"Hell's Bells" B-25D, Port Moresby, 1943.
Comments
2 February 2017, 12:26
Michael HickeyThank You Gary and Jay. All your comments are very encouraging.🙂
7 February 2017, 01:49
Spanjaardreally nice so far. the metallic interior is simply perfect! well done !
7 February 2017, 11:04
Michael HickeyThanks Spanjaard, hoping to get to work on her today, haven't had much of a chance of late.
8 February 2017, 00:12
Michael HickeyGot the 4 cannons in the nose and got the nose fitted to the fuselage. I'll let it sit now while I go and work on my Kinetic Hellenic F-16C BLK 52+ for a bit.
8 February 2017, 04:22
Michael HickeyThought I might try and get the engines painted so I can then go and finish of the cowls, then she should be just about ready for the paint shop finally.🙂
25 May 2017, 05:48
Clifford KeeslerI like it. I was trying to figure out what scheme to do my B-25 in, I already have a Olive Drab and grey one and a NMF one. Well I was just kind of surfing B-25 color schemes, and I stumbeled across a Navy PBJ-1, I did not realize the Navy even flew B-25's, DUUUHHHHH! Anyway my next one will be a Navy PBJ-1.
27 May 2017, 01:13
Michael HickeyThanks Cliffy, yeah I had trouble trying to figure out what markings I was going to do this one, but finally with some reluctance decided to tackle the, "Bat on the Nose". Hopefully, maybe, tonight I'll start putting some color on her.
27 May 2017, 01:48
Michael HickeyThanks, hopefully applying the bleu on the nose won't be to difficult.
27 May 2017, 16:26
Michael HickeyAt last put a bit of color on this beast, I didn't want to give her a solid cover of paint as I want to show her sun baked from the tropical sun.
1 June 2017, 01:54
Michael HickeyThanks Cliffy, letting her sit a side now so the paint probably dries. In the mean time I'll be working on my British F-4 which should be finished soon.
1 June 2017, 22:12
Michael HickeyYeah she's a Hasegawa kit, I think I've got somewhere between 20 and 30 Hasegawa F-4 Phantom's of different variants. I've also got a lot of resin after market stuff for them as well which I reproduce myself, because there is just no way I could afford to buy the resin goodies for every kit. In the not to distant future I want to build an F-4E with sharks mouth and in the Lizard scheme fully loaded with inert Mk.82 LDGP's.🙂
2 June 2017, 04:46
Michael HickeyThis bird has sat long enough on the fence, time to get her finished. Painted the blue on the edge of the engine nacelles and the blue for the bats head, pics soon I hope.
20 March 2018, 03:14
Michael Hickey@Soren, thanks mate, just applied the the light blue for the bats head and engine nacelles. Tomorrow morning I'll spray the rest of the neutral grey on the undersides, green blotches and white lower fin. Still very warm here, it's 27 degrees at 9:20 p.m.
20 March 2018, 10:22
Clifford KeeslerLooking good Michael. What is 27 degrees in farienhiet, for us uneducated.
20 March 2018, 20:38
Michael HickeyThanks Cliffy, and that would be 80.6 Fahrenheit. I had to look that up as I had no idea.😢
20 March 2018, 20:45
Michael HickeyI got back up at about 1:30 a.m and sprayed the neutral grey and took the masking of for the bats head. Now the green blotches and white lower fin, then a gloss coat and decaling tomorrow morning. WoooHooo!!😄
20 March 2018, 20:48
Clifford KeeslerWell that isn't to bad, could be 100. But I imagine it is tricky painting with it that warm.
20 March 2018, 20:49
Michael Hickey@Cliffy, at least the humidity was low.
@ForestFan, thanks mate, so far so good. The only real problem so far is the broken forward oleo that wants to keep snappng so I just leave it for now.
20 March 2018, 20:54
Clifford KeeslerMetal gear mate. I know I am being very careful with the 104. Did not think to get metal gear for it and the nose gear is very wobbly.
20 March 2018, 20:57
Michael HickeyYes, I should have invested in some, probably get some for the next B-25. Not keen on those wobbly legs.
20 March 2018, 21:44
Michael HickeyI would highly recommend these Accurate Miniature (Italeri) B-25's to anyone, they are busting with nice interior details and go together extremely well. Any construction problems were my own doing, mainly the mess on the tail section. The decals from Aeromaster shouldn't give any problems even though they are 14 years old. Need to give her a gloss coat this morning and work on the engine nacelles, mainly put the rest of the vents around the trailing edge and fit the engines.
21 March 2018, 00:08
Michael HickeyThanks Cliffy, I'm pleased to say I have another one as well as this one was really enjoyable to build. I've just about got all the decals on her now including the fearsome looking bats head. But first I need to finish spraying my Worimi F/A-18 then the pics will follow.
22 March 2018, 22:02
Michael HickeyJust need to touch up some blue where it didn't match the decal, then onto the weathering.
