Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Part 1

Lifelike Decals, 1/72 scale

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Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

The Japanese company Lifelike Decals has just released two new sheets for the B-17 Flying Fortress in 1/72 scale.  This one 72-014 is the first of them.

The sheet provides markings for four machines in all, three –Gs and a single –F. 

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The individual options are:

• B-17G-40-VE, 42-97976, 'A Bit O' Lace' of the 709th Bomb Squadron, 477th Bomb Group based at Rattlesden Air Base in the United Kingdom in the Spring of 1945.  The machine is in overall natural metal finish with a replacement port side outer wing in olive drab and neutral grey and an olive drab rudder.  The placement guide makes the statement that the option is “a very famous aircraft”.  An understatement indeed.  Those of us who have been around for longer than they would readily like to admit in public would remember that the original issue airfix kit came with the markings for this machine.

• B-17F-60-BO, 42-29591, 'Shamrock Special' of the 401st Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, as it appeared whilst based at Bassingbourn in the United Kingdom, October 1943.  The single –F model on the sheet, it is finished in olive drab upper surfaces over neutral grey undersides.

• B-17G-35-BO, 42-31982, 'Superstitious Aloysius' of the 322nd Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group based at Bassingbourn in the United Kingdom, July 1944.  This option is also finished in olive drab upper surfaces over neutral grey undersides.

• B-17G-65-BO, 43-27516, 'Tondalayo' from the 406th Bomb Squadron, 305th Bomb Group and based at Cheddington in the February of 1945.  Finished in an unusual overall black and employed on Leaflet dropping missions over the continent.

As usual with Lifelike Decals their placement guide provides a full and complete description of each option and why they have depicted the way they have.  Each option has a full colour side profile illustration as well as close-up illustrations of the nose art.  Upper and lower plan view illustrations are also provided as appropriate to each option.  The placement guide also carries a list of 16 references consulted in the research to produce this and the other B-17 sheet in 1/72 scale.

A separate sheet carries 1/72 scale line drawings of vertical views of the noses of the Academy and Hasegawa –F and –G kits and a comparison drawing to real –Fs and Gs.  This sheet points out that both manufacturers have modelled their kits in variance to the actual machines.  This point is highlighted by Lifelike so as you can apply your decals correctly.

The decals themselves are well up to the high standards set Lifelike Decals.  You get four sheets with this issue.  The larger sheet carries the majority of the codes and Bomb Group identifying symbols whilst the smaller second sheet carries all of the nose art.  A point with the nose art decals is that they are all two-part in that a white underlay is provided for each.  The fourth sheet carries a single set of national insignia as well as the wing group markings for the first option.  The final sheet is a small errata one carrying correct serials and individual squadron code for the fourth option.  All of the individual designs are thinly printed and in perfect register.  Stencil data is limited to two-part manufacturer’s logos for the propeller blades, fuel filler points for the upper surfaces of the wings, and fuselage underside identity lights.

The decal sheets and the placement guide come packed in a clear plastic zip-loc bag.

The recommended kits are Academy and Hasegawa for the –F option and the Hasegawa and Academy –G.

Nice stuff from Lifelike Decals.  It provides good quality markings and first rate research for four very nice options.

Thanks to Keishiro Nagao of Lifelike Decals for the review sample.

Lifelike Decals are available by email at lifelike@eos.ocn.ne.jp or from

2-8-7-202, Kameari, Katsushika, Tokyo 125-0061, Japan
fax: +81-3-5680-6733