Airfix Mitchell II - 180 Squadron, August 1944 - now a double build with added B-25B

[Simon]

Hello everyone

 

Another build about to start, and yet another R.A.F. twin. After an Airfix Blenheim and Beaufighter and a Tamiya Mosquito, I'm doing on the recent Airfix Mitchell II as a 180 Squadron aircraft from August 1944. It will be either FL210 EV-T of FW199 EV-P - I haven't quite made my mind up yet.

 

Both these Mitchells were flown by Edward 'Ted' Burn D.F.M., from Alnwick in Northumberland, so another local connection. He was involved in the following two incidents in these Mitchells:

 

On August 6th 1944 he was flying FW199, and from the 180 Sqn ORB Form 540:

In the morning eleven aircraft took part in a medium level bombing attack on an ammunition dump at LIVAROT and in the evening eleven aircraft attacked a concentration of enemy tanks at T.985412 in Northern France. Mitchell FW199 returning from the latter raid was hit by flak and had to make a forced landing at B.7 – 123 Wing in Normandy. The crew, all unhurt, were as follows: 1672857 Sgt. Burn, E. Pilot, 154612 P/O A.C. Kirk, Nav.B Aus419507 Sgt C.V. Smith, WO(AIR), and 1250048 Sgt. Freeman, J.R. Air Gunner.

 

On August 9th 1944 he was the pilot of FL210:

This morning eleven aircraft went on a bombing mission to an ammunition dump at Foret de Lyons. Intense accurate flak was encountered and casualties were sustained. In the Mitchell FL210 the Pilot and Navigator were wounded on the way to the Target, they made every endeavour to catch up on the formation and carry on with the job, but as the navigator was fast losing blood they had to turn for home and made an emergency landing at HARTFORD BRIDGE where the Navigator, P/O A.C. Kirk was taken to hospital and his left leg amputated. The pilot, Sgt E. Burn suffered only minor injury while the others Sgt. G.V. Smith (WO/Air) and Sgt J.E. Freeman (Air Gunner) were uninjured.

 

Ted would fly some 43 Ops with 180 Sqn, and was awarded the D.F.M. in April 1945. However, his R.A.F. career had been brought to an abrupt halt in very odd, almost tragic, cirumstances in late 1944. From the ORB Form 540, December 3rd 1944:

 

1672857 F/Sgt BURN E. resting in his room was shot in the head when a revolver was accidentally discharged in an adjoining room. He was instantly removed to hospital and placed on the dangerously ill list. An investigation was ordered.

 

Apparently another airman had just got a photo of his sweetheart, and wanted to pin it on the wall. Rather than using a hammer, or even his shoe, he decided to use his revolver, which went off and the bullet passed through the wall, hitting Ted Burn. He was taken to hospital, and somehow survived, although he lost the use of his left arm and leg. He died in 1990, as reported in the Newcastle Journal, April 14th 1990:

 

Wartime pilot dies after heart attack

Wartime pilot from the region has died suddenly at the age of 67.

Mr. Ted Burn, of Branding Court, Jesmond, Newcastle, died in Newcastle General Hospital after suffering a heart attack.

Mr. Burn, who won the Distinguished Flying Medal, survived a head wound caused by a gun injury to go on to careers in business and the civil service.

Born in Alnwick, he joined the RAF in 1942. Two years later, he was injured when a fellow serviceman accidentally shot him.

Mr. Burn who was left with a bullet lodged in his head, made a remarkable recovery, despite losing the use of his left arm and leg.

 

So, what have we got? First, thanks to Amazon, a rather battered and scruffy box:

 

 

 

 

This is how it arrived - no packaging at all, and covered in labels, but thankfully the Airfix boxes are pretty substantial. Good job it wasn't a present for someone...

