Article by Ed
I recently completed a kit of arguably the most famous World War II heavy bomber, the US Army Air Forces’ B-17 “Flying Fortress,” from China's Hong Kong Hobbies Co Ltd in 1/32 scale. Final model photos are available on my "Gallery" page.
Throughout World War II, nearly six miles above the earth and deep over enemy territory, four-engine B-17 heavy bombers of the mighty 8th Air Force were pounding targets in broad daylight. These planes were the workhorses of the strategic air campaign against the Axis powers. Over 12,700 B-17s were manufactured, with the “G” variant being introduced at the critical juncture of 1943, offering numerous improvements over previous versions. Taking on the majority of the campaign alongside B-24s, and later B-29s, pilots preferred the B-17 for its stability and ability to absorb extensive battle damage and keep flying. The 8th Air Force could launch massive raids with almost 1,000 B-17s at once; drawn from over 40 bomber groups at bases all over England. By the war's end, almost 4,800 B-17s would be lost. And more aircrew would be wounded or killed in action then all of the USMC causalities of WWII.
Boeing’s final model, the B-17G, had an aircrew of 10 personnel and was powered by four Wright “Cyclone” turbocharged radial engines, with a top airspeed of 300mph and a range of nearly 2,000 miles. A new improved nose gun turret and the new “Cheyenne” tail gunner position, offered improved machinegun coverage against Nazi planes bent on bringing down the 104ft wing-spanned aircraft. A total of 13 .50cal M2 Browning machine guns aimed to defend the heavy bomber from Luftwaffe pilots. A typical payload was 6,000-8,00lbs of HE and Fire bombs. In total around 640,000 tons of bombs were dropped by Flying Fortresses on Europe, far more than any other plane of the war (around 48% of all bombs dropped).
The air bombardment of Nazi Germany demanded crews of the B-17s deal with harsh conditions; with medical and technology advances rushed to help alleviate the worse of them. From frigid temperatures high above the earth to layered enemy air & ground defenses focused on bringing them down, heavy bomber aircrews dealt with unbelievably difficult conditions. The excellent book, “Masters of the Air” by Donald Miller, tells the harrowing story of these brave men. Before the intro of long-range fighter escorts, B-17s heading deep into Europe flew in stacked, close "box" formations to shield & protect each other from enemy planes. This however, greatly increased the effectiveness of Nazi Flak anti-aircraft fire against them, and pilots were forbidden to break formation to avoid the deadly cloud bursts.
For their missions, B-17s used the famous Norden bombsight to achieve accuracy while delivering their payloads. The Norden consisted of a gyro-stabilized telescopic sight combined with an electro-mechanical “computer” into which the bombardier fed inputs for altitude, atmospheric conditions, air speed, and drift. During the bomb run, the sight was slaved to an auto-pilot device to guide the aircraft over the precise release point. Throughout the bombing, pilots could not divert their aircraft’s path of flight no matter how thick the deadly air-bursting Flak fire damaging the aircraft and crew was, because it would move the sight's aim point (enforced by threat of court martial later in the war). B-17s often suffered massive damage and horrendous loses during their missions.
In fact, General "Hap" Arnold commander of the USAAF, suspended high-altitude deep penetrations for almost 5 months in late 1943 (after the costly bombing raid over Schweinfurt ball bearing plant, on 14 October 1943), because air raids into Germany suffered excessive losses due to no long-range fighter escorts. These would resume with the introduction in significant numbers of the excellent P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft.
For my B-17G project, I selected the "Little Miss Mischief" aircraft of the 306th Bomb Group. This aircraft completed 53 missions during the war. The plane suffered massive damage several times, with significant repairs drawn from 13 different aircraft, to include the wings, radio room, front cone, engines, and the rear fuselage. Flown by pilot Curtis Lovelace (KIA late 1944) and co-pilot Bob Hart, the aircraft crash landed in mid-1944, due to heavy Flak damage on return from destroying bridges in France in support of D-Day, but after 40 days of repair work was back in the war!
A lot of controversy, then and now, surrounds the conduct of the US & UK strategic air campaign during World War II, with its destruction of cities and tremendous loses of aircrews and planes. Post-war estimates say only 10% of all bombs dropped by the Allies landed on their actual intended targets. Around the clock bombing (weather permitting)(England at night, the US during the day), with crews facing incredible challenges, saw planning staff constantly adjusting priority targets throughout the war to improve the campaign's effectiveness (experts later agreed electrical power generation was a huge missed opportunity that would've ended the war sooner). Oil refineries & fuel storage, ball bearing production, weapons manufacturing, rail yards & bridges were primary targets throughout the war; later, after D-Day on 6 June 1944, bombing shifted to mainly enemy units, major crossroads, depots, and fortifications.
