1/72 Academy/Minicraft B-24D Liberator

by Konley Kelley

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Attached is my latest image. Over the holidays, I built a 1:72 Academy/Minicraft B-24D Liberator. This was the "Goon" B-24D model kit that many of us have seen. For the section on my website showcasing famous 1:72 bombers of WW2, I wanted to include a B-24D from the Ploesti Raid.

The Ploesti Raid took place on August 1, 1943. The mission included 5 bomber groups - 164 aircraft - from the 9th Bomber Command based in North Africa. The raiders flew at treetop level to avoid detection. At the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania, the Germans were alerted to the incoming raid. A fierce battle waged and after it was over 53 aircraft and crews were lost. Five men won the Congressional Medal of Honor including Col. John R. "Killer" Kane piloting the B-24D "Hail Columbia."

For "Hail Columbia" I needed decals. I won a set of Ploesti Raider 1:48 decals on eBay. I scanned the decals and created a smaller version close to the size of the 1:72 decals that came with the kit.

The kit itself had some fit problems and I struggled to paint and weather it so it resembled many of the paintings and models I found on the web of Liberators from the Ploesti Raid - in particular a painting I saw by aviation artist, Steve Ferguson.

The decals I made were pretty fragile but I was able to use the "Hail Columbia" nose art decal (phew!) and the tail fin markings. Other decals came from the kit or my stash of decals.

The artwork behind Hail Columbia is a Photoshop-generated mix of smoke, fire, and 3D smokestacks. I also created some loose bombs and added those to the image to show "Hail Columbia" at the beginning of her bomb run.

For more "Famous Bombers in 1:72 Scale" and "Aces in 1:48 Scale" see my website at:
http://home1.gte.net/konman/index.html
Konley 

Photos and text © by Konley Kelley