Orlik PBJ-1H Mitchell

[Bomarc]

Right wing's mostly done. Just have to fashion the tip a little and make the radome:





Mostly everything lined up, including the cutouts for the landing light and oil cooler, go figure! Sorry ‘Rasta”, this is as good as my camera can get:



There was only a tad forcing of the lower outer panel to get the top and bottom trailing edges to align, which resulted in a slight deformation around the national insignia, but if that’s the worse the other wing has to give me, I’ll take it!

Oh and I’m sure you all were wondering…….yes it does fit:




BUT, the dark blues don’t match!

Didn’t see THAT one coming….sheesh. Not much I can do. I was planning to clear coat the whole at the end, maybe it will bring the colors closer together. Otherwise, I guess I can chalk it up to fading from the South Pacific sun.

Mike

[Don Boose]

Well, if I was going to explain that color difference, Mike, here's what I'd say (you could speculate that my Dad, T/Sgt Don Boose, who was on Eniwetok waiting for the attack transport that would eventually land him on a beach on Okinawa three months later, might have heard the story while having a beer with a Marine from VMB-613 on the beach):

During a mission to hit Wotje on 22 January 1945, ol' 8-Ball took a couple of minor hits to the starboard nacelle. They didn't have a lot of spares out there on Eniwetok back in those days, so they replaced the nacelle panels with some that they borrowed off of Number 12 (Fireball), which was a hangar queen at that time, and so for a while there, 8-Ball had a slightly different color blue on that nacelle from the color of the wing.

Here's a picture of Lieutenant Manning, standing in front of 8-ball after that mission (to learn more, so you can make up your own story, go to Marine Bombing Squadron Six-Thirteen (VMB-613)):

[shrike]

Gee...and I was just gonna say faded paint

[Bomarc]

Originally Posted by Don Boose

Here's a picture of Lieutenant Manning, standing in front of 8-ball after that mission (to learn more, so you can make up your own story, go to Marine Bombing Squadron Six-Thirteen (VMB-613)):

Thank you SO much for pointing me to that site Don! "YOU da' man" (as they say). I had been meaning to try and find some background on "8-Ball", the subject of this PBJ kit, but got so wrapped up in build, I kept putting it off. I'm really interested in finding a complete shot of "8-Ball" to see if does in fact have her upper turret removed as depicted in the kit. It was a conscience move on Orlik's part to do that, as they included a complete upper turret in their B-25J, and could have easily included it in the PBJ. Orlik seems to do their homework much in the way boy would like to do his: Quick and dirty without anyone checking.......

Seeing that they already missed the "8-Ball" on the nose gear wheel hub (great shot, and it looks like I'm gonna do some scratch buildin'), I would lay even money I'll need an upper turret.

Also, thanks for the "cover story" on the mismatched paint....I'll keep that one under advisement...

Mike

[Don Boose]

Mike -- You can imagine how much I enjoyed working up that story.

I don't want to divert the thread, and you may have already worked through the photos at the VMB-613 site, but just in case, I can assure you that none of the squadron's aircraft had upper turrents. The photos below show 8-Ball (S/N 43-4687: the aircraft nearest the camera in this April 1945 flight line shot [http://www.vmb613.com/april_1945.htm]), the crew [http://www.vmb613.com/officers_and_men3.htm], and the squadron mascot, "Yokohama." Incidentally, by April 1945, many of the aircraft had had the pretty blue paint stripped off and were flying in rather shabby natural aluminum.

Manning, was the co-pilot. The entire crew of 8-Ball consisted of: Lieutenant Colonel George W. Nevils, First Lieutenant Francis S. Manning, First Lieutenant John W. Merritt, Technical Sergeant Alex Ohlson Jr., Staff Sergeant Allen R. Protheroe, Staff Sergeant William S. Semple, and Technical Sergeant Selwyn J. Renfeld.
[Photograph: U.S. Marine Corps, Clell Q. Thorpe Collection (Courtesy of the University of Houston Libraries)]

The last photo is of some VMB-613 pilots on Eniwetok in February 1945 posing in front of 8-Ball [http://www.vmb613.com/february_1945.htm]: "Seven VMB-613 pilots pause for a group photograph on Eniwetok in early February of 1945. The pilots are Front Row (L-R): First Lieutenant Wayne A. Youngren, First Lieutenant Robert E. Love, and First Lieutenant Francis S. Manning; Back Row (L-R) First Lieutenant Robert W. Jackson, First Lieutenant John "R" Riblet, First Lieutenant Richard D. Newton, and First Lieutenant Tom H. Houston. [Photograph: U.S. Marine Corps, David Snider Collection (Courtesy of the Manning Brothers)"]

Cheers! Semper Fi! and Keep 'em Flying!

Don

[Bomarc]

I said it before Don, and I'll say it here, you can "hijack" any thread of mine anytime. But your above couple of posts are most definitely germane to this build and I thank you for it. You saved me some building time, and made me realize Orlik deserves a lot more credit that what I've been giving them, at least in the historical department.

It's their printers I have a beef with now.....

Mike

[Bomarc]

OK, before I get on with skinning the left wing, I have a little technique to share, BUT I’m only gonna do this once (mainly because I only have the one other wing to do).

Let’s make a landing light cover!

Cut out a little rectangle from mat board. This will be the standard where by all parts center around for this exercise. Using the rectangle, lightly (no embossing the outside now) trace lines around the LL opening:



Then use it to cut a hole in a piece of 65lb card:



Lastly, cut the actual “cover” material from an ordinary office supple type 3-ring binder page protector:



That little piece of cardboard is getting to be like the obelisk in the movie "2001"....it's everywhere! Using the card stock as a mask, squirt some spray adhesive (I’m using Krylon):



Now if the area of glue isn’t already apparent, use the pencil lines traced in step one to locate and lay down the cover. You can use a white eraser to clean up excess glue around the edge:



While the spray glue is still tacky, make the leading edge fold in the part, and work out any crinkle that may pop up in the plastic by burnishing it down on the backside if needed (it wasn’t on this one):



Instant Landing Light Cover.…”ask for it by name”.

Are we having fun yet?

Mike

[member_3]

Brilliant! This is such a great technique thread!

[B-Manic]

Great tip Mike - it has so many uses too.

[Bomarc]

Left wing has been skinned. Here’s the last panel before gluing on. I just wanted to preserve an image of the cool structure underneath before it’s closed off from view for good:





The left nacelle fits too, happy days! I must be making progress; I have to keep holding the camera farther and farther away to take a picture:



Next few days will be finessing the wingtips, then mounting the nacelles for good.

Mike