Airfix B24 H Liberator 1/72

[Richard48]

Looks great Andy.Ive seen a few nice builds of these.Coastal command ones look eye catching.Im sure i attempted an old Airfix one in 1970s when i was lot younger.Doing a great job.
Happy modelling from Richard

[Scratchbuilder]

Andy,
Had a good read through your build and the fun you had with adding the weight (church roof leaking now???) and then putting your little balls in to finish the job....
Such a pity all the work on the interior has to be hidden, but we all know it is there.
Are you completing it as per the kit decals or as one of the formation aircraft with all those amazing schemes.
Mike

[vizenz]

It looks so flawless in primer. That will be a cracker!

[Andy T]

Thanks Richard & Mike.

I'm going to stick to the box art scheme for this. Adding aftermarket extras like markings can soon inflate the costs so will stay OOB.

There's an interesting note in the desenougenough the canopy and cockpit sides were replaced with armoured units and thus were a different colour. I'm sure I can manage that one cheaply enough!

[Andy T]

It looks so flawless in primer. That will be a cracker!

Thanks Andreas, I must have been typing when you replied

[Andy T]

Neutral grey (amongst other colours) has been applied to the underside and I've started pre-shading the upper surfaces. As usual my camera work doesn't do it justice, but I'm liking how it looks at this end.

[vizenz]

This is a technique that I tried exactly once and it went wrong. Since then I have always painted color modulations from dark to light. I respect anyone who makes so much effort, but for me it is too tricky :tongue-out3:
How long did it take you to lighten the surfaces?

[Jim R]

Lovely paintwork. Pre shade looks neat.

[Andy T]

How long did it take you to lighten the surfaces?

Around an hour I'd say, but I work fast :smiling5:

After masking there was some grey overspray from doing the underside, so first I sprayed everything with a very dark green, to cover the grey and act as a shadow coat.

I then used the very lightest shade from my Mr Color Olive Drab modulation set to add the pre-shading, concentrating on the centres of the panels, trying to keep a random mottled look, and highlighting upper surfaces and certain areas more.

It will obviously tone down once I start to gently build up the final colour over the top, but hopefully I'll leave enough of this effect grinning through to add variation to the final result.

[Andy T]

Upper surfaces are now painted. I've also painted the white stripe on the tail bits. There's a decal included but preferred to try paint. I need to either cut out a stencil for the black 'N', or cut it out from the decal.

I've also still got the black rubber deicing boots to paint on the leading edges of the wings & tail. Masking would be complicated so I may brush those.

[Andy T]

Before putting the airbrush to bed I thought I may as well spray the N marking. Not 100% but after this I'm confident enough to try the larger B&W marking on one of the wings

[Andy T]

I made a decent enough job of spraying the large marking on top of the wing so now I've started working my way through the decals

[flyjoe180]

Those markings look superb Andy, nicely done

[Andy T]

Thanks Joe, much appreciated.

I'm gradually working through the decals now. Slow and steady, which is a change for me :tears-of-joy:

[Jim R]

Looking really good. The way the pre-shade has worked is tribute to your air brush skills. Markings coming on a treat.