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Eduard repop of Hasegawa B-25J kit - did Eduard correct the nose glazing?


Wm Blecky

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Hi, just curious if anyone knows whether Eduard corrected the nose glazing in their repop of the Hasegawa B-25J kit.  I've checked the kit and instructions on their website but cannot tell if they really changed anything in the kit.

 

Thanks.

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These reboxings are usually done with sealed bags sent over from the original producer.  New markings are common, perhaps even usual, but additional parts much more rare and if so to provide options, rather than corrections.  Never say never, of course, but I wouldn't expect it.

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Any possible (unlikely) fix would depend on Eduard (or Hasegawa for that matter) knowing there is something incorrect about the nose glazing.

I didn't know when i built my first one but fixed the second.

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Are we talking about the emergency release pop out panel that should only be on the LH side, but Hasegawa put framing for it on both sides? Did I miss something else about the nose transparency

Mikke

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11 hours ago, Wm Blecky said:

Hi, just curious if anyone knows whether Eduard corrected the nose glazing in their repop of the Hasegawa B-25J kit.  I've checked the kit and instructions on their website but cannot tell if they really changed anything in the kit.

 

Thanks.

Could you please share what exactly is wrong with Hasegawa's glazing?

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1 hour ago, MarkoZG said:

Could you please share what exactly is wrong with Hasegawa's glazing?

Had to pull my Hasegawa B-25J kit to refresh my memory- the old Mk 1a memory banks ain't what they used to be! There is a framed plexiglass panel on the upper part of the LH  nose transparency that can be jettisoned for egress in case of an emergency; this panel is not indicated on the Hasegawa kit transparency, but can be scribed on easily. It is only on the LH side- see the link to the IPMS B-25J walkaround below for its location and appearance, as well as in the linked photos. I can't remember the one kit review that called this out- it might have been on the IPMS/USA website. Pointed out to me by one of my modeling buddies; I never really noticed this on my Hasegawa kit , but after learning this, it stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb when looking at photos! Hope this helps! Put it on your build- impress the contest  judges and your modeling mates!

Mike

 

http://www.ipmsstockholm.se/home/north-american-b-25j-in-detail/

 

https://www.maam.org/airshow/b25_exterior.htm

 

Scroll down- notice that there is no escape panel on the RH side.

http://www.warbirdsandairshows.com/Airshows 2010/urbana-b-25-2010.htm

 

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10 hours ago, MarkoZG said:

Could you please share what exactly is wrong with Hasegawa's glazing?

John Thompson is correct.  Here's the link to a discussion at 72nd Aircraft. Hasegawa canopy.

 

The two horizontal stiffeners aft of the panel with the handle are internal.  Here's some examples.  The older B-25B had the same construction.

 

Don

 

B-25-J-Wolf-Bait.jpg

 

B-25-Fat-Cat.jpg

 

B-25-B-on-deck.jpg

 

P.S. - The top of the rarely seen "coffin" seat is visible in Wolf Bait.

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On 8/27/2021 at 4:38 AM, MarkoZG said:

Thank you very much, both on the photos and the link.

 

Pleased that I was able to help you.  Hasegawa kit presents us with errors to fix, if so inclined. The canopies are perhaps the most obvious and difficult to rectify.

 

Don

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On 8/26/2021 at 11:15 AM, MarkoZG said:

Could you please share what exactly is wrong with Hasegawa's glazing?

 

Here are some photos I took of the Hasegawa parts when the kit first came out.  Not only did they mold the escape hatch on both sides, when it should only be on the left, the also molded it incorrectly.  And since the framwork is engraved, it can't simply be sanded off.  First, here's the left side.  Hasegawa basically just added a double frame around the area where the hatch is supposed to be.

 

jR4iacF.jpg

 

And here's the real thing.  Considerably different.

 

klEBkAy.jpg

 

And to make matters worse, Hasegawa also molded the inaccurate hatch on the right side of the nose.  Not only that, but they replicated the "kink" in the lower edge, which should be straight.   Here's Hasegawa's rendition.

 

YbDGLx1.jpg

 

And a photo of a real B-25.  As you can see, the lower edge is a straight line, and there is no escape hatch.

