Ben C

feel I'm shortly to join you on that one! shame the triangular device is such a beautiful beast!

Beast of a model, great work!

What a beaut! Nice work sir.

Beautiful!

Not been on here in a week or so, this is the first thing I see. Awesome stuff. Inspirational. *can see where some of next paycheck is being spent*

Yes it is a bit tail high, I hadn't noticed it on the bench but did spot it in the photos. Appears the nose gear got knocked before the plastic weld set properly. Will have a fiddle with it this week.

WOW! That's stunning

Hi all, This is what's been on my workbench for the past few months, on the receiving end of some surgery and half a tube of filler as and when spare time (ha!) permits. I picked this one from the stash as after the two Lancasters and the Spit and Hurri, I was getting fed up of painting camoflage. The problems of this model are well known, and to me the major issue I would try to correct was the intakes - the rest I could live with. I could have got the Flightpath kit of parts, and for the amount of stuff you get it's good value for money, however an unexpected car bill meant money had priority elsewhere and I was scrabbling round in the shed and the oddsods bin for items that might be of use. I took a few pics as I went, so I'll include those here. I wanted to capture the depth of intakes and the tunnel in front of each engine, so with a selection of close up photos from XL213's website, I set to work in perhaps an unusual way, using offcuts of copper pipe from a recent sink replumbing effort, some plasticard and a vast amount of filler. The theory works... now to build up the rest of the intakes with card and filler! this did upset the centre of gravity somewhat so additional noseweight was required. It might not be the most accurate representation, but to me it's a lot better than an out of the box model would have looked. I did also end up making new tips for the tail fin bullet out of scrap on my lathe out in the shed, and the engine exhausts are some plastic tubing that also received a tickle in the lathe to thin them out. I have finished this model as XH673, the gate guardian at RAF Marham, a few miles up the road from me. XH673 is not much more than an empty shell these days, but it does display both 55 an 57 squadron crests on the tail as she stands there just inside the gate. Enough waffle, the finished model... This viewpoint shows the results of all that filling and sanding I'm happy with what I've achieved. If the model's "face" doesn't look right, then to me, it isn't right. Love that massive tail This was also my first attempt at panel line washes using acrylic... using enamel next time! Painted using both Vallejo and Humbrol acrylics - the hemp is Vallejo, with copious amounts of white added to fade it out. The underside is Humbrol light a/c grey. Brush painted, varnished with Windsor and Newton satin acrylic. Xtradecal for the number, the rest from the kit. The announcement from Airfix regarding their Victor kit came out while I was still applying lots of filler and I did wonder about ditching this model, but I figured I'd started so I'll finish...

That's great on using the plumbing olives to enhance the back end. It did make me chuckle, I've used copper pipe in my 1:72 Victor post that up once I've finished painting it.

Thanks Enzo and Kev

Regards the W&N Galeria Matt Varnish, is this ok to use over the top of Klear? Don't want to apply my decals, varnish over and there's some horrid reaction!

Stunner!! *adds one of these to shopping list*

Great job! I can imagine the amount of work you've put into this, I'm almost finished the K2 and its took me long enough, and that's with no conversion work! Hats off to you, sir!

Nice work! Am building XH673 in 1:72 and found the window masking was fiddly enough at that size! Hats off to you

Fantastic modelling, and great photography as well!

Beautiful! Got one of these in the stash waiting to go...

Nice one!

Super looking model! *another one on the shopping list*

A beast of a model to choose as a first effort at aircraft modelling - I did the same thing! Yes there was some cursing involved with the building of my one as well! Regarding advice with painting and finishing, and your transfer application, as a newbie I found that spending an hour with a large mug of tea and the Humbrol YouTube channel tutorials was time well spent. Having seen your comments regarding the decals, in particular, you may like to watch: How To - Use Clear How To - Use DecalFix I have varnished models with 'Clear' and used 'Decalfix' to seat the decals down, sealing them in with another coat of Clear - it's worked a treat and I am happy with the result. My Lancaster is seen here. It just remains for me to buy and apply some matt or satin varnish to tone down the shine. I have also used the Humbrol Gloss Cote enamel varnish, and whilst this has produced a good looking result, it took weeks to fully cure and the model was tacky for quite some time. The Clear dries off quickly by comparison, so I am using that from now on. Hope that helps

Thank you for the info, I'll look up the font I have received the decals mentioned earlier in the thread, so will use those on this model. I do have some decal paper about somewhere so having that font in the stash will be useful as time goes on, thank you! It's knowing what fonts are what... aircraft modelling is new to me, railway modelling I did for ages and sussed out all the styles etc so at home with those, feel somewhat lost with this though! Glad there's a good bunch of friendly people on here to ask

Taken in 2014, on the Families Day where the two Lancasters and the Vulcan did the flypast, see my Flickr for the pics. It was a quick photo stop as we were on the way back out. Glad to hear she's been cleaned Fantastic, thank you! Have just ordered them.

Hi all, Am using up a lot of time and filler on a Revell Victor K2; am wanting to model it as XH673, the gate guard at RAF Marham (only four miles away from me). The decals in the box for a hemp coloured tanker are for XH672 'Maid Marion' - my question is, any recommendations for a decal set that would give me the white letters and numbers required for XH673. Am afraid that I am a bit lost when it comes to sorting decals for aircraft - I have done a lot of railway modelling so plastic butchery, spraying and decals for those is fine... model aircraft is a 'new' hobby for me, all the fonts and letterings are a source of confuddlement at the moment! Couple of photos of the beast concerned didn't have time for detail pics on this occasion unfortunately. She's well and truly faded, though I understand there is a small team of lads looking after her.

Neat work Flew on the Etihad A380 on my way to Aus earlier this year, fancied making a model of it ever since. Another one in the 'to do' list

Nice model, good work!

Super, great looking model and the diorama sets it all off. Nice and busy!