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Memphis Belle B-17F  

Welcome to my Website. Here are photos of the B-17 F Model

Kit: Revell-Monogram

Scale: 1:48

Contributor: Robert Parkin

Aircraft:  The rugged B-17 "Flying Fortress" became a symbol of the Second World War. Tasked with the mission of long range strategic bombing, Eight Air Force crews found the daily missions to be deadly and dangerous. Flying tight formations the lumbering B-17s proved to be easy targets for the Luftwaff Fighters. Even though the flying fortress achieved their name by being armed with eleven machine guns in flexible mounts and rotating turrets the big bombers were vulnerable to frontal attacks. Many bomb groups fitted additional firepower in the clear nose fairing, and this need lead to the development of the chin turret that was fitted into the later "G" model of B-17s.

Our particular model (F) series is not a small airplane it has a wingspan of 26" and a fuselage length of almost 19". On this particular airplane you can examine all the different crew stations : Look into the nose and see the bombardiers compartment with the famous Norden bombsight, and navigators position right behind. The pilots compartment is clearly visible along with their instrument panel.


Note the top turret swivels in all directions along with the vulnerable and infamous "Ball turret" also moves in all directions. Airplane is finished in the traditional Olive Drab with light gray undersides indicative of 1942 and 43.

The Flying Fortress was designed for a competition, announced in 1934, to find a modern replacement for the assorted Keystone biplane bombers then in service. The prototype first flew on July 28,1935 and went on to win the competition. Boeing then built a few pre-production YlB-17s (later redesignated B-17As), followed by 39 B-17Bs which entered service in the late thirties. Money was short, and by the autumn of 1939 only 30 Flying Fortresses were fully operational. As the US was not then fighting in Europe it did not seem to matter although, as it became clearer that involvement was inevitable, orders were increased. Furthermore, a small number of B-17Cs delivered to the RAF as Fortress Is quickly showed that defensive armament was inadequate.

Instructions- This is a rather large kit at 1:48 scale and will require a lot of sanding to complete. The wings  did not fit together perfectly so I had to use some styrene strips, putty and lots of sanding. I started with the four propellers which are painted  black with metal hub and insignia yellow tips. The inside engines are weathered in aluminum and black paint. The engine cowls remain olive drab although I have seen some planes paint the cowls gray on the bottoms to match the underside. The ball turret comes all clear, so you have to glue and sand carefully and add several coats of aluminum paint to cover completely and rid the seam. I hand painted this ball turret but sometimes will mask and spray paint it.

Paint the inside of the plane chromate green and then assemble the wings and fuselage. You have to fit the ball turret in between the two fuselage halves which can be tricky. Try a few times before applying glue so that it  does not get too messy. Sand the wings, sand the fuselage, paint the machine guns, assemble the top turret and pilots cockpit. Glue these together and you are ready to paint the plane and finish the details. The original decals were used and the plane coated with Model master dull coat.

B-17F Memphis Belle Model Photos

Click here for a B-17 Walk Through

Last Updated: 01/20/02

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