Airfix. B-25-C Mitchell. 1/72.

[Markh-75]

Finally made a start on this my third B-25, by Airfix and its intricate. They really went to town remodelling this one! When I've finished a lengthy build I always take a break and the past few days I have been reading through the instructions, looking up all the colours, comparing them to what I have already. I went out this morning and found the three most important colours at a garden centre, I got US Compass grey x 3, Desert Pink x 3 and one Humbrol 226, an interior green. They're all Humbrols, the older ones which is perfect. After lunch I went through and started cutting parts from the sprues for the first stages of the build. I've done some painting of parts and finished the instrument panel!👍😂 Lots of repainting to do and I'll go stage by stage along with the instructions. This one has open crew hatches, an open bomb bay, I'm fitting the under-turret in its deployed position too. 

This one isn't as simple to assemble like the first two, there are loads of little parts for inside and instead of making the wings separately the interior has a pair of main spars that stick out through the fuselage and the wings are built on those, its a pretty full-on kit and I think it will look quite excellent when its complete.😉

 

Here's the instrument panel with its decals. Doing this one by the book!

[Jackson Duvalier]

I think you'll really like this kit, Mark.  It's not difficult to build, and the interior detail is adequate, as the Rolls-Royce people say.

 

 

[Markh-75]

2 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

I think you'll really like this kit, Mark.  It's not difficult to build, and the interior detail is adequate, as the Rolls-Royce people say.

 

 

Yes, the newer Airfix kits are very good, the instructions do make them look very intricate but in fact they go together rather nicely, its just a question of what to paint and when, I'm doing this one in the desert scheme this time as I have plenty of models in green already and as I managed to get the correct paint yesterday I can do this, it looks to me like I could actually make all the interior before fitting it into the fuselage halves, which means I can glue the assemblies but I dont need to glue it into the fuselage.😉 Normally I paint the inside of the fuselage after fitting the interiors so that I'm not putting glue on paint. I know that half of the interiors aren't seen once the fuselage is closed up, but I still like to paint it all up, especially if I'm leaving hatches open.

I have plenty of time to experiment and check it out for myself, I'm in no hurry really but I want it to look tops!👍

Thanks for your reply, Mark.🙂

[VT Red Sox Fan]

Mark, following along—I have this in the stash and I know you will set a high bar to shoot for and learn from—looking brilliant!  Best, Erwin

[Markh-75]

Welcome to my ‘journey’ with this model! I’ve ordered some better optics for my modelling as I’m finding that my reading glasses aren’t enough, I’ll experiment with them and hopefully they will be a good help!😀

[Markh-75]

I have managed to get a bit more done on this but I'm not happy with it because I can't see properly, my reading glasses just aren't for making models, although they did me for a time. 

 

I have put the forward fuselage interior together and painted it now, and dug out the other interior parts I'll need.

 Forward area of fuselage, bomb aimers crawlway and compartment, cockpit and top turret area.

 

 One of the wing spars now fitted to the cockpit interior.

 Fitted the seating for the bomb aimers compartment but I need to paint it all again I think. Bit messy.

 

 

 Pilots controls and instrument panel, ready to go in.

 Aft of this assembly is the front wing spar. It isn't fitted in this picture.

 

I've also started painting the interior of the fuselage. I've painted as far as I need thus far, there are other assemblies inside the fuselage including the rear section that supports the under turret; once I'm ready to assemble these I will paint accordingly. You can see that there is a large opening in the fuselage halves, there are two clear parts to fit here with windows. I'll have to mask the windows before painting as I need to paint inside and out of these. 

 The clear area is where the bomb bay insets will be glued; I'm making this B-25 with open bomb bay and hatches, the bomb bay doors are part of the insets.

 

 The empty space behind the bomb bay has clear parts, I need to paint inside and outside but I need to mask off the windows in them first.

 

Part of the rear fuselage is the bomb bay which is fairly detailed with two insets and these have the bomb racks attached to them, so I had to paint the areas first and once the paint was dry, I glued on the bomb racks; I can now go ahead and paint the rest of the bomb bay.

 These are the bomb bay insets, numbered so I know wot one is wot; I've painted the area behind the bomb racks.

 The racks now fitted. the Doors are part of the insets; if it was to be bomb bay closed then these wouldn't be fitted and a part with closed bomb bay doors is in the box. No, this is gonna be all singin' and all dancin'.
 

...And I've started to assemble the four bombs! 

 I cut the tanks to the sprues long so that I know what I'm taking off and I haven't already cut off too much! These need to be painted and decals applied before they can be fitted which means I can't close the fuselage until they are ready!

