general melchett Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 Cheers Meatbox, apparently when the old kites were handed over to Bomber Command as surplus USAAF stock the delivery crews asked if they seriously intended flying these old basket cases into battle ? the general consensus was that they should instead be headed for the bone yard, all being tired veterans of many missions. The RAF not only patched them up, refurbished the interiors and engines and gave them a new lick of paint but also went on to fly them very successfully and with good serviceability for quite some time, in fact of the 28 aircraft on the strength of 223 squadron only two were lost to enemy action and one FTR due to an accident/incident, the rest being SOC before eventually being scrapped...... This particular aircraft started life as a B-24H-20-FO 'Noble Effort' of the 80th BS, 490th BG and ended her days being sold for scrap in 1947.......not bad for an old bucket ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 Superb... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 I love that black & white shot - really lovely build 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted December 25, 2016 Share Posted December 25, 2016 I really like this one. Thanks for taking the time to post. Bob H. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted December 25, 2016 Share Posted December 25, 2016 A very nice looking Liberator, Indeed! Very interesting choice of markings as well. I hate to sound like a Rivet-Counting Shape Nazi, but i feel Monogram did a good job on everything on their B-24 kit aft of the cockpit, but something looks amiss with the nose. The Canopy looks a little squashed and the upper profile of the nose forward of the windscreen looks too high. Academy copied the nose shape of the Monogram kit, but Matchbox and Hasegawa went solo when they did their 72nd scale efforts and especially in the case of the Hasegawa they nailed the shape of the front end. Monogram's B-17, C-47, B-29, and B-26 got the shapes right, but the A-26 in particular was faffed up. The Liberator, not nearly as bad but.... This is not meant in any way to take away from the quality of your work, which is as ever fantastic. Well-rendered Monogram B-24 builds are genuinely rare. david 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted December 26, 2016 Author Share Posted December 26, 2016 Thanks chaps, David, agree the kit canopy was rubbish and was binned before even starting it, too squashed and slightly undersized, the Squadron vac I used here is a far better shape, matching photos, the window shapes are more accurate and the whole thing has a better width too. the nose profile seems OK now that the higher canopy is fitted. The kit one is not only sqwished but also dips down at the front which makes the area forward of the screen look even higher. Funnily enough I always thought the Hasegawa one looked slightly wrong. The Hase upper nose drops off too steeply to the turret and seems pronounced especially with the astrodome fitted but maybe that's just me. This shot on the cover of the book shows the gentle curve without astrodome nicely, the Monogram doesn't quite a have the curve right either but it's less of a transition..... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango 1 Posted December 26, 2016 Share Posted December 26, 2016 Nice work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted December 27, 2016 Share Posted December 27, 2016 That photo in a nutshell summarizes why the Monogram nose looks odd. -d- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 All I can add is....wow! Cockpit is outstanding! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Excellent Liberator, great scheme too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Lovely work Andy. Not something you see often either which makes it more interesting 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Cheers chaps, that's very generous of you. Mike I should have taken more photos of the finished cockpit, fuselage interior and bomb bays...in fact I'm pretty sure I did but for some reason they're in hiding ..if they surface soon I'll happily post them here. Thanks again and Happy New Year to everyone.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F4u Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 It is amazing what can be done with these classic kits with a bit of skill and patience and General you certainly have skills in bucket loads !!(And patience of coarse). Love the British markings great choice of a particular aircraft , makes a nice change from the U.S marked machines all though I'm fond of the natural metal ones. Great paint work and weathering , and the details are superb. Well done Guy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted January 3, 2017 Author Share Posted January 3, 2017 Thanks Guy, glad you like it. It was fun searching through the information on the more obscure BC types particularly in regard to the RCM role, a side of things that a lot of folks haven't come across before, most know of the pathfinder missions but not so much on the highly secret counter-measures side of things. The BCDU (Bomber Command Development Unit) also threw up some interesting sub types and variations so that's another area I'll be trawling in the near future not only WWII but also regarding the V-Force........it's always interesting to see what toys the boffins were playing with at the time... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark4700 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Another fine build general 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I got one of those in about 1984 or 1985 when I was 9 or 10, glued it all together by Boxing Day, didn't paint it but spent hours putting on the "stickers" as I called them back then! Still got it somewhere as well! Great build and well done, I love it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 Thanks guys, Stimpy that's back in the day when modelling was so simple...as a nipper father would bring home a model for some reason or other, the packaging was duly ripped open usually destroying the destructions in the process and had the thing up and built in a couple of hours, (or in the case of Frog or Airfix about 30 minutes).......parts torn from runners, glue fingerprints, cloudy canopies, huge gaps, wobbly undercarriage, badly placed transfers and all. Paint what was that ? and before you knew it it was either flying around the room to the accompaniment of The Dambusters March along with screaming engine noises and badly aimed 'bombs' pelting the dog, aged family members or siblings, hung from the ceiling to forever gather dust and spider webs or in my case usually end up with a small firework shoved up it's rear end ready to re enact a particularly destructive episode of Thunderbirds, (around Guy Fawkes night you understand....... I didn't have a year round supply of incendiaries ). Ah, the innocence of a misspent youth. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Superb build, looks absolutely fantastic, nice bit of info on the type as well, thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 You 'da man, General! Just now saw this- incredibly clean modeling on the cockpit and the colors and weathering are spot-on! Where do you hangar the beast, though? Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Master Modeler. Good story, relevant information and a super model. Regards, Orion/The Netherlands. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Nothing I can say that hasn't already been said. Awesome model! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head in the clouds. Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Superb as ever General. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Alright I suppose if you like that sort of thing. And I do! Bravo mon general - a work of Liberation. Btw: Have you seen Martin Streetly's An excellent tome in many respects. Lovely work, Tony Only just noticed the other Streetly reference on page 2. Apologies if this is an unnecessary repetition of an author you know well already... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 Thanks chaps, as usual the kind comments are very much appreciated, Quote Where do you hangar the beast, though? Mike, luckily Monogram had the foresight to enable the wings to slide on and off making storage a breeze, so it now resides in one of B&Q's finest plastic storage boxes mounted on small, shaped polystyrene plinths away from dust, paws and little fingers...not to mention the memsahib's formidable but lethal Dustbuster... Tony glad you approve old chap, actually I haven't read that one...so thanks for the info, I shall duly begin a webwide manhunt for said tome and track the blighter down and with Airfix's Fortress III just around the corner it won't be a moment too soon.... Cheers all Melchie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 What a beautiful beast, always a pleasure to see a familiar aircraft in unusual RAF markings, fantastic rendition. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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