Susanna Viljanen

There were late type (Feb 1944 to Sept 1944) road wheels from Plastic Soldier Company in my spares box. Yay! I could now try the Wittmann's fateful '007' and see how it goes. Try either Super Hobby (http://www.super-hobby.com) or Jadar Hobby (https://www.jadarhobby.pl) and check for 'Part Zimmerit' - Aber makes photoetched Zimmerit for Panzer IV, Panther and Tiger under trade name 'Part'. Both are reliable Polish suppliers - sadly, after the Brexit, the UK residents have to pay the tariff to Her Majesty's Customs Office.

The '007' was a late production Tiger I - it had been delivered together with '009' a couple of weeks before to the Abteilung. It ought to have Zimmerit coating and have the all-steel road wheels without rubber rims. But the model itself looks convincing. It is a far cry from the old Airfix H0/00 Tiger from the Later Cuneiform Era, and the tracks sag just as they do on the real thing. It also captures well the nature of the Schachtellaufwerk running gear. Keep up with the good work!

I have used an old X-acto knife blade heated on candle. You might also try sewing the ends together with thin black yarn, or riveting them with staples.

I build usually aircraft, but I some time ago tried the Airfix new 1/72 Tiger I. The kit is somewhat immature. It represents the middle production Tiger I (from August 1943 to February 1944) as it has the rubber-rimmed road wheels, no Feifel air filters and no twin bow lights, but there is one big problem. It has no Zimmerit. The same problem as with 1/72 Königstiger. After the first 20 or so specimens, all middle production Tiger Is were covered with Zimmerit anti-mine paste, which is recognizable from its corrugated surface. Zimmerit was applied on all German tanks in service from August 1943 to September 1944, and retrofitted on all surviving Elefants. So the Airfix Tiger I is in serious need of Zimmerit. Polish company Aber makes photoetched Zimmerit panels, intended for the Revell 1/72 Tiger. I thought I'd give it a try, and included them in my order at Super Hobby (an excellent Polish distributor - it has become one of my main providers after the Brexit). The Aber Zimmerit has been etched on thin brass sheet, which is extremely malleable. I decided to build a "wargaming quality" Tiger I, middle production. The part distribution on Revell Tiger and Airfix Tiger are somewhat different, and while dimensionally the panels are quite good, some of the parts need to be modified. The Airfix kit wing mudguards need to be cut off so that the hull side Zimmerit panels can be glued on. This succeeded well with a razor saw. I sanded the hull sides flat and applied the Zimmerit panels. The result was nice - once the wing mudguards were glued back in the place, the result was convincing. The hull front Zimmerit panels fit almost to the tenth of a millimetre. Unfortunately, the headplate panel didn't. The Airfix hull bow armour plate is larger than that of Revell, and I needed to extend the Zimmerit panel with Tamiya White Putty and Trumpeter Zimmerit tool. The same with the rear plate. It is somewhat bigger, and all the details on Airfix Tiger and Revell Tiger don't match by place. I simply sawed all details off, attached the Zimmerit, and glued them back to place. Turret was much easier. The Airfix and Revell turrets are almost perfect matches - the only difficulty I really had was with the side vision ports, which I sawed off and relocated. Superglue is your friend! The model is still yet to be painted, but the initial results are convincing. It has now quite realistic Zimmerit - and it looks like a middle production Tiger. I will most likely use the "wargaming" tracks provided with the kit and save the "serious model" tracks for the AMC Models 1/72 Sturmtiger which has soft rubber tracks. Now how about a late production Tiger - and Wittman's '007' (which actually was the battalion command tank) ? The AMC Models Sturmtiger has late production road wheels, so I might do a simple swap here. All Sturmtigers were rebuilt from battle damaged individuals, from all production batches, so perhaps I will build one with rubber rimmed road wheels?

Perfect for wargaming in 20 mm scale !!!

