The model is built to a scale of 1/8th actual size. If this miniature gunner were to stand up, he would be almost 9" tall.
Research for this project started with a stack of books and magazines 12" tall! After that, a little field work - armed with camera and measuring tape, I crawled through 3 different real B-17s and then I could start the drawings.
The fuselage segment is made from 1/64th plywood formers tied together with built-up plastic stringers. Skinning is .010" plastic sheet. Details in and around the fuselage are bits of plastic and wood.
The gunner is epoxy putty over a wooden armature, detailed out with the usual plastic, wood and epoxy putty. He's suitably attired in heavy boots, bulky jacket, Mae West life vest, flak vest, flak helmet, heavy mittens, and oxygen mask.
The model shows a moment in time somewhere over Europe. It's 1944, early in a mission, and the gunner has just test-fired his weapon. Later on, if German fighter opposition was heavy, the floor would be littered with hundreds and hundreds of spent shell casings, rather than the few shown here.