1/48 Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress

Gallery Article by Tadeu Pinto Mendes on Jan 17 2014

 

 

History:
The Fortress that became most famous was the B-17F-10-BO nicknamed Memphis Belle (Belle, the French word which means beautiful ) who was the first American bomber to make a record of 25 missions over Europe without having been slaughtered and return intact and performed this feat on 17/05/43.  This nickname was given by pilot Robert K. Morgan in honor of his bride Margaret Polk in Memphis - Texas.  Had record 41-24485 and was the 8th Air Force and had the letters "DF A" that also identified as being the 324th Bomber Squadron.  This bomber released more than 60 t. of bombs on Germany, France and Belgium.  During his 25 missions flew 148 hours and 50 minutes.  Also shot down 8 enemy airplanes. The mission number 25 was even filmed throughout its duration.  This B-17F which returned intact to England, then returned to the U.S. and his crew did outreach campaign to possible candidates for these missions and the Memphis Belle was later preserved.  As usual, most of the B-17 had a single painting on the nose for better identification, and this was painted on each side of the female figure, with the difference of the left side is painted in blue dress and left in red!  So a painting on the wheel hub to bottom with these two colors, however with blue and red on the right side of the left. 

 

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Model:
This is a great model from Revell which was first released in 78 in the U.S. and also injected in Brazil under license by Kikoler in the 80s which this model represents.  With 108 pieces in all, its modules are very accurate and being a fairly pleasant ride in style. When this model was released, came to compete with the B-17G in the same scale released a few years earlier by Monogram.  The internal details of the B-17F is however very simple and its bomb bay deserved to have been opened by the scale, as it was in the old kit 1/72.  Their turbo - compressors should have come as separate pieces, which would facilitate the painting.  Like other kits until the '80s, this came in high relief (ribs) and not what would be more appropriate, intaglio (slots).  The fit of the hoods in the nacelles are quite deficient

Painting
The famous Memphis Belle which his painting was always controversial.  A documentary made on it during the war, was after six decades, remade and digitized, which has shown exactly the authentic colors of this B-17 in question.  The B-17F were mostly with dorsal parts by Hunter Brown (FS 34087) and Memphis Belle proved that even then had irregular patches in 42 Medium Green (FS 34092) for parts of the fuselage, and trailing edges of the wings, horizontal stabilizers and drift.  There were several other copies of the B-17F from the beginning of the war that were also painted as well, despite not having had a standard itself.  As usual, still had the ventral color neutral 43 Grey (FS 36173).  In the dorsal part of the rudder and ailerons and elevators were suffering because they were fading fast enteladas where modelers found in clear color Pardo - FS 34201 as the color might come close.  However compensating these moving parts that were metal, remained in the original color.  Leading edges of wings and vertical and horizontal stabilizers Black (FS 37038) as well as helices.  These tips in Yellow - FS 13638.  Other data are painted: Interior Green (FS 24151) on the inside of the fuselage and cowlings.  Reportedly, the B-17F Memphis Belle had her painting changed in the postwar period and is preserved in the USA.

Tadeu Pinto Mendes

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Photos and text © by Tadeu Pinto Mendes