RCAF Liberator GR Mk VI

[Bomber_County]

Carl, what can I say, stunning build and glad you’re feeling better, take a look at Harv, hasn’t had a dram of anything for a month………😇

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks for checking in folks. Healthwise, I've got a follow-up appointment with my cardiologist for early Dec. Dog wise, Zoe is closer to her old self with the odd stumble when she walks and her head is more or less cocked to one side all the time now. We finally met the new puppy and get to take him/her home in around two weeks. Still haven't decided on which one we're taking. 

Back to modelling, I've gotten a bit more of the interior done. 

I've been trying to get as much weight into the nose area as possible to prevent having a tail sitter. I've filled some of the boxes that go in the front of the plane with Liquid Gravity. Not much but I figure every bit helps. 

I continued the assembly of the bombs. I masked off the yellow and hit them with some olive drab. 

I then added the fins and did some touch ups. 

Finally I I installed them in the bomb bay. 

One thing that needs to be done before closing up the fuselage is the nose gear. I have the Aerocraft brass inserts so cleaned those up a bit. On the MLG legs, the tie down loops are cast solid so I drilled them out. You can see the first one I did in front .

Then I started adding the kit parts to the inserts. 

The fit isn't perfect and needs a bit of tweaking. 

That's where I am at the moment.

 

Carl

[harv]

Looking good. And thanks on follow up on you and the pup.....harv

[Peterpools]

Carl

Thanks for the followup on how you and the pup are doing ... just so glad you are feeling better and have a follow up appointment.

Nice progress on the Liberator - bombs and look great on the racks and the gear looks awesome as well. Worrying about her being a tail sitter is a lot of pressure on the builder and not sure if the correct amount of weight has been discussed or listed anywhere.

Keep 'em comin

Peter 

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks Peter. 

The instructions say 300g of weight and point at the nose. I've not been able to find enough space for that much weight so I've made some false bulkheads to fill it in. 

Carl

[Peterpools]

Carl

Sure wish they would have included a molded nose weight with the kit as some manufacturers do and make life easier for the modeler.

Just seems they added a lot of extra work when it could have been avoided.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

 

[BlrwestSiR]

Peter, I wish they had too. Maybe made the cockpit floor from zinc like Tamiya did in their 1/48 He219.  

Anyways, I've made a false bulkheads in the nose gear bay and filled it with lead weights. 

I then filled the voids with Liquid Gravity.

I'm not sure on the total weight but I'm hoping it's about 1/3 of what I need. I should be able to get the same amount into the other side. 

 

[Peterpools]

Carl

Nice going on finding ways to add the needed weight. Sure seems as if one of the biggest challenges of the kit, is solving the weight issue.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[BlrwestSiR]

Shirking some family responsibilities, I got the nose gear leg done. 

Because I glued a couple parts out of order (shoulda followed the instructions) I had to attach the links to the bay first. 

Then the leg itself. 

With that done, I decided to start gluing the interior into the uh, interior. I'm using the clamp to keep things a tight fit. 

[GazzaS]

Very nice work, Carl!  I like to make lead sinkers more space effective by beating them flat with a hammer and using metal shears to nip them into the length and width that I want.  I've even slipped them into nacelles to help get the proper tilt.

[HubertB]

Looking at the number of sinkers, you probably have more than 100 grs already.

Hubert

[Spitfire]

Very neat and crisp work, the weights remind me of the fun and games I had with my He 219 build, I had to keep adding weight wherever I could squeeze it in.

Cheers

Dennis

[Kaireckstadt]

Great work Carl, now you know where the word „Heavy Bomber“ comes from. 😉

[Peterpools]

Carl

Nice progress and the interior assemblies have come together quite nicely. Terrific progress on the Big Guy

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[BlrwestSiR]

Well, it's big....

 

Just decided to mock it up and see what I'm getting myself into. 

Oh boy.

 

 

[Peterpools]

Carl

Holy Smokes - beyond BIG, it's HUGE!

How are you planning on displaying the B-24 when she is completed?

Keep 'em comin

[BlrwestSiR]

In getting the fuselage halves ready to join up, I decided to check the fit of the turrets. Turns out you need to have the base mounted in the fuselage but can leave the turrets for after. 

Speaking of the turrets, here's a comparison of the Cold War Studio ones compared to the kit ones. 

The nose turret:

The tail turret:

Definitely a must buy for the kit. 

 

[BlrwestSiR]

2 minutes ago, Peterpools said:

Carl

Holy Smokes - beyond BIG, it's HUGE!

How are you planning on displaying the B-24 when she is completed?

Keep 'em comin

Peter, I have no idea to be honest. I was looking at building a new display case using a pair of Ikea Detolf cases for the glass but I don't think it'll be big enough. 

[Peterpools]

Carl

Which is the Cold War Studio's turrets, are on the left with the parting line, as it has a lot more detail?

That's always been the issue for me, as I love those big WWII bombers but haven't a clue where to display them. No way would they fit in my glass display case and I don't think the 'Chief' would be too enthusiastic if I bought another display case, as I still have plenty of room for additional shelves. 

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[BlrwestSiR]

Peter, the kit turrets are split through the middle, clear section. The early ones were also completely frosted. I got the revised ones in kit but they still have that large seam and locator pins on them. 

The Cold War Studio nose is on the right and the tail one is on the left. Both are one piece so don't have that join line or the locator pins. Otherwise they're a copy of the kit turrets with the same details. 

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Carl

I'll take a closer look

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GazzaS]

Those AM turrets look fantastic!  I still cannot believe that the kit ones have a seam through the 'glass' area. 

 

[Kaireckstadt]

Copy Gary: Great looking replacements!

Can‘t believe that the kit parts are that bad!

[Peterpools]

Carl

Took a good second look and the Cold War Studio turrets and now that I know what I’m looking at, they do look so much better then the kit offering.

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks guys! Definitely get the turrets if you decide to get this kit.

Hit a milestone and a bit of a rock too in the build. I added the remaining nose weight to the fuselage. 

Then I noticed that I hadn't glued the cockpit floor to the fuselage. So the Liquid Gravity not only started to leak out but also jammed in the gap between the floor and the fuselage. Which meant the fuselage no longer closed up...

So after some grinding of the fuselage interior, thankfully where it won't be seen, I got the two halves together. 

At least on the topside...

As you can probably tell by the size of that clamp, I'm not getting it any closer. Thankfully the nose section meets or I'd have a really problem with the canopy and nose glass.