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Doolittle Raider finished
Pixilater
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Massachusetts, United States
Joined: March 16, 2005
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Posted: Friday, April 14, 2006 - 05:54 PM UTC
Here are some pics of a recent build of mine, Accurate Miniatures' North American B-25B Mitchell.

It was built using Eduard's PE detail set and Squadron vac canopies. I used Model Master Olive Drab on the topsides, and WEM Colourcoats Neutral Gray underneath. I tried something a bit different for the washes this time. Rather than mix the base enamel colors with flat black enamel, I mixed them with Ivory Black oil paint instead.

I used the kit decals (decals for all 16 Raiders are included in the kit) for the "Ruptured Duck," which was featured in "30 Seconds over Tokyo." The 64th anniversary of the raid is the 18th of this month. This is my tribute to those brave crews.











Hope you like it. It was a LOT of fun to build !

The previous progress pics, including the interior, can be seen here: http://www.pix.prettyneatinc.com/mitchellbuild.htm
HAL0
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Texas, United States
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Posted: Friday, April 14, 2006 - 09:07 PM UTC
Sweet Build Don't do aircraft much but do got a c-130 and blackhawk in my stash. Wait I ain't building much of anything lately.
vanize
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Texas, United States
Joined: January 30, 2006
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Posted: Friday, April 14, 2006 - 09:24 PM UTC
Fabulous job! I hope the AM B-25 I'm working on comes out that well! And bravo for your tribute to the Doolittle raiders!

I would also like to take a moment to remember the unknown number (perhaps as many as 250,000!) Chinese civilians killed by the Japanese as reprisals for the assistance the crashed flight crews of this raid recieved from the Chinese people.
BM2
#151
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Virginia, United States
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Posted: Friday, April 14, 2006 - 09:49 PM UTC
beautiful raider !
woltersk
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Utah, United States
Joined: May 27, 2003
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Posted: Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 01:19 AM UTC
Nice job Bill! She's a beaut!
Didn't some or all of the planes have their .50 Cal guns replaced with broom sticks to save weight? That would be cool to replicate.

Somewhat Off Topic:
The Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio is hosting a Doolittel Raider Reunion. Here is some info for anyone in the Dayton area, or those willing to travel, who may be interested:


National Museum of the USAF
Public Affairs Division
1100 Spaatz St.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433-7102
(937) 255-4704 ext. 330, 331, 332, 333

NEWS RELEASE

06-041
March 16, 2006
Public: Call (937) 255-8046, ext. 496
Media: Rob Bardua (937) 255-4704, ext. 330
Sarah Parke (937) 255-4704, ext. 332

NINE DOOLITTLE RAIDERS SCHEDULED TO PARTICIPATE IN REUNION
AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE

DAYTON, Ohio – The Doolittle Raiders, a group that helped restore American morale during World War II, are scheduled to celebrate their 64th annual reunion at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force from April 17 through 21.

Nine of the surviving 16 Raiders are scheduled to attend the reunion, which will include several public events such as a dinner and lecture, memorial service, exhibit dedication and autograph sessions.

A memorial service will be held at the museum’s Memorial Park on Tuesday, April 18, at 2 p.m. An autograph session with the Doolittle Raiders will follow the service.


Holdfast
Staff MemberPresident
IPMS-UK KITMAKER BRANCH
#056
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England - South West, United Kingdom
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Posted: Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 01:30 AM UTC
An inspiration, as usual Bill, thanks for sharing. I'm in the process of build AM's B-25 C/D "Dirty Dora".
Mal
Gloss
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England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: October 23, 2005
KitMaker: 77 posts
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Posted: Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 05:16 PM UTC
Hi Bill,

This looks really great. A very tidy paint job which has brought this kit to life.

I look forward to the next one.

