Monday, July 10

HK Models release the 32nd scale "Rose of York" B-17G w/ a special escort...

HK Models are releasing a special limited edition of their 1/32nd scale B-17G. This release of only 500 kits features a young Princess Elizabeth Windsor on a visit to a US Airforce base during WWII. We look at the occasion, the kit's decals & 3D printed figure that makes the story complete in our preview...

HK Models release the 32nd scale "Rose of York" B-17 w/ a special escort...

B-17G "Rose of York"
Limited edition kit (500pcs)
From HK Models
Kit No #01E044
499 Parts
Photo-etch & nose weight included
Decals from Carftograf for two aircraft included in this kit.
HK Models have re-released their 1/32nd scale B-17G kit. This one recreates a special occasion on a USAAF air base in 1944, when the to-be Queen Elizabeth visited the field to launch the aircraft dedicated to her. This kit features a few new elements that we will look at. First of all, we will tell you about the day behind the inspiration of this kit. 
A Royal visit to dedicate "Rose of York" B-17G.
At a ceremony at R.A.F. Thurleigh (U.S.A.A.F. Station 111), 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England on the 6th of July in 1944 to honor of Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, a United States Army Air Forces heavy bomber, Boeing B-17G-55-BO Flying Fortress 42-102547, was christened "Rose of York". 
S/n 42-102547 was originally named "Princess Elizabeth" but that did not meet with official approval. as there were concerns about the propaganda value to the enemy, and the effect on civilian morale, should the bomber named for a member of the Royal Family be lost in combat. The aircraft was renamed "Rose of York" instead and was christened by the Princess on her royal visit to the airfield.
Following the ceremony, the bomber was flown to RAF Molesworth, where a number of photographs were taken. 

There are plenty of reference photos of this aircraft at the ceremony to help us modellers...
The fate of "Rose of York" B-17G - s/n 42-102547
On Saturday, 3 February 1945, the Eighth Air Force, under the command of Lieutenant General James Harold (“Jimmy”) Doolittle, executed Mission No. 817. 1,003 B-17 Flying Fortresses, 434 B-24 Liberators and 948 P-47 and P-51 fighters were sent to attack Berlin, the capital of the Third Reich. The B-17s’ primary target was the city’s railroad marshaling yards, while the B-24s attacked the Braunkohle Benzine A.G. synthetic oil refinery at Rothensee. On its sixty-third combat mission, "Rose of York", with a different crew, was hit by heavy and accurate anti-aircraft fire. The last contact indicated that one engine was out of operation and another was streaming gasoline. The Flying Fortress went down in the English Channel with all nine crew members and a civilian news reporter.

The limited edition kit from HK Models:
we are very familiar with the B-17G from HK Models, having built one for a review way back in 2013. The kit is due for re-release with a special tribute to Queen Elizbeth II in parts and colours that show a famous visit by her (and some of her family) to the USAAF air base during World war II, the aircraft and the crew that flew it. 
The B-17G "Rose of York" kit features:
- This is limited edition with 1/32 resin figure of young Queen is Elizabeth.
- Run is limited to 500pcs
- Dimensions: width: approx 989m /full length: approx 707mm.
- Wall-mounted with mount
- Seat belt, Air intake reproduced in etched parts
- Posable flying surfaces
- Main landing gear is selective flight state, state of landing.
- 557parts

This release features two marking choices, but of one single aircraft:
B-17G -55-BO s/n 42-102547, 367th Bs/ 306th BG from RAF Thurleigh, UK on the 6th of July 1944. This is the aircraft on the day of the royal visit.
S/n 42-102547 was built by the Boeing Airplane Company at its Plant 2, south of Seattle, Washington, in early 1944. The new bomber was not camouflaged, but left in its natural metal finish. It was flown to the Cheyenne Modification Center, Cheyenne, Wyoming, on 12 March 1944, for installation of the latest combat modifications. It was then taken to the B-17 training base at Grand Island Army Air Field in central Nebraska. From there, it flew to Dow Army Air Field, Bangor Maine, arriving 3 April 1944, and then ferried across the North Atlantic Ocean to England.

B-17G -55-BO s/n 42-102547, 367th Bs/ 306th BG from RAF Thurleigh, UK after August in 1944. The yellow and red flashes applied to the tail.

The decals to match this kit are printed by the best in Cartograf, they cover the aircraft and the instrument panel, propeller stencils etc.
The other main feature of this kit is the young HRH in 3D printed resin. This figure, sculpted in 1/32nd scale. Sculpted digitally and cast in resin. This figure is shown below in drawings, then in a coloured and illustrated version. Lovely sculpting!
A colour call out is given in the instructions also :-) She looks pretty good next to the photo of young Elizabeth on that day - a great job by the designers/artists...
This kit is due out very soon, hopefully we can show you more about it at that time...

Check  out the Hong Kong Models website for more information on their kits...