Sven what a fantastic repaint ... Nice Work!
Sven what a fantastic repaint ... Nice Work!
Wow, very sharp Sven!
That would be great. I would very much like to see how you do it, as I'm sure others would too. Of course, replicating those kind of results will probably takes many attempts I imagine.Originally Posted by miscmini
Nice looking planes. All of you have done a great job
Here are a couple of Ares B-17G aircraft from the 91st BG: "Mount 'N Ride" and "Little Miss Mischief." The nose art are homemade decals reduced from 1/48 scale sets I have. The lettering and stars/bars on MnR are Shed Model decals while the LMM decal lettering was homemade. I used Model Master and Tamiya paints. MnR only flew a handful of missions, so I elected to use the darker Tamiya olive drab XF-62 on her, while the well-worn LMM received the more faded appearing Model Master FS34087. The exhaust on LMM was created using black art chalk shaved into dust and applied with a small brush, then lightly wiping off the excess.
I have placed a few more photos in a B-17 album on my page, so please feel free to take a look.
Beautiful. I keep thinking I should do a flight of B-17s eventually.
Last edited by flash; 01-05-2016 at 12:11. Reason: spurious pics
Very good decal work Dave. It finishes them off superbly.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Thank you gentlemen. Foz, I highly recommend you do a flight... It helps me pass the time while waiting for new Ares offerings. Not to mention I find it fun and relaxing.
I forgot to mention in the description, the radio man's gun was broke during the process. I drilled it out with a Micro-Mark drill and bit then cut a staple used it as a replacement.
I keep on thinking about cheating and getting a few of the ones from Hogan's Wings. I'm having issues painting currently. Bad hands.Thank you gentlemen. Foz, I highly recommend you do a flight... It helps me pass the time while waiting for new Ares offerings
I forgot to mention in the description, the radio man's gun was broke during the process. I drilled it out with a Micro-Mark drill and bit then cut a staple used it as a replacement.
Sorry to hear that. That might be a good option until things improve and Fuddy Duddy would go well with Bit O Lace.
Not sure if they will improve, let alone when. But yep, a visit to my local Ebay outlet soon for Chinese purchases ahead. I have a couple of Hogan's Zeros.
These look gorgeous, Dave! Quite the inspiration to do up a couple myself - the Dark Side beckons!
All the best,
Matt
Beautiful work there Dave.
Super paint jobs!
Thank you for the compliments gentlemen. I'm glad you like them.
I think that I've just attached a couple of photos of B.17s that I made for a show game in 2014.
I modelled the entire box of 20 planes for 381st bomb group flying in the lead low box during the first attack on Schweinfurt on 17th August 1943.
I'll post some more about this if the attachments work.
Wow! What an undertaking to build an entire armada! Very nice. I bet that was a fun game.
Well that worked I think so I'll carry on.
The show game was set over Schweinfurt on 17th August. I chose to model the bomb group that had taken the greatest casualties, the 381st flying out of Ridgewell. They were part of the 1st bombardment wing.
The top photo shows the box right over Schweinfurt on the point of bomb release. A friend painted the base boards to look like recce photos. Total board size was 8 foot by 4 foot.
Players took me109, or fw190 fighters and every now and again an me110 the object being to shoot down the bombers before running out of fuel/ammo/getting short down.
The second photo shows a bomber that has taken engine damage and has fallen back out of formation. The fw190s and me109 are trying to shoot it down before it leaves the playing area when it is deemed to make it back to base. A P.47 (converted Revell bubbletop) is intervening played by an umpire. This represents the fighter cover that was available closer to home.
The photos are a bit fuzzy but they were taken with a very cheap camera during actual game play (which could include a bit of barging about).
The planes are actually rather better than they look here. I researched the aircraft available to the 381st on the day and modelled them including serials, individual call letters, squadron codes, and nose artwork as applicable. Mostly my own decals but also a wide variety of commercial letters/numbers when I could get a match.
In truth the box was not 100% correct because I included aircraft from all 4 of the squadrons of 381st bomb group but some were in another composite box.
