21st Almost made a 1:32 Flying Fortress B-17

Dauntless · Post by **Dauntless** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:40 pm

Thought I would post this in case some of the smaller scale fans missed it in the 1:18 thread. My heart almost stopped at this news. Thought it important enough because we've discussed it here.
This from TKO211 (21st Century Fan Club Prez):

Also- totally forgot. there was lots of talk about a 1:32 B-17! it was going to be packaged like a 1:18 fighter. Would have been VERY cool.

Oh well...

hworth18 · Post by **hworth18** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 8:06 pm

There was also plans for a 1/32 Mosquito, but that's not going to happen either.

Col.Pickle · Post by **Col.Pickle** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 8:44 am

I would've wet my pants if they did

Anyone have a guess at what they probably would've sold it for? I'm guessing about $50.

Dauntless · Post by **Dauntless** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:02 am

I'm guessing a little more in price. $50 would be a steal.
I would have paid at least as much as any 1:18 plane they had if not a little more. They were getting up there in standard price there at the end.

Now if it came down to it depending on the detail, If I had a choice between that or a 1:18 Tomcat for the same price, I would choose the Flying Fortress and not even blink. Though different scale, it would be about the same huge size.

hworth18 · Post by **hworth18** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:05 am

Dauntless wrote:I'm guessing a little more in price. $50 would be a steal.
I would have paid at least as much as any 1:18 plane they had if not a little more. They were getting up there in standard price there at the end.

Now if it came down to it depending on the detail, If I had a choice between that or a 1:18 Tomcat for the same price, I would choose the Flying Fortress and not even blink. Though different scale, it would be about the same huge size.

I would've bought the 17 and not thought twice either..

Dauntless · Post by **Dauntless** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:19 am

Can you imagine the diorama hanging in your room?
Four B-17's in formation, maybe one going down, a gaggle of 109's, 190's, maybe some 262's, with some allied fighters chasing or in formation, peeling off for an attack.
My god! That's what dreams are made of IMO!

Not to knock the large scale (which I love too) but you can't do that with 1:18 unless you own a gymnasium, church, mansion or airplane hangar.

Post by **aferguson** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:07 pm

hmm......i think you'd be pretty hard pressed to do a diorama like that in 1/32 as well, unless you own a gymnasium, church, mansion or airplane hangar.

c44 · Post by **c44** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:02 pm

...but if my church had that kind of heavenly diorama I'd go more often...

olifant · Post by **olifant** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:30 pm

So tell me aferg, would you have dipped into the 1/32 pot for a Fortress?

Dauntless · Post by **Dauntless** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:34 pm

The church of the...Holy mother mary of what is that hanging from the ceiling!

Ok, one or two B-17's, one of each 109, 190, 262, and P-51.

Besides, I gotta save room for the PTO on the other side of the room.

Post by **aferguson** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 7:29 pm

no, i already have a halfway decent 1/18 B-17 from an r/c kit. So i wouldn't have gotten a 1/32 one. Would have loved to have seen it though..

And i suspect it would have been close to $100, because while not a lot larger than an xd fighter, it would have been a lot more complex.

olifant · Post by **olifant** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:30 am

aferguson wrote:no, i already have a halfway decent 1/18 B-17 from an r/c kit. So i wouldn't have gotten a 1/32 one. Would have loved to have seen it though..

And i suspect it would have been close to $100, because while not a lot larger than an xd fighter, it would have been a lot more complex.

You and your collection continue to amaze me. Where do you store a 1/18 Fort? This sounds like a good reason to post round two of photos...

Post by **aferguson** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 8:43 am

the fort is still in it's box. It's going to be a bit of work to get it to look good and i havent' had the energy yet. I do have a spot reserved to hang it though. So one day.

Here is a pic of what it looks like raw out of the box:

http://www.raidentech.com/nibflfoboai6.html

Dauntless · Post by **Dauntless** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 9:46 am

That must be close to 5 ft. wing span?

olifant · Post by **olifant** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:26 am

WOW is all I have to say. It isn't very detailed but for $200 you can't knock it. Just imagine if our better customizers here spent a few hundred man hours on it! It reminds me of that custom 1/18 Lancaster that English guy did.

I know I am way off topic for the 1/32 forum and this post but with NOTHING going on in the hobby I am about ready to pop for some of the twin engine foam birds. God knows tinkering with them and my three left thumbs will kill the time.

Post by **aferguson** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:32 pm

It's a 65 inch span.....5 feet 5 inches. As such it's a bit underscale, at around 1/19 but it is close enough for me.

The tail gunner position will require the most work, as there isn't one....so it has to be built from scratch. Next tougest will be cutting waste gunner windows. I'm not sure it will even be possible as there may be no structure there, just covering mat'l which has no rigidity when cut into. So i may have to paint them on or go with glass waste gun window overlays, rather than open ones, which i'd prefer.

Other problems are with the cowls and nacelles which are small and not terribly accurate.....not much to be done but live with them. Although it shows a clear bomb aimer's blister, it is actually solid wood, painted. Apparently the new ones coming out now have a clear piece there but mine is solid, so i'd have to paint it to look clear.

The model is balsa framework, covered with a paper thin plastic like material. It wrinkles over time so i will have to literally iron it to smooth it down.

