*** DONE Italeri 1/48th scale Boston IIIA Group Build.

[Airframes]

Douglas Boston MkIIIA, BZ399, RH-F, 88 Squadron, RAF, July 1943.

Username - Airframes.
Name - Terry
Category - Judge
Scale - 1/48th
Kit - Italeri (AMT)

Here's my first contribution to the fourth ww2aircraft.net Group Build and, time permitting, there might be a further three.
Although the model will generally be built Out of the Box, as with most of my builds lately there will be some scratch-built additions here and there, and the finsihed model will be placed on a diorama base, showing the crew about to board the aircraft.
Rather than clutter the thread, I've posted the background in a PDF for ease of reading. Since writing the piece, I've been trying to trace the pilot and crew, both here in the UK and, with Daniel's help (109 roaming), in New Zealand. Although it seemed Daniel was making progress, having established a possible address for the pilot, the leads fizzled out, and we now assume the pilot has either passed on, or wishes to remain undisturbed. The same is true of the remainder of the crew of BZ399.
I'll post some pics of the first stages of the build soon, which will involve some destruction before construction, another thing which seems to be becoming the norm with me lately!
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy reading the background story behind the model.

 

[B-17engineer]

Can't wait Terry!!

I'll start my thread soon!

 

[Crimea_River]

A nice pick. I'm holding back on my Me-262 bomber fro now. May go with something else

 

[vikingBerserker]

Excellent choice Terry!

 

[dirkpitt289]

I like it. Its not something I see a lot of people model. I look forward to your progress.

 

[Wayne Little]

Go Terry!

 

[ozhawk40]

A great choice and a great story to go with it Terry - I'm looking forward to this.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Oh are we going to have fun, great choice Terry

 

[Airframes]

Thanks guys. All being well, the first pics should be up tomorrow.

 

[Airframes]

I couldn't resist making a start, so here's the first part of the simple modifications.
The kit parts are quite nice, but having checked a very useful manual Paul (Micdrow) provided, (thanks Paul!!) and a load of other references, it was evident that some slight changes would be required, particularly in the rear compartment. Also, as I want to display the model in a diorama with the crew about to board, and the ground crew in attendance, I needed to open up the nose compartment hatch. This involved cutting both the nose section and the internal 'bath tub' parts, which needed doing before any other work could go ahead on construction.
PIC 1 Shows the two- part nose and the internal part as provided in the kit.
PIC 2. The same parts after the areas for the hatch have been cut away.
PIC 3. The nose compartment parts taped together to check alignment. The mount for the Norden bombsight has also been removed, as the RAF Bostons used a Course Setting bombsight, which will be scratch-built, along with other internal fittings and structure.
PIC 4. The rear gunner's compartment parts, as provided in the kit, loosely taped in place. The fuselage sidewalls have been roughly marked in pencil, as a guide to the placement of frames and panels.
PIC 5. The upper section of the bulkhead has been cut off, and repositioned further forward, with a shelf for the radio and basic flight instruments added from plastic card. (The Boston was the only aircraft in the RAF where the pilot was not expected to evacute last in an emergency; basic flight controls were provided in the rear compartment, in order that the gunner could hold the aircraft level whilst the pilot clambered onto the wing to parachute to safety.)The radios etc will be made from bits from the spares box. A fire axe and heater control panel have been added, made from plastic rod and card, and have yet to be trimmed and detailed.
PIC 6. The rear compartment side walls have received some detail work, with a flat panel covering the moulded recess where the wing root is located. The floor/bulkhead have been taped in place to check fit and clearance, and more detail is to be added, in the form of ammo boxes, trailing aerial reel etc etc.
That's it so far, more pics tomorrow.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Good start T, nice clean lines.

 

[lesofprimus]

Great stuff Terry......

 

[Wurger]

 

[rochie]

great background infoand nice start on the kit Dogsbody

 

[Airframes]

Thanks chaps, I hope to have a few more update pics later tonight.

 

[Micdrow]

Great stuff there Terry, glad to see this project finally coming together all these months of planning. You need anything more on the Ventura as I kinda got side tracked.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Paul. Once the kit eventually arrives, I should know which way I need to go. I don't think much of the interior will be visible, so what you've provided so far should suffice I think. Also not sure if the Boulton Paul (British) turret is included as an alternative in the kit until I get it. If it isn't, then I'll have to mould one, so I might need some detail shots, as the ones I have aren't really close-ups. I'll let you know soon as I've looked at the kit.

 

[Airframes]

A little bit more progress has been made on the internal fittings. A lot of time has been spent trial fitting, as the nose area in particular will need to be assembled contrary to the instruction sequence, in order to incorporate the added detail, and line up with the opened floor hatch. Some of the framework around the bombsight mounting can only be added later, when the front glazing is fitted, as these frames need to connect with the frames of the glazed nose.
A similar job of multiple trial fitting has been carried out in the rear compartment, in order to align the scrath-built ammo tanks, and ultimately the ammo belts, for the twin rear guns, as these can not be fitted until after painting. I'm undecided whether to scratch-build a mounting and the internal hatch for the ventral tunnel gun, which I can source from the spares box, as it's very unlikely this will be seen clearly, except at 14:00hrs on Leap Year day, whilst standing at an angle of 72 degrees - and then only if it's sunny!
PIC 1 Shows the Navigator/Bomb Aimer's compartment with the seat pan fitted, the latter having been thinned down around the edges and support stays added from plastic rod. The grey 'boxes' on either side were cut from parts from the spares box, and represent the electrical and navigation equipment. Wiring will be added to the moulded-on wiring, and led forward, then under the floor. The cross-beam was added from plastic strip, and a scratch-built Course Setting bomb sight will be fitted to this, once the additional framework to the glazing has been fitted. Once painted, it should all look quite convincing through the large forward canopy.
PIC 2. The nose section has been trial fitted to check alignment, and to obtain measurements for the extra framework. The just visible pencil hatching on the inside starboard wall marks the location for the fitting of more wiring etc.
PIC 3. The rear compartment floor and bulkhead has had some scratch-built additions in the form of the trailing aerial reel, ammo tanks and some additional formers, and the radio equipment added to the bulkhead shelf. Again this was cut from parts from the spares box.
PIC 4. The port compartment wall has now been 'panelled' and frames added, plus another piece from the spares box.
PIC 5. The compartment floor trial fitted, to show what it will look like in place. The seat and its frame, and the gun mounting, have yet to be fitted. The area in the 'tunnel' on the top of the bulkhead had to be thinned down around the upper curve of the walls, as the opening section of the canopy will be positioned here, as per the actual aircraft, which had tracks on which the canopy section could slide. The kit provides parts for an open or closed canopy, but no means of posing the opened part correctly, but fortunately, thanks to Paul, I was able to find extremely detailed drawings and photographs of this area, and how it was arranged, in the Boston manual.
So, that's it for now, thanks again for your kind comments, and I'll post some more pics soon.

 

[Heinz]

Looks great Terry!

 

[Vic Balshaw]

It's looking good T, great detail