 

Normally my first job on a model is to gather the exterior parts such as the fuselage halves, wings, tail surfaces, and nacelles and after cleaning them I'd spray them with Tamiya primer but this model is a bit more detailed and is assembled somewhat differently to the normal models so I can either build it up and then mask it to prime it; or I can give it 5 coats of thinned paint. Its no trouble really to mask areas off but it can be fidgety depending on the model.

 

 

[Markh-75]

Got some more done today. 

Working my way back through the fuselage, from the front. The instructions for this model say I need 25g in nose weight; and give me an area measuring 7mm wide by 8mm high and about 32mm long to put it in! Its clearly NOT enough space. 

I have worked out where I can fit weight around the front end;

In the area behind the engineer,

In the bomb aimers crawlway.

In the area on the other side of the pilots instrument panel. (behind it)

and in the space designated for putting nose weight.

 

This all gives me about 15g. I'll fit the rest of the weight in the forward end of the nacelles, if I can find a nut and bolt that will fit in each nacelle that weigh a shady over 5g each, that will give me my 25g. I did this with my previous two B-25s so I know it works.😀

To fit lengths of lead into the crawlway I decided to close it over with a bulkhead at each end.

The crawlway now closed over; it's not really going to be seen once the canopy is fitted anyway.

This is the lead nose weight, all cut to the lengths I need so that when I'm ready, it can all be fitted.

 

After a rub back to smooth over, I also painted the bombs, cleaned out the hollows in the bomb fins before painting them and I gave all the areas inside, already painted, another coat to make the colour more solid.

Bombs all painted; but not yet finished!😉

The areas of the fuselage all painted again; note the areas on the bomb racks I have not painted, this is where the 'tangs' on the bombs will fit, holding them into the bomb racks.

A few other parts painted but will no doubt need to be given a second coat.

 

I ordered my Opti-Visor this morning, so hopefully it will be here in a few days.

 

[bigbadbadge]

Great start Mark, looking forward to seeing this develope. I love the new Airfix kits, they are wonderful to build.  I am finding the same issues regarding the old Mk.1 eyeballs now and the glasses aren't enough so have an Optivisor and it is worth it's weight in gold and I use it for all detail painting etc.  It's like a whole new world opens up when you wear it!!!

Looking forward to the paint scheme too.

Chris

[Markh-75]

Havent been able to do much on the B-25 for a couple of days, I haven't been feeling too good. If I get stressed or don't feel well at all, my skin on my face turns quite hot and sore, needs umpteen applications of ointment to get it to calm down. I'm trying to stay calm and relaxed at all times; right now were gearing up for our week in Norfolk in mid June and I don't want ANYTHING getting in the way of that or we lose our deposits. I've been planning the trip for so long and I don't want anything getting in the way of it stopping us going. It's our first holiday in years.

I'm also waiting for my Opti-visor, I can still see to do some things on the model but once the visor arrives it will go a long way to seeing much better. I have tried other 'visors' but found them to be cheap, flimsy things that Wont last long and are all completely plastic; I sent them back.

[AliGauld]

Nicely done so far.

You are spot on as your health is much more important that some plastic.

Stay well and enjoy your time in Norfolk.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Markh-75]

Thanks Ali, I just have to ration my time and know when I must rest. I used to just batter in and do things but now I have to heed the warnings and clues my health gives me, must be age related as I can’t do what I used to now 🤔

[bigbadbadge]

Hope you are okay fella and can enjoy your upcoming holiday too.  

Chris

[Markh-75]

Cheers Chris, & Ali I’m keeping myself calm so when things crop up I can handle them, we have my brother in law staying just now until he gets his keys for his flat and I’m finding it a bit awkward because it’s normally only my wife and I at home; he works nights and sleeps all day and has legal matters to attend to, I don’t get involved with any of that but having three in the house is still a challenge. I’m also finding that some things I could do before, I can’t do now, don’t have the strength to do it and if I do manage it I will be pretty tired for a few days afterwards. I’ve worked hard all my life and it’s all catching up with me now.
 

Modelling is the thing I enjoy now but I need to ration my time due to my health and concentration, that’s good in a way because I can’t rush it!😉

Anything physically tiring or stressful even in small doses manifests itself when my skin starts burning and driving me mad, takes time to calm down. I learned how to ration my time and when it’s time to stop for the day, but something else crops up at times. 
In 2018 we were booked to go to Norfolk but two days before we were to go I took badly ill and we had to cancel it at the last minute; that’s not gonna happen this time. Been looking forward to this for a long time now. Mid June and we’re off!😀

[Markh-75]

Been able to do little bits for the interior today, just a few mins at the table at a time, painting and preparing the bombs, and other parts of the 'furniture'.

