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1/48 Academy B-25B Mitchell
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 04:18 AM UTC
After the Revell PV-1 Ventura build, I really need to work on basically an OOB with just some enhancements, so when the opportunity came to build the Academy B-25B I decided that it was the perfect choice. The kit is another of the endless re-issues of the Accurate Miniature's original molding dating back to 1999. That said, the kit is still a highly detailed replica that is the equal to, or even more detailed them many of todays releases.

The kit represents all the aircraft used in the famous April 18,1942 Doolittle raid on Tokyo, that was made even more famous with the release of the movie "30 seconds over Tokyo".

Work started with the construction of the cockpit. Since one has to look through the cockpit glass to view the interior, I'm not that concerned with adding extra detail to it, but rather trying to fool the viewers eye with detail painting and just adding home made seatbelts and harnesses.

The cockpit was painted a base color of Life Color Interior Green thinned 1:4 with their proprietary thinner. The Instrument panel is a molded in clear plastic, which you're instructed to use a masking medium of your own choosing to cover all the gauges, then paint it, and finally add a instrument decal to the back of the IP. The odds of me actually getting a liquid medium to cover all the gauges correctly is slim to none. So I drilled out all he gauges.



I then painted the IP with Tamiya Nato Black thinned 2:3 with Tamiya X20-A When dry I lightly dry brushed the IP, and then glued the cut out instrument decal to the back of the IP. Normally, I would have thinned out the panel as it's really quite thick, but test fitting showed that it is so far under the anti glare panel, that it won't be very visible.





I decided to make the seatbelts and harness assemblies out of layered masking tape, including the pull straps. I still haven't gotten to the point of adding buckles as I'm still trying to come up with a acceptable looking ones. I positioned the belts and harnesses as though they were just kind of tossed when the pilot and co-pilot removed them to exit the aircraft.





Well, that's as far as I've gotten into the build.

Joel
tinbanger
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Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 04:23 AM UTC
Hi Joel
Looking forward to the build! Also following.
GazzaS
#424
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Queensland, Australia
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 04:29 AM UTC
Hi Joel,
Glad to see you back into it. I got stymied on my Dornier build due to some decals falling apart. Looking good so far
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 04:46 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Joel
Looking forward to the build! Also following.



Richard,
So glad that your coming along for the ride from day one. Hopefully, it won't be anywhere as long as the PV-1 was.
Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 04:51 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Joel,
Glad to see you back into it. I got stymied on my Dornier build due to some decals falling apart. Looking good so far



Gary,
Welcome to my latest journey. Glad you're liking the start of the cockpit/interior. this time it's going to be all about the final presentation.
Joel
SaxonTheShiba
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United States
Joined: February 01, 2009
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 05:43 AM UTC
Joel, looking forward to your -25 build. These kits are fun to build. I did a couple of these for Accurate Miniatures when they reincarnated for Round 2 in the early 2000's under Habovick and the Myers brothers. Just be careful of the nose gear for it is a little fragile. However, the fit of the wings to the fuselage is tight enough that you can paint and weather the wings and add them to the fuselage towards the end of construction. This drastically simplifies things when you are building a multi-engine. Anyway, looking forward to it.

Best wishes,

Ian
Redhand
#522
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New Jersey, United States
Joined: January 20, 2013
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 06:06 AM UTC
I hate to be mischievous, seriously, on the subject of mods, but you should look at this page: http://partsrparts.homestead.com/B25Bparts.html#

The are a number of fixes he recommends on linked pages that can be done without his parts:

Engine fix - http://partsrparts.homestead.com/enginefix.html

Window Fix - http://partsrparts.homestead.com/B25Bwindows.html

And the parts he offers can be seen here: http://partsrparts.homestead.com/b25bpartspics.html

Problem is I am not at all certain he is still active selling these. If not, they certainly could be scratch-built.

You are also aware, I am sure, of the "raging controversy" about the fact that the kit engine cowlings openings are too small in diameter, but there are any number of fixes for that either by hand or in the aftermarket.

