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1/72 Matchbox Lancaster... with Extras


Thom216

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This Lanc is looking great.

Excellent Scribing work there and even though it's a painful process will really yield fantastic results in the end.

By the time you've finished, you'll hardly know it was ever a Matchbox kit! (now that's a horrible thing to say in this GB).

 

Cheers... Dave.  

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A horrible goal..?

 

Jumped around a little this morning. Last night I tested the wings to the fuselage (that is not glued together yet) and noticed a vertical flexing. There's no wing box, and on the off chance that gluing it all up still allows some flex in the plastic, I dove into my misc pipe bag and found two that slip easily together. After some eye-balling, maybe some measuring and then some drilling, I get this.

 

gBfgufs.jpg

 

The larger diameter pipe will sit flush in the wing well and will not be glued. It is only for horizontal stability and I want to leave a little play in it in case my measurements are off during final fit. The inner pipe will be cut in two and glued into the wings. Should all slip together in the end, and make the wings more stable.

 

hjfaJhm.jpg

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Just have to make sure I keep everything lined up!

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A very high tech answer to the issue you have with the wings . . .

My solution was to glue two pieces of sprue to the wings cross-section on the inside of the fuselage and I had no issue with the wings . . . 

23839650013_02df7a3c7f.jpg

 

The main appearance issue I had with the kit is the nose section. Its the wrong shape and the nose turret is wrongly shaped. \Fortunately it comes as  a separate entity and so I grafted a spare Airfix nose onto it . . .

23764228644_b49e5f589a.jpg

 

I made several other small mods to improve the kit   . . .

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/airfixtributeforum/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=48073&p=721040&hilit=Matchbox+Lancaster#p721040

 

Its enjoyable watching you carry out the mods, looking fwd to seeing more 

Edited by Mancunian airman
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No update pics just yet. I'm still wrastling with the panel lines, CA and then panel lines again. Getting there.

While I was doing that, I had been wondering what I was going to do about the transparencies. The clear sprue that came with the kit is atrocious, covered with scratches, hairlines and distortions. So, I figured I'd bite the bullet and get a vac-canopy for this. Hey, what could go wrong, except for cutting it wrong..? Well, it showed up today from Squadron, and boy does that suck. It's hardly clear and very distorted. Bummer.

 

But then, hey, I have two other, no THREE other, Lancasters upstairs! One Airfix, one Revell and one other Matchbox. I figure whichever which one fits, I'd just buy another from the donating company and go happily from there. Color my befuddlement when both the Airfix and Revell also have distortions... Can they not do clear looking canopies anymore..?

 

It's hard to think, that the other ancient canopy from the Matchbox kit is my saving grace. It is far clearer than either of the aforementioned new kit canopies, though not perfect. In fact, it has some of the same hairlines going through it as the other Match-canopy, making me think it is in the molds and not just age. But again, it is FAR better than the original from my current kit. So, that's what I'm going with.

 

The canopy from this kit will go with the other Matchcaster, that I am thinking of turning into a Mad Max version War Rig, either turning it into a train or a 'normal' post-apocalyptic  truck. We'll see when I get to it...

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Update pics!

I've finished most of the panel lines on the fuselage and am taking a break from doing the wings. I want to get the fuselage together now, so that means moving onto the interior. I wanted to have more inside than just the bare bones, so I grabbed the Airfix kit and misc styrene and went to work. Using the width of the 'bomb bay,' I made a new floor, adjusted the kit mount for the pilot's seat and raised it a bit. The pilot sits higher than the rest of the crew, though I cut the pedestal for it, so it isn't too high. Then I made a table for the engineer and radio operator, as well as some squares of styrene for the radios.

 

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I also used thin styrene for the ribbing on both sides, and created a bulkhead to separate the bombardier's position and the bomb bay.

 

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After finishing the ribs, I made some 'boxes' in preparation for the PE parts.

 

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i had to be careful to leave room for the clear parts, and i need to put the IP together. Then I have to adjust the seats, and then get to the first lick of paint on the kit.

 

I have no idea how much of this is going to be seen, but there you go. More updates later.

 

Edited by Thom216
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Very impressive use of Plastic card and strip... straight out of my "old school" ways to detail a model.

This is looking very interesting and the clear photographs capture your great work very well.

 

Cheers.. Dave

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So, progress was made on the instrument panel. I'm using prepainted PE and have glued the main panel on the back of the kit part. Then I created a central pedestal for it and cut some round rod to form a base for the PE throttle assembly to be mounted on. After that, there was a test fit, to find that I needed to grind away some more plastic to tuck it in better under the coaming. Here it is test-fitted in place.

 

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And I finally laid some paint down on the interior. It's Tamiya Nato Black, and next I'll mask off and spray the interior green.

 

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Thanks a lot! Have a few more updates. The IP is pretty much done, except for the foot pedals, which are just a rudimentary scratching.

