Simon

Thanks for the link Jari - that's a very useful document indeed. I particularly liked the diagrams showing how to lift a crashed aircraft on pages 123 to 126 - that would make a great diorama. Regards Simon

I have a copy of 'Ton Up Lancs' by Norman Franks, and the entry for EE136 states: "Given the Squadron codes of WS, its individual letter became 'R'. There was a good deal of pro-Russian feeling in the mid-war years, no doubt encouraged by our war leaders, Russia being our only European ally fighting from its own motherland. This was evidenced too in Bomber Command which had several bombers named with Russian themes." Simon

Hello again everyone Having wrestled the Airfix Lancaster II into submission, I'm starting on their Lancaster III. Forewarned being forearmed, it should be a little less of a struggle this time round. Added to which I've already got a lot of the detailling stuff done and ready to drop in. I'll be doing it as EE136 WS-R 'Spirit of Russia' of 9 Squadron, one of the 'Ton Up' Lancs. On the night of September 5th 1943, it was on an Op to Mannheim, its 22nd mission. It encountered an enemy night fighter near the target, and the combat report reads as follows: 5/6 September 1943, Mannheim. 23.32, 20,000 ft. Lancaster ‘R’ Captain P/O/McCubbin E/A sighted by R.G. (Sgt. Elliott) following Lancaster. Pilot informed and Lancaster commenced to corkscrew. E/A closed on Lancaster from port quarter and R.G. opened up with a long burst at a range of 400 yards. E/A continued on a course to attack and broke away to port quarter after firing a long burst. M.U. (Sgt. Houbert) fired a few round only before being hit and took no further part in the combat. More attacks ensued making five in all, firing long bursts in each attack and the Lancaster’s R.G. also firing long bursts. During the final attack the E/A burst into flames as shots from the rear turret hit him. He dived beneath the starboard wing, obviously on fire. This was confirmed by the flight engineer and bomb aimer. This E/A is claimed as destroyed. No searchlights or flares were seen to be connected with this attack. The Lancaster suffered considerable damage, with bullet holes being too numerous to count. M.U. Gunner – 20 rounds Rear Gunner – 3,000 rounds The rear gunner was F/Sgt. James Lindsay Elliott, of Amble, Northumberland, who was awarded the D.F.M., his award being gazetted on May 19th 1944. To make life a little easier, I've got the Xtradecal sheet which includes markings for EE136, a set of Eduard paint masks and their Lancaster III interior etch set, plus some Quickboost intakes and gun barrels. I'd managed to get a lot of the cockpit done at the same time as the Lancaster II, so here are a couple of photos: I've also replicated the detailing for the turrets that I'd done for the Lancaster II, having made two of everything the first time round: Front turret: Upper turret: and the rear turret: All much the same as the Lancaster II so far. More soon.... Cheers Simon

Thanks for the reply. An odd omission by Airfix, but as you say, and easy fix. I've done the Airfix Lancaster II without changing the tailplane elevators but as I'm now starting on their Lancaster III I'll make sure I amend them. Simon

Hello everyone Just looking at some walkaround photos of Lancasters, and noticed that the elevators on the tailplanes seem to have an angled section at the outer end, where the corner has been removed: (image from Flickr, via this thread) Having wrestled the Airfix Lancaster II into submission, I see that the kit's elevators have squared off ends: The Revell Lancaster has the 'chamfered' edge - here's my Revell Dambuster Lanc: So, are there two versions of tailpane elevator? Simon

It was first found in 2012: http://sas.raf38group.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2562 and a possible ID is Stirling IV PK225 of 299 Sqn: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=160190 Simon

Thank you all the replies folks, much appreciated! It took a bit more work (and a lot more time!) than I'd anticipated when I started way back in January. As I'd mentioned a few times in the W.i.P. thread, it's been (to me) a surprisingly frustrating and challenging build at times, both in the way the kit itself was moulded, and the disappointing lack of details on some areas. But then again, if it was too easy where would be the fun it that... Nevertheless, a big thanks to Airfix for actually producing a Lancaster II in the first place. Cheers Simon

Nice. Hope they print the decals the right way round though...

A final update - all done now, so I've posted a new thread in the 'Ready for Inspection' forum here: Thanks for all the messages during the build everyone, I'm very grateful for everyone's help and encouragement. Cheers Simon

Hello everyone After a long (7 months...!!) and at times surprisingly difficult build (more here), my Airfix Lancaster II is now done and dusted, and R.F.I. As I mentioned at the start of the W.i.P. I've build it as LL716 A2-G of 514 Squadron, which was lost on a mission to Bois de Casson on August 3rd 1944 after being struck by bombs from another bomber. The crew would all survive, with six of the eight members becoming P.o.W.s, and the other two including the pilot, F/O John Backhouse Topham, would successfully evade capture. His story has a fair bit of derring-do about it, including being hidden in a grave in a back garden while the S.S. searched for him. He eventually shot dead an S.S. officer, who ended up in the grave himself. F/O Topham would be awarded the D.F.C. Born in 1916 in Northumberland, he was police constable before the war, and returned to the police after his wartime service in the R.A.F. He died in a road traffic accident in Newastle-upon-Tyne on July 18th 1975. I did a load on internal work on the Lancaster, which you can see in the W.i.P. thread, and the base I printed myself. The vehicles are all Airfix - the Bedford MW's and the B.S.A. from the Bomber Resupply set, and the QLD truck from their Bedford QL set. Figures are from a variety of sources, mostly Royal Navy figures from Gunthwaite Miniatures. I'd also done a civilianised Austin 8 Tourer from Ace, but preferred the bike, so I'll save that for another day. Anyway, on to the photos, and some overall views: And some photos of the various elements: Airfix QLD truck: Airfix Bedford MLD water bowser, with the canvas top replaced with a frame, and the windows opened: Airfix B.S.A. M20, civilianised, with rider and interested party: Anf finally another Bedford MW, this time ocnverted into a Y.M.C.A. tea van: Overall it's been an enjoyable, if lengthy build. Not sure that the Airfix Lancaster is the easiest thing in the world to build, which surprised me a little, but it all went together eventually, and I'm pretty happy with the result. Cheers Simon

Just a quick update for today. The figures have arrived,s o i've been busy getting them painted up. These are mostly from Gunthwaite Miniatures - the R.A.F. officers are actually R.N. officers but don't tell anyone...! I'm also working on a couple more vehicles, including a companion for the Austin. This is the B.S.A. M20 from Airfix's Bomber Command Resupply Set, 'civilianised' as a 1939 model: As well as a civvy paint scheme, I've added the rear number plate braket and tail light. I particularly liked the figure who's bending down, from the Gunthwaite set GM72-026, so thought he could be taking a look at the bike: I'm busy with a couple more vehicles, so will post another update when they're done. Cheers Simon

Thanks for the photos VMA. I had an idea that was what it was, but couldn't find a photo. And thanks for the kind words everyone. Much appreciated! Regards Simon

Well, I'm back with another update. Once again, apologies for the long delay in progress reports, but that's mostly because there hasn't been any for a while...! So, on with the update. Turrets are all now done, with some nice Quickboost gun barrels added, and they are all installed. Front turret: Mid-upper: and tail turret: Note the 'Monica' aerial. This was a right royal pain the the proverbials, but looks the part. Here it is before fitting: I've also done a crew ladder for the rear door. Not much sense in having it open if no one can get in or out! That's the Lancaster pretty much done and dusted. Now I need to put it in a setting, so I've made a base like the one I did for my Italeri Stirling, and started on some extras to add some interest. First up is a conversion of the Bedford MWD from the Airfix Bomber Resupply Set, as a tea van. I've done one of these previously, based on the Airfix Austin K2, so knew pretty much what to do: I've also done a 'civvy' version of Ace's 1/72 Austin Tourer, which is now an R.A.F. pilot's little runaround: I've got some figures ready for painting, but some more are on the way, so more news when they arrive... Cheers Simon

Odd, isn't it? I've re-linked three picture-heavy threads on here with links from Flickr replacing the PB ones, and they do seem to be of higher quality - even thought they're exactly the same images on my hard drive. Maybe PB samples them down more the Flickr...? Hope to have some more updates soon. And not just pictures of the Lancaster... Simon

Hello again Apologies for the lack of progress on the build, but I'm not able to get any time on the workbench for various reasons at the moment. However I've just been reading about the upcoming PhotoBucket apocalypse, so I've found alittle time to re-link the images throughout the thread via Flickr - hopefully this will work okay...! Cheers Simon