ghodges Posted September 13, 2018 Report Share Posted September 13, 2018 (edited) This is the Koster vacuform conversion. It entails replacing the entire kit nose with the vac nose parts. The Koster kit also comes with complete sets of clear parts to replace/improve the kit turrets, side windows, and canopy. It has resin parts for the nose and tail turret interiors as well as metal guns. It also comes with a great decal sheet that gives you two choices of markings for a Ford Nose Liberator. The Monogram B-24J is still a great model even though the molds are now 40+yrs old. It has a ton of interior detail, much of which won't be seen after it's closed up inside. Its overall fit is good, but not great; and does require some TLC, test fitting, and elbow grease to erase the seams, especially on the nacelles. It features raised panel lines, but they are actually a more accurate representation of the lapped panel joins on the real B-24. I didn't bother to rescribe the model, opting to simply replace lost lines with a #11 blade and then enhance those with pencil panel lines. The kit features excellent engineering and wing to fuselage fit that allows you to assemble, paint, and decal the wings and then add them at the end of the build. You could even leave them off for easier transportation if you wanted. This is essentially where most of the work is on the model.... The fit was good, but I did have to do some shimming around the bottom bomb aiming window. You can also see the resin turret interior parts. The advantage of the vac nose and tail turret parts is that they put join lines along painted frame lines (the kit turrets do not). Their down side is that they're a bit too big and take some finesse and adjustments to make them fit in place. This pic shows the kit canopy taped in place, but in the end I opted for the vac canopy. Also, the small side windows are filled with Micro Krystal Clear as a "mask" for construction and painting. After the model was painted and decalled, they were torn out and new clear windows made using more Krystal Clear. Here are the pics of the finished model.... This is one of the tougher conversions I've ever built, mainly due to having to piece together 2 and 3 piece vac clear parts for the nose and tail turrets, and then fill, sand, and polish them! Thank God for Future! The external differences for this version are sort of subtle, consisting of the bubble side nose windows, a smaller bomb aiming window, the small side bottom windows, and the "S" panel line where it was grafted onto the fuselage. The fuselage side guns are also sealed closed. Think I'll build a couple of easier kits next! Comments, critiques, and questions welcome as always! GIL Edited September 13, 2018 by ghodges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Deliduka Posted September 13, 2018 Report Share Posted September 13, 2018 Wow, you always manage to make such outstanding models from such unique conversion sets. This is one stunning model that really shines. I bow in the presence of greatness. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdedig Posted September 14, 2018 Report Share Posted September 14, 2018 Great Aircraft Gil...Love your efforts with Monogram kits Cheers Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1320Wayne Posted September 15, 2018 Report Share Posted September 15, 2018 Awesome work Gil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildBill50 Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 Bandits...12 O'clock High! Great model with a great conversion to boot. Can't tell where the conversion started and the model combined to make a beautiful rendition of that plane. I really like the markings on this one. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulfman Posted October 28, 2018 Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 Very nicely done ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradley25mm Posted November 26, 2018 Report Share Posted November 26, 2018 Outstanding work Gil. Love the paint job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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