B-17F and B-17G - because one Fortress simply isn't enough! (Pt. 1)

I am currently half way through building two B-17 kits, the Academy B-17F and Revell's B-17G. Building the two side by side, I have been able to compare and contrast the two models and also 'borrow' a few surplus parts from the newer Revell kit to put on the Academy one. 

The Revell B-17G kit

The Revell kit is a recent release (2010) and as such has many of the things us modellers have come to expect with a new tool kit. Engraved panel lines, multiple options for different versions and a decent interior. The Academy kit on the other hand is a much older tool, but it still has nicely restrained panel lines and overall it is dimensionally accurate - it is currently the best option for a B-17F until Revell decides to issue their own version (which I think is likely). The drawback with the Academy kit however is that the interior detail is somewhat sparse to neglible, and there is a shape issue with the engine cowlings as they do not taper in correctly and the openings for the engines are too small (although if we're pointing fingers, the Revell nose looks a touch narrow to me so that's not perfect either). 

Academy B-17F interior. Notice the lack of radio room or rear fuselage detail.

So to get the models up to about the same standard, I embarked upon a sctrachbuilding exercise (my first one really) to build a radio room and waist gun position for the Academy kit. This was all very roughly done and was never going to be an exact replica, but I figured AN interior is better than NO interior, right? right!  The internal rib detail was simply plasticard strip cut and glued into place, and the radio room was again thin sheet plastic cut to shape, using the Revell kit parts as a template. Into this space, some spare seats from the Academy kit were glued in, as well as some various gubbins from bits of plastic in the spares box to give the impression of detail. 

That's all for part one I'm afraid. I shall update this build as it happens.