The Scoop:  Minicraft’s 1/144 B-17 was always a nice little kit.  A new windshield, decal sheet on steroids, and a stand make this release their best yet for this classic.

The B-17E (first version with larger-diameter tail and ventral fin on vertical stabilizer) first flew in early 1941.  German Luftwaffe pilots created a nickname for the B-17; the “Flying Porcupine” due to its many guns, but learned that the best vector for attack was head-on.  With its new chin turret able to protect a cone-shaped region directly in front of the bomber, the B-17G must have been an unpleasant surprise for an unsuspecting Luftwaffe fighter pilot the first time this tactic was tried when it debuted in late 1943.

Minicraft #14754 has a new windshield and enhanced decals.  Including the Minicraft Stand, the kit is attractively priced at $19.99.

It is this latest version, the B-17G with the chin turret, that Minicraft has had in its inventory for some time now.  This classic 1/144 scale kit has been previously released in a number of decal schemes, for both silver and green airplanes.  Kit #14754 depicts a green B-17G, this time with colorful red stripes and yellow lettering. ​

A new clear Minicraft Stand is included.  Landing gear is double-position (very easy to installed deployed or stowed) so you can build this in-flight if you want.

This latest release has the most new features that this kit has ever had, including some new tooling.  The cockpit windshield has been redone and it will provide a much better result than the old clear part.  Many modelers prefer to use decals on small-scale aircraft such as this, and for the first time, a set of decal windows is also included.  The decal sheet also has a full set of de-icer boots.  New engine faces are also there.  The nose art, Man-O-War II, is clear and crisp.  You may need a magnifying glass to appreciate it.  This is thanks to use of premium quality Cartograf decals by Minicraft.
 
This kit has good “bones.”  Flight surfaces have discrete engraved lines, and panel lines are raised and very thin.  There are few if any sinkholes, none of which should bother anyone except the fastidious contest modeler, and this is a small handful at most.  Installing the landing gear is a breeze and it looks very nice. 

Each main landing gear tire has three ejector pin marks on the inside; again, this probably won’t matter for a fun, recreational build.  I couldn’t see any appreciable level of flash.  I built one of these kits a long time ago, and it goes together without any issues as I recall.

The boxtop scheme will make a striking model with the high-visibility wing and tail markings.  Perhaps you're more interested in depicting a plain-looking B-17 in OD.  42-37971 will be an easier build without the need to paint the red stripes and fewer decals.

It looks like a Boeing B-17!

New canopy has very fine raised lines to make a much-improved cockpit area.

The "glass" sprue, close-up.  

​Perhaps the most difficult part of the build is dealing with a number of small, clear parts and the tiny guns—there are quite a few and they’re fragile once installed, so it will help to have intermediate skills when building this model.  For builders experienced with such items, there’s nothing else of concern.  The overall paint scheme is fairly simple; top and sides of the model are olive drab, underside is neutral gray, and you’ll have to paint the red stripes.  If painting the red stripes doesn’t appeal to you, there is a plain-OD scheme representative of a typical B-17.

A one-page assembly sequence with a parts map.

Note that the Minicraft Stand can be cut to vary the height of the model.  Buy three B-17's, build them in flight, and cut the stands to three different heights.  You'll have a nice formation diorama.

It’s easy to build the landing gear in either up or down position and in-flight prop spinners are included.  Use these with the included Minicraft stand, and you’ll have a nice in-flight display.
 
Dem Brudders heartily recommend this kit and give it an enthusiastic four thumbs up!

We'd like to thank Minicraft Models for supplying the kit for this review.  Be sure to visit their website to see this kit and all the others!

BONUS MATERIAL

COLLECT IT!
 
Like Minicraft’s B-29 and other kits in the Classic Minicraft 1/144 range, the low prices justify purchase of multiple kits to build some interesting variants of the B-17.  It’s such an easygoing build that you can focus on your conversion instead of just getting the model put together.

Over the years, Minicraft has released the B-17G with some interesting decal sets.  14726 should be easy to find, and portrays an 8th Air Force “G” in a bare-metal finish.  “Bit O Lace” and “Flak Eater” are two other well known B-17G schemes you can find that have been done by Minicraft.  You’re on your own with markings, although some of these suggested have had aftermarket decal sheets released.  If you haven’t done so already, a conversion such as this might be a good time to learn about the options available for printing your own decals.

One of the more unusual B-17 detours during the war was  Operation Aphrodite.  Mostly B-17’s deemed at the end of their useful lives were stripped of non-essentials, heavily laden with explosives, and flown via TV and remote control to their targets. 
 

Minicraft has released the "G" in a few interesting natural-metal schemes over the years.

Takeoffs couldn’t be done with the TV-R/C gear, and so a pilot and engineer had to take care of that detail and bail out once the plane was in the air.  B-17’s were modified by removing the entire upper cockpit including the top turret.  This area was mostly faired over with sheet metal.  The immediate cockpit was left open like a two-seat roadster.  It just looks surreal and would make an interesting  conversion that shouldn’t require a complex amount of “plastic surgery.”

"Operation Aphrodite" B-17 open cockpit.  Note the sheetmetal at left covering the area where the cockpit hump was removed.

