Academy 1/72 B-17f “Wabash Cannonball”
the venerable B-17f “The pride of Seattle” as it would have looked in June 1943 while part of the 91st heavy bombardment wing stationed at Bassingbourn at Cambridgeshire U.K...in the livery of “Wabash Cannonball” painted by Sgt. Tony Starcer who also painted “Memphis Belle”...”Pistol Packin Mama”...”Little Miss Mischief”..”Little Patches'...”Miss Ouachita” and a 120 more...this is how it would have looked all most factory fresh even before the white triangle with the black A tail code was applied in July of 1943...just two months later she was to take part in the deadly raids against the ball bearing factories at bloody Schweinfurt but survived for two more years before taking flak in one engine over Berlin in May of 1944 sending a propeller through the fuselage ...i used True Details wheels and Superscale decals
First of all, great to see you back Bob.
Nice finish mate, was the base a shop brought?
Well done sir.
thank you Si...the base is Eduard i think 1/48...comes in black plastic
It is an Eduard piece (I have one painted almost the same).
Cheers Craig, I shall look out for a piece.
Nicely finished and photographed, Mr. Mack...good work indeed.
thank you "Old Top"
Whose olive drab? The earlier version tended to turn brownish, this looks like that.
MM dark earth
Very nice Bob! Great finish.
much appreciated rick
Academy's B 17 range is very nice. Good detail overall and nice decals as well. You did an awesome job on this Flying Fortress! Well done.
thank you sir..you have to put a shim in the wing roots for diheadrall correction...no big...would love to build ROG ...g model for compari
Hi Bob, very clean machine, in this scale no small achievement!
thank you rob...it's good to be back to building
Nice one Bob. Gotta love the "Fort"
i agree greg...not one too commonly seen
Nice clean build, Bob.
thank you very much bryan
Well done Fort Bob. How did you fix the extreme dihedral the Academy kits are know for?
i slipped in a piece of plastic card about the thickness of a playing card on both sides spreading each side about 1/64...thank you
Nice build - and thanks for the tip on the Academy kits re: dihedral - I've got one in my stash to build and I'll make a note now!
thank you greg...and you don't want the wings dead flat...they should still have a very slight upward angle
Beautiful Fortress Bob, nice and clean, looking really sharp
thank you kindly sir
Is the Academy kit, the best way to get a good B-17 in this scale, Bob ?
you know Bernd i'm not sure...the hasegawa and ROG are quite nice...i wanted an early F model so it was this or the hase with the raised panel lines [which i don't mind]...the ROG is a beautiful G model with chin turret...probably superior to the rest...they sure look good built
I am searching for a 1/72 Fortress, that don t need too much stuff from the aftermarked.
The Revell kits are very tempting as well Academy.
Decisions...
i think you'd be most happy with the revell of Germany...it looks like a fine modern kit and nicely detailed but with your skills you could work wonders with any of them
Bob,
You have indeed paid homage to this fine old bomber. Any person that ever flew one or flew in one would be emotional with what you have done here.
This is beautiful. I compliment you.
you sure did frank...thank you for that marvelous compliment sir
Awesome work. I'm planning to build something bigger in 1/72 myself and after seeing your model I'm really considering the Fortress. I've never built Academy so could you drop a line about the kit?
private message sent...and thank you
'Listen to the thunder, the clanging and the roar, as it glides through the forest and the hills down by the shore..hear the mighty rush of the engine and a lonesome hobo call, riding through the jungle on the WABASH CANNONBALL". A clean build Bob, simple yet elegant.
thank's mike...i needed that...love bluegrass...roy acuff was the most popular singer among the troops in WW11...i guessed sinatra but was wrong
sweet
thank you much doug