1/72 TIDAL WAVE B-24D Decal Sets By PYN-up Decals are SHIPPING NOW!

28 Airplanes!!!!

PYN-up Decals is proud to announce the official release of our 1/72 TIDAL WAVE B-24D decal sets.  All three 1/72 decal sets below are SHIPPING NOW!  (The printed decal sheets arrived two weeks earlier than expected, and boy, are we happy campers!)  As with all PYN-up Decals, only 300 sets have been produced, so stocks are limited.

The two nose art sets together cover 30 Liberators that attacked the oil refineries at Ploesti, Campina, and Brazi, Romania, on 1 August 1943.  One-third of the B-24s were lost on this mission—and the 98th Bomb Group lost one-half of its crews and planes.   Each set includes a full color instruction booklet with details on the markings and specific configuration of each aircraft.

An additional double-sheet set covers the common markings for all B-24s, not just TIDAL WAVE.

The artwork for these decals is based on hundreds of photos in my collection, plus more than two dozen original Army Air Force 35mm motion picture reels.   The decal nose art is by master artist Andy “Warhol” Gaster, the best I’ve ever seen.  I’m sure you’ll be thrilled with these decal sets and I hope you have as much fun building your model as we did researching and creating these decal sets!

PYND72014 includes nose art and other non-standard markings
for FIFTEEN B-24Ds!

Nickname Block Serial Code Gp Sq Pilot
Bomerang B-24D-1-CO 41-23722 C 93 328 Martin
Buzzin’ Bear B-24D-25-CO 41-24229 P 44 67 Cameron
Death Dealer B-24D-75-CO 42-40610 Y top bar 93 409 League
Flak Alley B-24D-25-CO 41-24225 T 44 68 Alexander
Hadley’s Harem B-24D-25-CO 41-24311 L 98 344 Hadley
Honky Tonk Gal B-24D-45-CO 42-40265 W top bar 93 409 Womble
José Carioca B-24D-80-CO 42-40617 N 93 409 Stampolis
Old Blister Butte B-24D-95-CO 42-40776 H 389 564 Wright
Satan’s Angels B-24D-75-CO 42-40604 C 93 328 Ford
Suzy~Q B-24D-5-CO 41-23817 L 44 67 Brandon
The Oklahoman B-24D-100-CO 42-40738 J- 389 567 Spurrier
The Scorpion B-24D-80-CO 42-40629 N- 389 564 Caldwell
Tupelo-Lass B-24D-20-CO 41-24105 Q top bar 93 409 Dessert
Utah Man B-24D-25-CO 41-24226 L 93 330 Stewart
Victory Ship B-24D-5-CO 41-23813 V 44 68 Diehl

This set covers 8th Air Force Liberators that participated in the Ploesti attack.  Some have wondered why I’ve done so many 8th Air Force ships since so many 9th Air Force B-24Ds had great nose art.  The answer is simple: The 8th units accomplished their mission!  Four of the five Medals of Honor earned on this mission went to 8th Air Force airmen.

The three 8th Air Force bomb groups (44th, 93rd, & 389th) were fully successful in their attacks on the Ploesti, Brazi, and Campina oil refineries.  The 44th and 389th knocked their refineries targets out of the war, and the 93rd, after following 9th Air Force’s 376th Bomb Group in an early turn that took them to Bucharest rather than Ploesti, broke away from the 376th and, in the finest traditions of American fighting men, “rode to the sound of the cannon.”  The 93rd did not attack their briefed target because after being led astray by the 376th they approached Ploesti from 90° off their briefed attack heading.  Regardless, Lt Col Addison Baker, the 93rd’s commander, led his formation into the heavy flak to attack the two nearest refineries, causing serious damage to both.

Here are some quickie profiles so you can see what’s included:

PYND72015 includes nose art and other non-standard markings
for FOURTEEN B-24Ds!

This set covers the TIDAL WAVE markings for fourteen of the most interesting 9th Air Force B-24Ds that participated in the mission.  Ships from both the 98th and 376th Bomb Groups are included.

Especially only five 376th Bomb Group Liberators that even attempted to attack the Ploesti refineries while the remainder of the group flew in a huge circle around the city—well outside the Flak belt—and salvoed their bombs in open fields and streams on the way back to Benghazi.  Three of those five ships, Per-Diem The Second, G.I. Ginnie and Brewery Wagon are included in this set.  Per-Diem made it home but Brewery Wagon crashlanded just south of Ploesti and her crew was captured.

