1:32 B17 F/G Flying Fortress

Flying Fortresses with painted noses

An A5 sheet offering a pair of Boeing bombers that flew from British bases with the formations of the Eighth Air Force. Both machines are among those for which not only a photograph but also the story of the nose art has survived.

• 42-30857, My Devotion in the F version, 510th Bomb Squadron of the 351st Bomb Group. The artwork was created by waist gunner Seymour Ziegler from an article in an army magazine.
• 42-97976, A Bit-O-Lace in the G version, 709th Bomb Squadron of the 447th Bomb Group. The subject is among the best known nose paintings of all.

Artwork drawn by a comic strip author

The figure on the second machine comes from a comic strip that Milton Caniff drew for the troops, and the artist himself supplied the reference for transferring it onto the aircraft. It was put onto the fuselage by armorer Nicholas H. Fingelly, who acted as the squadron's resident painter. The printing of the sheet is therefore handled with the large scale in mind: the artwork is smoothed and the skin tones softened so that enlargement does not reveal the halftone screen.

Before you lay the decal down

In 1:32 scale nose art covers a respectable area, and that is exactly where the base shows most. It is a good idea to coat the place under the decal with gloss varnish, let it cure properly and work with plenty of water, so that the large carrier can still be moved on the curved nose. A stronger softening solution comes in only at the second step, once the position is settled. And because the nose of a Fortress is not smooth, it pays to pierce the dried decal lightly at the rivets and apply the solution a second time.