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Aeronavale Lancaster


Magua87

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Hmmmmm. Considering the detail I've been adding I don't think the standard Airfix canopy is going to cut the mustard. Will give it a dipping of clear, but I think I'll need to pick up a vac formed canopy. 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Work continues while I wait for my new canopies. I'm picking up two sets on a trip to Wellington this weekend. 

 

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I was a bit too keen with the knife and had to narrow one of the windows. The Hasegawa kit has come to the rescue again! The rear observation windows were also included on the clear sprue; pattern parts for the MR3 boxing. 

Edited by Magua87
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Hi Magua 87,

  If you're after a photo reference of the H2S scanner, here is NX611's, taken by me on Saturday. It is reportedly in the same condition it was in when the Lanc left French service. Don't forget that depending on which Lanc you are building, it may have the bomb bay cutouts for the lifeboat fitment. NX611 has them so she can be used as a guide. I hope it is of help;

 

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Cheers,

   WV908

Edited by WV908
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On 11/22/2016 at 3:35 AM, Mancunian airman said:

 I keep looking in for updates ?

I hope all is well down there ?

 

Ian

 

Slow progress, but I'm back onto it. I've been working on some P-51s and have been attempting to clear the shelf of doom (1/72 Airfix Meteor F8 and Xtrakit Supermarine Swift).

 

The vac-formed canopy is a thousand timers clearer than the old Airfix canopy. My photos below don't do it any justice. The Lancaster I'm modelling has the larger dome at the rear of the canopy. I'm considering cutting the clear-vax canopy and splicing in the larger dome which is spare in my Hasegawa Lanc. For now I'll get back to preparing the fuselage to be closed. 

 

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Edited by Magua87
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  • 7 months later...

January since my last post. Wow. 

 

Next steps. Door and window on the rear fuselage. I laid some paper over the Hasegawa fuselage, used a pencil and shaded the door outline. I cut this out and used it as a template for cutting a plastic card door. 

 

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I'm about ready to close the fuselage. The vast majority of the raised detail has been removed and I'm working on a few sink marks. Old moulds. Here I'm blanking the gap left from the removal of the turret fairing. 

 

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Edited by Magua87
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Great project!

 

Most of the Aeronavale Lancasters used the late larger tailwheel with standard tyre design, the nearest kit one in size is the Hasagawa tailwheel, though you would have to fill the middle of the tread as they represented the twin contact tyre on the hub.

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I went to add the fuselage windows tonight, but boy are they THICK! You can't see anything through them.

 

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I've got a sheet of clear acetate lying around which is nice and thin. Not a great photo, but you can see my paintbrush on my cutting board behind the window. Not sure how I'll glue these in without making a mess of it. Maybe a future dip and a touch of super glue. Or a thin wick of PVA and a toothpick to remove the inevitable over application. 

 

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And one detail I forgot to show in my previous post. I've removed the frame from behind the front turret. 

 

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Edited by Magua87
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Progress is slow cutting out the windows, so I decided to move to the wings.

 

The raised detail has largely been removed. There was some significant sink marks across the wings. This was most noticeable on the trailing edge and above the ailerons on both wings, and in the middle of the port wing, running between the leading and trailing edges. All filled now. You can see the remnants where the darker black is in front of the aileron inset (Mr Surfacer 1500). 

 

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Looking forward to closing the fuselage. I just need to crack on with those windows. 

Edited by Magua87
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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm still fiddling with the windows. Actually, I spend more time thinking about it than cutting (dreading it). 

 

I've been continuing with the wings. They've been glued and sanded. One wing needs a touch of Mr Surfacer along a leading edge to deal with a sink mark, but there's nothing too serious otherwise. 

 

She's a BIG bird in 1/72. Biggest by far in my cabinet. 

 

Out of focus photo of a dry fit to the fuselage. 

 

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Underside

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Glad to see that there is progress.

I am so pleased that you took off the front turret fairing, I have been doing that for years and in all honesty, probably the only shape thing that is incorrect on the Airfix Lancaster . . . 

 

keep up the good work

Ian

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I grew tired working on those tiny windows and bought myself some Humbrol Clearfix. I've tested it on another WIP and it seems to do the job. Will be easier to use as the kit nears completion than trying to avoid getting glue all over the little windows I've been cutting from acetate.

 

With that obstacle out of the way it was time to close the fuselage. 

 

Before:

 

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And after:

 

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Now I will move onto the seams and blanking off the hole made by the removal of the turret. This will be my first use of Milliput for anything other than seat cushions (this Lanc' and my 48th PR XIX). 

Edited by Magua87
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  • 3 weeks later...

The turret hole has been filled. Now I'm working on the various seams and sink marks across the fuselage. I've started circling the areas that need work with a vivid as I'm losing track between sanding sessions

 

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I'm surprised by the sheer quantity of sink marks across this Lanc'. I don't know what year my kit is, but it was certainly showing its age.

 

This will probably be my last post this year. I'll have the fuselage filled and smoothed out before the end of the year, but the wings, engine nacelles, etc. will probably be a February job. I'll be in the UK in January and visiting Duxford towards the end of the month. No doubt I'll be back with massive enthusiasm to tackle more of the British aircraft in my collection (most of them!).

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  • 2 months later...

I don't think I mixed my milliput together very well as I had soft patches within the blank I'd made for the rear fuselage. Many weeks followed of digging out the soft patches, filling these with CA, sanding, and looking for bumps and depressions. 

 

What you see here is the finished product. A mixture of milliput, super glue, Mr Surfacer, and Tamiya Fine Surface Primer brushed on and sanded back. 

 

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I've moved onto the engines. The Airfix kit has moulded on blanking covers to hide the aircraft exhaust at night. I'm working on removing these, drilling holes, and installing spare exhausts from another Hasegawa Lanc'. The top nacelle is standard, the middle has been completed, and the bottom is from the Hasegawa kit. 

 

This is going to be a pretty slow and laborious process, but we march forward! 

 

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Does anyone have any experience with pencil imitation panel lines? I'm not sure my scribing skills are up to the task on a kit this big. I figure it could look quite effective against the white. 

Edited by Magua87
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Swift progress (for me anyway) on the nacelles. Two done and I'm working on two more at the moment. I'm going to remove the shrouds and cut away a space for the exhausts on all the nacelles before I start inserting the exhausts. The exhausts will need a backing plate to attach to. 

 

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