23 March 2018, 05:58
Björn SvedbergNice work Michael! 👍
The B-25 is one of my favourite planes, and the accurate miniatures kit has really nice detail, especially internal detail. Too bad most of it is hidden when the plane is finished..
23 March 2018, 07:17
Michael HickeyYes it is a shame that all that lovely interior detail gets locked away, thanks, Bjorn.
23 March 2018, 07:39
Erik LeijdensThat is looking amazing Michael! I started my AM B-25 once too but have a problem with the "sit" of the wings. When looked upon from the front it looks like one engine is facing upwards. No idea how this happend. She is on the shelf of doom now..
23 March 2018, 08:26
Michael HickeyThanks Leijdens, you didn't happen to get the engine mixed up or something.
23 March 2018, 12:40
Michael HickeyThanks James, I've painted the area between the ears olive drab now. So now time to mix up some old oils and do the wash.😢
7 April 2018, 07:28
JensWOW Michael, the wish list is getting bigger, are the weights for the nose in the Italeri edition too, or do you have to adjust something with lead yourself?
7 April 2018, 07:45
Michael HickeyNo the weight is from a lead sheet I bought years ago and I just cut it up in pieces as I need it. The Ju88A-6 is already on my desk waiting patiently for the end of this one.
7 April 2018, 07:53
Michael HickeyYour to kind John, the wash is done, as is the dot technique done to the upper surface, she also received a flat coat. Now time to remove the Tamiya tape from all the glazing.
7 April 2018, 12:18
Björn SvedbergYes, really nice! 👍
Removing the masking from the canopy is the best.😉
7 April 2018, 14:05
Michael Hickeythank you muchly fellas, the clear parts are all unmasked and I'm pretty happy with the results, pics tomorrow. It's after 1 a.m here.
7 April 2018, 15:15
Rene ScheiblichWhen did you do that? Totally missed it 😄
Looks good mate. The light blue/olive drab contrast looks very striking.😎
7 April 2018, 15:31
Michael HickeyThanks Rene, I've had this one on & off the bench for a while now, I'll be happy to see her in the cabinet.
8 April 2018, 01:22
Michael HickeyThanks Cliffy. I need to do some more weathering to her before I put the undercarriage in place.
8 April 2018, 03:39
Germen Vright, leave ther undercarriage off till the very last moment, the nose gear snaps very easy.
8 April 2018, 17:35
Michael HickeyThanks Fellas, I'm hoping the metal undercarriage turns up soon, I ordered it 2 weeks ago from Model Hobbies in the U.K. If it's not here in the next day or so I'll have to steal the forward nose oleo from my other Accurate Miniatures B-25, so as not get held up.
9 April 2018, 02:23
Rene ScheiblichVery nice. The engines are little gems to behold, nice brushwork there mate.
I wish you luck with your undercarriage... Hopefully you have more luck with that shop than I had 🙂
9 April 2018, 04:28
Michael HickeyThe undercarriage turned up after lunch, but I'm far from impressed. There all twisted and bent out of shape, hopefully they won't snap when I'm reshaping them. Thanks again Rene.
9 April 2018, 07:35
Michael Hickeymmmm... thanks, don't feel like finishing her now, I'm really struggling with her.
9 April 2018, 11:55
Michael HickeyThat's what I have and I'm not impressed, I must have got a dodgy set. Anyway there in place now, I'll let them set for a while before I put the wheels on.
9 April 2018, 15:57
Rene ScheiblichSome gentle violence bent them to your will?😉
Do those come in a see-through blister like the Eduard Brassin stuff?
9 April 2018, 16:05
gorbySAC haven't got a good reputation for quality apparently:
britmodeller.com/for..lity-control-anyone/
9 April 2018, 16:07
Germen Vbefore you bent heat it a little bit with something like a soldering iron
9 April 2018, 16:26
Clifford KeeslerHuh that is strange, my SAC stuff has always been good. I also use G factor, they are made of brass.
9 April 2018, 22:21
Michael HickeyThanks for the tips guys, I've got the undercarriage in place but unfortunately have a 4mm to 5mm hieght difference from one wing to the other🙁. I think she needs to sit for a wee while or she might go walling.😢
10 April 2018, 00:56
Michael PhillipsMan, another really cool looking scheme Michael! You really have good taste. Even this subject falls outside of my normal area of interest, I think it is really cool and looks awesome so far. I will be following along!
10 April 2018, 03:56
Michael HickeyThanks Michael, I'm glad you like her.
@Cliffy, I think I'll go mow the lawn and clear my head.
@Rene, I've used the original kit parts for the main undercarriage and they look like there in correctly, I'll have to check some other measurements along the wing.
