Airfix 1:72 B-25 New tool

[lufbramatt]

Iirc the moulds were corrected after the first batch. Seems like ages ago now!

[dr_gn]

lufbramatt said:

Iirc the moulds were corrected after the first batch. Seems like ages ago now!

And are the panel lines finer than other releases, or is it some trick of the geometry of the aircraft?

I'd put it on a par with Tamiya in terms of the end result.

[robemcdonald]

There has been more progress. I hadn’t had a chance to update the thread.


Here’s where things get a bit odd. I like to build the model and paint it before fitting the landing gear, but that’s not possible here. The main gear needs to be painted and assembled to the wings prior to fitting the engine nacelles. This means they will need to be masked prior to painting. A bit of a pain.

I have actually got as far as painting the engines and assembling the nacelles, but haven’t got any pictures yet. Fitting the cooling flaps to the back of the cowl and assembling with the nacelle has been a bit of a pain as there doesn’t feel like a strong connection point. A bit at odds with the rest of the kit.
The Eduard mask set also arrived and I have started masking the clear parts. Honestly they’re a god send. I’m not sure how I would have approached it without them.
So far it’s still a big thumbs up from me. To the extent that I have my eye on a sea fury as my next build.

[lufbramatt]

Sorry I know the main gear is a pain but there's no way round it as the top of the gear is bigger than the hole it pokes out of- on a b25 the doors close up after the gear has cycled.

[robemcdonald]

Just read your profile. I didnt realise where you worked.

Do you know when the Wellington is coming out? It looks great. You guys seem to be on a bit of a roll at the moment.

[robemcdonald]

Another progress update. Finished the masking and installing the clear parts.

Then on with a coat of Vallejo primer.

That really takes a good 12hours to properly dry so preshading panel lines is tomorrow.

[robemcdonald]

I added the aerials and pitot tube.

There is a bit more filler work required on the top of the nacelles and where the transparent side sections join the fuselage. I assume it’s done like this to allow easy future kits with side gunners?

[lufbramatt]

robemcdonald said:

I added the aerials and pitot tube.

There is a bit more filler work required on the top of the nacelles and where the transparent side sections join the fuselage. I assume it’s done like this to allow easy future kits with side gunners?

Yep there are various different side window layouts on the early B-25 variants hence the large transparent panel.

Wellington is due in June

[Eric Mc]

lufbramatt said:

Wellington is due in June

On my shopping list. It will make an interesting comparison to the 1959 Airfix Wellington I completed a few weeks ago. Sadly, the price tag on that old box (£1.85) won't be attached to the new one.

[Yertis]

Eric Mc said:

On my shopping list. It will make an interesting comparison to the 1959 Airfix Wellington I completed a few weeks ago. Sadly, the price tag on that old box (£1.85) won't be attached to the new one.

£1.85? That's a bit steep – Series 5 Liberator:

[robemcdonald]

I think the £25 I paid hannants for the b-25 represents pretty good value. Especially when compared to other manufacturers.

[Eric Mc]

Yertis said:

£1.85? That's a bit steep – Series 5 Liberator:

When was that purchased?

My Wellington would have been bought sometime around 1977. It was also an Irish price - which would have been a bit more expensive than the UK price.

[Yertis]

I've no idea Eric. It's a Type 4 box so most probably between '73 and '75. I think I paid about £25 for it on eBay.

[Eric Mc]

Kit prices rocketed in the years 1972 to 1977 or so. The Arab-Israeli war of 1973 sent petrochemical costs through the roof (annual inflation was over 25% in 1975).

[Yertis]

I remember it well. I think the Matchbox kits in the village shop shot up from 15p to 19p, or something like.

[robemcdonald]

I have spent some time working on the panel joins and getting them as nice as I can manage.
Before

After



Pre-shading next. Well it was going to be pre-shading, but ended up as just a shadow coat. Helps pick up any imperfections (that’s my excuse)


Onto the main colour scheme. I started with the white bottom half. Using Tamiya XF-1. Starting out with a random pattern, gradually highlighting centres of the panels.

Finally a quick coat of TS-13 to protect everything. I’ll let it go off properly overnight and start masking tomorrow evening.

On reflection the clear coat has highlighted some inconsistencies in the coverage. I will probably address this, clear coat again prior to moving onto the top half.

[robemcdonald]

Slightly toned down paint.

It looks more severe in the picture than it does in person.

[Yertis]

It's looking great Rob. I built the Frog B25C about forty years ago (FFS!) and – amazingly – still have it. I've planned for ages to do a dr-gn style refresh on it as a bit of fun. It'll be interesting to compare your new Airfix build with the ancient Frog take on the subject.

[Eric Mc]

I built the Matchbox one in the 1970s - which I quite liked at the time. Sadly, it's long gone.

[robemcdonald]

Progress update. It’s been slow going as a midnight showing of the latest avengers movie left me too tired to think about modelling for a couple of days.

First up was masking.


Next I touched up the black base coat.


On with the colour and a clear coat.



Stencils, decals, Matt varnish and paint masks removed.


Im not 100% happy with it. It’s a bit dark. I think I’m done with the black base method and will use more traditional pre-shading from now on.

This is the part of builds I seem to struggle with. The hard work is done, but my motivation seems to have waned somewhat.