B-24 Liberator Diorama - 1/48th Scale.

[Airframes]

Thanks Geo, and yes, the eye op has made a heck of a difference, and I'm looking forward to having the right eye done early in the New Year.
I had actually considered covering the turrets, or at least the front turret, but, as the diorama will also show a tractor and trailer unloading ammo for the .50 cal guns, with ground crew preparing the belts for loading into the ammo tanks, it makes sense to have the turrets and guns visible, as part of the visual "3D" story.

The Fuel Tanker, continued ...................

Got the rear door sill fitted, made from plastic strip, and a length of 4mm "Evergreen" angled strip attached beneath the rear body, to support the rear bumper / towing beam.
The rear beam from the Revell kit was modified, and a tow hitch fitted, from the Tamiya re-fueller kit, along with recovery eyes cut from parts found in the spares box.
Reference photos show that there was also a step offset to the right, as opposed to the central step originally on the Revell kit, and this was made from plastic rod and fitted into holes drilled into the Revell part.
The completed beam was then cemented onto the angled strip and carefully aligned.

As mentioned earlier, I wasn't too happy with the hand rails around the access platform on top of the tanker - they just looked too "clunky" and plain wrong.
So, the outer sections were carefully removed, and new, curved sections added, connecting to the top section of the ladder. Not brilliant, but they look much better I feel.

There's just a bit of clean-up to do, a small "Oops!" to attend to, and then the rear opening will be masked and this section put aside, ready for spraying the primer coat.

Next stage is to modify the Tamiya kit into a tractor unit ......................


Edit:- Just noticed, I've got the darned tow hitch upside down !!

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Like the improved handrails and as you say, they look a lot better. I'm quite mesmerized by the whole thing, some good plumbing and modelling going on here.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks very much Vic.

Got a bit of a busy day today, with last-minute Christmas sh*t and domestic stuff, and hopefully going out for a couple or three pints with friends tonight, so might not get much more done. But I'm hoping to at least get a few small mods done on the Tamiya kit chassis, before starting assembly.
I'll post pics when I can .........

 

[Gnomey]

Great work so far Terry!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Hugh.

I've now corrected the error in the rear tow hitch, and sorted the "Oops" on that locker door hinge, and I'm now concentrating on the conversion of the Tamiya re-fueller into the tractor unit, so ...............

The re-fueller Tractor Unit, Part 1.

As shown earlier, the main components of the Tamiya chassis have already been assembled, and it's now time to modify some areas, and add some detail parts.
A couple of locating tabs and pins designed for the kit's tanker body have been removed, and some extra crossmembers added, made from plastic strip, together with the kit rear crossmember.
A catwalk has been added, fabricated from plastic channel, strip and metal mesh, and the vehicle fuel tank attached.
I thought I would have to scratch-build this tank, as it is not visible on the re-fueller, or shown in the Tamiya instructions. But it appears that some of the kit sprues include parts (not needed for this model) which are common to the 6x6 cargo truck version, also available from Tamiya, and the fuel tanks parts were on these sprues.
The added details are "modelistic licence", but based on details on the various versions of tractor units, and should go some way to making the finished model more authentically "believable" once in the completed diorama.

I hope to get a lot more done over the next couple of days, and I'll post another up-date soon.
Thanks again for the positive comments, "likes" and interest in this project.

 

[newst]

Rare Plane Detective https://www.rare-planedetective.com has the Koster turret kit in its December catalog. $33.

 

[Airframes]

Brilliant !
Thanks vey much indeed for the info and links - I've e-mailed them to confirm and advise on shipping etc.

 

[Wurger]

 

[rochie]

More nice progress

 

[newst]

Brilliant !
Thanks vey much indeed for the info and links - I've e-mailed them to confirm and advise on shipping etc.

I hope it works out for you.

 

[Airframes]

Me too.
No reply yet, but, with the time difference, UK to USA, and the busy "silly season", it's understandable.

