Alan P Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 (edited) This was a special build designed to celebrate the nose-art of the talented SSgt Sarkis Bartigian of the 43rd BW based on Ie Shima, 1945. The right side of the model represents B-24J-190-CO 44-40973 "The Dragon and his Tail", while the left side portrays B-24J-160-CO 44-40428 "Cocktail Hour", both painted by the aforementioned Bartigian. An advertising mural and marquee artist before the war, 38-year-old Bartigian was in his element, painting to order on the billboard-sized slab sides of the B-24. He was paid in cigarettes, alcohol and other commodities available to the Pacific theatre Army Air Corps. The model is the famous Monogram 1/48 built OOB, with Dragon decals from Scale-Master and the Cocktail Hour ones from Zotz. The build is distinctive due to being completely finished in aluminium kitchen foil, with flying surfaces, glazing and leading edges painted with Gunze Mr Metal Color Aluminium. (The leading edges were silver as the de-icing boots were removed from late production B-24s to save weight as they were not required in the low-level, tropical applications of the Western Pacific). I originally mounted it on a "motion-blur picture" stand, but it looked a bit crap so I just sprayed it plain black. The spinning props were cut from yoghurt pots and spun on 600 grit sandpaper, with the propblurs added using pastels. I used the Monogram crew members, slightly modified to be looking out of the left side of the aircraft. This is one of the most satisfying results I've produced since resuming modelling in 2006 - it may not be the most technically accomplished build, but the whole feel of the overall model really appeals to me. Hope you like it too! Alan Edited August 23, 2019 by Alan P 18 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 (edited) Cool... Edited November 3, 2008 by zeke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 That's fantastic Al! Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snipersmudge Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 very nice alan a super colourful model that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexwh773 Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Al, I bugger off up north for 48hrs and i come home to find youve snuck yet another masterpiece on the board Bex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Aotearoa Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Firstly, let me say that having built one of these behemoths I know how difficult it is to get them looking neat and tidy, and you've done just that - the silver foil finish looks very convincing. I really like the idea of posing it in flight, possibly an easier solution that trying to cram in a lot of lead weight to stop it tail sitting. One small point (and I might be wrong on this) but wouldn't the dragon artwork have been applied whilst the bomb doors were closed, so that it would be seen in it's entirety whilst in normal flight? You have the art work continuous over the opened doors, which would have looked rather unusual when they closed. Like I said, I might be completely barking here, so it's only offered as a comment rather than a critique per sè. Cheers from Aotearoa Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted November 4, 2008 Author Share Posted November 4, 2008 Thanks very much everyone for your comments! it was my first foil job and it came out better than i expected, try it sometime! Thanks for your note Mike, unusually the Dragon had the tail art painted over that area twice - once on the bare sides, but again on the bomb doors, so that the continuity would be there whether the doors were open or closed! As you say, it probably looked a bit strange when the doors were closed with two sets of dragon tails, so that helped my decision to show them open. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Aotearoa Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Thanks very much everyone for your comments! it was my first foil job and it came out better than i expected, try it sometime!Thanks for your note Mike, unusually the Dragon had the tail art painted over that area twice - once on the bare sides, but again on the bomb doors, so that the continuity would be there whether the doors were open or closed! As you say, it probably looked a bit strange when the doors were closed with two sets of dragon tails, so that helped my decision to show them open. Al Well! I certainly learned something new there! I had no idea they'd painted it twice... must have be a pain to paint on the original then! Cheers Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Wow I missed this, fantastic Al I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz greenwood Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Very nice I've always liked the B-24 and that one is superb. Nicely done. Cheers Daz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Very nice !! A good attempt on the spinning props. Difficult to make it look realistic. But I would have tried putting small electric motors in to make the props spin.Their was room to put the wires in the stand and put a small battery in the base. But that's just my idea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skii Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 shows how much I know about the liberator , there was me thinking you hadn't added the bomb bay doors, I guess with such a low slung fuselage it was the only way they could open on the ground ! Great job al, beautiful model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 Another restored thread - sadly this model no longer exists, being destroyed in a house clearance along with several others, so here's its final resting place in the webosphere! Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 That was a great piece of work. Sad to hear she didn't make it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted August 24, 2019 Author Share Posted August 24, 2019 6 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: That was a great piece of work. Sad to hear she didn't make it. Thanks Dennis 👍 all the better reason to build another one though, right? 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Excellent job with the kitchen foil Alan! I've done that when I couldn't get my hands on regular Bare metal foil. Hardest part for me was applying the adhesive to the back without leaving brush marks. Dragon it's Tail has always been a favorite of mine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted August 27, 2019 Author Share Posted August 27, 2019 Thanks Loren! I’ve never used Bare-Metal for big jobs like this, but still find it great for leading edges, gear oleos and flap sections. Might be time to try another big-scale bomber! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 Hello Al, Colorful and powerful. Sad to hear it crashed. Those nose artist were very talented. Regards, Orion 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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