So lots of work to be done.....but with all its flaws i think it will look pretty cool once painted. I've already got a 109 hanging across the room from where the B-17 will hang, doing a head on attack.

Dauntless · Post by **Dauntless** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 2:12 pm

Nice! and huge.

The point I want to stress is that if the guys at 21st thought it was possible, and they would know, then it IS possible, and our previous discussions going back in other threads had meaning.

I would hope that the other companies might latch on to this idea, and bring it to fruition, because it is doable, and within reason IMO.

If we don't say yeah we want this!, than no one will give it a second look.

Realistically, as much as we might wish otherwise four engine bombers stand a better chance of getting made in 1:32 than 1:18.

That goes for twin engine planes as well, though we'll see when something other than the P-38 is made (Mosquito)

Post by **aferguson** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 3:15 pm

i think a 1/32 b-17 is very feasible. Whether someone will ever make it or not remains to be seen.

c44 · Post by **c44** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 4:09 pm

http://www.figarti.com/Special/Image?im ... A3217E.jpg

Anybody know the winning numbers for the next lottery?

Coreyeagle48 · Post by **Coreyeagle48** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:04 pm

Andy

You would have loved the early days of R/C when Granddad and I used to fly them regularly

They were the old build with balsa and cover types. Would have allowed for great details for a B-17. Giant scale was just coming around then and at one of the fun fly's, someone brought about a 1/6 or 1/8 P-47, very cool.

My grandfather and I each had a CT-114 Tutor in Snowbirds colors. We used to take them to all the fun flys in our area and people loved them. Unfortunately Granddad crashed the one only a few months after it was built and we never much flew the other one after that. He also had a Zero at one point and I had a P-40 but both of those were crashed as well.

My favorite was a PT-19 Cornell I had. It was the first plane I built after I graduated from flying the trainer (oddly enough, the Trainer we had survives to this day, we crashed all the other ones, LOL). The Cornell was a very gentle and easy to fly model. You could cruise and just hang out. The P-40 we had was a handful by comparison, which is why it ended up in the cornfield. They were neat planes though, much more fun to build and fly than the foam ones out today, no offense.

Sadly, we lost ost of our fields around here and I don't have the time to fly anymore.

Corey

Dauntless · Post by **Dauntless** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 11:02 pm

c44 wrote:http://www.figarti.com/Special/Image?im ... A3217E.jpg

Anybody know the winning numbers for the next lottery?

Yeah, I seen that one a while back. Pricey.
Still 1:32 aye. But the detail for the price, me thinks no.
I think 21st would have for sure done a better job for considerably less.
I forgot is that diecast? It seems details are better with plastic, for some reason.

krieglok · Post by **krieglok** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 7:13 am

While I would not pass up the chance to buy a 1:32 B-17, I would rather have one in 1:48 scale to match the 1:48 stuff put out already.

I think 21st would have and has, strayed from the mark by making planes so large that they are only good for displaying and not playing with. It gets to a point where the planes are so big, kids cannot use them for their intended purpose. A little more thought should go into the size of the finished product. A 1:32 scale Avenger would have been a perfect sized model. I mentioned earlier that my 10 year old son wanted a 1:18 Avenger and a while after I bought it for him I noticed it sat on top of his book shelf, untouched. I asked him why he wasnt playing with it and he said" It is too big to hold up and make the various features work."

Bigger isnt always better especially when it come to toys like these. I would rather have a 1:48 B-17 with many of the working features 21st was known for rather than a plane that will spend the rest of it`s days hanging from the ceiling untouched and eventually un-noticed.

TJ

Post by **aferguson** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 8:35 am

it's an interesting point. I just display my 1/18's so the large size doesn't bother me but i can see it being a problem for those that would like to fly their planes around etc. Far too cumbersome for that.

However, i could see a 1/32 B-17 being very fun to play with. You simply hang it in the middle of the room (temporarily for play) at about shoulder height and then have your hand held 1/32 109's and/or 190's swoop in making passes at it. The bombers flew straight and level for the most part so there isn't a lot of need to move it anyway. If room permitted you could hang a whole box formation of B-17's.

However, kind of a moot point now.

krieglok · Post by **krieglok** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:28 am

That is certainly true. I think one of 21st`s early approach to producing toys that approached the realm of scale models and being attractive to modeler/collectors was their strong point. Their later efforts were getting too fragile for average play and handling.

I have many of the 1:18 aircraft but the Avenger was just plain too big. 1:32 would have done that aircraft justice. I am guessing a 1:32 B17 would approach the same size. If they made it similar in construction to their early P51Ds, it would be a sturdy model/toy. Either way, being a 21st Junkie, I would have bought one no matter what...

TJ

Dauntless · Post by **Dauntless** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 2:46 pm

All the wonderful 21st 1:32 German planes I have need something big to attack, and all the Mustangs I have need something to defend in the skies over my room.

Would be cool to get a B-17E first. The Memphis Bell, to peak interest.

Maybe do an "Old 666" with a slight modification for the PTO. http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=55267

Small Scale Military Headquarters

21st Almost made a 1:32 Flying Fortress B-17

21st Almost made a 1:32 Flying Fortress B-17

She then, heathen...

I won't own the title to one anytime soon...

Re: I won't own the title to one anytime soon...