Revell 1/72 B17-G Flying Fortress.

[scottie3158]

Great work mate. Do the wings spars go all the way through those slots. As you would have lost a lot of rigidity in the fuselage and the wing may droop. Please bare in mind this is from someone who doesn't build wingy things.

 

[Jim R]

Maybe the worst, or at least the most daunting, part is over and done. Looks a neat job. Will you have to add floors? If so it may go some way to alleviating the rigidity issues Scottie mentioned.

 

[Mini Me]

Wow 570, not much left of the port side.........I have a name for your B 17........"SWISS CHEESE"

 

[spanner570]

Glad you folks approve of the 'Butchery' thus far. I certainly am glad to get it behind me......

Good point Paul. Luckily the main spar(s) goes through the fuselage, (See sprue shot of same) so hopefully no wing sag.

Jim. There are floors in the kit, but because more detail will be exposed than the kit maker intended, I will have to scratch build some extras - and plenty more besides.

Rick. Edam, that was clever! Now you see why your most excellent suggestion earlier in the thread about battle damage wouldn't have worked. Even a B-17 would struggle to keep airborne....

Thanks for all the great input boys.

Ron

 

[Tim Marlow]

Nice one Ada…..your B17 is holier than thou

 

[Jakko]

So, after consuming a can of best ale to calm me down, I wound up my 'Poundshop' Dremel lookalike

If I may offer a tip for future models like this? Using a fretsaw is much easier than drilling loads of holes and then cleaning up the jagged edges that leaves Though regardless of the method used, the end result you got to looks good, it should show off the interior very nicely.

 

[spanner570]

Thanks boys....

Jakko, thanks for the input, but a fret saw would be far too brutal. The frame is around 12" tall and trying to thread the blade into the tensioned frame numerous times would end in disaster and would result in breakage of the brittle plastic, particularly where the plastic 'gaps' was very narrow. Even a coping saw would be too risky.

Also, the problem arises of trying to fasten a half round, thin bit of plastic securely enough to saw through. How can a fret saw be used? With the mini drill, I laid the fuselage half on a flat bed and held it down whilst drilling.

Although the method I've used looks clumsy and heavy handed, I had far more gentle control than any other method I've used in the past.

None the less, thank you for your suggestion for anyone contemplating similar mutilation in the future.....

Ron

 

[Tim Marlow]

Thanks boys....

Jakko, thanks for the input, but a fret saw would be far too brutal. The frame is around 12" tall and trying to thread the blade into the tensioned frame numerous times would end in disaster and would result in breakage of the brittle plastic, particularly where the plastic 'gaps' was very narrow. Even a coping saw would be too risky.

Although the method I've used looks clumsy and heavy handed, I had far more gentle control than any other method I've used in the past.

None the less, thank you for your suggestion for anyone contemplating similar mutilation in the future.....

Ron

Whatever works for you works for you Ron .
However, if you ever do want to try an alternative, a Jewellers piercing saw is much gentler than a fret saw. The blades come with very much finer teeth

 

[spanner570]

Whatever works for you works for you Ron .
However, if you ever do want to try an alternative, a Jewellers piercing saw is much gentler than a fret saw. The blades come with very much finer teeth

....but the brittle plastic still needs to be fastened down to ensure a safe and secure way of removing unwanted material. Obviously a vice is to be avoided!

So with the half fuselage lying flat, how can one use a saw - Any saw?

 

[Tim Marlow]

....but the brittle plastic still needs to be fastened down to ensure a safe and secure way of removing unwanted material. Obviously a vice is to be avoided!

So with the half fuselage lying flat, how can one use a saw - Any saw?

Personally Ron I’d use something like this…..comes from the jewellery industry. I think it’s called a bench pin.

To make your cut outs, I would proceed as follows. Drill a hole in each corner of the cut out on the model. Thread the blade through, tension the saw, and then saw between the holes.
To support the fuselage, just hand hold the fuselage side against the long side of the bench support, and make sure the cut is right up against the edge. The workpiece is then fully supported. You pretty much move the workpiece up around the blade as you make the cut rather than the other way around.

I made my table out of a scrap of plywood, by the way, and it has scars all over it. I’ve used it for years and years, modified plastic kits and cut down to 10thou brass sheet on mine without distortion. You can actually bodge up any support you need and screw it to the bench pin.

If you haven’t come across the piercing saw, the saw blades go right down to 84 teeth per inch (8 O) and can be as thin as 0.15mm. They cut on the pull stroke, so press down the piece onto the support, and exert almost no pressure when on the upstroke. Not that obvious from this picture, but the blades you can see are all packs of ten…..


I‘m honestly not trying to tell you how to suck eggs, by the way. I just thought you sounded interested……if you aren’t, then just ignore this post

 

[Jakko]

a fret saw would be far too brutal.

I suspect my English terminology is off. I mean a saw like this:

In Dutch this is a figuurzaag, literally a figure saw, and the plank with a notch that Tim showed is a figuurzaagplankje, “figure-saw(ing) little-plank”

Used in the manner Tim describes for the shorter type of saw bow, you can make very accurate and fine cuts through plastic with one of them.

