Scale aviation modeller international

THE INTERIOR

I started with the cockpit, building

up the interior of the fuselage

halves with parts from Eduard’s

Interior Set (73318), from the Big

Ed package. This set contains

some nice pre-painted pieces,

but I will say that not many of the

details will be visible in the end.

The aftermarket set from Scale

Aircraft Conversions not only

provides the metal undercarriage,

but also a metal part for the

cockpit floor. This adds some

weight to the nose section – vital

to prevent a tail-sitter! Even

so, I was still worried about not

having the required nose weight,

so I filled up every available

space in the front section with

various kinds of weights, such

as lead shot and washers.

I took my time to detail the

waist gun positions with photo-

etch parts, because this area can

be easily seen if you display the

gunner’s windows in an open

position. Eduard does provide

photo-etch ammunition belts,

but I found them to be a little stiff

and stubborn to fix. I replaced

them with more natural-looking

rubber replacements from Aires.

The machine guns that protrude

from the side windows were left

off for now, to be added later.

The CMK Resin Bomb Bay Set

was only partially useful. I couldn’t

make out a significant difference

from the original kit parts, and

frankly, they are not much better

than the kit parts, and involve a

lot of extra work. Furthermore,

they reduce the stability of the

whole build by adding weight

aft of the center of gravity.

After some contemplation, I

decided to go with the plastic kit

parts for the main assembly of the

bomb bay, while using CMK’s more

detailed sidewalls and bomb rack

ladders. The rack ladders were a bit

too short, so I added some plastic

strip to the ends. I also used CMK’s

bomb bay doors, which have better

scale thickness than the kit parts.

These would be attached later in the

build, but the bombs were painted

and added to the racks at this stage.

The front wheel must be fixed

in position before closing the

fuselage halves. The True Details

resin front wheel I used comes with

the mudguard cast in place, but

so does the metal leg from Scale

Aircraft Conversions. I preferred

the SAC leg for its strength and

for the extra weight that I needed

in the nose. I scrapped the resin

mudguard from the wheel, and

I didn’t worry about losing the

wheel’s profile, as it will be covered

by the metal leg’s mudguard.

I added a fake bulkhead to

the top and rear of the forward

wheel bay, making room for even

more ballast to be inserted, as

I realized that there would be

little chance of doing so once

the fuselage was closed. In total,

I added over 94 grams of nose

weight to the front section.

It’s a good idea to insert the

belly turret before mating up

the fuselage halves, as it might

be tricky to fit later in the build.

Given Hasegawa’s high quality

engineering, no problems were

encountered with the main

Here is how it all started, with lots of

aftermarket items, motivation, and optimism!

I used aftermarket parts from Eduard, CMK,

True Details, and Scale Aircraft Conversions,

and decals from Sky Models Italy, as well as

Squadron Signal’s B-24 In Action as a reference.

Scale Aircraft

Conversions’ metal

cockpit floor, dressed

up with Eduard photo-

etch parts from the

Interior Set.

Detailling the waist guns positions with

Eduard photo-etch parts. Note the photo-etch

ammunition boxes. Ammunition belts have not

been installed at this stage.

“SCALE AIRCRAFT CONVERSIONS

NOT ONLY PROVIDES THE METAL

UNDERCARRIAGE, BUT ALSO A METAL

PART FOR THE COCKPIT FLOOR”

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • JANUARY 2018 • 17

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