Of the 20 aircraft on table all but 3 are positively verified to have taken part in the raid. Those 3 and a couple of game spares were available so may have taken part depending on serviceability on the day.
It's not WOWS but it could have been.
The research took many months since I wanted to do a proper job. As a participation game it was very well received and over the six or seven shows we attended, several hundred players took part. My club Staines Wargamers specialise in big participation games and Scweinfurt had been preceeded by Pearl Harbour and Taranto to name just the air warfare games recently.
The rules developed over the series in tune with the aspect that I wanted to concentrate on. Taranto was about trying to get a good torpedo run. Pearl had this plus dive and level bombing with some defensive fighters in the mix. Schweinfurt was just air to air combat.
A very impressive group Tim. With that sort of dedication, you are not only going to fit in well here, but also get a lot of kudos from other pilots. There is nothing we enjoy more than celebrating a fellow members achievements, and looking at the pictures.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Tremendous work, Tim... brilliant! Please continue to share!
Simply spectacular, Tim! I'm sure it was must more impressive in person...
I look forward to whatever you add as time goes forward
All the best,
Matt
I managed to dig out one box of B.17s so I took some quick pics of a couple, Ole Swayback and Lucky Lady.
I'll do some better when I can get to all the Schweinfurt stuff in my loft.
Rusty (Tim)
I found some more pics from a show on my old camera. Here they are.
The photo of a Fw.190 with B.17 23180 'Forget Me Not' has the aircraft call letter Y on the fuselage just under the radio op's position. This was common on 533rd squadron (VP) on the first Schweinfurt raid but rare on the 532nd (VE) and 534th (GD) while the 535th (MS) did not carry aircraft call letters on the fuselage.
The game had 8 Fw190 and 8 Me109 available a couple are seen here having flown out of the side of the bomber box. The black b.17 shape in the background shows that 'M, Winsome Winn' has fallen out of formation.
The fortress falling in flames is Green Hornet of 534th squadron.
Rusty (Tim)
Well, I've been looking online for units that flew the B-17 in Italy, and I've found several that have suitably lovely schemes...like there was any doubt I'd find some, right!?
Looks like my FLGS will be seeing my Dark Side Heinie later this week...
All the best,
Matt
Matt,
I admit to being fortunate with my choice of 8th airforce unit for the game. There is a very good unit history to start with. Then there are the 'standards' Freeman's Mighty Eight series, Middlebrook's Scweinfurt volume, Ospreys and several other books that deal with the raid. The Luftwaffe response is covered but there is much less detail the specifics for the day to help with colour schemes. Notably Wutz Galland and Heinz Knoke feature so some of the Luftwaffe planes are OK but I had to cut corners with about half of them.
The final pieces of the jigsaw about nose art came from the 381st veterans website. I probably got the entire list of B.17s allocated to 381st from there or via there. Then I went through the acceptance dates and struck off charge dates for each squadron. That gave me all the planes possible but in the absence of engineering data I had to identify the planes from Middlebrook's book backed up by other accounts.
My clubmates complain that I get a bit obsessive with detail.
I can't help much with unit histories for Italy.
Tim
I'm looking at the 99th Bombardment Group as my unit for B-17s, Tim - nice potential, I think, for some interesting color schemes...
Searching around on the internet has turned up some suitable schemes, and their tail insignia is pretty straight-forward.
I shall share some pictures down the road as I succumb...
All the best,
Matt
Interesting choice of unit. Their website has far less that that for the 381st but unlike me you are not doing a particular single raid. Nose art references seem a bit thin on the ground.
I noticed that there is a unit history about the Diamondbacks but I haven't seen it myself so I can't say how useful it may be.
I picked up an interesting mention of a raid on Udine? in early Jan 44. The raiders were shadowed by P.47s flying at low level to avoid radar. These were then able to interdict the German fighter airfields just before the fighters took off. At least that's the claim. I can imagine a scenario with B.17s, german fighters ready for take off then suddenly P.47s turn up without warning at the German base line.
