At this point I'm pretty sure that Karl qualifies as a true authoritarian on the B-17. What's more he has pictures of just about any facet one is interested in, or needs to visualize it.

Gabriel,
Nicely done with the red tips and tail. From what I can see, you buffed those areas out perfectly. As for the belly, you really nailed the pre-shading as it just pokes out for a shaded effect along all those recessed panel lines.

Joel

*** UPDATE ***

Finally I had the time and the tools to lay the base coat. The paint is a home brewed concoction of craft acrylics and alcohol (IPA):


Wing detail. Now looks good, but let's see after the second coat and the "bleaching" squiggles:


The wavy demarcation line:


And now the bad news (for me): my fancy brand new out of the box two cylinder one gallon tank compressor broke after four cycles. Just enough to apply the base coat and to clean the airbrush. That was the most expensive layer of paint I ever applied.

Thank you for following,
Cheers!
Gabriel

Well,
At least the paint work looks good!

Gaz

Yes, the paint has come out well but bad news on your compressor. Can you return it under warranty?

Looking good but one thing I would like to point out, the demarcation line on B-17's was not irregular. Here is the Boeing drawing for your consideration:

Impressive paint job, to say the least.

I once bought a fancy-schmancy compressor/tank only to have it crap out completely after just a couple of months. Yeah, it was truly a "quiet" compressor.

These days I get my compressors at the local US "big box" home improvement store for about $150. I find that the commercial compressors are more than adequate for my needs vs the "hobby" ones. "Air is air" so long as you have a valve that regulates outgoing air pressure from the tank.

Setting off on my NC trip today.

Gabriel,
I'm really quite impressed at your ability to mix craft paints and come that close to O.D. FS 34088. The pre-shading does show through, so you're on the right track for sure.

Karl has posted another incredible piece of documentation. But I don't see any spec for the demarcation line, just the stars and bars. I take that to mean that there isn't a direct spec for that line, nor whether it's a soft or hard line. Over the last nearly 40 years of modeling, that line has generally been done as a free hand soft edge.

As far as returning a defective compressor, it all depends on who you bought it from. They may or may not accept returns. Here in New York, the law states that a retail store can have any policy including all sales final as long as it's clearly posted by the resister area, or if you bought it online, clearly found. So I would suggest calling or emailing them.

I do have to take exception to the concept that one compressor is as good as another, and therefore a big box compressor is the equal of a true hobby type compressor. That's just not the case.

For years I had used a single piston, non-tank HC compressor. It was noisy, had no air psi regulator nor moisture trap, and you needed both. The end result was that it usually threw a bearing after a few years of use ( I had two of them that did this). My wife hated the noise it made as we lived in an apartment. With my return to the hobby years ago, I purchased from Home Depot a general home type compressor with regulator and a 1 gal air tank. The issues of using it indoors was once again rather high noise. Since it was a general home type compressor, it had a high end 175 psi, which made fine adjustments from 20-l0 psi rather difficult. We compromised, and I could only use the compressor during the day, or early evenings.

Finally, I bit the bullet as I needed to air brush when I needed to do so. Early mornings, late nights, or when ever. So I treated myself to a Iwata Power Jet Pro purchased from Chicago Air Brush co. The compressor wasn't cheap as I paid about $450 for it. But it's super quiet, the air tank while small, the advantage is that it takes less then a min to refill it, and it has two regulators to have both my air brushes attached and ready to go as needed. My wife can't hear the compressor no matter where she is in the house, so I can air brush when ever. the unit is super efficient, has never had a single issue, and both Iwata USA and Chicago Air Brush takes back default units no questions asked and that includes shipping. I always save shipping boxes and crates just incase they're ever needed.

My long winded point is that you get exactly what you pay for. Buy the best quality you can afford is the best move in the long run.

Joel

@Gary: Ha! Now I understand better the Pyrrhic victory thing. Thanks!

@Paul: Thanks for positive input. I think I can return it (bought from Amazon). I e-mailed the manufacturer - still no answer.