 

The instrument panel was fine until I started putting in the throttle levers, which has convinced me that I never want to do this again in 1/72! Those teany, tiny levers are hard to work with with my sausage fingers! And actually, all the levers except the throttles are tiny pieces of wire in place of the PE. I found it easier to slip the parts into the slots after PE had been glued to the dash, rather then feed them in from behind and then mount them.

 

2rwLQzo.jpg

 

These are the rudder pedals, which are just a few pieces of styrene, that will be painted green and then glued to the back of the IP.

 

kwQVoR4.jpg

 

Here is the reworked pilot's seat. I sawed beneath the arm rests and the seat to separate them, then shortened the arms to better match the Airfix example. And I cut down the sides to increase the height of the head armor. Tamiya tape is serving as padding. Not perfect, but nothing about this is anyway!

 

G4Iir0y.jpg

 

And some shots of the interior before I gloss and weather it, then dullcoat it and closed it all up.

 

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My next few days off are Mon and Tue, so I'll see about doing more then!

 

Model on!

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This Lanc is looking sensational Thom!! 

It'll sure be popular when its displayed in the gallery and time for voting.

I've also got Monday and Tuesday off (actually I've got Wednesday too - but the missus will be at home, so I don't count them)... so I'm up for a bit of progress modelling as well. 

I honestly marvel every time I see this build - looking forward to the next installment.  

 

Cheers.. Dave. 

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Thanks again1 I hope I don't muck it up now!!

 

Pics time!

 

Before I forgot about it, I made the jump seat and back rest that go along the starboard side of the pit. It's just two tiny pieces of styrene, covered with Tamiya take. I then used thin wire to make the sliding bar for the seat and the swing arm for the back rest.

 

Lpw3KIA.jpg

 

And in place.

 

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Then before I forget about it, I had to redo the control yoke. The kit part looked nothing like the real one and, to be fair what I've replaced it with looks only close. But it is better.

 

yHaE8ZL.jpg

 

Thin wire was used once again,

 

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On 11/5/2017 at 4:41 PM, Mancunian airman said:

Going great guns, dont forget the flight engineers seat  . . .:tmi:

He can squat!!

But no, I redid his seat too, as well as making a bench seat for the radioman. And I forgot to take pics of the pilot's seat before putting it in! Dang! So, while all is in...

 

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I hope I got the height right. And that little yellow dot was a bee-otch to do. Made three attempts, all with varying success using a tiny rod dipped in yellow. All needed sanding and repaints, then I left it alone for the night to dry. Woke up this morning and then did it in one go. Color me surprised! And delighted!

 

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And finally, the fuselage is going together - with the glass inserts! Don't forget those!

 

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So, now that is set aside to dry. Once it it, I will go over the panel lines again and neaten them, then return to the wings - and tail planes. I'm dropping the elevators.

 

0LHZliZ.jpg

 

Still have to do the nacelles after that, which will require reshaping of the inlets under the props, pane lining and shaving off the molded solid exhaust covers and little scoops, which I have resin replacements for. Oh, and the main canopy, which will need a lot of work at the front edge. Gappage abounds there...

 

Stay tuned, and model on!

 

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A little more work done last night and this morning.

 

I started putting the bomb bay doors on, but a test fit would show, when pressed together, there would be a ledge at the hinge line with the fuselage. Gluing the doors on at the edge would leave a gap down the middle, so figuring the latter would be easier...

 

jwSewBy.jpg

 

As you can see, I used scrap to create gluing surfaces, and put the doors on one at a time.

There'll be some gaps to take care of...

 

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And since I'll be sanding the doors, I figured some extra support would not be unwarranted.

 

HuoYLPu.jpg

 

The expected gap.

 

JIKN0Vm.jpg

 

And the styrene used to fill it. After the glue dries, I'll trim it down and then use CA to fill any remaining little gaps. Then sand and scribe new lines. Will be getting a lot of practice with scribing with this model...

 

5tiHs2m.jpg

 

Edited by Thom216
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A little more progress has been made. Huzzah!!

 

But first, I had to strengthen the fuselage, as I felt it flexing while I was sanding it. I drilled a hole and glued a piece of sprue into it, hiding it in the wing root to conceal it.

 

zwloEJ0.jpg

 

With that done, I smoothed out the bomb bay and the rest of the seams, and then finished the panel lines on the fuselage.

 

P4nRNJI.jpg

 

SsiJM6H.jpg

 

Some may be a little wavy and need correcting later, but that's later. For now, that's done.

So, going back to the wings, I used the Airfix kit and traced out the wing tip lights onto tape, then transferred them to the Matchbox.

 

TlgrztJ.jpg

 

9jhM6Nm.jpg

 

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They'll need to be cleaned up a bit, and then have clear parts fashioned. And back to panel lining for the wings. And the flaps. Gotta do those flaps...

Edited by Thom216
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