Restoring a ‘Previously Loved’ Airfix 1/72 B-25 Mitchell

[Brigbeale]

This is an update on me rather than the B-25.

Being the first time for an operation, I had some trepidation about what was to come.

Thankfully the nurses at the hospital sensed my nervousness and let me take things in at my own pace.

Also thankfully, I was one of the first to be operated on.

I had my cannula put in and then felt a little light headed which was intended. Then a mask was placed over my face and i was told to take some deep breaths. I remember counting four……

The next thing I was aware of was somebody waking me up to have my obs taken in a ward. 
I was moved to a different ward to further recover from the anaesthetic. At around 8pm I was allowed home where I got in, feeling absolutely shattered and went straight to bed.

I had four incisions made on top of the point where the drain tube was. Things feel a little sore at the moment which is understandable. At least the gall bladder is gone now and cannot give me any more problems in the future.

On the whole, I feel a lot better already.

[bigbadbadge]

Glad to hear all went well and hope you make a swift and full recovery.  The models will all still be here so take it easy for a while. 

Chris

[Thom216]

Good to hear it all went so well. Congrats, you had a gallbladder!

[Brigbeale]

6 minutes ago, Thom216 said:

Good to hear it all went so well. Congrats, you had a gallbladder!

Don’t know what they did with it and, frankly, I couldn’t care less!

[RidgeRunner]

On 6/27/2021 at 5:33 PM, Brigbeale said:

The parts that have separated are now in the usual bath of Dettol to, hopefully, remove the paint.

Dettol? What paint was that? 
 

edit: sorry, a bit insensitive given your hospitalisation! I only just read the rest of the thread. I hope you get better very soon

 

Martin

[Brigbeale]

Thanks Martin

I like to buy older models to breathe fresh life into them.

So far, I’ve restored about a dozen models including a Matchbox Buccaneer, 2 P-51 Mustangs and a Sea Harrier (all of which I’ve had since I was a teenager). The rest are mostly old Airfix kits as far as I can remember.

Ive purchased a lot of kits off eBay all requiring attention and the ones I've worked on have all been posted on Britmodeller.

The two most outstanding ones for me were the Airfix Wellington and the Revell reworked Matchbox Beaufighter.

As you can imagine, the models are painted in who knows what paint - it could be enamel, acrylic, house paint or even car body paint! 
When I restarted modellling the first to restored was the above mentioned Buccaneer. That was painted with Humbrol Enamel paints. I searched online and found a YouTube video showing the use of Dettol (actual Dettol - not a store own brand equivalent) to remove the paint from various models, both metal and plastic without damaging the surface underneath.

So I gave it a try and the Buccaneer parts came up like new. 
It has worked on every model I’ve worked on so far.

 

Heres the Buccaneer

 

The Wellington before and after

 

And the Beaufighter before and after

 

And this is the Dettol doing it’s work on the Beaufighter parts after about 6 hours soaking

 

An added bonus with the Dettol is it kills any germs on the models as well!

Edited July 11, 2021 by Brigbeale

[bigbadbadge]

Oooooo yeah  I remember the Beaufighter which looks fantastic and it's good to see again,  I  missed the Buccaneer and Wellington  and they look amazing.  Great work as usual. 

Chris

[Brigbeale]

Thanks Chris.

I didn’t do a WIP on the Buccanner as it was early days for me on Britmodeller.

 

Heres the link for the Airfix Wellington one though

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235077262-restoring-an-old-172-airfix-wellington/

 

When you say the Beaufighter looks fantastic- I hope you mean after I restored it and not how it was when I got it??😂😂

Edited July 11, 2021 by Brigbeale

[bigbadbadge]

😄 Of course when it was done, not in it's Noddy colours, you made it look wonderful.  I always had a thing about this model sine seeing it in a Matchbox catalogue as a youngster.

I have visited the Wellington thread, I was there but missed the ending, all now corrected. Another cracking restoration. 

 

Chris

 

[Brigbeale]

Although I’m not feeling anywhere near where I want to be health wise, I am well enough to get some modelling done.

