Francois (3442) takes a quick look at this classic kit in as a taster for his forthcoming full-build review.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

What is it meant when he said "no bomb bay doors?" There has to be bomb bay doors. Does he mean there is only one position for them?

Jeff

Hi Jeff

I imagine Francois means the doors are moulded shut - I'll edit the text there. Thanks for pointing that out.

Cheers

Rowan

Merlin got it right, thats what i meant. its soemthign i found unfortunate, along with the fact the option to make it in flight or not isnt available. storrying a beast that size on a dio and finding place for it isnt easy.

Frank

hey Rowan, i did good to trust you on the intro, beats the original one

enjoy guys

Frank

The B-17 was my big Christmas present the year it came out, and I still have the Scale Models review (somewhere).

A very nice model, even if the interior stopped short of the bomb bay. IIRC the interior colour given in the Monogram instructions was 'apple green' which indicated some sort of chromate green.

The figures and the bomb cart came with the original Monogram issue, the B-24 had a tractor of some sort.

Look forward to seeing the build-up.

No mention was made of the fact that this kit also has Raised Panel lines - something that you have to factor in if you fancy building one. That's an awful lot of re-scribing...Jim

sure you can take that in consideration, but iam no plane expert, but must admit, you cant expext to get the same quality out of a 30 dollar revell kit released in hte early 70's as you would with a brand new 2005 1/48 bomber realeased by tam with all these fancy details, but for 5 times the price.

but that is a good comment and will take that in consideration for futur reviews.

Frank

Francois, one thing that you should take into consideration is that this is the only 1/48th scale B17 available. That makes it a unique kit - things like that are also worth considering in reviews. No it isn't 'state-of-the-art' but it's a) Still available and b) A very popular subject.

What you might consider, before your next review, is to do a little bit of background reading. I find myself doing it all the time - especially when it's a subject I know little about - Just an idea...Jim

Jim, then your the man for the job, were do i go to get some back ground info? i am a beginer realy, ive only have what, 7 years of experience? and 15 years of age? compared to 40 years? lol, yet ive leanered more in my (almost) 1 year here at the big a than 7 years modelign alone lol

Thanks jim

Frank

Ah the dreaded "Raised Panel Lines" - Take Heart. Though they maybe and probably are over stated on the model, the B-17 is one aircraft that in "real life" has indeed alot of Raised Panels (ref. pics of "Lilly" in new photos gallery) . They are real patch work quilts. You may wish to reduce the panel lines, but you don't need to rescribe the entire aircraft. They really aren't as smooth as fighter aircraft.

High speed drag wasn't a factor for these heavies, they don't go anywhere that fast, just "Delivered the Mail".

good show Frank boy!

Now, finish it and go level Bremen!

For a first review, I think that was very good.....
I remember when that kit first came out, and I was old then :-) :-) :-)
Looking forward to your build article, and hopefully more reviews.

old back in the 70's? id rahter not guess your age mate... meh, as long as you keep building nice kits and contributing to the big A who cares if your old? :-) Thanks for the comliment Dave, glad you liked it, same for you ollie

chuck, Id rather recieve bills that that kinda mail (KABOOM!)

Frank

Frank, you just have to ask! Either Rowan (Merlin) or anyone else who regullary does reviews, will be delighted to help you out..

What I didn't say, is that for a first review it is really very good indeed.

What you'll find as you continue with the reviews and other written material, is that you'll begin to develop your own 'style' and begin to understand (instinctively) what is needed for reviews. It never becomes entirely automatic but it does come close

Keep 'em comin'!..Jim

Ciao Frank,
Excellent job! It kind of makes me NOT want to buy one, but you really did an excellent first job on the review. Now, where's the next one.
Ciao for now
Rob

Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in and say nice job on the review, especially for your first.

I've got one of these just waiting to be built and I'm looking forward to seeing your build-up posted!

Yep not a bad first attempt, well done. I think one of the things to remember when doing a review is that it will influence people, so it must be objective. It's a very good idea to be linking the review to a build as well. I would suggest that you take pictures at every stage, you won’t use them all but I guarantee that the one you don’t take is the one you really want. Also, and this is the difficult part, try and describe how you did something, not just what you did. I am very interested in this build because I too have this model and it is getting nearer to the pending pile. Anything I can learn before starting the build will be a bonus. I will be re-scribing it, because that suites my weathering method. Maybe I should join in as I am just about to start the Monogram B-24 and as I haven’t yet done a kit review it’s about time I started?
Mal

Frank,

I'll make this short. Open the bomb bay doors!!!!! The detail is mostly there and I just saw a B-17 like 3 days ago and it's not all that much. A lot of the detail can be furthered by using some P-E, But a little cutting and some plastic will make this a great kit.

Also, I may have missed your take on the panel lines... are you going to cut new ones or work with the old.

Have some pictures if you need them.

Tracy

Tracy, sure if you got any pics that be great, even for simple viewing and brainstorming about what i might wanna do on the kit, so if you have any here my email
[email protected]

Mal, ive taken pics, a few actualy. ive made a folder and iam gathering a few and will chose at the end. iam taking them after painting, is that alright?(inside) for the outside il show whats wrogn and whats good about it, thigns liek that before and after painting. any more tips are welcome.

Frank, Rob, Jim Tracy and Mal, thanks for the positive comments and feedback, there very apreciated.

one last thing! Tacy, about the bomb doors i doubt il open them up, first of, its hard, realy hard if not imposible for me to get a hand on Pe. second of, id have to screw around with the landing gear, so i opted for the dio base shipped to my grandpas house for decorations ( big plane freak)

Frank

one last things i forgot, is it me or models look better at bare eye? darn, i keep on finding stuff i dont liek when i take pics so iam re-paintign etc to get it looking good lol thats whats taking long... even if i wotn see anything in the cockpit(thngs i re-painted) it a question of doing something perfectly well lol... yes, you've got dave the grumpy old man, and frank the perfectionist youngster!


Frank

I hear you loud and clear about finding things you don't like in photos. Every time I've photographed my builds, I end up deciding not to post them as I'm never happy with the photographed results.

I'd like to blame the lighting, but it's more than likely my end results. They look so nice on the shelf, but for some reason, they up being non-photogenic.

lol, talking about photo genique, maybe my kids (models) are liek there father, far from photo genique, look great in person, but liek crap on pics lol!

about not posting, same here i was gonna post some in progress pics of that b-17 and decided to paint soem stuff before lol

Frank