Acklington Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Just finished today, although I'm not at all happy with it. This is the re-boxed MPM kit and while the surface detail is excellent, the fit of many parts was abysmal and the wings/tail are far too thick. I'm really kicking myself for not doing a massive sanding down before joining the halves. Also had to pinch correct sized wheels from the 1/72 Revell Havoc kit. It also took nine separate lumps of lead squeezed into various places to stop it tail sitting. The Special Hobby kit is for a Boston IIIA, but contains all the necessary parts to do the earlier mark III, but without the relevant instructions. So it was quite a guessing game, and referring to various reference books for the Boston didn't help given the bewildering variations between RAF Boston 1, II, and IIIs , Havocs, A-20B and Cs.Douglas Boston III, AL275, 226 Sqdn, RAF Ouston, 4 Aug 42 by Philip Pain, on Flickr Douglas Boston, AL275, 226 Sqdn, RAF Ouston, 4 Aug 42 by Philip Pain, on Flickr Douglas Boston III, AL275, 226 Sqdn, RAF Ouston, 4 Aug 42 by Philip Pain, on Flickr Douglas Boston III, AL275, 226 Sqdn, RAF Ouston, 4 Aug 42 by Philip Pain, on Flickr Douglas Boston III, AL275, 226 Sqdn, RAF Ouston, 4 Aug 42 by Philip Pain, on Flickr Douglas Boston III, AL275, 226 Sqdn, RAF Ouston, 4 Aug 42 by Philip Pain, on Flickr Douglas Boston, AL275, 226 Sqdn, RAF Ouston, 4 Aug 42 by Philip Pain, on Flickr Douglas Boston, AL275, 226 Sqdn, RAF Ouston, 4 Aug 42 by Philip Pain, on Flickr 226 Squadron was detached from their base at RAF Swanton Morley, Norfolk, to RAF Ouston, Northumberland on 4th August 1942, to take part in Army Co-operation Exercise "Dryshod". By the end of that first day they had lost three of their Bostons in accidents, and AL275 'MQ-Z' belly landed in a field some four miles to the west of Ouston when the engines cut. Sgt W.E.Burns was flying and there were no injuries. The markings on this Boston consist of pre-May 1942 roundels and grey codes, over painted to conform to the revised regulations for roundel sizes and code colours. This Boston was built by Douglas and shipped to Liverpool, roaded through the streets and assembled at Speke. It is not (yet) known if it flew again after its accident. 43 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ham Hands Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 That looks absolutely great. Lovely Boston. Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Beauty! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Lovley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Harmsworth Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 I'd say that's a good result. I've just finished the MPM Boston Mk V a couple of days ago which has the same fit problems (and mine ended up a tail sitter as well!). The nose looks great which I really struggled with. Looks to me like you've done a rather splendid job on a challenging kit. Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pizzapaolo Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Absolutely nothing wrong with that as far as I can see, nice job. I've got a few MPM kits in the stash but every time I see someone on here say what a total nightmare they had, I tend to think "maybe next time".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 I know how hard this kit is to build,........ and you have done a superb job of it. Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Sure is puzzling...everybody says what a dog of a kit the MPM Bostons/Havocs are, but every one I have seen built looks really, really good! I have been afraid to tackle one, based on the negative comments, but it's either not that bad a kit or you guys are pretty darned skilled modelers...or both! Yours looks really nice! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Well done on your Havoc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampcreature Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Very nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig88 Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Despite your problems, it came out really well! Very nicely done! Miguel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Joyce Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Looks great in the photos, so you did a grand job of fixing its issues! Cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stop the Pigeon Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Great looking model! 😁 I have one of these in my stash. I have been leaving it until I have more skill, especially after what has been said about the fit etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydhuey Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Mate that looks superb , outstanding Boston III , with the correct later red Sqn codes and roundels and fin flash for the time period, I can see no fault with it as all. Only point AL 275 was a Boeing build machine, the AL batch was in 2 groups, AL263 to AL500 Nov 41 till May delivery and Douglas Build AL668 to AL907 delivery Oct41 till May 42 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acklington Posted April 7, 2019 Author Share Posted April 7, 2019 7 hours ago, Sydhuey said: Mate that looks superb , outstanding Boston III , with the correct later red Sqn codes and roundels and fin flash for the time period, I can see no fault with it as all. Only point AL 275 was a Boeing build machine, the AL batch was in 2 groups, AL263 to AL500 Nov 41 till May delivery and Douglas Build AL668 to AL907 delivery Oct41 till May 42 Many thanks for the comments, they are much appreciated. I spent much time agonising over who built the original! There are conflicting versions in different publications, not to mention equally conflicting versions of what airframe mods appeared on which aircraft. It really is a nightmare. I can't remember which sources I finally went with, but I was convinced that mine was Douglas built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Well it look's a beauty from here,great seeing these aircraft with a local(to Me) connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 This looks absolutely lovely, got the Revell boxing of the V in the stash, hope I can make as good a job as you have done. Thanks for sharing. All the best Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ad-4N Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Fantastic work. Love photos in outdoor natural light. Great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Keg Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Absolutely fantastic finish on this kit.. I know full well the problems that this kit presents as in frustration, I unceremoniously threw it against the wall. I simply could not continue to torture myself with it. To complete this kit to the level which you have is a testament to your skill level and perseverance. Very nice!!!!! I`m crossing my fingers that Tamiya, Academy, Hasegawa, Italeri, or Eduard releases a modern tooled kit of the A-20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-WobblyHands Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 A fantastic looking Boston ! The D-Day GB will be here soon and I plan to build the MPM 'D-Day Havoc' kit I hope my ends up looking as good as yours ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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