B-17s during the war would have lighter colored fabric control surfaces. Sally B being a Warbird and national treasure would have annual check ups and servicing. More than likely, the elevators were inspected and given a newer coat of paint and dope. Therefore, the color difference. If your doing Sally B in 2019 the elevators look more of a RAF green than the rest of A/C. The signature parts/colors of Sally B. is that yellow checker cowling and your concerns for the nose could be addressed. As far the design of the kit, the side panels or the inserts are the Achilles heal. Getting all of the windows to be clear, smart and clean is a chore. Why Airfix and Revell chose to include them detracts from them. I always think of my builds as being organic that grow and change as new information is learned or they stop after I've had enough. George is correct in saying De-icer boots are a PITA. Over all John your well on your way to bringing out the best in this kit.

@lis, thanks a lot, Bernard

"The nose construction . . . could be me as well making it myself difficult."

John,
I firmly belong to that club called "Making it . . .difficult." 🙂

Great progress, my friend @johnb!
And great looks!
I bet you cannot wait to glue those wheels permanently!

Turbo chargers painted and mounted.

Started the apply the decals, first at the bottom to see if they work well, in case of failure it will not be that visible on the bottomside. The decals from kits-world do work perfect. Some decal softener is likely needed to get them to follow the panel lines.

Now the decals seem to work well, I continued with he star on the top side.

And after finally having all the propellor tips painted yellow, the stencils, from the Revell sheet, are applied.

Those propellers look great with all the tiny decals.

@airbum, thanks a lot, Erik. Revell made it a bit earier to have just one decal per blade.

Very good job with overall paiting and stencils!