Small Scale Military Headquarters

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=715269

Looks ok....not as nice as the EAM kit but this will come pretty much fully assembled, which is a big plus. The biggest drawback that i can see is the tailgun area.

About 6% too small.....so it's about 1/19 scale. No word on price yet but i would expect $200 ish, after it's available in the US for a while. The link posted is a British site....whatever they want in pounds is what it will probably be in US dollars....seems to be the way it works, even though the pound is worth twice what the dollar is.

Will have the advantage of being pretty light, which is good for hanging. It's not great but it's good and with some work could look pretty nice.

And, beggers can't be choosers..

Neat! You're right about the tailgun needing some serious work, but the front end looks pretty good

That is great.
I did some checking on the manf. website and found they have a B-25, P-38, C-160, Bronco, P-47D and P-82
http://www.fly-model.com/cp_detail.php? ... 2:&catid=0
List of other aircraft:
http://www.fly-model.com/cp.php?catid=2 ... 62:&page=1
but from the site it says that they are out of ZheJiang China.
http://www.fly-model.com/main.php

Besides the obvious tail guns with no gunner, isn't the ball turret much too far back and what happenned to the waist gun positions??

Even in the early B17 models which did not have tail guns or a ball turret (belly gunner fired from a position inside the belly), the B17 always had the most important waist gun positions..

Interesting model but needs alot of work before my absolute favorite model (B17) would take up room set aside for my second most favorite, the B25.

TTT

if you check the last couple of pictures in the original link i posted, you'll see they've made some mods to the Fortress. More correct looking tail gun pos'n, waist gun windows and i assume they move the ball turret to the correct spot as well.

Looks pretty crude but i think this is just a development prototype. Good potential if they can get the shape and finish done better.

I agree that it has potential and with some work it could be pretty nice.

Mark

http://cgi.ebay.com/B-17-Flying-Fortres ... dZViewItem

These are starting to hit Ebay. Says regular retail price is $399AUS which is about $330US but that's probably the highest it would ever be. I bet in a year or so they can be snagged in the mid $200 range. Those mods i talked about in my last post WERE NOT MADE TO THIS MODEL. Those were pictures of someone's conversion of another plane altogether; i didn't realize that at the time i made my post.

This one will still need tail gun mods, ball gun mods and waist window guns added. Still it's way better than the B-17 we got (or will ever likely have) unless you're pretty handy with wood working and want to tackle the EAM kit.

I think the number of us who buy this model may lend some credibility to what Rob said about a B-17. It is too big and too expensive to sell. I know this one doesn't have any of the detail or features our models do, but if collectors won't touch this thing - and I suspect we won't - I could see why a B-17 is viewed as a lead balloon. Add to that the brick and mortars would never stock it, and the Etailers couldn't carry enough to float production, and I think Andrew is right this is as close as you're ever going to get to a B-17...

Price for this shipped from the factory is $197. Less than i thought. I've seen no reviews of it yet, so everything i know about it is contained in this thread.

I'm tempted. The fuselage looks a bit too slender to me, which is making me hesitate a bit. I think the ideal solution would be to graft the wings and tail surfaces of this onto the EAM B-17 fuselage. Expensive proposition though. ~$400

digger wrote:I think the number of us who buy this model may lend some credibility to what Rob said about a B-17. It is too big and too expensive to sell. I know this one doesn't have any of the detail or features our models do, but if collectors won't touch this thing

You hit upon an important point with your last statement above. I don't really want to drop $300 on something that is designed for R/C flying. But I would drop $300 on one if 21st or another manufacturer made it, a pre-assmebled detailed model such as what we are accustomed to.

I still don't know if there are enough buyers out there to justify the tooling costs. 21st Century probably has the best idea of anyone. They continue to build bigger model aircraft, they know what their investment is, and they know if they are making a return on it. These big Vietnam-era jets and the other WW2-era bomber should be a good next-phase test.

If that works out well, why not kick it up one more notch?

this 1/19 scale b-17 is now available for purchase.

http://www.nitroplanes.com/nitromodels- ... -kit-.html

If you look on google you can find a 5% discount coupon for Nitro models....saves you 10 bucks.

As discussed earlier, this plane needs some work but with a bit of work i think it can be quite decent. I just found out the nose is solid, not clear like in the pictures. But the turrets and cockpit glass are clear.

I plan to order some vacuform clear parts (which include the nose perspex) and cowls from EAM (total cost about $30) to dress up this b-17 a bit.

So, for some work and less than $250 you can have a pretty decent looking B-17. It will be nice and light too, for hanging purposes.

Since i have completely given up hope of there ever being a B-17 by 21c, BBI or AT i am pretty excited about this option.

That is all.

Is it pre-painted as it appears in the photos?

painted silver with red trim yes. The markings are stickers that you apply, they don't come on the model already (that's a good thing).

It comes needing only some small assembly to make it into a model....if you were to r/c it there is some more work required.

What would be cool is if two of the members around here got together and bought one, and went half-sies. Then, cut the guy in half down the centerline, and each one does a full-on detailed interior. Sweet. Very,very sweet.

ideally i'd like to see 21C knock out a 1:18 scale version complete with figs and payload.