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Hello, all. After much ado, a gallon or two of MRP paint, and maneuvering this monster around the bench for months, Nan is done! This was done as part of the Operation Overlord group build. I'll spare the review of the HB kit, but suffice to say it's not the nicest kit out there. It's chunky, lacking fine detail, and accurate insofar as is typical of Trumpeter/HobbyBoss (i.e. "close enough"). Perhaps that's why it languished on my shelf of doom for 3-4 years. The Overlord GB proved to be just the drive I needed to get this thing across the finish line. I ended up throwing a ton of aftermarket at it to get it to more closely resemble an actual B-24. In the end, it more or less resembles the subject ship, so I'm fairly happy with it and happy to be done with it. I used the Cold War Studios turret for the nose and the kit turret for the tail. I'll break the tail turret down and replace it once the other CWS piece arrives. This is Naughty Nan, of the 93rd BG/328th BS as seen around the time of the Overlord invasion. She was lost on September 21st, 1944 when the 93rd was clawing its way through murky, solid overcast and another B-24 descended on top of her. Both ships were ripped apart in the collision and the debris, including bomb load, landed near a farm near Ingelmunster, Belgium. The pilot, copilot, engineer, and radio operator were able to make it out. The rest of the crew and most of the crew from the other ship were lost. Oops, I just realized I forgot to remove the mask on the forward compartment window. Heh. I'll fix that, but I'm probably not going to take more photos. My bad. References: http://www.b24bestweb.com/naughtynan-v1-1.htm http://www.b24bestweb.com/naughtynan-v1-2.htm http://www.b24bestweb.com/naughtynan-v1-3.htm http://www.b24bestweb.com/images/MACR/MACR-9662.JPG The much maligned tail turret with split seam. Not as obtrusive as some make it out to be, but I do have a replacement one on the way from Cold War Studios. Heaven only knows when it'll actually be delivered, so I just tacked everything in place here. Check out the build thread for an in depth look at how I scratch built the interior of the turret. The Cold War Studios front turret.

Hi all, I've been chomping at the bit to get my hands on the new kit from HobbyBoss - and have splurged out for two of the beasts; one to do an RAF Coastal Command Liberator Mk.VI (which will be the subject of this thread) and the second to convert to a Privateer. The Coastal Command bird will be my entry into the Multi-Engine Group Build starting Jan 1st - and I'll move this thread over when the time comes. In the interim, with all the interest (and controversy) around this new release, and in parallel with writing up the review for LSP, I thought making a start on some of my planned fixes would be in order, and not debar it from entry in the Group Build. Some place-holder images for now... And that wing cross section that's caused so much comment - as said elsewhere I have a plan, which I think will work and, tomorrow, I'll post a comparison of the kit cross section with a 22% Davis B-24 type airfoil - watch this space! I'm hoping this thread will be like the one where I built/corrected the Revell He219 - with the LSP community chipping in with thoughts/ideas/reference material. All input appreciated - but no hyperbole please - keep everything constructive eh? Have fun! Iain