At the dawn of WWII, in late 1941, the B-17D was the latest variant deployed.  The "Pearl Harbor" movies show "E" models.  This is so wrong!  Making a 1/144 scale "D" B-17 out of a "G" will be quite a bit of work!

Operation Aphrodite was not successful with none of the 14 attempts hitting their targets.  Perhaps the most notable failure took the life of Joseph Kennedy Jr.  Kennedy had not yet bailed out when ten tons of high-explosives detonated prematurely (his aircraft was a B-24, an exception to the B-17's normally used for the program).  When looking at the cockpit setup, any pilot must have been nervous with the prospect of bailing out of a B-17 and avoiding the empennage.

A captured B-17E in German colors.  In drawings I've seen, the tail serial numbers are yellow, as is the entire bottom of the aircraft.  The top appears to be olive drab.

Another captured "E".  This would be a very easy scheme to do; I haven't seen pictures of this plane with any numbers.  Top is OD, and I believe the bottom is close to robin-egg blue.

​Perhaps one of the most challenging conversions would be to backdate Minicraft’s “G” B-17 to a “D” or earlier.  Bobbing the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer and reshaping the back of it shouldn’t be too hard, but narrowing the entire back end of the aircraft will be a bit of a chore.  I’d cut out some long, thin pie-sections at the top and bottom seam, and one along each side to remove the extra diameter.  After that will come a fair bit of sanding and puttying.  Chances are the vertical stabilizer will just need to be removed temporarily to get the rear fuselage shape right.  As mentioned, it’s not an easy one.
 
It will be easier to backdate the “G” model to an “E” model by removing the chin turret and shortening up the front nose blister a bit.  B-17E’s were captured by both Germany and Japan and repainted with their insignias.  These would be additional unusual subjects to add to your B-17 collection.

There's an extra top turret on the YB-40.  Twin guns were added at the waist position.

An XB-38.  Note the intakes between engines on each wing.  This started out as a B-17E (no chin turret).  The XB-38 was faster than the regular B-17, but it could not fly as high.  This put it at greater risk from AA fire.

During WWII, there were some experimental sub-variants of the B-17 including the XB-38 and YB-40.  The XB-38 was an experiment with Allison V-1710 engines.  There were fears that a shortage of Wright Cyclone engines might disrupt production of the B-17, and this alternate source for engines was explored.  If this variant reminds you of a P-38 stuck on each wing, it's because a version of the Allison V-1710 was used on that aircraft as well.

The YB-40's were intended to be gunships, carrying defensive rounds for the machine guns instead of bombs.  Their role would be to protect squadrons of bombers.  25 were built and they were not nearly as effective as long-range fighter escorts, which were beginning to show up in greater numbers when the B-40 program was cancelled.  The extra weight of guns and ammunition, plus the drag of the new turret  made the YB-40 struggle to keep up with the standard B-17's.

TWA converted a B-17 to an executive transport.  There are decal sets around in 1/144 scale for this scheme.  A B-17 will spice up your 1/144 airliner collection!  The XC-108 was an experimental transport version of the B-17 built during the war.  It was not mass-produced.

After WWII, there were plenty of surplus B-17’s that were repurposed.  SB-17 B’s flew “Dumbo” Search and Rescue missions by the Coast Guard, being retrofit with a boat that could be dropped to downed airmen.  You'd have to scratchbuild a boat to do this one.

B-17’s were used as turboprop engine testbeds.  A fifth engine was grafted onto the b-17’s nose, and the other engines could be shut down to test the fifth engine in flight.  My favorite is the P&W T34 turboprop, which eventually powered the C-133.  The nacelle almost looks like it was designed to be there, unlike some of the others that looked awkward.  In addition to the nose and prop, there are some exhausts underneath that you’d need to scratchbuild, too.

PB1W’s were Navy B-17’s configured as early warning radar aircraft, precursors to the EC-121.  They were outfitted with a radome and painted Navy dark blue, as other Navy aircraft were finished since 1944.

There were several 5-engine B-17 testbeds like this.  Note that the four regular props are feathered.  For the record, that center engine had around 5500 horsepower.  Compare that to 1200 HP each for those Wright Cyclones.  The XT-34 by itself was more powerful than the four piston engines.

One of the great ironies that awaited surplus WWII B-17’s was the drone role.  Instead of avoiding enemy fire, these aircraft were used as aerial targets by the U.S. Air Force after WWII.  The final official flight of the B-17 with the Air Force occurred on August 06, 1959 as a drone.

At the end of Thunderball, a 1965 James Bond movie, a more or less accurate Fulton extraction is shown at the very end.  This personnel recovery system, employed by the CIA, was still fairly new at the time.  A B-17 with Fulton-gear was depicted in the movie, which might make another interesting conversion.

A couple more suggestions:  In the movie, Dr. Strangelove, there are some aerial background scenes shot for the B-52.  They were shot from a B-17, nicknamed, "Dr. Strangelove."  In a couple scenes, the unmistakable shadow of the B-17 can be seen standing in for the shadow of a B-52.  After WWII, some B-17's survived to become fire bombers.

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