Group Build Description: A campaign to honor the 90th anniversary of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Event Details: On 27 July, 1935, the Boeing Model 299 four engine bomber was first publicly rolled out of its hanger is Seattle, Washington. A reporter from the Seattle Times newspaper, upon seeing the size of the aircraft and its numerous gun positions, remarked that it was “a flying fortress!” and a legend was born. Over the next decade the airplane carried the war to every front and every enemy of the U.S. and it’s allies, soldiering on with other air forces for several years thereafter. The B-17 became one of the finest warplanes ever built. This campaign will be about honoring that legacy. Any scale, any user, any time period, but no WIFs.
(Remember to click “Going” if you want to join the build!)
Completion Award: [add info about possible award badge here - see help threads for more info]
A Note about Awards: The following text is a reminder that in order for people participating and finishing their projects to receive a badge on their forum profile, they will need to provide their account username to the group build leader by the completion date of the build. The leader will then provide this list to the site admin who will bulk award the badges to those users who have finished the group build. If you don’t provide your username or finish the project on the timetable the leader has setup you will not be able to receive an award.
I’m afraid I just can’t help myself. Besides, I too have had the big HK kit (the F) for a few years now, and it keeps looking at me reproachfully. Now that Masters of the Sky is finally streaming, and next year being the 90th anniversary, I figured the time was right.
BTW, I still haven’t gotten the hang of creating awards on the current website. If someone is interested in putting one together for this campaign, have at it!
I’m thinking of the 1/48 Revell Memphis B …but getting a different decal sheet for it … I know it will be looking some of the finer detail, but it’s a lot of plastic for the price it goes at.
I don’t normally do 1/72, but I’ve looked into this one a bit and it looks to me like it’s basically a toss-up between the new(er) tool Airfix kit and the new(er) tool Revell. Kind of depends on what version you want, as I believe Airfix kit is only a late G whereas Revell does an early G and an F.
Thanks. Size wise, a 1/72 is better for me, however I didn’t want a kit that I just looked at in the box and said, “Oh well”. My fingers are not as scratch buildie as they once were.
I’ve been disappointed that there’s not a good, modern tooled B-17 in 1/144. Seems like a natural. But the old Crown kit and its various iterations seems to be it so far.
I’ll agree that your best bet in 1/72 are the new tool Revell and Airfix. Just depends on which variant you want to build. I’ve got the RAF 100 Group B-17G from Airfix and it looks brilliant in the box.
Academy are a little basic as they’re getting on now. There’s also a problem in the wing dihedral is a little too steep, but a shim of plastic can solve that. One plus though is that they do make the early version B-17’s with the small rudder.
Hasegawa’s is another old tool going back to the 70’s. I have heard it’s based on Frogs, but I’ve never seen either to compare.
