B-17G Progress
Front, cockpit and middle interior PE finished and the scratch build for the bomb bay. Also added the ribbing that will be seen through the front crew hatch and opened the crew doors into the cockpit between the chairs.
Rear compartment and rear gunner PE finished. Also added some ribbing that will be seen through the rear crew hatch.
I really like the detail of the Eduard PE for the crew door and hatches. I also cut out the internal doors as I will have them displayed open.
Rear crew door and hatch opened in the fuselage.
Front crew hatch and bomb bay opened in the fuselage.
3D printed Barrels painted with Mr.Metallic Color 214 and buffed with a cotton bud. The barrels were modeled in Autodesk Fusion 360.
All of the interior is now finished and painted. The desk lamp is a resin 3D print of my own design. Also in Fusion 360.
The maps are just printed on paper and glued to the table using pva glue. The fire extinguisher is a resin 3D print.
The Eduard PE for the front chair enables it to swivel with the front gun turret located beneath it.
All the extra detail is Eduard PE from the BigEd set.
I opted to open the crew entry doors between the seats.
I also opted to open the door to the rear of the cockpit. It is half closed as otherwise there would be no room to have the rotating top turret.
The map bags are also Eduard PE.
I messed up when putting the radio together, so the front panel is too large... 🙁. The code sheets are actually decal application instructions. ;D
Here I also opted to have the door to the bomb bay open.
Eduard PE ammunition boxes for the ball turret.
The whole assembly finished and ready to marry to the fuselage.
A little extra detail with Eduard PE and resin 3D printed oxygene tanks.
I still have not put in the rear gunners seat. I will do that when assembling the fuselage halves.
Here you can see the top turret and the reason why the door to the bomb bay is half closed. I want to have the clearance to be able to turn the turret 360 degrees.
Top turret finished. I still have to add the sights on the gun barrels.
the only PE on the turret is the seat belt.
Ball turret is also finished.
Engines and propellers are finished. There is some Eduard PE on the engines.
Only a little PE detail in the wheel wells.
Eduard PE for the wing where the flaps will be mounted.
Flaps finished.
I've added the ammo rails for the machine guns. Also part of the Eduard PE set.
I had to add some extra styrene to mount the machine guns so they can be rotated.
Interior glued to the right fuselage part and the ammo rail glued to the machine gun. Styrene was added to make this machine gun rotate too.
I had to add some styrene to build the lamp in the landing light.
Black paint sprayed and Molotow liquid chrome to make a reflector.
I added UV curable clear glue to make the lamp glass.
My handy helper tools 😉.
Result after gluing the clear part to the wing.
I removed the molded details from the tail and added styrene rods instead as the molded parts did not line up.
The fuselage is glued together and the ammo rails are glued to the machine guns. I had to remove the bomb sight to be able to glue the top round window in place. I will add it again after painting the plane.
Pre shading the wings with Tamiya XF-2 on top of a black base Tamiya XF-1.
The fuselage is also black based and marbled. This was a whole lot of work. Hope it is worth it..
Base camo finished and the pre-shading can be seen through the coat 🙂.
YOu can also see the pre-shading in the red parts, but the color is so vibrant in photos that it is hard to see.
As you can see I managed to break off one of the gun barrels while handlng the model during masking/painting. Just another thing to fix later on..
I still have the masking of the turbo chargers left on my todo list.
Masking for the first layer of the insignias.
Masking the second layer.
Second layer is finished. I like the result 🙂.
The yellow lettering also has a white base layer.
Time for thes second set of masks for the tail plane.
And the final set of masks for the tail plane.
All the insignia is finished.
The turbo chargers are masked and painted with Mr.Color Burnt Iron.
The Eduard PE cowl flaps are super glued to the engine cowls.
Cowls and flaps masked painted and clear coated.
The rest of the plane is also clear coated. Next is decaling.
I made the bomb bay door openers from styrene plastic.
Bomb bay doors mounted.
Styrene rods used to replace the antennas that I broke off during handling.
First step in building up the positioning lights. Molotow liquid chrome.
Second step was the clear colors, and third is the UV cured clear glue.
Only clear paint over the Molotow liquid chrome on the wing lights.
I added some khaki paint to the canvas covering the gun mounts.
The machine guns were glued to the ammunition rails with super glue before mounting the windows.
Windows painted, and gun mounts in place.
Flaps in place.
The Eduard PE crew doors in place.
I love the detail on this door. The window is a piece of clear plastic from packaging that I found. The clear part from the kit did not fit.
