1/32 - Consolidated B-24D & J Liberator by Hobby Boss - released - CWS seamless turrets

[Homebee]

Released - ref. 83211 - B-24J Liberator

http://www.hobbyboss.com/index.php?g=home&m=product&a=show&id=1443&l=en

 

 

 

V.P.

Edited November 1, 2018 by Homebee

[Blue_Centurion]

Thanks for sharing. Waiting for someone to review the kit thoroughly.

[Drift]

 

[Mancunian airman]

That looks great and I too had to marvel at the size of the fuselage WOW

 

I think that guy knows what he's talking about so that for me is an assurance that it is a decent kit  . . . .

[JohnT]

Love the look on the guys face before the video starts !

[Drift]

He is one of the product reviewers and pro builders for Squadron.

[janneman36]

If i bought that one my girlfriend would probably ask why i need to compensate.....

 

I like the looks of it ...the B24 is one of my alltime favorites..

Edited November 14, 2018 by janneman36

[J.P.]

On 3/26/2018 at 7:16 PM, Mark said:

Just seen this after searching for 1/32 P-61....

 

So now we have 1/32 B-24s coming? Along with the HK Models B-17s and Lancasters? Who owns display cabinets big enough?!

I believe they call that a garage. 😁

[ocatlub]

Creative appear to have this in stock and on Ebay, also Ebay are having a 10%  off with the password PINECONE I think. 😁

[Simon Cornes]

Has anyone got one yet?

[Tim T]

Having seen the sprue shots on the web, I am slightly surprised that there are no full engines provided.  In this scale, they would be worthwhile, particularly by the time the AM boys had waded in.  I know that there is a trade off in terms of cost, but if you build in 1/32 it is to have the benefit of the detail the scale allows.

 

Would it stop me buying the kit?  No.  The lack of space is a potentially bigger issue...

[Mike]

11 minutes ago, Tim T said:

The lack of space is a potentially bigger issue...

Oh, you sweet summer child! Since when has having space ever stopped us?  I'm still hoping for that last-minute lottery win so I can get myself a hangar for all my models to be built up and displayed.  A full-sized hangar should cover it, but I might get another just to be on the safe side.  I'll also have to spend a sizeable quantity on research into anti-agapics, as being effectively immortal is about the only way I can think of completing them all

 

That said, we're hoping to get a sample from Creative in the New Year, and will have a good long hard stare at it when it arrives, at which point I'll need to figure out a way of taking the photos, as even my 60cm booth might struggle

[The_Lancaster]

13 hours ago, Mike said:

Oh, you sweet summer child! Since when has having space ever stopped us?  I'm still hoping for that last-minute lottery win so I can get myself a hangar for all my models to be built up and displayed.  A full-sized hangar should cover it, but I might get another just to be on the safe side.  I'll also have to spend a sizeable quantity on research into anti-agapics, as being effectively immortal is about the only way I can think of completing them all

 

That said, we're hoping to get a sample from Creative in the New Year, and will have a good long hard stare at it when it arrives, at which point I'll need to figure out a way of taking the photos, as even my 60cm booth might struggle

Doesn’t the saying go ‘buy it now, worry about where to put it later?’ 

[Simon Cornes]

Not sure if the wings on this one 'unplug' but it would be useful if they did with that huge wing. I suspect it might benefit from brass spars with brass fuselage 'carry through' boxes like r/c gliders if there's no provision. As far as the engines go, maybe they'll be fine with a good dark wash or the inevitable Eduard resin replacements? I see True Detail already have wheels slated.

[Nearlymen]

I nearly got my hands on one on Friday, but Parcelforce didn't turn up ! But.....they did today !! Now normally I don't do big scale kits but I do dabble occasionally, and today my first reaction was...f.f...f...flippin 'ell is that big !! Opening the box the first thing you see is the fuselage halves and they are the biggest bits of injection moulding kit i've ever seen, then underneath are the upper and lower wings (both huge) then a box of PE, clear, rubber wheels, a centre portion of the box filled with bits and bobs, and another box filled with other bits n bobs ( too many bits n bobs to list).