It would have required a miracle for Ninth Air Force to perform well that day (explained in detail in my upcoming book), but their airplanes sure had some great nose art!!  Five extremely brave and committed pilots made the effort, and I’m bringing you full artwork for two of them.

 

Nickname Block Serial Code Gp Sq Pilot
Bashful/Jersey Jackass B-24D-CO 41-11776 O 98 343 McGraw
Black Jack B-24D-1-CO 41-23661 U 98 415 Hahn
Brewery Wagon B-24D-25-CO 41-24294 36 376 512 Palm
Chug-A-Lug B-24D-CO 41-11766 V 98 345 Morgan
Daisy Mae B-24D-CO 41-11815 G 98 415 Ellis
G.I. Ginnie B-24D-85-CO 42-40657 74/U 376 514 Appold
Hail Columbia B-24D-CO 41-11825 V 98 344 Kane
Per-Diem The Second B-24D-CO 41-11935 60 376 514 Storz
Sneezy B-24D-5-CO 41-23795 I 98 344 Lebrecht
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs B-24D-53-CO 42-40364 Y 98 343 Gunn
Teggie Ann B-24D-85-CO 42-40664 100 376 515 Compton
The Sandman B-24D-55-CO 42-40402 W 98 345 Sternfels
The Vulgar Virgin B-24D-20-CO 41-24198 C 98 344 Taylor
The Witch B-24D-CO 41-11840 P 98 343 Darlington

Here are some quickie profiles so you can see what’s included:

This ship carried the name Jersey Jackass (its original name & artwork) on the right side nose, and Bashful on the left side nose. The decal set instructions go into detail about this.

Black Jack received a replacement fin from a green B-24D right after returning to Benghazi after the TIDAL WAVE attack due to serious damage to the original fin. The decal set includes the green fin markings confirmed by color photos, which is visually interesting, but NOT representative of its configuration on the actual TW mission.

Hail Columbia was Col John R. Kane’s ship he used to lead the 98th Bomb Group into Ploesti for their minimally successful attack against the largest and most important refinery in Romania, Astra Romana. Kane added additional fixed .50 machine guns in HC’s nose to bring the total forward firing guns to either seven or eight (the instruction sheet goes into this detail). Was he a frustrated fighter pilot??

Per-Diem The Second was one of only THREE 376th Bomb Group B-24s to successfully attack a refinery on 1 August 1943. Her camouflage finish was really torn up, which will make a really eye-catching model!

Teggie Ann led the entire TIDAL WAVE formation from takeoff to the formation separation over Albania or Yugoslavia. Under mission commander Brig Gen Uzal Ent, it also led the first formation (376th Bomb Group and 93rd Bomb Group) through the early turn at Targoviste, Romania, that turned the formation towards Bucharest rather than Ploesti. As a quite new airframe, note Teggie’s Sand camouflage was markedly darker than the faded Sand on most other 9th AF B-24Ds.

(Note all artwork here is intentionally distorted for copyright purposes.  The actual decals and instructions are not distorted, of course.)

CED72216 B-24 Common Markings (DOUBLE SHEET SET!)

Finally, since I’d never produced a 1/72 scale “B-24 Standard Markings” decal set before, this new double-sheet set includes both TIDAL WAVE and later war insignia variations, making this decal set applicable to literally all B-24s that flew during the war.

 

Ninth Air Force B-24Ds (98th & 376 Bomb Groups) in North Africa wore different “standard” national markings than B-24Ds in the other combat theaters.  First, some unknown environmental factor turned all the “white” US stars a slightly yellowish color—this is visible in literally all color photos of 9th aircraft.   Interestingly, when the white side bars were first applied just days before the Ploesti attack, they were clearly a “whiter white” with no yellowing present.  While the exact reason is unknown, it may be that different shades of white, or different manufacturer’s paint, were used for the factory-applied star and the field-applied bars!