Good luck and have fun with this one! I'll be watching.

Brian

Kilo_Uniform
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Gauteng, South Africa
Joined: July 03, 2015
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 01:19 PM UTC
Hi Joel

I'll be following along - the B-25 is one of my favourite twins. Having recently watched 'Pearl Harbour' [again] I acquired an Academy P-36 (Accurate Miniatures re-issue). I believe my favourite LHS still have some [original] Accurate Miniatures B-25's - adding one to the stash will allow me to replicate the planes flown by the main characters.

Your work on the cockpit is top class (as expected).

Keep up the good work!

Regards,
Kobus

Littorio
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England - South East, United Kingdom
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 01:53 PM UTC
Joel, I'm grabbing the popcorn and putting my feet up to watch this build.

I have several AM B-25's in the stash including an Academy and Italeri reboxing but only one is a B variant the rest are C/D or G, my aim is to do aircraft from the 5th AF someday
KPHB17FE
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Illinois, United States
Joined: January 12, 2015
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 05:43 PM UTC
Neat kit and I am looking forward to your build. If you would like to save yourself a little grief, the wartime B-25's did not have shoulder harnesses. Only lap belts until the late J models when they added the armored seats (which were NOT popular).
mrockhill
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Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: June 17, 2009
KitMaker: 566 posts
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 05:54 PM UTC
Nice start Joel! Looking foward to seeing one of these AM B-25s come together. I like your choice of depicting a Doolittle raider. I dont seem to see as many builds of the raiders as their fame might suggest. Could just be me though
tinbanger
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Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 06:32 PM UTC
Joel when I built the B-25 I used the tunnel under the cockpit to hide lead weights to avoid building a tail sitter.
My model came with a ladder at a hatch underneath to hide this.
Joel_W
Staff MemberAssociate Editor
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New York, United States
Joined: December 04, 2010
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 11:02 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Joel, looking forward to your -25 build. These kits are fun to build. I did a couple of these for Accurate Miniatures when they reincarnated for Round 2 in the early 2000's under Habovick and the Myers brothers. Just be careful of the nose gear for it is a little fragile. However, the fit of the wings to the fuselage is tight enough that you can paint and weather the wings and add them to the fuselage towards the end of construction. This drastically simplifies things when you are building a multi-engine. Anyway, looking forward to it.

Best wishes,

Ian



Ian,
Thank for the tip about the nose gear. If the wing fit is that good, I just might paint them separately, as the PV-1 was more then a handful to orientate as needed.
Joel
Joel_W
Staff MemberAssociate Editor
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New York, United States
Joined: December 04, 2010
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 11:09 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I hate to be mischievous, seriously, on the subject of mods, but you should look at this page: http://partsrparts.homestead.com/B25Bparts.html#

The are a number of fixes he recommends on linked pages that can be done without his parts:

Engine fix - http://partsrparts.homestead.com/enginefix.html

Window Fix - http://partsrparts.homestead.com/B25Bwindows.html

And the parts he offers can be seen here: http://partsrparts.homestead.com/b25bpartspics.html

Problem is I am not at all certain he is still active selling these. If not, they certainly could be scratch-built.

You are also aware, I am sure, of the "raging controversy" about the fact that the kit engine cowlings openings are too small in diameter, but there are any number of fixes for that either by hand or in the aftermarket.

Good luck and have fun with this one! I'll be watching.

Brian




Brian,
Thanks so much for jumping in and saving me from screwing up my build. I wrongfully thought that the B model offering would have the correct fuselage, but I guess that the molds were modified as needed. The window modifications shouldn't be that much of an issue.

As for the moving the prop closer to engine, that's also an easy fix. The cowlings are a different issue. The engine opening can be corrected with the use of a dowl covered with sandpaper. But the profile does seam to be wrong. I'm just not so sure I want to go the AM route, or try to change the profile the best I can.

You can see so little of the interior other then the bomb bay, that adding those gas cans is something that I'll have to really think about.

As for the exhausts, I'm trying to find out if they're still available.

Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 11:16 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Joel

I'll be following along - the B-25 is one of my favourite twins. Having recently watched 'Pearl Harbour' [again] I acquired an Academy P-36 (Accurate Miniatures re-issue). I believe my favourite LHS still have some [original] Accurate Miniatures B-25's - adding one to the stash will allow me to replicate the planes flown by the main characters.

Your work on the cockpit is top class (as expected).

Keep up the good work!

Regards,
Kobus




Kobus,
Welcome along for the ride. When you decide to build your P-36 and eventually a B-25B, please share your builds with us.

As you can see the help one receives on Aeroscale. For someone like me that's not an aircraft enthusiast, but rather a plastic scale modeler, I can use all the help I can get.

Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 11:18 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Neat kit and I am looking forward to your build. If you would like to save yourself a little grief, the wartime B-25's did not have shoulder harnesses. Only lap belts until the late J models when they added the armored seats (which were NOT popular).



Karl,
Now that you mentioned it about the shoulder Harnesses, I remembered that you brought that very issue up before. That's for saving me from that screw up.
Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 11:20 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Joel, I'm grabbing the popcorn and putting my feet up to watch this build.

I have several AM B-25's in the stash including an Academy and Italeri reboxing but only one is a B variant the rest are C/D or G, my aim is to do aircraft from the 5th AF someday



Luciano,
Glad your joining the party, and brought the popcorn with you. Looking forward to your build one day, as I'm sure it will be up to your usual high standards.
Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 11:23 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Nice start Joel! Looking foward to seeing one of these AM B-25s come together. I like your choice of depicting a Doolittle raider. I dont seem to see as many builds of the raiders as their fame might suggest. Could just be me though



Mike,
When the kit was 1st issued, there were plenty of builds, but we're talking 16 plus years and the internet as we know it today didn't exist. But as the new versions were issued, they over shadowed this version.
Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2015 - 11:27 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Joel when I built the B-25 I used the tunnel under the cockpit to hide lead weights to avoid building a tail sitter.
My model came with a ladder at a hatch underneath to hide this.



Richard,
That's an excellent idea. To be truthful about it I really couldn't figure out a way to weight the model properly, and I didn't want to add any weight to the engine nacelles. So my plan is to leave out all the weights, and install steel pins into all three wheels that will be inserted into a base. I do have plans for a special base, so my idea just might work.

Joel
Naseby
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Slovakia
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Posted: Monday, December 28, 2015 - 12:21 AM UTC
This project look promissing and I will be watching it closely, this kit is also on my "to do" list.
Joel_W
Staff MemberAssociate Editor
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New York, United States
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Posted: Monday, December 28, 2015 - 12:50 AM UTC

Quoted Text

This project look promising and I will be watching it closely, this kit is also on my "to do" list.



Naseby,
Welcome to the party. At the rate I'm screwing up the basics of a B, maybe you shouldn't be looking to closely at my less then stellar work.
Joel
Joel_W
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Posted: Monday, December 28, 2015 - 12:54 AM UTC
Ok,
I just tackled Karl's observation about the B's not having any shoulder Harnesses. Not to hard to just remove them as they were masking tape. I then fabricated buckles and latches from a old PE set I had in my spares box. And yes they're a little oversize, but once the fuselage is closed up, and the greenhouse glass installed, they should look just fine.



Will be working on the window fix next, but I need to order some clear acetate sheet.

Joel
AussieReg
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#007
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Victoria, Australia
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Posted: Monday, December 28, 2015 - 06:07 AM UTC
Looking good Joel, off to a great start.

Cheers, D
Redhand
#522
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New Jersey, United States
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Posted: Monday, December 28, 2015 - 05:13 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Will be working on the window fix next, but I need to order some clear acetate sheet.

Joel



Hey Joel, is this the stuff I pointed out in the after fuselage?
Joel_W
Staff MemberAssociate Editor
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Posted: Monday, December 28, 2015 - 09:04 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Looking good Joel, off to a great start.

Cheers, D



Damian,
Welcome to the party my friend. I need to post this in the twin campaign too.
Joel
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