JimmyZ Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Time for another update. After glueing the final gear bay doors I noticed something obvious is missing, the "thingy" that opens and closes this door when lowering or retracting the gear. Once again I opted to scratchbuild the piece, and used electrical wire again. Here is the same done on the other side. And both sides. The front gear wasn't missing anything terribly obvious, apart from part of the gear (probably also retracting mechanism) going inside the bay. I've used electrical wire insulation for this. Then it was time to start appying decals. I started off with the Airfix supplied star & bar insignia. It's a bit thick, but conformed nicely with some Microsol. I after I did the two wings, I matt coated to see the results and was happy. Then it was time for the scheme decals from ESCI...which is when disaster struck I really should have tested the scheme decals at the start of this build The decals all (tested 3) broke up after a few seconds in water. When touching it with a cotton but it broke up even more. Trying to transfer it it disintegrated into tiny bits. Luckily I tested this with unneeded decals from the same sheet, however the decals were useless. I could change my scheme to my second choice, but that would require major changes to the paint, and needs the star & bar with red bar insignia. And since I've already matt coated over the blue star & bar decals, this wasn't an option at this late stage. Then I remembered from a previous time I used dodgy decals (not nearly as bad as these though) where the instructions read to first spray the sheet with gloss varshish before using it. I don't have gloss spray at the moement as my local supplier is out of stock for the next 3 weeks! I had semi gloss though, and tested on some unneeded decals. I seems to transfer in one piece, and after testing several decals like this I sprayed my schemes decals and let it dry. 45 minutes of silently praying and violently swearing (or was is silently swearing and violently praying? I don't recall) I transfered all the decals without any breaking up. Apart from some silvering (no doubt because of the varnish) - which I can live with - it came out okay Here it is matt coated, and I must say it looks a lot better than when it was gloss. I still have to glue a few bits and do some post shading and weathering which will hopefully make it look the part. Cheers Jimmy 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Good save with the decals! For future reference, I always keep a bottle of Microscale Liquid Decal Film handy for eventualities such as this. Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Good save with the decals! For future reference, I always keep a bottle of Microscale Liquid Decal Film handy for eventualities such as this. Martin You see, now I know! Thanks Martin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Nicely done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Good save Jimmy. Seems lots of BMers are having decal issues at the moment... Must be the weather! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 Hi everyone, I though I'd add the two aerials (or whatever it is) below the nose I see on photos of B-25H's. First I drilled two holes for the aerials which would result in stronger adhesion. I started by carving toothpicks to use for the aerials, since I would need something quite strong and thin. Before that inevitably failed, I realized I could use this Worked pretty nicely. Don't know why it looks skew in the photo, since I made sure it lines up with each other. The aerial wire will come later. Then I finally glued on the engines And after that I glued the wheels on. It's really starting to feel like it's almost finished. This just to show what I have done with the rear fuselage gun positions prior to glueing the windows Apart from the props and nose guns, all that's left is the dry pastel and oil weathering stage, which I am really looking forward to! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 It's looking like it's almost finished as wel! Really nice work. Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Looking forward to seeing this completed! Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Looks fantastic. It really is hard to believe this is the old Airfix kit, excellent work. Craig. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 A short update, while I'm finishing up the final tasks for this build. Apart from the two propellers, all bit's and pieces are now glued! I thought before glueing the propellers (which still needs some touch up paint) I thought I'd start with my dry pastels for a panel shading effect. I won't post a pic now and leave it for the final shots when finished. Though don't take this as a declaration that it looks good, I'm still on the fence as to deciding if it looks good or not. Something else I started was exhaust stains on the engine nacelles, to mimic what I have seen on photos of B-25H Mitchells around 1944. Most people would have attempted this with an airbrush, but as I am a brush painter, I had to try other methods. I used oil pastels mixed with thinner (mixed brown and white). Here is is very subtle here (you might not see it) and I am not finished yet. After it dries I will add slightly different color shades and build up the effect. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lastvautour Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 Lovely work. Looking forward to your finished Mitchell. LOu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 This has shown real modelling dedication and tenacity. The Mitchell looks very nice and details like the corrected intakes are icing on the cake. Really inspiring work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted January 17, 2016 Author Share Posted January 17, 2016 Hi everyone, At last this project is finished, and it's been quite a build! This kit has a ton of shortcomings, and I've attempted to fix some if them. You will without doubt still be able to find inaccuracies after all the work I've done. It would be far fetched to say I recommend this kit. Truth is, I don't. However if you find this kit for a bargain price, AND you want to add a lot of detail via scratch build or detail sets, THEN you might enjoy it. I really enjoyed building this kit, but I won't attempt an Airfix B-25 again (at least until it's been re-tooled). I'd like to thank everyone who gave me tips and advice during this build. In the end this was more of a learning project than anything else, and if I were to redo this kit after all I have learned, it would look a lot better. I also thank everyone who gave compliments (deserving or not) during this WIP, as well anyone who just viewed anonymously. Please refer to the RFI thread for more pictures. Cheers Jimmy 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Great WiP and a lovely result Jimmy - you should be very pleased with that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitz23 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Lovely job, love the B-25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convair Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I especially liked the faded tail control surfaces. I could not do such a good job using a paintbrush. A great work and a beautiful model! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Great result and a really fun build to watch! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZ Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 Great WiP and a lovely result Jimmy - you should be very pleased with that Lovely job, love the B-25. I especially liked the faded tail control surfaces. I could not do such a good job using a paintbrush. A great work and a beautiful model! Great result and a really fun build to watch! Martin Thanks everyone, I appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lastvautour Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 This was my first time following a build on the site. It has been a pleasure seeing your progress and the ultimate highly successful completion.. Congratulations and thank you for the experience. Lou 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Great result, well done. Craig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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