1:32 B-25 Mitchell

The star with rectangles in two sizes

The US Army Air Forces did not prescribe the size of the national insignia uniformly for a whole aircraft or for the whole of the war. On one machine various diameters commonly met according to where the insignia was placed, and when units were re-marked the dimensions changed again. This sheet therefore offers the same marking twice, in forms matching forty-five and fifty inches at full size.

What that means on the model

Converted to 1:32 scale, the smaller insignia works out at roughly thirty-six and the larger at forty millimeters. A difference of four millimeters sounds slight, but on a finished wing it is pronounced and it decides whether the marking fits between the panel lines the way period photographs show. The subjects are the early B-25B and B-25C versions, that is, machines from the first two years of service, among them the aircraft used in the raid on Tokyo.

Secondary use

The smaller of the two insignia is not tied to the twin-engine bomber. The manufacturer also recommends it for the wings of the Curtiss P-40 and North American P-51 fighters, so the rest of the sheet can cover the markings of another model in the same scale. With a two-piece star, always check which side you are laying toward the fuselage on the wing.

Advice on the work

Large-area insignia are among the most demanding elements, because every bubble shows on them. Lay them onto a sufficiently wet surface so that the marking can be fine-tuned by sliding, and press the excess water out with a soft cloth from the center toward the edges. The set contains the printing only; the model and the clear coat are not part of it.