 

I'll also be using the Eduard 'Big Ed' set for the cockpit and bomb bay:

 

 

Before I get on with it, a comment on the moulding. The plastic is sort of waxy (it is recycled plastic?), and the moudling isn't great in some places, particularly on the lower fuselage, where it seems ever so slightly short-shot:

 

 

Anyway, onwards and upwards, and let's see how it goes...

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2021 by Simon
edited title

[SallysDad]

This should be interesting...

[kev67]

I have this kit so will be following your progress

[Simon]

No pressure then...gulp.

 

[Simon]

So, first progress report, and starting with the cockpit and nose interiors.

 

Firstly, I referred to this thread for information about colours used on Mitchell interiors:

 

 

and this thread on the ARC Forum. Cockpit is Bronze Green #9 and the Bomb Aimer and W/Op area Interior Green/Tinted Zinc Chromate. For Bronze Green #9 it recommends RLM70, and for Interior Green/Tinted Zinc Chromate it recommends FS 34151. So, here are the two fuselage halves:

 

 

and with the etch bits from the Eduard set:

 

 

The instrument panel with the Eduard dials and rudder pedals added:

 

 

And the control columns and throttle box, also Eduard-ed up:

 

 

Here's Eduard's central panel on the cockpit floor:

 

 

Note Eduard have done it as Interior Green/Tinted Zinc Chromate, but with a fine brush (and a very steady hand...) that can be easily corrected.

 

This is the kit's pilot seat, and next to it the Eduard brass version:

 

 

The Eduard one is slightly wider, and I HATE folding and gluing brass, but it's come out okay and looks much better than the kit seat, IMHO.

 

On with the rest of the cockpit next, so more soon...

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2021 by Simon
typo

[John]

Back in the early 1980s I worked beside a man who had been groundcrew with 180 Squadron around the D-Day period. He went with the Squadron from the UK to Melsbroek.

He claimed that one of the aircraft was named "Wee Jocky" after him. I was never able to find out if that was true but I did build him a Mitchell from the Italeri kit.

 

John 

[Thom216]

Holy F, they just slapped a shipping sticker on the box and tossed it into the mail?! That reflects badly on Amazon, even if they aren't the ones who actually sold it.

But, as you say, a nice sturdy box saved the day!

I have a couple of these kits in the stash and will be watching with interest. ...and considering getting some etched or resin seat replacements seeing as the kits are that bad. Wow. This is a new-tool kit, right?

[wellsprop]

Brilliant start on the kit, I will be following this one

 

By the way, when you order from amazon, there is an optional tick box that says something like "please use less packaging on my order", they introduced it a little while ago to reduce waste! 

[Simon]

3 hours ago, wellsprop said:

Brilliant start on the kit, I will be following this one

 

By the way, when you order from amazon, there is an optional tick box that says something like "please use less packaging on my order", they introduced it a little while ago to reduce waste! 

 

Well, they certainly didn't waste anything on packaging...

 

I'm just grateful the Airfix boxes are much more substantial than the Revell ones

 

 

[woody37]

Amazon make me laugh, they either come in boxes that you could fit a car in or none at all 😂

 

Nice start, that etch certainly spruces the pit up.

[Simon]

A quick update, and some progress on the cockpit, with the Eduard etch stuff now all applied, and painted up:

 

 

 

 

 

All going well so far, and maybe looking a bit too clean at the moment, but progressing nicely...

 

More soon

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

[Thom216]

Looking good!

[bigbadbadge]

This does look good, looks to be  a nice kit too. Great work on your interior so far, within looking suitably busy and the control column wheels look scale thickness. Marvellous. 

Chris

[Simon]

Hello again

 

Back with another quick update. With the cockpit area pretty much done, I've now done the bomb bay, using the Eduard etch from the Big Ed set. All installed, and painted Aluminium:

 

 

 

I've not used the Eduard bits for the bomb bay door bits, as I'm not sure they're that miuch better than the kit versions. Just needs a bomb load...

