Last year I finished my cut-away Airfix North American B-25C Mitchell medium bomber.
All the interior detail is included in the kit. The only things I added were extra crew figures - the kit only includes the two pilots. This is a really great kit, with a lot of interior detail. It seemed such a shame to hide it all away, so I built it as a cut-away model.
That meant cutting out various areas of the nose, fuselage, and engine cowling to show off the detail. Just like the drawings you see in books and magazines. The edges of the cut-away areas are often out-lined in red, so I did that on the model too.
With so much of the forward fuselage cut away, there was very little room for nose weights to keep the model on its landing gear, so I build it 'gear up', in flight. That also meant cutting off the propeller blades, and just using the hubs. Then I had to make a cradle for the model from bits and pieces. This was my first attempt at a cut-away model.
I did make a mistake with the US star on the starboard side - it should be pointing straight up, not on its side.
I did not spot that until it was too late to correct. I used the RAF boxing of this kit, but you get all the parts needed for a basic US B-25C (with plenty left over for the spares box), so it was just a matter of finding some suitable markings.
What do you think?
Paul Adams from New Zealand
I like that, it's different.
ReplyDeleteTony K
ReplyDeleteNice piece of work, Paul. Reminds me of the vintage Eagle comic cut-aways.
ReplyDeleteI think this is really inspired, Paul.
ReplyDeleteI have often constructed models in the past with a lot of interior detail that gets hidden away when assembly is completed -- and have felt that all the time I spent getting the painting correct has been wasted.
This is a brilliant solution.
I remember going to The Imperial War Museum in 1968, when I was eleven, and they had the nose of a Lancaster bomber that was "cut-away" -- and I found that fascinating.
So: I think this is brilliant!
D.C.
Lovely work Paul! As a kid I used to love those cut away models with the red edges. They were very in vogue in the 60s. A lot of museum models used the technique and I was VERY impressed at a 1/24(?) scale Tamiya Centurion Tank that had the same treatment on display in the window of my local hobby shop at the time!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It just seemed such a shame to hide all that great kit detail away. The 'Eagle cut-away' look is exactly what I was aiming at. I never had the Eagle, but I did read World of Wonder in the 1970s, and that had cut-aways in it.
ReplyDeleteAirfix Magazine Annual 4, published in 1974, had a cut-away Tiger tank in 1/76th scale in it. I always wanted to try a model like that, but most of the interior would need to be scratch-built. It has taken me until now to actually build a cut-away model.
Thanks, Lewis. I remember that Tamiya Centurion - it clearly made an impression on a lot of people. I think it was in 1/25th scale, and was in their catalogue one year.
Good job Paul. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteI can see inspiration for Millennium Falcon cockpits and gun bubbles!
ReplyDeleteNice work!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen cutaway models.
I've only seen the "Visible" models with clear plastic exteriors.