Democracy: We Deliver (1/72 Hasegawa Liberator VI)

[Procopius]

't becomes still more difficult to reconcile Japanese action with prudence or even with sanity. What kind of a people do they think we are? Is it possible that they do not realize that we shall never cease to persevere against them until they have been taught a lesson which they and the world will never forget?'

-- Winston Churchill, 26 December 1941

Hello again, I'm pushing my luck and trying your collective patience now, I know. I'm going to be building Liberator B.VI KH283/B of 159 Squadron based at RAF Digri, Bengal, in the Southeast Asia Command. KH283 was often flown by B Flight commander Squadron Leader John "Johnny" Gauntlett, DFC, a Canadian from Orilla, Ontario serving in the RAF. (He had been studying history at Bristol University when the war came, and joined the army on September 5, 1939, transferring to the RAFVR in April of 1941.) Gauntlett happily survived the war; he passed away in 1994. Here he is:

KH283 is notable because she had not one, but two striking pieces of nose art: a redhead ascending a ladder on the port side, and a blonde reclining on a surfboard on the starboard.

The redhead has some resemblance to Mrs. Procopius, which was in truth why I wanted to build this particular aircraft, instead of one of the many other interesting RAF Liberators out there. When I informed her of this, she replied, "grrrrreat," in a dead, emotionless voice.

In any event, here we go again:

The Hasegawa kit has extensive internal partitioning, and can be built with the bomb bay to open, to which: no thank you. I will need to cram as much weight up front as I can; the instructions recommend 90 grams, which is going to be troublesome to fit in there.

The front part of the aircraft is molded entirely in clear plastic:

Oh Hasegawa. You shouldn't have. So that's going to be fun, figuring out how I can go about masking that and painting the interior and exterior.

Finally, I have the decals. I have SEAC markings from three manufacturers, and none of them agree with each other. Top to bottom, Eduard, Freightdog, and Kits at War:

HMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

[perdu]

Isnt the lighter blue supposed to be Azure Blue and the darker one the normal Roundel Blue?

In which case if I'm right you need the light blues off the upper sheet (looks closest to Azure to me)

And the dark blues off either of the others

fun fun fun

er not

I wonder if Mrs P would be more receptive if you point out that the Mrs P-alike does have clothing even if just a tad skimpy

Her erstwhile companion is slightly less encumbered

(all in favour of unencumberment raise a hand)

Looks like another fine aircraft is winging its way down the line to us

put me in the register teach, I'm in class

[Martian]

Martin

[modelglue]

If we cheer for unencumberment, do we risk infringement in earned trust/credibility via supportive comments due to said likeness to Mrs?

I think this build calls for an addition to your fulsome and growing skill set: Compass and scalpel cut masks with airbrushed roundels in correct/homogeneous colouration. That might sound crazy but I want to attempt it sometime too. You seem to have a hand up on airbrushed quality, hence the volunteerism.

I think you mean "Orillia, Ontario". Orilla sounds like gorilla. And that is nowhere I would want to visit. Nice write up though, is this kit going to have DAP green paint or the standard OD?

[rob85]

Another great subject! And some stunning nose art... good luck with the roundels, I know! Why don't you try masking them, Your always up for a new challenge..... .

Rob

[Harry Lime]

Isnt the lighter blue supposed to be Azure Blue and the darker one the normal Roundel Blue?

Put simply, no. The darker blue is indeed Roundel Blue, but the lighter one is 'India White' and is made by mixing Roundel Blue with white. The mix is 4 parts white to 1 part RB (I think, references aren't easily to hand just now).

Out of that selection of decals, I'd be using the Freightdog ones as they look best to me.

Mark.

[perdu]

That sounds definitive enough Mark although if I was working to that spec I think I'd use the ones underneath that, simply because of colour likeness to whitening the roundel blue

If I was painting something that colour I would almost certainly use the roundel blue to get that colour with white

There seems to be a slight red/pink cast to the middle ones

IIt'd be an interesting task working that one out

Edited January 25, 2015 by perdu

[hacker]

is the Hasegawa kit better then the Academy ones?

[Procopius]

is the Hasegawa kit better then the Academy ones?

It is more accurate in shape, with correctly-sized engines and turrets. It also costs nearly twice as much.

[Cookenbacher]

You refuse to waste any time PC, and for that I'm grateful. I'd be following this thread either way, but I have had a Hasegawa 1/72 B-24 arrive at my door recently, and I'd like to learn how to build it!

[MikeW]

In a word - Nice

[Stew Dapple]

I'm in, PC, if there's a spare seat; after sharkmouths, nekkid ladies are probably my favourite nose-arts

As for that clear plastic nose section... oufff! That's going to require some ingenuity... got a mask set for it?

As for Mrs. PC's apparently lacklustre response, try this on:

MRS. P: Edward, I bought this Chippendales doll because I think it looks like you.

PC (in a flat dead voice): Great.

(Not to suggest that they do make Chippendales dolls, or that Mrs. P would have the faintest interest in them, but I hope you see what I mean; it's all about perspective )

Anyway, good building

Cheers,

Stew

[Procopius]

I wonder if Mrs P would be more receptive if you point out that the Mrs P-alike does have clothing even if just a tad skimpy

Er, actually, the dressed one is not the one that looks like Mrs. P.

I think this build calls for an addition to your fulsome and growing skill set: Compass and scalpel cut masks with airbrushed roundels in correct/homogeneous colouration. That might sound crazy but I want to attempt it sometime too. You seem to have a hand up on airbrushed quality, hence the volunteerism.

Sadly, my compass cutter is a cheap piece of crap and I can't get a good circle cut with it, nor do I have a good match for roundel blue.

