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1/48 North American B-25C Mitchell


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Hi folks,

 

I picked up this Italeri issue of the now 21-year-old Accurate Miniatures B-25 kit cheap with a bashed box at the Biggin Hill airshow a couple of years ago, and plan a simple OOB build with it. I fancy this scheme which is one nothing in my existing collection wears. It's a B-25C model, tail number 232496 and as can be seen is wearing the yellow ringed US insignia which were used around Operation Torch, but the aircraft has RAF fin flashes still present.

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The kit is generally very nice - probably the nicest 1/48 B-25 we're likely to get. I'm aware that the nacelles can take some attention to get a good fit on the wings. The way this was described to me by someone trying to make a name for himself on Facebook modelling groups, but in reality just appears to have a contraceptive personality, was that this rendered the entire kit utter junk best used to pad out the bin. Well, we'll see...

 

I'm quite lazy and don't particularly enjoy interior painting, mostly because I find it somewhat iterative. One aspect of this particular kit that isn't so common (but by no means gone) on releases 2 decades later is that the positioning of gates to assist moulding aren't always in helpful places. I decided to assemble much of the interior first and just resign myself to the dreaded brush painting to pick out black boxes etc. Spraying parts on the runners wouldn't gain me much here because of said gates everywhere. Another advantage is that the partially assembled interior will help me find the interior colour demarcations which is something I do want to get correct.

 

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A check of the fit demonstrated that the fuselage closes up fine as a dry-fit:

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...however the solid lower half of the glazed nose was quite distorted and needed some lovingly applied violence to get into shape:

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Now then - to figure out how to paint this thing. I've done some reading around and the most common answer I can find that at least seems to be aware that ANA611 Interior Green was not introduced until late 1942, at least in terms of chosen nomenclature, is the following:

Flight Deck - Bronze Green #9

Seats - Aluminum

Bombardier's Compartment - Yellow-Green (Tinted Zinc Chromate)

Navigator's Compartment - Yellow-Green

Radio Compartment - Yellow-Green

Tail Compartment - Yellow-Green

Bomb Bay - Aluminum (note that incorrect spelling of "aluminium" suggests this list came from the USA)

Wheel Wells - Aluminum (note that incorrect spelling of "aluminium" suggests this list came from the USA)

Instrument Panels - Flat Black

Sound Proofing Material, Flight Deck - Dyed to match Bronze Green #9

Sound Proofing Material, all other areas - Dyed to match Yellow-Green

 

There are variances of that though, including some which claim the radio compartment should also be Bronze Green #9. I'm leaning towards ignoring that unless someone can convince me of that over this weekend, and if they do we'll also need to establish the demarcations too.

 

I started with the aluminium, which doesn't seem to be under dispute between accounts of B-25 interior colours.

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I will use the wing spar and bomb bay interior parts, as well as the cockpit floor, to mask off the bits that will remain aluminium then spray the rest with a green zinc chromate. In due course I'll paint the Bronze Green for the cockpit on top of the zinc chromate.

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It's worth enlarging the cowl openings. 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234948202-revell-148-b-25/&do=findComment&comment=1432589

 

the Stravinsky75 posting in the link is another nom-de-plume of Gaston Marty BTW

 

http://modelingmadness.com/scott/allies/us/b25g.htm

Quote

About this time I read a number of articles and comments from newsgroups concerning the kit. Amongst the more lengthy lists of what was wrong with it (it seems some people will complain about every little detail), it seems that there were rather vociferous damning of the engine cowlings. Frankly, they look a bit small to me as well. Apparently AM got the opening diameter wrong and they should be larger. Rather than spend the money on an expensive resin replacement, I just got a nice piece of 180 sand paper, rolled it up, stuck it in the cowling and twisted it around a few times. In no time at all, larger cowling openings! Really couldn't be simpler

b25gb.jpg

 

As for interior colors,  just in case he's about @Dana Bell  in case there are any new developments, but I see you found this, or similar

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/66536-b25-interior-colour-help-please/&do=findComment&comment=726974

 

HTH

T

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Looks like an interesting build! Not my scale, but any kit involving "lovingly applied violence" gets my attention!

