Monogram 1/48 B-24D
It had been years since I built a Monogram B-24D. After reading about the Ploesti Raid of 1 August 1943, I decided on the "Squaw". It survived the raid and went to do a Bond Tour. Naturally, the naked squaw was redone and the Snow White Dwarf Character was covered with a map of the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. (MTO). The Squaw was part of the 343 Bomb Squadron, 98th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force operating out of Benghazi, Libya. Flown by Lt Royden L. Lebrecht on the Ploesti Mission.
The Decals are from "Kitsworld" and went on quite well and looked the part. The kit I used was a later release under the Revell Label and was basically the Pro Modeler sans P.E. I got it at a Swap Meet in Glendale AZ for $20.00. I couldn't pass it up.
Construction followed the instructions and went together fairly well considering the age of the kit. I decided to have some fun and used sheet styrene for the seat pads, added arm rests, used 2mm AIZU tape painted neutral gray for the seat belts, some PE buckles from a Lancaster model and Testors Model Master Medium green for the flooring. I painted the IP Tamiya Burnt Iron and picked out the details by dry brushing. After X number of moldings the details aren't as crisp as on an early release so it looks a bit "muddy" compared to an earlier release of the kit. But; not much can be seen once it's buttoned up but; "I know it's there." I painted the aft bulkhead a wood grain to add some interest and had seen a lot of varnished wood in the B-17 at Falcon Field in Mesa AZ. I wanted to display the bomb bay open so added the bombs and had the doors open. I painted the bombs yellow, using AIZU tape masked off the stripes, (a bit crooked) then painted OD and installed. I picked out the detail in the bomb bay painting the oxygen tank yellow, dry brushed the hydraulic lines and called it good. To dress up the engines I drilled over 200 holes and went through about a dozen drill bits and added copper wire for the ignition wires. Not clearly visible but it does show and adds a bit of interest to the otherwise pretty plane engine faces. Some plastruct channel cut to size, painted black to represent a distributor or some other piece of engine gear added a bit of interest as well.
I did leave the rear gunner doors open with the guns in a stowed/ready position. I mixed up True Color RAF Sand and some other color to achieve the color I wanted and painted the model with the underside Testors MM Neutral Grey. I did add some brake lines using brass wire and AIZU tape for the retaining clamps and "Bob's Buckles" eyelets for the two rings on the main gear, albeit a bit under sized they are there. I drilled out the exhaust ports, did some pin washes and called it good. The fit of the nose glazing was a bit of an issue and I am not happy with it, but, it's not a contest entrant and I like it, so it's good for me. I added a bit of PE to the dorsal turret gun position to add some interest there as well. The aft Consolidated A-6 is in two parts. I did sand the seam and polish but, it's there and that's the way it is. There are some after market turrets but I didn't use them as I didn't like them. This kit came with the ubiquitous CLETRAC tractor and after painting displayed it in the photo's to add some scale to the model. I am not a figure painter but am working on the figures that Monogram included in these kits. All in all I was happy with the way it turned out and went on to build three more.
absolutely stunning
Beautiful ‘24!
Excellent work, Mark...those "old" Monogram kits jus' keep on givin'... 🙂
MAGNIFICENT! As the self proclaimed #1 fan of all things Monogram, you are a master Monogram Modeler! Ok, I'll stop gushing before I embarrass myself! Seriously, great job on this kit, you nailed it!
Thanks Rob for the kind comments. I have always been a fan of the Monogram kits. One of my earliest was, If I remember Correctly, the "Dipsy Doodle" speed boat. Got it for Christmas one year. These Big Bombers are so neat. A little work but worth the effort.
🙂 … Greetings … 🙂 :
Got to love those MONOGRAM kits … they are what we had then … and still they shine in this hobby.
This is a great model Mark. The "SQUAW" is not a much seen B-24, good to se her here.
Nice modeling, the interior works looks good.
Thanks for scoping it out. The Ploesti raid is a fascinating saga in USAAF history. The Squaw did her part, survived and went on a bond tour. Pretty neat stuff.
Top job! Like most other comments l still love these big Monogram kits.
Very nice work, you pushed the envelope with this one
Well done Mark, nice to see an old Monogram bomber come to life. How's your eyes doing after drilling all those holes? You have more patience then me my friend.
Thanks Tom for scoping out the build. I think my eyes took a bit of a toll after that exercise. I have since been using the Eduard PE for the engine harnesses.