The first thing was to 3D print a replacement nose gear assembly. Using photos from eBay listings where people with the same kits show whats included in the listing, I print the images of the part I’ve got (main gear oleo’s) and the image of the part I need, preferably in the same shot, measure my parts against the printed image (that’ll raise a few sniggers from the back), work out the ratio, sketch it out with sizes, draw it in Onshape and 3D print it. For axles and pivots I leave a hole and insert styrene rod where necessary.

The designed part.

 

Curios as to whether I’d got the nose gear length right in relation to the main gear in order to have the B-25 sitting level once it’s rebuilt and in its wheels, I dry fitted the engine nacelles and main wings to the fuselage. The nose gear (which now had its axle and pivot pin) was fitted between the fuselage halves which was taped together. The wings were dry fitted and a spare wheel of similar diameter to the one remaining original was fitted. Another smaller wheel of similar size to the now arrived resin replacement was also dry fitted. Holding the nose down proved the gear was the right length.

 

While I was about it I decided to see how much nose weight would be needed. My usual string weights (what I had left) were just enough when placed on top of the cockpit area to keep the nose down. But when I dry fitted the tail wings and stabilisers, it sat in its tail again. Today I found a single penny curtain weight (the Shackleton swallowed the rest of them in my pursuit to stop that being a tail sitter). I need to get some more to stack them behind the cockpit area to get enough nose weight in.

 

While the fuselage was apart, it decided to do something about the terrible offering on the bomb bay layout which was a featureless strip of plastic with a single bomb which looked more like a short torpedo.

I found an image of a 500lb bomb from that era which had dimensions on it. I scaled it to 1/72 scale and 3D printed it.

My simple design of the AN M64 bomb

 

I figured out I could get 6 of these bombs in the bomb bay. But first, the wing locating tabs needed to be cut back and filed flush with the inside of the recess on the fuselage. I then figured I could make simple side walls to the bomb bay with 3 tabs on each side to locate the bombs to. These new side walls could be glued to the now flush wing recessed to allow the 6 bombs to be stacked 3 a side inside the bomb bay. I might add some extra detail such as ribbing/wiring to give a bit more interest in the bay itself.

 

One bomb bay side - two 3D printed. 

Edited July 13, 2021 by Brigbeale

[bigbadbadge]

Wow, what great work, that is wonderful to get it right first go.  Maths was never my strong point!!!

Bomb bay inserts will certainly add another dimension to the model.

Hope you're okay and recovering well.

Chris

[Brigbeale]

I went to the local haberdashery shop to get the penny curtain weights. I picked up the last 6 they had in stock so they should last me for a short while as I also have the string type weights for smaller fuselages. I also found some finer nylon thread so I picked that up as well.

SWMBO wanted some buttons and clips while we were there and while I was looking for the type of clip she described at one end of the shop and she went to the other end, I found a tool which looked a lot like a rivet making tool. I casually picked it up and saw the price - £1.29. 
The cheapest I found one on eBay for was over £5 with about the same in postage, but it’s been criticised for the blade being partially hidden by the tool handle.

 

I tried it out freehand on and old wing when I got home. A bit of practise is probably needed, but it looks ok

 

 

[Brigbeale]

Tonight, I painted the bomb bay sides cockpit green and painted the 6 bombs olive green. 
The bombs were glued to the sides using sprue goo.

The bomb bay sides were the glued to the inner sides of the wing mounts. A quick test fit of the two fuselage halves showed a very close fit with the bombs just touching each other. Oh well it’s better than it was….

Another test for the amount of nose weight showed one more penny weight was needed to stop it tail sitting. These were fixed in position with white tac behind the pilots’ seats.

Once that was done, I decided it was that time to close up the fuselage. The nose gear was fitted and TETing began section ny section with tape across the seam to keep the two halves together until the TET had dried. A couple of areas required some sprue goo being added across gaps in the seam. 
I’ll inspect it in the morning to see if everything is as expected.

I’ll get some photos of the fuselage tomorrow and add them.