After reading various tales of woe on the web the mouldings are.....well quite nice, nice panel lines and rivets, quite restrainted if I'm honest ...I like it. Over all it looks nice. Now that it's in my hot little hands I can say the interior detail is fine, not super detailed, more old Monogram plus a bit ! The cockpit looks fine , needs a bit of TLC, some seat belts maybe some micro strip here and there but in this large scale a bit of home detailing is so much easier, so I don't see it as a big issue.

There are a few elephants in the room though, yes the wing root profile is off a bit, do I care ? to be honest ....nope ! I can understand it will infuriate some but to me it looks ok.

Now the engines, reading reports online you would have thought the world ended with the engines but having the instructions I can now see how they all go together with a front and rear half with a PE ignition harness on the front, once assembled dry brushed and washed they'll be passable, not super detailed but passable.

The turrets, hmmm now these are a problem and came up with something I wasn't expecting ! The join lines are a la the old 1/48 monogram kit, bang smack down the middle of the glazing, less noticeable in the rear turret, but very noticeable in the front. But to further compound the problem the whole of the front turret is...slightly frosted ! Why I know not. The interiors of the turrets though are far better than I was expecting which is a bonus.

Instructions and decals look fine, how accurate they are is up to you references, some libs had added armour plate around the cockpit etc so be aware of that but thats why sheets of plastic card were invented LOL !!

 

Now come my thoughts on the whole package and this is where it gets tricky. I do think for this size of kit Hobby boss have got the pricing bang on, in the UK you can pick them up for between 135 to 149 pounds, get one at the lower price and your laughing. But...they have let themselves down with the great china production flaw...sloppy research ! Had they modelled the turrets better and got the wing section profile better, then I'd have given it 10 out of 10 for value, as it is you get a great kit, but slightly flawed, it's up to you decide how far to take it. Personally Eventually when I make it I'll sort out the turrets somehow and that will be it, the rest I can happily live with. (eventually the after market crowd will be all over this I suspect so again in the long run I doubt it will be a problem).

 

I've seen some people online say for a kit of this size they want the earth, but they don't seem the to consider the value. Now us blokes have for years been telling the women in our lives 'It's not how big it is, it's what you do with it', and now I feel it's time to shut up and put up the same with models like this. Enjoy what you've got, and if you consider yourself a modeller then sort it out !

 

You have though to eventually compare this kit with the HK Lancaster. Is the lanc a better kit ? I would surmise yes, but at 399 pounds from Hannants its nowhere near 250 pounds better than the lib and suddenly he lanc seems very over priced for what it is. So my overall rating for this monster liberator ? I'd say 7.5/8 out of 10, correctly priced for what you get but could do better next time round !! Whatever though............I like it 

 

Cheerio

 

Clive

Edited December 23, 2018 by Nearlymen
Bad spelling !

[JohnT]

Clive

super analysis thanks. Given the turret glazing issues I am minded to wait till the earlier version that Hobbyboss is planning comes out and having the greenhouse nose one issue is avoided anyway. 

Aloso Dave Klaus of Cutting Edge has done mammoth sheets in 1/48 for the Ploesti aircraft and I know he is considering a selection for 1/32 enlargement if, if, there is a market. 

Also I think most RAF machines were the earlier version?  Don’t know but no doubt someone can advise 

[Nearlymen]

Hi JohnT, Yep when hobbyboss releases the B24D then like you say one of the issues will go away (providing they don't unleash any new mess ups on us !). I have a soft spot for all Libs to be honest and I wouldn't mind a D since you could convert that to an RCAF GR.V with the dumbo nose, kind of ugly but nice !

