1:48 Consolidated B-24D Liberator

Machines from the hardest raid of the war

The sheet carries the markings of two four engine Liberators which in 1943 flew from desert bases in North Africa. The aircraft 41-11825 was among the best known machines of the whole group, because besides a fairy tale name it carried a further name under which it entered the history of the low level attack on the Romanian refineries. The second machine, 41-11840, flew under a name referring to a witch and stayed in service exceptionally long.

The raid in question took place in August 1943 and the bombers came over the target only a few dozen meters above the ground. The crews aimed between chimneys and cooling towers, the defensive fire shot horizontally and several machines came back with damage that under normal circumstances would have meant a loss. Models of both aircraft are therefore not merely nicely painted pieces of plastic but a reminder of one of the harshest operations of American aviation.

For a builder it is at the same time a chance to build an aircraft with damage. Torn skin, a bent wing edge or sooty sides behind the engines rested on reality with these machines and give a model a story that a clean finish alone can never carry.

The practical part of the build

The markings of this type lie on a long fuselage as well as on the vertical surfaces of the twin tail, and there it pays to proceed with care, because the curved edges stretch the film. Cutting the edge of a decal with a thin blade in two or three places helps, so that the area does not fold over while being settled. Once dry, a protective layer of varnish and any soiling follow. The set holds the sheet on its own; the builder provides the plastic parts separately.