Steve N

You'll need to modify the exhausts and carburetor intakes. TB-25s were put through what was called the Hayes Modification Program. This included new carburetors that used a tall square intake rather than the curved low-profile intake seen on wartime Mitchells. The exhausts were also modified in an effort to reduce cabin noise. The single ejector stacks for the upper cylinders were replaced with a collector ring, with a single exhaust opening on the outboard side of the nacelle (the lower ejector stacks remained in place.) Most flying restored B-25s have this configuration. As mentioned above, the tail gunner's canopy was usually left in place, with a sheet metal fairing over the area where the guns and canvas "boot" used to be. Sometimes it was slightly dome-shaped or even pointed to give a bit more of an aerodynamic shape, and sometimes just a flat plate. Your photo seems to show a more pointed fairing. I seem to recall there was often a small white tail light in the middle. Your photo also shows what appear to be extra pitots or instrument probes on each wing, right at the wingtip join line. Oh, and I can't see it in your photo, but sometimes there was a red light installed where the opening for the flexible nose gun was. Cheers! Steve

While I was hoping for more interior detail in the nose compartment, I still think the Airfix kit will make a better starting point for D-model B-24 than the Hasegawa kit. Airfix have at least provided some interior structural framing, as opposed to the completely smooth inside of the (entire) Hasegawa fuselage. Adding that structure to the very visible nose and waist areas is extremely tedious, and one of the things that's kept me from making much progress on the Hasegawa B-24D kit. Busying up the inside of the Airfix nose with some bits of styrene and maybe a few widgets from the spares box will be much easier. Also, the Hasegawa B-24D only contains the later fully-enclosed A-6B tail turret, introduced on the later model Liberators and incorrect for the D-model (Monogram made the same mistake when they did a quick modification of their 1/48 B-24J to a D.) Airfix has the correct A-6A tail turret with the exposed gun breeches. All in all, I'm still very much looking forward to this one, and will be getting at least a couple. Now, all Airfix needs to do is a couple of new nose halves and "chin" window and they'll have a Consolidated-built B-24J. SN

I saw that. That's why I was curious if there was a release date. SN

And as the photos show, Airfix gave the compartment a flat floor, with the bombsight mounted on it (like pretty much every B-24D kit ever.) There really isn't a flat floor in the nose compartment, and the bombsight is actually mounted about a third of the way up the inside of the nose itself. There should also be various ammunition boxes for the nose guns. SN

I guess I'm a Luddite. I'm still doing just fine masking canopies wither Bare Metal Adhesive Foil and a sharp Xacto knife. 😎 SN

Agreed. Back to my earlier question: has anyone heard anything about a release date for the B-24D? SN

A J-model would actually be even easier than the D. The only changes they'd need to make to the base H kit would be to make new nose halves and a bombardier window. For the M, you'd need the navigator's "bay" windows and enclosed waists. One issue would be that most, if not all, J-models came from the factory with cockpit side window blisters, The M had even larger "blown" cockpit side windows. The way Airfix have molded the canopy, it would be nearly impossible to just add the side blisters, They would have to mold the side windows separately, like pretty much every other modern B-24 kit. That said, I'd love to see Airfix do both! Maybe finishing my plan to graft the Academy M nose onto the Hasegawa J will make an Arifix M appear. 😄 SN

So many choices. You can get decals for Rudel, Rudel, Rudel, Rudel, and don't forget Rudel. 😉 SN

Has anyone heard a release date for the B-24D? I was hoping it might be available at this summer's IPMS USA Nationals, but it doesn't look promising. SN

Biggest problem with the Academy B-17s is the wings. Aside from the aforementioned dihedral issues, there are some other problems. Academy used a "one size fits all" approach, including the same wings with every variant. For the G, the two oil cooler intakes between the engine nacelles are missing entirely, and the larger turbosupercharger intakes are molded as shallow depressions. All need to be carved open. Also, there's a small nub underneath the inboard nacelle that's supposed to represent the external oil cooler intake that was only present on the B/C/D models. It needs to be removed. Additionally, the outboard turbos have a weird wedge-shaped thing on the exhaust pipe. This seems to represent an experimental cooling hood that was only fitted to one of the prototypes for testing. Also for a G, you're better off replacing the wheels with aftermarket items. I believe all the Academy kits feature wheels with hubcaps, which were eliminated by the time the G came along. The engines are laughably crude, the cowl openings too small. As for the rest of the kit, it's decent enough, although lacking in detail in some areas. Notably, there's no radio room at all, and the wheel wells are empty voids. But as the old saying goes: it looks like a B-17 when complete. Cheers! Steve

