1/48 Monogram B-24J Bare Metal Foil WIP

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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Hi Fellow Modelers,

I recently finished a 1/48 B-29 in Bare Metal Foil:

So, I thought that it would be fun to build a Monogram 1/48 B-24J in Bare Metal Foil. In fact, I figured that I could have twice the fun if I built two airplanes in Bare Metal Foil. [8-)] I will be building a Monogram 1/48 B-58 Hustler in Bare Metal Foil alongside the B-24J. Now, just to drive myself nuts, I will be keeping track of the hours that I will be spending on these builds. The B-29 took 8 months of part-time work to build. Unfortunetly, I did not keep track of the actual time spent. All I know, is that it took a long time to finish the B-29 in Bare Metal Foil. Now I will know the actual time spent on the B-24J and the B-58.

A couple of years age, I built a Revell B-24D. I tried to replicate a natural metal finish using Testots’ Metallizer paints. I know, the B-24D did not have a NMF, but I tried anyway.

It just does not look like a real NMF. In fact, it looks like a painted finish. After I built the B-29, I thought that I would have another go at a B-24. This time I would finish it in Bare Metal Foil. IMHO, the B-24J was one of the strangest looking Americal bombers of WW II, especially when the nose turret was installed.

This kit was manufactured by Monogram in 1990. The word Revell is no where to be foung on either the box, instructions or decal sheet.

The box is typical for Monogram, very sturdy, heavy cardboard. It is too bad that the clear parts were not in a seperate bag. They are scratched.

The parts are silver colored plastic. The plastic it thick and pretty soft.

I did not like the Monogram decals (bottom), so I purchased a new decal sheet (top). I figured that the bright, colorful decals would look nice against the Bare Metal Foil.

This is a photo of a NMF B-24J. I will use this as a guide.

The Monogram parts have raised panel lines and no rivets. I do not mind the raised panel lines, but the lack of rivets bothers me. So, I will be adding rivets. The B-24 seemed to have thousands and thousands of rivets. I do not know if this was normal for WW II bombers, or if it was unique to the B-24. Maybe the rivets were more obvious because the B-24J was not typically painted. Notice how the metal skin on the actual airplanes was dented and not very flat. Very unlike modern aircraft.

I started with the flight deck. I painted the deck with Tamiya Cockpit Green. The seats were painted Testors’ Leather and the seat belts were painted a tan color. The dashboard ??? was painted dark grey. I highlighted the guages using a silver pencil. The floor befing the flight deck was highlighted using a black wash. I felt that there was no need to superdetail the flight deck because it is not very visible once the modef is finished.

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Lots of rivits common, airframe flex on multiple missions accounts for alot of the warpage and dents, along with just plain wear and tear. Looking forward to this one.

Nice start and a beautiful job on the 29

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I was very pleased as to how the B-29 came out.

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I first painted the engines with Testors’ Aluminum paint. Next I painted the firewall and pushrod covers black. The cylinders were highlighted with a rust wash followed with a black wash. I added some 'bling" to the engines by adding fuel lines. I cut some copper wire to shape, drilled holes in the cylinder heads and glued the wire in place. Per photos in the Internet, the engines had a red hose running from the crankcase cover to the firewall, so I added a red wire.

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This should be good. Your B-29 is beautiful. Rigging up 4 engines…ouch! Nice start…

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The first time that I added piping to an aircraft engine was the B-29. I felt the that kind of detailing really added a lot of visual interest to the finished model.

So I am going to add piping the the B-24’s engines. It is tedious work.

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I finished adding piping to two engines so it’s time to build one of the main winmgs.

The main wing is warped, just like the main wing on the B-29.

The onlu solution is to use clamps an rubber bands. The real key is that a rigid straight edge is required to keep the wing flat. My retired architects scale is perfect for this. The scale is absolutly straight and will not bend.

After the glue dried the wing is nice and flat and straight.

This is a typical problem with Monogram/Revell bombers. There is a really nasty, ugly joint at the engine nacelles. The only solution is a lot of sanding and a lot of putty.