I didn't have EZ-line that was thick enough, so I used 0.2 mm styrene rod for the antenna wires. It is a bit too thick, but at least you can see it. 😉
I found two different drawings for the antenna wires, so I just chose to do this one as it looks nice. 😉
It is a big plane, so taking photos outside with a 100 mm lens helps remove the lens abberations I get on the mobile camera. And the sunshine is so nice today. 🙂
Of course I forgot the last little PE antenna before I took the pictures outside, so here is a closeup of that too. 😉
Finally sitting in its place along the Catalina and the Lancaster. Next plane will have to be something small! 😉
Really nice detail of the figures that came with the kit, and no assembly required.
Result after base painting all the colors.
The finished figures after dry brushing highlights and washes for shadows and grime effect.
My little helpers taking a break and working on the B-17.
The bomb loading cart that came with the kit was very basic. The only modification I did was scoring the flat top of the cart so it looks like planks of wood. The rest is paintwork and weathering.
I'm thinking of building some bombs to put on the cart. Right now, the story is that the bomb bay is fully loaded and the cart is waiting for transport back to the bomb storage facility. 😉
Komentáre
20 5 January 2020, 13:18
Björn SvedbergFirst progress pictures of this build. I've made most of the modifications to the fuselage including opening up all the crew doors, the bomb bay and most of the interior doors. I've also finished most of the PE for the interior and added some more ribbing that will be visible through the openings on the finished model.
5 January 2020, 13:22
Hans-Jürgen HaagGreat Job Björn, i like it. The top over the Bomb Bay has the same round inner Profile as the Frame of the Wireless room. The bulg with the Cockpit wes set up on the round fuselage.
5 January 2020, 19:34
Björn SvedbergThanks Mates, You are all very welcome!
Yes, the plane will be closed up and the clear parts are not very good so the interior will be hard to see, but working on it is so much fun and I will take lots of photos before closing it up so there will be more detailing😉.
My plan for the bomb bay is only to give it some sort of structure as the kit didn't come with any details except for the center bomb racks and the walkway. Most of the view will be obstructed by the bombs anyway.
This is a large project so it will probably take a few months to finish. I'm taking my time and enjoying the build 🙂.
6 January 2020, 16:49
Mike DayGreat job so far. I have the Monogram 148 B-24 and will be doing all the Eduard upgrades too. Will you be keeping the panel lines?
7 January 2020, 18:44
Björn SvedbergThanks Stephan and Mike!
Mike, I wish I had a 1:48-scale B-24! Its another favorite of mine, and I'm looking forward to see your build 👍. But to answer your question, I'm sticking with the panel lines. It is too much work to remove and re-scribe them and I don't really mind them. They look good on this model, but I'm thinking about adding some riveting. I just have to find some good reference first.
Cheers! 🙂
11 January 2020, 21:37
Björn SvedbergAnother update. 🙂
I wasn't happy with the gun barrels in the kit. Too much flash and poor quality molding made them look awful, so I designed my own in Fusion 360 and 3D printed them instead. I painted them with my favorite Mr.Metallic Color 214 Dark Iron and buffed them with a cotton bud. I really like the effect. 🙂
11 January 2020, 21:41
Björn SvedbergThanks coporado and Nathan! 🙂
I am almost finished with the interior now, so I felt it was time to show a few more progress photos. I added a few extra 3D printed details like the lamp, the oxygen tubes and the fire extinguishers. I also added the maps and the code sheets for the radio operator.
Cheers!
23 January 2020, 09:31
bughunterBjörn, you accidentally shrunk your desk lamp!😎 You know, I like details a lot, and here we have a lot of them 👍
23 January 2020, 17:11
Nathan DempseyInspiring work Björn. I'll admit I've ordered many items recently for my 1:48 B-24D after seeing this build.
23 January 2020, 19:12
Spanjaardexcellent job you are doing in this "little" airplane. i love the details. the desk lamp i really fantastic.
24 January 2020, 21:17
Björn SvedbergThank you Mates! I'm really appreciative of your comments, and hope I can live up to the expectations. 🙂 This build has really grown since I started it, so we will see where it ends..
Another update, the engines and propellers are finished.
25 January 2020, 15:47
Roland SachsenhoferWow, just saw this! Wonderful work and what a plenty of well reproduced details! Beautiful work; i am keen to follow this!
25 January 2020, 16:15
Björn SvedbergThank you Roland, and you are welcome! 🙂
Another update, I have finished all of the interior work and glued the fuselage together. I also added a bit of extra detail to the landing lights and started the pre shading of the wings. Next will be pre shading the rest of the plane. It is alot of repetetive work and it's a big plane, so it will take some time..
