B-25J Mitchell (1/48th Revell)

[Ol' Scrapiron]

Work in Progress...

 

This post is basically a progress report so I can document some of the extra detail work to date. I realized that I was slowing down as the dreaded "buttoning up of the fuselage" approaches. Still work to be done for sure, but I didn't want to be looking at the sealed fuselage and ask why I din't take pics along the way.

 

So here she goes -- warts and all!

 

The ugly shine is actually because the wash is still wet when I snapped the pic and the flash lit it up.

 

 

Storage cabinet and radio shelf

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Rear fuselage interior area with ammo boxes for waist gunner and tail gunner. Scratch O2 tanks and fire extinguisher.

 

Ammo feed belt to tail gun made from small zip tie.

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Bomb bay seems pretty big when it is empty. A wash of AK Engine Oil applied to create a greasy environment. (A much thinned wash of the same was applied to the ribs/stringers detail throughout the fuselage.)

 

 

The right side gets two bombs.

and the left gets one

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I had just assumed these were 500-pounders, but with three filling the bay, they must be the 3 x 1000-pd load that the Mitchell was known to deliver.

 

They do fill the bomb bay nicely

 

 

 

Anyway, just a post to remind me what still needs doing and to preserve a look inside in case I get too far ahead of myself and glue it together without making a record of what's gone into it so far.

 

 

Next up the various guns -- waist guns, tail twins and the top turret. (or whatever shiny piece distracts me!)

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ol' Scrapiron

[Ol' Scrapiron]

Top o' the Morning...

 

Yesterday I started in on the top turret. I usually rely on my own photos for reference (personal preference) but the 16 Mitchell's I have photographed, the only one I've actually been inside is the CAF's Maid in the Shade and amazingly I did not get any shots that would help here. As the grandson of a B-17 top-turret gunner, I want to give this area some extra attention.

 

I did find these images online so I had something to work with. (not my photos)

 

 

I noticed that all three of these had the seat extended but the kit had it stowed. I crafted a new seat from sculpey (plus several spares) and then shaved off the molded-in seat.

 

 

I aslo wanted to recreate the shields that blank off the gun troughs. However the order I did things in created some unnecessary challenges and I would probably do this differently next time.

 

I cut some thin strips from soda can and punched a hole in the center. I could only enlarge the hole so much before the strip would be damaged, and the barrels would not fit through... so I sliced them off.

[next time I would punch the holes large enough and then trim down to the width of the strip needed]

 

Using a pin vise, I drilled into the gun stock enough to insert a tiny length of 24-gauge wire as this was small enough to pass through the holes. This is the same method I use for attaching the barrels of guns that pass through the plexi (so they can be removed rather than breaking off.

[next time I would make the holes large enough for the barrels to pass through without doing this]

 

I snipped the wire length before I attached the strips and found that when the glue dried there was not enough wire exposed to attach the barrels. Oooooops.

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It took quite a bit of finagling to get the barrels glued on parallel and straight without the benefit of the wire that was supposed to help (and now was just a glue encrusted nub working against me)

They're not perfectly aligned, but as long as they don't break off I think they will work.

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Note to self: make sure to paint the printed side of the soda can before gluing it on the model.

 

After comparing the end result with the reference images, I ma go back and repaint the O2 tank to have only one strap... but maybe not.

 

 

My eyes need a rest now.

 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ol' Scrapiron

[Ol' Scrapiron]

Well, that didn't take long...

 

The barrels for the turret guns proved stronger than I had thought. Problem is that the shielded guns didn't fit into the plexi dome due to some extra thickness around the troughs. After some cursing and a lot of squeezing in an attempt to force it in I decided to take a step back and solve the problem before I ruined everything. 

 

The first step was breaking off the barrels and shield (dang, they were secured much more than I expected). I tried lopping off about 1/5 of the front end of the gun bodies thinking that this would allow the curved shields to be inside the clear part but a few attempts to get things straight and secure enough for test fitting made it obvious that the clear part was going to be cracked or crazed if I continued.

