Witchcraft, The Enchanted Liberator
Here's my build of “Witchcraft”, the enchanted B-24H Liberator of the 467th Bomb Group. The kit is Monogram's 1:48 B-24J that I picked up at a bargain table for $5.00 at a contest a few years ago. There were no decals, and someone had started painting pieces, and it looked like all the pieces were there. So, I got the decals for Witchcraft from Mike Grant, Quickboost engines, Eduard PE cockpit interior details, Master gun barrels, and I was ready to rock. By coincidence, halfway through the build The Collins Foundation's bombers were offering rides about 30 miles down the road from my house. So, I raided my piggy bank and took a ride in Witchcraft which really got my juices flowing!
I wired up the engines, opened up the engine cowl intakes, opened the waste gates and nacelle vents, and modified the props to spin freely. I used Model Master paint and I built it with the gear temporarily installed for ground photos, then retracted the gear for in-flight photos. Now it hangs from the ceiling of my cave in formation with Strawberry B***h.
B-24H-15 FO 42-52534 rolled out of the Ford Motor Company factory at Willow Run on December 15, 1943, one of 8,645 B-24s produced at Willow Run, and by far the most famous for it's exploits during WWII. It was flown on 137 missions, 130 of which were credited. The 7 missions that were not credited were for missions that were recalled, usually because of inclement weather before reaching the target. It was flown on combat missions by 20 different crews and had the distinction of no mission aborts due to mechanical issues (a testament to the efficiency of Master Sergeant Joe R. Ramirez and his ground crew, which remained with Witchcraft from the time it arrived at the 467th Bomb Group at the training base in Wendover, Utah to the end of the war) and no crew member was ever killed or wounded on a Witchcraft mission. On its last mission on April 21, 1945 it was recalled when only 130 miles from the target in Salzburg, Austria. because of poor weather over the target. It was credited for that mission because it was over hostile territory. Witchcraft operated from USAAF field 145 at Rackheath, and was assigned to hardstand #32, which was its permanent parking spot for the duration.
Some statistics: Total flight time for 137 missions -856 hours 38 minutes
Total fuel used on 137 missions - 247,908 gallons
Total number of engines replaced - 25
Total tonnage of bombs dropped - 304 tons
Witchcraft lifted off from Rackheath for the last time the morning of June 10, 1945 for the long trip back to Bradley Field at Windsor Locks, CT. At the controls was Lt. Frederick J. Jansen and crew #61. Also aboard was Master Sergeant Joe Ramirez and some of the permanent ground crew that looked after Witchcraft during its career. After a 3 day stay at Bradley Field, an ATC crew flew it to Willow Run. There it was on display where the workforce that built it viewed the legendary bomber. On September 16, 1945 Witchcraft made its final flight to the Reconstruction Finance Company at Altis, California where it, along with hundreds of other aircraft, was scrapped and turned into beer cans and aluminum cookware. The nation was war-weary and anxious to get back to peacetime activities and not much thought was given to preserving historical aircraft in war museums yet, and it is unfortunate that Witchcraft was not saved like Memphis Belle and Flak Bait. Today, the Collins Foundation has it's B-24 accurately painted to represent Witchcraft, there is a room at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino dedicated to Bob McEwan (the tail gunner on the original crew of Witchcraft), and some buildings associated with the 467th BG are preserved at Rackheath, as are some street names there such as Albert Shower Road (in memory of the former base commander), Witchcraft Way, and Ramirez Way.
There is a book by Perry Watts entitled “The Famous B-24 Witchcraft: The Enchanted Liberator”. It has a very detailed history including names of all the crew members that flew it, and details of every mission. Some of the above information came from that book. A fascinating read.
I love rescue kits like this. Well done, Chas.
Thank you, John,
Nice work Chas and s super result.
How did you get the nose and tail turrets to look like they weren't molded in halves?
Thanks, Tom. It's been about 6 years now, but I remember working on those turret halves. I wet sanded the parting surfaces with 6000 grit on a flat glass surface, then very carefully glued them together without any excess squirting out, let it dry and then polished them, coated them with Future, then polished them some more. The seam is still there, just doesn't show much in the pix. I remember thinking that it would be nice if someone would come up with an aftermarket set of one-piece turrets .
Fantastic job, Chas!
Very informative article, too!
Thanks, Spiros.
Very nice work on a venerable old kit. You really made the most of the kit. Nice work on the turrets, I am curious about how you avoided the glue seam on the turrets. I have never had the privilege of seeing "Witchcraft" in person. I appreciate your pictures of the plane and inside of it. I have had the good fortune of having a number of them sent to me for my builds of "Sleepy/The Squaw" and "The Blue Streak" from Louis, @lgardner. Again nice work and great photos I really like the ones of it flying!
Thanks, Walt. See my response to Tom's same question about the turrets.
Walt (@luftwaffe-birdman)
I am glad to have helped you with the pictures. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you ever need anything.
Great work on this bargain kit, Chas.
Thanks, George.