Rusty (Tim)
And two more make six. The plane from the 384th BG (P) is kind of a tribute to a recently deceased father of a friend. He was a navigator and flew on 20 different B-17's during his tour, so I decided not to make it a specific aircraft.
nice! i like the "little miss mischief" in the background!
Excellent group of B-17's!
Nice flight of B-17s!
Colin Kelly's B-17C of the 30th Bomber Squadron, 19th Bomber Group looking for Japanese shipping near Luzon, 10 December 1941. Armaments in Miniature model, Aerodrome Accessories prop discs, painted with Model Master and Vallejo paints. Decals Mehusla and home made. Added more background lighting, but my model photography is still a work in progress (although hopefully improving). Kelly did lightly damage the light cruiser Natori before being shot down by A6Ms of the Tainan Air Group; while he didn't sink or crash into the battleship Haruna (which was nowhere near the Philippines), as the American press claimed, he still more than earned his posthumous DSC by keeping his burning airplane straight and level long enough for his crew to bail out.
Very nice rendition Darryl, and thanks for the backstory too.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
For many years, Saburo Sakai was credited with shooting Kelly down; even if he didn't, I'm pretty sure he'd have said the same thing, since he tried to get a commendation for an Australian Hudson pilot he'd shot down many years after the war, being amazed by the way his victim had flown his plane.
Very nice!
lovely!! i love these early 17s!!!!Colin Kelly's B-17C of the 30th Bomber Squadron, 19th Bomber Group looking for Japanese shipping near Luzon, 10 December 1941. Armaments in Miniature model, Aerodrome Accessories prop discs, painted with Model Master and Vallejo paints. Decals Mehusla and home made. Added more background lighting, but my model photography is still a work in progress (although hopefully improving). Kelly did lightly damage the light cruiser Natori before being shot down by A6Ms of the Tainan Air Group; while he didn't sink or crash into the battleship Haruna (which was nowhere near the Philippines), as the American press claimed, he still more than earned his posthumous DSC by keeping his burning airplane straight and level long enough for his crew to bail out.
Great model! I also love these early B-17's! Well done, like the colors!
Last edited by clipper1801; 06-14-2016 at 12:54.
I'd long thought Kelly's Fort was OD and gray until a little research proved otherwise. Not only did it make for an attractive model, but I now also have an excuse for eventually doing an early war olive drab and neutral gray B-17E
That looks great Darryl, I especially like the spinning props. Very nice!
finally, at long last ive gotten these guys done. the first 1 is a b-17b wearing an earlier aircorp blue and yellow paint scheme. i always though that the b-17 would look attractive in this scheme even though if was phased out a couple years before the b-17 was introduced.
the next one is a b-17d the swoose that flew navigational and weather mission out of Australia before being used as a generals "hack" aircraft. it is the only remaining early "shark fin" b-17d in existence and is currently undergoing restoration at the usaf museum in dayton/vandalia ohio.
the last is an early b-17e depicting the hapless ones that flew into hawaii during the attack on pearl harbor "unarmed and out of gas".
id like to give a big thank you to our resident "war material production czar" clipper for making the lovely early shark fin b-17s, as well as cappy tom for the propeller discs, and miscmini for making me the decals that finally let me get these lovely birds done!
Nice flight of B-17s, Phillip!
Voilŕ le soleil d'Austerlitz!
Yes, you have certainly made a very nice job of those Phil.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Very nice 17s Phillip. Love the pre-war colors.
Great photos of some really great models. Thanks
Well done - very nice result!
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
Very nice!
This whole thread is filled with really great planes. Love them!
When my wife's father gave me the old model of B-17, I knew I want it to fly. And I knew I want it to look briliant. He got it when he was a boy from one of his relaitons. It's pretty old model (Wiking modellbau I suspect) from aviation school in Prostějov. The school worked in 1925 – 1959 except 1939-45.
I decided to repaint it as a camarad for my Bit-o-Lace: Blonde Bomber II
My father in law was really satisfied. I hope you enjoy it too.
One can never have too many B-17's! Excellent work!
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