Steve N

I've never heard of the tailplane being moved forward, but I believe it was extended in span by a couple of feet between the I and II. Could this be where the confusion is coming in? SN

This clip has actually been sped up by about 30%. Still some fantastic footage though. SN

I was referring to stock plastic kits. Those do look great though. SN

As for fixing the nose, I suppose you could build up and reshape the area ahead of the windscreen, but I'm not sure how you would fix the canopy. the biggest issue there is that the side windows are taller at the front edge than they are at the back, when the height was constant on the real thing (necessary, and the opening panels on the sides slid back over the rear panels.) I supposed you could sand the lower edge to get the shape correct, then build up the cockpit sill to compensate, although I don't know how that would effect the windscreen. Like others have said, it may not be a big deal to some, and that's fine..I simply think they could have done a better job considering the resources available in this day and age. Some years ago I was chatting with a fellow modeler who was building an Academy/Minicraft B-24, and I commented on the undersized and poorly shaped engine cowls, and he said they looked fine to him, as the Liberator isn't a subject he knew a lot about. I mentioned that the Tamiya 1/72 Spitfire looked just fine to me, to which he replied it was "all wrong" and talked about the planform of the elliptical wing and fuselage dimensions. We both just had a good laugh, and agreed that at the end of the day they're just bits of plastic, and if you're happy with it, then that's all that counts. I'll temper my criticism of the HB cowls somewhat, as looking at the buildup it appears that Part #10 on the sprue is a backing plates that provides the insides of the "cheek" intakes. However the exterior contours are still incorrect and simplified. I suppose it's one of those things that either bugs you or doesn't. I first started looking at B-24 cowls when the Academy/Minicraft kits came out in the early 90s. The cowls on that kit are significantly undersized and poorly shaped, and I studied the contours of the real ones in an effort to modify Airfix cowls to fit. Here is the new HB kit. The cowls look "OK-ish," but the contours aren't very accurate. Here's a real B-24 cowl for comparison. The "cheek" intakes are actually angled inwards, and the inner edge set back from the rim of the engine opening. Not entirely germane to this thread, but here's a photo I made years ago comparing the 1/72 Hasegawa and Academy/Minicraft cowls. So far, Hasegawa are the only ones to come close to capturing the complex shape of the real thing (although as I mentioned above, the upcoming Airfix B-24H looks very promising in that regard.) Anyway, just some random musings from somebody who obviously has way too much time on his hands. Steve

I'm not quite as picky as Wrath/Tlavok/Gaston. I tend not to quibble over a millimeter here or there, as long as the kit captures the lines of the subject reasonably well, and the quality is decent. That said, the canopy and fuselage top in front of the cockpit are just glaringly obvious errors. One thing I haven't seen mentioned on this thread are the engine cowls, which are absolutely awful. Pretty much every B-24 kit ever just portrays them with a flat front and crescent-shaped inlets on either side of the engine and calls it a day. The contours of the real cowl are much more complex. If you take a look at a real one and compare it with the new HB kit, they're not even on the same planet. So far, the Hasegawa 1/72 kit is the only one to get them right (although the forthcoming Airfix B-24H looks promising as well.) Steve

Classic short-shot. You might be able to find an original Hasegawa boxing cheap on the second-hand market (it's the same kit.) SN

Emerson. Always has been. Steve

This was a scene from a wartime romance movie, (I forget the title.) The footage is actually sped up by about 30%. SN

I built the LS Rufe some years ago. Fun little kit, although I added a simple cockpit, vac canopy, and engine from the spares bin. SN

The question is: which Airfix B-17? They've produced to vastly different kits of their own, as well as re-boxing the Academy kits under the Airfix label. SN

The Academy B-24M has fully-enclosed waist gun windows, although they're the single-pane with staggered guns (forward lower corner on one side, aft on the other) rather than framed type with centered guns seen on Kentucky Belle. SN

I watched it a couple nights ago. Some personal observations: I haven't read the book since I was a kid, probably 50 years ago, but from what I remember the film follows the story pretty well. The film is a bit hampered by the short running time..character development is nearly non-existent, and the drama playing out in the vampire cockpit seems quite rushed. I think it would have been better to spend longer building up the tension and the pilot's increasing desperation. Special effects were so-so. Mostly CGI, and not all that believable in spots. I presume this was shot on a fairly limited TV budget. The Vampire appears to be seen taxiing under its own power, and I think there are a few flying shots that used an actual flying aircraft, albeit darkened down with night backgrounds added in with CGI. The flying shots of the Mosquito are all CGI, but the closeups of Travolta in the cockpit are obviously a real aircraft. For being lost at night over the North Sea, the cockpit of the Vampire is very well-lit. The obvious soundstage lighting seemed really jarring to me. One thing that I was dreading was if Travolta would attempt a British accent. Fortunately he doesn't..there's a throwaway line about his character being Canadian (I don't recall if that's from the book or not.) I do think he should have shaved..I don't think an oxygen mask would work over a beard. Anyway, overall pretty good. Us rivet counters can find plenty to nitpick, but it captures the story pretty well. Definitely worth a watch. SN

I just stumbled across the Sword C6N dirt cheap from an estate sale last month. It indeed looks very nice on the sprues. Vastly superior to Fujimi (which I also have.) However, I haven't built it, and Sword kits have a reputation of not being the easiest kits to build. SN

The problem is that Rising sheet has been out of production for many years, and is pretty much impossible to find. SN

Biggest difference is that in the movie the name was painted in large, cursive letters, while on the actual Belle it was fairly small, simple block-style lettering. I don't know if the movie version correctly displayed the mission tallies and other personal markings either. SN