#53 Academy 1/72 B-24H liberator

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Thu May 10, 2018 9:00 pm

Here we go, was inspired by the book unbroken, this is a different version from the one in thd book but im super excited about it.

B-24 start by John Adcox, on Flickr

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Thu May 10, 2018 10:08 pm

Cool

Nice start Sir.

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Fri May 11, 2018 1:42 am

here's the sprues out of the bags

More b-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr
minus the cockpit parts i started prepping

More b-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr
they're tiny little suckers, not much detail might try and see if i can add some even if its not really visible i could use to practice since i'm super new to this.

couple of injection marks on the seats here goes my first time using putty.

More b-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Fri May 11, 2018 2:15 am

Great start indeed, your pics are looking fine

Welcome to the sig and good luck with the build.
We are here for fun, so post lots and ask tons of questions

Scott

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Sat May 12, 2018 5:49 am

so here's my little experiment trying to add a little detail to the cockpit, dabbed a little putty on the panel

B-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr
cleaned it up a little and sanded it, not perfect but i'm pleased, think it'll look good after paint.

B-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

demarcation · Post by **demarcation** » Sat May 12, 2018 8:51 pm

Nice choice buddy!!

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Sat May 12, 2018 10:46 pm

so i'm getting some painting practice in on some other kits before getting to this one since i'm just starting out and have only built one model since i was a kid and am using an airbrush for the first time, but i have not been completely unproductive, since there were no particular plane name decals for this model i went ahead and ordered this set of decals from mikegrantdecals.com

B-24 decals by John Adcox, on Flickr
love the history on this bomber too 130 missions without crashing and no crew killed. lets hope that luck rubs off on me and keeps me from crashing and burning on this build!

B-24 decals by John Adcox, on Flickr

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Sat May 12, 2018 11:02 pm

B-24 history by John Adcox, on Flickr

B-24 history by John Adcox, on Flickr
sorry for the choppiness they are screenshots

pourquoi61 · Post by **pourquoi61** » Sun May 13, 2018 8:46 pm

I think that I have this kit re-boxed.
Love the history blurb.

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Mon May 14, 2018 4:23 am

and so it begins

B-24 paint by John Adcox, on Flickr
thought about the more drab green but ive seen pictures with both the drab and the darker green and figure a little contrast beetween the in and out would be nice. wasn't sure what to paint those box things by the guns, not sure what they are even, looking at pictures ive seen little wood stepped edges on the compartment so figured again since it will hardly be seen ill just go with it as is.

B-24 paint by John Adcox, on Flickr
after dry brush and spray wash

B-24 paint by John Adcox, on Flickr

B-24 paint by John Adcox, on Flickr
the gunmetal i used was a little more silver than i thought it would be, the instructions called for black on the guns and the holders but pictures i saw showed the arms the same green as the interior. thought about doing a wash with a brush also to weather everything a bit more but since it will all barely be seen at all i decided im happy with how it looks which is darker than the pictures show

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Mon May 14, 2018 4:36 am

this shot shows the color a little more accurately

P_20180513_233029 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Post by **Tomcat64** » Mon May 14, 2018 2:39 pm

Nice work so far - and great detail in the history section too

Looking forward to seeing how you progress.

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Mon May 14, 2018 2:48 pm

Tomcat64 wrote: ↑Mon May 14, 2018 2:39 pm Nice work so far - and great detail in the history section too

Looking forward to seeing how you progress.

thanks, having alot of fun doing this sig, kind of a crash course for me and this is great motivation and insperation seeing all the great work everybody is doing. I was super excited to come across those decals and to be able to do a bomber with such a great history.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Mon May 14, 2018 4:37 pm

You are a great addition to the sig and ISM
Keep it up, glad you hear are having fun
Door prize draw coming up this weekend

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Tue May 15, 2018 7:42 pm

If ever i say im going to do another 1/72 bomber, please smack me, not that this is a bad kit so far the fit is great pretty much no flash, but the lack of the details that make bombers so awesome is a little bit of a bummer, but the real kicker is not having the tiny little midget elf fingers needed to mask these tiny little turret domes is a little frustrating.

Les0012 · Post by **Les0012** » Tue May 15, 2018 10:14 pm

Starting to look the biz, you’re doing a great job.

Les

digger303 · Post by **digger303** » Wed May 16, 2018 4:46 am

Johno wrote: ↑Tue May 15, 2018 7:42 pm If ever i say im going to do another 1/72 bomber, please smack me, not that this is a bad kit so far the fit is great pretty much no flash, but the lack of the details that make bombers so awesome is a little bit of a bummer, but the real kicker is not having the tiny little midget elf fingers needed to mask these tiny little turret domes is a little frustrating.

