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1/72nd Liberator B.VI, 356 & 357 Sqn`s, SEAC, India, 1944/45


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Hiya Folks,

                Continuing with my recent theme of SEAC based RAF Liberator`s, it was high time that I did a B.VI bomber variant,...... but there are so many out there which have such great artwork applied to them yet so little room at home to display them in model form,...... so,..... I decided to represent two aircraft with the same model as the subject aircraft had Donald Duck artwork on opposing sides of the nose!! 

 

The left side of the aircraft represents KH284 `Donald III' in its later guise as K of 356 Sqn, having previously been D of 99 Sqn, hence the black fin with the 99 Sqn white spot covered over; 

Here it is with 99 Sqn;

18d0b858-9e7f-4ba7-ab0f-0ea513eca185.jpg

 

And- Here with 356 Sqn, seen after the war prior to being scrapped, hence the number `82' sprayed onto the nose and bomb bay door;

48553855-d34a-48ac-92e7-0d9ab435259b.jpg

 

Now,.... the crossed fin markings of 356 Sqn are usually depicted as being white,..... but in some photos they do look a bit duller and in this painting from the time, they are the same light blue colour as the inside of the roundels,...

5420fd7b-0371-4aa9-9b01-d199b8f740b9.jpg

 

So,..... here is my rendition of KH284 on the left side of the model,...... I`ll probably paint over the fin crosses with light blue at a later date;

 

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And,..... for the other side,..... KH320, D of 357 Sqn with another Donald Duck on the nose!!

 

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And the right side of the model,...as KH320;

 

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So there we have it,......... one model,........ two aircraft!!! 

The model was finished with Tamiya Olive Drab on top with Aeromaster Neutral Grey underneath, the markings were from the Eduard re issue of the old Academy kit and also from DK Decals. 

 

Cheers

          Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Tony,

Excellent , as usual, on both counts! How did you find the Academy kit? I have several of various marks but have yet pulled the trigger.

 

All the Best!

Don

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19 minutes ago, DJJunis said:

Tony,

Excellent , as usual, on both counts! How did you find the Academy kit? I have several of various marks but have yet pulled the trigger.

 

All the Best!

Don

Cheers Don,

                   I`ve build quite a few Academy Liberator`s an find them really nice kits, just the turret glazing lets them down as the seam lines are right across clear areas. I will be building another Academy Lib soon. 

This is the Hasegawa kit which is much better,...... but then it is more expensive too. 

If you have a search here on BM you should find a few of my builds which may help?

 

All the best

                 Tony 

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16 minutes ago, Alpha Delta 210 said:

What a great model and a cool, space-saving idea! Which side will you display?

Cheers,...... I`ll probably alternate sides!! I did the same with a Halifax model recently,......I did it as early and later war on either side!! 

 

All the best

                 Tony

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20 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Now you've started something!

 

Actually a good idea and a very nice build. Or is it builds?

Haha,....cheers Pete,..... I am literally out of room mate,......plus Lib kits don`t come cheap,..... so 2 birds with one stone and all that!!! As I said above,.... I did it with a Halifax too quite recently.

All the best

                Tony

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Excellent build. 

In Spanish Museum of Aviation at  Cuatro Vietos airfield (Madrid) there are some airplenes from Civil War painted this way: left Republican, right Nationalists... As youi said - two in one!

Cheers

J-W

  

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Very well done.

I agree about the blue markings on the tail and I think the K on second picture has been painted over another letter - or maybe they didn't trim the decal enough.

You could easily have passed that off as two models. At the usual TOT-machine pace, nobody would have been the wiser!

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17 hours ago, Ed Russell said:

Very well done.

I agree about the blue markings on the tail and I think the K on second picture has been painted over another letter - or maybe they didn't trim the decal enough.

You could easily have passed that off as two models. At the usual TOT-machine pace, nobody would have been the wiser!

Cheers Ed,.... I did actually apply the K code onto a rectangle of Dark Green to replicate the painted out original code D, and it is visible on the real model,...it just doesn`t seem to have become clear on the photos, maybe because the sunlight was quite bright when I took them? Don`t know whether it shows up better here?

 resized_fe182566-1af1-49a5-8deb-565c3385

 

I also replicated the painted over USAAF serial on the fin on the right hand side,.... but that doesn`t show up on the pics either,....but can be made out by eye. 

All the best mate,

                            Tony

Edited by tonyot
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Nice job on the build, Tony, and a novel way of 'killing two birds with one stone!'

 

Next time, though, I want to see you do one that's a mixture of camouflage on one side and NMF on the other!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

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Another couple of cracking SEAC Libs Tony ! Great research leading to some quite subtle additions to the buid and paint. Have you got any more planned ?

 

I've still got decals for another couple of RAF B-24s (inc. KH160 Woodcutter),but like you I'm running out of space for other projects. I love the idea of doing half/half....hmm...food for thought.

 

Love your work Chap :thumbsup:

 

Cheers

Gaz

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1 hour ago, kiwitrogg said:

Another couple of cracking SEAC Libs Tony ! Great research leading to some quite subtle additions to the buid and paint. Have you got any more planned ?

 

I've still got decals for another couple of RAF B-24s (inc. KH160 Woodcutter),but like you I'm running out of space for other projects. I love the idea of doing half/half....hmm...food for thought.

 

Love your work Chap :thumbsup:

 

Cheers

Gaz

Cheers Gaz,....... yeah I like Woodcutter too, in fact that unit had some great nose art,........ just a shame they didn`t have tail markings too. I`m thinking of doing the same with that aircraft, combining it with another option from the Eduard boxing,..... so artwork on both sides of the nose again. 

 

Oh yeah I have plenty more RAF Lib`s planned,....... next will probably be a Mk.VIII in silver using the Academy kit,...... immediate post war SEAC with standard RAF European style markings but with rudder markings and `Glamour Girl' nose art. 

 

All the best mate

                           Tony

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Fantastic pair of Liberators there Tony, you`re going to end up making me buy a 48th one at this rate!!

Great job(s)

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Hello Tonyot,

Always interesting to see the (excellent) finished model versus the real pictures.

For me, it makes it more interesting. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Regards, Orion

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