Matt G

Just recently finished building one of these as a PBJ-1D. Have to admit to being a little disappointed with the kit, interior detail is great but a lot of adjustment was required to fit bulkheads, etc in. I bought the Quickboost cowls as they suited the particular aircraft I was doing and are a better shape generally, but found them to be smaller in diameter than the part with the cowl flaps by a noticeable amount. So instead I opened the kit cowls up to the right diameter (very simple task) but they still have a smaller radius in side view (a bit 'blunter' looking) when compared to the original aircraft. I can confirm that the nose gear can be fitted after completion. On the subject of the undercarriage, it sits with a relatively nose down attitude when compared to the sit of the real aircraft. The Monogram B-25 is pretty much spot on in this regard, but the main gear of the AM kit appears to be about 3mm longer and the nose gear about 2-3mm shorter. Adjusting the nose gear should be easily done by adding a spacer between the mount and the top of the gear, but the main gear would involve a 'cut and shut' job which could be challenging, but not impossible, to get right. Also, carefully dry fit the nose, both clear and solid plastic, before gluing. I read another build thread that highlighted that the forward nose transparency is shorter (top to bottom) than the two nose components it mates to. Some light sanding of the lower nose portion to adjust this before gluing the upper transparency on prevented a large step at the bottom of the nose piece. I've got another one of them in the stash and the Italeri rebox of the B-25G as well, but won't be jumping into them for a little while yet! Not an easy kit to build, but not impossible, and is your only choice for a half decent early B-25 in 1/48 scale. Hope this helps. Cheers Matt

Hi Guys, I lurk more than I post on Britmodeller, but thought I'd chime in on this one as I'm a bit surprised to see my handiwork in The Rumourmonger section! I applied a bit of thought to the scale of this one and arrived at 1/32 for exactly the reason that Admiral Puff gave, there have already been kits of the CA-15 in 1/48 and 1/72, so I'd rather invest the effort into something that hasn't been done before. I don't build much in 1/32, but I have a P-51D built in that scale, and a 1/32 P-47 and Spitfire in the stash so I thought it would look good next to them! I also have to echo the statement about it being called a 'Kangaroo', which was never an official designation. The MB-5 was 'just' a MB-5, the same as the CA-15 was 'just' a CA-15. As for when it will be ready, I'm not in a position to say yet, I'm just one guy with a full time job and a family doing this as a hobby, so it gets 're-prioritised' at times! I post updates on Aussie Modeller, but if people are interested I can post here too. Cheers Matt

I would be very keen to see these in 1/48, particularly the B-25s. I've built A47-29 (KO-D) using decals I made myself, but I'm keen to do A47-21 (KO-L). The artwork on the noseart of A47-21 was a bit of a stretch for my decal making capabilities, however! Matt

Thanks for the comments guys, very much appreciated. CanDid, you are quite right, I looked back to where I found the info on the Alclad clears and the Aqua Gloss is the only acrylic, the others are indeed solvent based. If turpentine dissolves it I would presume they are an enamel, and therefore even more foolish of me to have handled it when I did!!! Turnerdad, good to know that Blondie was kept clean, I would have hated to dirty the aircraft up to make it realistic! Cheers Matt

Very nice work, great looking SHAR. Matt

It's been a while since I posted a completed model on this forum and this model is the reason why! I started it in October last year and it was a bit of a battle to maintain motivation over all that time, mostly due to non-modelling issues and the sheer volume of work required to do this kit justice. It is an extremely well engineered kit, the praise heaped on it is justified and the fit is excellent. Paints are Alclad for the metallic areas and Tamiya for the red and olive drab. Clear coat over everything is one of the new Alclad clear coats, Light Sheen, which has no effect on the metal shades, unlike some other clear coats. One thing to bear in mind is that their clear coats are acrylic, not lacquer, so the fast dry time for which their metallics are known is not present here. I would leave the model as long as you possibly can before handling after application of the clear coat (this is the voice of experience, please don't ask how I got it!!) Overall, a very challenging kit but very rewarding, particularly after picking up first place in the competition at our club meeting today, first time I've had that honour!! Hope you like the photos, comments are appreciated. Cheers Matt

Beautiful work, Graham. Cheers Matt

Stunning work, well done! Cheers Matt

Great work Max, keep it up! Cheers Matt

Great work, looks like a real warhorse! Cheers Matt

Great work, very realistic. Cheers Matt

Never seen that scheme before, nice! Cheers Matt

Very nice work there, well done! Cheers Matt

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated! Doug, thanks for considering I talk sense, my wife won't agree with you! Joseph, good question, haven't got a good answer! Not something I even considered during my research, generally I only paint the forward side of the blade tips unless it is obvious both sides were painted. It's probably a throw back to my apprenticeship, part of which I spent overhauling propellers. During that time we never painted tip markings on the rear face of the blades, so I suppose old habits die hard! Trpsarge, agree on both points, the kit definitely needs some decent quality decals and panel line washes suit some aircraft better than others, as does a lot of forms of weathering. Thanks again. Cheers Matt

Very nice work there, all of these nice P-47s on display are almost enough to make me have a crack at another one! Cheers Matt