The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

The new arrivals from Airfix seem to have been coming thick and fast of late; the latest one to hit the doormat chez iggie is the B-25 Mitchell. This was first announced a while back, but in common with the most recent releases from Airfix has been delayed somewhat; no matter as it's not like I haven't got anything left in the stash to build!
Again we have the now standard box colour scheme and excellent box-art from Adam Tooby, depicting one of the two kit scheme options in flight over what looks to be a pacific atoll, or perhaps the Florida coast. Margate it ain't!
Inside we have a single large poly bag containing the sprues, of which there are five moulded in light grey hard-ish plastic (the kit is 'made in India') and two of clear which are in a separate bag within the larger one. As you'd expect from Airfix' latest offerings, everything looks to be moulded very crisply and with lots of fine detail. The all important panel lines are restrained and I'm sure will look bang-on under some paint. There is no flash evident, nor any obviously problematic ejector pin marks or sink-holes; there are some ejector pin marks on the fuselage inner faces, but looking at the instructions would suggest that most will be hidden, and those remaining well out of the limited view of the interior.
There are a couple of neat build ideas that show up in the instructions:
The bomb bay doors are moulded as one part with the bay interior detail should you wish to pose the doors open (the interior is omitted if you want the bay closed), and;
The engine nacelles are used (without gluing) as positioning pieces to ensure the main U/C is set in the correct position but then taken off again for assembly into the full engine/nacelle unit before attachment to the wings. Both ideas seem very sensible and useful.
There are other options to be decided during the build; wheels up/down, dorsal turret raised/lowered, crew hatches open/closed, flaps raised/lowered, crew or no crew (Yes, there are pilot figures!) and lastly a choice of main cockpit glazing. Lots to think about and checking of references will be important for some builders methinks.
The decals are nice and sharp, with absolutely no carrier film visible other than that between lettering etc, certainly none outside of the insignia.
The instructions are again as we have come to expect, and seem to be clear; option choices are highlighted for each of the two build schemes where relevant, otherwise it is up to the builder to decide. There are two glossy sheets at A3, one for stencil locations and one to illustrate both box schemes in full colour; the two schemes are:
A) B-25D "Lady Jane", 23rd Anti-submarine Squadron, Florida July 1943: Olive Drab over White
B) B-25C "Desert Warrior", 81st Bombardment Squadron, Bolling Field, Washington DC, July 1943: Desert Sand over Compass Grey

All in all, another winner from Airfix; there will of course be the usual moans and groans from some because there always are, but for 99.99% of modellers interested in the type/era I suspect this will be a 'must-have' kit, which will build up very nicely (and that's an understatement) from the box. AM producers are already on the ball with a raft of extras should you wish to go that route. From the construction of the nose, I suspect there will be future releases featuring the gun packing variants

That looks to be very good indeed to me, with some nice detail both internal and external. Personally I prefer the glazed nose versions of the Mitchell to the gun toting solid nose versions. Lovely jubbly and many thanks for showing us inside the box, you're a gentleman and a scholar

Thank you very much for sharing.

I am curious about the inclusion of "Desert Warrior" in the time frame shown. The 12th BG/81st BS were still in Africa / Italy until early 1944 when they went to the CBI. So the notes on decal sheet that places them at Bolling Field in summer of '43 would seem to be incorrect or perhaps incomplete. Now it is quite possible that this aircraft (& a couple others) may have been brought back to DC/Bolling to participate in a ceremony for the award of the Presidential Unit Citation to the 12th BG and perhaps a War Bond tour. The nose markings, particularly the right side, would seem to support that. I believe I have seen period photos of them.

Could you post more detailed shots of the nose markings for that aircraft ?

Regardless, there are enough decals to do the kit in N.Africa camo & markings if desired, although the War Bond Tour idea could be a nifty diorama with some 72nd scale starlets & all.

'Specially for you John

I think the citation award trip suggestion is correct judging by the nose art:

Thanks for this review. It’s on my list. The desert markings are of interest.

Thanks, that helps - the aircraft was sent back on its own merit in Sep 43 for tours. Unsure if it went back over or not.

I would think that worth noting in the color schemes.

I must admit that I would have liked to have seen a Pacific Theater option (USAAF/RAAF/RNZAF/NEIAF)

Dai

If either of those main legs come loose they are gonna no to be a pain to reattach once the nacelles are on. Some additional brace may be in order.

DH-Drover wrote:I must admit that I would have liked to have seen a Pacific Theater option (USAAF/RAAF/RNZAF/NEIAF)

Dai

Agree, that's why I was asking about the C-1 Strafer - perhaps a variant later. IIRC in the ETO/MTO the B-25 was pretty much used as a medium bomber and it was in the Pacific that went wild with official and unofficial armament upgrades, some non-standard aircraft markings, and all that.

I'm waiting for that version, then the H & J.

Should there be a " Earthquakers " marking on the starboard engine nacelle or is that from a different era?

mylo66 wrote:Should there be a " Earthquakers " marking on the starboard engine nacelle or is that from a different era?

"Earthquakers" is the nickname for the 12th BG and was in use probably from their inception, certainly in N.Africa.
I have seen it on one or two ships, both on the left nose of the fuselage.
Other than formation symbols (ie 8th AF) adding BG markings or nicknames wasn't typical.
(EDIT: well, I forgot about the famous 345BG "Air Apaches" in the Pacific whose symbol adorned the rudders.)
Putting something on a nacelle, particularly the right, is rare. Do you have a reference ?

BTW: check this out https://archive.org/details/gov.dod.dimoc.26133;

Thanks for that link John; there is some very poignant footage in there, and some great reference material

Looks like a pretty sweet kit. The Mitchell has been a fave for a while.

jRatz

have a look at this link
https://www.worldwarphotos.info/wp-cont ... se_art.jpg;

mylo66 wrote:jRatz

have a look at this link
https://www.worldwarphotos.info/wp-cont ... se_art.jpg;

Oh, wow, Well Done - thanks for finding and sharing that photo !!

I think looked at it (or others) once before but the marking is back under the wing and almost hidden in shadow so I missed it. I may have been looking on the cowling also. Now that I know what it looks like, I might go back through other photos to see if it is on other aircraft operationally, or maybe just that "ceremonial" aircraft.

Great image, and so yes, so it would seem there is an error of omission -- now I wonder about the port side also ?
You might send that on to Airfix, maybe they'll issue a correction sheet, or maybe XtraDecals will do an aftermarket.