chris henton Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Morning all, I have just recieved my plan, vac pack,CNC and wood pack for the TN b-17. Ill be starting the build as soon as i manage to get my shed built to house the beast. So looking to be about a month away from now. I am buying all the parts i think i might need before i start so atleast i have everything to hand when i need it. Not to sure on which B-17 to model it on. Im going to build the model as the 'F' varient and lose the chin turret and will of cource be painted in olive and not the later aluminuim 'G' varient style. Temptation is to paint her up as 'memphis belle'. An all time favourite of mine and the whole reason that from a child i have loved them. But it has been done to death and i would possibly like to find another B-17 'F' with a story behind it to model. If all else fails she will become memphis belle however. Expect updates as and when but i wil try and keep the building go fairly regualrly. Any ideas of other significant B-17's? Cheers chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 There is always Pink Lady Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris henton Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 Hi Danny , Yeah pink lady would also be a good choice. i have the haynes manual for the B-17 and there are plenty of photos for reference. Ill get round to starting the book this week and find out a bit more about her. Just a random question, which adhesives would you recomend for this build? What are the tried and tested favourites? cheers chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Hi Chris choice of glues is a very personal thing and it depends what you are comfortable with. I am using Zap thin and thick a great deal these days as it means I can build a structure very quickly, with Aliphatic/pva for sheeting to give a bit more time. Epoxy (various speeds) for the high stress areas. Gorrila glue (polyurethane) expands as it dries and is great for joining dissimilar materials. JB Weld is great for metal and piano wire. If you like to take your time and don't mind waiting simple pva is fine. but who has time nowadays..... I look forward to watching your build come together, electric I assume? D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris henton Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 Thanks for the info Danny, overall time to build is not so much of an issue for me its more that the time i will have will be an hour here and there and so would like to get the maximum amount done in the times i have. So i guess PVA on whole is out the window. Yep i will be using electric. I will use the set up thats recomendedon Tony website. I guess its tried and tested and suitable for the model. Ill be using a spektrum DX6I but not to sure on servos yet. I will have a look around to see what is the most reliable but not massively expensive. cheers chris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris henton Posted April 16, 2011 Author Share Posted April 16, 2011 Hello all,Just little update. I am due to receive my new shed this week so as soon as the bench is created the build will commence. I have acquired most of what is needed to build the basic structure. Aiming to start with the fuselage in two weeks time.However still undecided as to which particular B-17 to replicate!Look out for updates soon.Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trex700e Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 I look forward to seeing the build. Why not try a B-17 from the 100th BG. They were a pretty famous bomb group. I think they were famous for some really bad luck but at the same time some amazing stories like a B-17 landing on top of another B-17 mid flight! There is a whole range of B-17 profiles/art work here: http://www.100thbg.com/spotlight/styling/pages/highlife.htm This maybe helpful what ever B-17 you do. Thanks WillEdited By Will F on 16/04/2011 16:30:30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris henton Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Hello Will, Thanks for pointing me in the direction of that website, a quality source of info and even better having the nose arts and history of the aircraft available. Yes it seams that the 100th BG had their fair share of bad luck. I like the story of the tail gunner who was blown from the aircraft and was seen falling through the air still sat on the bicycle seat and holding onto the guns and he survived!Thanks again,Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchweight Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Why not paint it as RAF Coastal Command? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris henton Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Hi shaun,I couldn't bring myself to paint in british colours. Its my obsession with Memphis belle that leads me to build this so it has atleast got to be USAAF scheme. If this build goes well I think the sunderland could be the next project and obviously that will be costal command if I choose that path. I can see her ending up as Memphis Belle but I will try and resist temptation!Cheers chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris henton Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 Another boring but important update in the build. The workshop/hanger/shed is now fully erected and my bench/buildboard constructed. I have used a 6ft kitchen work top with a 6ft piece of plaster board on the top. The plan for the fusalage has been laid out and all CNC parts removed from the sheets and trimmed and sanded. Time for the builing to commence. Now is probably the time (or not) to say this is my first attempt at a balsa build! So any pointers and advice would be welcomed. Please expect plenty of questions to be asked. Question 1 - i am right in thinking that i would be ok to use Zap thin for the basic fusalage construction? I have also purchased some Titebond pva as i know that this will be required for the sheeting. Also at my disposal is endless amounts of