I've put the finishing touches to this 1/32nd scale B-24 over the Bank Holiday weekend and took advantage of some spring sunshine to take some pictures of the completed model outside in natural light. I've been working on this on and off for a year or so, and it has been the ideal project to pick up and do a bit to as and when I felt like it. This model doesn't get the best press but I must say I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. You can spend a fortune on after-market improvements if you wish, but other than some seat belts, resin wheels and gun barrels, this is how it comes in the box. The interior is crammed with detail and took a long time to complete - excellent value for your money when you compare it to the price of the other 1/32nd 'heavies' on the market. Fit was excellent throughout and the only filler used was to deal with a small gap along the underside of the nose where, I believe, I hadn't got the interior aligned as perfectly as I could. The turrets, however, are a weak point of the kit. It's been well documented that the rear turret (and forward turret on the J-version) have a very visible seam right down the middle. Aftermarket replacements are currently sold out so instead I used the kit rear turret and painted the mating surfaces black before gluing and this has made the unsightly join a little less conspicuous. For some reason Hobby Boss put heavy framing on the upper turret which doesn't exist on any B-24 turret I've seen, so this was sanded off and the dome given a good polish so it now better represents the Martin turret fitted to this model of Liberator. I didn't want to risk putting the colossal amount of nose weight into this as I was using the kit's plastic landing gear (which is perfectly strong enough to cope with the weight of the 'un-weighted' model) so I made a tail strut as was so often put in place when B-24s are parked on the ground. The kit doesn't come with the most inspiring of schemes for an olive drab B-24, so I did a bit of research on 'Satan's Angels' and painted the model to represent this aircraft as it would have looked in the autumn of 1943 with the group insignia on the tail and the short-lived red surround to the stars and bars. This aircraft was actually written off in a landing accident at Lympne in Kent, when the nose wheel collapsed and it ended up in a ditch on 13th November of that year. I used Kits World national insignia as well as the Profimodeller stencil set. All in all a very enjoyable build, and if you want a large 1/32nd bomber that doesn't break the bank but still gives you plenty of detail, I thoroughly recommend this kit. All the best, Tom Consolidated B-24D Liberator, 'Satan's Anglels' of the 328th Squadron of the 93rd Bomb Group, based at Hardwick, Suffolk, Autumn 1943.

I'm embarrassed to admit just how long this one has taken - but there at last (I think!). It's one of those things where I keep finding more to add - but really have to call it quits at some point! https://www.largescaleplanes.com/reviews/review.php?rid=2170 My eyes are tired now - please shout if you spot anything awry!! Iain

Today we review the Airscale B-24 Instrument Panel set. https://www.largescaleplanes.com/reviews/review.php?rid=2224 Have fun, Iain

We take a look at the brass undercarriage insert set for the HobbyBoss B-24 kits from Aerocraft Models. Highly recommended to all B-24 builders! Have fun... Iain

Hey guys! New set out for Liberator builders. Click on the image to go directly to it.

Needing to break out of my current rut - once I've finished the two-seat Spit - and a couple of other projects... What I have in mind is a conversion of the forthcoming HobbyBoss B-24J to a Privateer. Yes - I *know* it's a lot of work - and lots of scratch-building - but I've always liked the Privateer (I blame the Matchbox kit when I was a lot younger). As this will purely be for my enjoyment - rather than a magazine, or customer, build - I recon I can make some rapid progress and not worry about it too much. Having spent a lot of time looking into it I recon it's doable - but I want to take a run at it when the kits arrive and we start the multi-engine group build. With the aim of being able to hit the ground running I'm collecting as much reference material as possible - the biggest challenge is in finding all the detail info you need on something like this. Have two books on the way: Also found an e-book on Google: Have found some walk-round images here: https://www.net-maquettes.com/pictures/consolidated-pb4y-2-privateer/ Some useful images via Pinterest: https://pin.it/vn4j2x7neqrgup And there are copies of drawings kicking about: https://www.google.com/search?q=consolidated+privateer+drawings&client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiA_tnt7_HdAhWGNcAKHX_gBO8QsAR6BAgFEAE&biw=1440&bih=768 Also found someone on Ebay that's selling CDs of some of the tech docs. I *really* fancy doing one of these - Aeronaval Indochina: OK - so possibly a mad project I'll never finish - but feeling really positive about this one... So - on lookout/leads to any/more info on the Privateer - gaps I really need to fill at the mo: Any dimensional details - fuselage, cowlings and tail - pref from Consolidated drawings/station dimensions Detail shots of cowlings/nacelles and the lumps and bumps around the nose Anything else that might be useful! Generally - any Privateer info gratefully received! Anyone up for having a go too - and sharing info/mouldings? Iain

New set out today: Luftwaffe Liberators in 32nd scale. Three options included. This should be a lot of fan for Luftwaffe fans. At least we hope so.