Mark
betheyn
Staff MemberSenior Editor
AEROSCALE
#019
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: October 14, 2004
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Posted: Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 05:26 PM UTC
Excellent work Bill.
Did you have any trouble with the front undercarraige leg. I have managed to break 2 of them so far, which is why mine is still sitting in the box half finished.
The A.M kit is a superb model to build apart from the cowlings which on mine didn't fit very well. Did you have any trouble with yours.
What paint did you use for the bomb bay as it looks good.
Andy (++)
csch
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Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Posted: Sunday, April 16, 2006 - 12:28 AM UTC
Wonderfull. I love the paint job.
Pixilater
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Massachusetts, United States
Joined: March 16, 2005
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Posted: Sunday, April 16, 2006 - 04:16 AM UTC
Thanks AJ, Vance, John, Keith, Mal, Mark, Andy, and Carlos ! I really appreciate the kind words.

Keith - if you look at the tail "guns" (broomsticks), you'll notice that they're black. The other guns are Alcad II steel. I also painted the "slits" on the tailcone VERY carefully. This was the location of the fake guns, in order to discourage tail attacks.

Andy - The nosegear strut broke when I was almost finished. I added extra weight to the engine nacelles, and I took some pics where the tail was supported by paint bottles. The weight in the nose and nacelles was supported only by the nosegear strut, which broke (in the cylinder, of course!). I fixed it with Zap-A-Gap CA.

Thanks again !
almonkey
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England - East Midlands, United Kingdom
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Posted: Sunday, April 16, 2006 - 02:30 PM UTC
hi bill! thats a cracker of a kit, i especially like the detail in the top turret, you've got it looking nice and busy. i see what you mean about painting the tail gun/broom slits carefully! i'm beginning to use vac canopies myself on models, they look all the better on a kit like this with its "greenhouse" cockpit
Pixilater
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Massachusetts, United States
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Posted: Monday, April 17, 2006 - 05:42 PM UTC
Thanks Phil !

Working with vac canopies requires a LOT of patience. After you cut them loose, the trimming "ritual" takes place. To fit these, I had to work from the nose first. All three of these must be trimmed to fit with the fuselage, and with eachother. It would have been much simpler to use the kit parts, but the vacs are beautifully clear and thin. Since there's so little surface area for attaching them, I use Zap-A-Gap CA to attach them. Dipping the canopies in Future prevents fogging.

You can see the three forward canopies in this pic:


Thanks again !
propboy44256
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Ohio, United States
Joined: November 20, 2002
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Posted: Monday, April 17, 2006 - 06:34 PM UTC
I think this person was right, They stripped alot of the heavy stuff out, including the guns. I think they also added extra gas tanks, hence the need to reduce overall plane weight


Quoted Text

Nice job Bill! She's a beaut!
Didn't some or all of the planes have their .50 Cal guns replaced with broom sticks to save weight? That would be cool to replicate.

Somewhat Off Topic:
The Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio is hosting a Doolittel Raider Reunion. Here is some info for anyone in the Dayton area, or those willing to travel, who may be interested:


National Museum of the USAF
Public Affairs Division
1100 Spaatz St.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433-7102
(937) 255-4704 ext. 330, 331, 332, 333

NEWS RELEASE

06-041
March 16, 2006
Public: Call (937) 255-8046, ext. 496
Media: Rob Bardua (937) 255-4704, ext. 330
Sarah Parke (937) 255-4704, ext. 332

NINE DOOLITTLE RAIDERS SCHEDULED TO PARTICIPATE IN REUNION
AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE

DAYTON, Ohio – The Doolittle Raiders, a group that helped restore American morale during World War II, are scheduled to celebrate their 64th annual reunion at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force from April 17 through 21.

Nine of the surviving 16 Raiders are scheduled to attend the reunion, which will include several public events such as a dinner and lecture, memorial service, exhibit dedication and autograph sessions.

A memorial service will be held at the museum’s Memorial Park on Tuesday, April 18, at 2 p.m. An autograph session with the Doolittle Raiders will follow the service.


Pixilater
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Massachusetts, United States
Joined: March 16, 2005
KitMaker: 231 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, April 18, 2006 - 08:47 PM UTC
Yes Johnny, they fitted extra fuel tanks. The kit only includes the one located in the top of the bombay. I used Alcad II metallics:

Another collapsable fuel tank was located in the crawlspace above the bombay.

Here are pics of the interior. I used WEM's Yellow Zinc Chromate in the rear compartment, and Model Master Euro Dark Green (very close match to Dark Dull Green).









Thanks again !
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