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Why can't I build a 1/72 B-24 without remortgaging the house?


TonyOD

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30 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

Now that looks rather nice, @davecov! Is it quite rivety?

There's a reason why modellers of a certain age talk about "the Airfix riveter"; that kit gives you a good hint as to what that reason is.

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17 hours ago, Paws4thot said:

There's a reason why modellers of a certain age talk about "the Airfix riveter"

 

I did the old Corsair a while back. Could've grated parmesan with it.

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Airfix kits of that era were the reason I learned how easy it can be to work polystyrene.  First a good scraping with a razor blade.  That gets most of it, then on to wet 'n dry sandpaper used wet.  When you've done all you can with 400 grit you can push on to finer paper though for a painted finish that wasn't necessary.  The whole operation on a 1/72 scale fighter, say the Corsair, takes maybe 10 minutes.  A swift wash in soapy water to get rid of the swarf and the finger grease and you're ready to start assembling. 

 

The only kit I didn't do that with was the original Airfix 1/72 B-17G and I regretted it.  Testors rattle can silver paint emphasised them way too much.  Still, if rivets are the only thing to complain about . . .

 

One side observation about Revell kits of the era.  Some, notably their Lancaster and B-24D had finer rivets (much nearer scale though not nearly near enough for 1/72!)  and also finely engraved panel lines.  Lose the rivets and you get a very nice surface to work with.  Fond memories of the 1960s! :)

Edited by RJP
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18 minutes ago, RJP said:

Airfix kits of that era were the reason I learned how easy it can be to work polystyrene.  First a good scraping with a razor blade.  That gets most of it, then on to wet 'n dry sandpaper used wet.  When you've done all you can with 400 grit you can push on to finer paper though for a painted finish that wasn't necessary.  The whole operation on a 1/72 scale fighter, say the Corsair, takes maybe 10 minutes.  A swift wash in soapy water to get rid of the swarf and the finger grease and you're ready to start assembling. 

 

I like this methodical approach. I took the rivets off a Heller Amiot 143 (1967 vintage) that I built a while back, and I simply went at it like a man possessed with whatever bit of sandpaper I had to hand.

 

 

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55 minutes ago, RJP said:

One side observation about Revell kits of the era.  Some, notably their Lancaster and B-24D had finer rivets (much nearer scale though not nearly near enough for 1/72!)  and also finely engraved panel lines.  Lose the rivets and you get a very nice surface to work with.  Fond memories of the 1960s! :)

Not sure about the engraved panel lines on those, some earlier box scale kits like the F-89 had them. Would have to unstash one of them (after locating them in the first place) to have a look. Most certainly NOT finer were those rivets on the Condor from the same series - possibly as a maritime aircraft, they thought it should look like straight outta Blohm+Voss Dock 14...

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The old Revell B-24D does indeed have a combination of raised rivets and engraved lines, although I'm not sure I'd call them particularly fine.  Still, a bit of light sanding would knock off the rivets and tone down the lines to an acceptable level. 

 

SN

 

ErDW6Fp.jpg

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Thanks, that's the kit I was talking about. 

 

It seems to me a consistent approach across a collection is a useful way to go, offering nothing to detract from the collection and allowing the subjects to speak.  It sounds counterintuitive perhaps but it makes a pleasing overall effect.  So while the idea of rivets sounds good they always come out far too big in 1/72.  At even a moderate viewing distance they ought to just disappear just as if you are looking at the real thing.  I've always simply got rid of them rather than endure again the heartache of acne.

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6 hours ago, RJP said:

rivets ... ought to just disappear just as if you are looking at the real thing

Very true, particularly as edited; Doubly so on a Supermarine type which was actively flush riveted (well except Spitfire engine cowls) or a North American Mustang's wings where the panel lines were filled and doped.

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My grump is clearly nothing new https://uk.airfix.com/community/forum/we-need-a-new-affordable-172-b-24

 

There are a couple of Revell and Airfix B-24s kicking around eBay at "not completely insane" money, but I'm almost inclined to hold out for a new tool from somebody, anybody, however long that may take...

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So, Mr "Ain't Never Gonna Pay More Than 30 Quid For A 1/72 Kit" just dropped 40 brass Margarets on Eduard's "Wine Women and Song" B-26 Marauder. Kind of "Riders in the Sky"'s slightly less expensive little brother. Actually decent value for a Hasegawa bomber and all the flim-flam that comes with it, I thought.

 

I still want that B-24, though!

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11 minutes ago, alt-92 said:

Renewed your membership of the Sod it Society then? :P

 

 

Well you can't take it with you, can you? 😉

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I’ve pretty much tried to hunt down any bargain B-24 I can, it’s become my hobby within the hobby, which is funny as I’ve only actually completed one so far! 