 

I've also tried to address the perennial problem of Mitchell kits - how to stop them being a tail-sitter. Airfix recommend 25 grams of weight, and I managed to cram about 23g under the cockpit, using an old screwdriver head and lead shot:

 

 

I've also managed to get another couple of grams between the Navigator's compartment and the bomb bay:

 

 

And if needed, I've made a bulkhead to fit the engine nacelles, which can hold some more lead shot, hopefully far enough ahead of the mainwheels:

 

 

Here's the completed cockpit and bomb bay in situ in the starboard fuselage, with an extra rack for ammo for the nose gun:

 

 

Meantime, I've got the two engines painted up and assembled, with the wiring harness added from the Eduard set:

 

 

The kit's engines are really rather nice, and the Eduard etch just adds an extra degree of detail.

 

All going pretty well so far, and more soon...

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by Simon
typo

[Sturmovik]

You can also add some weight between the cockpit entrance door and the bulkhead of the first wingspar. Once closed, no one will see the weight in there.

[Thom216]

That is some nice detail on those kit engines. Good thing to know it won't need resin ones.

[Simon]

15 hours ago, Sturmovik said:

You can also add some weight between the cockpit entrance door and the bulkhead of the first wingspar. Once closed, no one will see the weight in there.

 

I think I've allowed enough weight to avoid the tail-sitting, but I'll see how it goes.

 

15 hours ago, Thom216 said:

That is some nice detail on those kit engines. Good thing to know it won't need resin ones.

 

Yes, the kit engine are very nice indeed. Not sure how much you'll see of them once they're installed in the cowlings...!

 

Another quick update, and a couple of slight issues to sort out. The instructions tell you to install the wing uppers onto the two spars that are attached to the bomb bay front and rear bulkheads and protrude through the fuselage halves, before adding the undersides. That seems a good idea, but I'd like to have the fusleage and wings both completed and painted separately before adding them to each other. 

 

So, I've decided to shorten the spars, leaving about 15mm left to attach the wing to later. The bits I've cut off have been glued into place on the wing upper sections (carefully marked as to which ones go where and their exact positions first!).

 

Abridged spars:

 

 

And the outer parts added to the wing upper - port wing in this case:

 

 

The test fit of the wings then brought up my first problem - the staboard one didn't want to fit quite right:

 

 

A bit of head scratching and some more test fitting found the cause.

 

This is the starboard front spar:

 

 

And this is the port one:

 

 

For some reason the starboard one sits ever so slightly lower in the gap than the port one, which makes the starboard wing sit ever so slightly too low, causing it to foul the moulded seam guide on the fuselage and cauing the gap. A quick sand of the underside of the spar seems to have fixed it - I reckon it'll need carefully holding in palce when gluing:

 

 

Meanwhile, a test fit of the (already painted) fins brought up this little problem:

 

 

They don't match on the leading edge. Again, some head scratching - I thought the two sets of round joins on the inside faces didn't match up, but the problem is marked with two arrows here:

 

 

The two bits marked are slightly too long and sit 'inside' the trailing edge of the fin and so foul the other half, pushing it too far forward and causing the leading edge mismatch. The bits arrowed (and show as unpainted) were carefully removed, and they fit fine after that. As an aside, some of the moulding for some of the trailing edges of the tail assembly seems pretty uneven, making test fitting necessary.

 

Anyway, all sorted (hopefully!), so more soon.

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2021 by Simon

[Thom216]

Thanks for highlighting those little quirks!

[Simon]

Another small update, and some more quirks to report...

 

First up, some more short-shot moulding:

 

 

Just as well I'll be using R.A.F. bombs from the Bomber Resupply Set...

 

And I've found this 'extra plastic' on some of the mating surfaces - on the rear fuselage where the tailplane joins and the engine nacelles:

 

 

In this case, it makes the fit of the nacelles to the wings have a step, and the tailplane fitted just as poorly:

 

 

Not the end of the world, and easily solved with some judicious scraping and sanding, but once again test-fitting is pretty essential.

