Multi-Engine Aircraft - WW II - 1/72

Junkers Ju-52 by Heller 1/72. The famous "Tante Ju" (aunt Ju) 

Nice model to build, the only issue I had was the aileron-flap-elevator set, which is very delicate. Colors are RLM71 top and RLM65 under surfaces. Rudder and wing tips are RLM04 Insignia Yellow. 

This is the first model I've built which has corrugated panels. This makes decaling and painting harder. Unlike most models, the fuselage comes in four parts rather than two, left, right, top and bottom.  

This Airfix Short Stirling BI 1/72 kit is from 1973 and it was manufactured in the U.S. by Craft Master (based in Mount Clemens - Michigan) under license. The Stirling is one of my favorite RAF four-engine bombers. It's a shame no one has survived the war. The kit was discontinued in 2013 and now the only 1/72 kit available is made by Italeri, which is much more detailed than Airfix's.  

Tooling is from 1966. Panel lines are raised and there are lots of rivets, but very little flash. Ailerons, ruder and stabilizers are movable, as well as the turrets and the wheels. I bought the kit on eBay from a lady in Maine and paid only 10 USD. Overall, the kit was intact, no damage whatsoever. The decals could not be used though. I had to buy a new sheet.
 

I've built the BI version MG-K of the 7th Squadron (Leeming - Yorkshire). The model is pretty devoid of interior details so I improved it by scratch building some parts (cockpit, landing gear area, and added the landing lights). It comes with a tractor and trolley for the bombs, but I've saved them for a diorama I'm going to build. Color Scheme is early RAF: dark earth, dark green an matt black.
 

It's a big model (fuselage is 38 cm long and the wingspan is 41cm). The real aircraft had a wingspan of approximately 100 feet, so as to fit a standard pre-war RAF hangar. 

I bought this model in 2016, when I resumed the hobby after a 20-year pause. I had many issues with it so I decided to place it on the shelf of doom, leave it there and start another build (a Spitfire 1/72). Then I read an article about the only airworthy Liberator in the world: The B-24 H Witchcraft based in the US. I came up with the idea of buying the Witchcraft decal set by Mike Grant Decals and decided to rescue the model from the shelf of doom and resume the build. The original model was a B-24 J (as shown in the small photo), "Jolly Rogers" that was based in the South West Pacific Area (90th BG / 5th AF). 

The original build was in its final stages, but the paint had to be redone since the B-24 J model had an aluminum finish. The new color scheme is olive drab and US ghost grey. The B-24 H Liberator Witchcraft was based at Rackheath in England (790th BS / 467th BG, 8th AF). This aircraft flew more than 100 missions, four times more than the famous B-17 Memphis Belle. I'm a B-24 fan. I have another one by Academy in my stash. 

The kit is very old (1963) , lots of rivets and flash. I think in those days the models were kind of toys because this one has movable control surfaces (stabilizers, ailerons and rudders) and the landing gear is retractable and it really works (pretty ingenious) . The turrets rotate and the machine guns move up and down and the ball turret is retractable. The props move (which is not surprising) and the wheels turn. It comes with 8 figures representing the crewmen. Only the radio operator and the bombardier are missing. 

Having such a big wing (wingspan is 46.5 cm / 18 in) I had to strengthen the structure and add two wing spars (photo) so it would not bend or break. The result was good and there were no such problems. This model is a tail sitter so lots of lead had to be glued to the nose of the aircraft.