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Hi mates, My entry in the Obsolete Kit Group Build is the Revell USA kit of the PB4Y-1 Liberator in 1:72 scale. This kit originates from 1965, and has been released many times, most often as the B-24D. First, the box art: I purchased this kit at a meeting of our local club, way back in 2012, for the princely sum of one US dollar. So what's in the box? Well, surprisingly it was all there, although a couple of prop blades had broken off. The transfer sheet is unusable, but we'll be using an aftermarket sheet so it's not an issue. Here are all the parts: Gotta love the blue plastic - I won't have to paint it! I compared this to an Academy B-24 kit that I have in my stash, and they are quite close. Despite the "Authentic 1/72 Scale" on the box, I had worried that this might be one of those odd-ball scale Revell kits but it doesn't seem to be the case. The surface detailing consists of recessed panel lines (I kid you not!) and about seven million raised rivets. Here is a closer look at one of the fuselage halves, and I think you can see how the panel lines are engraved, and not raised. Whether the panel lines are in the right place is another matter. For this build, I am not going to fret over it. The panel lines stay where they are. Now those rivets...I hate raised rivets. One can make the argument that they should be there, but in 1:72 scale they would be quite insignificant indeed. My plan is to sand off all of the rivets, and just have the panel lines. The Academy kit is designed that way, for what it's worth. As I've demonstrated repeatedly, I seem to be incapable of building a kit OOB. Not wanting to tempt fate, I went out and got some aftermarket. Now I know what you're thinking - there is no aftermarket for a 1965 Revell kit of the B-24! True, but there is a lot of stuff for the Hasegawa, Airfix, and Academy kits. If this stuff doesn't fit, why, we'll make it fit! I got some nice resin for the cockpit (the kit is beyond basic in this area), some nice new resin wheels for the main landing gear, a vacuform canopy set, and a really nice decal sheet. These address the biggest problems that I see in updating the kit. I may end up getting replacement props, too, we'll see if I can get SWMBO to increase my allowance. The decal sheet is from Iliad Designs in Ottawa, Canada and has markings for several PB4Y-1 and B-24D Sub-Hunters. I received this about two days after I ordered it, really nice service from the folks at Iliad! I'll most likely use one of the top two schemes, both in the tri-colour camouflage of Non-Specular Sea Blue, Intermediate Blue, and White. These planes have some nice nose art, "Galloping Ghost" and "Subduer," and represent aircraft that were based in Brazil during the war. The fourth scheme from the top is one I've not seen before, being Olive Drab and Neutral Gray over White. This is described as an experimental scheme, based at Langley Field, and it may have never gone any further than that. I won't be starting on this until I finish the Supermarine Scimitar that I'm building for the FAA Group Build. So check back in a week or so, and I should be off and running with this one! Cheers, Bill

Hi mates, I started this project as part of the BM Obsolete Kit Group Build, but was not able to finish in time for today's deadline. So I've moved the build thread over here so I can continue posting future updates (such as today's). Now that it's no longer part of the group build, let's consider it a photo essay of one man's dark journey into the depths of insanity. The kit itself was released in 1965 when the young Master Navy Bird was a mere pip of a lad, just ten years old: I remember my brother building this kit (in its B-24D guise) and then promptly blowing it up with firecrackers. Ah, the joys of youth! I bought this kit at a recent club meeting for a mere $1.00 USD, and thought it would be perfect for the group build. But before you go any further...please read the first part of the WIP thread here. If you don't, then you won't know what's inside this little beastie! And there are a LOT of goodies inside! This weekend's progress was not as much as I'd like, but wifey and daughter seem to think there are other kinds of building that I should be doing, like trees and decorations and wrapping and cookies. Oh, and snow removal...arghhh. For those who've been following along, you'll recall that the vacuform canopy and nose glazing (which were designed for the Hasegawa kit) do not fit the old Revell kit. I'm therefore going to use the kit parts even though they're a wee bit on the thick side. The most troublesome part, though, is that the nose glazing had some guide hole pockets moulded on the inside, and they're not hidden by any framing. I sanded them off, and while I was at it I also sanded as much of the inside as I could. I started with 400 grit, advanced through 2,000 grit and then switched over to Micro Mesh and went up to 12,000. The nose glazing then got two coats of Future and the difference was amazing. I could actually see through it, and the residual distortion is caused by the curves, and there's not much I can do about that. The canopy on the right had not been sanded, polished, or dipped in Future yet, and I was hoping for a better before and after effect. The photo does not do this justice! In order to be able to see at least some of the new cockpit, I decided to open the windows on the canopy. I used my razor saw, following guides made by a scribing tool. I plan on using clear sheet styrene to put the rear window back in, and also for the sliding front window. After cutting the windows out, I sanded, went to town with the Micro Mesh and dipped in Future. Back to the nose glazing - it seems the typical front armament for the sub hunters consisted of two Brownings mounted in the forward position, one high and one low. The cheek guns are not installed in the reference photos that I have. And since I made the nose glazing so nice and clear, those forward guns are going to be nice and visible. I added two resin gun stocks to the inside of the nose, and I'll add the gun barrel and cooling jackets later (since they protrude out the front, and I'd rather only break them off a minimum number of times)! I then added the ammo belts, and bent them into a shape that simulated their normal "droop" from the ammo box to the breech. The ammo belts are from the Eduard PE interior set, and are hard enough to fold into the U-shaped cross section, let alone get them into this shape. But they look really cool... Next I began the dual of the day - masking the nose. I'm not sure why, but Eduard doesn't offer die-cut masks for the 1965 Revell Liberator kit. They're missing a huge market of $1.00 kits lurking in attics across the globe. So out came the trusty Tamiya tape, my old Mark 1 eyeballs, some extensive trial and error, a lot of cursing, and at the end of the day she was masked. I then glued the nose onto the front of the old bird, and you know what? It almost looks like it belongs there. I had to add some framing that Revell forgot. You may notice that I also added the tail assembly from a few nights ago. In addition, I've temporarily mounted the engine/cowlings since I want them in place when I paint the fuselage. They're tacked in with white glue. Since this plane will have the USN tri-colour scheme, the cowlings get all three colours and it's important that the demarcation lines match the nacelles. I'll do the detail painting of the engine faces after I remove the cowlings, as it will be easier to handle. The nose isn't a perfect fit, so my next job will be to get out the filler (I'll probably use wall filler, or spackling compound). Before I tackle blending the nose into the fuselage, I painted the nose Interior Green, which is the colour that the inside of the framing should be. If I didn't do this now, and waited until after the blending, then it's possible that the colour of the filler would be visible through the nose glazing (looking through to the opposite side). And that would just be a horrible thing. That's where she sits right now. I've put the first application of wall filler down, and I'm waiting for that to dry. Then I suppose I will have to go back to work tomorrow morning. Oh drat. Cheers, Bill

Hi mates, Does anyone have an idea of the proper routing or placement of the aerial wires on the PB4Y-1 Liberator? There is a strong possibly this is the same as a B-24D. I believe there is a wire from each fin, but not sure where they lead to. Also, I've seen some B-24D profiles that show what looks like an aerial wire, mounted on very short stand-offs on the underside, in-between the bomb bay. It looks to be about the length of one of the "garage doors." What is this and is it appropriate for the PB4Y-1? Any assistance is appreciated! Cheers, Bill