 

I agree that the Hase kit is rare to find below £50 which is steep for my budget! However the one I did manage to get hold of (I sent the link to my girlfriend just before my birthday) came up on that auction site for £38 all in I think?! As for the minicraft kit I’ve had more luck, not paid over £30 for them. Found the italeri boxing for £17 in a hobby store, the PBY for £15 at Telford (however the clear parts were short shot), academy B-24D for for £20 from bidding, another for about the same and just bought the eduard boxing that comes with both the J and D nose for I think £37 ish. I may have another hase B-24 sorted but that will be built for the museum build... so will see what happens, might fall though. 


last time I checked the over trees for raiders of the sky was available but I did manage to buy one off someone on Britmodeller for a great price! Which is handy as the full kit is normally £80ish.
 

airfix if the do one will price it above £30 anyway so not so worried about that, just would be nice to have more availability and for them (or anyone) to do a Ford nose option.

 

I know it sounds like I’m just holding a load of kits which is driving up the price but the above is about 5 years work hunting, and I intend to build every single one!!

 

Rob 

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So... I've just snagged an Academy "Zodiac" boxing on the 'Bay for 40 quid, which is perhaps a shade over what I'd like to have paid but it comes with Kitsworld aftermarket decal sheets, to do all the Zodiac options so I'm fairly pleased to have a B-24 on its way into the stash. It was a "buy now/best offer" jobby and there were already a couple of offers in so I didn't hang about. Thanks everyone for their input, it's been interesting to learn more about the Lib.

 

(Airfix, if you're reading this, I still want that new tool though!)

Edited by TonyOD
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  • 1 month later...

I finally finished my box of rivets:

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Not my finest ever build but an enjoyable one nevertheless as it was more of an exercise in nostalgia than hyper-modelling. Apart from some added detail in the wheel wells and aftermarket decals it was an OOB build. BTW, the wings, cowlings, tailplanes, front and rear turrets are not fixed in place as the plane is going into storage, probably never to be seen again!

 

I now want to buy another one to do as an olive drab/grey version - if I can afford it.

 

Dave

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@davecov,

 

Want to see her sad ending? Links to photos taken postwar at Kingman, AZ. No Viking funeral for a lot of famous B-17's and B-24's seen at Kingman. and Walnut Ridge. You did a fine job on your model, and it was actually one of the best Airfix kits when it was released. As you stated, besides some wheel bay detailing, the kit just needed better props and better transparencies. Back in the day I used the nose section from a Revell B-24D and grafted it on an Airfix B-24J to  make a Ploesti Liberator.

Mike

 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/292734044500233212/

 

https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/liberator-the-dragon-and-his-tail.8978/

 

https://b-24.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/4/5/2445276/926900_orig.jpg

 

 

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On 5/16/2021 at 6:51 PM, TonyOD said:

So, Mr "Ain't Never Gonna Pay More Than 30 Quid For A 1/72 Kit

 

I still want that B-24, though!

Have no problem paying 30 quid for a kit as long as I have them!!! And most of the times I don't!

 

I also want a B-24 (well, more than one!) for no other reason than the nose art these aircrafts had. Depicting nose art on aircrafts is a topic by itself that will require a lot and I mean A LOT of scale models; P-51s, P-47s........

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  • 5 months later...
On 6/19/2021 at 9:43 PM, 72modeler said:

ack in the day I used the nose section from a Revell B-24D and grafted it on an Airfix B-24J to  make a Ploesti Liberator.

Very cool!  Will replacing the nose with that of a "D" work on the Academy J as well?  I ask, because the RAF's Polish section of the 1586 Special Duties flight operated at least one J with a "szklarnia" (greenhouse) nose.  I have the Airmo decals, which include Liberator B Mk VI EV978 GR * R, which operated out of Brindisi in 1944.  Nose art is of a crow riding a bomb.  I think I would also need to replace the tail turret with a Boulton-Paul unit, but Polish modelers can correct.

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On 14/05/2021 at 19:26, Steve N said:

The old Revell B-24D does indeed have a combination of raised rivets and engraved lines, although I'm not sure I'd call them particularly fine.  Still, a bit of light sanding would knock off the rivets and tone down the lines to an acceptable level.

 

That's what I did with my old 1965 vintage Revell B-24. I picked it up for a couple of bucks at a vendor table, and built it into a PB4Y-1. Came out OK with a little TLC, some aftermarket and some scratch building.

 

100_4476

 

100_4486

 

Cheers,

Bill

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On 12/9/2021 at 3:46 PM, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Will replacing the nose with that of a "D" work on the Academy J

I would think any B-24D nose section would  be pretty close in cross section- cutting right in front of the nose gear bay, the cross sections should be pretty close, I would think. IIRC, Academy is re-releasing some of their 1/72 B-24 kits- maybe their D will be one of them; surely less expensive than buying a Hasegawa B-24D kit. Can the  old 1/72 Revell B-24D/PB4Y-1 kits be found at reasonable prices on auction sites to serve as donors? (The wheels, main gear struts,  and vertical stabs are very nice on the old Revell kit, BTW)

Mike

Edited by 72modeler
corrected spelling
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4 hours ago, 72modeler said:

Academy is re-releasing some of their 1/72 B-24 kits- maybe their D will be one of them

Italeri B24 is the same plastic as Academy...

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