1:72 B-25H Mitchell

A gun in the nose instead of a bombardier

The gun nosed B-25H version was among the most unusual forms of the American medium bomber. The glazed station of the bombardier disappeared from it and a gun of seventy-five millimeter caliber supplemented by a battery of heavy machine guns took its place. The copilot disappeared from the cockpit, so all the work was left to a single man up front. Such an aircraft was not meant for bombing from altitude but for low attacks on ships and ground targets, where things were decided in a few seconds above the water.

Both sets of markings on the sheet belong to machines of one and the same bombardment squadron, which operated in the Pacific area. The first carries the name Power House and serial number 43-4573, the second the name Dutch and the number 43-4498. That match of unit is tempting for a collector: you build two aircraft with the same framework of markings which differ only in the personal marking of the crew, and in a display case a small group of one squadron appears instead of two unrelated examples.

Working with markings in a small scale

At 1:72 the individual numbers and letters are small, and tweezers with flat points and a sharp scalpel therefore come in useful. Cut the elements off one at a time and soak them briefly, otherwise the film will start to curl before it gets into place. The gun nose has pronounced molding edges, so hard artwork will not go over them by itself; a few light pricks with a pin and a drop of decal softener will help. Once everything is in its place, weathering follows, because machines in a tropical climate quickly lost their shine and the paint on the upper surface of the wing changed shade with fading.