 

A couple of more things about the kit, the main wings, if your worried about supporting such a huge structure, on the internal surfaces there are huge internal braces moulded in and a big box spar that goes in the fuselage. I don't think it's going to flex at all ! If your a person who can't live with the wing shape then the internal bracing may cause you some problems if you fancy chopping things about. It's a little odd since the box art shows the Davis wing profile but in the kit it's a much flatter aerofoil section. How you would change that may involve a bit of a compromise by keeping the underside and leading edges as is and building up the upper surface so that it falls away to the trailing edge, whatever it wouldn't be straight forward and like I said I'm not that bothered so I'm ignoring it .

 

As for the turrets, if a aftermarket guy was looking at this I'd assemble the turret glazing as is, then polish out the seams then take the dremmel (or similar) and chop them to be as per the 1/72 kit (Hasagawa ?) then  recast in Clear resin. I don't have the facility to do this at home but I can't see it being a problem for the aftermarket boys. In fact it's something I'd imagine they will jump on pretty quickly.

 

The tyres are in rubber, to be honest I've never been a fan of the things but I see already in the pipeline are resin replacements, so the aftermarket is stirring.

 

There are 34 stages in the construction of the kit the manual looks easy on the eye to read and there is a fair amount of internal detail. I'm not a great fan of internal detail and tend to go down the route of if you can't see it then don't bother, but there's enough there to get the guys who like that type of thing a head start.

 

The more I look at it it does have the feel of a supersized monogram kit, but with recessed panel lines and rivets no bad thing and like I said the balance of detail vs cost is about right.

 

Anyway when you guys get your hands on a kit post your own feelings here and we can compare notes !

 

Now its time to forget this modelling lark and get on with Christmas....I hear the pub a calling !!!

 

Happy Christmas All

 

Cheerio

 

Clive

Edited December 23, 2018 by Nearlymen
Bad spelling !

[pinky coffeeboat]

Regarding the engines, as has been stated numerous times, reviewers are a bit disappointed with the way Hobby Boss have moulded them. But think from the other side and imagine if you had CAD designed a multi part engine, watched as they were cut from the mould and inspected the test shots and felt pretty chuffed with your hard work, only to see and read online builds were all your work was thrown in the bin as modellers use the inevitable resin aftermarket parts.

There are quite a few work in progress builds where a brand new kit is pictured with so much aftermarket etched brass, resin accessories and decals that it makes you think perhaps the better approach by kit manufacturers would be to provide a very simple, accurate shell of a model leaving modellers to fit all the details from aftermarket sources. Like vacforms used to do.

I'm not saying we should all feel sorry for the kit designer nor that Hobby Boss made the kit that way, but they may have chosen that route as a means to reduce cost because a) not much of the engine will be visible anyway and b) aftermarket companies will inevitably produce engines for the kit.

 

Jeff

Edited December 23, 2018 by pinky coffeeboat

[Simon Cornes]

Many thanks for that 'review' Clive. It has basically reinforced my belief that this is actually a very good kit and well worth the money. It sounds typical Trumpeter - don't know why they released it as HB - so there is no doubting the quality of what they give you although the accuracy is questionable in some areas, ie the wing section. Sad that they couldn't get it right, but as has been said, Trumpeter/HB never seem to be able to get it 100% right and we all know it would cost them nothing! But I don't care, it is close enough and I won't wait for an after market replacement Davis wing! We knew about the turret glazing so I will either live with it or replace with a/m. I'm not 100% sure of the same but I was toying with the thought of removing the glazing up to the nearest frame and then just replacing the centre panel's. Not sure if it involves any compound curves? A great kit for Eduard, et al to upgrade and a lot of fun it will be to build. Well done Trump/HB. Let me get my hands on one!! Regarding guns, I have an HKM B-25 and instead of buying Master barrels I bought the QB gun set designed for the B-17. Much cheaper and beautifully cast! Might work for the Lib?

