Imsjim - Strombecker B-24J Restoration

[lmsjim]

I managed to pick up a very badly built model of this kit. I strongly suspect the builder was a kid since it looked a lot like the kits I built back in the 50's. I noticed the supercharger decals which are supposed to go on the bottom of the engines ended up on the top and two of the stars insignia were upside down. I decided to see if I could restore it. My goal was to build the kit as close as I could to how it was supposed to be built in the first place following the instructions.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1855

The first thing to do was to try and disassemble as much as possible without damaging the wood. Fortunately I think the builder used the kit glue, which is crap, so most parts came apart without much effort.  I managed to get everything apart except the wings from the fuselage and the turrets that were inset into the fuselage. The nose and tail turrets were also removed along with all gun barrels and landing gears.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1860

I then started sanding off the paint. I thought of using paint remover but the silver dope the kid used was pretty thin so it sanded off fairly easy except where there were decals. There was a lot of reshaping and finishing like rounding off corners that the first builder did not complete. The worst probably were the wing tips. One was pretty close to the right shape but was way too thick. The other one was totally wrong shape.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1859

I then reassembled the kit using Elmer's wood glue. The joints were puttied and sanded using Squadron Shop white putty. I leaned later on this kit was a bad move. For some reason the white putty reacts with the sanding sealer and bubbles up. I also added two doors for the nose gear made from bass wood. It appeared the original builder never even put them on.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1858

I then applying approximately 5 coats of sanding sealer and thoroughly sanding between coats. I also had to go back and make the wheel fairings out of scrap wood pieces and glue them on. I learned from earlier kits to be sure and sand all the sanding sealer off otherwise it has a tendency to peel off. I made new machinegun barrels out of brass wire since the original ones were either bent or missing.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1857

I sprayed it with a light coat of Tamiya flat aluminum and then sanded a few areas that needed help and rescribed the panel lines. I then gave it another good coat of flat aluminum and let it dry.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1856

I then painted the turrets a light blue to match the decals. I sprayed the model with Future floor wax to get a smooth finish to put the decals on. It took about 4 coats to get the gloss coat I wanted. I then sprayed the wheels gloss black and using a mask sprayed the centers aluminum. The propellers were masked and I sprayed the centers aluminum and the tips yellow. The instructions say to paint the tips silver but I have always painted them yellow so I ignored the instructions in this one instance.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1898


I managed to get a scan of the original decal sheet. Not surprisingly the sheet was yellowed with age and had been roughed up in the box. I used Corel Photo Paint to edit the colors. I removed the yellow background, fixed the tail numbers, darkened the blue insignias, and corrected for misregistration on the windows. The last was the bomb bay doors which were wrinkled except one. I cut the good one and pasted it over the other three. After I received the back side of the instructions I noticed it talked about painting the turrets the same color as the decal windows which was light blue. The sheet I had they were clearly green but again probably due to age so I went back and changed them to blue. After doing a test print I decided that the gray (silver) areas also needed to be lightened to better match the aluminum paint I was using.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1862

I bought some Bare Metal Foil Companies' laser printer decal paper to try and see if it would look better than the inkjet type I had been using since I had access to a laser printer at work. The one thing I couldn't correct was the gray areas of the decal sheet were originally silver not gray but the scan and of course the printer could not duplicate this color. I used white sheets for all the items that I could and clear for the bombs and tail numbers since they required a clear background. I gave all the decal sheets two coats of Testors decal spray. I then put them on using Micro-Sol and Set.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-1861

[Oceaneer99]

That's a real labor of love, and a truly impressive restoration.  I'm also impressed by your silver paint!  I've learned that silver can be very, very difficult to make come out as nicely as you did.

Garet
Seattle, Washington

[lmsjim]

Thanks Garet,
Yes I use an airbrush for almost everything because you are right about silver finishes.

Jim

[R.F.Bennett]

Very nice work Jim, Thanks for coming aboard. 

[Rafael]

That's impressive!!!

The colors!!! specially the contrast shown in the fuselage/bomb bay area is striking.

Rafa

[lastvautour]

Jim you mentioned 5 coats of sealer. What brand do you use?

Lou

[lmsjim]

Hi Lou,
I use Aero Gloss since it is easy to find.

Jim

[lastvautour]

Can't find that in my neck of the woods. I visted 3 hardware/lumber stores and they don't even have any product called wood sealer. The best I could find is a wood hardner. I will visit the next town over and see what they may have. Thanks for the info.

Lou

[Oceaneer99]

Lou,

The Aero Gloss sanding sealer is clear model airplane dope with lots of talc added.  I have a jar of it that I bought at a hobby store.  Starting about the time I built the PT-10, I experimented with mixing my own.  I think the model airplane dope works really well as a base because it shrinks a bit as it dries.  However, I have successfully used clear lacquer nail polish with baby powder mixed in, which is what I used for the PT-10.  I had to add a bit of lacquer thinner after a while, since it started to get really thick.  For small models, it is great because the brush is in the cap.  For larger models, I'd go with the Aero Gloss, or try mixing some lacquer with baby powder and lacquer thinner if it needs to be thinned out a bit.  Then you can use a large, soft brush to apply it as you would any lacquer.

For the I-16, I used the nail-polish based sanding sealer on the small parts, but a spray lacquer sandable primer (used for automotive painting) in a rattle can for the fuselage and wings.  It takes many coats of that to fill, though.  I think I ended up with about 5-6 coats total, with little touch-ups and putty work in between each.  If the grain is open, like mahogany, you'll need to fill the grain first with a wash of thinned putty.

I'll put a copy of this post in the paint and finishing board.

Garet

Hi Lou,
I use Aero Gloss since it is easy to find.

Jim

[lmsjim]

Lou,
You are not going to find it in any hardware store. It is a hobby product. Any self respecting hobby shop should carry it though. You can also order on-line. Garet is right it is dope. So you need dope thinner for it also. I used to use it back in the early 50's and except for the brand name it has not changed at all. Even the smell is the same which is pretty strong. You have to brush it on. It does work great but you have to sand it pretty good between coats. Sorry I guess I just thought everyone knew about it. My mistake.

Jim

[lastvautour]

Not too many hobbyshops in the area and the post office will not accept dangerous cargo so courrier make's it out of my price range.  I need a shopping day in the city. Thanks for all the info.

[lmsjim]

I have mail order it without any problems. I think they just sent it UPS which is actually usually cheaper that post office anyway. Try Hobbylinc.com I have had good luck with them.

http://www.hobbylinc.com/prods/swk.htm

[dave_t]

Jim, I have used Hobbylinc with good results. I prefer to send personal checks by mail and was able to reserve items online until they received payment. The shipping charges were reasonable too, here in the USA.

Dave

[John Bell]

I keep telling you guys to us DEFT,  as a sealer, available at lots of hardware and paint stores. It's the only way to go.

John Bell

[Oceaneer99]

John,

Do you mean actual DEFT Lacquer Sanding Sealer?  Funny you should mention that: I was just about to mix some talcum into some Deft brushing lacquer I had on hand for one of my larger projects.  The sanding sealers usually have some sort of powder in them to help fill the grain better than the lacquer alone.  I've seen it in some of the paint shops here, so I'll pick some up at some point.

In general, I really like the lacquer-based sealers (other than the fumes!).  They dry quickly and give a nice finish.

Garet