North American B-25 Mitchell Walk Around Part X

Photographs taken at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (NMUSAF), Dayton, Ohio.

Part XI here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2025/11/02/north-american-b-25-mitchell-walk-around-part-xi/

Military Modelers Club Louisville 2024 IPMS Model Show

The Military Modelers Club of Louisville 2024 Model Show was held yesterday at the Paraquet Springs Convention Center. MMCL had hosted shows there in previous years but this was my first time here, it is a very nice facility – clean, spacious, and very well lit. The weather was a factor though, the remains of Hurricane Helene had settled over the greater region and the rain was continuous. I came down from the North and had the easiest time of it, but those to the East of Louisville experienced power outages and flooding, those coming from the South had to contend with all that plus high winds and heavier rains.

There were 432 model entries, down from last year due to the weather. The club is justifiably famous for their outstanding raffle which is always a highlight. I was lucky at the raffle but my vendor purchases were confined to books – there were a few of those at great prices which I couldn’t pass up. As always, the best part was hanging out with friends, it is a great way to spend the day!

Women Warriors 289

USAF with Reaper UAV and Hellfire Missile

Lt. Dana Kaduri, IDF Iron Dome battery commander

RAAF Flight Lieutenant Hayley Moulds, KC-30A

Airman 1st Class Natasha Libby examines the barrels of a Gau-2 mini gun mounted on an HH-60 Pave Hawk

ATA pilot Lettice Curtis boarding the Spitfire

Women in israel defense forces IDF military girls — **Israeli Defense Forces IDF**

ww556_NursesFrance44 — **US Army Nurses in France 1944**

ww356 — **Katherine Hepburn as Amelia Earhart**

ww155 — **Norwegian Soldier in Afghanistan**

ww156MaureenDunlop2 — **Maureen Dunlop, ATA Pilot**

To see more Women Warriors, click on the tags below:

Revell Junkers Ju 290 Build in 1/72 Scale Part I

In 2003 Revell released their Junkers Ju 290A-5, followed up by releasing their Ju290A-7 kit with new parts in 2009. These were part of a series of Revell Luftwaffe giants which also included the six-engine Blohm und Voss Bv 222 flying boat, the ill-fated He 177 Greif bomber, and the famous Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor. In a slight twist for the detail oriented the actual aircraft depicted on the box art was produced as a Ju 290A-4, but refitted with the glazed nose of the A-7 series. The box is the dreaded end-opening type and it is heavy with sprues.

The Ju 290 is only slightly smaller than the Boeing B-29 and was one of the larger aircraft of the time. The fact that such obscure types are even kitted in 1/72 is one of the reasons I favor the scale. This sprue is devoted to the main fuselage halves and interior parts. The rectangular part on the right is the “Trapoklappe”, a hydraulicly operated loading ramp which was located under the rear fuselage. If you want to show the ramp deployed be aware that the Revell part is greatly simplified, the actual ramp had stairsteps in the center and vehicle wheel guides on each side.

All the parts feature finely engraved panel lines. Revell has done a good engineering job here of staggering seams on the larger components which adds to the overall strength of the assemblies. The upper wing parts butt up to the fuselage, the undersides only go as far as the outer engine nacelles.

The center section of the lower wings is molded together with the forward fuselage. The remaining parts here are for the tail which spans greater than most single-engine types, along with the outer surface of the Trapoklappe.

Many detail parts here. The sprue is dominated by the cockpit interior and cargo floor at the top and the fuselage upper surface at the bottom. The fuselage interior cannot really be seen on the finished model unless the ramp or the side doors are posed open. The forward section of the cockpit can be seen through the canopy so it will be worth the time to detail that area. The separate fuselage roof allows Revell to capture the detail there.

The final sprues are mainly engine components on the left and parts for three Hs 293 glide bombs. In the Ju 290A-5 boxing Revell provides Fritz X glide bombs so you get some options. The engine assemblies are fitted with separate cowl panels which allow the modeler to pose them open to reveal the engine detail inside, many of mine had separated from the sprue, including one which hid in the flaps of the end-opening box.

There is some nice detail in the cockpit. I did not build out anything aft of the main bulkhead as you can’t see anything back there anyway. What you can see is the back of the instrument panel if you look straight down through the front of the canopy. I added instrument backs from round stock and wired them with solder.

Here is the cockpit all painted up. PE belts are from an Eduard fret. Instruments are kit decals and paint.

Another view of the cockpit looking forward. Wooden chart tables are picked out with brown oils. This is plenty of detail for what is visible through the canopy glazing, I try not to add extra detail which will never be seen again after the fuselage is closed up.

Part II here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2024/10/04/revell-junkers-ju-290-build-in-1-72-scale-part-ii/

Picture of the Week 39

A dramatic photograph of USS Hornet (CV-8) during the Battle of Santa Cruz on 26OCT42. Hornet endured three strikes by groups of Japanese aircraft that day. A torpedo hit during the second attack doomed Hornet and her Captain ordered her abandoned. In this photograph the escorting Destroyers which had pulled alongside to rescue Hornet’s crew are forced to pull away as a third strike group from Zuikaku arrives overhead, bursts of defending anti-aircraft fire can be seen in the sky.

Half Track Fire Engines

Last week’s post on the 1945 Wright Field open house featured photos of several captured aircraft. In the background of one of those photos John of the Just Needs Varnish! blog noticed a red halftrack fire fighting vehicle which sparked a brief discussion. Warren indicated that these conversions were not uncommon, which was all the encouragement I needed to go down that rabbit hole. So, my friends, here is a smattering of photos which illustrate a variety of potential conversion possibilities. Markings for these vehicles would be a problem, but there is a decal manufacturer called “In Quarters” which offers markings in 1/64 scale for several different fire departments. That should be close enough for a “whiffer” in the popular modeling scales, and they also offer other sets in case you would like a highway patrol halftrack! I have not purchased from them myself so I cannot comment on the quality but the link is below.

In Quarters Decals here: https://inquarters.com/Fire_Decals.html

The Philadelphia Fire Department operated this conversion from 1961 through 1969. This one was based upon the M5 halftrack and had a capacity of 1,000 gallons.

This M16 swapped its quad .50 caliber machine guns for firefighting equipment. Mattawa is in Washington State.

Another view of the Mattawa FD vehicle. It appears the wheels and track sprockets have been chromed.

An interesting pumper conversion of an M3. A hose connection replaces the winch on the front brush bar.

For those times when more water is needed this tanker trailer with an M3 prime mover would come in handy.

I couldn’t find a town named “Logan Ranch”, this may be a private conversion to fight brushfires.

Not to be outdone, a French conversion. The translation is “Fire and Emergency Department Service of Herault”.

This RAF conversion was based upon a German Sd.Kfz. 7 halftrack. The term monitor refers to a water cannon mounted at the rear of the vehicle.

A beautiful photo of a 1938 Ford conversion in service with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

A rare view of the same vehicle from the opposite side. The tracks replaced the standard truck rear wheels which was an option when more traction was required.

Italeri Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär in 1/72 Scale

This is the old ESCI Brummbär kit from 1981 hiding in an Italeri box. I made a few tweaks and improvements, the most visible being the addition of Zimmerit using Mr. Surfacer 500. The vehicle is from St.Pz.Abt. 217 at Normandy in July 1944.