Both of those factors have left me slightly cool on the otherwise excellent Hasegawa B-24D. The nose compartment (and the waist, if you open the gun hatches) really needs to have some structural detail added, along with the bombardier's control panel and some stuff for the navigator's station. At least enough to "busy it up" when looking through the nose glass. One glaring error Hasegawa made was to mold the cheek gun window on both sides, when it was only on the left. Fortunately that's an easy fix, just fill the frame lines and paint over it. As for the cockpit bulkhead, the area behind the pilot's seats was mostly open with pair of structural supports running up to the ceiling, although many had slabs of armor plate added behind the seats. You could fake this by cutting away some of Hasegawa's fictitious solid bulkhead (although you need to be careful as the top of the bulkhead is part of the mounting for the top turret.) I'm interested in how Airfix plans to handle the nose compartment on their upcoming B-24D. The computer renders they've published show it as being just as empty as the Hasegawa kit, save for some structural detail on the sides. They also show the bombsight incorrectly mounted on the floor. It was actually mounted about a third of the up on the inside of the nose glass, and the compartment really didn't have a floor as such. This article shows just how much stuff was inside the nose of the B-24D (apologies for linking to another modelling site.) SN

Unfortunately, no one has ever produced a decent set of replacement cowls/nacelles for the Academy Liberators. Which is strange actually, as Quickboost makes replacement props, wheels, bomb bay doors, turbosuperchargers, and other assorted bits to replace parts that really aren't bad as-is, but not the one major thing that needs fixing. Those cowls stick out like a sore thumb to me, which is probably why I never actually finished an Academy B-24. I tried casting my own resin replacement cowls some 30 years ago from a master I made by modifying an old Airfix cowl, with mixed results. As for the fuselage, I think the issue was that it was a bit too narrow towards the tail. Here are some comparison pics I made when the Hasegawa B-24 was first released, comparing the cowls. Hasegawa's are accurate in size and shape. You can see just how far off the Academy/Minicraft cowls are by comparison. SN

Biggest issue with the Academy/Minicraft B-24s (to me anyway) is the engine cowls, which are noticeably undersize, with a simplified shape that really doesn't look anything like the complex contours of the real cowls. Both Hasegawa and Airfix did a much better job in this area. The A/M kits also split the nose and tail turrets into front and back halves, leaving a seam down the middle that doesn't exist on the real aircraft. The top turret dome also has fictitious engraved framework (the real turret dome was molded as a single piece, with some clear reinforcement strips glued to the inside.) Airfix and Hasegawa molded it correctly. Also, the A/M turrets have next to no interior detail. The Airfix and Hasegawa turrets are much more complete. Lastly, A/M molded the side panels of the cockpit canopy with a big solid lump to represent the blown side blisters. All this isn't to say the Academy/Minicraft B-24s are bad. They've got a few flaws, and are lacking in interior detail, but are a fairly simple, straightforward build that give you a reasonably nice B-24 at a fraction of the cost of the Hasegawa kit (I'm not sure how they compare to the Airfix kit in price..I've got a pile of A/M B-24s I've accumulated over the years, mostly cheap second-hand kits.) In fact, I plan to rob the A/M landing gear doors to use on the Airfix kit, as Airfix's doors lack any of the prominent structural detail that A/M captured very nicely. For the B-24J, currently Hasegawa is the best, and Airfix is the only out-of-box option for a Ford-built H-model. Airfix blows Hasegawa out of the water in terms of interior detail. I think the only feature that Hasegawa did better than Airfix is the engines and cowls. Airfix's are OK, but the Hasegawa cowls have a bit more finesse. With a B-24D in the pipeline, if Airfix add a Consolidated-built J-model to the lineup they'll corner the market on the Liberator in 1/72. Cheers! Steve

Ah, that's the version I've been waiting for! The thing that's always held be back are those winterized exhausts. I presumed they'll be provided in resin or 3D printed. Looks like my stack of SH P-40s will be getting taller. Steve

The problem with the Shapeways tail stinger was that it was designed with the windows as open holes, requiring you to fill them with something to simulate the plexi. I've been tinkering with modifying a spare tail stinger from an Academy B-17 to fit the Airfix kit. My plan is to make a master, and then attempt to cast the whole thing as a solid clear piece. I figure the windows are small enough that you wouldn't see anything through them anyway, so making it a solid piece should look OK. SN