The fit of the parts is very good. Dry fitting of the parts indicates that little filler will be required.

The kit provides the clear parts for a five nose gun strafer or the standard three gun bombardier version. The transparent parts are crystal clear and thin.

The decal sheet provides options for three different aircraft but national insignia for one. These are “Jaunty Joe” 498BS, “Miss B Havin’ “ 498BS, “Bottoms-Up II” 486BS.

• Saw off the clear parts from the sprues. Sand off the resulting stubs. The canopies are attached at the bottom edges. Snipping these parts off is probably not a wise move.

• If building the standard three gun nose, delete parts M2 and J1. Use L4. The instruction sheet does not cover this version. There are lots of aftermarket decals for the three gun version.

• No provision is made for weights. Part A19 represents a step stair to be placed under the rear entry hatch. This is a problem if you want a model standing on the landing gear only. The instruction sheet does not provide the required amount of weight to be added. If weights are added, the where is left up to the creative.

Here are some further observations about the kit:

Fuselage

Profile of the fuselage compares well with the data published in Avery’s book, B-25 Mitchell: The Magnificent Medium

Well represented waist gun positions, bomb bay, bomb bay doors and crew entry hatches.

Option for the deletion of the side gun packs. Holes must be drilled to attach them. Very thoughtful, this saves time and the effort to fill the holes if your subject aircraft did not have these gun packs. This feature also telegraphs the release of an early B-25H. These early H model aircraft had side gun packs on the right side only.

Right side external fuselage armor plate is a separate insert. Again, a heads up that a B-25H is coming.

The top turret correctly has the external collar around the turret. This is contrary to the installation in the earlier B-25’s with the turret in the rear fuselage. The “high hat” sloping turret is not provided. Check images of your subject aircraft to verify top turret installation.

The bombardier’s compartment lacks detail. The seat is completely wrong. The armor plate behind the seat is missing. But the shape of the nose in profile conforms well with the data in Avery’s book.

The nose gear door needs attention. It should be 65” long and start about 24” in front of the forward crew entry door.

The bomb bay features raised details and a pair of 1,000 lb. GP bombs.

The .50 cal. MG’s are very well detailed for the scale - with cooling jackets

Cockpit

The seats have lap belts molded in place. The left seat is the normal pilot’s seat but the right seat is more like the cannoneer’s riding seat of the B-25H. Another hint.

Dual controls are provided.

Armor plate for the seats is omitted.

Wings

The rib tapings of the ailerons are very prominent. A little work with sandpaper will fix this.

Right wing leading edge air intake is okay. The left wing intake needs to be reshaped.

Attachment bolts on top and bottom of the wings are okay.

The wings fit into sockets in the fuselage. This leaves no gap between the inner flap and the fuselage.

Engine nacelles need two drain lines at the rear. The kit has one.

Main landing gear doors lack any detail and are very thick.

Here we go again. The engine cowlings are oddly shaped. The opening is too small and the cowling needs to be reshaped. Hopefully, the Radebaugh method will work. The opening should be 36” in diameter. On the upside, the length of the cowlings is correct. And the placement of the engines provides the correct positioning of the propeller. The exhaust fairings are okay.

Engines

Okay for the scale but could have been better. Rotate the gear case to place the oil sump vertical.

Tires and Wheels

All okay. The diameters of the tires are very close to the required 30” nose and 47” mains. The nose wheel is provided as spoked or covered. The True Details resin parts provide finer detail, if you can live with the almost flat tires.

Elevators, Ailerons, Rudders

All okay. The rib tapings are very prominent. Sanding should take of this. Take note that the elevators are correct in plan view using the drawing in Avery’s book as a guide.

Enough typewriting!

I’m sure that I have overlooked much and will learn more when the parts are assembled. Now to clear away the work table and build this gem of a kit.

Highly Recommended.