Monogram B-25J gunship (foiled finish) Update March 3, 2020

I didn't like the way the bkit's gun barrels were detailed, so I purchased a set of brass gun barrels from Master Model. The set includes the gun barrels, cooling sleeves and blast shields. The cooling sleeves look especially nice.

I had to figure out some way of holding the brass parts while I was painting them. I decided to string the cooling sleeves onto a thin wire during the painting process. I cleaned the brass parls in Purple Power prior to painting.

The brass gun barrels look way better than the kit's gun barrels, but the paint did not stick to the brass very well at all. If I sneezed on the brass parts the paint would fly off! 

I soaked the brass parts in Purple Power to remove all of the paint and  tried a brass darkening product from JAX. This stuff chemically darkens brass and other metals. It worked better than paint, but it still can be easily scratched off. If anyone has a better way to blacken brass please let me know. Also, the brass jackets are delicate and can be easily bent.

Hi;

 I don't have the bottle available, but my LandLady does Stained Glass items. I use the product she uses. It stays on too!

Great project, Johnny!  I'm sorry I missed it until now.  Your natural metal finish is coming along nicely.

Yes, these Monogram multi-engine aircraft kits hold up well today. They represented a new level in detail, for their time, and still were kits that a modeler with little experience could build and enjoy doing it.

Yours was popped in '91, but the kit was already about 15 years old by then.

As for preventing tail-sitting, I'm sorry I'm late to this party, but I'll offer this tip for future builds:  if you're putting the model on a base, then you can dispense with weights, and use a fine bolt installed in the nosewheel instead.  That's a tip from none other than Shep himself-he noted it in his P-61 build, and it always works well for me.

Regarding the PE barrels and cooling jackets-are the jackets that fragile, when you fit them over the barrels, or does the combination of the barrel and cooling jacket make for a more rigid part, less vulnerable to bending?

When the PE barrels are inserted into the jackets the barrels are much more rigid. It is important that the drilled hole in the gun's body is large enough that the barrel slips easily into hole. If the hole is too small the barrel could bend when it is forced into the hole.

Brass will take paint better if it is etched first using a self etching primer, or even sanded with fine sandpaper.

jeaton01

Brass will take paint better if it is etched first using a self etching primer, or even sanded with fine sandpaper.

 

Well, I've made some good progress in the last few days.

I used Eduard precut masks before painting the clear parts. This kit does not have a lot of clear parts.

I added some additional weight to the nose and glued the nose to the fuselage. There is very little "meat" at the seam, so I had to improvise a long clamp to hold the nose tight to the fuselage while the glue cured. I wedged the fuselage/nose between two clamps that I clamped to the edge of my work desk. I used soft foam christmass trees to prevent the clamps from scratching the fulelage and nose.

 After I removed the clamps I did not like the way the seam looked where the nose met the fuselage. Out came the sanding blocks and filler. After repainting and adding some rivets, the seam looked fine.

Next I glued one of the wings to the fuselage.

After allowing the glue to cure overnight, I glued the other wing to the fuselage. The fit is real loose, so I used seat cushions to wedge the wing in a vertical position while the glue cured. I used this same trick on my B-29.

The seam at the wing root needed to be filled. I used Perfect Plastic Putty. After the PPP dried, I used a Q-tip soaked in water to remove the excess putty. 

The seam was covered in foil.

I wanted thye aircraft to look like it was stationed at an airfield that was cut out of a jungle, meaning that there would be a lot of mud, dust and dirt on the aircraft. I started the weathering process with Vallejoe weathering wash. I want a muddy mess around the wheel wells, so I am thinking of buying some Vallejoe Mud. 

Your weathering technique looks good!  I think it looks like the airplane you described-natural metal, sitting on an airstrip in a raw environment.

Well, I made a dumb mistake. This aircraft requires 18 gun barrels. I few weeks ago I ordered a gun set for a B-17 that had only 13 barrels. So I am 5 gun barrels short. I just ordered an additioinal set of gun barrels from 1001 Hobbies. I hope that all goes well.

The tail wing assembly has been added and additional weathering has been applied. I want the plane to look dirty, but not look as if it has been abandoned for 20 years.  Repaired battle damage has been simulated by using polished Bare Metal Foil..

The foil truly looks fantastic. I have some Cold War jets that are screaming for this treatment and I'll be coming back to your threads when I get to them. 

ggatt_2

The foil truly looks fantastic. I have some Cold War jets that are screaming for this treatment and I'll be coming back to your threads when I get to them. 

 

Thanks! I like the affect that the weathering has on the foil. The weathering tones down the shine of the foil.

To my eye it looks very realistic. Not too shiny but still just like metal. Cause that's what it is!

The side guns are glued to the windows. I used a lot of Gator's Grip Hobby Glue to secure the guns to the clear plastic. I did not want the guns to fall off of the clear plastic after the model is finished.

The landing gear and rockets were attached to the wings and fuselage. The bottom photo shows that amount of dirt and mud that I added to the model. I think that it may need some additional blobs of mud.

This model is on hold until I receive the additional gun barrels for the plane's nose.