This
new decal sheet f rom
Pyn-Up
Decals
includes
markings for two different 1/48 B-17's in paint schemes that will reward
you at the next contest.
The
first aircraft is a
B-17G-35-VE, 42-97880, DF-F, Little Miss Mischief. The
paint scheme for this aircraft is the oddest collection of parts from a
variety of aircraft I've seen in a long time. This is a G model so
it comes with the chin guns and side guns on the nose to help deal with
the new head on attacks being used by the Luftwaffe. This aircraft
suffered a massive flak hit to the waist gunner area wounding one of
the waist gunners and despite the massive damage and cut control cables
(which were patched up by her crew) she was able to limp home. The
repair depot removed the intact front half of the aircraft and grafted
it to the rear half of an older aircraft. This gave the
aircraft the bare metal front and Olive Drab rear portion. Further
repairs include d a bare metal rudder and an Olive Drab wing tip.
This aircraft had an was forced to make emergency landing in France
where she remained for a month while repairs were completed. In a
later mission she lost her #4 engine and eventually belly landed
in the UK when her landing gear collapsed. She was repaired again
and was probably scrapped after the war. The history of this
aircraft is as full as her paint job is odd.
Sexy noseart
includes a topless Red Head wearing a red with white poka dots bikini
bottom as she holds a puppy. She is standing next to script that
reads "Little Miss Mischief" and all this is beside a massive
amount of mission markings that show the true history of this battle weary
aircraft. There is no doubt this aircraft would stand out on the
contest table and there is always the option of doing her in a diorama of
her crashed landed on a runway in the UK with the wheels up.
The
second aircraft
is a
B-17F-20-DL, 42-3040, 91 BG/323 BS, OR*Q, Miss Ouachita which was sadly
shot down by Heinz BŠr on 21 Feb 44 with 2 KIA / 8 POW. The
aircraft crash landed in a pasture and was mostly in tact as the Luftwaffe
considered her repairable for future Luftwaffe missions, but she was
spotted by American fighters and destroyed on the ground.
The paint scheme
for this B-17F is overall Olive Drab on top and Neutral Gray on the
underside. This aircraft had been damaged on previous missions so
the fuselage and tail is a bit of a patchwork quilt of shades of Olive
drab. There had bee some repairs on the fuselage so there is newer
darker paint which shows up well with the faded Olive Drab on the rest of
the aircraft. A large section of the tail was also replaced with a
newer darker section. The instructions do provide a full view of the
left side of the fuselage, but unfortunately the instructions don't
provide a view of the right side (no doubt due to the lack of photo) so
you'll have to use artistic license to complete the rest of the paint
scheme. This aircraft does include sexy noseart of a topless bathing beauty
in a red bikini bottom with white polka dots next to the script "Miss Ouachita". The decals include this
nose art with a red bathing suit as well as a blue bathing suit.
The
instructions are clear and include 3 views of each aircraft.
The decals are beautifully printed on 1 decal sheet. You get
a massive amount of text information regarding both of these
planes that will assist you in completing your B-17 in the most
accurate way possible. National insignia are available from
Cutting Edge
CED48262 or CED48263.
The decals are
beautifully printed and the noseart decals include an extra set of
these delicate decals in case something goes horribly wrong when
you are installing them.
The B-17 has a rich
history for the horrific battles it fought in the day light skies
above Germany and occupied Europe during WW2 and this sheet brings
you two of the more interesting Flying Fortresses from that epic
time period.
I
would like to thank Pyn-Up
Decals for
providing me with this review sample.
Steve |
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