1:72 B-25J Mitchells

Bombers that survived into the era of film

After the war the Mitchell was among the types of which the largest number stayed in service. They flew as firefighting machines, as carriers of measuring equipment and as private curiosities, and it is precisely from that second career that the pair the sheet covers comes. Both aircraft appeared in the 1970s at the shooting of a war picture and were given combat colors for it, and nicknames of the kind machines carried thirty years earlier.

Two machines, two sets of markings

The first of them is the J form from a late production series, today flying under a civil registration and carrying a pair of names separated by a slash. The second comes from a somewhat earlier production block and its nickname plays on the alliteration of a woman's name. With both of them the supplier gives the present civil marking as well as the original military production number, which matters to the builder, because the film guise differs in details from the wartime one.

What to keep in mind during the build

• two machines on one sheet, 1:72 scale
• both machines in the J form, each from a different production block
• the supplier gives the civil registration as well as the military number
• the markings match the film guise, not the original wartime condition

Flying examples tend to be in a far better state than their wartime predecessors. The paint holds its gloss, the panels are not dented and the exhaust traces are faint. Anyone building a model to these markings should keep the weathering in check, otherwise it contradicts itself. The dimensions of the lettering match 1:72 scale.