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Eduard / Hasegawa 1/72 Liberator GR Mk.V Coastal Command


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  • 2 weeks later...

Evening all! Slow progress here as life starts to get back a bit more to normal (weddings, in person meetings at work, England get to a final in a major championship?!?!?!) but the fuselage is together and I'm starting to get on top of the seams. I've also masked inside and out of the transparencies ready for paint and once this is done will fit the nose glazing. This bit might be a bit tricky as the removable "lid" means that the nose piece has to hold the nose side walls in the right position. I've ordered some small clamps to help hold everything in place and will make sure to clear any paint off the mating surfaces so I get a good plastic to plastic bond. The magnetic lid looks like it will fit well but a little bit of fettling will be needed to make it as clean a join as possible - I'll get some more photos up once I've got it all working.

 

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ps @Jackson Duvalier I'm not sure how well appreciated the smell of acrylic paint and tamiya extra thin would have been over the North Atlantic!

 

 

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7 hours ago, SaminCam said:

I'm not sure how well appreciated the smell of acrylic paint and tamiya extra thin would have been over the North Atlantic!

 

 

The smell of Tamiya and Gunze paints is reminiscent of a synthetic apple scent-- surely a soothing balm to overstressed aircrew.  The TET fumes would likely get lost in the miasma of high-octane petrol, sweat, and spilled coffee.

 

I'm in awe of your masking, Sam.  I know we're not seeing all that goes on at your bench, but you make such excellent modelling seem effortless.

 

Such is the magick of the internet I suppose.  😎

 

 

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On 7/8/2021 at 7:17 AM, Jackson Duvalier said:

I'm in awe of your masking, Sam.  I know we're not seeing all that goes on at your bench, but you make such excellent modelling seem effortless.

 

Thanks Jackson, the masking on the outside is all down to the Eduard pre-cuts which come in the "Riders in the Sky" boxing. On the inside I do lots of little pieces rather than trying to get one single piece the right size and shape - works ok for me! 

 

This morning I made some good progress on the nose section. First I used a small clamp to squeeze the side walls together so they line up with the front greenhouse piece - I just about remembered to paint and fit the nose machine gun as well! As mentioned above I gave the mating surfaces a good clean before gluing as the slight tension in the sidewalls has to be resisted with just the nose piece. 

 

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A few hours later it seems to have worked ok! The join isn't perfect but after bit of a fettling and whittling I should be able to get to something I'm happy with. The really good news is that the removable "lid" over the cockpit fits really well - the join will never be as good as if it is glued but it's not bad and it's a compromise I'm willing to accept to be able to see inside. 

 

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For those who missed this earlier, the top section is held on with a neobidium magnet secured in place behind the instrument panel and a little strip of metal glued on to the top piece. This snaps together satisfyingly and when removed gives a pretty good view of the front section, cockpit and radio operators compartment behind. I'm actually surprised how well this all fits and shows how well engineered the original Hasegawa kit is. Overall it's not too difficult a modification to make and I recommend giving it a go if you want to see inside your B-24!

 

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Next, I'm back to sanding, filling and fettling; most of the fuselage is getting there but the newly glued area around the nose needs some tlc. Thanks for dropping by, more soon! 

 

 

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Superb work in the proper scale - well done that man! I like the magnet idea, it's a great way to get access to all your hard work.    👍

 

Cheers,

Bill

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  • 2 weeks later...

@bigbadbadge@Cookenbacher

@(ex)Sgtrafman @Fritag @Navy Bird, thanks all, the encouragement is greatly appreciated! I've been on a lovely getaway to Northumberland for the last week so not much progress to report. Before going I worked away at the joins on the nose section and got them as good as I could. Having sanded a fair bit of plastic away I also did my best reinstating rivet holes with a micro drill and rescribing panel lines. You can see in the photos below that it's looking ok though the fit along the magnet held panel line has worked out better on one side than the other...

 

Since getting back I've added the fuselage windows - these fit well once you realise the edges are sloped slightly so you have to get their orientation correct. Again, these have been masked with the super helpful Eduard mask sheet. I've also dry fitted spare parts over the big hatches on the side and squeezed on the bomb bay doors in the closed position to protect the paint job inside.

 

So this is the state of play this evening. It's got its "stealth" coat on - a thin layer of tamiya rubber black which I find is good for showing up imperfections and provides a good base for a mottled preshade which also doesn't mind being masked later on:

 

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Tough to photo at this stage but hopefully I'll have some more progress to report soon. Thanks for dropping by! Sam

 

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Evening all, I've made some good progress on the fuselage and it's now got a black base layer with seams pretty much all filled. The last few days I've started on the wings and engines so airbrush away and back to glue, sprue gue and sand paper. First step was to pack some more tungsten shot in the engine nacelles, glued in with two part epoxy and a bit more security provided by plasticard backing:

 

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I've also ground away the turbocharger duct with a little power tool (would be tough without):

 

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The resin turbochargers are really nice and worth the effort I think. On the other hand I'm not convinced the resin replacement engines are anything special so probably going to keep it simple and use the kit ones.

 

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Here's where I've got to this evening: the wings are glued together, I've got one nacelle attached and the production line for the rest is up and running. The fit is pretty good throughout, I've been using a bit of sprue gue and elbow grease on the seams and don't think there's going to be much, if any, filler required.

