Nigel Julian [ LAMPIE ], brings us an inbox review of Hasegawa''s 1/72nd scale, very colourful, The Dragon And His Tail, Consolidated B-24 Liberator.


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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

I agree with your assesment of price vs value on this one Nigel. The standard J model initially appeared here for much cheaper than the D model for some reason (A$69 at the time), so i got it then- even though i knew Hasegawa would do this version later.

One question: are the decals for the dragon the usual Hasegawa ones or are they the Cartograph decals that they sometimes use for special editions?

Anyway, i bought the Hannants Xtradecal set X72082 which has the Dragon plus 2 other options for 7 pound. So overall i think it is better value to buy the standard kit with the Hannants decals. It's only a question of whether the Hasegawa decals are better than the Scale-Master ones in the Xtradecals set. My money is on the aftermarket decals though...

Andrew

I have this by a different manufacturer and the dragon is grey. I read somewhere that it was supposed to be grey but I've only ever seen illustrations showing a green dragon. Is there an actual picture of the real plane that would confirm the correct colour?

thanks
Mike

Hi Mike,
I have found some pics of a restored aircraft at b24bestweb .

Andy

The picture Andy posted is the Collings Foundation B-24 which I mentioned in the review.

Apparently there is a colour photo of the original "Dragon And His Tail" in the "In Detail" series book but I havent seen this personally to confirm.
Andrew, sorry, but Im back on tour and wont see the kits decals again until July so cant answer your question at this point.
Nige

Thanks - nice pics of the restored B24 but I really could do with seeing the colour pic of the original - that will settle it for me! The 'In action' book you mention - I assume thats by Squadron/Signal? If it is I will look out for that also. If it is green - who does aftermarket transfers for it?

thanks
Mike

Xtradecal Set X72082

Nige

Nice review of a great ship!

Talk about the ultimate in 'nose art'!

This has to be my most favorite nose art of all time!!!!! Nigel you are a lucky man.

Hi Nige

I've just checked the pic (D&S Vol 64, Page 37) and, although it's a little bit washed out, I think it still gives a pretty good idea of the original colours. It does look far more like the dragon was multi-tone grey, rather than green, with a reddish colour along its back - and certainly nowhere near as vivid as the restoration or the kit decals. Its feet were pink, not yellow, too.

All the best

Rowan

Here is the photo on question:


Here are a couple of the Colling's B-24 (since repainted as "Witchcraft) that I took from the same owner's B-17 (Nine O' Nine) in March 1999