B-17G from Białogóra. B-17G Airfix Bachelor's Bride from 91 BG project .
This time I will not describe the spectacular stories of the plane. My emotional connection with the Boeing B-17 comes from my vacation days at the seaside. A few years ago I discovered in the seaside town of Białogóra an information board about the downed B-17 planes from 457 BG after the raid on Malbork on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1944. Already then I had an idea to build a B-17 model, which took part in this raid. And after the fact, when I received a beautiful Airfix B-17 set, it was just a matter of time. It turned out, however, that finding aftermarket markings from the 457 Bomber Group is impossible. After the analysis, I just decided to make a B-17 from a different bomb group and the choice fell on a new, factory-made B-17 Bachelor's Bride plane, which was just ready for combat in early April. The raid was described as very effective (as opposed to the less successful raid in October 1943), which is shown in the aerial photos I attach. as well as a film chronicle. The losses were relatively small. This year, near the forest in Biaogóra, a monument was erected commemorating two B-17s crashed there and one damaged, which eventually crashed in Germany. The planes were lost due to the attack of the enemy Bf109 formation, but I was unable to identify the unit. Perhaps one of my colleagues can solve this problem for me?
Vid from bomb ride over Malbork (Marienburg)
Raport after ride with clear air photo of result of bombing:
https://dawnytczew.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=530
http://www.303rdbg.com/pp-marienburg.html
As far as building the model is concerned, it was a really fun building. Nevertheless, what other modellers show in the videos on YT definitely does not reflect the complications of the construction. There were a few moments that could be described as difficult. The rich equipment of the fuselage caused problems with the deposit of the fuselage halves of the plane. I used CA glue, also to putty the obvious shortcomings of the joining in front of the pilot's cabin (with a very good effect). Also, the inner cover of the tail wheel caused trouble, flying away after the fuselage glued together. It brought me some more gray hair. because I had to manipulate the skewer stick to position it in the right place (before grinding its edges again, because I thought the edges were too thick to push it out. If you have any experience with fitting it, I would be happy to listen to your feedback. over it with patafix plastic mass and that solved the problem.In the end, I can say that the assembly of the fuselage was very good, without visible traces of joining, but this process required a bit of grinding. The strongest point of the model was joining the wings with the fuselage. Due to the very advanced design of the inside of the wing as a spatial solid as in the original with trusses and girders holding the wings in place, there was a problem with proper filling. I used Mr Color liquid putty to minimize sanding of the upper surface area zydeł, however, in the next model it would probably be better than this time. As far as the engines are concerned, I pay tribute to the engineer, because the interiors for the undercarriage are so beautifully detailed that I couldn't see them for a long time that so much can be achieved on this scale. The wheels with the marked tread also looked great. I used Eduard masks to make the sun panels, which made the work much easier and more realistic thanks to the contoured, rounded edges, which was omitted by many online modelers from YT. Painting was standard procedure with Mr Color Super fine silver and super fine chrome silver paints. Due to the very rich interior, I made the model in the OOB system - there is really no point in overpaying for additional elements. We have everything included! Only sanding is required on the side machine guns to safely and lightly insert them into the side slots in the plexiglass covers of the shooting windows on the fuselage. The transparent parts of the model are also made at a high level. A mental disadvantage was the very bad service of the Airfix online service, who did everything to discourage me from ordering a spare part of the actuator (it was broken in the box, but after the failure of ordering the spare part from the factory, I repaired the broken bomb chamber actuator with a satisfactory result). Gentlemen (and ladies) from the Airfix factory (if any of you can hear me!). We are in the 21st century and you should stand in front of the customer! Pay Pal payment or even bank transfer should be an obvious form of payment, not a claim that I can't pay with a credit card! Fortunately, I managed to fix this element 🙂 which makes me happy.
I hope you like the gallery, and for me, painting the figures from a very good CMK set was pure relaxation, just like creating stand with airfield 🙂
Lieutenant Lis will return on his next mission aboard another Boeing B-17! 🙂
I am writing these words while sitting on my own bench in Malbork, in front of the train station 🙂
Lovely story and equally lovely model, hope you get your train.
@chinesegeorge I missed the train to Kwidzyn. My train from Gdańsk was delayed. But I know now that I have to finished my article directly where Bachelor's Bride fly on bombing mission 🙂
A wonderful result, Lieutenant Lis! Down to every respect this is an excellent model, your attention to detail being superlative, as I had the pleasure to witness through your build thread!
This model is a great tribute to the ones that offered their life for a higher purpose.
Looking forward to your next B-17!
@fiveten Thank You! It's great that we can together build a group build of the B-17
Indeed an amazing result, Bernard @lis
You did a perfect job on getting this beautiful Fortress and diorama.
Great story behind it as well, a great tribute indeed to all who gave their lives.
Thanks for the building thread.
@johnb I'm glad that we can build a group of Flying Fortresses together.
Heu... What to say, just amazing you did great on this fortress, everything is marvelous, the crewmembers, the diorama and of course the plane it-self. It was a real pleasure to follow your thread. And thanks to share the story , for me that's maybe the most important. Let's we fortget
@yann I am very happy that you like the model. Yes, history always comes first. This is the motivation to build the model.
What a great result on this complex kit, Bernard (@lis). The natural metal finish and the weathering are perfect. I also enjoyed following along as you built this kit. Well done. Also, thanks for the video. Very cool.
@chinesegeorge Thank you for your good comment! Unfortunetly I saw now that vid was from first air ride in october 1943, but even it's great document.
That’s a really nice model, Lis. Well done.
I'm glad that you like my model 🙂
Looks great Lis! Lovely model and fabulous work on the figures as well! Thanks for sharing
Thank You!
Nice tribute build. Keep the memory alive.
Thanks for all the historical and build info. Your models look great.
@bernardbedeur The history of an airplane or an air raid always inspires me to build model 🙂
Looks great! Don't see enough NMF B-17s!
I'm glad that You like my NMF 🙂
You've done the Airfix B-17 proud. Placing the kit on a base with grass adds to the charm of the kit. In my opinion it is one of the better kits in 1/72nd. Now that the a late model G has been covered, it be great if they came out with the F model. There is some nose art that was painted on these birds that embraced the meaning of the war. They all have a story. The late Andy Rooney who was a WWII War correspond who was imbedded on several B-17 mission talked about seeing air crews bailing out and falling through formations of bombers. I would assume some were dropping bombs. Talk about the greatest generation. Every kit I lay eyes on brings me back to that story and the high respect I have for anyone who flew on those missions.
Good work Lis and I enjoyed following your build.
Two thumbs up.
@stephen-w-towle The real history of the plane and the alogs always gives the motivation to make the model 🙂 I hope You will like my future "F" version also 🙂
Any 'Bachelor' would be crazy not to like that 'Bride'!
Awesome looking build, Lis and some nice notes on motivation.
Great outside photos, especially with the sun shining and displaying that nice NMF.
@georgeswork Bachelor's Bride was Lucky plane. In one mission after Flak damage Bachelor's Bride has landed in Spain safetly. All crew survived.
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Really good work on this and a really nice result.
@tcinla Your positive comments always motivate me to new projects.
I agree, a beautiful job! Thanks for the history lesson. It's nice to see these monuments for the fallen that happened so long ago.
Thank You!
Lis @lis, as always, you’ve done excellent work on this Flying Fortress. I was watching the group builds of this and the others that were building . That Airfix kit is very complex, I probably would have given up and not finished it. I salute you ! Good job on this .
@ssgt
Jay Mitchell Thank You! I like our B-17 group build! I hope You like my Hasegawa B-17 too! 🙂