Been working on this quite a bit the last few days, but couldn't find the time to post updates.
Modeling started with a panic right out of the gate. I was snipping off some excess plastic from the aft cockpit bulkhead when I cracked it vertically. I grabbed my trusty Tamiya cement and started applying it... only for the bulkhead to fully break in two and half of it to fall
into the bottle of cement. I fished it out with tweezers but the cement was not kind to it, all the detail was gone and the part had sort of melted. I was very concerned about this and even tried reaching to Airfix about replacement parts, but they won't get back to me until after the GB deadline.
However upon testing fitting the fuselage together, it seems that the damage is thankfully not that noticeable.
With that sorted, on with the build!
I really should ditch the strategy of paint zinc chromate before gluing the parts, as my zinc chromate paint rubs off very easily and I have to reapply it afterwards. Anyway, here's the cockpit so far:
Test-fitting inside the fuselage:
Bombardier's station and cockpit sidewall details:
Paints used:
Black: Sidewall details, navigator's compartment equipment, flap & cowl flap levers, trim tabs (hard to see in the photos but I did paint them!),
Bronze Green: Cockpit sidewalls, bulkhead, pedestal between the pilots' seats, seat cushions (color picked based on photos of Briefing Time and Apache Princess),
Dark Red: control lock, landing gear lever, emergency hydraulic pump, fuel controls cover (applied very carefully),
Neutral Grey: Floor of the cockpit compartment,
Silver: drybrushed onto the bombardier's heating/air vent.
I based the colors on photos of Briefing Time and Apache Princess, cross-checked with
the painting instructions provided by Micdrow (thanks mate!). Funnily enough I tried using my B-25/A/B pilot's manual to figure out what some of the detailing was meant to be, only to find that the kit's cockpit does not match the B-25B's that closely, missing all of the fuel selectors between the pilots' seats. One can hardly blame Airfix for this as I have never seen photos of a B-25B's cockpit outside of this manual, which is itself a rare find. The kit's cockpit is a very detailed approximation of a later B-25 cockpit and that's more than good enough for me, especially since none of these details will be visible when the model is finished!
In general, I am thoroughly enjoying this kit. Massive fan of how the subassemblies go together, makes for a very satisfying build. Not to mention all the lips keep everything properly lined up. Parts lock together in the right position with just a dab of cement within seconds. Now if only Airfix would make molds like this of more aircraft I like!