Edited July 15, 2021 by Brigbeale

[bigbadbadge]

Good to hear the fuselage is going together and glad ghe bombay worked.  The pounce wheel was cheap looks as ghough it will be good for the larger scales so might have to look out for one.

Thanks for ghe heads up.

Chris

[Brigbeale]

Tonight, I decided it I was time to re-fit the wings.

I started with the tail wing/elevator assembly. This was refitted with sprue goo and it seemed to fit back into position with no issues - better than when I dry fitted it

 

The main wings required some re-assembly first as the inner lower halves were separated (by me). The outer lower half on one wing was also separated whereas the other wing outer lower half would not separate no matter what method I tried.

The port upper wing had a crack where it broke off the fuselage when I disassembled the model. The crack was TET’d and both wings were sprue goo-ed back on.

The crack and break on the port wing look as though they should disappear once the B-25 gets painted.

 

I 3D printed a filler piece for the now vacant upper turret hole behind the cockpit. Sprue goo was also used to glue it into position.

 

Once the various parts have set overnight, some filling of the joints will be required.

 

https://i.imgur.com/eHCNiJN.jpg[/img

[Brigbeale]

Well damn and blast it…

I woke up with stomach ache during the night, took a couple of paracetamol and I think I went back to sleep. About an hour later the pain had spread to my left hand side again. I then took some oramorph which worked for a bit, but then the pain hit again with a vengeance. Wife called an ambulance, where the 2 woman crew (far better than the previous 2 male crew ambulance in June professionally) took me to the hospital. 
Blood tests showed a have another infection which requires another short stay 🙄

[bigbadbadge]

Oh mate, I am sorry to hear of the infection and your hospital stay,  hope you're feeling better soon.

Great progress on the B25, really starting g to come back together well now.

 All the best 

Chris 

[Brigbeale]

The doctors came round this morning and told me I could possibly have pancreatitis. Also, apparently, there's some liquid outside of the bile duct which might be caused by a leak. I'm having a procedure tomorrow to investigate it further, which is no big problem as the ercp was booked on anyway. At least I won't be late for the appointment😆

[Brigbeale]

Anyway back to the B-25.

On Friday -when I was feeling ok - I set about working on the engines and propellers.

The port engine was glued solid and the propeller had been snapped off. Fortunately it was a clean break. As I like my propellers to turn (who doesn't?) more work was required. 

The starboard engine rotated freely, but had too much sideways and longitudual play. So much so that the propeller blades touched the engine cowling.

I drilled the port propeller shaft out right through the whole assembly. I then picked 2mm styrene rod for the replacement shaft and drilled the appropriate size hole in the back of the propeller hub after I had filed it flat.

I decided to work on the starboard propeller at the same time so I snipped the blade/hub assembly from the starboard engine. I then filed the propeller assembly flat and drilled a 2mm hole in the underside of that as well.

The styrene rod was TET'd in position and the blade assemblies were placed on two small plastic shot glasses (which have only had isopropyl alcohol in them - not drinking alcohol!) with the shaft hanging downwards to help with the alignment.

While that was setting I decided I'd use a model saw to cut the radial flap assemblies from the cowlings as they were fitted on crooked. That went quite well. The removed parts came off in two pieces which actually helped in me re-fitting them onto the nacelles. The rear of the cowlings were filed so they would fit the nacelles squarely.

As the simulated engines had a front and rear part, I used this to my advantage and drilled the fronts out to 5.5mm.

I then designed and 3d printed two replacement bosses with 2mm holes (cleaned up with a drill bit) for the now eventual refit of the propellers. I used the drill bit to align the holes in the rear of the engines and new bosses.

The fuselage and wings have had an initial dose of filler which will get cleaned up when I get home again.

But - first things first as they say!

Edited July 18, 2021 by Brigbeale

[Brigbeale]

Just a quick update.

I went down for the ecpr (camera down my throat - the procedure they said I'd probably have about a month after the gallbladder removal op - which they had a slot for today (Monday) as an outpatient). As I was already in hodpital, it saved me an early 20 minute trip.