 

C91Joz0.jpg

 

Falcon includes a semi-corrected version in one of their vacuform sets, but while it rectifies the issue with the escape hatch, it retains the "kink" at the base of the right side of the glass.  As for Eduard correcting the issue, I haven't heard.  When the released their special edition of Hasegawa's Liberator a couple of years ago they included a set of all-new sprues supplying the correct tail turret for the earlier B-24s as well as all the extra bits for the Coastal Command versions.  It would be nice if they did the same with the B-25. 

 

Cheers!

 

Steve

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18 hours ago, Steve N said:

Falcon includes a semi-corrected version in one of their vacuform sets, but while it rectifies the issue with the escape hatch, it retains the "kink" at the base of the right side of the glass.  As for Eduard correcting the issue, I haven't heard.  When the released their special edition of Hasegawa's Liberator a couple of years ago they included a set of all-new sprues supplying the correct tail turret for the earlier B-24s as well as all the extra bits for the Coastal Command versions.  It would be nice if they did the same with the B-25. 

 

Cheers!

 

Steve

 

That was very illustrative, @Steve N, thank you. Problem is, even if Eduard corrects the hatch issue with a new clear part, we still have the "kink" on the right side to take care of, and that would require surgery, something I don't see a major manufacturer like Eduard adding as part of the assembly process for a kit they didn't injected themselves. I may be wrong, though.

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I was thinking maybe that section of the Italeri B-25C/D/J kit nose transparency could be carefully removed and added to the Hasegawa kit's transparency after the 'notch'  was removed to give a straight lower edge, but it's doubtful the contours are the same, or failing that, a plasticard strip could be added to the bottom of the Hasegawa nose transparency to eliminate the notch and then used as a master to vacform a new transparency. Doubt we will ever see a corrected vacformed transparency from the aftermarket, but maybe, just maybe Pavla is a possibility.

Mike

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11 hours ago, Chuck1945 said:

Since the entire nose of the Italeri B-25 is narrower in width than Hasegawa’s the contours of the right side panels may be off enough to make swapping problematic 

That's what I was thinking too, Chuck. The Italeri kit nose transparency is  too narrow, (Which I forgot to mention- thanks for the reminder.) but was thinking the curvature of that section might have been close enough to be usable. Guess modifying the Hasegawa transparency to correct configuration and using it as a master to vacform a replacement might be the only alternative, unless/until the aftermarket comes to the rescue, which is a slim possibility. I guess doing a solid nose 'strafer' might be the safest alternative,

Mike

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....or, one could decide to leave the step as-is, of course. and accept the limitations of available parts and kits.

It might even be possible to fake the straight edge from the step forwards along the windows by paint. 

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...And it looks like the answer to the question is "no."  As mentioned above, hiding the "kink" on the right side apis do-able, but that leaves the problem of the frames, which can't really be fixed since they're engraved.  

 

https://www.kfs-miniatures.com/1-72-angel-of-mercy-b-25j-mitchell-eduard/

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6 hours ago, Steve N said:

...And it looks like the answer to the question is "no."  As mentioned above, hiding the "kink" on the right side apis do-able, but that leaves the problem of the frames, which can't really be fixed since they're engraved.  

 

https://www.kfs-miniatures.com/1-72-angel-of-mercy-b-25j-mitchell-eduard/

engraving is not a problem, sand the whole transparency, use a masking set (with corrections) and you have scale thickness framing.

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1 hour ago, Bozothenutter said:

engraving is not a problem, sand the whole transparency, use a masking set (with corrections) and you have scale thickness framing.

I do not have the kit, but as I understand the problem, the two bogus frames are engraved on the outside where they are not supposed to be, so sanding them out would mean sanding the whole rather small panel to a uniform thickness, which sounds rather futile to me.

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13 hours ago, tempestfan said:

I do not have the kit, but as I understand the problem, the two bogus frames are engraved on the outside where they are not supposed to be, so sanding them out would mean sanding the whole rather small panel to a uniform thickness, which sounds rather futile to me.

Exactly.  If the framework was raised, sanding it off and painting corrected frames would be a breeze.  But sanding the part down enough to eliminate the engraved framework would leave the part significantly undersized.

 

 

SB

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SH (Eduard in disguise) did do new glazed parts for their recent re-boxing of the Academy Harvard so maybe Eduard have done similar with this but you'd have to buy it to find out and apparently Hannants have sold out with no more to ever be produced.

 

Regards

Colin.

 

Ps. wish I'd bought one as I suspect it will rocket in value on the 'used' market

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