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Home >> Flak >> Featured Artists >> Tony Muse, Modeler >> "Pantanella Pattie", page 1

The 464th Bomb Group in WWII - Featured Artist

Tony Muse, Modeler
1000 Willow Bend, Cleburne, TX 76031
Ph. 817-641-9061, email: tony@customwarbirds.com
Website: www.customwarbirds.com
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Construction of the "Pantanella Pattie"
by Tony Muse 		[Photo] The Pantenalla Pattie
     This build was for John Griswell. He served in the final months of the war with the 464th BG, 778th BS. His aircraft was directly behind and below the "Black Nan" when it was hit by flak and blew up.
     The kit that I chose is the Minicraft B-24J in 1/72 scale. It is the only B-24 model on the market that has recessed panel lines which allow for a better and accurate look. I took a few pictures during this build to demonstrate the process of building this kit into an aircraft typical of those flown by the 778th during WWII. The 464th was based in Pantanella, Italy a majority of that time. 		What comes in the box:
[Photo] Model kit parts. [Photo] Model kit parts.
[Photo] Model kit parts.
     The decals supplied for this were for the “Dragon and His Tail” which served with the 64th Bomber Squadron, 43rd Bombardment Group in the Pacific Theater. The only decals that I used from this sheet were the U.S. roundels, cockpit instrument panel and seat belts. [Photo] Model decals, the "Dragon and His Tail."
     The first step is to assemble the interior, different compartments were painted according to John’s recollections of the aircraft that he flew in. [Photo] The interior of the aircraft.
     John told me that the crew were encouraged to write the names of their girlfriend’s and wive’s on the bombs before takeoff. He thought it would be nice to have his family members named on the model's bombs. [Photo] Model bombs displayed next to a dime.
     One of the challenges of building a model aircraft "in-flight" is to find a suitable place to mount a stand to. The B-24 does not have very many places on the belly to mount anything to. The bombay, ball turret and belly door/window are virtually right next to each other leaving no real solid areas of contact, so I decided to use the tail area as a mounting point. [Photo] Mount for the model stand.
     The mounting rod is a one-half inch extruded acrylic rod. It bends pretty easily when heated to a temperature of about 350 degrees. I drilled a hole in the back of an oak block, then mounted the rod to it. Here is the test fit of the fuselage, block and rod. [Photo] Testing the fit of the model stand.
     Once the wings and elevator have been glued to the fuselage and seams and surface have been filled and sanded smooth, the model is then ready for the primer coat. [Photo] The model is sanded and primed.
     To simulate the varying shaded of aluminum, I pre-shaded the model with black and white panels before applying the aluminum coat. [Photo] The model is pre-shaded with black and white.


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