 

One of the barrels actually bent/twisted out of shape during the ordeal.

 

I  cut some new strips to fill the trough independently of the guns. A small dot of CA was applied to the tip of the strip and glued into the topmost part of the trough.

 

When that was cured (enough) I  trimmed the length and carefully bent it enough to be glued into the lower part of the turret.

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Now the plexi fits nicely over the gun stocks (which probably did not need to be shortened after all.

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As for the damaged barrel, I think I am in luck that I am doing the standard B-25J nose because there are extra guns meant for the strafing gunship version. I will pinch a couple fresh barrels from those and try to cleanly attach straight and level to the turret. I have sacrificed my ability to raise/lower the barrels so I'll just have to pick the elevation that looks right and be happy with that.

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ol' Scrapiron

[Ol' Scrapiron]

Seats & Stingers...

 

I had to set the top turret aside as the risk of ruining it outpaced the odds of improvement (for now, at least)

 

Today was mostly a painting day as I turned to the pilots seats and the twin 50s in the tail. Nothing terribly exciting. I'm not happy how "rough" the edges of the seats look -- not sure if that is supposed to be cushion wrapping over the edge or not. I was trying to get the look of a green seat cushion rather than the yellow floating seat. Something about them bugs me and I may do some surgery before I am through.

 

I do like the stinger guns, even if this will be almost completely hidden once the fuselage goes together.

 

Anyway, here are the pics for tonight.

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That's all for tonight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ol' Scrapiron

[Ol' Scrapiron]

Closer to closing...

 

It's getting harder to stall on closing up the fuselage. Painted a few parts like the turret plexi and other bits and started gluing more things in place.

 

 

 

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The tail turret looks good, but I'm sure it will have a floor installed before I close the fuselage. I am not going to try to continue the belt feeds to the guns (they'll just dead end at the shield)

I also saw a reference drawing that indicates the belts actually made a 90-degree twist so that the get to the belt on end rather than flat... yeah, I'm leaving well enough alone at this point.

 

 

Glued the turret plexi on and applied some paint: ZC green followed by silver followed by one light coat of brown OD. Not sure this is the final body color so I am using it as a primer for whatever goes on later.

The glass will get scraped to make the paint nice and tidy, then coated in Future to conceal most of the blemishes.  Barrels will be added at the very end.

 

The same brown has been on the wings for a while -- again, only to put a dark base down for the final paint color. Something similar but with a hint of olive rather than straight brown (although I think this is pretty close)

 

 

 

t was nice to tape it together to see the major parts together... at least for tonight.

 

Note that while I was "flying" the plane around the room (with the mandatory zooming noises) I managed to let the tail drop off and both rudders broke off on impact. I got incredibly lucky that nothing was damaged.

 

 

Good night all

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ol' Scrapiron

[Ol' Scrapiron]

Time to get Cranking

 

I have to give credit to the original craftsman that made these molds for the detail they include -- some of it is amazing! One of the details that does bug me is the molded in hand cranks that are so subtle that I have to indicate them so they'll be visible in this pic.

 

I had been reluctant to leave the one on the bulkhead as painted, but as long as I was going to create the forward one I might as well do both. These would be made from stretched sprue pulled slow when cool so it would be very thick.

 

A shot before painting (and adding more details to the fuselage)

 

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attachment straps were tiny loops of wire. How I got them glued to the kit and off my fingers is a miracle. I started with needle-nose pliers but was afraid I would superglue them shut and ruin them.

 

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Next up the waist guns...

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ol' Scrapiron

[Ol' Scrapiron]

No time to Waist

 

With the time to close up the fuselage nearing I took a last look at the instructions to ensure nothing important got forgotten. What I discovered was that the fuselage was to be closed at the end of step 2 in the instructions ... and the waist guns/windows installed in step 4. I'm glad I looked because I want to depict the support cables (elastic straps) that run from the gun to pulleys on the ceiling and that certainly needs to be done before closing the fuselage.

