THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: THE B-17F BOMBARDIER FLOOR

Happy new year everyone! In this post I want to give you a preview of what the revised B-17F bombardier floor will look like in 1/48 scale. The credit for what follows belong solely to my North Carolina friend, who is utilizing a laser cutter to create the parts, and to Karl who has provided indispensable design information.

What follows are two paper mockups of the initial "cut" for the floor.





And here are two pictures of a reworking of the paper prototype down in North Carolina to provide more detail.





It really is beginning to "shape up" if you ask me.

Today I will be working in the cockpit reinstalling the control columns, the open hatch to the tunnel, and the pilot seats.

Brian,
The mockup of the floor really looks good. Now that's scratch building at it's finest.

Just was curious as to what the actual starting date of your epic build was: April 22, 2014. It's hard to believe that your approaching the start of your 3rd year. My guess is that you'll hit the 4 year mark before you finish Luscious Lady. But have no fear,I've been with you since day one, and all things being equal, will be with you when you finally cross the finish line.

Happy New Year

Joel

My personal happy new year wishes to you Joel. In looking back at my old emails on this build, I would say that I formed the intention to do it in, say, late June 2013. The first evidence I have of actual cut plastic goes back to pictures I sent in an email to my North Carolina friend on July 23, 2013. Here they are:





So, it has been a little less than 2 1/2 years since I started. I agree with you that at least another 18 months lies ahead of me before this is done, given my day job and workload and other things. That's unfortunate. But, it's inescapable. It's one of the reasons why I delayed starting this so long, because I had expected, well, you know.

"All things being equal." Now, I wonder what that's a euphemism for? You know, when the tailgunner of Luscious Lady was still alive and we were good friends there were times when we would plan to get together. For example, we gave a joint speech at the Air Force Museum in Dayton one evening titled "Eighth Air Force History, Living It and Writing It." I remember him saying to me on the phone after the arrangements were finalized, "well, I really look forward to seeing you there. Unless, of course, something happens." My own euphemism for this is "the actuarial factor."



I really do appreciate your support from the beginning. Every day I'm conscious of the "opportunity cost" this build has for me compared to the rest of the projects waiting in the stash, but if I didn't finish this one the rest wouldn't really be worth doing. "Luscious Lady" would become a harpy constantly pecking at me.

Nice paper deck, Brian. We all have a harpy. I have one that I need to remove all of the control surfaces and scratch build better looking articles. I walk past it every day, but as of yet haven't devised a plan.

Gary

Brian,
For you it's the build of a life time. None of my builds mean to me what your build means to you. Like I said, I'm a closet race car modeler. My favorite all time driver is Dan Gurney. Race: 1967 Spa. F1 Car: All American Racers Gurney/Weslake V12 Eagle. the only F1 he ever won in one of his own cars.

I'm waiting for a Hiro limited run 1/12 kit. If they ever make one. there is a 1/24 scale one available, but it's not what I want. Cost: Way more then I can ever afford.
Joel

RAISE YOUR SEATBACK TABLES PLEASE

As promised, threatened, stated with resignation, insert description of your choice, I returned to redo the pilot seats one more time. I did it because I had opened up the tunnel "basement doors," and this necessitated removal of the subassembly and creation of new seat legs. See the below drawing provided by Karl.



I completed the pilot seat tonight. If you look at the above diagram I can tell you what the letters on the pilot seat are.

A is an ammo bag for very pistol flare ammo. B is the flight manual for the aircraft. C is the bag holding the very pistol. And D is an ashtray.

In the below picture you can see that I installed A, B, and C in a reworked seatback.




So, what is that funny thing on the left rear seat leg near the bottom?

Not visible in any of the drawings that I am posting, but part of the spec and visible in another drawing, it is in fact a fireman's ax. This would obviously be useful if one had to smash one's way out of the aircraft following a crash landing.

Here's a better side view of it. "Scratch built" out of bits and pieces, and somewhat fun to put together. The black part is my attempt to represent a leather holder for the ax head.



I'll be starting work on the copilot seat tomorrow. That features a carbon tet fire extinguisher, a first-aid kit on top of another box and, surprisingly enough, a dispenser for Dixie cups!

Brian,
I'm really impressed at the added detail to the pilots seat. I'll be the 1st one to admit that it's worth the visit.
Joel

Fantastic work Brian, really like the way it is turning out!

And if I had realized you were going to hang that manual off the back of the seat, I would have sent you this picture. Note the small hole at the upper left:

Yeah, I knew I got it back-asswards after the fact (how did that happen!?), but I'm not gonna re-do it! It will only be visible in the most impressionistic way when the roof and windows are in. But I did like the way the decal created the impression of an embossed cover. I will also be touching up some of the white specks on the seat structure with the dark green. Funny how none of that is really visible to the naked eye but just leaps out at you with digital photos.

The impression of wear just seems to happen naturally as part of the building process. With all the fiddly bits here it would be a true nightmare trying to do this model "factory fresh."

The other thing I would say about the seats is that the toughest part of this, absolutely, is getting the seat leg lengths right.

Fascinating!

HAVE A SEAT, OR 2

I finally finished both pilot and copilot's seats and reinstalled them in the cockpit. Before that I had to reinstall the instrument panel and the control columns. After fiddling around with the "True Details" control columns I finally tossed them as being impossibly fragile, and modified the kit control columns to fit to the True Details floor. Kit parts include brass Boeing logos in the middle of the control yokes, courtesy the 2nd Eduard cockpit set I decided to purchase.

Anyway, below are some final changes to the pilot's seat:

In the first shot you will note that I repositioned the manual at the back of the seat.



