1:48 B17F Flying Fortress

A drawing whose painter we know by name

With most painted noses the author stayed anonymous. Here it is different. The design of the machine with the serial number 42-3057 was created and painted by Lieutenant Leonard S. Salleng himself, and that as early as 1941 in Maine, long before the aircraft flew off to war. The bomber carried the squadron code LG-N and its nose belongs among the well-documented cases where it is known who held the brush.

The second machine on the sheet has the serial number 42-29591, the code ZL-L and a nickname referring to the Irish shamrock. Both aircraft are of version B-17F, that is, the earlier guise of the Fortress without a chin turret, with a glazed nose and waist gun positions. The set thus brings together a pair of particular historical machines, not just a collection of freely chosen drawings. For the modeler that is an important difference, because a serial number makes it possible to track down photographs and build the machine in the exact guise of a particular day.

Accuracy comes first here

Because both aircraft are identified by serial number and squadron code, the build can rest on a period photograph. Check the position of the code letters on the fuselage, because it differed between individual groups, and only then apply them. Seat the drawing and the letters on a gloss layer, once dry remove any adhesive residue with a damp brush and finally even the surface out with matte clear coat. With the earlier version of the Fortress it is useful to remember that the nose is glazed, so the design is laid lower than on the later machines. The difference is only a few millimeters, but on a finished model it is immediately noticeable.