I think you mean "Orillia, Ontario". Orilla sounds like gorilla. And that is nowhere I would want to visit.

My mistake! In my defence, a country that names a town Medicine Hat is capable of anything.

Nice write up though, is this kit going to have DAP green paint or the standard OD?

Apparently she went straight from Dallas to Dorval in Canada and thence to Lajes in the Azores, and then to Karachi. My indications are she remained Olive Drab and Neutral Gray her whole life.

Out of that selection of decals, I'd be using the Freightdog ones as they look best to me.

There seems to be a slight red/pink cast to the middle ones

I'm glad you said something, I was worried I was seeing something there, Perdu. The Freightdog ones seem to have a faint mauvish (Mountbatten Pink!) cast to them to my eye. I'd prefer them to be the correct ones, because I like Freightdog and using their products, and because there are a ton of roundels on the sheet. But the Kits at War markings looked more correct to me. So I'm in a dilemma.

You refuse to waste any time PC, and for that I'm grateful. I'd be following this thread either way, but I have had a Hasegawa 1/72 B-24 arrive at my door recently, and I'd like to learn how to build it!

I can spot you some sick markings if you like; I have some for a shark-mouthed Dutch one that I'm not likely to build as it's not got RAF markings.

As for that clear plastic nose section... oufff! That's going to require some ingenuity... got a mask set for it?

I have one coming from the UK, but it's still en route.

As for Mrs. PC's apparently lacklustre response, try this on:

MRS. P: Edward, I bought this Chippendales doll because I think it looks like you.

PC (in a flat dead voice): Great.

I foolishly left my vestigial mustache on when I shaved today, you know, just to try it out, see how it looked. Mrs. P has been wandering around the house, singing "pedo-staaaaaaache...to the rescuuuuuuuue!" So (1) I'll be shaving again soon, and (2) that doll would be a step up for me.

Oh, right, and the model. I've begun adding weight to it:

[Planebuilder62]

Filling the area under the front turret helps as well and it is not visible, to keep the front wheel on the ground

[Procopius]

Filling the area under the front turret helps as well and it is not visible, to keep the front wheel on the ground

I'm counting on it! I'm also debating putting some weight in the fronts of the nacelles, but I'm not sure if that will actually affect the CG.

[Stew Dapple]

I believe that anything forward of the mainwheels will have a positive effect on the CG - the added weight is more effective the further forward it is added though.

Cheers,

Stew

[Procopius]

I should mention, incidentally, that the B-24 and I have a family connection; my father's late uncle was a 1st Lieutenant with the 734th BS, 453rd BG, and flew B-24Hs. Here he is with his crew: http://www.b24bestweb.com/hoo-jive1.htm

I believe that anything forward of the mainwheels will have a positive effect on the CG - the added weight is more effective the further forward it is added though.

Cheers,

Stew

I learned that the hard way with the Dragon Meteor III, sadly.

[HOUSTON]

great start ..Look forward to this ONE

[Chaotic Mike]

Are you going to take liberties with the nose art and scan Mrs P's face onto the redhead? Only asking because as a trained geologist I can get access to earthquake monitoring data and would appreciate a 'heads-up' to discount any tremors of known origin...

[rob85]

I know there is a build on here where they put weights in the nacelles but it sounds like it would just add weight rather than solve the problem?? Maybe invest in a metal front wheel and get more weight up front?

Rob

[modelglue]

I added "security weight" to the engine nacelles of my P-61B, after I thought I misjudged the amount needed in the nose. It did help. I was too afraid of placing too much weight on the forward gear leg so this worked out nicely. I've read that adding flats to the main tires helps to keep it sitting nose down, but I have yet to try it.

[perdu]

[jedi]You do well to consider extra weight in the nacelles young PC [/jedi]

get it in anywhere you can

More Liquid Gravity- less adhesive and filling goo

Steal balance weights off neighbour's car wheels too and slice, hammer and saw them into chunks that will go anywhere

Why do I say this, you may ask

When I built 'that' Catalina I added weight up forrards and hoped that using metal engines would also help

poo and even tish

It sat 'just balanced' forwards until the nose wheel went on, then went A over T back on its haunches

No extra weight made any difference because lifting the nose altered the angle of dangle

Nose wheel off, roughly sits flat

Nosewheel on poo bah yow and yaroo

I had to pin the nose wheel to the base for display

I wish I'd filled the tail end with helium

[John Laidlaw]

Weight times distance from the CoG is what you need to bear in mind - a given mass 2" from the CoG will have twice the 'moment' of that same mass 1" from the CoG. Weight added to the nacelles will have an effect, therefore... just not as much as if you could find a place further forward.

With regard to the decals, the Kits at War colours look best to me... the Freightdog ones look a touch too violet .

[WV908]

You must be doing a good job Procopius....I've just snapped one of these up off of evilbay for a very reasonable price. I'll be following this closely

Cheers,

WV908

Edited January 25, 2015 by WV908

[MikeW]

I always add a bit more weight - for insurance, as there is nothing more annoying than a tail sitter. ( Well, OK, maybe a plague of rats ). Airliner fuselages allow a lot of space to do this of course. Also, I just like the feel, the heft of the thing, when a build is heavier. But no, this does not mean if someone says "Nice model Plane" I respond with "Oh yes, but please pick it up and twirl it around to really appreciate it".

On the shaving front - do. When I went off to university I let my hair, beard, and moustache all grow. ( It was the 70s, one could get away with looking unkept ). First time I made an entrance at home, mum, without missing a beat, says "I hope you are going to shave soon, you look just like Jesus". Have never felt the same about facial hair since.

Cheers,

Mike