75th Anniversary – Doolittle Raid: 1/72 B-25 Doolittle Raider
I realized the day before April 18, 2017 that the 75th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid was coming up the next day – and I was close to finishing my 1/72 B-25 in Doolittle Raider markings.
The kit is out of the box but with aftermarket decals and some mission-specific detailing, such as black spinners and no yellow tips on the props. It is photographed with my 1992 1/700 Tamiya USS Hornet (CV-8) modeled as of April 18, 1942, and my copy of Ted Lawson’s “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” book about the raid.
Craig Abrahamson said on August 23, 2017
Nice work, Michael….I like it. I did something similar a while back – if you wish, you can take a looks at my meager attempt here: http://imodeler.com/2012/11/uss-hornet-doolittles-raiders/
kloster zero said on August 24, 2017
Congratulations for your work on theDoolittle raid both Craig and Michael.
I have a question : with the weight of the loaded bombers on deck was the Hornet still able to carry some fighters and dive bombers in her hangars below deck for protection on the return journey or were they empty because of the weight of the B25’s ?
Michael Smith said on August 24, 2017
No, they carried the full air group in the hangar bay (I think a number of the aircraft were tied to the ceiling to make room). The plan was always that if they were sighted out of range of Japan, the B-25s would be pushed overboard so they operate the ship’s planes.
kloster zero said on August 24, 2017
Ok thanks Michael its a really interestin operation anf having the model under the eyes helps to realize how crazy the whole thing was…
Greg Kittinger said on August 23, 2017
Nice “project bundle” idea!
John Healy said on August 23, 2017
Looks nice, Michael. How about some more pics of the Hornet model?
Michael Smith said on August 23, 2017
I’ll get some up. It looks better out of focus since it’s deteriorated a bit since 1992, but I may can get it fixed.
Robert Royes said on August 23, 2017
Another nice one!
Tom Bebout said on August 23, 2017
Boy did you bring back some memories, read that book when I was in 6 or 7th grade. Thought it was great read and fell in love with the B-25, never miss an opportunity to see one either in a museum or in the air. Nice job Michael.
Bill Ferrante said on August 23, 2017
Very nice presentation
Jeff Bailey said on August 23, 2017
Great Doolittle Raider, Michael! I’m with Tom – I like the B-25s a lot!
Paulo Castro said on August 24, 2017
Very nice! You did a really good job
DE4EVER said on August 25, 2017
🙂 … Greetings … 🙂 )
Nice clean work Michael.
Paul Moore said on November 19, 2018
looks great. What brand model was that? I’m building the Airfix 1/72 scale C/D. The only scratch build will be to replace the celestial window just behind the cockpit with flat styrene.
Michael Smith said on December 24, 2018
I apologize for the delay responding. It was the Italieri B-C kit. I had started the Revell “1/72” kit years ago, and recently discovered it was actually box scale and way oversized so I trashed it and built the 1/72, which was the first aircraft kit I’d completed since I was a kid.