HK's B-17E/F ???

[CrankyCrafstman]

Hey all

  I'm just wondering is the HK B-17E/F worth the $300.00 dollar price tag?  Does it have any of the same issues that Nige has found on the Lancaster? 

 I would like to do one basically out of box with just a few add ons, like aftermarket instrument panel, Eduard wheels and master gun barrels.

 So is it worth the effort or is my money better spent on somthing else.

Thanks Ron G 

[Clunkmeister]

Ron, the B-17 has plenty of shape issues, the most obvious being the nose cross section. The top of the nose area should be flattened, but the kit depicts it as round. That throw off the shape of the windscreen bottom where it meets the nose section, and alters the shape of the top of the panel. There are several threads on fixes for this, both here on LSM and on TOS, but it is somewhat "involved".

There are also numerous other little niggles that Nige would be much better versed on than me. 

I have the kit, and will build it. To me, it looks quite like a B-17, and that's fine enough with me.   Other guys here would slap my head for uttering such craziness, but to each their own.

Nige is the guy to talk to on these kits, and like the Lanc, he worked up quite the list of things to make the big Fort 100% correct.

[CrankyCrafstman]

Thanks Clunky I'll check with him.

[harv]

Agree with Ern. I have one, and like my friend, will build it worts and all. I do have a lot of AM for it though........harv

[Drifter]

I have the G, with every piece of AM out there. When it's done and mounted on the wall, everybody will say, "Wow, a B-17G", the wont say "The nose is too round". My 2c.

[NigelR32]

15 hours ago, CrankyCrafstman said:

Thanks Clunky I'll check with him.

Basically, if you want to build an injection moulded B-17 in 1/32 scale there is no other option. If you want to build it accurate you'll have a lot of work to do.

As Drifter said, it'll look like a great big B-17, but I can't get around that nose and resultant windscreen shape. Each to his own...

[CrankyCrafstman]

Hey Nige

  Ok, but what about the rest of the plane? Wings, engines, etc.? Are they as buggerd up as the Lanc?

Thanks Ron G 

[NigelR32]

"Buggered up as the Lanc"? I wouldnt say the Lanc is that bad, it just has some silly errors that really shouldn't be there considering the reference material available and how readily available it is.

In my humble opinion, of the two the B-17 is a better kit regarding detail, but the Lanc is better as far as overall shape is concerned. The toughest bit to correct on the Lanc will be the engine intakes and nacelles whereas the B-17 needs that nose sorted. As I say.. in my opinion.

[CrankyCrafstman]

So then your saying the only bad area is the nose by the wind screen?

Ron G 

[NigelR32]

3 hours ago, CrankyCrafstman said:

So then your saying the only bad area is the nose by the wind screen?

Ron G 

No Ron, I'm not. But.. I am not going to start a war of words on here by stating all the errors I feel are present on the HK Models B-17 line.

To me, the most glaring issue is the nose shape and resultant windscreen shape. If you take a good long look at a few built models you can decide for yourself what "looks" right. Most people are happy with the kit OOB.

[CrankyCrafstman]

Thanks Nige

 I'm not a crazed rivet counter, but I do like my models to represent the aircraft as best as possible. As I said this would be an oob except for the items I mentioned. I can scratch build stuff if I have to but prefer to assemble and paint to get the results I want. So it sounds like this might be one I'm going to want. It will fill that empty spot between the Lanc and B-24, also the B-25, Mosquito etc. Boy I'm going to need a really big shelf  

Ron G