Henschel Hs 126Fiat G.50Centurion TankSA-2 Guideline MissileDHC BeaverLockheed P-38H LightningSopwith Pup

Consolidated B-24H Liberator with Ford nose. [There are no 'H' model kits in existence. The old Airfix B-24J is horribly inaccurate and dated.]Vought F4U-1D Corsair with folding wings. [same reason - there is no folding wings version of Corsair available in 1/72, and the Airfix F4U is horribly dated.]Brewster F2A Buffalo, with noses for either Model 239 (the Finnish version) and F2A-2 (FAA version).Junkers Ju 88 A-4 / C-6 with parts for both bomber and fighterRepublic P-47D Razorback. [The old Airfix kit is horribly inaccurate]Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate [We need a new kit of Ki-84 Frank]Handley Page Hampden [The old Airfix kit is horribly dated]Fokker D.XXI with both Finnish and Dutch versions [The old Frog kit is unavailable]Blackburn Skua [The old Frog kit is horribly dated and unavailable]Messerschmitt Bf 109 F [The 'G' model is horribly inaccurate]

The Plastic Soldier Company produces their kits on Kickstarter. They have done magnificient job on that. They produce theirs in 15mm, 1/72 and 28 mm scale.

We need a new 1/72 B-24H Liberator with Ford nose. There are no Ford nose Lib kits in existence, and more than 50% of all nose-turreted Liberators had the Ford nose - it is distinctly different from the Consolidated nose. The old Airfix B-24J kit is a toy. It is not for a serious modeller. It is dated, crude, filled up with rivets and horribly inaccurate. It should experience a blissful retirement and be replaced with a new tooling B-24H.

Okay, here is mine - all in 1/72 scale. Consolidated B-24H Liberator with Ford nose. [There are no 'H' model kits in existence. The old Airfix B-24J is horribly inaccurate and dated.]Vought F4U-1D Corsair with folding wings. [same reason - there is no folding wings version of Corsair available in 1/72, and the Airfix F4U is horribly dated.]Brewster F2A Buffalo, with noses for either Model 239 (the Finnish version) and F2A-2 (FAA version).Junkers Ju 88 A-4 / C-6 with parts for both bomber and fighterRepublic P-47D Razorback. [The old Airfix kit is horribly inaccurate]Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate [We need a new kit of Ki-84 Frank]Handley Page Hampden [The old Airfix kit is horribly dated]Fokker D.XXI with both Finnish and Dutch versions [The old Frog kit is unavailable]Blackburn Skua [The old Frog kit is horribly dated and unavailable]Messerschmitt Bf 109 F [The 'G' model is horribly inaccurate]

Absolutely - especially all Finnish Air Force fans!

We need a new P-47D Razorback. The old Airfix kit is horribly dated, and not up to today's standards. The tooling is from 1963 - it is older than most today's modellers.

I have only one wish:1/72 Consolidated B-24H Liberator with Ford nose. The reason:B-24 was one of the most remarkable aircraft in WWII in both USAAF and RAF, and the existing Airfix B-24J is both dated and sadly inaccurate. It is a toy, not a serious model.There are no affordable 1/72 kits of B-24 currently in production (the Hasegawa kit is horribly expensive) and there are no B-24 kits with the iconic Ford nose. B-24H served mainly in Europe, and there are several nice painting schemes and nose arts for both USAAF and RAF aircraft available. Especially in Olive Drab/Neutral Grey scheme - most modellers shun the natural metal, which was the most common scheme on B-24J.

Here is the Ford nose (se the bombardier's window and S shaped panel seam)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/Newsdude/Models/FordNose.jpg and here is the Consolidated nose (rectangular triangular bombardier's window which cannot be converted to that of Ford): Notice also the inward opening landing gear doors.

I wholeheartedly support this suggestion. There is NO Ford Nose B-24 available in any scale, the existing Airfix kit is both dated and grossly inaccurate, and Hasegawa kit is horribly expensive.We NEED an affordable and accurate 1/72 B-24H - it would be a guaranteed seller. Almost all Liberators based in UK were the Ford nose variants, and they usually had the Olive Drab / Neutral Grey camouflage. Most modellers shun natural metal! Most of the turret-nose Liberators with Consolidated nose served at Pacific or China-Burma-India theatre. They do not offer as nice camouflage, unit markings and nose art as do those based in UK or Italy.

1/72 Consolidated B-24H Liberator. New tool with Ford nose. There is no Ford nose Liberator available, the old Airfis B-24J is sadly dated and awfully inaccurate, the Hasegawa is horribly expensive and unavailable, and the Academy kit has its problems. We need a new, affordable and accurate Ford Nose B-24H.

Yes. The models the Coastal Command used could have about any nose/turret combination. The kit could have three decal options: one USAAF plane based in Europe, one USAAF plane based in CBI/Pacific and one RAF Coastal Command plane.