 

I've also glued the two wings together, and once again some evidence of short-shot moulding (circled):

 

 

The port wing, despite the short-shot bit, went together very well, but the starboard wing was a problem. The mating surfaces on the wing leading edge did not meet at the outside edge - they met at the 'inside' edge, meaning a nice regular gap of about .1mm all the way along the wing leading edge outboard of the engine. Once again, some judicous scraping made them better, but still not 100% perfect. 

 

All a bit frustrating, really, but not anything that can't be overcome...

 

More soon

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Simon]

Another quick update...

 

I posted a query on here about the three ID lights fitted to early Mitchells and @BS_w very kindly posted some drawings in his reply. The three lights on early B-25Cs were under the front fuselage, rather than under the starboard wing as Airfix have done them. So, out with the Dymo tape, a drill and some 1.6mm Plastruct clear rod:

 

 

 

I'll add them once the fuselage has been buttoned up and painted, and they should do the job.

 

There is a red 'passing' light in with the port wing landing light on the B-25C. So I cut a short length of clear sprue, coloured it and added that the the aperture:

 

 

There are also two lights inside the rear fuselage tail blister - one red and one white. The kit has nothing in the space, so I've made a small bulkhead to sit in there, and I'll drill out two holes for the light to sit in.

 

 

And finally for today it seems the wings have slightly different chord lengths at the wing roots - maybe due to my over enthusiastic sanding of the leading edges to try and get them smooth... Although having said that, the front two horizontal panel lines match...

 

 

Anyway, onwards and upwards. I'm busy with the engine nacelles and cowlings (the nacelles need some serious sanding and filling, but that's down to my schoolboy error ) and they should be done quite soon.

 

Simon

 

 

 

 

 

 

[don f]

Hi Simon,

 

Very impressive work thus far.  I'm watching your progress with much interest as I've got an Airfix B-25B and an early B-25C on my project list.  Thank you for pointing out the fit problems and fixes.  You've devoted much time and effort to incorporate many details into your model.  Below, I'll provide a few other details that may be of interest.  You stated in response to a query about the upper turrets:

 

"I'm doing it as Mitchell II FL-210 EV-T, and I'm 95% certain this is a photo of this aircraft:

 

 

I've got a higher res image, and it seems to be FL-21* (with hyphen) and FL-210 was EV-T in June 1944. According to Joe Baugher's website this was B-25C 41-12718."

 

If true that this aircraft was 41-12718, the configuration of the aircraft as photographed is an interesting example of an older aircraft that survived long enough to be upgraded.  The aircraft would have been part of the first B-25C (no block number) production.  These aircraft were very closely related to the earlier B-25B.

 

 

EV-T, as photographed, has had the original exhaust collectors removed and replaced with the individual Clayton "S" stacks.  And a turret upgrade to the improved Bendix Type A appears to have been made as well.  Assuming that other parts of the original airframe and armament were unchanged from the early B-25C configuration, the rear fuselage would have the same configuration as the B-25B.  Here's the right side of an early B-25C:

 

 

And the left side had the lower windows like the B-25B.  Airfix provided new clear parts for both sides in their B-25B kit:

 

 

According to the IPC, all B-25C (no block number) had this window configuration.  B-25C-1 and subs. had the windows as provided in the B-25C/D kit.

 

The larger fuel capacity was not incorporated until 41-12817.  Fill in the outboard fuel tank cap, the one outboard of the engine nacelles.

 

Here's an armament diagram for the the B-25C/D:

 

 

And the catalog cut:

 

 

The photograph of EV-T does not show enough to determine if the .30 caliber "pea shooter" was removed and replaced with the .50 cal. MG, but the ports for the .30 cal. MG are visible in the side and bottom windows of the bombardier compartment.  If you need the catalog cut for the .50 MG installation, let me know.

 

If you build the model with the rear crew hatch open, the full frame armored bulkhead just aft of the upper turret is clearly visible.  The bulkhead had a door in it that opened towards the rear of the aircraft.