 

 These two clear/opaque panels fit into the side of the fuselage in the waist area, I've given them a coat of interior colour, another is needed, me thinks.

 

 The bombs fitted with their tails, painted and I gave them a coat of Klear so I can fit their decals, I want these complete so they can be secured in the bomb racks before I close up the fuselage. They are made with a 45° angular mount that is mounted in the bomb bay and I had to remember to set up the tail fins accordingly, I also need to fit the decals on (the undersides of) the bombs too!

 

 The two halves of the fuselage now painted inside, right to the back! The little rectangle is the interior above the bomb bay. I have a few things to do before I fit all the furniture and carpets.😂 I have also carefully scraped the paint off the joining surfaces of both fuselage halves; I use a knife with an older blade for this so I can keep my 'prime' blade on my good knife, in good condition!

 

 This is the rear wing-spar incorporating the mount for the under turret and the top turret, goes in facing backwards behind the bomb bay. The larger 'ole is for the under turret and the little 'un is for the top turret.

 

 These are the side panels for the waste area and above in the sides of the fuselage halves there is a similar shaped 'ole for them to fit, the empty area under the fuselage is the mounting for the under turret.

 

I have one or two other jobs to do, and other parts to paint and fit including the securing of the lead nose weight before I close up the fuselage. I haven't started on the wings or nacelles or the tail yet, I'm taking this as it comes and as I can handle per session. I just feel completely 'whacked' alot of the time and have to rest because I wouldn't be able to concentrate anyway. I just do a bit as and when I can as its not a race or a competition.

These new retool Airfix kits require a fair amount of dry fitting at many stages just to get proper perspective of how a part fits, some parts more than others.

 

I'm hoping to do some more on it tomorrow.😉

 

[Markh-75]

I got the bombs done today, all decals fitted and varnished over. They look a bit wet just now 'cos I've just done them!

 

I also fitted the lead into the bomb aimers crawl way and the space next to it under the cockpit floor, still one or two bits to be fitted but I wont be long with those.

 

...And I gave the inside of the two clear panels another coat of paint.

 

There are other small parts to paint and fit, the bomb doors opening mechanism, the machine gun for the nose, and its ammunition boxes, and the bomb sight, but I need to paint them first. The bombs had to be completed because they go in before the fuselage is closed up.

[John_W]

I had a similar problem with nose weight in the old Monogram 1/48 B25, that glass nose doesn't hide anything. I resorted to weight in the nacelles  and cowlings - Monogram provided a ladder to sit below the rear hatch and prop the tail up.

[Markh-75]

On 21/05/2022 at 08:49, bigbadbadge said:

Great start Mark, looking forward to seeing this develope. I love the new Airfix kits, they are wonderful to build.  I am finding the same issues regarding the old Mk.1 eyeballs now and the glasses aren't enough so have an Optivisor and it is worth it's weight in gold and I use it for all detail painting etc.  It's like a whole new world opens up when you wear it!!!

Looking forward to the paint scheme too.

Chris

What lens do you have in yours? I’ve gone for the #4 lenses because they will give me up to 10” focal length which suits me, maybe in time I’ll need a different lens but at least I know I can get them okay.😎👍

[Markh-75]

On 25/05/2022 at 21:10, John_W said:

I had a similar problem with nose weight in the old Monogram 1/48 B25, that glass nose doesn't hide anything. I resorted to weight in the nacelles  and cowlings - Monogram provided a ladder to sit below the rear hatch and prop the tail up.

The first two B-25s I did exactly that, but they are gunships with a shorter nose. The way this model has been reworked it does give me space in the nose under the floor and the nose landing bay is all closed up, hiding the weight. I’ve got up to 15g in the nose and I’ll divide the other 10g between the two nacelles.

The last B-25 had a problem with posture as it’s landing gear was too short and the main wheels were too small so I ordered a bigger pair,  (of wheels) and once I’d altered the length of the legs it sat just fine, but I wanted a version with the glazed nose in my collection and this is a cracking kit!😀👍

[bigbadbadge]

50 minutes ago, Markh-75 said:

What lens do you have in yours? I’ve gone for the #4 lenses because they will give me up to 10” focal length which suits me, maybe in time I’ll need a different lens but at least I know I can get them okay.😎👍

I have ghe 2.5x lense in at the mo this is the 4th one of of the 5, but I have barely used my new one as, very often use an older one which I have no idea what one is in it. It only came with two lenses that both flip down if you need serious magnification!!!