Despite that it looks like your doing a great job.

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Wed May 16, 2018 8:06 am

thanks for the encouragement and positive remarks guys

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Wed May 16, 2018 8:22 am

so finally got the guts all prepped for paint there were a few injector marks in the fuselage but were easily sanded out.
there were a couple on this part to that needed filling, probably could have gotten away with leaving them, but as you can see i need the practice working with the putty so i went for it

IMG_6833 by John Adcox, on Flickr
got all the gut painted up

IMG_6835 by John Adcox, on Flickr
gave up on trying to tape mask the ball turret so decided to try using little dabs of PVA and painstakingly and meticulously manipulating it, having to wipe off and redo each pane multiple times,it didnt come out perfect but i gotta say for the first time trying to mask a canopy i think it came out awesome and im pretty proud of it

IMG_6859 by John Adcox, on Flickr

IMG_6855 by John Adcox, on Flickr

IMG_6854 by John Adcox, on Flickr

IMG_6851 by John Adcox, on Flickr
although i did realize i left tiny little sprue marks and forgot to spray a wash on it before taking off the masking, but figure i can still touch it up and brush on a wash without affecting the windows so all and all a very good day for me

Les0012 · Post by **Les0012** » Fri May 18, 2018 9:30 am

Coming on very well

Les

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Sat May 19, 2018 9:21 am

Finally some real progress made!!!
Bombs painted, ufortunetly the instructions say there should be 12 but there were only 8 and its not that they were missing or broken off the sprues theres no spot where they should be at all

IMG_6862 by John Adcox, on Flickr
Finished a little weathering on the guts, and installed them

More b24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

IMG_6867 by John Adcox, on Flickr
the one weird thing is that the cone of the plane is seperate from the rest and there were no guide pegs to line it up to the main body which made fitting it straight pretty tough

IMG_6864 by John Adcox, on Flickr
But with much fiddleing, and knocking off the landing gear and one of the machine gun barells and having to reglue them and one minor rookie mistake of a small glue fingerprint by one of the seams i eventually got it

More b24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

More b24 by John Adcox, on Flickr
Oh and i also lost 2 of the extemely tiny itty bitty little windows on the side they each just popped out of my hand and went flying and i looked and looked but the carpet ate them, but all in all a i feel real good about it so far and had a good couple days.

alextheblue · Post by **alextheblue** » Sat May 19, 2018 2:37 pm

That's really coming on, looks great. Fantastic job of masking by the way!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sat May 19, 2018 2:42 pm

Nice work

I foresee a few of those little side windows popping out in mine too
A little Micro Clear or even just white glue will recreate the window without tearing then fuselage apart.....after your paint.
Stick a sponge in there to protect the innerds from paint
Good progress, I really like the bomb rack

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Sun May 20, 2018 8:01 am

alextheblue wrote: ↑Sat May 19, 2018 2:37 pm That's really coming on, looks great. Fantastic job of masking by the way!

thanks, all in all things have been going together great on this, masking that turrets was a little maddening but otherwise its been pretty smooth

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Sun May 20, 2018 8:05 am

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Sat May 19, 2018 2:42 pm Nice work
I foresee a few of those little side windows popping out in mine too
A little Micro Clear or even just white glue will recreate the window without tearing then fuselage apart.....after your paint.
Stick a sponge in there to protect the innerds from paint
Good progress, I really like the bomb rack

i found one window the next morning im wondering if i can still get it in from the outside, havent attempted it yet. How should i go about using white glue to make the window after paint

Les0012 · Post by **Les0012** » Sun May 20, 2018 9:53 am

I would advise if you can get it to use this Micro Kristal Klear to make your window.

Instructions say if forming windows 1/4" or smaller, after model has been painted use a toothpick to apply the substance around the edges of the window opening drawing the material across to form a film across the entire gap. When dry the film form a thin clear pane of glass. Clean surrounding area with water whilst wet.

I would imagine the same principle applies to the pva glue method.

61 by Les Goodison, on Flickr

62 by Les Goodison, on Flickr

Hope that helps you out a little.

Les

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sun May 20, 2018 2:28 pm

pourquoi61 · Post by **pourquoi61** » Sun May 20, 2018 5:14 pm

Great work and nice "eggs".

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Sun May 20, 2018 6:59 pm

Les0012 wrote: ↑Sun May 20, 2018 9:53 am I would advise if you can get it to use this Micro Kristal Klear to make your window.