 

Here are the guns that will be installed there. I used some of the same stretched sprue from the cranks (previous post) to create hand grips and charging handles. The hand grips were simply added over the molded in grips because it helps create extra width for the new ones.

 

(twisted grip on the far gun has since been fixed)

 

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That's it for the moment

 

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ol' Scrapiron

[Ol' Scrapiron]

Waist guns mounted

 

Knowing what passes for "fit" with the little windows around the nose of the Monogram B-17, I really like the way theB-25J is set up nicely to have the waist windows securely added from the outside.

 

However, because I wanted to have the guns supported by a pair of belts I needed to get the plexi and the guns attached while the fuselage was still open. The belts/straps are just stretched sprue. I decided to give up on the idea of portraying the whole pulley system along the roof. The B-17 had four control wires running along each side of the spine... The B-25 must also have control wires somewhere (upper or lower???) but I'm going to admit I don't really care right now.

 

Anyway, here are the guns now attached to the fuselage (which makes setting the project on the workbench nearly impossible!)

 

Right side... (with the strike camera that almost got left out)

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and the left side

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and from the outside (ignore the rough paint for now)

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I don't think I mentioned the flooring I added to the tail section so there won't be a seam along that tiny space visible later on (the tail plane covers almost all that space)

 

 

Still inching closer to time to close it up. More and more I am starting to break off bits of my work just by holding the fuselage halves as I work. Can't grip it or set it down -- yikes!

 

 

That's all for now.

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ol' Scrapiron

[rob85]

Loads of details going into this one, looks great!

 

Rob

[Ol' Scrapiron]

Tale of the Trail-ing antenna

 

One of the oft-overlooked parts of the B-25 and other bombers is the trailing antenna. On the B-25J this stuck out the lower left fuselage in the waist area. 

 

You can see the "avacado on a stick" in my shot of B-25J Mitchell 44-30254 flying at Paine Field during an event hosted by the Flying Heritage Collection.

 

Looking through my shots of all the B-25s I have photographed at air shows and museums, that Mitchell looks to be the only one that has the antenna installed (but I am shocked at how many times I neglected to shoot that area when I had the chance)

 

 

 

Fortunately, this is the same equipment as the B-17 used, and I have taken shots of that.

 

Here is the motor and equipment inside B-17F 42-29782 Boeing Bee

and what was outside

 

Also visible through the plexi area on B-17G 44-83735 Mary Alice at the IWM Duxford before the fuselage was sealed up and repainted

 

and on B-17G 44-83684 Picadilly Lilly II at the Planes of Fame Museum

 

 

 

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Aaaaaaand, I'm back.

Sorry about that.... I just spent 45 minutes lost in my old photographs. Miss the days when I could go to a museum. Sigh.

 

 

Now to the model.

Here's what I found online for the B-25 equipment (from the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum's website)

 

 

 

I started off with building the cable retraction motor. At 1/48 it is pretty tiny, the whole thing fits easily on an Xacto blade

The motor is a snipped sprue runner and a couple bits of Evergreen plastic, all resting on a bent piece of soda can for a mounting bracket. The pulley is simply a looped wire glued behind the motor.

 

I used a rounded nub of a sprue end to make the wood ball and added some stretched sprue for the rod. A drop of Elmer's glue was dried on the end to represent the "avacado" lead weight

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Here it is painted

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And back inside for the painted motor and rod

 

It looks fine except it really should be located over about where the forwardmost seat is.

 

No big deal, right?

 

As long as no one ever sees the inside and outside at the same time 

 

It's like looking at it refracted through water. 

 

 

By the way, one of the bombs dropped off the model while I was shooting these shots. Glad the 1000-pounder hadn't been armed yet or it could have been quite messy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ol' Scrapiron

[Ol' Scrapiron]

Up-Loads of "fun" ...  but no progress

 

So I thought I had beat the system. Rather than using a photo-hosting service (like Photobucket, etc.) I have always just used a sub-folder on my own business website to store the images. It takes up some server storage, which I am fine with,  but the real downside was that when I migrated my site to a new server all the links in my previous builds suddenly wrecked and the dreaded "broken link" icon appeared instead of all those wonderful WIP shots of my B-17.

