Review of Lifelike 1/72nd Scale
North American B-25 Mitchell Pt. 2 Decal Sheet
Set no. 72-040
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: 1800 Yen ($17.00 U.S. dollars)
MSRP: 1800 Yen ($17.00 U.S. dollars)
HISTORY:
The North American B-25 Mitchell is a medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation.
Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II, and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades.
Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25's were built. These included a few limited models such as the F-10 reconnaissance aircraft, the AT-24 crew trainers, and the United States Marine Corps PBJ-1 patrol bomber.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Medium bomber
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: North American Aviation
First flight: 19 August 1940
Introduction to service: 1941
Retired: 1979 (Indonesia)
Primary users: United States Army Air Forces, Royal Air Force, Soviet Air Force, United States Marine Corps
Number built: 9,816
Developed from: North American NA-40
Developed into: North American XB-28
The North American B-25 Mitchell is a medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation.
Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II, and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades.
Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25's were built. These included a few limited models such as the F-10 reconnaissance aircraft, the AT-24 crew trainers, and the United States Marine Corps PBJ-1 patrol bomber.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Medium bomber
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: North American Aviation
First flight: 19 August 1940
Introduction to service: 1941
Retired: 1979 (Indonesia)
Primary users: United States Army Air Forces, Royal Air Force, Soviet Air Force, United States Marine Corps
Number built: 9,816
Developed from: North American NA-40
Developed into: North American XB-28
THE SHEETS:
Lifelike Decals is based in Japan.
These sheets come in a zip-locked type cello bag.
The bag contains 3 decal sheets, instructions and histories of the of the 5 B-25's that are featured.
The instructions consists of 2 color guides, printed on one side in color on 8 1/2" x 11 1/2" sheets.
On the left side of the first sheet is 5 color side profiles:
A B-25D that is overall olive-drab with a grey under-carriage and the nose of the engine nacelles. It has a white fuselage band and a shark mouth on its nose, with nickname "HELL'S FIRE" in yellow with many yellow mission markings under the cockpit. It has a blue circle outlined in white with a white horse's head on it on the sides of the rudder and yellow serial no. 130278 below the circle. It was with the 500th Bomber Sqdn.,345th Bomber Group, Nadzab, New Guinea, May 1944.
A B25D that also is overall olive-drab with a grey under-carriage and has a white fuselage band. It has a Mexican gal sitting on some lumber on the side of the nose with the nickname "MEXICAN SPITFIRE" and red fronts to the engine nacelles. Numerous yellow mission markings are shown below the cockpit. It has the blue circle outlined in white with the white horse's head on the sides of the rudder. It was with the 498th Bomber Sqdn., 345th Bomber Group, Nadzab, New Guinea, April 8-14, 1944.
A B-25D that also is overall olive-drab with a grey under-carriage. It has the nickname "LUCKY BAT" on the side of its nose and many yellow mission markings under the cockpit. It has logo of a black bat riding a bomb on the sides of the nose and yellow serial no. 130058 on the sides of the rudder. It was with the 499th Bomber Sqdn., 345th Bomber Group. Port Moresby, end of July 1943, or Dobodura, New Guinea, late January 1944.
A B-25D that is also overall olive-drab with a grey under-carriage and red engine nacelle front tips. It is also nicknamed "LUCKY BAT" and has a black bat's face on the sides of the nose and many yellow mission markings under the cockpit. The bottom of the rudders is white with yellow serial no. 130058 above it. Again with the same units.
A B-25D that is also overall olive-drab with a grey under-carriage and yellow engine nacelle front tips. It has a eagle's head on the nose and the nickname "OLD BALDY". Its rudder is tan with a white tip and a smeared serial no. on the sides of the rudder that is un-readable. It was with the 498th Bomber Sqdn.,345th Bomber Group, Nadzab, New Guinea, April 1944.
On the right side of the sheet is color illustrations of the tops of these B-25's.
Lifelike Decals is based in Japan.
These sheets come in a zip-locked type cello bag.
The bag contains 3 decal sheets, instructions and histories of the of the 5 B-25's that are featured.
The instructions consists of 2 color guides, printed on one side in color on 8 1/2" x 11 1/2" sheets.
On the left side of the first sheet is 5 color side profiles:
A B-25D that is overall olive-drab with a grey under-carriage and the nose of the engine nacelles. It has a white fuselage band and a shark mouth on its nose, with nickname "HELL'S FIRE" in yellow with many yellow mission markings under the cockpit. It has a blue circle outlined in white with a white horse's head on it on the sides of the rudder and yellow serial no. 130278 below the circle. It was with the 500th Bomber Sqdn.,345th Bomber Group, Nadzab, New Guinea, May 1944.
A B25D that also is overall olive-drab with a grey under-carriage and has a white fuselage band. It has a Mexican gal sitting on some lumber on the side of the nose with the nickname "MEXICAN SPITFIRE" and red fronts to the engine nacelles. Numerous yellow mission markings are shown below the cockpit. It has the blue circle outlined in white with the white horse's head on the sides of the rudder. It was with the 498th Bomber Sqdn., 345th Bomber Group, Nadzab, New Guinea, April 8-14, 1944.
A B-25D that also is overall olive-drab with a grey under-carriage. It has the nickname "LUCKY BAT" on the side of its nose and many yellow mission markings under the cockpit. It has logo of a black bat riding a bomb on the sides of the nose and yellow serial no. 130058 on the sides of the rudder. It was with the 499th Bomber Sqdn., 345th Bomber Group. Port Moresby, end of July 1943, or Dobodura, New Guinea, late January 1944.
A B-25D that is also overall olive-drab with a grey under-carriage and red engine nacelle front tips. It is also nicknamed "LUCKY BAT" and has a black bat's face on the sides of the nose and many yellow mission markings under the cockpit. The bottom of the rudders is white with yellow serial no. 130058 above it. Again with the same units.
A B-25D that is also overall olive-drab with a grey under-carriage and yellow engine nacelle front tips. It has a eagle's head on the nose and the nickname "OLD BALDY". Its rudder is tan with a white tip and a smeared serial no. on the sides of the rudder that is un-readable. It was with the 498th Bomber Sqdn.,345th Bomber Group, Nadzab, New Guinea, April 1944.
On the right side of the sheet is color illustrations of the tops of these B-25's.
The second color guide instruction repeats these profiles larger.
There are 2 sheets of the histories of these B-25D's. One sheet is 8 1/2" x 12" printed on both sides and the other sheet is half this size printed on one side.
There are 2 sheets of the histories of these B-25D's. One sheet is 8 1/2" x 12" printed on both sides and the other sheet is half this size printed on one side.
The decal sheets are printed by Microscale Industries in the USA and Cartograf in Italy.
Recommended kit to use these decals on is the Airfix B-25C/D.
I want to thank the folks at Lifelike Decals in Japan for this sample.
All Lifelike products can be seen on their web site at:
I want to thank the folks at Lifelike Decals in Japan for this sample.
All Lifelike products can be seen on their web site at: