I almost bought this kit at my LHS a few days ago. My previous experience with this maker is that they make very nice kits. The reason I did not buy it was the picture of the built aircraft on the back of the box. It looked as if the entire nose section is a seperate piece. Also, from the photo, it looked as if it didn’t fit very well. This kit was the Jimmy Doolittle version, which is not the version I would prefer, but because of my experience with this brand of kit I considered it. I would appreciate any comments from those of you who have built a B-25 from this maker. Thanks in advance.
Go ahead and buy it! I have built the B-25D and B-25G from AM and they are outstanding kits. Very nicely detailed and goes together very well with no fit problems. The only negative I have heard about these kits is that the engine cowlings are slightly out of scale, but they look fine to me. The important thing is to follow the sequence of the instructions carefully. AM does a nice job on their instructions and they are well thought out.
For something really different, see if your LHS can get one of the B-25D’s in. They used these as ground/ship attacking aircraft in the Pacific. It’s a great kit, go for it!
The Monogram B-25H is my personal favorite for the B-25 “Strafers”… The nose fit is a little stupid, but not if you display it open… I’ve done two, the Army B-25H and did the second one as a Gyrene PBJ-1H. I was inspired by this one:
I never get tired of seeing that bird in it’s “Sailor Suit” Just don’t call it a “Smurfed B-25” if any Marines are around…
Revell’s rebox of the Monogram J-model is sweet as well… If you can FIND it, the old Revell B-25C from the 60’s is a fun one for scratch-builders to go nuts on superdetailing… Especially that nose and miserable top turret…
That’s pretty much the norm for Mitchells in 1/48… The Revellogram J-model is the same kit as the H-model, with just a different “Gun Nose”… You can model it with the guns and "painted-over glass (buy lots of decal set), or do the regular “bomber nose”… Frankly, I’d skip the kit you were looking at and hunt down a Revellogram version, unless you just GOTTA have a high-dollar version… Personally, I don’t think that engraved panel lines on the AM kit beats the cost of the Revellogram at 18.00 bucks… Here’s a review of the AM kit:
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2005/12/stuff_eng_benshahar_b25.htm
You’d better make sure you’re in a dive when that 75mm lets loose… darn near stops the plane!
Great work, Hans. It looks very nice in the tri-color scheme!
J,
I’m just finishing this kit. The fit is good and the panel lines and revit detail is very nice. I have a write-up on the build on my website - go to the workbench on the menu’s to the right. When finished it really looks fantastic. Having read the book “30 Seconds over Tokyo” as a kid and also seen the movie this plane has become one of my favorites. It’s been wonderful to finally build one. You can see the write-up by clicking on my website below.
Cheers,
Paul
I didn’t build that one in the pic, I was inspired by it, mine’s still “on the bench”… Sorry about the confusion…
I’ve got the A.M. B25 kit of the Dolittle Raiders. Have not built it yet, but it appears to be an excellent kit to start with. The booklet that comes with it is fantastic, and is actually an “after action report” by Col. Dolittle himself (he even signed it). After buying this kit I bought the so called limited edition Apache version, and have been in the hunt for a “G” model for about six months now. Aries or Verlinden (one or the other) makes a direct replacment cockpit and Quickboost sells engines. These are very fine kits, and can often be found for less than $25 on Ebay.
gary
Thanks for the input every body. I am thinking that I might go with the Revell Kit because a “J” model with the cheek guns is what I was actually wanting.