Monogram 1/48 B-24J in Bare Metal Foil

[Johnny_K]

I recently finished a 1/48 scale Monogram B-24J. I made a number of changes to the kit:

 

First I replaced the box decals (top) with decals from Kits-World (bottom). The box decals were just plane boring.

 

By the way, these are the best decals that I have ever used. The carrier film is crystal clear. Note the area between the word Dragon and the woman's arm. The carrier film in invisible!!!

 

Next I added a lot of weight to the nose of the plane to keep it from being a tail-sitter. I added pinewood derby weights to the area in front of the cockpit and a bag of sinker weights behind the nose landing gear. Neither if these areas are visible once the model is assembled.

 

I wired the engines and used resin tires and wheels. The tires look a little underinflated, but they look way better than the box tires. I also added brake lines. The Kits-World decals add a lot of realism to the props.

 

Pre-cut painting masks from Eduards were used on the clear parts.

 

 

 

I used two different colors of Bare Metal Foil. The majority of the foil is Matte Aluminum with a few panels finished in Chrome. I used a rivet wheel to add rivets. The rivets really make the appearance of the model pop.

 

In this photo you can see the two different colors of Bare Metal Foil.

 

The nose art extends from the nose all the way to the tail.

 

How about that nose turret? Very strange looking.

 

This particular airplane had no nose art on the left side. However, it had thousands of rivets.

 

All of the nose art was on the right side. It took me over 100 hours to complete this build.

 

 

Edited August 31, 2018 by Johnny_K
Incorrect word

[Slartibartfast]

Impressive!

[phantom]

Very nice.

[jester292]

Wow what a build! How did you manage the wing to fuselage join? I noticed there’s always a gap between the top of the wing and the fairing the wing is supposed to fill. 

[Parabat]

Very impressive, thise BMF finishes always look really good, especially in the larger scales.

[Johnny_K]

7 hours ago, jester292 said:

Wow what a build! How did you manage the wing to fuselage join? I noticed there’s always a gap between the top of the wing and the fairing the wing is supposed to fill. 

 

 

 

The wing to fuselage joint on this model is very tight. It is so tight that I had to sand the edge of the wing just to get the wing to fit into the fuselage. The joint does not require any filler.

Edited September 2, 2018 by Johnny_K
change wording

[Johnny_K]

9 hours ago, Parabat said:

Very impressive, thise BMF finishes always look really good, especially in the larger scales.

 

That's an interesting comment. You are correct. The reason that BMF works on larger scale  (1/48) airplanes is because the foil is applied to each fuselage/wing panel separately. That way you can get a lot of variance in the appearance of the foil. It would be difficult to do that on a small scale airplane. 

 

 

In the wing above, the majority of the foil is Matte Aluminum. A few panels are finished in Chrome just to add visual variety. Also, the direction of the natural grain in Bare Metal Foil varies. 

[aircommando130]

Wow...that's an impressive B-24. Did you rivet it after the foil or before? Looks very real and the rivet lines really bring it out! I have a J and a D model B-24 in 48th and I hope they look that good. 

 

Cheers...Ron

[Johnny_K]

1 hour ago, aircommando130 said:

Wow...that's an impressive B-24. Did you rivet it after the foil or before? Looks very real and the rivet lines really bring it out! I have a J and a D model B-24 in 48th and I hope they look that good. 

 

Cheers...Ron

 

Hi Ron,

 

I always add the rivets after the foil is installed. I tried it the other way around and it just did not work. The rivets looked like dimples instead of rivets. I agree with you, the rivets add a lot of realism to the model. I use a rivet tool from RB Productions. Good luck on your builds. I hope that my post helps.