1:32 B-25J Mitchells

One fuselage and two names on the sides

The custom of painting a name on the nose of an aircraft arose among the crews spontaneously and often ended with the left and right sides each getting a different nickname. That is exactly the case with the first of the machines whose markings the sheet holds. On one side a girl's name of two words belongs on it, on the other a sailors' cry used on sighting a whale. Anyone who swaps the two pieces of artwork creates an aircraft that never existed, and in a photograph it shows up at once.

The second subject is a machine of the B-25J-20 series with artwork and the name Marvellous Miriam. Both aircraft come from the late part of production, when the Mitchell already had a glazed nose supplemented by side gun packs, and both survived the war well enough to see civilian service.

Late Mitchells are also recognized on the lower part of the fuselage, where in many cases a smooth cover replaced the powered gun turret, and by differently shaped exhausts. In 1:32 scale that difference is pronounced, so it pays to compare the plastic parts with a photograph of the chosen fuselage before gluing.

Work in two sittings

The large artwork on the nose deserves an evening of its own. Let it dry, check the edges against a sharp light the next day and only then continue with the small lettering by the engine nacelles and on the landing gear doors. Anyone who tries to manage both at once usually shifts a fresh motif with an elbow or a sleeve.

The item holds printing for both machines, not plastic parts. Models of two twin engine bombers can therefore be finished from a single package.