PK-405 B25 Mitchell - Finished

[erniewise]

Hello All

Just a place holder for the moment, but also to act as reminder that I can't quietly forget about it having commited to doing it for the GB!

I'll be doing this in the Free French 342 Squadron scheme simply because of the tricoleur on the rudders. I'm not planning to spend too much time busying up the interior but as you can see from the sprue shots it's going to pretty empty in there so I may have no choice!

However as it will be in US olive drab I will use it as an opportunity to try out some heavy weathering/fading, including some of this fancy pre-shading that seems to be de rigueur these days.

 

I wish that I had only actually paid 95p !

 

 

 

 

Sorry, but I've got two other builds already under way so you won't see much progress on this until I have made significant progress on them.

 

Cheers. Erik.

[Ray S]

Thanks for showing this Erik, I was wondering whether this came with a glass nose too, that is the style I prefer, having been brought up on Airfix kits in the dim distant past. I am looking forward to your progress.

 

Ray

[JOCKNEY]

Well done Eric

I hadn't realised you got 3 options with this kit.

Best of luck

Cheers Pat

[Rabbit Leader]

All in good time Erik and thanks for showing us this lovely B-25 kit. Looks quite nice OOB and hope it goes together like a dream. 

Cheers and best of luck.. Dave 

[erniewise]

As the Stringbag is ticking along I thought I would tickle the styrene on the B-25.

There's no getting away from it there is not a lot going on in the bombardier's section is there! Though they are thick, the Matchbox canopies are reasonably clear, so I just can't leave them as they are with a clear conscience can I?

I've found some sources of B-25 information so I will have a think to see what the minimum level of detail I can get way with is. At least I don't have to worry about mounting any guns in the nose section, I haven't found any images showing them fitted on a 342 Sqn Mitchell.

 

 

Cheers

Erik

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff Erik

Is the coin part of the nose weight on this one ?

I had no idea some of the builders on here were so wealthy  

Cheers Pat

[erniewise]

2 minutes ago, JOCKNEY said:

Great stuff Erik

Is the coin part of the nose weight on this one ?

I had no idea some of the builders on here were so wealthy  

Cheers Pat

I was planning to use my gold bullion reserves. Sadly they aren't enough to keep the nose on the ground.😞

[JOCKNEY]

I have 4 kids, what's a reserve ? 

[Mr T]

I don't think I ever had the Mitchell kit, so this will be an interesting build to watch. 

All the bigger kits were in three colours amd had three colour schemes to choose from as I recall. Good luck. 

[Rabbit Leader]

Using currency for nose weight is a great idea.... might have to use some of that bitcoin I keep getting emails about! 

Nice progress Ernie, slow but steady always wins the race. 

Cheers.. Dave  

[Markh-75]

After I've built and finished the B-25G, this very model will be my next kit! Got it in my stash, but have alternative decals for mine because the ones in the box are somewhat defunkt! I was going to paint mine to the picture on't box but I already have a P-51A in those markings, should be an interesting build though.

I tend to use what I can for nose weight, sometimes adding weight behind the engines if they are far forward enough, and I use 15mm lengths of 3mm solder, supergloop it in place, or even washers, nuts if they wont be seen! I used to use the solder with plasticine but I can't seem to get the same kind of plasticine now, its not very good stuff really. I think they stopped making the oily stuff a while back, it was the best because it stayed in shape.

 

My B-25s are a G (Italeri), an H (Matchbox) and the recent Airfix B-25C/D model; all three WILL be made! (though fitting them in the cabinet might be tricky! I need to start building upwards☝️ on each shelf to get them all in. The G and H models will be solid nosed gunships.

[Markh-75]

On 09/03/2022 at 09:34, Mr T said:

I don't think I ever had the Mitchell kit, so this will be an interesting build to watch. 

All the bigger kits were in three colours amd had three colour schemes to choose from as I recall. Good luck. 

They did that for easy identifying of the sprues/trees rather than looking for sprue A or B which was often hard to find in some kits. Kits now, and especially the Ltd run kits have a printed picture of the sprues but once you have cut off the larger parts for pre-priming they can be hard to ID afterwards.

[erniewise]

42 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Using currency for nose weight is a great idea.... might have to use some of that bitcoin I keep getting emails about! 

Nice progress Ernie, slow but steady always wins the race. 