Instructions say if forming windows 1/4" or smaller, after model has been painted use a toothpick to apply the substance around the edges of the window opening drawing the material across to form a film across the entire gap. When dry the film form a thin clear pane of glass. Clean surrounding area with water whilst wet.

I would imagine the same principle applies to the pva glue method.

61 by Les Goodison, on Flickr
62 by Les Goodison, on Flickr

Hope that helps you out a little.

Les

great thanks I'll check that stuff out

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Thu May 24, 2018 12:31 am

More progress made, got the wings on and tail section on

More b24 by John Adcox, on Flickr
The fit on this model has been great everything has been nice and snug with only a few tiny seems that need just a bit of fill.

More b24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

More b24 by John Adcox, on Flickr
Ok great fit until this, been wondering what i was gonna do about painting these turrets since the guns go inside and i was worried about if i assembled them first and pre painted the guns to get a seamless paint on them that i would end up breaking the guns, so i was dry fitting them to brainstorm and realized the guns don't fit they are too big to fit the two halves together and im kinda stumped

More b24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

pourquoi61 · Post by **pourquoi61** » Wed May 30, 2018 10:55 pm

Excellent build mate and when the paint is now this bird will fly.

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Fri Jun 08, 2018 6:23 am

pourquoi61 wrote: ↑Wed May 30, 2018 10:55 pm Excellent build mate and when the paint is now this bird will fly.

thanks, looking forward to getting this bird airborn

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Fri Jun 08, 2018 6:50 am

So finally got some bench time in again and its been frustrating but not too bad.

More n more b24 by John Adcox, on Flickr
Tried my hand at rescibing for the first time, now i understand why people say they hate it so much went a little heavty handed at first and even using the dymo tape as a guide i had some slip ups but was able to sand things down to acceptably flawed for me

More n more b24 by John Adcox, on Flickr
And got priming done

Next was on to my first try at preshading and my airbrush was being very finicky, it kept clogging on me even when i went super thin with the paint not sure what the issue was had just fully cleaned the brush before starting, its only a 40 dollar brush so i expected little issues but this was supremely frustrating it would put out less n less paint then just blow out paint tried playing with the psi, thinning it more and it just kept doing it, but i got it at least acceptably flawed for my standards for now

More n more b24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Missed some spots but was getting so frustrated i need to quit before i went nuts

More n more b24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Post by **Tomcat64** » Fri Jun 08, 2018 2:16 pm

Good progress there mate - rescribing is definitely high on my list of pet hates for aircraft building.

Looking forward to seeing it come to life with the paintwork.

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Fri Jun 08, 2018 11:20 pm

Almost forgot, i got these in the mail the other day, cant wait to bring this bird to life!

P_20180608_181317 by John Adcox, on Flickr

demarcation · Post by **demarcation** » Sat Jun 09, 2018 10:12 pm

Looks nice, keep up the great work!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sun Jun 10, 2018 4:44 pm

Oh yea

Can’t wait to see the paint and decals to bring her up to life
ALL Good so far

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Tue Jun 12, 2018 1:53 am

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Sun Jun 10, 2018 4:44 pm Oh yea
Can’t wait to see the paint and decals to bring her up to life
ALL Good so far

demarcation wrote: ↑Sat Jun 09, 2018 10:12 pm Looks nice, keep up the great work!

thanks guys getting more excited to see her done the farther i get

Willem · Post by **Willem** » Tue Jun 12, 2018 6:21 am

Looks like it's going to be a killer scheme.

I'm with you on the rescribing.

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Sat Jul 07, 2018 8:10 pm

Ok, its been a minute, had to do some dead tour, but im back in action.

Got the body painted up

B24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

B24 by John Adcox, on Flickr
Still have to paint the landing gear compartments, probably should have done it before assembling the wings, but again all part of the learning process

B24 by John Adcox, on Flickr
Both the machine gun barells broke off finally to never be seen again, plotting on replacements, i have a bunch of old cable tv wires, they look like a proper thickness so im gonna give it a try

B24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Got the engine covers done

B24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Ended up cracking off the tail fins realizing it would be impossible to tape and paint with them on, againt that pesky learning process thing, got a little touch up to do and still have to get the black trim painted

B24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sat Jul 07, 2018 9:27 pm

Coming along very nicely

What is a dead tour???

