HK Models 1/32 B-25H Mitchell
By Luc Janssen
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Introduction
I decided to build the kit as the B-25H “Powerhouse”. This bomber was delivered in natural aluminium and painted later with the standard scheme of Olive Green and Neutral Gray. It was a part of the 100th Bomber Squadron and operated from the Solomon Islands in 1944.
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This kit is of superb quality, but it needs your full attention, and you need to think some building steps in advance! I only detailed the parts of the model that can be seen when the model is finished. So, I added knobs, handles and wiring on the flight deck and used seatbelts from HGW Models. I gave the Wright R-2600 radials a more realistic ignition harness, but I did not improve the interior of the fuselage or the wheel wells. As the propellors from the kit are on the heavy side, I sanded them to make the blades thinner. The bomb bay doors were kept closed, although the bomb bay and its doors are very nicely detailed.
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I considered replacing the cal .50 machine gun barrels by aftermarket sets, but finally I just used the barrels from the kit and that was a mistake. Indeed, Browning cal .50 from nowadays update sets are more realistic and would have improved the overall appearance of the model!
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As this is a big model, I used a glass plate to create the diorama base. From scratch I made a ladder to climb on the wings. The wheel chocks, the gasoline barrels and the toolbox came from my spares department.
After Market Sets:
HGW Models: Seatbelts 1/32 USAAF/US NAVY Laser cut.
Paints:
I used paints from MRP, Vallejo, AK and Humbrol.
Decals:
The decals came from:
- The kit
- Kits – World: KW 132044 + KW 132047
Weathering:
As usual, weathering was done with oil paints, colour pencils, pastel powders and Vallejo wash.
References:
- Squadron Signal B-25 Mitchell – Walk around
- Shot to Hell by Cory Graff
- Osprey Combat Aircraft: PBJ Mitchell Units of the Pacific War
- SIMI LIBRARY: B-25H “Mitchell” in Combat & CBI
- B-25 Mitchell – The Ultimate Look
- Mitchell Masterpieces Volume 1 by Wim Nijenhuis
- The internet
For questions or remarks: go to lucjanssen32nd.com
© Luc Janssen 2022
This article was published on Wednesday, February 23 2022; Last modified on Sunday, February 27 2022