Very COOL Mark
Thanks Jack for scoping it out. Nice to see you on this forum.
Very nice!
Thank you Christina.
Really nice work on this old warhorse. You brought her out in all her plastic glory. The Pyramiders definitely had the best nose art.
A super build, looks great!
Very nice.
Great Lib, Mark! @mkrumrey Your B-24 is VERY well done. Great job on your "scratched" details!
My Step-Dad "visited" Ploesti on 4 missions. He was a nose turret gunner on a B-24 later model - a G, I think. He didn't talk about it much at all except to say it was awful!
I'm a big fan of the Monogram 1/48 models, too. It seems (at least here in the USA) that most of us started our modeling adventures with Monogram's wonderful models. I still have a small collection of the featured sheets of the late, great Shep Paine. It shows what a real Master Modeler can do with these great kits. I also have many of the original Monogram models in my stash.
Thanks Robert, Aaronc and Jeff: I think Monogram's stuff is still great. As I continue head long into my dottage I am finding a lower parts count much more to my liking. The Monogram kits might take a little more work, but; that's what we grew up on. One of my earliest Monogram aircraft models was the B-66 with the droppable bomb. I thought it was so neat. I will take and work on a Monogram kit over any other manufacturer unless Monogram didn't make it or it's not available any more.
Interesting about your Step Dad doing missions over Ploesti. I'll bet he was in "J" model B-24 as I don't think they made a "G". There was an "M", similar to the "J" but with a little different window set up and internal differences. Still not a fun mission to fly.
Back in high school I did a diorama of "Killer" Kane's B-24 from the Ploesti raid, adding all the battle damage as described in one of the books on the subject (can't remember the author). Wonderful job on the Ploesti B-24!
Thanks for posting Robert: The Ploesti raid is certainly a compelling story. Lots of personality, heroism, (5 Medals of honor) cowardice and drama. I rank it with the Dams Raid by the Brits 617 Squadron. Both had iconic aircraft. The B-24 and Lancaster.
Very nice! I really like the desert schemes on these - I have one to do myself in 1/72. Hope it turns out nice as yours.
What effect did you apply to the cover photo to make it grainy? (It looks overexposed on the upper right corner as you'd sometimes see in older photos.) I would love to see that in B&W as it would really look the part! I really like the final product and your plywood effect is quite convincing!
Hi Josh: I have a lot of photo editing options with my Office Program. It's just one of the meany that are available to highlight and add interest to the model. Here's an example of the B&W with some atmosphere shading and another B&W. It lets me do sepia tones as well.
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Try this site Josh, scroll down to "Effects">"Ancient"...http://imgops.com/
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Yeah! That looks the part!
Hello Mark,
Thanks for sharing this B-24D with us. Very impressive. Regards, Dirk
Mark, @mkrumrey
This is a magnificent build. These old Monogram B-24's are still good and this one is proof... My Dad had a childhood friend named Clark Ingram who flew with this "Sister" unit as a radio operator / top turret gunner in the D model. I'm fairly certain he flew on some of the Ploesti missions. He flew with the 345th Bomb Squadron though...instead of the 343rd. It was also a part of the 98th Bomb Group.
He flew missions in a B-24D named "Chief". He was eventually shot down and became a POW. He was sent to Luft Stalag 6 and then 4. When he was released from the POW camp near the end of the War in April 1945, he only weighed something like 100 pounds... Clark had been part of the "Shoe Leather Express". This was where the Germans force marched the POWs for 44 days straight to keep them from being repatriated by the advancing Allies. Most of the time it was below freezing and some men didn't have shoes...
Freedom is not free. Clark died a few years ago. He was 89 at the time.
Here's a few pictures of the plane he flew in. At one time it was damaged when the nose gear collapsed on landing. This caused the nose art to be changed...after it was repaired to flying status again.
He was shot down by German pilot named Johannes Burda flying a BF-109G6 from 11 / JG 3 near San Severino, Italy, on Sept 3rd 1943. Clark was captured by Italian Police after bailing out and handed over to the Germans... 5 members of his crew were killed when the plane was shot down.
Thanks for posting this.
Chief and a Squaw... who would have thought ?
Thanks for checking out the blog and your response. Very interesting about your dad's friend. I think there is a decal for the Chief by Pick Your Noseart. I will have to scope it out.
Very nice looking Liberator. Desert camo really suits it
Thanks George. I think the Liberator could wear any scheme well. It was just an all around neat airplane.