3 March 2020, 18:57
coporadoNice to follow that progress. The work on those landing lights was absolutely worth it, looks great! I really like all the interior detail, superb mate.
4 March 2020, 05:51
Björn SvedbergThank you coporado for your nice words! 🙂
A bit of masking and painting later..😉 The base color scheme is now finished and most of the insignias are also in place. Next will be masking and painting the turbo chargers, and then for some clear coat and decals.
17 March 2020, 15:26
Tim HeimerYou are doing some awesome work here! Hope you're enjoying the build as much as we are!
17 March 2020, 15:36
Björn SvedbergThank you Tim! 🙂
Alot of the time it is a bit frustrating, but the painting is always fun!
17 March 2020, 15:40
bughunterA cutting plotter is a useful tool, the pic76 looks fantastic! The yellow letters on 77 looks are special, but I have not checked original pictures. I'm sure you are doing it right 👍
17 March 2020, 16:20
Björn SvedbergHello bughunter, always nice to get your input! 👍 Yes the vinyl cutter is useful😉. The design for the lettering is the same as the decal sheet, so I haven't really looked at references. I think the picture 77 is a little skewed from lens abberation in the mobile camera so it makes the letters look a little strange, especially the "R".
17 March 2020, 17:51
bughunterMy cutter is still very new. I use it with Oramask masking foil and creating the graphic with "Inkscape". For the "Sopwith" letters on my Schneider I rectified the images and loaded them into a background layer as base. But also for easy layouts it is a great tool, cutted some minutes ago circles to mask a fly wheel - much easier and precise compared to a manual circular cutter.
17 March 2020, 18:38
Slavo HazuchaCheers Björn - I haven´t seen this somehow - was a big fan of your Jug already but this breaks the boundaries both in size & ambition of detail 🙂
The interior looks great, the lamp - 👍. All the masking is paying off greatly - pic 76 looking awesome. All the shading is also really cool & steady. Will follow the grand finale, seems to be a really nice kit (love the material detail on the cloth surfaces...) & you are making it´s best sides really shine!
17 March 2020, 19:21
Spanjaardthose masks did work really nicely... i think i am going to get one of those silhouette cutters....
17 March 2020, 21:00
Björn SvedbergCheers bughunter! I also use inkscape. I usually set about 50% opacity on the background layer to make it easier to trace the detail. The build I had the most use of the cutter was the DC-3 Daisy that I built a few years ago. I usually use the Tamiya masking sheets for the masking. I also bought some FrisketFilm material that I was recommended a while back, but I haven't tried it yet. It is supposed to be really good for intricate detail.
17 March 2020, 21:37
Björn SvedbergThanks Slavo! 🙂
My builds tend to grow as time goes on and looking at builds, such as yours, on this forum really inspires me to go for more detail. 👍 I just hope I can up my game when it comes to the more tedious stuff like sanding and polishing also.. I need to work on my patience and my skills when it comes to tackling seam-lines, sink marks etc.
17 March 2020, 21:43
Björn SvedbergThanks Spanjaard! 🙂 The Silhouette is a fine machine. They are a bit expensive though, and you have to pay extra for the design edition of the software to be able to cut your own designs, which is really irritating. The licensing is also alot of hassle with activation/deactivation etc.. Other than that, I like it. 🙂
17 March 2020, 21:51
SpanjaardWhen I read in other build that you were using inkscape, the silhouette got quite some extra points!!!
17 March 2020, 22:44
Björn SvedbergGood information bughunter! 👍 Now I have to install it on a raspberry Pi to test it out😉.
18 March 2020, 07:10
Erik LeijdensGreat work as usual Björn! Impressive work on the interior and the riveting was worth the trouble too!
18 March 2020, 09:08
Wim van der LuijtJust browsed the entire album, very impressive work Björn! The added details really bring it to life.....
Question on the masks: what do you feed into the machine? are there sheets with kabuki tape on the market? Reading that it works in Linux is big plus, I've been running that for years on all my machines 😄
18 March 2020, 10:12
Spanjaardtamiya makes some sheets, but there are others. are those the ones you are using Björn?
Masking Sticker Sheet (1mm Grid Type) (Tamiya 87129, No)
Masking Sticker Sheet (Plain Type) (Tamiya 87130, No)
you can find several ones at
SCM Search: masking sheet
18 March 2020, 10:43
Björn SvedbergThanks Erik and Wim! 🙂
@Wim and Spanjaard, yes, I use the ones without the grid.
18 March 2020, 10:49
Gordon SørensenFantastic interior detailing, Björn! The masking for the markings worked great, they all look excellent!