10 April 2018, 04:49
Rene ScheiblichYou're fighting through some rough kits right now it seems. But so far nothing got walled🙂
Don't catch a sunburn while mowing😎
10 April 2018, 07:35
Michael HickeyYour right Rene, I think I've upset the modelling gods and their making my life a little difficult at the moment. On the plus side I did open a Dragon 1/48 Ju88C-6 and discovered the beginnings of a Mistel, I'll pair her up with a Bf 109F-4 I think when the time comes. As for mowing it was nice and overcast, hopefully it will rain tomorrow and get me out of doing the front yard.😢
10 April 2018, 08:57
Michael HickeyBesides walling this plane I now know what I need to do to get her looking right again.
10 April 2018, 13:02
Rene ScheiblichNah they're just testing your endurance😉 to make you better than you already are 😄
Mistel? Kitbashed together? That's ambitious I guess.
What's going to be the fix for the B-25?
Over here it's quite sunny. As a bonus, I've got the rest of the week off (but a bad forecast... jeez).
10 April 2018, 14:30
Germen VMaybe you can work on the tyres a little bit, one a little flatter than the other
10 April 2018, 15:14
Michael HickeyMy answer to the whole situation is to cheat. I'm going to put her on a dio and put the offending wing up on a lift that I will scratch build. I've got some maintenance figures out of a couple of Monogram kits that I've got in the stash, it's also got a tow tractor and a bomb cart. As a bonus I've got a Tamiya 1/48 Jeep I can put into the scene as well, so I will now turn the whole thing into a busy dio.😄
10 April 2018, 21:04
Michael HickeyI just need the motivation to do it. I thought this was going in the cabinet a lot sooner, oh well just have to push on through with it now.
11 April 2018, 01:33
Germen Valso a very nice solution, or even a more simple solutions, buy the Tamiya 6x6 Tanker, so you can justice the inbalance off te wings due to the fact of fueling.
12 April 2018, 05:28
Michael HickeyNow that's a good idea German V, might just have to go that way I think. For the moment I'm not going to put her on a dio, just going to live with her the way she is and do a dio later on. At the moment I've had enough of this bird, all I have to do now is attach the whip antenna and paint the .50 cals on the nose.
12 April 2018, 06:10
JensOhhh Michael, ohhh Michael, you go from one adventure to the next,
Apart from the idea to build the Ju 88 as a mistletoe, there is a mistake here, the G 1 or G 10 was not with the Bf 109 only With the Fw 190 as a piggyback, that was because of the engines, only the Fw 190 could be supplied with the jet fuel, the Bf 109 had other gas😢, the mistletoe to your taste, but now the current concern box, I 'll say German, "nice shit" these are passport problems that can only be solved at the tap but if you do not understand it, it looks quite natural in the pictures
As for your desire for rain, mhh, we Europeans are probably a little more spoiled, and at 40 degrees in the shade you want to cool any guy 😄, but I would not drive the rain into the house, even more Western Brown or Taipan if I did Love animals, but something between them and me I really like: D and rain brings the snakes always out of hiding 🙂
12 April 2018, 10:18
Michael HickeyI thought I saw pictures of a Bf 109 on the back of a Ju 88 in my Mistel book I have, never mind the Mistel is a little down in the project que ( which changes all the time due to the fact of my loose pair of blinkers. )
This morning all I need to do to the B-25 is clean up the whip antenna and photograph her, and then hope she fits in my cabinet. Then I will repair a 1/48 Tamiya Bf 109E, then I'll get onto the Ju 88 with the cable cutter.
13 April 2018, 01:36
Michael HickeyAs for the weather it's a nice cool 25 degrees celsius with a very nice sea breeze blowing in.
13 April 2018, 01:38
JensYes Michael, there are pictures of Mistel with the Bf 109 F as the upper part, but usually because of the range enlargement of the hunters, a Fw 190 was selected in sharp use, in school machines that was not important. I also heard in the research on mistletoe, the gasoline procurement could also be a problem when the Bf 109 was also used, then had to be stored 1/3 more quantities of gas than stock, which at the time could also be a problem
13 April 2018, 06:12
Michael HickeyThanks for the info Jens, might make this one a wreck after the wars end. I've got 2 other Dragon Mistel kits with the 190, I've also got the Dragons 262/Ta 152 Mistel combo as well. Or at least I think it was a 262 on top can't quite remember.
13 April 2018, 07:50
JensYes Michael, there was the project Mistl of Dragon as Me 262 (is in work 🙂), He 162 (dusty in the cardboard untouched) and Ta 154 (missing in my warehouse 🙁),
but where, as you should use with the Bf 109 more a Ju 88 C or A conversion, the early versions were all A models from collection points of the Air Force, rarely that such aircraft were made operational again, but as a spare part dispensers were in stock summarized
13 April 2018, 08:12
Michael HickeyYes Cliffy, she is done.
[img1]
I added a second album to this project of the completed build.
14 April 2018, 02:09
Album info
This "Mitchell" is the B-25D-5 "130" (41-30019) "Hell's Belles" of the 499th BS, 345th BG, USAAF. Piloted by 1st Lt.Kenneth D.McClure. Port Moresby, New Guinea, November 1943.