While the putty cures it is on to the B-58.

While the glue cures on the wings, I painted the bombs.

First I painted the bombs a light tan. AFter that dried I painted the bombs Olive Drab using a rattle can. I held the can about two feet from the bombs and lightly pressed down the nozzel until the paint started to “spit” out of the can. When the paint dried it had a rough finish.

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Time to start on the rear wing by clamping and gluing.

I also painted the inside of the fuselage Cockpit Green.

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Johnny - The others are right, your B-29 looks perfectly well done, very nice job. The engines for the B-24 look great, (all of that fine detail, you’re a brave man.)

The engine nacelles for the bigger Monogram bombers do have a very disagreeable join line, a suggestion that works well for me is plastic strip stock, either round or flat. If flat fits the open area well, that’s a good fix. Otherwise I use round stock that’s a little too big to fit all of it in the space, glue it liberally in place, when dry file or sand it flush.

My reason is to avoid putty shrinking or cracking over time, plus the plastic stock offers a really durable and strong joint.

I’m settled in to watch this build come together, your B-29 tells me this B-24 will be a dandy. Thanks for the post and photos.

Patrick

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Hi JohnnyK,

Your B-29 is beautiful, very well done. I have a couple of these kits in my stash. I’m looking forward to your progress on the B-24.

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Can’t wait to see how this turns out your other bmf was amazing. I remember building this kit with my dad about 20 years ago and have always wanted to do it again and give it to him.

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I finished the tail wing:

The vertical wings were a real pain to finish with Bare Metal Foil. The curved edges had to be finished with small wedges of foil. Tedious to say the least.

The vertical wings did not fit very well with the horizontal wing, so out came the big clamp.

The tail wing is finally finished. As usual I used two different colors of Bare Metal Foil. Rivets were added by using a rivet wheel. The movable surfaces of the wing were painted fabric on the real airplane. I simulated this by painting those surfaces with Testors’ Metalizer Aluminum which was sealed with Testors’ Dull Coat. The deicing boots were painted flat black. The tail wing took 12 hours to complete.

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The bad joint at the nacelles is filled and ready to be foiled.

I first filled the joint with Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty. This works great. After I sanded the Bondo I put on a coat of Mr. Hobby’s Mr. Dissolved Putty. After a final sanding the joint is gone.

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Now that the joint have been sanded smooth, it’s time to add the metal foil.

I painted the deicing boots flat black and the aileron Testors’ Metallizer Aluminum. I started the foiling procedd with the nacelles. Thses were a real pain because there are so many individual sections.

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Nice work so far. I really need to do another foiled bird. Time consuming but what a look.

Joe

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JohnnyK,

Nice project! I took some pictures a couple of years ago just in case I wanted to try a B-24 of the Collins Foundation “Witchcraft”. Not bare-metal, but maybe these will be of interest.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25728384@N00/sets/72157694471026215

Gary

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You are seriously making me consider trying my hand at BMF. I have a 1/48 B-17G that will need to be done with a bare metal finish. I know paint works, but it just doesn’t look the part. I’m not sure I could pull it off though. Awesome work!

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Gary,

Those are great photos, especially the close up photos. The landing gear photos are really nice.

John

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Keyda,

I think it’s great that you are going to finish a model in BMF. Following is a photo of my Bare Metal Foil air force.

I would suggest that you try a smaller model before you attempt the B-17 in BMF. I fear that you will get really frustrated if you attempt a model as large as a B-17. My first BMF build was the P-47 with the yellow tail. It is a small plane and has simple shapes. Nothing too complicated. The F-86 also has simple shapes, just remember to paint the center portion of the main wing prior to putting on the foil. Putting masking tape on foil does not work. The Mustang has some trickey shapes around the belly scoop and the F-104 gets complicated around the jet intakes. I would suggest that you try a F-86 or a P-47 as your first BMF build. I think that you would enjoy those builds.

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That B-29 is gorgeous!