When I got to the department, they explained the procedure, which was actually going in search of 3 gallstones which the CT scan showed. That was the first I'd heard of it!

The staff were great. I was very anxious at first but they talked me through each stage of it before the start.

I wasn't completely out but near enough as I don't remember anything until I woke up in the recovery room.

I was then told there was no sign of any of the stones, so once again, it appears they exited by themselves! Either that or the person in the CT scanner room needs to clean their screen!😆.

I've been resting up today and I'll see what the doctors say in the morning. Hopefully it's good news but I won't count my chickens just yet!

Edited July 19, 2021 by Brigbeale

[bigbadbadge]

Fingers crossed for you, so you can get home as soon as possible.  

Hope you feel better soon. 

Chris

[Brigbeale]

AAND HE'S OF THERE!! 😊😊😊

Yes, it's confirmed I can go home today to my beloved wife, son and dog.

That's enough emotionals - makes it hard to type with tears in your eyes.

 

The doctors came round with yet another version of events.

Apparently, a stone was removed - as in 1 not 3😵. 

I've been told there will be some discomfort but if any big pains emerge, I'm to ring them immediately.

I'm hoping that won't happen again.

 

I feel up for some plastic surgery, so I'll see if I can get back to the B-25

Edited July 20, 2021 by Brigbeale

[Maginot]

What an extraordinary thread! There's more clues here than in a Poirot story. But what on Earth is TET? I Googled it and found a company that makes Imperial breakfast tea. Maybe you soak components in tea %~))

 

Hope you're back to full serviceability soon, Mr B.

[Brigbeale]

9 hours ago, Maginot said:

But what on Earth is TET? 

I (and other people on Britmodeller) use the abbreviation TET for Tamiya Extra Thin cement. It’s a lot quicker than typing the whole thing out each time I use the stuff somewhere.

Edited July 20, 2021 by Brigbeale

[Brigbeale]

Righty then ~ I’M HOME.

 

The first thing I did was study the model by taking it off its stand and studying where I’d left off.

While I had it in my hand (I’m talking about the B-25! blimey you lot……) I started removing the excess ‘filler’ from the joints.

Thats kinda where I should have maybe put my glasses on or looked a bit longer. 
While rubbing the forward section, I rested what I thought was the very front of the nose section on the bench. The crack with a jolt told me that wasn’t the nose section - yep - you guessed it - it was the newly printed front landing gear. No big problem though, it’s a clean snap and it’ll glue back nicely with superglue, now once the models nearing completion as I’ll probable knock it off again!

 

I looked at the engines and one of the 3D printed hubs looked crooked so I put a propeller blade in and it was. I drilled out the old on carefully and printed a new pair - yes I expect there’s a design on thingiverse for that somewhere.

I just tidied up the print and glued it into the hole now vacated by the previous one. I double checked this one was sitting how it was supposed to and carefully put it down to set.

 

I just TET’d the engine nacelles back to the wings and, despite the pegs, she’s starting to take shape again.

 

In this photo the grey bit in the middle is the spare hub insert as I printed them as a pair.

 

The fuselage with pegs clamping the nacelles on.

.

 

Thats as far as I went tonight. 
I’m getting tired so I’m going to have an early night - thanks to the bloke in Bed 1 next to mine (Bed 2).

His mobile alarm kept sounding every 5 minutes. He didn’t know how to turn it off or turn the phone off. After about 25 minutes he went to the sink by the door, filled it with water and chucked the phone into it. Damned thing was still blaring underwater. So I got up, went and fished the now soggy Alcatel flip phone out, dried it off and told him I’d sort it. He just said throw it away. It turned he had 4 alarms all set to midnight and active. As he didn’t have his glasses on and it was dark, he kept hitting snooze thinking that would turn it off. I deactivated all 4 and gave the phone back to him. 
It must be a good phone as it was still working perfectly this morning when we checked it and he used it normally during the day.

So I want to sleep eventually about 1.00am. 
Then about 4.00am, a nurse dropped something big like a cutlery tray and woke me up again.

 

Now I’m home I should be able to get a decent nights sleep😴 - hopefully.