[Markh-75]

19 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

I have ghe 2.5x lense in at the mo this is the 4th one of of the 5, but I have barely used my new one as, very often use an older one which I have no idea what one is in it. It only came with two lenses that both flip down if you need serious magnification!!!

I tried a couple of visors and the JML Mightysight ones (they were rubbish), the visor ones had plastic lenses that were not good quality at all; they all went back one by one and then I had thought about the Optivisor and researched it and we found a way to be able to afford it. My visor hasn’t arrived yet, it’s between 2 and 10 days but I’m sure it will be well worth waiting for. I do what I can just now but my reading glasses are just not up to the task and I can only do a short session or I get a headache from trying to see beyond what my glasses are made for. I’ll see if I need my glasses with the visor or not. I’m “looking” 👀 forward to them arriving.😁👍

[bigbadbadge]

You'll love it, I use my glasses with mine although I will have to experiment with the newer one to see if I can use without glasses or not.

Chris

[Markh-75]

Didnt get anything done yesterday I had an important matter to deal with and at the end I was pretty tired; but,😀 I did some fidgeting around this afternoon, painted the bombsight, the machine-gun low down in the nose, fitted the bombs and did some small details. I should be ready to assemble and perhaps close up the fuselage today!

 

 The bombs are now ready so I set out cutting off the extra bit of sprue from each so that they can be fitted in the bomb bay.

 

This line of boxes is ammunition for the two machine guns in the nose section, I dabbed on a little yellow paint, it was to look like stencilling but didnt quite work out; no matter it probably wont be seen anyway.

 

I painted the floor mounted machine gun, and the bombsight, the unpainted part is the actuator for the bomb bay doors, I'll paint it once its fitted.

 

The bombs are now fitted into the bomb bay!

 

...and did some detailing for the interiors.

 

The pilots instrument panel is now fitted; once its in the half of the fuselage I'll finish adding weight in the nose, some in behind the instruments and under the rear seat/rear cockpit area.

 

I'd like to get the fuselage closed today so I can start on other parts, more pics later. Thank you for watching!😁

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Markh-75]

I have now closed the fuselage; it's not glued and sealed yet, but it's closed.

It needed a fair bit of trimming because of the lead, I checked the profile of the assembly that goes inside and found a couple of areas that needed to be rubbed back, and the lead had to be filed in one place as one end was sticking out a bit. I'll need to glue it at the best fitting areas first and then work it gradually until its all closed.

 I did manage to get an additional short piece of lead, there was enough space.

 

 The join at the front of the cockpit is not the outer skin of the model; the clear parts sit over this and hide it but I want it right, with no strain, because it could crack open the cockpit canopy; and ya don't want that!!!

 

 You can just see the lead I fitted behind the pilots instrument panel!

 

 This part is tight but will close with pressure but I'm wondering if I should do some more paring because I find if its as tight as that it could pop open again!

The problem areas are under the nose Vs. the part that reaches around the pilots instrument panel and meets its mirrored half on the other half of the fuselage. If I get the underside of the nose closed up, this area above stays open!

 

I've closed worse gaps than that before, I just need to make sure it gets a good layer of glue so that it melts together well. I have a chance to remove the ceiling in the bomb bay and see if the front insides will come out easily enough, then carefully rubbing back on that side until it fits like a glove. I'll see; needs a bit of thought.

 

Decisions, decisions!

[Markh-75]

And now its sorted!😀

Lifting the top of the bomb bay frees up the front internals, I got them out and found the trouble, 1 length of lead wasn't as straight as I thought and was pushing the side out by about 1mm. After a carefull trim and rub back on all edges of the internals I put them back in and found the fit much better!

 

Now the join under the nose is perfect!

And the link at the cockpit!

Here is what I meant when I mentioned the cockpit canopy hiding all, the joining link will no longer be seen once I have painted the lines on the canopy.

 

It's all glued up now, I'll leave it overnight.

 

Out of interest; this is the part that would have been fitted had I not decided on an open bomb bay.😉

 

I've started removing the wing parts from the sprues now, painted the internal part of the wing lights and fitted a pair of vents onto one of the wings, I always write the numbers of the parts on the inside, just takes away the guess work, makes thing more straightforward. Normally I would be side-jobbing the tail and the nacelles, engines but on this model I'm only rebuilding as I need to. This is coming together nicely now. Very neat.

 

[AliGauld]

Excellent stuff.

 

Cheers,

Alistair