[tonyot]

Thanks for the quick review Clive,...... I`ve got one waiting at the local model shop for me to pick up after Crimbo and I want to build it as a British one,...... it was going to be SEAC but with the strangely frosted canopy it might just have to be a 100 Group Bomber Command aircraft,.... I do hope that somebody like DK Decals will release a British Commonwealth decal sheet for it,

 

Cheers

           Tony

[Nearlymen]

Hi Tony,

Hope your well ! I too would like to see some RAF decals or even better RCAF ! In Carl Vincents book 'Canada's Wings Vol @ Liberator and Fortress' there are loads of nice options for RCAF examples. When Hobby boss eventually release the 24D the option to do the GR.V becomes a possibility, as I said before Ugly but nice with the dumbo nose. As for the B24J Fair in the Nose and tail turrets and you can easily do a RCAF Lib C. You know me I'm a FAA, seafire bloke really but I couldn't resist the charm of a big Lib !

 

Had a closer look in the box today and something struck me, and that's the engineering is looking to be actually quite good but there is something odd regarding the main wing spars and the wings themselves. In the wing is a hex socket that looks like it was meant to hold a screw captive with access from the underside wing surface. It's not mentioned in the instructions but it looks as though originally that may have been the intention. What ever though the holes get covered by the inner lower nacelle halves so can't quite see why ? But whatever I reckon you can juggle the fixing to make the wings detachable for storage.

 

I look forward to hearing other peoples comments, and ideas. I keep an eye on LSP but they seem to have gone a little down the 'Shock Horror route' with some of the comments and have missed the point that there is a huge amount of potential fun in the kit and I'm sure despite it's oddness in some areas some people will do great things with it and I look forward to seeing their ingenuity to overcome some of the flaws, hey ! I might even nick a few ideas myself !! LOL !!

 

Have a great Christmas

 

Cheerio

 

Clive

[thepureness]

The only thing preventing me buying it is space. I just don't know where I would put it when built

[JohnT]

17 minutes ago, thepureness said:

The only thing preventing me buying it is space. I just don't know where I would put it when built

One side of the HK Lancaster and to balance it out the HK B-17 on the other side of the Lanc.

 

43 minutes ago, Nearlymen said:

 I keep an eye on LSP but they seem to have gone a little down the 'Shock Horror route' with some of the comments and have missed the point that there is a huge amount of potential fun in the kit ...........

Some modelling skill required then   I think we are, in the 21st century getting a wee bit spoiled.  Remember some of the travesties that were palmed off on us all way back in the day as being representations of the aircraft named on the box lid.  I am sure that the guys who know are right and yes its easier than ever for manufacturers to get it right but at the end of the day the perfect model has not been manufactured yet and its need to be done at a price.  If Rolls Royces, Ferrari's  (insert name of favourite expensive super car here) were cheap we would all drive one.   Now how about that now I think on it Santa - please??

[Simon Cornes]

43 minutes ago, thepureness said:

The only thing preventing me buying it is space. I just don't know where I would put it when built

Now don't worry about that. Work on the principle that the wings come off for storage and then put it in a box when not on display. Do the same with your Lanc and B-17 and then its only like stacking big shoe boxes - that will do as an analogy! 

John's right, 'we have never had it so good'. I remember when the 'new' Airfix Marauder and F-14 came out and though the detail in the Thunderstreak was great. Things have moved on a bit since then but its still down to the person at the end of the knife/glue brush/paint brush/airbrush to make of it what they will! I looked at the Squadron video  and realised that the wing looks fine and I have no idea what the right section should look like - ignorance is bliss!!

 

Interesting what Clive says about the original intentions, nuts and bolts wise but that centre spar looks big and the amount of reinforcing inside the wing suggests the whole thing will be pretty rigid. Not sure about the bomb doors as I thought they rolled up like a roller shutter door but was that just for bombing up? I don't know the subject well enough and I'm sure that everything will do fine!

[thepureness]

24 minutes ago, Simon Cornes said:

Now don't worry about that. Work on the principle that the wings come off for storage and then put it in a box when not on display. Do the same with your Lanc and B-17 and thenits only like stacking big shoe boxes - that will do as an analogy! 

1

 

I don't think that is possible looking at the instructions