I must say "it depends". Liberator I - B-24A, direct purchase aircraft for the RAF. (Total: 20) Considered unsuitable for combat, some rebuilt as the GR.1 and used in British anti-submarine patrol squadrons. Greenhouse nose, no dorsal turret, open tail turret. Liberator B Mk II - The first combat-ready B-24. The modifications included a three-foot nose extension as well as a deeper aft fuselage and wider tailplane—there was no direct B-24 equivalent but similar to the B-24C, built to meet British specifications with British equipment and armament. Boulton Paul A dorsal turret and Boulton Paul tail turret - similar as with Halifax. Liberator B Mk III - B-24D variant with single .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in the nose, two in each waist position, and four in a Boulton Paul tail turret—similar to that on contemporary British heavy bombers such as the Halifax—as well as other British equipment. The Martin dorsal turret was retained. (Total: 156) Liberator B Mk IIIA: Lend-Lease B-24Ds with American equipment and weapons. Consolidated A-6A tail turret, greenhouse nose and Martin dorsal turret. Liberator B Mk V - B-24D modified for extra fuel capacity at the cost or armor, with the same armament fit as the Liberator Mk III. Liberator GR Mk V - B-24D modified by RAF Coastal Command for the anti-submarine role with search radar and Leigh Light. Some were fitted with eight zero-length rocket launchers, four on each wing. Greenhouse nose, Martin dorsal turret and Consolidated A-6A tail turret. Liberator GR Mk VI - B-24G/H/J type used as a long-range general reconnaissance aircraft by RAF Coastal Command. Those manufactured by Consolidated or North American would have Consolidated nose, bombardier glazing and A-6B nose turret. Those manufactured by Ford or Douglas would have Ford nose and bombardier glazing and Emerson nose turret. All would have Consolidated A-6A tail turret and either Martin or Consolidated dorsal turret. Liberator GR Mk VIII - B-24J modified by RAF Coastal Command for the anti-submarine role. Those manufactured by Consolidated would have Consolidated nose, bombardier glazing and either Condolidated or Emerson nose turret. Those manufactured by Ford or Douglas would have Ford nose and bombardier glazing and Emerson nose turret. All would have Consolidated A-6A tail turret and either Martin or Consolidated dorsal turret.

Dear fellow modelaholics, We need a new and affordable B-24H or J Liberator with Ford Nose in 1/72 scale. The reason is simple: there are no "Ford nose" B-24 kits available in any scale. And, unfortunately, none of the current Liberator kits are either affordable, up to date or available. The Hasegawa kit depicts a Consolidated nose B-24J and is horribly expensive: Hasegawa has simply outpriced itself.While it is an excellent kit, it still needs major surgery to represent the Ford-nosed B-24H or B-24J. Likewise, the Academy/Minicraft kits all represent the Consolidated nose B-24J. Although they sell a kit labeled "B-24H", in reality it is another B-24J with Consolidated nose. The only thing resembling the Ford nose is their B-24M - unfortunately it has the large navigator's "bay windows" distinctive to only M model. The old Airfix B-24J kit is horribly dated and horribly inaccurate - it simply is not this day anymore. It is a toy, not a serious model kit. It is a venerable fifty years old kit, and suitable only for the nostalgics, not for serious modellers. Again, another Consolidated nose kit - and poorly depicted. The Revell kit is B-24D and been unavailable for over thirty years outside the eBay. Why the Ford nose with Emerson cylindrical turret? Because the Ford nose is distinctively different from the Consolidated nose - and the main difference is the bomb aimer's lower window glazing, which is almost impossible to convert from the Consolidated bomb aimer's window. (Check out the differences between Academy B-24J with Consolidated nose and B-24M with Ford nose). Moreover, the Ford nose B-24H and J models were the most used variants in the ETO and they offer several nice painting and nose art/unit marking schemes. Almost all Consolidated nose B-24s were used at Pacific or CBI theaters. To add insult to injury, most Consolidated nose B-24Js tended to be on bare metal scheme which most modellers tend to abhor - and rather choose the OD/NG scheme if available. In addition, the Academy Emerson turret suffers from an unnatural partition line which does not exist in the real life - and it unfortunately screams out. The new Airfix offerings have been both excellent, neatly on scale and shape, well detailed, and most of all, affordable. We really do need the B-24H Liberator in addition to B-17 and Lancaster.