Araldite/epoxy and i picked up a tube of basic balsa cement (humbrol) when at the local model shop the other week. http://forums.modelflying.co.uk/sites/3/images/member_albums/70605/img00398-20110424-1022.jpg Thanks in advance Chris Edited By chris henton on 26/04/2011 22:19:27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 9 Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 nice shed (wish I had one like that) balsa dust in the house is a fast way to upset the MrsEdited By Phil B on 26/04/2011 22:42:10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Stig Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Gonna follow this with interest, im hoping to build and fly a B17 very soon Have you thought about doing Sally B? Although she never saw action in ww2 she is a great tribute to all the aircrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris henton Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 Morning all, Phil - tell me about it. The Mrs was moaning at me so the solution was to buy a shed. For some reason she thought it was going to be used for garden tool storage etc. How wrong could she be lol! The stig - Hello mate, yeah i had concidered Sally B originally but im not keen on the polished alloy/unpainted G varients. Im not going to fit the chin turret and also modify the tail gun to the earlier type, open waist guns and build it as an 'F' varient. Ive sent the Mrs on a shopping trip for long glass head pins, so production should start this week sometime. cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris henton Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 Help needed please - The plan requires that the tail part of the fusalage is cut from the plan and joined to the rest of the fusalage plan as the whole structure is to big to fit onto the paper. There is a join line to make sure it is positioned correctly. Is there any reason further down the line as to why i would not of wanted to cut the plan? If its just a case of not cutting the plan for the sake of keeping it whole then its not the end of the world as a new set are only around £18 i think? Regards chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Carr Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 HI Chris, My TN Airbus Plan was similar with the rear end of the Fuz split and shown seperately further down the plan, The airbus had half formers (so you make a left and right side) so What I did was:- - Pin the CNC cut "upper" and "lower" ply spines to the rear end portion of the plan and mark with a pencil the former positions. - Remove from that part of the plan and re pin the spines over the main front part of the Fuz on the plan (making sure all of the length of the spines are over the building board) - best to cover the plan with cling film to stop excess glue sticking on the plan BTW - glue the front formers directly over the plan in the traditional way. - At the rear end place the formers over your pencil marked positons described earlier. As a double check at this stage I used some digital calipers to do a final check of the pencil line marks on the ply spine from the plan (working back from the rear obviously) at both the top and bottom. Then glued the formers when happy Hope that all makes sense, it worked for me but im sure there are other ways. Here is how my airbus fuz turned out using that method: Cheers Craig Edited By Craig Carr on 28/04/2011 12:39:40Edited By Craig Carr on 28/04/2011 12:40:17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris henton Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 Hello Craig, Thanks for the reply. Now that does seam a sensible way of doing it without cutting the plan. However you were about half an hour too late as i couldnt wait. I chopped the plan and joined it. Atleast i now know for my next build what to do instead of 'butchering up the plan'. The airbus fuz looks mint. What is the wingspan? it looks huge. One thing i did do was to cover the plan with Cling film. Well construction has now started, ill try get some pics up later. Thanks again Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Carr Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 HI Chris, The wingspan is 76" - Here it is completed Do you have a SLEC building Jig? - If you have or can borrow one once you've built one half of the Fuz all I did was wood glue the other sets of spine (for the other side) directly onto the completed first half. I then clamped the half assembly into the SLEC jig making sure it ran exactly along the centre of the line of the board. Then it is a simple matter of adding the other half formers directly onto the skeleton. This way you can be 100% sure everything is mating together directly where they should. Longerons etc can also be added whilst the construction is held in the jig. They are a worth while investment. SLEC click here Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 9 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 the only other way is to make a copy of the tail to add to the main plan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 9 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 it does seem a shame to cut up a plan but somtimes it does make building easyer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris henton Posted May 6, 2011 Author Share Posted May 6, 2011 Hello All, Well the fusalage is complete and just needs sheeting. Construction of the wing is about to commence Suggestions are now needed. What servos do you suggest? Im just after the average reliable servo nothing to fancy. Ive also ordered my retracts (Ripmax SkyRC F-SKYRM03) from model maniacs online. Hopfully they will arrive soon so i have somthing to play around with. I have also found a potential candiate for the name - B-17F-15-BO 'Jack the ripper'. She flew out of Bassingbourn along with Memphis Belle and was the first and only aircraft to complete the 91st BGs first three missions. Interesting stuff! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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