@Karl: I got it. The kit's instructions cheated on me. As Joel already pointed out, the paint was applied free hand, with "soft" demarcation, correct? I could check my references better (duh!), I have published myself a historic picture of Chow Hound at the beginning of the blog. Thanks again, Karl.

@Brian: I did exactly that: went to DIY store and bought a USD 130.00 commercial compressor. It has "pancake" tank and regulator (not sure how precise the regulator is...) but - Boy, Oh boy! - that thing sounds like a jet plane on take off! Anyhow, is going to be my back-up and I regard it just as stop-gap solution.
Have a nice trip and lots of fun, Brian!

@Joel: Thank you, sir. That is a very comprehensive posting.
I've got the "bad habit" of mixing my own colors because almost all my builds are Panzergrau and I wanted some subtle difference between them. At the other hand, I am 14 days away of a dedicated hobby store, and so many times forced to improvise "flesh tones", Sandgelb, "tire black" and such.
Regarding the wavy line: yeah, I should figure out myself. Just followed blindly the Revell instructions.
The compressor issue: I should have follow your earlier advice and my father's quip: I'm too poor to buy something cheap, because figures don't lie: TC 80 compressor ($70.00) + TC 282 compressor ($160.00) + Caldwell ($130.00) = Iwata (or other decent brand). Fortunately I still can work with what I have and that's all that matters at the end.

Cheers, guys, and many thanks!

Gabriel

*** Update ***

Small update:
I was blemish chasing... not too much damage to report, safe couple of spots and a classic case of "ghost seam". I have the sensation that Tamiya extrathin and Revell plastic don't marry happily. I pried the seam with a sewing needle, smuggled some more glue in the gap, squeezed until melted plastic oozed out and taped like that, then cleaned the mess by wet sanding.
Side note to Joel: you can see how resilient Testors enamel is (light gray in the pic).



Thank you for following.

Cheers!
Gabriel

Gabriel and Joel, your comments on compressors duly noted. Right now I and my North Carolina friend I are working on the 17. He did a magnificent job with the cheek window guns in the nose, or should I say the brackets for them. It's going to look super when I get them glued in after I come back from North Carolina. Right now we are working on ribbing for the waist section.

Brian,
Looking forward to your update. I'm sure we're in for a real treat.
Joel

I'm waiting eagerly the results, Brian. As Joel said, gotta be a treat.

Cheers,
Gabriel

Sorry guys, I wasn't clear. The demarcation line was over sprayed as mentioned. But it was not a wavy line as Gabriel has it. Just a minor little detail, nothing earth shattering

@Karl: no worries at all, my good man. Your intervention was at the very right moment, as I was just between the paint coats. The fix was easy: removed the silly putty, reshaped it (much easier now because the demarcation line goes straight) and... voilá, ready for next coat! I'm going to post the pics soon.

Cheers!
Gabriel

*** UPDATE ***
Eventually I lifted the masks. I had emotions, to be honest. To my relief, anything seems OK, with the usual couple of touch-ups:









I also painted the deicing boots and I applied the first mist of clear coat, but no pics yet. More to follow soon.

Thank you for posting and constructive criticism,
Cheers!
Gabriel

Interesting on the deicer boots. Most ETO B-17s had them removed, but the photo shows this one kept em.

Lookin good.

Brian

Looks good, Gabriel!

Gaz

@Brian & @Gaz: Thank you, gentlemen.

Gabriel

Gabriel,
the basic paint camo scheme came out really quite good. Just a few places for some touch ups. And those Red highlights really do stand out.

I just had to laugh when I saw how big the B-17 really is compared to the Tamiya cutting mat. The B-25B is maybe half its size.

Joel

Wow, check this remarkable website devoted to this A/C and crew. http://www.chow-hound.org/index.html

From a markings and finish standpoint, there are a couple of things of real interest.

First, from the August 1944 crash site, here's a shot of the tail with the de-icer boot removed. Unmistakable.



This contrasts with the attached photo taken on the March 8, 44 Berlin mission, where the boots are still on the A/C.



Note the heavy engine exhaust stains and what I believe is a scheme showing an OD lip around the front openings to the engine cowlings: a subtle but important detail.

