Hard Boiled Bomber - Building a Cute Piece of History

This tutorial is my entry to the Making History contest, meant for the Early 20th century category.

In this tutorial I will walk you through the build of a B-24 model plane, built in a cute, cartoonish version. The build is meant to capture one of the most iconic bombers of the World War II that highly contributed to the war outcome we all know.

Kit

1. Meng Model U.S. B-24 Heavy Bomber kit (kit ID mPLANE-006)

Revell acrylics

1. 01 Clear Gloss
2. 02 Clear Matt

LifeColor

1. BC03 Olive Drab Primer

Ammo of Mig

1. A.MIG-023 Protective Green
2. A.MIG-2002 Grey Primer

Vallejo

1. 70.602 Black Surface Primer
2. 71.061 Airbrush Thinner

AK Interactive

1. 711 White Surface Primer

Winsor&Newton oil paints

1. Burnt Sienna
2. Lamp Black

The kit arrived in a colourful, top opening box showing a cartoonish representation of the B-24H nicknamed Leo, a zodiac themed Liberator.

Inside the box we’ll find a total of 30 parts included on two sprues for the main parts and the bombs as well as separate components for the fuselage, wings and stabilizers. Special note was taken of the clear parts which were remarkably brilliant almost stealing the show from the other cleanly moulded parts that featured the right amount of details, perfectly matching both in size and their exaggerated nature.

The parts were readily mold in colours that were close to the final depiction but still leaving room for further improvements for the dedicated modeller.

Although, in register and sufficiently detailed, the decals were featuring a rather plane, unsharp depiction of the Leo logo. Too bad, since a more vibrantly coloured version could have been THE eye catchers on this already impressive build.

The nice thing about cartoonish kits is that these can be built on a whim but can also be used as a canvas for more intricate techniques and finishes. Since the kit was a gift to the author, Cristian wanted to do it justice and decided to take his time while building this kit.

Following a habit picked up with older kits, the first step saw the kit taking a bath with a mild dishwashing detergent to remove all mould release agent remaining or other impurities that might still be on the plastic parts and later prevent the primer from properly sticking to the surface.

With the parts dry and happy, the next step was laying down a primer layer on all parts. For this Vallejo’s 70.602 Black Surface Primer was used that was not only providing a more uniform base for the upcoming layers but also provided the canvas for the mottling added in the next steps. Unlike other acrylic primers the Vallejo product delivers a slightly elastic layer being less prone to scratches.

As a first weathering step, the all so popular mottling technique was selected. This approach was focused on applying a random light pattern on the previous black primer providing a variation of the final paint shade that helped adding more visual interest to the subject.

The light, random pattern itself was applied using AK 177 White Surface Primer highly diluted with a 50-50 tap water and Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) mix then applied by airbrush at very low, 8-10 psi pressure.

Special attention was paid to the panel lines which were to remain untouched by the mottled pattern to further emphasise their existence.

Once the base layers were dry, the final coats were applied. Misted, highly diluted LifeColor BC03 Olive Drab was used for the upper fuselage and the stabilisers while the bottom received a layer Ammo of Mig A.MIG-023 Grey in the same consistency.

The key to this step was really the watered down paint consistency, applied at low pressure, in very thin layers. First the centre area of each panel was covered with paint with a final pass over the whole surface to unify the look.

Last but not least, the wheel well and bomb chamber was painted a different hue of green using Ammo of Mig A.MIG-023 Protective Green (8.jpg).

Most markings could have been applied before the final assembly except for the nose art. However, in order to avoid any surprises the parts were glued together prior to the application.

It is worth mentioning that the kit didn’t actually required glue for the assembly but it helped minimising seams and gaps that otherwise may have been a tiny bit more visible.

Looking at the decal sheet the author was actually not sure whether the provided markings were stickers like on similar kits from other manufacturers or actual decals. Following the motto of “Better safe than sorry” a layer or Revell 01 Gloss Clear has been providing a smooth surface for the markings which went down without any problems even in the panel lines on the top of the wings. Only the positioning of nose art required a bit of extra attention as it was larger piece placed in a somewhat hard to access area on the fuselage side, next to one of the engines.

After the paint was left to dry for at least 24 hours, details were accentuated with a dark pin wash obtained from a 70-30 mix of Winsor&Newton Burnt Sienna and Lamp Black oil paints thinned to a 5:1 ratio with lighter fuel. The obtained mix was then applied around details allowing it to accumulate in the nooks and crannies. The overall effect was kept subtle leaving the stage to the motley paint scheme.

After allowing the pin wash to dry for another 24 hours, the effect was then sealed with several thin layers of Revell 02 Matt Clear.

While not everybody’s favourite subject, these cartoonish builds certainly are different compared to the regular builds. A relaxing break from all the super-detailing work, impossibly small PE parts and extensive weathering sessions.