then followed up with a little flat black. For the few very small lights on the aircraft exterior I first painted them silver and then used Tamiya clear Red and Green for the approriate side. I have found this to be the best method for doing aircraft recognition lights, it gives off a nice effect. The model was then clear coated with Future. I applied the decals with Microset and Microsol. For some reason when I applied the Microset solution on the white triangle "A" decals milkish white areas began to form around the decal edges of my finished model as it dried. I have never had this happen before. Apparently the Microset somehow reacted with the white ink on the decal, the white on the national insignias was unaffected. The next day I carefully masked off the triangle "A" decals with 3M Post-it Notes and touched up the areas with my airbrush. Another coat of Future was applied to seal up the decals and touched up areas of fresh paint. The following day I then sprayed the entire model with Testors Dullcoat. After this had dried for 24 hours I began the process of carefully removing all the masking from the clear parts, wheel wells, and engine cowlings.  Once this was done I installed all guns and gun turrets, landing gear, antennas and clear parts not previously glued gone using a combination of Testor's Plastic Model Cement and Elmer's White Glue for the clear pieces.  Gun barrels were painted flat black and dry brushed with Testor's Steel. The main landing gear whell hubs were hand painted with Testors Aluminum and Steel paints.

    One night while looking at pictures of the actual B-17 "Pist'l Packin Mama" I noticed the plane did not have the cheek guns installed like that of the kit that I was building. This troubled me since I like to be accurate in my model building as much as possible. My research on this particular B-17 indicated the plane had completed many more missions and thus survived the war. Since I had no actual reference photos that went beyond the 13 missions the decals depicted, I decided that my Pist'L  Packin Mama had the cheek guns installed as a field modification and I painted them in fresh Dark Olive to reflect this. Problem Solved. This kit was a nice break from all the modern US Navy aircraft I usually build, especially my soon to be completed 1/48 scale EA-6B Prowler. I don't have any complaints to offer with regard to the kit. I have always enjoyed the value priced kits Monogram offers. With a bit of good modeling skills you can make any of thier kits look really sharp.  I only wish there there was a complete 10 man aircrew available in 1/48 scale for the kit. Hint-hint.

Mark