Finally, there is this extraordinary wildcard showing what is allegedly a wing of the A/C from the crash site. Here is the caption.

September 2011, repatriation of wing

In 2008, family members of the Thompson crew began efforts to retrieve the "Chow-hound" wing, which has been on the farm on Mr. & Mrs. Pierre Lehec since the crash. Those efforts culminated three years later when approximately 40 Airmen from the 514th Air Mobility Wing (Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.) flew to Caen, France on September 23, 2011, to retrieve the wreckage of the "Chow-hound". ANSA delivered the wing to the Caen Airport where it was loaded into a C-17.



What is extraordinary about the picture is the fact that the wing has a red border around the national insignia! This short lived marking only was authorized on USAAF A/C from July to September 43, though many B-17s would have kept them afterwards, because ground crew had "better things to do."

What's doubly interesting about it is that I'm aware of no "G" models that ever carried this national insignia. The only possible explanation I can think of is that it's from a bone-yard wing panel after battle damage. But it's very strange, if not unique.

From the pic I can't tell if it's on the upper or lower wing. If I had to guess I would say we are looking at the lower right wing. It does look more "grey" than OD to me. Karl, do you have an opinion on this?

Fort Dix/McGuire isn't too far from me. This might be worth a "field trip!"

A really sad and eerie footnote is that three of the crew were only discovered in the wreckage 60 years after the crash when the site was excavated.

Thank you, Joel.

Indeed, I underestimated the over-spray of my airbrush and I put a olive mist on the belly in a few places; fortunately I was cautious enough to apply a gloss coat over the finished underside before moving to top surface. It was easy to remove the mess with a light alcohol solution. The partially covered red areas on the wing and tail will be finally black (de-icing boots). Otherwise, I think I get it good enough.



Phew! that thing is dwarfing me in my apartment! It is a nuisance to handle it and to position it. You should have seen me painting the boots! Circus contortionist, no less! And yes, a new A3 cutting mat is the top of my shop list because as soon I return to Panzergrau I need to complete a dio comprising some 7 vehicles.

Cheers!
Gabriel

@ Brian. I apologize for late answer. Splendid contribution. I was well aware about the picture showing Chow Hound with boots on. It is possible they were lost in the crash? That pic is new to me. About the red marking on the wing (I agree very much with you that we're watching the under-wing) - I am still thinking. As you said, it was only a temporary measure. Forcefully, my Chow Hound is an early one, because the Pluto decal doesn't have the Purple Hart which was added later on to cover some flak damage. At the other hand, for the color scheme, that red surround is a god-send (group markings, stinger flame dampers and the predominant orange personal markings on a/c). Really, I need to think over it.

I noted the OD rings around the front of the engine cowlings and I reproduced them (not showing very well in my pictures, but still visible).

About the weathering, well, I agreed with the eventual owner of the build that is going to be rather moderate (which suits my taste fairly good). But for the sake of authenticity, indeed, the B17 engines were messy devils.

Thank you so much about helping me with the homework.

P.S. I read before about the grim discovery, but I was shy to publicize it.

Cheers!
Gabriel

*** UPDATE ***

Not much to report, just some overdue pics, as announced before:






The boots are now on. Also a first coat of Future. For sure needs another one to take the decals. It seems that my attempt to show some color modulation was cancelled by the glare.

Cheers!
Gabriel

Just a quick note, yes the red surround was on early B-17G's. Usually painted over but dependent upon how busy the the ground crews were as previously mentioned. That airplane would have come from the factory with the red, but looking at the B & W photo, it appears it was painted with the blue. The in the field paint has most likely weathered off as the surface was not properly prepared. Again, limitations of time. There is some video of the first B-17G at Thorpe Abbotts and the red is quite clear.

Interesting that the wing was recovered in Caen. I am in Normandy this week in a cottage not far from Pointe-Du-Hoc. Visited Pegasus Bridge and a bit of Omaha Beach yesterday, Sainte-Mere-Eglise today!

Very interesting Karl. I didn't know that re the red surrounds on early G models. I also detect a "hint of insignia blue" over the red. Maybe for this bird slightly purple off color surrounds, no?

Enjoy Normandy and France!

Brian