armor fiend Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 (edited) Taking the plunge. My Dad will be turning 80 this year. During the war, my grandfather, a ground crew mechanic, managed to get a plane named for my dad, Little Eddie. You can see a picture of Little Eddie at http://www.b24bestweb.com/littleeddie1.htm . LE was a Ford built Block 1, B-24L. Finished in late August 1944, it was selected to be converted to a patherfinder, and ultimately joined its unit, November 7, 1944. From then until April 20th, 1945, it was part of the 15th AF, 47th Bombardment Wing (The Pyramidiers), 376th Bombardment Group (Liberandos), and the 512th Bombardment Squadron. On April 20th, 1945 it was transferred to the 455th BG/741stBS. Although all B-24s were being finished in natural finished metal by this point, the 15th AF got permission to paint its pathfinders in neutral gray 43, although some people argue it was possibly an RAF blue grey paint. Either could be the case. I'm gonna go with NG43. The HB B-24 is modeled on a late Consolidated B-24J. As such, there are some slight differences that have to be made, most notably, the nose. Ford B-24s had larger bombardier windows, a different fairing for the front turret, a rather pronounced "S" curve on the forward panels, and a prominent bulge on the pilot and co-pilot side windows. In addition, it had larger, bubble "navigator" windows (although by this point, the navigator had been moved to the radio operator's position, and the RO behind the wing). As an L, it also has larger waist windows and an enclosed gun. Lastly, although only the first 41 Consolidated Ls came automatically with the "Stinger" tail, but many were mounted with this configuration in theater and there's no aftermarket for that. Grrr. But, every rear picture I can find of other B-24s from that block have the Stinger mount. The HB kit also makes some mistakes. The dorsal turret is a hybrid early and late Martin turret. The forward and rear turrets are inexplicably divided down the middle, rather than where they were in real life, the Davis wing is too thick and at the wrong angle, the trailing edges of the control surfaces are too thick, the tail has the rivets re the wrong side of the panel lines. Also, it's a pathfinder, which means a radar unit in place the Sperry turret. Contrary to popular opinion, the B-24L was built with Sperry turrets. Some units in the Pacific removed them and replaced them with a ring which mounted a pair of machine guns, and that somehow stuck as being the default in people's minds. I have five months to build it. And I want to install internal lighting. Wish me luck. I will add pictures once I find a place to store them. Here is a list of all the aftermarket I got: B-24 J Liberator Instrument Panel Yahu B-24J Liberator Propeller detail (resin) Quickboost B-24 Stencils decals Profi Modeller B-24J Liberator for HobbyBoss 83211 masking set Montex B-24 Liberator - Part I for HobbyBoss detail (pe) eduard B-24 Liberator - Part II for HobbyBoss detail (pe) eduard Belly Radar Dome for B-24 Liberator detail (resin) Profi Modeller B-24 Liberator Barrels set - 10 Browning M2 Aircraft .50 Caliber for Hobby Boss kits barrels Master Models US Consolidated B-24J Liberator Heavy Bomber kit Hobby Boss B-24 Liberator - Replacement Emerson/Consolidated Turrets for HobbyBoss detail (resin) Wilde Sau Resin B-24 Liberator - Internal undercarriage leg supports Aerocraft Models B-24. Wheel Bays detail (pe) Metallic Details B-24. Exterior detail (pe) Metallic Details B-24. Turbochargers detail (3D) Metallic Details B-24 Liberator wheels w/ weighted tyres type d (RA), 2 types nose wheels, 3D-printed mudguard & PE hubcaps detail (resin) Armory Models Group Pratt & Whitney R-1830 detail (3D) Metallic Details I also got a couple sets of flash suppressors for the B-17G, because the B-24 also had them, and a better version of the Norden bomb sight, but they aren't here yet. Edited February 20, 2023 by armor fiend easixpedro, mc65, Granger Davis and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 Wow, quite a hefty project , If you're really a fiend, you'll fit right in here Have fun. armor fiend 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 Sounds like a rather immense project, will be interesting. Cheers Dennis armor fiend 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armor fiend Posted February 17, 2023 Author Share Posted February 17, 2023 (edited) While I was waiting on a number of items to show up from Ukraine (for some reason shipping model parts isn't a priority) I started on the cockpit. I have both Eduard's and Yahu's dashboard/cockpit. Yahu is more accurate, but BOTH are the wrong color. Yahu is closer to the correct color, and will be easier to pretend is correct in shadow. Early B-24s did have interior green crew areas, but the crews found it distracting, and it was changed to dull dark green. Airscale's dashboard and consoles are for the B24-D, though marketed as generic B-24. So, using the Yaho dash, and Eduard everything else ... after repainting. I got MRP's Interior Dull Dark Green, but if Kermit Weeks' actual B-24 interior is anything to go by (as well as other surviving B-24s) the actual color is darker, with a little more blue. If I add a little Tamiya X-23 and X-25, it comes pretty close, but I only did a test of that in a corner which can't be seen. After shaving off the detail on the center console, I realized shaving the dashboard down would be a pain in the a**. So I had the, IMHO, brilliant idea of turning the plastic dash around and putting the PE against the backside. This will also allow me to use the dash as a guide for the tubes and wires that come out the back, and are visible from the bombardier position. A couple PE pieces broke or sproinged away, so I