The Little World

It started as a bit of a joke amongst club mates.

One chap had been given a Revell model of a B-24D made sometime in the 1980’s and everyone who saw it condemned it as unbuild-able. He was so discouraged that he was going to bin it. But then offered it around the table for spares…

I looked past the deplorable box, the progressively smaller price tag, and the bag of scrap bits someone had thrown in. I could see a Ploesti raider in there, and as I have long wanted to commemorate the feat, I jumped at it.

Close examination shows a welter of rivets everywhere on the moulding; this is what must have put everyone off it. However, the panel lines are recessed, so if the rivets are too maddening to ignore, they can be eased off with a light wet-and-dry sanding without sacrificing too much.

The parts fit might not be Tamiya-perfect, but I can readily tell you it is certainly Czech-worthy and will yield to clever joinery. I have built worse at far higher prices!

The instructions are clearly illustrated and perfectly adequate. The decals are munted – cracked and distorted. But there are plenty of after-market sheets and even my spares base for USAAF decals can likely fill in any holes. I will be making the nose art myself as a rather simple design.

This was a very kind gift and I’m going to make sure that it is not wasted at all.