 

 

 

Armor plate was added behind the pilot's seats and the riding seat for the bombardier.  Maybe you can sneak the plates behind the seats, if you haven't already added them.

 

 

 

And here's another drawing showing the recognition lights under the forward fuselage.  Take care not to place the forward one in the nose gear door, normally closed when gear extended.

 

 

Hopefully, the info above is not a repeat of what you already have.  And if EV-T is not 41-12718 or an example of a very early production B-25C, then perhaps the above will be useful for another project.

 

Looking forward to your next installment.

 

Don

 

 

[Simon]

Don

 

Many thanks indeed for the info and the images. I've got the one of the .30 Cal in the nose, but I wish I'd had the rest of them a few weeks ago.

 

I think I'm too far down the line for some of the amendments/corrections (for example the B-25B style glazing configuration on the rear fuselage - the Mitchell II glazing is aleady in and painted), but I'll see what can be done about some of the other bits.

 

Simon

[Simon]

Back with another update, and some head-scratching to do now with the info posted by #don f a post above.

 

The wings have now been completed, with nacelles added, and all painted up. Before doing the nacelles, I added some detailing to the undercarriage bays, and a couple of bits of strengthening for the mainwheel legs.

 

 

The nacelles were glued together, and had a couple of interior bulkheads added, and some extra weight added as I'm not convinced there was enough in the forward fuselage:

 

 

And after a coat of primer, they looked okay:

 

 

Please note that the panel line running aft of the wheel apertiure is meant to be like that, as the mainwheel doors on the real thing are like that too - don't fill it!

 

So, wings and nacelles together, and ready for painting. Lower surfaces, with D-Day stripes:

 

 

 

Upper surfaces in OD, and as I'm doing an early August 1944 aircraft, they will have the remains of the D-Day stripes added later (for which I have a cunning plan, which may or may not work 😞

 

 

 

I've also got the fuselage all buttoned up, and primed. This is where I have run into a problem. As mentioned by @don f in the post above, FL-210 should have the B-25B style rear glazing, and I've got the later style:

 

 

So, what are the options?

 

1. leave it and live with it - not sure about that

2. try to remove the glazed sections and try to get the correct ones - that could go very horribly wrong very quickly

3. fill the round window and try to mock up another oval one - a pain in the whatsits and more potential for disaster

4. do it as FW199 EV-P, a B-25D-30 I believe, fitted with the FN under turret, which was one of my original options. However I think I'd need to remove the two fairings on the SB wing vents (which I'm not sure will come off) and the three underfuselage lights would now be wrong and would need moving back to under the SB wing...

 

Option 4 would seem to be the easy way out, but at the moment I'm a bit...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Simon
I've finally figured out how to tag other posters - I blame my advance years...

[Simon]

So, I had a brilliant idea (or so I thought). I'd carry on with this build as FW199, with a few amendments/re-amendments, and get an Airfix B-25B and do that as FL-210 alongside. After all, I've done bits for both of them, effectively, so why not? They'd look good together, being slightly different in the details.

 

However, on getting my B-25B, I see it doesn't have the Sprue E for the 'knobbly' exhaust cowlings... Lesson learnt - make sure you know what you're doing next time before you splash the cash... 💰

 

Airfix don't have any sprue E from either the Mitchell II or the B-25C/D kits (apparently), so I've asked in the 'Wanted' section. Meanwhile, I'll crack on with FW199 until/if I can get a sprue E for FL-210...best laid plans and all that!

 

Simon

 

BTW Amazon excelled themselves again, sending the box out without any packaging, so I had a bit of a moan at them and got 20% off, which is fair enough.

[dogsbody]

According to Super-Hobby, these two kits had what you're looking for:

 

https://www.super-hobby.com/products/North-American-Mitchell-Mk.II.html

 

https://www.super-hobby.com/products/North-American-B-25C-D-Mitchell.html

 

 

 

 

Chris