Cheers.. Dave  

The coin (10 Portuguese escudos) is just to give an idea of size!

It is of sentimental value (Minha mulher é portuguesa) so will definitely not be used as a nose weight!

[Graham Boak]

5 minutes ago, Markh-75 said:

They did that for easy identifying of the sprues/trees rather than looking for sprue A or B which was often hard to find in some kits. Kits now, and especially the Ltd run kits have a printed picture of the sprues but once you have cut off the larger parts for pre-priming they can be hard to ID afterwards.

That's an original description, and I can see where it comes from, but it doesn't seem to fit with the Matchbox ethos of toys for kids.  It was always said, and never to my knowledge contradicted, that the kits were multicoloured to make it more interesting for a younger audience, whilst making little or no difference to the established modellers who were going to paint the whole thing anyway.  Somehow I don't see the youngsters carefully separating parts from the sprue other than when actually sticking them together, and indeed wouldn't consider it as a dominant approach with "oldsters" either.  I paint my smaller parts whilst on the sprue. 

[Derek D.]

What fabulous box art.....

 

I would be building that gunship version. I would love this kit to build as part of my long term Pacific Island themed builds.

 

will be watching with interest

[Markh-75]

You're right, but models are not really toys. I do understand what you are saying, and 'as toys' I used to play with my models once built as a boy, even though theyre not really toys but things to be admired. I wasnt keen on the matchbox kits because the adults said 'it doesnt need to be painted'; I 'wanted' to paint mine to have it look the part. I didnt want an aircraft with such bold colours as came in the kits personally.

 

I too paint small parts on the sprue. it saves them being damaged or lost on the table. Certain kits I do remove small parts for painting because the moulding might not be great and parts may look almost permanently attached and have to be cut and removed more carefully to avoid damaging them, and then I store them in the little dosing cups you would get on a bottle of medicine, I know where they are and they wont get lost.

 

Thanks Graham.🙂

[Graham Boak]

Models aren't viewed as toys to us: they are to many buyers nowadays and certainly were in the days when Matchbox launched their range.  They are still regarded as toys to the general market, if perhaps the phrase "Toys for Adults" might be appropriate.

[Markh-75]

2 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

Models aren't used as toys to us: they are to many buyers nowadays and certainly were in the days when Matchbox launched their range.  They are still regarded as toys to the general market, if perhaps the phrase "Toys for Adults" might be appropriate.

Yes; that would be a good description!😀

[PeterB]

Bit like model railways - now only adults can afford to buy the ruddy locos!

 

Pete

[Markh-75]

19 hours ago, PeterB said:

Bit like model railways - now only adults can afford to buy the ruddy locos!

 

Pete

I’d love a model railway but I have no space for one, and I doubt I Could afford it (as you say, it’s rather expensive now😉). I like collecting the diecast model aircraft and I can just about afford the odd one or two every now and then, but diecast aircraft models tend to be based around more prominent aircraft and the more obscure aircraft get left out, that’s why I took to making models, to supplement my collection and fill the gaps that diecast models don’t do. I keep all my built models in the cabinets with the diecast ones because they are all in 1/72 scale. Even aircraft modelling can be expensive depending on what level you are experienced in and the cost of some models, plus paint, tools and equipment. I can keep my spending down by always looking online for models, I don’t really have many specialised model shops near me, so most are bought online and if I can’t get a certain model due to cost, I just wait until I can get the same one for less somewhere else. I get what I’m after sooner or later and often something that really captures my imagination there and then; with modelling, that’s often how it is, striking while the iron is hot!🙂

[erniewise]

It won't win any prizes for detailing, or indeed historical accuracy, but I've busied up the cockpit and bombardier areas to provide something to look at underneath the glazing!

It also gave me some areas to stash the nose weights out of site!

 

 

 

I need to have a look at the upper turret and tail gunner locations now.

Cheers

Erik

 

[GREG DESTEC]

Pit looks nice and busy. Great work 👍

 

Cheers Greg

[stevej60]

Excellent start Erik.

[erniewise]

Fuselage has been buttoned up, and some scribing and filling is taking place. Canopy and nose glazing masked.

 

The wings have been glued and tidied up. Decided to remove the front undercarriage to save it being knocked of in painting. Brass rod to provide reinforcement to counteract all the wieght I'm going to need to put in.

 

Cheers

Erik

[GREG DESTEC]

Looking good 👍