PYN-UP Decals

1/72 B-17F/G Fortress Chics Part 3 decal sheet

Product # PYND72009 from $15.99

Product Article by Steve Bamford on Dec 21  2004

 

 

 

This new decal sheet from Cutting Edge Modelworks includes markings for two different 1/72 B-17's.  

The first aircraft is a B-17G-30-BO "Our Gal Sal" flown by Robert J. Shoens with 351st BS of the 100th BG out of Thorpe Abbotts, England in the summer of 1944.  This B-17 was the queen of the "Bloody Hundredth" having flown 135 missions with 27 different crews and had the distinction of being the longest serving plane in the unit.  The name for this B-17 was inspired by the 1942 movie of the same name starring Rita Hayworth.  The nose art was painted on control surface canvass then glued to the fuselage.....this worked and permitted the noseart to stay on despite the slipstream.  The "Our Gal Sal" B-17 flew her first mission on February 3 1944.  The paint scheme on this aircraft is overall Olive Drab on top and neutral grey on the underside.  The cockpit window frames are bare metal.  The Neutral Grey chin Turret was replaced at some point with a natural metal chin turret.  Wing leading edge deicer boots are heavily worn.  The nose art is a sexy brunette in a skimpy one piece 1940's bathing suit and high heels looking over her shoulder. 

The nose art is applied to a white decal to place under the noseart decal to avoid colour bleed through.  The light grey code letters on the side of the rear fuselage are “EP E” with a blue and white national insignia between the letters.  The tail contains a a large white square with a black letter "D" and below that are the large yellow serial numbers 231767 E.  These decals depict this B-17 about the time of her 60th mission.  The mission markings seem to go on forever on the nose of this B-17.  The aircraft was heavily worn and weathered by this point in her career and these details are covered in the text instructions included in the decal set. 

The noseart decals are delicate and two are included for each plane in case you mess up the first ones.  Exacting instructions are included on how to prepare and install these decals…..read these instructions carefully to avoid disaster.  Apparently these noseart decals are very thin and need special care, but once installed they will look very accurate and realistic. 

The nose art decals are printed on a one piece decal sheet, so you’ll need to cut the decal free from the rest of the decal film…..patience is the key here.  The noseart decal is beautifully printed with fantastic detail and lovely shading.  

The first aircraft is a B-17F-25-DL "Double Trouble" flown by Lt William Winniesheik with 333rd BS of the 94th BG out of Bury St. Edmunds, England in October of 1943.  This B-17 crashed landed in Margate, England after a combat mission to St. Dizier, France.  It was slavaged but never flew again.  The paint scheme on this aircraft is overall Olive Drab on top and neutral grey on the underside.  The nose art is two sexy ladies in sexy lingerie and high heels.  The nose art is applied to a white decal to place under the noseart decal to avoid colour bleed through.  The tail contains a a large white square with a light coloured letter "A" and below that are the large yellow serial numbers 23082.

Again.....I will refer you to the special instructions mentioned for the noseart decals earlier in this review....these instructions apply to the noseart decals for this aircraft as well.  The decals were flawlessly printed and in perfect registration and the clear carrier film is trimmed very close to the crisply printed colored areas.  You get enough stencils and national insignia for one aircraft. 

The instructions are clear and include 2 or 3 views of each aircraft and an extra 3 pages of text instructions is included with a small bit of info about both the planes as well as helpful tips for decal application. 

A very nice decal sheet and  sure to please the lucky 300 people that manage to buy one of these limited edition sheets.

Click on images below to see larger images of the instruction sheets

I would like to thank Cutting Edge Modelworks for providing me with this review sample.

Steve

Photos and text © by Steve Bamford