B-24J Liberator Bomber

Atlantis (Revell), 1/92 scale

Reviewed by Cookie Sewell

Back in the 1950s kids would buy whatever kits were released and eagerly build them up. Scale was not something many of them were even aware of albeit it did seem odd that a biplane from WWI could be the same size as a B-52.

Revell got to the leading edge of the demand for the hobby and their kits soon dominated the market both in quality and quantity. When this kit was originally released in 1955, it and the companion “Flying Dragon” B-25 kit soon became the best selling kits in the Revell catalogue. But as noted this kit was in 1/92 scale and the B-25 was in 1/64 – the models were about the same size even when the airplanes themselves were not.

I think I got this one for Christmas in 1955 and loved the model. It went together more or less as designed but one of the turrets had glue on it and never worked, and the propellers and wheels also succumbed to the ravages of time as it went on. It finally had to ditch in the bathtub at which point all of the decals floated off the model. It dropped out of sight and memory sometime after that.

While Revell-Monogram no longer sees these kits from the 1950s and early 1960s as viable, Atlantis does and has picked up a large number of their molds for re-release. This was one of the first (they are redoing all of the “Giant Bomber” type kits – B-24, B-36, B-47 and B-52) to come out of that company in 2019 and is a relatively faithful reproduction of the original kit with the original stand and decals. The plastic is now a light tan versus the light khaki of the original kit and has much more flash than that one, but is otherwise still identical.

Some of the parts have very large ejection pin marks, but these are all raised so much easier to remove than fill. Also the model – like all of the models of its day – suffers from “rivetitis” over all of the major surfaces of the model. At least the raised portions of the model where the decals were supposed to go have long been removed.

While the directions are the now-common “stick here” ones and not the original ones that explained what each part was and what it did (or how we learned much in those days) they do keep the nice warning that you need to use a heated screwdriver if you want the three wheels to roll and to seek out an adult to help you do that!

Decals are simple, but an exact reproduction of the colorful “Buffalo Bill” ones from the 1950s as well as the ball to go on the “Revelling” stand provided complete.

One thing where Revell erred in the original kit is having the belly turret stick out when the wheels are down. Due to the low hanging of the belly the turret had to be retracted for the aircraft to take off or land, but as  Revell simplified it to a simple clear ball stuck on the bottom of the fuselage that is not possible without a lot of work. The beam hatches are also molded solid and closed with no window glass provided, ditto for the windows in the navigator’s compartment in the nose.

The model does provide a good representation of a B-24J fitted with the Emerson nose turret but does not have the later enclosed beam windows or the taller top turret.

In sumary, this is a fun build for those of us from the 1950s and one – even if Dad or Mom have to wield the heated screwdriver – for a youngster to build.

Sprue Layout

2 x Styrene stand

1 x Steel ring

7 x Clear styrene

12 x Lower wings, pilots, propeller keepers

13 x Upper wings, wheels, landing gear, stand ball

14 x Fins, cowlings, turret bases, machine guns

2 x Fuselage halves

5 x Propellers, elevators

Text and Images Copyright 2021 by Cookie Sewell
Page Created 18 August, 2021
Last updated 18 August, 2021

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