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Airfix 1/72 Lancaster II LL716 A2-G, 514 Sqn


Simon

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On 13/01/2017 at 1:22 AM, Procopius said:

 

I can provide an extensive walkaround on a dove if need be.

Does that include scale plans PC?

 

More stunning work Simon. If I do ever get my hands on a B.II kit this thread will be the only reference source required.

On 13/01/2017 at 1:22 AM, Procopius said:

 

I can provide an extensive walkaround on a dove if need be.

Does that include scale plans PC?

 

More stunning work Simon. If I do ever get my hands on a B.II kit this thread will be the only reference source required.

Edited by Col.
Weird double post
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On 15/01/2017 at 6:22 PM, Mancunian airman said:

Some excellent detailing

 

What reference did you use for the bomb-sight Simon ?

 

Just a Google search for Mk.XIV bombsight - there's quite a lot if useful photos available.

 

Anyway, another quick update for today. I've been working on the front turret, the FN5. Here's the basic kit turret:

 

Lancaster-II-37

 

It's not bad, but could do with some livening up. First thing was to drill out the holes on the upper supports, then I added some gun mounts, as well as a frame for the gunsight:

 

Lancaster-II-39

 

I've also added the rear of the guns, plus the gunner's operating handles, and the distinctive ammunition boxes underneath:

 

Lancaster-II-38

 

Lancaster-II-40

 

On to the upper turret next, so more soon...

 

Regards


Simon

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So, another quick update for today. With the rear and nose turrets in hand, I thought I'd take a look at the upper (FN50) turret.

 

I.M.H.O. the three glazed turrets are the weakest part of the kit, and the worst of the three is the upper turret. The turrets parts are a little clunky, and the frames on the transparent parts seem a little ill-defined. The Revell Lancaster has much thinner, more crisply-moulded transparencies, again I.M.(very)H.O. :P

 

Anyway, here's what you get from Airfix for the upper turret (please ignore the bent upper support arm, my mistake :doh: ):

 

Lancaster-II-41

 

The turret ring sits well inside the turret glazing, making everything inside seem too small. So, I thought the easiest option was to make a larger disc to sit on top of the main turret base part:

 

Lancaster-II-42

 

Lancaster-II-43

 

I think this will work okay, as it sits inside the glazing quite snugly. Here are some of my set of parts for the turret:

 

Lancaster-II-47

 

and here they all are in place.

 

Lancaster-II-45

 

The curved inner frame in the kit isn't right either, being far too small, and as far as I can tell from my references it's not right for an FN50, so I've replaced it with one made from some of Albion Alloy's nickel silver rod (it's easier to bend into shape than plastic rod, and it keeps it's shape once it is bent). I still need to add a few more bits, but I think it's an improvement on the kit's turret.

 

More soon...

 

Regards

 

Simon

 

 

Edited by Simon
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Thanks for all the kind words everyone.

 

I've left the fuselage for the time being, and started on the wings and engines. First thing I did was removed the engine nacelle halves and test fit them. Call me old fashioned, but shouldn't the panel lines on the underside the outer engines actually line up?

 

Lancaster-II-48

 

I assume this isn't deliberate? :shrug:

 

Same thing on the inner engines, to a lesser extent:

 

Lancaster-II-49

 

And they'll need a little straightening out, by the look of it:

 

Lancaster-II-50

 

So far I'm not all that impressed with the engine nacelles...ho hum. :doh:

 

More soon

 

Regards

 

Simon

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Hi Simon, that's very odd indeed, as my panel lines seem to be bang on with the additional parts added, and they slotted seamlessly into place on the nacelles as well. Saying that, after a dry run, I have a feeling, the wing fit will fight me on my kit.

Sorry I have no pic's to share as I use Mediafire for various projects, and still haven't figured out how to upload pics here yet, not even an a avatar. (Doh!) 

 

      

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New Airfix is a strange one. Their kits are generally excellent imo, but it does seem a bit of a lottery how they go together. I've struggled like heck with some kits others say have fallen together (not ruling out me being the problem to be fair), but I've also made other kits of theirs which have literally fallen together, no filler at all, which others have really struggled with. Really can't explain it!