This is something special. A rescue kit turned into a gem. Great looking huge bird. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Matt.
Excellent result, Chas @chasbunch
$5 is for sure a real bargain for a 1/48 B24.
Beautiful work and a great article.
Thanks, John, The price was definitely right!
Very nice
Thank you, Tolga.
Excellent build, Chas.
Thanks, Raif.
Nicely done, Chas.
Thanks, Gary.
Looks really good. I am also wondering about how you got the turrets looking so good! I really appreciated how your paintjob came out - weathered, but not overly so. And love those in-flight shots! Nice work!
Thanks, Paul. See my response to Tom on the turrets. Not perfect, but better than my earlier B-24D tail turret.
Can’t help commenting this one, awesome work and a great article. Those inflight photos are splendid!
Thank you, Pedro.
wait! I think somebody is cheating here...The pix are apparently of the model, along with some pix of the real thing. The problem is...it's difficult to tell the difference.
Excellent work!
Thanks, Marvin. Playing with the camera is almost as much fun as the build.
Beautiful build! That's the intention for my Monogram 24. I've got over 1,300 hours in the Witch, started flying her when she was still the Dragon. Back in 2005, when we painted her as Witchcraft, the 467th started scheduling reunions around our tour schedule. The first couple years were incredible. Bob Dekerf, the original nose artist, came out with his original paint kit and "finished" our nose art. We met Audre and her husband, the Ramirez family came to see us, Gunner Joe Abernathy was a staple in So. Cal., you could spot thier red wind breakers a mile away. Pretty incredible times. Great model!, I need to get busy on mine.
4 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Thanks, Jim. What a great experience that must be flying the Witch and meeting all those people from the 467th. Perhaps you were the pilot when I took my ride?
You bet! More than likely I was, do you remember where and when? I dug my kit out of the stash last night. Not sure whether to do the the 'tour Witch' or the combat Witch"..forgot how cool these old Monogram kits really are. Really like your build!
That would have been about May or June of 2018 at Skagit Regional Airport near Mt. Vernon, WA.
Jim Harley (@jimh)
I remember when the shop was there on the North side of the airport ! Your photos brought back some memories, like the A-36 and the Korean War Corsair... Also I remember the B-24 when it was painted up like the All American. I never saw it wearing the Dragon and it's Tail markings.
I never knew that you flew the 24. I was thinking you only flew the Mustang. You learn something new every day.
Yes sir, these old Monogram kits still rock today...
Take care brother ! 🙂
What a beautiful build!
Must be huge in 1/48.
Awesome pictures as well. Can’t tell the difference from the model and the real thing! Two thumbs up 👍 👍
Thanks, Alfred.
Chas,
What a good looking build and story. Thanks for sharing.
Rod
Thank you, Ron.
That's beautiful, you really did a great job. Thumbs up. Also an interesting article.
Thanks, Milan.
A bargain kit into a beautiful build - those are my favorite projects! This is gorgeous!
Thanks, Greg.
Ahh the classic Monogram Bombers, you did a great job on this one!
Very impressive model !
Beautiful. Amazing what you did with this kit. Thanks for sharing!
Outstanding job on your B-24! You really have done an excellent job!
Tom
Great job Chas. Love your story and photos. I did something similar using the Revell kit #5629. If you haven't already seen my articles you should check them out.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Thanks, Robert. Yours is a beauty, a nice tribute to your uncle. The ball turret gunner probably had the hardest job on that crew!
Chas Bunch (@chasbunch)
You have done a magnificent job with your B-24.
It looks like the real thing.
I never got to ride in the Colling's Witchcraft, but I have seen it fly on several times, and have been inside and out of it on numerous occasions. I was there when they started the last tour, and have some excellent videos of it starting up and as it taxied away for takeoff. Watching the smoke as they fire up the engines, and hearing the brakes squeak as they are applied is an awesome thing to see.
Just like your ride in her, this is something you will never forget either. This is one of the purposes of the Colling's Foundation, to help keep history alive.
Your build coincided perfectly with the new tool release by Hobby Boss. I have read an excellent and honest review about this kit here on Imodeler today. Even though it is flawed in some places, I'm still going to get one.
I have a Monogram B-24 underway and it will be done in bare metal as "Tubarao" eventually. There's a build journal I started of this here on Imodeler too. I have plans to do a "Blue Streak"
Walt (@luftwaffe-birdman)
like Walt is, and also eventually the "Dragon and it's Tail".
Thanks for sharing yours with us.
Thanks, Louis. Looking forward tom seeing your builds.
I have been fortunate to have ridden in and flown some interesting airplanes over the years. Then to discover that my pilot on Witchcraft is a fellow iModeler 6 years after the event - small world!
Excellent work on this old Monogram kit. I can remember when Monogram was first releasing their big bombers back in the 70s… it was an exciting time to be a modeler.
Thanks, Jay. Back then Monogram was the only way to go for 1:48 bombers. I built them all, long before Accurate Miniatures or ICM came along. Fun times! Now I'm inspired to look up some of those old Monogram photos and post them.