B-25J Gunship

[Johnny_K]

Just a quick recap of this unique aircraft. The B-25 started it's life as a typical medium bomber. It originally had a typical plexiglass nose for the bombardier. The plane was assigned to the Pacific War and was used to bomb Japanese cargo ships. Early on it was realised that bombing a moving ship from a moving plane was fruitless. A new bombing technique was initiated, called skip bombing. The plane was flown just above the ocean and it was pointed directly at the side of the ship. The bombs were dropped and they skipped along the surface of the water until they contacted the cargo ship. There was no longer a need for a bombardier so the plexiglas nose was replaced with a solid nose and eight, 50 cal. guns were installed in the nose. Additional guns were installed on the sides of the plane directly below the cockpit. Eventually rockets were added under the wings on a few planes. Can you imagine being on a Japanese ship and having this plane coming at you with  14 guns barking, bombs bouncing and rockets flying!!! That must have been a crazy sight.

 

These planes were flown from jungle airstrips, so they accumulated a lot of dirt. I finished this build in Bare Metal Foil and added rivets with a rivet wheel. I then used AquaLine washes to dirty the plane and used ValleJo products to add mud splats and oil leaks.

 

 

 

 

A number of modelers think that my Bare Metal Foiled planes are just too shinny. So I tried something different this time. After finishing the model in Bare Metal Foil, I applied numerous coats of AquaLine mud washes. Vallejo "Mud" was used to simulate mud splats around the landing gear. Vallejo "Oil" was used on the underside of the nacelles. Those landing gear pods were a real PITA to finish in foil. Lots of compound curves.

 

A head-on shot highlights the gull wing shape of the main wings.

 

 

After foiling the model I applied rivets with my RB Productions rivet wheel.  I used ValleJo stains at the fuel fillers to simulate spilled fuel. Note those two bumps behind the top turret. Those are bullet deflectors to prevent the turret gunner from accidently shooting the tail gunner.

 

After I applied the AquaLine mud washes I applied clean Bare Metal Foil at the national insignia to simulate repaired battle damage. I did the same thing to the insignia on the main wing. 

 

 

The gun barrels that came with the kit lacked detail, so I replaced them with brass gun barrels from Eduard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by Johnny_K
Incorrect word

[goggsy]

Really nice work. I can see a lot of effort went into that BMF, which looks great by the way. Did you ever read “Whip” by Martin Caidin? It was a sort of novelisation of the work of these machines, with the subtitle “He’d take on every damnJapanesein the Pacific if they’d let him”. A true classic.

[dogsbody]

What kit did you use?

 

 

 

Chris

[SAT69]

Nice build. Which kit is that?

[Gary Brantley]

That's very impressive work!   The riveting alone must've taken quite a while; the overall result is just magnificent!  

[Johnny_K]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. 

 

 

This is the photo of the kit's box. It is an old 1991 Monogram kit that I found on eBay. I couldn't use the kit's decals because they fell apart in the water.

[Johnny_K]

The riveting is not that difficult:

 

 

I use an R B Productions rivet wheel system. The kit comes with four wheels with different punch spacings. The key to making rivets is that the spacing between rows of rivets must be equal and the rows of rivets must be straight.

 

 

Prior to starting this build I bought the above booklet. It has detailed photos of the different versions of this aircraft and a bunch of color photos.

[Uncle Pete]

Yowza!  Really nice.  Out of curiosity, did the aforementioned "skip bombing" predate the Dambusters?

 

[Gary Brantley]

14 minutes ago, Johnny_K said:

The riveting is not that difficult:

 

 

I use an R B Productions rivet wheel system. The kit comes with four wheels with different punch spacings. The key to making rivets is that the spacing between rows of rivets must be equal and the rows of rivets must be straight.

 

 

 

Prior to starting this build I bought the above booklet. It has detailed photos of the different versions of this aircraft and a bunch of color photos.

 

Thanks for the pic!   It looks like a good system to use.  😀

[RMCS]

Niiiice 

[russ c]

Awesome `strafer` there, really nice work! 

[Johnny_K]

30 minutes ago, Uncle Pete said:

Yowza!  Really nice.  Out of curiosity, did the aforementioned "skip bombing" predate the Dambusters?

 

The skip bomb  technique was first used in 1942 by a B-17 against a Japanese ship. The first Dambuster was used in 1943. Skip bombing used regular bombs. Dambuster bombs looked like naval depth charges

Edited May 19, 2020 by Johnny_K
added sentence

[kapam]

Awesome build!

I don't think I have the kahunas to ever try it myself, but I'd have to say that nothing looks more like aluminium than real foil!

I'd probably end up with something looking like a baked potato, so I'm highly appreciative of your skill.

Well done!

 

[Aces High]

Magnificent! This must have taken you so log! The work has paid off though, it really does look great. Very impressed.

[Sky Keg]

Very nice.  Your attention to detail along with the history of the type is superb!!!!! 

 

Mike

[GRK]

14 hours ago, Johnny_K said:

The skip bomb  technique was first used in 1942 by a B-17 against a Japanese ship. The first Dambuster was used in 1943

I’m sure it was earlier than this even, in Stanford tucks book fly for your life he recounts a ju88 skip bombing a convoy which would have been in late 1940. 

[GRK]

Very nice result on the Mitchell, the foil work must have taken ages but it’s all paid off. I certainly wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of one of these 

Edited May 20, 2020 by GRK

[F-32]

She's a real beauty, I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of those guns!

[Jeff G]

Bare Metal Foil is a bold choice and SO worth it! Excellent weathering.

[Mark Joyce]

Very nice looking Mitchell, Johnny, especially the riveting.  I don't think I have the patience or ability to foil a kit..or to rivet it for that matter.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[John_W]

Nicely done. The Monogram B25 is a decent kit for its age and you have made it in to a masterpiece.

[Spitfire31]

A magnificent B-25. Your post-treatment of BMF really dotted the i:s – she looks very convincing indeed, really like a machine constructed out of shaped pieces of aluminium sheeting.

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

[Johnny_K]

Thanks everyone.  Foiling is not that difficult, all it takes is patience. It's also important to realize that foiling is a marathon, not a sprint. I put on some music and pour myself a cocktail or a beer prior to foiling. Very relaxing. My first foiled model was a P-47. I finished that one in 2005. Since then I have finished nine more aircraft in foil including: F-104, B-24, B-25, B-29, B-58, F-86, P-38, Mig-15, P-47 and P-51

 

If you would like to try foiling a model I suggest that you start with a model with simple shapes, such as a Mig 15:

 

The Mig 15 has a simple barrel shaped fuselage and simple, flat wings. There are no compound shapes. Plus, it is a very small model. This is an older Tamiya kit with the fully detailed jet engine for display. I didn't build my model with the detailed engine because the plane's tail kept falling off.

 

 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Johnny_K

[IanC]

Wow. Very impressive. Hat's off to you!