RoR Step-by-Step Review 20120327* B-17G Flying Fortress 1-72 Revell 85-5861Kit Review The Revell Pro Modeler Series has created a very well detailed 1/72 version of the Boeing B-17G Bomber. The kit covers one of the truly iconic aircraft of WW II. By most aviation experts evaluation the B 17G is rated in the top 3 heavy bombers of all time. The B-17 series came into being in 1934 and continued to evolve and improve through 1945. These rugged planes truly helped bring Nazi Germany to the surrender table in May of 1945. For the Modeler: The Pro Modeler kit was brought out in 2011. I was very pleased to have a chance to tackle this exciting model. I had not built a multi-engine plane in more the 15 years so I knew this would a challenge to my rusty skills! The kit contains 187 very well detailed parts as well as a great set of decals. The decals may be used to recreate one of four aircraft. I choose to do Little Miss Mischief, which is actually 2 damaged planes that were put together to form a healthy bomber. The Waterloo Mark II had had its front severely damaged and Little Miss Mischief had taken a direct Flack hit in her radio compartment. So the mechanics at The Bassington Airbase patched the 2 together, which made for a very interesting pint scheme! This is the plane that I decided to complete. Covered in this Review: This is a well designed kit but If you want to perfect your build, basic construction; seam identification and repair methods; adhesive selection and application; modular assembly techniques; altered assembly sequence for easier finishing; using metalizer paints; tail gunner modifications; paint selection and application; masking methods; using metalizer sealers ;decal preparation and application; using decal setting agents; weathering methods with black washes and chalks; are all fully examined in this extensive 13 page, full-color Step-by-Step review.
Fig 000a This kit has attractive box art that catches your attention. The parts on the sprues have very little flash and are cleanly molded. The decals are very good for out of the box. The directions are in a 24 page booklet format and for the most part are easy to follow. There are a few exceptions that I will touch upon in the full review. Despite some part modifications and seam attention this is a very well made kit. Fig 00 I use Bob Smith Insta-Cure or Tenex liquid adhesives for most plastic parts depending on the time and viscosity required for setup. Construct the interior components and prepare them for painting interior green. For this I used Model Masters Interior Green #34151 I began the project by washing the parts in Testor s Plastic Prep. I allowed the parts to dry for a day before beginning construction. I approached the model as a series of sub-assemblies; I constructed the bomb bay section first. I next moved to the cock pit and bombardier sections. Once these were together I moved to the radio operator s compartment. The next step was to paint all of these with the base coat of interior green. At this time I also painted the interior fuselage halves the same interior green. I allowed these to dry thoroughly overnight. Then I did the detail painting and decal work on the interior sections. It was at this point that I had to stop and go through the instruction sheet (which I should have done earlier) to find the details for the various compartments. These will be found on page 22, while the construction of the various sections is on pages 5-8.
Fig 02 While these were drying I air brushed all of the 50 cal. machine guns that would be added to the plane at various stages during the build. I used the Testor s non-buffing gun metal. Fig 03 The next phase of construction called for the placement of the sub-assemblies into the right half of the fuselage. For the most part, these went into place well. I also added the 50 cal. waist machine guns and the small windows. While the right side settled, I placed the 50 cal. machine guns into their positions and placed the small windows in their places. It was time to do more sub-assemblies. This consisted of building the ball turret, the top turret, and the tail gunner s position. The first two assemblies really went smoothly. The pieces fit together well with minimum sanding required.
Fig 03a The tail gunner s position had some issues. First of all, the armor plate had to be trimmed to accept the machine guns. Secondly the bulkhead needed to be drilled from the outside to accept the gun s barrels as no holes had been predrilled. The last step in this process was to install the radio compartment s window. Fig 04 I was now ready to connect the fuselage halves. I applied adhesive to the fuselage half edges and wrapped them in rubber bands until they were cured. The turrets were installed and the rear gunner s position was added at this time. The rear came together very nicely with no fill needed. Up front was a little different. From just forward the top window through the nose there was a gap that was going to need filling and sanding. This really wasn t a huge task. I used some Insta-Cure to fill the gap and shaped it after it dried. The top turret is removable, so it did not get in the way of filling and sanding. I next added the windscreen, small windows to the front, the nose, and the side panels with the machine guns in place. The final step here was to add the rudder halves. Fig 05 The next phase of the build brought me to the wings and their various components. I began by assembling the nacelles and placing the firewalls in their places. I then airbrushed these the appropriate interior green.. You can build the interior wing flaps in the open position if you like. I chose to build them in the closed position. The wing halves were now glued together as were the stabilizer flaps. The stabilizers were then attached to the fuselage.
