Italeri 1/48 Douglas A-20B/Boston III Free French Air Force

[Roland]

Right, even though I haven't got a snowballs chance (after looking at the excellent builds going on here) I am thinking you have to start somewhere and taking part is actually more fun than anything else. So, that being said, it's time for me to take part in my first ever Group Build. I am really excited and think it is going to be alot of fun.

My Subject of choice is the Douglas Boston III used by the Free French Air Force to lay smoke cover for the landing craft on D-Day. Interestingly enough one plane went down at dawn with the first 3 casualties of the day. I wanted to do something different and I think this plane fits perfectly.

Note: After a while I will be changing the pics in the first post to thumbnails to save space and prevent people having to scroll forever

Here is the Kit:



Quite a bit in the box:


Sprue shots (lots of detail and only a little flash here and there. Looks fairly decent and should build up pretty nicely:




















Weighted Wheels are a nice touch, Tire tread seems a bit excessive though:


Clear parts are seperatly bagged and are quite clear. Might dip them in Klear just in case:


Decals are beautiful...I was really surprised to see they are by cartograf. Nice addition!


I will spare you the instructions (there are a few pages - can happily add them if you want to see them)

However I do want to show you the version I am doing. It is the one on the left:


Right, time for some background research on the plane and then I will start the build. I will make seperate posts for those points.

Additionally I am using the eduard etch sets for the Cockpit and details, Undercarriage and the Mask set:


I am REALLY looking forward to this!

[Roland]

Right, here is some Background on the Squadron and the Douglas Boston III. Unfortunately I have not been able to find specific Information on the exact Aircraft I am going to build with the Reg BZ201.

342 SQUADRON
Motto:

"Nous y sommes" ("Here we are")

Badge:

On a billet in bend indented to the base, three alérions

History of 342 Squadron:
No.342 Squadron was formed on 7 April 1943 at West Raynham, from personnel of Escadrilles 'Metz' and 'Nancy' transferred
from the Middle East, these titles being adopted by A and B Flights respectively. Equipped with Bostons the squadron began operations on 12 June, flying daylight raids on targets in northern France. Early in 1944 attacks on flying-bomb sites in the Pas-de-Calais began and as the time of the landings in Normandy approached, No.342 took part in an interdiction campaign to isolate the invasion area from the rest of France. Day and night missions were flown against enemy communications targets until the Allied break out and in October 1944 the squadron moved to France. Bostons continued to be used until 31 March 1945, Mitchells having begun to arrive as replacements. After moving to the Netherlands, these began tactical bombing on 9 April, but on 2 May operations ended. On 2 December 1945, No.342 was transferred to the Armée de l'Air.

No.342 (French) Squadron G.B. I/20 'Lorraine' was a French bomber squadron that carried out daylight bombing raids from 1943-44, then day and night bombing raids to support the invasion of Europe.

The squadron was equipped with Boston medium bombers. Operations began on 12 June 1943, and the squadron flew daylight raids over Northern France. Early in 1944 V-1 sites were added to the target list. As D-Day came closer the squadron took part in the campaign against communications and transport targets in France, intended to cut Normandy off from the rest of France.

After D-Day the squadron flew day and night, still against the same targets. In October the squadron moved to bases in France, to get closer to its targets. The squadron remained operational until 31 March 1945, at which point it paused to complete conversion to the Mitchell. These aircraft were only used for a short period - operations began on 9 April and ended on 2 May. The squadron remained in the Netherlands until 2 December 1945, when it was passed to the Armée de l'Air.

Aircraft
April 1943-April 1945: Douglas Boston IIIA
August 1944-April 1945: Douglas Boston IV
March-December 1945: North American Mitchell II
May-December 1945: North American Mitchell III

Location
April-May 1943: West Raynham
May-July 1943: Sculthorpe
July-September 1943: Great Massingham
September 1943-October 1944: Hartfordbridge
October 1944-April 1945: B.50 Vitry-en-Artois
April-December 1945: B.77 Gilze-Rijen

Squadron Codes: OA

Duty
1943-1945: 2nd Tactical Air Force, day and night bombing

Part of
6 June 1944: No.137 Wing; No.2 Group; Second Tactical Air Force; Allied Expeditionary Air Force

Aircraft:

Douglas Boston

Entering service with Bomber Command in July 1941, the Boston was well liked by its crews which flew it in the light day bomber role.

The first Boston IIIs were delivered from America in summer 1941, the first squadron to receive them being No 88 based at Swanton Morley in Norfolk. It was some time (8 months) before their operational debut - an anti-shipping raid on 12 February 1942.

