TiredIron's 1875mm B-17 Build

[TiredIronGRB]

I finally found a NIB Sonic B-17 (Thanks Bob!) and will post all the mods and updates here.



First thing was to completely disassemble everything so I could re-paint it everything and replace all the servos.

[TiredIronGRB]

Reinforced the fuse servos mount.



I used a set of wheels with brakes from and LX B-25.



The wing didn't have a spar and probably didn't need one but hey it didn't needs brakes either.

[TiredIronGRB]

Replace the tail gear with a BF109 retractable gear.





To get the nose back down after adding the larger tires I recessed the retracts and angled them to add more rake which will help eliminate tip over.





The brake hubs fit really good on the stock struts.



I always hated the look of the coils so I put some heatshrink over them.



Minor trimming was needed to use the 3.875" tires, stock tires were 3.5"

[TiredIronGRB]

Filled in some of the nose panel lines and filled over areas where needed.



I used Krylon Foam Primer which really masked the cells, it even has a foam plane on the label.



Started painting everything.







Started putting everything back together.



Enlarged the battery compartment then added plywood for the flooring and a velcro strap.

[TiredIronGRB]

The rudder and elevator servos are under the ball turret so I added magnets to it instead of glueing it in.







I decided to use a 10A Castle BEC.



Instead of cutting out the nose and trying to detail it I found a nose picture of a detailed model to use.

[TiredIronGRB]

I like to drill the gun barrels then sand them to make the vent holes stand out.







Beveled the collars to make them look more like a hub.



To hold wires in place I use small wire-ties and leave about an inch sticking through to push into the foam, I usually put a drop of Foam-Tac on it as well.



Started adding graphics from Callie.

[TiredIronGRB]

Detailed the engines and props.





Almost done, waiting on a few more graphics from Callie.

[TSHobbies]

Looks great! I wasnt aware of the Krylon paint..looks like it covered the cells pretty good. Nice job overall...man ,I sure wish these companies would learn how to do panel lines more scale..or just leave them off.

[Prowler901]

WOW! That's impressive! I'm searching for the Krylon primer now.

[Flygirl]

Tired Iron..... You get a standing ovation as far as I'm concerned. That's beautiful!!! And thanks for the heads up on the Krylon Foam Primer!

[TiredIronGRB]

Here's some info on the primer, Michael's and Hobby Lobby usually have it in stock.

[TSHobbies]

thanks man! I'll grab some up

[doctormike]

Krylon is all I use. You can find it almost anywhere... WalMart, etc. It dries SO fast! I don't use Krylon white primer. They really skimp on the pigment. Rustoleum white primer is much better quality, but, it takes longer to dry. Oh! Nice work!!! I am impressed. ( Damn those exagerated panel lines!) Doc

[Delizar]

Dang it TiredIron. Bad enough you show me this sweet looking B17. At least they aren't available. So I can live with that. But curious me says "Oh wheels with brakes let look up this LX B-25". And that is in stock, forcing me to exercise my limit reserve of self restraint. Dang it TiredIron. (doesn't help that the seller turns out to be less than 30 min from my house)

[TSHobbies]

lol, yup, good thing this isnt available, else Id have to max out my CC ...again

[Jody Shaneyfelt]

Very nice job. Seeing this makes me want to go fly mine. lol..
I am currently adding a crew to mine. I got them on Park Flyer Plastics for $12 I think for 6 guys that are a great fit. They are just a pain to cut out and glue, but worth it...
There's still alot of odds and ends I want to detail on mine since I painted it as my Dads B-17..

[TiredIronGRB]

Tool box mod...

[Capt. Crunch]

Using a pic in the nose is a great idea. Very nice work.

Jeff

[TiredIronGRB]

Using a pic in the nose is a great idea. Very nice work.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff.

[TiredIronGRB]

Added an antenna from a Dynam C-47...





...got some more graphics in from Callie...



...and some chrome spinners.