had to make a couple plastic replacements. Did some painting, and this is the crew deck so far. I have made a couple changes since this picture was taken, when I got new information. I painted the chair arms khaki, the engine lever knobs black, and removed the top of the doorway on the rear wall of the cockpit. I'll post a picture this weekend. Some of this is still loose. I'm going to change the tables in the dorsal turret section as well, because these are wrong for a B-24L (and late Js). I'm also going to rework the separating wall. Some late B-24s didn't have a solid wall, some did. But they didn't have that "corrugated" look if they did. So I'll shave those off and put a khaki "cloth" over it. That's it for now. Edited February 18, 2023 by armor fiend themongoose, Martinnfb, Isar 30/07 and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armor fiend Posted February 17, 2023 Author Share Posted February 17, 2023 BTW, Iain, if you're reading this, I would love to be able to get access to the file for your wing shapers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 i'll 2nd that IP reversal as brilliant. buy yourself a Guinness! armor fiend 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easixpedro Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Cool! Fun to see another person crazy enough to try modifying this into an L. Always good for motivation to have a similar build going on (except for when they’re being built by Kiwis named Anthony, he’s usually a bad influence). I gave up on adding all the AM stuff on the inside as not much is visible, especially with figures like I’m doing. That being said, you’re making great progress and it looks great. Swapping the IP is a great trick, and filed for later use! -Peter MikeC, John1 and armor fiend 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armor fiend Posted February 18, 2023 Author Share Posted February 18, 2023 And here's Little Eddie chaos07, Martinnfb and easixpedro 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armor fiend Posted February 20, 2023 Author Share Posted February 20, 2023 (edited) Shots of all (technically most, as some are still on the way) the aftermarket goodies. It's a lot. It will make me insane. But yer dad only turns 80 once, and I missed his 70th birthday being all the way on the other side of the continent. Edited February 20, 2023 by armor fiend Landrotten Highlander, LSP_Kevin, Sasha As and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armor fiend Posted February 20, 2023 Author Share Posted February 20, 2023 (edited) Anyway, if it weren't obvious from before, I'm definitely a rivet counter ("booooooo"). Well, not exactly a counter, but the rivets on this model are definitely wrong. Forget the fact that they're sunken, not raised, they're just wrong. I've been trying to reconcile pictures with the model, so I can add in more rivets (cuz I'm an idiot), get the windows right, etc., and as I look closer, not only do I very, very slowly (after days) realize that the panels are largely, but not completely, wrong, the rivets are totally wrong. They have rivets on both sides of the panel lines, instead of just one (though they kinda get this right on the tail), and they're spaced much to far apart. Not sure what I was expecting. It is Hobby Boss, after all. And this isn't just a case of different manufacturers and variants. If you look on a walk around of "Witchcraft," it's a Consolidated B-24J and the panels and rivets are still wrong. Yes, the black lines below aren't nice and straight for rivets, but that's because at this stage, it's for stressed skin, and it doesn't need to be exact. Oh, I want to do stressed skin. Did I mention I'm an idiot? Interestingly enough, they basically get it right inside the plane, where you don't see it as easily. Sooooo, yeah. Edited February 20, 2023 by armor fiend chaos07, Landrotten Highlander, LSP_Kevin and 4 others 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 Definitely going to be worth following the rivet counter almost comments are hilarious, especially given the direction your build took! armor fiend 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armor fiend Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 (edited) So, my brother decided to pick an argument with gravity. You can guess how that went down. So, had to go and help out and visit for a month. Stayed with Dad. Got new pics of Little Eddie. Edited March 26, 2023 by armor fiend LSP_Kevin, MikeC, chaos07 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armor fiend Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 (edited) Let's talk tail. Not the kind you see in nose-art, but the less interesting kind. Notice how thin the trailing edges are for the control surfaces. Now look at the same surfaces in the HB kit. VERY thick. Now, I like thick in a tail, but not this kind of tail. Also note the lightening holes in the tail and stabilizer main sections. Note also that these are visible, even if the control surfaces aren't turned. Ignore the anti-pigeon defenses. Finally, noticed where the rivet holes are located in the ring of outer panels on the HB tail. They are under the panel line. But this is not where the rivets go! The go above the panels. And there appear to be quite a few more panels. Fun times! A lot of this would be easier if I had a mounted belt sander. Edited March 26, 2023 by armor fiend chaos07 and Sasha As 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 Ugggh wish i could see the pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 51 minutes ago, themongoose said: Ugggh wish i could see the pics! Yeah, those last lost of images aren't showing, unfortunately. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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