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5 minutes ago, Val said:

New Airfix is a strange one. Their kits are generally excellent imo, but it does seem a bit of a lottery how they go together. I've struggled like heck with some kits others say have fallen together (not ruling out me being the problem to be fair), but I've also made other kits of theirs which have literally fallen together, no filler at all, which others have really struggled with. Really can't explain it!

 

That's something that I did think myself when looking at this kit. At first sight it looks a modern, state-of-the-art kit, but stuff like the mis-matched panelling on the underside of the engines, and the escape hatches on the top of the fuselage make it come across a little bit less state-of-the-art than I'd expected. I've mentioned the Revell Lancaster in a couple of posts in this build, which may not be as accurate as this Airfix Lancaster in some important areas, but the sharpness and general quality of the Revell kit's moulding is better (I.M.H.O. :whistle:)

 

I picked up an Airfix Whitley last week, and that seems at first glance a much better prospect. Time will tell...!

 

Simon

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I did one of those a few years ago. Not all plain sailing, mind!

 

 

I ended up deciding to mould my own engine intakes for it as the kit ones are too wide and deep. Note my prophetic words in my first post: "soon after I finished it Airfix announce a state-of-the-art, and accurate, Lanc" :P

 

Simon

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9 minutes ago, Simon said:

I did one of those a few years ago. Not all plain sailing, mind!

 

 

I ended up deciding to mould my own engine intakes for it as the kit ones are too wide and deep. Note my prophetic words in my first post: "soon after I finished it Airfix announce a state-of-the-art, and accurate, Lanc" :P

 

Simon

 

She looks great, mate! Hope mine comes out half as good as yours! I've not attempted to correct the dihedral either. I figured I'd create more problems than solutions! I don't think it's that bad either. I've got a pic on my work desktop background and you can barely notice the dihedral. Then you see other pictures when it's pronounced.

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Another update, and some humble pie. Lesson for today is 'Check your references, then once you've checked them, check 'em again...' :doh:

 

Whilst looking for some wheel bay references, I came across a couple of contemporary diagrams of FN50 upper turrets:

 

FN50-early

 

FN50-late

 

Note the difference in shape and thickness of the support tube, as well as the flat 'sight arm support' (labelled 11) on the first image, but missing from the second. I can only assume there are 'early' and 'later' versions of the FN50? :shrug:

 

So, what version would LL716 have? Answer is 'who knows?', but I do have this photo of LL691:

 

LL691-turret

 

This clearly has the 'early' version, as depicted, although not 100% accurately, in the Airfix kit. So, looks like I'll need to amend the upper turret. On the plus side, I do have all the bits for a 'later' version...:P

 

More soon...

 

Regards

 

Simon

 

EDIT - the replacment upper SB wing arrived from Airfix with the postie this morning: :thumbsup2:

 

Lancaster-II-51

 

There's still a slight sink mark, but miles better than the original - an issue with the mould perhaps?

 

 

 

Edited by Simon
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On 20/01/2017 at 5:07 PM, dogsbody said:

What's moulded on the inside of the wing, Simon?

 

Chris

 

 

It's the interior structure of the flaps:

 

Lancaster-II-52

 

Port wing was fine, but the starboard one seems to have an issue - whether with the mould itself or the way it's removed from the mould. The Airfix spares people were as always most helpful, and even asked for a photo to show them the problem.

 

Simon

 

 

Edited by Simon
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So, after a few days in Glasgow doing touristy-things (very enjoyable too!), here's a quick catch-up.

 

I've re-done the upper turret to the 'early' configuration. Here's the main upper frame added, and the two support arms:

 

Lancaster-II-56

 

Lancaster-II-53

 

and here's the turret completed:

 

Lancaster-II-57

 

I'm still waiting for some references to hopefully come through for the 514 Sqn under-belly .50 cal machine gun installation, so I've started on the wings. Here's one of the wheel bay roofs, pre-shaded and painted:

 

Lancaster-II-58

 

and together with the side frames:

 

Lancaster-II-60

 

It looks a bit more interesting that just plain black. Here is the front wall of the mainwheel bay painted up:

 

Lancaster-II-59

 

The tanks (oil tanks?) are done in Warhammer's delightfully-monickered 'Scab Red'. Maybe a few cables to add to the wheel bays, but I'm pretty happy with them.

 

More soon,

 

Simon

Edited by Simon
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