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Sat Jul 07, 2018 10:23 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 9:27 pm Coming along very nicely
What is a dead tour???

thanks i'm pretty excited at how its turning out
Dead tour is 3 of the surviving members of the greatful dead play in a band called dead & compan and i followed them for a run of concerts, its quite the experience, hippies and wierdo's everywhere and they let you set up vending booths in the parking lot and people sell arts and crafts, clothing, food etc. Its great time and great music.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sun Jul 08, 2018 12:12 am

Johno wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 10:23 pm
Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 9:27 pm Coming along very nicely
What is a dead tour???
thanks i'm pretty excited at how its turning out
Dead tour is 3 of the surviving members of the greatful dead play in a band called dead & compan and i followed them for a run of concerts, its quite the experience, hippies and wierdo's everywhere and they let you set up vending booths in the parking lot and people sell arts and crafts, clothing, food etc. Its great time and great music.

Ahh interesting, that would be quite an experience.
I dabble with the fantasy of going to see Burning Man one day...but I hate noise and crowds and people and weirdos...

digger303 · Post by **digger303** » Sun Jul 08, 2018 12:23 am

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Sun Jul 08, 2018 12:12 am
Johno wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 10:23 pm
Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 9:27 pm Coming along very nicely
What is a dead tour???
thanks i'm pretty excited at how its turning out
Dead tour is 3 of the surviving members of the greatful dead play in a band called dead & compan and i followed them for a run of concerts, its quite the experience, hippies and wierdo's everywhere and they let you set up vending booths in the parking lot and people sell arts and crafts, clothing, food etc. Its great time and great music.
Ahh interesting, that would be quite an experience.
I dabble with the fantasy of going to see Burning Man one day...but I hate noise and crowds and people and weirdos...

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Sun Jul 08, 2018 9:18 am

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Sun Jul 08, 2018 12:12 am
Johno wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 10:23 pm
Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 9:27 pm Coming along very nicely
What is a dead tour???
thanks i'm pretty excited at how its turning out
Dead tour is 3 of the surviving members of the greatful dead play in a band called dead & compan and i followed them for a run of concerts, its quite the experience, hippies and wierdo's everywhere and they let you set up vending booths in the parking lot and people sell arts and crafts, clothing, food etc. Its great time and great music.
Ahh interesting, that would be quite an experience.
I dabble with the fantasy of going to see Burning Man one day...but I hate noise and crowds and people and weirdos...

yah noise and crowds and people and weirdos are definitely an aquired taste

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Sun Jul 08, 2018 9:19 am

digger303 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 08, 2018 12:23 am
Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Sun Jul 08, 2018 12:12 am
Johno wrote: ↑Sat Jul 07, 2018 10:23 pm
thanks i'm pretty excited at how its turning out
Dead tour is 3 of the surviving members of the greatful dead play in a band called dead & compan and i followed them for a run of concerts, its quite the experience, hippies and wierdo's everywhere and they let you set up vending booths in the parking lot and people sell arts and crafts, clothing, food etc. Its great time and great music.
Ahh interesting, that would be quite an experience.
I dabble with the fantasy of going to see Burning Man one day...but I hate noise and crowds and people and weirdos...

yes, yes he does

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Mon Jul 16, 2018 7:57 am

Not a huge update but heres what ive been up to. First i got the last of the little pieces primed and ready for action

The home stretch b-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

The next order of business is replaceing the broken off barrels on my window guns, first i cut the pieces of tv cable wire i'm using to replace them you can see them in the back of the primed pieces, next was to cut the remaining stubs off the guns

The home stretch b-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Took a couple adjustments to get the right length and after repeatedly dropping the new barrels and dripping glue on the model a couple times and having to touch up the paint i got the little suckers on there!

The home stretch b-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Finally i painted them up and i think they look pretty good, a little thicker than the originals but i thought they looked kinda dainty before so im pleased with how they came out

The home stretch b-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Mon Jul 16, 2018 8:00 am

Also got the tail fins all striped up and put on

The home stretch b-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Mon Jul 16, 2018 8:23 am

Next got all these little suckers all painted up

The home stretch b-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Got the tips and caps on the props done and the rest of the little parts done.

The home stretch b-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr

Got these little things on the bottoms on, the color i had for them is a little shiney but i figured once i spray wash and weather some more they will be looking good and dirty but still look metalic and getting the cowlings taped off to paint the alluminum color for the back ends.

The home stretch b-24 by John Adcox, on Flickr
Finally feeling like im hitting the home stretch can't wait to start getting decals on this bird and bring her to life!!

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:27 am

Well was going to try and get away with not drilling and filing out the holes at the end of the engines but the more i looked at it the more i realized it wasnt going to look right so i decided to do it, wish i had done it much earlier though

B24 engines by John Adcox, on Flickr

Now that its done and the back ends are painted with the metallic its looking good though

B24 engines by John Adcox, on Flickr