 

I figured a better workaround would be to quickly make a facebook page (FREE) used only for dumping my pics into albums for each build. Quick, easy, (did I mention FREE?) and all I needed to do was copy the hyperlink and paste it into the britmodeller posts. Easy-peasy.

 

Discovered tonight that the early pics in this thread were broken. Turns out those facebook links are temporary and "expire" after a month.

 

Spent tonight uploading all the photos into my new large server (which I should have just done in the first place) and then going through the entire thread and replacing the old images with the correct permanent ones.

 

 

I should be able to get some bench time in tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a shot I took of one of our local Mitchells (B-25J 44-30254) during one of the FHC's Free Fly Days.

 

Unfortunately, there's some rumors going round hinting the family of Paul Allen may be closing the FHC for good. I'm not in the know, but just that possibility makes my heart ache.

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ol' Scrapiron

[Ozzy]

Sounds like you’ve had a busy evening.

[Ol' Scrapiron]

It's been more than a month...

 

Hard to believe it has been more than a month between sessions at the model bench. Back in late November I resigned to the fact it was time to close the fuselage. I took some shots to preserve the state of the build before sealing it up forever. A couple pieces decided to attempt escape (they were rounded up thankfully!) so I set everything down for a quick break. Thanksgiving rolled by... Christmas rolled by... wow. Last night I dusted the pieces off and (gulp!!!) applied the glue.

 

It is drying at the moment, but I thought I would share the last pics taken before the halves went together.

Note that I had to use a food container to prop it up so the fragile waist guns wouldn't break off (like the trailing antenna did)

 

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The trailing antenna broke off but I have it ready to be installed in the final stages.

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As the weeks went by I watched so many amazing builds cross the finish line into the Gallery. During that time I've been working on my art business and produced a few beautiful projects while the model sat unloved just a few feet away. Next update should include photos of the B-25 standing on its own wheels.

 

 

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and survived Boxing Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ol' Scrapiron]

On her feet (sort of)

 

Glued the wheels on and gave it a day+ to really cure. I'm steering away from adding enough weight to keep it from tail dragging -- it is definitely a heavy model already. There might somehow be extra pounds from the scratchbuilding.

 

Here she is with a battery holding her hind end aloft.

 

She looks pretty sorry at this stage -- it is soooooo much more interesting on the inside.  At the very least, some progress is being made.

 

The kit comes with a ladder that cheats gravity and I think that will be my answer to keeping the nose gear down.

 

In case I don't get to post tomorrow: Happy New Year everyone.

[CliffB]

And suddenly it's looking like a Mitchell - such a pity to lose all that internal detail though .

 

Cheers

[Ol' Scrapiron]

Well folks,

I definitely have made some progress on the Mitchell, but I'm embarrassed to admit that even with the extended deadline this one just slipped away on me. 

 

I will finish it up soon and post some pics here in the coming days, but wrapping it up by tomorrow would take a miracle.

 

😩😩😩😩

[Ol' Scrapiron]

It has been nine months to the day since I conceded that the B-25 project had ground to a halt. I guess I made that official this evening as I boxed up the various sub assemblies and reluctantly relegated the Mitchell to the "Shelf of Doom" 

 

Maybe one of the group builds (KUTA?) will see this project rise from the ashes, but no time soon I'm afraid. Sigh.

 

 

On the bright side, the workbench got a little cleaning and maybe another group build will stoke the fire again. We'll see!

[vppelt68]

On 19/10/2021 at 07:46, Ol' Scrapiron said:

...and reluctantly relegated the Mitchell to the "Shelf of Doom" 

As I'm a father too, I can understand that you were reluctant to do that . More seriously, the shelved builds can be brought back when the spirit returns. Let's wait and see that happens. V-P