Furthermore, all 9th AF ships carried RAF fin flashes, as did many of the 8th AF B-24Ds from the 44th, 93rd, and 389th BGs that participated in the TIDAL WAVE attack.  They were usually painted (yes, hand-painted!) on both sides of each fin, but in a few cases only on the outside of each fin.  Literally all 9th ships had the flashes, but there were examples of 8th ships in the desert that did not receive the flashes (usually the replacement ships that arrived shortly before TIDAL WAVE).

Further furthermore, it is unclear whether 9th applied RAF Identification Red (the “brick red” color we all know) or USAAF Insignia Red 45 (or ANA 509), a much brighter red, to the aircraft.  Therefore my decal set below provides both options for many different size flashes.

8th Air Force standard markings were unique in a different way, in that the white stars (and later the white bars) were, per 8th regulations, overpainted with gray paint, quite often Neutral Gray.  My decal set provides both options.

The national insignia options are fairly mind-boggling:

  • 8th AF 45” Simple Wing Cocarde with Neutral Gray star
  • 8th AF 65” Simple Fuselage Cocarde with Neutral Gray star
  • 8th AF 45” Wing Star and bar in Neutral Gray and red outline
  • 8th AF 65” Fuselage Star and bar in Neutral Gray and red outline
  • 8th AF 45” Wing Star and bar in Neutral Gray and blue outline
  • 8th AF 65” Fuselage Star and bar in Neutral Gray and blue outline
  • 9th AF 45” Simple Wing Cocarde with yellowed star and 4” yellow outline
  • 9th AF 45” Simple Wing Cocarde with yellowed star and 6” yellow outline
  • 9th AF 65” Simple Fuselage Cocarde with yellowed star and 4” yellow outline
  • 9th AF 65” Simple Fuselage Cocarde with yellowed star and 6” yellow outline
  • 9th AF 65” Simple Fuselage Cocarde with yellowed star and 8” yellow outline
  • 9th AF 45” Wing yellowed star with white bars and RAF Identification Red outline
  • 9th AF 65” Fuselage yellowed star with white bars and RAF Identification Red outline
  • All other AF’s 45” Simple Wing Cocarde with white star
  • All other AF’s 65” Simple Fuselage Cocarde with white star
  • All other AF’s 45” Wing star with white bars and USAAF Insignia Red outline
  • All other AF’s 65” Fuselage star with white bars and USAAF Insignia Red outline
  • All other AF’s 45” Wing Star with white star and bar and blue outline
  • All other AF’s 65” Fuselage with white star and bar and blue outline
  • “U.S. ARMY” in Insignia Blue as seen under the wings of some early B-24D-CO aircraft in North Africa. Alaska, and Stateside.  This marking could have been 18” or 24” high, so check your reference photos.
  • B-24 red fire extinguisher doors with single-line stencil
  • B-24 red fire extinguisher doors with two-line stencil
  • Multiple sizes of RAF fin flashes with RAF Identification Red bar (“brick red”)
  • Multiple sizes of RAF fin flashes with USAAF Insignia Red bar (a brighter red)

But wait—there’s more!

  • Included are separate white side bars for those 9th AF B-24Ds that had the original simple cocarde insignia with yellowed star and yellow outline added a few days prior to the Ploesti attack—but not yet outlined with the required red outline.  Oh, and sometimes the white bars were not applied parallel to each other, with one side clearly at a different angle than the other!
  • The same white bars for wing and fuselage stars with no outline as seen on Libs in other in AFs (except 8th AF) with the simple cocarde with white star

And yet MORE:

  • Several 9th AF B-24Ds on the TIDAL WAVE mission had their original simple cocarde insignia with the yellowed star and wide yellow outline overpainted with new insignia with the red outline such that part of the yellow outline was still visible above and below the blue cocarde!  This insignia can be made by combining the above decals as required.

 

ANY of these options can be modeled using this decal set!

All the three 1/72 decal sets above are SHIPPING NOW!  As with all PYN-up Decals, only 300 sets have been produced, so stocks are limited.

Also note that several 1/48 TIDAL WAVE B-24D decal sets covering many of these same subjects are also available on this website.  They currently include two nose art decal sets plus several B-24 standard markings decal sets, with three more 1/48 nose art sets coming soon.  The 1/48 scale TIDAL WAVE sets listed at this link are shipping now.

NOTE: All artwork is strict copyright © PYN-up Decals and Cutting Edge Modelworks, 2019-2021, and may not be used in any form without written permission.