Why is it that some people put a kit down because of minor (or even major!) inaccuracies? It's a starting point! Are we not modellers? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but modelling involves all sorts of skills, and correcting errors (if you want to get it accurate) is one of those. If you just want to stick it together and paint it that's fine too, but then don't complain about the inaccuracies!

 

Ian

Edited by limeypilot
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The AM B-25s were mind-blowing on release.  The plastic is still as good as the modeler is likely to get for this subject in this scale, as mentioned upthread.  The only crap things about them are the pilots' seats, looks they've been rounded down in a rock tumbler. 

 

The presentation of the original B-25B kit was a revelation-- first pre-cut masks I was aware of, nose weights included-- another first AFAIK, and also AFAIK somehow unrepeated until Tamiya's new P-38F dropped all these years later.  Extensive documentation and painting instructions, a little sub-box platform to protect the little goodies and transparencies.... Beautiful package.  Out-presenting the Japanese is no mean feat, especially for what was a North Carolina industrial estate startup.

 

Jamie, thank you for posting the interior colour information so shortly after I sealed up the fuselage on my Airfix B-25C.  😦  No going back for me now.  You'll be finishing her with enamels I presume?

 

I like those Version C markings, I've been looking for something different from my Airfix kit markings.  Something Mediterranean might fill the bill. 

 

(Is... uh, is she really called that?)

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11 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

Jamie, thank you for posting the interior colour information so shortly after I sealed up the fuselage on my Airfix B-25C.  😦  No going back for me now.  You'll be finishing her with enamels I presume?

 

These were really something 21 years ago when they came out :) I shall indeed be sticking with enamels for the foreseeable future :)

 

Apologies for the shonky lighting here, but the interior has been sprayed with ACUS22 Green Zinc Chromate. I remember seeing the Accurate Miniatures Avenger in a mag back in the day. My friend and I both saved up our money and bought one each - if memory serves they were around £30 which was a lot back in the day and especially so for 2 mid-teenagers. My awe of the interior detail turned to utter dismay after brush painting in around 20 of the framed-in rectangles on the first fuselage side - I'd honestly rather spend the time in a dentist's chair than have to brush paint the interior of something like this again. Fortunately things have changed for me in the 2 decades between then and now, and the horror of brush painting that Avenger was equalled in magnitude but opposite in polarity airbrushing the inside of this B-25 tonight. I almost laughed at my hapless younger self miserably poking a paint brush into every moulded in nook and cranny of the Avenger whilst effortlessly colouring this green 🤩

 

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I have constructed a compartment in the essentially hidden aft-end of the nose gear bay to fill with lead shot. Similarly, the forward half of that semi-cylinder (is it a fuel tank?) in the bomb bay will be lead filled. I shall then do a B-29-esque exercise to assemble the rest and weigh the tail to calculate moments and thus determine how much lead to hide behind the engines on each side to ensure it sides on its nose wheel.

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1 hour ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

I almost laughed at my hapless younger self miserably poking a paint brush into every moulded in nook and cranny of the Avenger whilst effortlessly colouring this green 

 

You utter, utter sweetheart :lol:

 

Nice work though, she's looking good so far B) 

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

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  • 1 year later...

I don't remember who wrote it, but someone wrote an article over on Modeling Madness about building the Hasegawa B-25, which has similar issues with the engine cowling fronts.

 

The fix was to make a circle of the diameter of the intake opening from thick styrene, and then glue on a second disk of styrene cut to the correct opening diameter. This template is inserted into the opening, the perimeter is scribed, and then this serves as a guide to determine the right amount of material to remove.

 

See no reason why it would not work on the AM Cowlings.

 

d-mented

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