 

[boatman]

WELL 570 i used your idea on my tiger bridge windows where they are very fragile an then file them smooth an they came out ok an i think this is the best way to go but exscuse me you other guys with your saws but this is just my opinion
chrisb

 

[Tim Marlow]

I suspect my English terminology is off. I mean a saw like this:

In Dutch this is a figuurzaag, literally a figure saw, and the plank with a notch that Tim showed is a figuurzaagplankje, “figure-saw(ing) little-plank”

Used in the manner Tim describes for the shorter type of saw bow, you can make very accurate and fine cuts through plastic with one of them.

Terminology is fine Jakko…..that’s a fret saw……finer than a coping saw, but not as fine as a piercing saw…..I think I was lucky enough to go to school when they still taught woodwork and metalwork…..

 

[outrunner]

Great work, brings a whole new meaning to "spaceframe" construction.


Andy.

 

[spanner570]

I'm not going to argue or bang my head against the proverbial, but it will be sufficient to write that I spent all my working life as a joiner/carpenter (50 years) using a fret, coping (you name it) saw. Almost all my tools were hand powered, as electric drills and things were as yet a rare sight. I know what I'm talking about and for the application I have described about 50 pages ago, no saw would do the job as quickly, more convenient, safely, both to fingers and the plastic model, better than drilling out and smoothing.

Sorry to be so abrupt and I guess I might be alienated by certain members but hey, it's Christmas and I really don't give a st*ff anyway......



Meanwhile, back at the build.....

The comfortable seating arrangement.

The delightful deck chair for the pilot/co pilot and 'secretary stools' for other crew members......









Cheers.
Ron

 

[Tim Marlow]

Well, I never wanted to get you so bent out of shape Ron, but if you only read your own meaning into my posts, rather than what I actually wrote, then I suppose that was always going to happen.

Never mind….I don’t really give a stuff either. I’ve got far more serious things to worry about. I definitely won’t alienate anyone over such a pointless exercise as alternative ways to butcher plastic, so Merry Xmas to you and yours.

 

[spanner570]

Here is the cockpit.
The colours are probably wrong, I just went by the instructions. They'll do for me.



I made some rough seat belts from the instruction sheet paper. Black dashboard whatever it is, glued in place.


Front bulkhead fitted.



Finished cockpit.
I slightly altered the colours of the plywood floor, as the real colours tend to vary slightly from sheet to sheet.
Also there was no stbd. wall thingy or oxygen bottles, so I scratch built them from plastic card and sprue bits respectively.



Cheers.
Ron

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Here is the cockpit.
The colours are probably wrong, I just went by the instructions. They'll do for me.

View attachment 469608

I made some rough seat belts from the instruction sheet paper. Black dashboard whatever it is, glued in place.
View attachment 469609

Front bulkhead fitted.
View attachment 469610


Finished cockpit.
I slightly altered the colours of the plywood decking, as the real colours tend to vary slightly from sheet to sheet.
Also there was no stbd. wall thingy or oxygen bottles, so I scratch built them from plastic card and sprue bits respectively.
View attachment 469611


Cheers.
Ron

Wow!!
That's coming along a treat Ron
The cockpit looks awesome,gotta keep reminding myself that it's braille scale

 

[spanner570]

Thanks for the nice post, Andy.


Next up is the bomb bay.

This better shows the answer to Paul and Jim's question about rigidity of the port wing once the fuselage is ripped about.

The kit supplies four bombs, two each side. There was plenty of room for more, so I doubled the amount to eight from my bits bag.

Here are the kit components for the bomb bay.......The walkway, right centre, is upside down.


First coat brushed on.



Here's the initial stage of the bomb bay...The walkway and the eight bombs fitted on their racks and glued between the two main spar bulkheads.






As a bonus, I'm learning more about the guts of a B-17G as I tackle each stage of this terrific kit from Revell.

It might not be totally accurate, but such things don't bother me. I'll be adding bits as I go along. It's just a joy to build and am I having fun! That's all that matters. And at only £20 delivered, plenty of beer tokens to spend.

Cheers.
Ron

 

[scottie3158]

Thanks for the nice post, Andy.


Next up is the bomb bay.

This better shows the answer to Paul and Jim's question about rigidity of the port wing once the fuselage is ripped about.

The kit supplies four bombs, two each side. There was plenty of room for more, so I doubled the amount to eight from my bits bag.

Here are the kit components for the bomb bay.......The walkway, right centre, is upside down.
View attachment 469652

First coat brushed on.
View attachment 469653


Here's the initial stage of the bomb bay...The walkway and the eight bombs fitted on their racks and glued between the two main spar bulkheads.
View attachment 469656

View attachment 469657

View attachment 469658

As a bonus, I'm learning more about the guts of a B-17G as I tackle each stage of this terrific kit from Revell.

It might not be totally accurate, but such things don't bother me. I'll be adding bits as I go along. It's just a joy to build and am I having fun! That's all that matters. And at only £20 delivered, plenty of beer tokens to spend.

Cheers.
Ron

That's what it's all about Ron, having fun. And it's coming on a treat.