In a 2nd shot you will see that I went a little crazier and added the pilot's preflight checklist hanging off the left side of the seat as shown in the drawing.



In the 3rd shot will see the copilot seat reinstalled. Just visible are the brass fire extinguisher above the dynamotor on the floor, the side of the first-aid kit (white) attached to the back of the document case on the seat rear, and below that the grey Dixie cup dispenser.

Far more important than all these details, however, is the fact that I got the damn thing back in. There was some trimming on the right of the seat that I had to do to eliminate some clearance problems, because it's a really tight fit up against the oxygen bottles, but it is rock solid.

If you look closely at the starboard bulkhead forward of the seat you will also see that I added oxygen hose.



Finally, here are 2 shots of both seats reinstalled.





Those of you who have followed this blog from the beginning know that the pilot seats have always been a nightmare for me. Clearance problems, incredibly frustrating measure twice and cut once issues, interferences with the side bulkheads that made the seats come loose, a rip out to install accurate seat armor, and a final rip out to reinstall the seats with the tunnel doors open between them, and with added detail per drawings kindly provided by Karl. It's been quite an effort.

Both seats are in very solidly now, and the only thing left in the cockpit is for me to reinstall the port bulkheads, rearrange the oxygen bottles, and reinstall a fire extinguisher on the after bulkhead.

For those who keep track of OCD modelers, I did a rough parts count on the pilot seat and there are actually something like 30 pieces of plastic, brass, and resin that went into making it the way it looks now. I would estimate that the copilot seat ran about 25 pieces or so.

I am looking forward to leaving the cockpit once and for all, at least at this stage in the build. Installing the top turret and the roof are down-the-road challenges. For now, I'm actually looking forward to getting this space finished & getting back into the nose.

Dude,
I am humbled by your ability to work on such fine details without making them look like glue blobs held together by spiderwebs. Your cockpit really looks great!

I'll never reach tour OCD level, bu this means details like yours are out of my reach. Very well done!

Gary

Hooray, he is back! We have missed you Brian, it has not seemed right without your updates ! Looking good. I can only imagine how much you are looking forward to putting this section behind you. The look you have achieved is well worth your hard work.

Brian,
OMG!!

This last visit to the cockpit has really transformed it to the level that you always wanted to attain. Impressed just doesn't do your detailing justice. Between the Pilot and Copilot seat you used, or made 55 pieces. Hell, most 1/72 aircraft kits don't have that many pieces for the whole kit.

have you test fitting both fuselage halves to see how the cockpit actually lines up with both halves?

I really think that all of us modelers have to some degree OCD, or we just wouldn't be that concerned with accuracy nor details.

Joel

Thanks to not just Joel but all of you for your kind feedback. I am my harshest critic, so it is reassuring to see that others like the work. If I haven't said it before, my attitude towards the build is that it really is a collective undertaking. I couldn't do this without Karl's technical expertise, the help of my North Carolina friend, and the encouragement that all of you have given me.

Joel, you are correct. The cockpit finally matches my hopes for it. I also have high hopes that the nose will now be done to a comparable level of detail. Still, there is something to be said for that latest build OOB of "Chowhound." I really do like how clean his cockpit looks.

As to fitting the fuselage halves together, you betcha! The problem with them is that there is some natural warping. This I remember from as early as the late 70s when I did my first Revell 1/48 B-17 (a rather paltry conversion of the kit to "Yankee Doodle," General Eaker's B-17E on the first 8th Air Force raid, 17 August, 1942).

Fitting this one together, depending on the level of pressure applied, there may be a gap either at the top or bottom nose that could be filled with a strip of styrene. Or, if there is enough pressure, it will close enough on its own to be acceptable. I don't know. Have to wait and see. But at least the parts fit together and there are no interferences from the internal details.

I suspect that most of the cockpit detail will not be seen, but I'm considering opening up the 2 pilots' side windows to allow a better view inside. I also did want there to be a "see daylight" view from the cockpit roof into the tunnel and out the escape hatch, and visa versa. That may be possible now.

I should get in some more work on this today. Getting the seats back in means getting this cockpit rebuild over the hump.

Looks Great! Brian

Still following along.

Cheers Rob.

Thanks for letting me know!

Brian

Brian,
I'm hoping that you're over the cockpit hump for the last time. The more light you can let in, the better it will be for the viewer. Can't wait to see how you photograph it.

Joel

It's fighting me every step of the way. Will detail that when I make more progress on oxygen bottle placement. No wonder I'm the only one crazy enough to try this!

Brian,
I know several guys who are actually crazier. Yeah, I know that's hard to believe, but they are. I know one guy that scratch builds 1/8 scale Porsche race cars. That's hard enough, but he only uses the most basic of hand tools. Another guy who spent more then 3 years super detailing a helicopter with all scratched out detail parts. And he did when the nationals and best in show a few years ago.

So my point is that you're in very good company. I wouldn't even be let in the door to hang with you guys. The keep out sign says: No Hackers Allowed

Joel

Well, Joel, that provides some perspective. The damnable thing about this is the uncertainty how the fuselage is really going to go together after I've hung all this stuff inside the shell. Getting the fuselage closed properly is my biggest concern about the whole build.

Brian,
Every build is that way for me. Even with the B-25B I needed to gently nudge it closed, and I didn't do anything special.

Can you dry fit the two halves and see if there will be issues that need to be dealt with?

Joel

Brian,
You are definitely not the only crazy one you should see the plans I have for mine when I get to it.

Cheers Rob.

Brian, your build continues to impress with both your attention to detail and your awesome scratch building skills. This blog is both an excellent learning module for advanced modeling techniques and a beautiful journey full of great eye candy.