1:48 B17G Flying Fortress

A comic-strip hero and a mythical bird

The nickname Scorchy II has a literary origin. Scorchy Smith was the hero of a newspaper comic strip about a pilot that ran in American dailies from the 1930s, and more than one crew borrowed his name. The Roman two after it suggests that this machine was the second in order with its crew. The second design, Thunderbird, reaches into the Native American mythology of the North American plains, where the thunderbird brought the storm on its wings.

With the second aircraft we know the exact identity: it carries the serial number 42-38050 and the squadron code BN-U. That matters for the build, because from these details period photographs can be tracked down and the look of the finish and the placement of the other markings on the fuselage verified. Both machines belonged to units of the Eighth Air Force operating from England. Daylight raids in tight formations placed extraordinary demands on the crews, and a painted nose was one of the few things they could adapt on their own machine.

A small sheet, great care

The set is a lean one, so think out in advance where each design belongs, and better still try laying a cut-out paper outline on dry. Use lukewarm water rather than hot, because heat needlessly tightens the carrier layer. Once transferred, line the drawing up along the rows of rivets, which serve as a natural guide, and blot off the excess. The letters of the squadron code are laid separately and it is a good idea to measure out their spacing, because irregularity shows on a finished model more than a small deviation in the drawing itself. It also pays to work under good lighting from the side.