KIT BUILD
> First, at 1/32 scale this B-17G model kit is massive! With a real model wing span of over 4 feet, with the fuselage assembled from 3 primary parts and results were mixed. HK Models does a decent job overall, lots of good rivet and panel line detail. The issues lie more in the fit of the larger assembly pieces for the fuselage. The kit's instructions do a really poor job of assisting you with the ideal way to join the 2 sides and the upper part of the fuselage.
The quality of the model plastic is great and there is very little sprue related sanding or fixing required from the injection process. Perhaps the biggest issue to deal with is the sheer size of this model, it is huge! So, dry- fitting and handling large subassemblies is not easy and care must be taken. The wings and tail fins are really done well and assembly is solid with no wiggle after attaching them to the aircraft.
> Beginning the Acft Assembly
First up was assembling the major components of the cockpit, bomb bay, bombardier station, tail gunner area and radio room. Some decent detail parts are included for the main crew areas, but nothing in the instructions offers you assistance in what they are or why they go where they go. Throughout this building I referenced David Doyle's B-17 Flying Fortress, (Vol. 2: Boeing's B-17E through B-17H in World War II). This book is part of the "Legends of Warfare: Aviation" collection that is really well done and I highly recommend. Once the interior sections are done, I moved on to joining the fuselage. As mentioned, several parts were super hard to position right, such as the area by the tail fin and front edge where the plexiglass nose cone goes. There was some real fit problems.
> Painting the Acft
Once the majority of the aircraft main body was assembled, I gave the model an 90% ISO bath to remove chemicals and greasy fingerprints. I primed the model using Tamiya's excellent Fine Grey rattle-can Surface Primer. I prepped for airbrushing by masking the upper and lower halves of the aircraft. I wanted to paint my B-17G in its original Olive Drab color, which was the standard before the Allies achieved full air supremacy over Europe in the Fall of 1944 (OD painting was halted and the heavy bombers saved some weight).
For my primary color, the aircraft's OD paint, I went with 3 different Mr. Hobby paints color mixed together. Mr. Hobby's Mr. Color acrylic Olive Drab, Dark Green and Green. I thinned these for my airbrush using Mr. Hobby's excellent Leveling Thinner. Once mixed the 3 paints to the desired ratio, I applied them with my airbrush at 18psi.
I mixed Tamiya's XF-19 Sky Grey and XF-66 Light Gray together & thinned with 90% ISO for the bottom of the aircraft and airbrushed it free hand once the OD was dry. For my B-17s unit distinctive tail and wing tip markings, I mixed two reds from AV's Model Color line of acrylic paints and thinned the mix with their AV airbrush thinner, I was looking for a powerful, but faded red tone. After masking, I applied this red color with my airbrush at 18psi. A quick coat of Mr. Hobby's great Semi-Gloss clearcoat from a rattle can was sprayed on next.. Decals were applied at this stage as well using the kits thick decals as well as from Kit World's War Birds decals. Decal setting solution helped settle them onto aircraft. I sprayed the propellers with ISO thinned Tamiya's NATO and Rubber Black mix.
I applied Tamiya's Panel Line Accent Color product in black over the entire aircraft, one section at a time. I removed the excess with makeup applicators and cotton swaps dipped in Ammo's Enamel Odorless Thinner. This part was very enjoyable as it really brought out the kit's excellent details and I think it brings an extra element of realism to scale models. I had to scour a few panel lines with my razor panel line tool to add more depth to them.
Using Tamiya's X-19 Smoke color with a touch of XF-69 NATO Black, diluted with 90% ISO, I airbrushed engine exhaust on the model using this great picture of a well-worn B-17G over Europe in David Doyle's book for reference.
With the majority of the painting and wash completed, I began to affix the numerous clear parts to the model. Using a brass toothpick and "FlashFix" UV Liquid Plastic Welder Kit from Amazon, and a UV flashlight; I glued the canopies, nose cone and other clear parts on to the model. For the clear parts that had to be installed during construction, like the belly Ball Turret and the rear "Cheyenne" Tail Turret windshield, I used the excellent 1/32 mask product for this HK Models' kit from model accessory experts "eduard" part# JX155.
The main upgrade I did was excellent brass milled Master's Reality in Miniature Machine Gun Set for the 13 .50cal Browning Machine Guns, part #AM-32-058. Using a small handheld pin drill and bit, I widened the holes in the M2 bodies for the slightly larger brass turned barrels and set them with CA glue. I airbrushed these a mix of Tamiya NATO and Rubber Black, thinned with 90% ISO. These were vast improvements over the plastic barrels included in the kit.
I believe these barrels greatly enhanced the overall model. The machine guns really pop now.
Bombs with Mr. Hobby's Mr. Surfacer Gray 1500
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