Official FlightLine 1600mm B-25J Mitchell PNP Thread

[davegee]

Good pic Dave.
Do you think that rear window panel is fogged out or have they added metal there for some reason?

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Definitely not fogged out, Dan. Could have been a replacement piece for a broken piece of glass like Quitcherbitchen has postulated. They were definitely on the far end of the supply line operating out of the Philippines and SE Asia in WWII, so it's possible that or several other reasons for it being metal occurred. I have seen other period B-25 photos with other metal covers in different places of the nose. My advice would be to keep it as it is, I did that intentianally per the photo you posted of the real Cactus Kitten in 1945 before it was lost in combat.

Cheers

Davegee

[Ivankant]

Just found the forum and some really great stuff. I'm kinda still in the printing and painting process of figures that were 1/32nd scale B-17 crew and scaled them up. Still just playing around with way too many RC projects going on at the moment. Here are some pics WIP. Interesting on how much I was able to upscale one of the crew members way oversized. That's the problem with the set-n-forget resin printing. I am still trying to think on a method on how to release the bombs with a second switching instead of just opening the bay doors. I printed two of the standing rear gunners but unfortunately I will have to be chopping him up to get him to fit in the rear fuselage. Also, a little extra detailing of the engines. Much easier to just remove them from the cowling to paint. Did a little scratch building in the nose with a printed Norden bombsight. I tried the bullet belts but they looked stupid and I'll try again. The box belt feeds are a little easier but the forward nose gun is a PITA because it's now floating in the plexiglass frame. I am thinking of a ball clevis where it would be movable and affixed to the foam faux bombsight that comes with the plane. I've also used the same two pilots with my D18 Beechraft. Just a quick rescaling and thy fit really cool with some cutting out of foam in the cockpit. Withe the D18's four seats I am going to be able to put all for officers in the cockpit separated by a simple scratch built firewall with printed medical kit and fire extinguisher. All kinds of fun.

[Elbee]

Ivankant,

Great looking crew.

Nicely done.

Welcome to Hobby Squawk, glad to have you onboard.

Best, LB

[Grossman56]

Beautiful work!
Love the figures, did you buy the STL's or make them yourself? Great job so far!
I've been working on the nose gun and mount. I started with Elbee's .50 cal and did some mods on it and then worked up a mount for it as well.
Looks pretty good so far. Just tried the two pieces together but will be printed separately.

Haven't got one in my hot little hands as of yet, but it looks like it'll work.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Ivankant]

Thanks Grossman. The only purchase of files was for the 1/32nd scale bomber crew for the B-17 and I just scaled them up. The biggest one in my hand was a FUBAR where I calculated incorrectly and after the print job was done I was like...DOHH! Anyway everything else I get from Thingiverse or stlfinder.

OK So I am very interested to see how your nose gun comes out as I have been struggling with a scratch-build that would allow the gun to kinda float in any direction of the mount but as you know that Lexan nose canopy will not support this, especially in vibrations. I was thinking of a modified push rod ball mount where the barrel goes through the center hole and then with an aluminum tub drill out the main body of the gun and glue those together. Even if the barrel is no longer adjustable, at least it's not at the straight forward factory mount to foam. I did a little scratch building of the insulation blankets in the front cockpit with aluminum tape and a rivet marker for plastic models to simulate the stitching. A little khaki paint and they came out pretty cool. I was trying to scratch build the bullet feeds to the guns from the ammo boxes out of cork for flexibility but I am not happy with that outcome. I believe there is a stl file on thingiverse for the greenhouse turret of the B-24 that has the feed belts but they will need a little scaling as well. So, where did you find elbee's .50 cal files? That cup mount is very interesting and I'm thinking that would work. Sharing that on thingiverse?

[Elbee]

Grossman56 Ivankant

B-25 Pivot Bearing 50cal.zip

Here's my STL Files for the 50cal pivot bearing.

This 'does' pivot nicely if you are careful when gluing it in place.

Print the parts at the minimum layer height that your printer will print "accurately".

This varies depending on slicing as much as your printer's capabilities.

There is a front and a rear ring with the ball inbetween.

The 2 small tools to hold the rings in place while you glue those to the OEM clear plastic nose.

Dry fit, dry fit, dry fit, as I don't remember which way I glued the rings in place first. LOL

I think I glued the front ring first using the tool that fits the hole exactly to hold it in place.

Then press fit the ball and glue the rear ring in place using the other tool to hold it while the glue sets.

A little patience goes a long way here.

Best, LB

[Ivankant]

Elbee,

Wow, that's awesome! I will check the stl file out. I love what you did on the top runners of the nose canopy for the cables to support the gun's weight. I was thinking about fishing line and some small scratch built pulleys, but your idea looks much easier than my overthinking it. Where do the cables terminate at in this pic? Just embed them in the foam? I also have to ask what is the thru-plexiglass fitting on the right side of the canopy? Kinda reminded me of a Du-Bro thru-wall fuel filler. lol Freeking awesome job on the gun belt ammo feeds. Part of me wants to ask how but the other part say's I'm not worthy. ROFL JK please elaborate!!

[Elbee]

Ivankant

I have a Zip File of the glass nose parts I designed that I had sent to Dan.

If you would like those files, I'll need a viable email as the file is 4.4mb and won't post here at the Squawk.

It has the 50Cal, side panels, floor, most things that I added to my build

Eventually, I will post most everything to Prusa Printables, but it is a process putting everything together and I just haven't taken the time to do it.

Print at your printer's best resolution for best fit for these parts.

I used braided thread for the cables and dipped those in a silver enamel paint. Helped stiffen the thread, too.

The brackets are uneccessry as those cannot be seen once the glass nose is in place.

So if you go that route, it will save you some time.

The cables terminated into the aft wall at the top where there are 2 angled bumps.

Presume these were counter balance or springs, but I really don't know for certain.

Best, LB

[Grossman56]

Elbee has been a great help with the redesign of my B 25's nose. I haven't got a printed version of my nose attachment STL file so it's not proven yet whereas Elbee's is. I like to take a whack at designing things myself.
What I did find from Kermit Week's B 25 was interesting

And this pic from another B 25:

You'll note the springs!
I'm thinking of going that route, get the springs from somewhere like Ace Hardware.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Elbee]

Grossman56,

Yes, I like that, I had not seen that method, but makes a lot sense considering maintenece.

Very cool, Dan.

Best, LB