The Re-fueller Tractor Unit, Part 1, continued ................

I spent quite some time fiddling around adding the final parts to the Tamiya chassis, mainly re-measuring, checking, measuring again, swearing due to errors, and then finally getting the parts made / adapted and fitted.
More "spare" parts from the sprues for the 6x6 cargo truck version have been adapted. Not totally sure what they're supposed to be - possibly a mounting bracket and a battery - but they've been adapted into a step, with added plastic rod for bracing, and a tool box, with plastic strip representing the locking hasp.
A step for the right side has also been fabricated, using plastic sheet and rod, and attached in front of the fuel tank.

Study of various reference photos showed that those tractor units with twin rear axles, such as the REO / Diamond T, and the GMC 6X6 water tanker, were fitted with simple mudguards in front of the forward axle, so these have been replicated, using plastic card bent to shape and with lower "stiffeners" added, using thin plastic rod.
The main "stiffener" rods / mounting points were made from brass rod, in order to provide a secure, rigid attachment point, and this was inserted through holes drilled into each chassis rail, the rod passing through to the opposite side. Once satisfied with the dimensions, the rod was cut to length, secured with drops of CA, and the mudguards attached.
This concludes the first stage, and next job is to paint the chassis, drive train, suspension etc, and then assemble, paint and fit the wheels, before moving on to Part 2, and the construction of the cab,

I'm having a short break in order to complete my scores for the latest GB and get them off, via Santa, so that Wayne has them in time for Christmas, but I'll be back either (much) later tonight, or some time tomorrow.

 

[Wurger]

 

[rochie]

very well done mate

 

[Gnomey]

Looks great so far Terry!

 

[Vic Balshaw]

So much detail, it's going to outshine the Lib.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks very much chaps !

Vic, I need to get this right, as good as possible, even if some details are not totally accurate, or may never be seen again. Over the years, I've seen so many dioramas that could have been excellent, where the main subject, be it aircraft, tank etc has been very well done, but then let down by the "supporting" items, which in many cases looked like afterthoughts.
A diorama is literally a picture in 3D, and every item in the display should be adding to the pictorial story, with vehicles, for example, being there for a reason, and built and positioned just as accurately as the main subject. Figures, in particular, should be recognisable as actually "doing something", and not just scattered around as "set dressing".
Now, having said that, I hope I can live up to it and get the bl**dy thing right throughout !!

Now, I would like to say a huge THANKS to Newst, for the info regarding the Koster B-24 turret and detail kit.
I've had a reply from Jeff at Rare Plane Detective, and the order has been placed, paid for and will be on the way to me soon (I've asked him to delay sending until after the Christmas "silly season", to avoid possible loss in the mail.).
With the shipping costs, it's a tiny tad pricey, but not too bad, especially considering that I only paid around £20 for the Monogram B-24 kit, and the current retail price is around £70, and it should make a very noticeable and worthwhile difference to the overall appearance the model.

Me is a very Happy Chappy - think I'll have another Captain Morgan Spiced Gold Rum .........

 

[Crimea_River]

All caught up again. Great news on the turret Terry and, boy, you are doing a bang-up job on that fueler!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Andy, much appreciated.

The Re-Fueller Tractor Unit, Part 1, continued ........


The chassis section is almost complete, with the painting done and a start made on weathering / dirt.
The wheels and tyres are partly painted, and just waiting for the paint to fully dry on one side of each wheel, before painting the other halves, joining the rear wheels and then fitting them to the axles.
Further grime etc will be added to the tyres and chassis once the cab section is in place, construction of which will be shown in Part 2.

I'll be back over the weekend with a further up-date ...............

 

[Vic Balshaw]

That looks great Terry. Painting would have been a big job with all those angles and part hidden bits.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Vic, and yes, some of the painting was a bit awkward - I brush-painted everything, as it was easier to get in to the "hidden" areas.