18 March 2020, 12:40
bughunter@Björn and Wim: the plugin for Inkscape can be found here:
github.com/fablabnbg/inkscape-silhouette
Only Bluetooth is not working yet. The pairing with Linux works, but the plugin looks only on USB at the moment. Follow the readme (select the objects to be cut, Path->Object-to-path, Extensions->Export->Send to Silhouette)
I think the best results can be reached with "Oramask 810", cheap and allows very fine structures.
18 March 2020, 21:31
Björn SvedbergAnother update, I have assembled the and painted the Eduard PE cowl flaps and the cowls. I've also clear coated the whole airplane. Next is decals.
20 March 2020, 18:35
bughunterLooks like you need to start to search for a huge free space between your other models soon 👍
20 March 2020, 19:46
Slavo HazuchaLovely progress 👍 The semi-gloss finish on the propellers makes them look as right out of the factory!
20 March 2020, 20:36
Brian EberleAbsolutely awesome build. Fantastic modeling skills. I built this kit as a young teenager and it was my first love. I fondly recall the Paine Shepherd diorama brochure that came in the kit.
20 March 2020, 21:42
Nathan DempseySuch a grand build. Each new set of photos is a feast for the eyes. I must say I did get a laugh from the background octopuses giving the devil horns hand signal 😄
20 March 2020, 23:33
Björn SvedbergThank you Nathan! 🙂
Yet anothe update. I have finished the decaling and started working on the exterior detailing, such as the bomb bay doors, crew doors, machine gun fitting, position lamps and flaps.
28 March 2020, 12:38
Kerry COXI did one of these with the Eduard detail set and I can see you have had just as much fun as I did with the brass too. 👍 A superb job I have spent quite some time looking at your work. 🙂 I love your result. 👍 The desk lamp was what won me over. hehehehehehehe 😉
28 March 2020, 18:54
Björn SvedbergThank you coporado, bughunter, Kerry and Slavo! 🙂
@Kerry, I shold have made a little model kit box of the Revell B-17 and put it on the navigators table, that would have been really fun😉.
I just finished the model, so I'm on course to final victory.., I hope😉. Next up is the bomb cart and the figures. I took some pictures outside in the wonderful spring sun that we have today. Hope you like it. 🙂
29 March 2020, 15:49
Björn Svedberg@Brian Eberle, sorry, I missed your comment! Thank you! 🙂
I had forgotten about the diorama brochure, It is really nice! 👍
29 March 2020, 16:09
Tim HeimerWow! That looks great! Nice work mate, that's something to be proud of!
29 March 2020, 18:00
Nathan DempseyI agree, that's a wonderful build 🙂 Really makes me want to pull out that B-24 kit!
29 March 2020, 18:26
Kerry COXBjörn, you have excelled yourself and earned every compliment you will get from all of us. 👍
The eduard kit is just what this kit needs, even though 80% of it is hidden from view. 🙁
But those main flaps were a gem and not that straight forward to do, so a big SALUTE from me on that effort.👍
I love it. 🙂 🙂 🙂
29 March 2020, 21:01
Slavo HazuchaLooking truly great out there in the sunshine! 👍 I think the extra mile with the masking of major elements really pay's off in these pictures with the consistent appearance in light & shadow, and the finer stuff like open doors and flaps adds even more good scale appearance.
I can almost hear the coughs of the engines getting started... 🙂
PS: & we know it's all in there, lamp & stuff😉
29 March 2020, 22:27
coporadoA masterpiece, congrats! As slavo mentioned all that detail and the clean build is just amazing. Fortunately that bird has a lot of glas, making some parts of the loveley interior detail visible.🙂
30 March 2020, 04:14
DanielThis came out great, so many details to look at! (And so many you cant really look at😉 ) Very very impressive! 👍
30 March 2020, 10:18
Wim van der LuijtAmazing final result! This really is an inspiration to us all....
30 March 2020, 13:08
Björn SvedbergThanks all of my model building buddies for the positive feedback, it means alot to me! 🙂
After a few monts of not building anything, I decided it was time to finally put an end to this project by paining the figures and the bomb loading cart that came with the kit.
Onto something different, finally!😉
25 July 2020, 12:51
Dave FlittonI remember this back in the day. It did not survive my parents cleaning when I went to college
7 October 2020, 15:28
Björn SvedbergThank you Hans, Spanjaard, Micky and Dave! 🙂
It was alot of work to finish this, so it will probably take some time until I tackle such a project again.😉
12 October 2020, 14:45
Hanno KleineckeLovely details, especially the interior and doors. Admiration for your painted markings !
12 October 2020, 16:00
Album info
My progress pictures of the build of the Revell B-17G with the Eduard BigEd photo etch pack.
