*** DONE Italeri 1/48th scale Boston IIIA Group Build.

[Airframes]

Thanks Karl. I just hope the Ventura arrives Harrison. It was despatched over two weeks ago, and might have fallen victim to the Postal strike! I really want to do the Ventura, as it did a lot in a short time, under trying conditions, and was not at all suited for the European air war. A lot of courageous crews were lost on Ventura ops, and a VC won on one raid. There is also an amazing survival story concerning the type, which I'll relate when the build starts.

[B-17engineer]

Dam, that sucks. I hope its nothing like Ian's Lanc! I hope for the best!

[Vic Balshaw]

Don’t the PO sh** you off, I'm waiting on magazines and Ac part from UK and with Christmas coming, who knows when they will arrive. Hope you have luck Terry and Mr Post is knocking on your door with a nice package.

[Airframes]

Thanks Harrison and Vic. I hope it does arrive, and in one piece - some of the accounts I've heard from Ian and others are a bit disconcerting!
Anyway, the Boston is proceeding well, with most of the time consuming tedious bits out of the way, although it looks a bit tatty at the moment. As soon as it's touched-up it'll be time to move on to the fiddly bits and additions.
PIC 1. The nose canopy framework has been repainted and the edging sealed, and this is where it looks a bit untidy at the moment, as the fresh paint has yet to be retouched here and there, and have a coat of clear matt, in order to smooth-out and even-up the appearance. Some spotting has appeared inside, which I can only think is very fine misting from the clear- coat spraying, which perhaps found it's way through a tiny gap in the masking around the belly hatch. I managed to remove most of it by carefully inserting a cotton bud (Q-Tip) into the compartment, through the hatch, and gently polishing. Fortunately, the remainder is hardly noticeable to the naked eye, and couild pass for moisture - or dead flies!
The cockpit canopy has been fitted, and the edges sealed with PVA, which is awaiting painting and clear matt. The canopy wasn't faired completely into the fuselage sides on the real aircraft, so once painted, a very fine line will need to be scored, to represent the lower edge of the frame. The nose wheel leg has also been fitted, and has yet to be painted and the detail picked out. The wheel will be painted and fitted later.
PIC 2. The rear canopy has been fitted, and again is awaiting a bit of a tidy up and re-touching of the framework. This fixed section actually hinged to starboard, providing an emergency exit for ground use, so the edges, although partly sealed with PVA, should be visible. The aft section slid forward on the real aircraft, and was stored under the fuselage 'tunnel' above the radios. The kit parts don't allow this, with the options being either closed, or the aft section omitted to show the open gun position; not a fault, just the thickness of the parts, on the fuselage and the canopy, which would be extremely difficult to mould in true scale, if not impossible. The simple thing to do was saw off the forward section of the small canopy, where it would meet the main, 'fixed' canopy, and push it under the tunnel, where the tension keeps it in place. This was done by trial and error, sawing small slivers at a time, until the correct appearance was achieved.
PIC 3. The main radio antenna mast has been fitted, and requires some more sanding to remove the remains of the sprue attachment point and, of course, has yet to be painted and clear coated. The DF loop, a recognition feature of the MkIIIA, has also been fitted, after first cutting off the loop from the mount, and repositioning it fore and aft for a more authentic look. The mount has yet to be sealed around the base, using PVA, and then it too will be painted and clear coated. The antenna wire from the mast to the fin, and the secondary wire from the port tailplane to the fuselage, behind the gun position, will be made and fitted last. The RAF Bostons had a single wire, unlike some aircraft, where a complex double wire arrangement was used.
PIC 4. Finally, the kit wheels assembled as provided. These have come in for some criticism in some reviews, where they are described as having a diamond tread pattern which is too heavy. Personally, I think they'd be fine after painting. However, RAF Bostons normally used smooth-treaded tyres, and although there is an aftermarket resin set available, the wheel rims have the perforated hub on one side, and a spoked hub on the other. These weren't fitted to RAF Bostons until the MkIV, with the smooth, 'capped' hub being used on the MkIII and MkIIIA. So, some careful sanding will hopefully reduce the tread, which is actually raised, rather like fish scales. If they don't turn out completely smooth, then at least they should look more acceptable after painting and the addition of 'dust' and so on.
The next stages should see the model itself finished, although there is still quite a lot to be done, mainly scratch-building a few small items and fitting the delicate antenna wires and so on. Then it's the figure conversions and scratch-building a starter trolley to go on the diorama base.
Thanks again for your interest and kind comments, and I'll post another up-date soon.

[Heinz]

Great stuff Terry!
The tread looks weird as being raised. :s

[109ROAMING]

Nice progress mate!

[A4K]

Looking good Terry!

[jamierd]

looks great terry can t wait to see it finished

[Crimea_River]

Nice Terry. What's PVA?

[Wurger]

Cool Terry.

[A4K]

PVA - Polyvinyl Acrylate, white wood-working glue.

[ozhawk40]

Great work Terry! Those tires do come in for a bit of stick, but I remember seeing a pic of a PBY with similar style tread, so I don't know. Usually a bit of sanding makes them less prominent, and if your going for the Kojac look all well and good.

Cheers

Peter

[Crimea_River]

Originally Posted by A4K

PVA - Polyvinyl Acrylate, white wood-working glue.

Ah! Thank-you! Got lots of that.

That was a TLA I wasn't familiar with.

[Airframes]

What's a TLA?!!!
Thanks guys. I don't know what the problem is with the criticism of the tyre treads. Yes, they look strange at first, but would look perfectly acceptable after painting and some tread weathering. The Boston manual actually shows this type of tread , so it's correct. It's a shame to have to sand it down to a smooth tread, so I might compromise, and have a softer tread, as I have seen evidence of some form of treaded tyre on RAF Bostons.

[B-17engineer]

They look fine Terry, Raise is better in my opinion.