 

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Thanks for dropping in, enjoy the rest of the weekend! 

 

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Some excellent work going into this,  interior is outstanding but you're no slouch with the exterior finishing either. 

 

Great build and nice progression 👍

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Afternoon all, the Liberator is gradually moving forward and I think I'm almost at that stage when you get some external paint on and it suddenly comes too life! For now though I have been getting the little sub-assemblies like gun turrets and undercarriage together, ready for a shot of paint. The turrets go together without too much hassle though in places the instructions are a bit confusing (I'm sure some of the number call outs are wrong...) and the masks don't fit quite as well as usual for Eduard. I've also masked up the insides of the turrets so I can paint both sides. Undercarriage and engines are from the kit and look pretty good, the wheels and exhausts are improved with the resin sets:

 

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So with all these pieces ready I was able to do a realistic dry fit and balance test, up on its legs - this included the turret at the back which doesn't weigh much but has the biggest lever arm. I've pretty much packed tungsten shot from a shotgun cartridge in every space available, including the engine nacelles and...

 

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it's there! It's just about nose-down with propellers, engines, front cowling and front turret still to add - these will all help as they are forward of the pivot point about the wheels. Afraid I don't know how much weight all of this added up to (must be approaching 100g though) and also the shot is distributed all over the place in the spots which can't be seen - realised too late I should have done a version with the "chin" as this would be a great place to stash some weight right at the front!  Next I'll get the little bits and pieces painted and then give the wings a shot of the rubber black undercoat. Thanks for stopping by! 

 

 

 

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11 hours ago, Ravnos said:

Absolutely stunning work, living vicariously through you until I can start my own one 🤣

 

On 8/9/2021 at 1:54 AM, VT Red Sox Fan said:

Sam, joining late--an incredible build--I will be tagging along if you dont mind--Best, Erwin

 

Thanks gents, welcome aboard! Afraid things move pretty slowly on my builds but trying to keep this one updated as I go. 

 

On 8/9/2021 at 2:52 PM, rob85 said:

Just catching up, she’s really taking shape! Some really nice work getting that nose sorted out, I should have spent a bit more time on my one.

 

Rob

 

Thanks Rob, you're B17 is looking great and can't wait to see the B24 take shape. 

 

Over the weekend I started painting up various bits and pieces and I'm now pretty much there with the gun turrets:

 

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These are painted using the same techniques as the rest of the insides - undercoat of alclad aluminium sealed in with gloss varnish, coat of hairspray, a few little dabs of masking fluid, top coat of dark green, then maskol removed and bit more chipping done with water and an old brush. I find the combination of a bit of masking fluid and the hairspray chipping works quite well as you get different types and sizes of chips. No idea if this is accurate but certainly makes these parts look more interesting.

 

The guns were hand painted with black then dry brushed to get the metallic look. Finally it gets brought together with a flat varnish coat on top. The "domes" (can't think of a better word) which go on these have been masked and frames painted inside so they are ready to be added too. I'll glue the dorsal turret in place on the fuselage to fill the hole but the rear turret can probably wait to be added later so I don't snap the guns off! I've already started the engines as well so might have another update later in the week. Cheers!  

 

 

 

  

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I have to say this is the best interior I've seen in a B-24. Believe me I'm working on a 1/48 and I though I stuffed it full. Nope not even close and this IS 1/72! I've saved this build. I've got a Coastal Command I want to do in '48th I cant wait to see it finished!

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45 minutes ago, LorenSharp said:

I have to say this is the best interior I've seen in a B-24.

 

He won't be finished until he adds the relief tube in the waist turret station like I did with my 1:72 PB4Y-1. Some extra detail is really important - when you gotta go you gotta go!    :laugh:

 

Really nice work on the turrets @SaminCam. Top notch!

 

Cheers,

Bill

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9 hours ago, LorenSharp said:

I have to say this is the best interior I've seen in a B-24. Believe me I'm working on a 1/48 and I though I stuffed it full. Nope not even close and this IS 1/72! I've saved this build. I've got a Coastal Command I want to do in '48th I cant wait to see it finished!

Thankyou! I've been following your PB4Y2 and taking lots of inspiration along the way, it's a beast! The interior is awesome and browsing through again it has reminded me to add some ammo belts to the turrets, a job for this evening if I can get some time at the bench. 

 

8 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

 

He won't be finished until he adds the relief tube in the waist turret station like I did with my 1:72 PB4Y-1. Some extra detail is really important - when you gotta go you gotta go!    :laugh:

 

Really nice work on the turrets @SaminCam. Top notch!

 

Cheers,

Bill

This comment goes well with @Jackson Duvalier's at the top of this page about the "period-correct smells"... 😆

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I especially like the nose gear assemblies both you and @Navy Bird have tried to recreate. Early on I decieded to use the kit nose gear because of the weight of the model. I would have had to made it out of soldered brass or cast metal to be sturdy enough. right now mine weighs in at about a kilo. As funky as the gear is I'm pretty sure(well, in my care sure,just not pretty😜) printed gear would have held up. I do have a question though, in your instructions,do they show the position of any other lights other than the wing tip Navigation lights and the landing lights near the main gear.? Formation lights,etc. Searching everything I have reveals nothing. the B-24 had the formation lights on the spine and the tail in addition to the lights along the bottom at the bomb bays.

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