**** DONE: 1/48 B-25 - Aircraft Nose Art GB.

Hey, Guys,
More progress. Not as much as I would like, but progress nonetheless. Fuse is sealed up and centerline seam is filled and mostly sanded. Wings are on, dbl check for alignment and the seams filled as well (I do love the tape/putty/acetone thing). Final sanding on the fuse tonight, a quick dbl check then on to the horizontal stab and engines/nacelles tomorrow night. I am hoping to start painting by Thursday or Friday. Thanks in advance for looking in.
1st pic: AM supplied nose wgts and instruction sheet


One wing on, fuse seams


Both wings on fuse seams and wing joint

Dale

Looking good Dale. I hate it when a step occurs along the fuselage seam. Tend to loos a lot of detail in sanding and the rescribing is a pain.

Hey, Andy,
Re-scribing just sucks! I tried hard to keep the fuse halves lined up, taped it all up, was going real slow with the glue..... BAM! Misalignment. Nice thing is I have another kit to reference as needed. And, care to guess how many windows I have knocked out so far? Man, I am glad I decided not to put the top turret in yet.
Dale

Did the window thang with the Ventura. Next time I'll Future the crap out of them and crazy glue them. If the interior of the window isn't visible from the outside, I'll run over-lap some plastic strip around the edges.

Geo

Nicely done Dale. Hope the nose weights are enough, are they bits of brass plates.

That 'step' business is a real pain in the butt...

Looks good so far!

Hey, All,
Once again, thank you for looking in. I wanted to get a few notes about the kit and construction things to be aware of before I forget for those of you who will build an AM B-25 for the 1st time.

1) The supplied nose wgts WORK! They are a snug fit both in the wheel well and behind the IP. I did dab a touch of 5 minute epoxy to each plate and clamped them and let the epoxy set up. More than enough wgt to keep her on the nose gear. Dbl check the fit of the forward bulkhead with the wgts carefully. I did have to take a touch off the wheel well wgt clump with the dremel to ensure sufficient clearance for the forward bulkhead.

2) The bombardier/nose assembly. Be damned careful with the fit of the bombardier's floor and side walls with respect to the back edge of the nose assembly. You do need to leave maybe 1/2mm of relief for the forward bulkhead. A dry fit test run will show you this. I would strongly recommend you take the time to do so. This will pay big dividends in the end. Ahhh, yes, you guessed it, I did NOT take the time to do so. I had to get out the moto-tool and do a tad bit of power sanding to get the fit to line up. The work I did do will not be visible once the nose assembly is on.

3) Take your time to get the fuse halves lined up. I did a tape up on a 2nd AM B-25C/D kit I have. I have proven to myself that a step can be avoided with very careful setup and cementing.

4) Watch for the bombardier's nose assembly sides "collasping" in a bit when you are holding it and trying to line up the nose glass. The plastic is a tad "soft" and it is very easy to squeeze just a tad too much and then you have to play games when getting the glass on. What I did was cement up one side and let it dry overnight. The next night I got the sides lined up between the fuse and the glass and cemented that up.

5) For you, George.... if at all possible do try to reinforce the windows from inside with some bits of sheet or flat stock. I THINK, if you are careful, you can get away with that. Hopefully, this will minimize any window knock outs. I am glad I did not put the top turret in yet. That and the lack of the horizontal stab have made placing the knocked out windows far easier.

That's it for now. I just wanted to get these notes captured before I forgot. More pics to come by Friday late PM.

Dale

Good tips there Dale. Looking forward to the next batch.

Good on ya Dale...

Good stuff Dale, and I like the way AM supply pre-cut nose weights - saves a lot of hassle cutting lead into strips!
Regarding the nose transparencies - I think I'd be tempted to fit the 'solid' part of the nose first, and fit the transparencies after that.

A good job so far.

Hey, Guys,
Thanks once again for looking in and the comments. Terry, that is a helluva an idea. I need to keep that in mind for the next AM '25 build. And, yeap, the pre cut nose wgts sure are nice. I am ok with using lead as needed. I am a shot shell reloader (love to shoot skeet). I am used to using some #9 lead shot and an epoxy mix for wgting when needed. I often "cast" this mixture into the actual model pieces using vaseline as a release agent so I can pop the goop lose and shape it if needed.

This B-25 kit has me lusting after the '25s again. She was a flying tank as deployed in the Pacific. I would love to find a solid kit of the J model. Also, there is a restored PBJ about 20 miles north of me that I have access to for research and pics. I just may do a PBJ and grab as much info/pics as I can on that plane. If so, I will be sure to post any pics I get here in the appropriate area. Wurger, I will ask you before I do upload anything if at all.

Ok, so a few pics. I have the nose mounted after doing some sanding to improve the fit. I still have to fill the seam, but I think I can get away with the tape/putty/acetone process to get em filled and minimize any rescribing. Horizontal stab is fitted. There is a bit of a seam there as well (left side). It looks like the tape/putty/acetone process will work there as well.

I do have one question for you guys.... the 500lb bombs as used by the Soviets, did they have a yellow band around them or not? I have found a couple of pics on the web that do show a band, but those munitions seem smaller than 500lbs. Any feedback for me? While I am fascinated with the VVS now, documentation is sure a challenge.

Ok, pics. Shots are pretty self explanatory.

Looking good!

Yep, sure is...

Looking good Dale

Nicely done Dale, she's looking good.

Nice work so far!

Good progress Dale. I'm wishing I had the time to enter this GB, as I was going to do a Mitchell III (B-24J) from an RAF squadron in October 1944. But other projects, and the fact the display cabinets are not yet completed forced me not to enter.
Can't help with the bomb markings I'm afraid, as I have very little knowledge of Soviet stuff (read that as b*gg*r all knowledge!), but, if they were using American-supplied ordnance, then the markings would be as standard for that ordnance I would think.
There's a chance that they might have adapted the bomb racks, lugs and release system in order to use their own bombs, but there's also a very good chance these were retained, at least initially, and US bombs used.