The aircraft replaced ageing Blenheim IVs in No 2 Group of Bomber Command and continued to be used in daylight raids on targets over occupied countries. Many attacks were made at low-level to avoid detection by German radar sites and, during the summer of 1942, a number of daring attacks were carried out; power stations, factories and railway yards being amongst the most common targets.

In June 1943, No 2 Group transferred to the newly-formed Second Tactical Air Force in preparation for the invasion of Europe where they served until April 1945 and were replaced by Mosquitos.

Three Douglas Boston aircraft flying
Specifications

Details for Boston III

Length: 47ft 0in (14.32m)
Wingspan: 61ft 4in (18.69m)
Height: 15ft 10in (4.82m)
Maximum Speed: 304mph (490km/h)
Cruising Speed: 250mph (403km/h)
Ceiling: 24,250ft (7,389m)
Range: 1,020 miles (1,645 km) with max load
Powerplant: Two Wright Cyclone GR2600 of 1,600hp each
Payload: 2,000lb (908kg)
Defensive Armament: 4 x .303 machine guns in fixed nose position, 2 x .303 hand-operated guns in mid-upper and mid-lower postions.
Recognition: Slim, deep-sided fuselage with large tail on the rear fuselage. Heavily-framed glazed nose. Tricycle undercarriage with mainwheels retracting into engine nacelles.

Sources:
RAF Website: http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/douglasboston.cfm
Rickard, J (22 November 2011), No. 342 Squadron (RAF): Second World War, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/342_wwII.html

[Roland]

Well then, let's get on with it.....

First off some cleanup is needed before the etch can go on. Some bits need to be cut off, others need sanding:




Etch bits going on


Here you can see the difference between the Kit part as it is and what it looks like with the extra etch bits:



Using the etch was a bit trying at times and in hindsight I am not sure how much you will really see. Still it was a learning experience.

PE for the Liferaft Area


Pre and Post etch in the rear area:



Cockpit bits painted up and put together




I then found out I'd done the seat wrong and that there was no rear cushion. So a repaint and a redo was in order


The rear Gunner Position was unremarkable and went together quite easily, couple of etch bits included


Time to button her up:


Wing and Tail construction:


Complete construction with the Eduard Undercarriage Etch set - this was a test of my nerves to say the least....again another area that you will rarely see


Wings and Tail on


Wheel wells sprayed


First test fit of a scratch built raft - just for some eye candy


Liferaft sanded and painted and another test fit


Time for some primer


Pre Shading


First few coats on



Paint done and a bit of post shading (which I seem to have lost after adding the gloss coat




Giving her her Stripes - This was interesting as there were some nooks and crannies that needed exclusion (e.g. Wing join between the Wing and the Fuselage)



Happy with the final result


Couple of gloss coats


Finally - Decal Time! This Kit has Cartograf decals which are a dream to work with. However it will take some fiddling and lots of Micro Sol to get the Tail Decals to sit properly all the way around:


Next up - Gloss coat to seal, weathering and then she should be done!

What I can say about this Kit is it has good parts and bad parts. Some bits (like the Bomb rack) Italeri kinda just goes "Well stick it in the general area it'll be ok....no pins, guide markings, nothing. The Eduard etch does liven it up, in Hindsight I do not know if I would buy it again though because you really do not see very much. But it is there and I did enjoy doing it so it was worthwhile - and it does detail up the plane very nicely.

The general Fit of the Kit is pretty good, with some areas needing a bit of work. The Seams and connections are not too bad, a bit of Putty and sanding take care of that. Also the Painting and Marking guide is a bit - iffy lets say, especially when showing panel lines that are not on the model itself - great for orientation!

At the end of the day it is not a bad kit for the money and with a bit of effort you can build a nice A-20B out of it That said, adding the Eduard etch bits does bump up the time needed and the complexity quite a bit. I am not fully sure if it is worth it, as I have mentioned before.

[FishBowlMan]

Ooh, interesting choice of topic. Seems like a nice kit as well.

Look forward to seeing this one come together.

[Willem]

I've often seen this kit here and there but never splashed the cash. It will be great to see how yours builds up.

Welcome to the GB, the most important thing is to have fun.

[Roland]

Right, History Updated. I have not started the build yet because I am still trying to decide if I want to use Photoetch or not. Also have been thinking about getting resin wheels, not sure to be honest.
The resin set does come with a life raft but I had some milliput putty left over from another project last night so I made one myself (pics will follow in the build log).

decisions, decisions.....really not sure if I should just build it OOB and save the extra cash for another model kit or go whole hog and get all the bits which will literally double the kit price....

[UKguyInUSA]

That looks like a decent kit, some nice details on the molded parts....look forward to watching you build this one!

[Roland]

Photoetch has finally arrived,the build can start. Going to be a close one

[Roland]

Finally added the Build log - enjoy!