Fig 05a Our next step brought us to the engines. I was impressed with the detail of the four engines. The plastic is appropriate to scale and really looks good when completed. After painting and detailing the engines, I thoroughly let them dry before moving on. I debated whether to use the open or closed cowl flaps. I finally settled on the open flaps; it sounded good at the time! I added the turbo chargers and air intakes next. Fig 05b I was finally ready to add the wings. The addition of the wing support extension from the bomb bay bulkhead makes the attachment of the large wings very easy and gives great alignment. At this point I took a few days off to let things settle solidly. You start to appreciate the size of these beasts, even in 1/72 scale at this point in the build!
Fig 06 & 06a The last steps in construction involved the adding of the belly parts. I first added the landing gear. The gears were air brushed aluminum and then placed in the wheel wells that were painted steel color. I waited to add the wheels until I had painted the 17. I took the same approach with the bomb bay doors. I air bushed both the exterior and interior sides before attaching them to the plane. The same would hold true for the last of the machine guns and other small pieces that would be placed after the Little Miss Mischief had been painted. Fig 07 I was drawn to Little Miss Mischief because of her history and the combined paint scheme she carried. Her rear section and port wing panel carried the olive drab of the early B 17 F&G models, which Waterloo Mark II was. She also carried the bright red tail and wing tips (for those I used Model Masters Insignia Red) from the 91 Bomb Group. Her underside, from the ball turret position back was medium gray. Finally, her front and wings were the bare aluminum of the late B 17 Gs which Little Miss Mischief was. She flew with the 324th Squadron.
Fig 08 The first thing I realized about this paint job was that I would be doing a lot of masking. I started with the solid colors and worked my way to the two shades of aluminum. I started with the Insignia Red on the tail and wing tips. I simply used newspaper and Tamiya masking tape for the initial painting. I gave the red two days to dry and then did the medium gray of the belly. I used the same masking approach. The third color to be laid down was the olive drab. I had to mask the pre-painted red, from the sections to be painted aluminum. The rear fuselage, the insides of the nacelles, the left wing panels where the National Emblem would go, and the area in front of the wind screen would all be painted olive drab. This definitely was a time consuming masking venture. In the end it was well worth the effort. Now that all of the flat colors had been put down, it was time to mask those areas so that I could put down the aluminum and aluminum plate non-buffing paints. The ailerons and a few selected panels on the wings received the aluminum plate. I sprayed over these sections then with the metalizer sealer. Again I waited a couple of days before proceeding. Finally I masked off all of the areas that weren t going to be sprayed with the aluminum coat and air brushed those areas. I then sprayed the metalizer sealer over the aluminum coat. Fig 09 I next put a clear coat gloss finish over the flat colors so that they would accept the decals that were about to go on Little Miss Mischief. As I stated earlier in this review, I really was impressed by the quality of the decals. From the large National Emblems, to the beautiful nose art and the smallest direction decals, they were great! I had no problem laying them down using the Micro-Scale system. A final Flat clear coat over the previously painted Gloss Coat and she was ready to weather.
Fig 16a I painted the wheels steel and the tires POLLY Scale Brunswick Green and placed them on the landing gear, added all of the remaining machine guns to their positions, all antennae, and added the bomb bay doors. I also started the initial weathering with a wash of acrylic black paint for the exhaust, gas, and oil stains. Fig 10 Top view of the almost completed Little Miss Mischief.
Fig 12 The last step before weathering was the painting, decaling, and installation of the four propellers. I first air brushed the props with Testor s semi-flat black paint. After allowing the paint to dry, I used the Micro-scale System to prep and add the decals to the propellers. Micro-scale is a two part system: First brush the area where the decal will be placed with Micro-set. Apply your decal, and brush on Micro-Sol. This will settle the decal firmly to the model. I then used a light coat of clear flat to seal and blend the decals and paint. Finally I added the propellers to the aircraft. I waited a day and then weathered the plane with a variety of pastel chalks to give the effects of a plane that had seen a very rough career, which she had! I heavily streaked the wings and stabilizers with chalks using a combination of rusts, light gray and tan.
Fig 13 A good view of the decals on the wings, including the walk-way areas. Fig 25 Little Miss Mischief in all of her glory! The decals are really wonderful in this kit.
Fig 16 The start of the weathering process on the upper surfaces. Fig 17 The in-place decals and exhaust stains on Little Miss Mischief.
Fig 19 The head on view; even in 1/72, this is an impressively powerful looking Warbird! Fig 20 The front port view showing the fine nose art on Little Miss Mischief.
Overview I really did enjoy this build. The kit had very few flaws and it definitely presented this builder with challenges and decisions that kept me interested and excited about building this fantastic piece of American Military History. The kit did contain the decals and special parts for two completely different planes as well as the paint scheme for Little Miss Mischief before her union to Waterloo Mark II. If you like small scale and great detail, I feel that this kit would fit into your collection nicely.