Valenstitch
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Posts posted by Valenstitch
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Masks off, everything but the lifeboat fitted, some touching up to do, and a good clean all over, but I think I`m going to make the deadline.........probably
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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Almost done now, undercarriage doors are on, main wheels are glued solid, landing lights are in, just three antenna, the pitot and the rudder mass balances to go.
However, there is also the question of the Airborne Lifeboat, It is a hoofing great lump of resin and there are some fit issues, so with five days to go I might quietly slip the lifeboat back in the stash for another day and another Lancaster, I don't know, I`ll have a ponder and a scratch.........
But everything else is going in the win column!
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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I read in Hank Adlam`s book "On and off the flight deck" that at the end of the war off the coast of Australia, a good number of Corsairs were as you say pushed over the side, but not all of them, from what I have read elsewhere the selection was made by the Air Engineering Officers who ditched all the old or troublesome aircraft, when Hank returned to UK in early 1946 he as senior pilot, lead the ships remaining Corsairs to HMS Daedalus at Lee-on-Solent before the carrier docked in Portsmouth, complete with a paying off pennant attached to his antenna mast, which subsequently jammed his rudder, making his last flight in a Corsair somewhat more memorable that it should have been!
Granto
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I found this by accident just now, it`s probably been posted before but I thought what the hell, some good stuff, Corsair, Hellcat, Firebrand, Mosquito and Vampire, all supported by some dreadful acting!
Granto
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Props and spinners on, exhausts fitted and sitting on her wheels for the first time!
So, there's a forest of antenna to go on, the weathering needs tidying up and I need to sort the lifeboat out. Winning!
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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A bit more work done while I wait to see if I`m going back to work next week yet.
I started on the extensive exhaust staining.
Its taking a while to get the appropriate mix and depth of pigment, but it`s getting there!
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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Got a bit more done this afternoon, Flory wash........well, Flory bath! Minging! This took about ten minutes!
This was about two hours later. Some of these Maritime Lancasters had a very lived in look, which is handy, because that goes with my style of modelling!
There's a lot more cleaning to go, but the finished article is starting to emerge.
The panel lines have come out well in my opinion.
But still more to come off underneath.
All good!
Yeah, a productive afternoon!
Time to think about exhaust stains!
Win column all the way!
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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Here is My Spitfire PRXIX, it`s been sitting on my bench or thereabouts since last year, It`s probably got Eduard belts and a Pavla upgrade inside and out but it`s been so long I cant remember, oh and an SAC undercart, and four spoke wheels from an AZ box of bits, and a spinner and resin upgrade prop from a Mk14 along with the exhausts, I think I had issues with just about everything, the more I think about it, it wasn't a very enjoyable build, still it`s done now, and I can park it up and move on!
ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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Getting near the finishing line now, I was able to spend a few hours getting the Decals on yesterday, they all went on beautifully! So I left it all to settle overnight with my "Bench Blocker" PRXIX!
I used the stencils from the kit and the rest came from the Extradecal Post War Lancasters set, all with a liberal application of setting solution!
Very fetching in it`s Maritime scheme!
I still have to insert the landing lights, which will entail punching two little holes through the buzz number.
So today I will be mostly sealing decals...........and trying to finish the PRXIX to make some room for something else............
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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Nice to see a Whippet opened up, from my own experience we almost never shut the hatches unless we were forced to!
Granto
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Bit of progress to report, I am finally happy with the paint job......I had a nozzle on my airbrush split which caused me a few problems followed by numerous bleeds under my masking tape into panel lines, but by reversing the masking and over spraying with the fine detail nozzle and needle in my airbrush I sorted almost all of it, just one bleed left to deal with on the front turret fairing.
I still have to fit all the antennas, aerials, pitot head and rudder mass balances, but that can wait until the decals are on.
And you can still just discern the preshade under the MSG........
So what colour to paint my Airborne lifeboat? White, yellow or blue? Answers on a postcard!
Win column I think!
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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21 minutes ago, PeterB said:
Looking good Granto,
Did you ever sort out the rear turret question? AFAIK the normal FN 20 was modified into the later FN 120/121 but the main changes seem to have been internal. Some had layers of armour plate between the guns, and in some cases this and at times the perspex panel were removed to give the gunner a better view. FN and BP were asked to design a new turret with twin 50cal, and the resulting FN 82 was accepted for service in ;late 1944 but whether or not they were fitted is unclear. The one 50 cal version that was fitted was the Rose R1 of which 227 were made - all according to my book on wartime turrets. The R1 had the guns wider spaced I believe and a large cut out between them. Exactly what would be fitted to the one you are modelling I have not a clue if you have not already decided I doubt it matters one way or the other.
Cheers
Pete
It`ll be an FN120/121, I've only seen one image of an ASRIII from 236 OCU with an FN82, all the rest of my research where the image is distinct, either points to the standard four gun turret (usually without the guns fitted) or the images don't show the turret at all. I intend to build my other Revell Lanc as a BVII, I already have the FN82 vac-form in the stash along with a Martin mid-upper.
Granto
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Hello Doggy,
I use a Sparmax gun, for priming mainly, it has a .4 or larger needle, and an H&S Ultra? that comes with two needles, a .4 and a .2 I think, for painting proper, I do not use the H&S for primer at all. I have had mixed results with all types of paint and similar issues to yourself with both airbrushes until quite recently, and this is where the story really starts, I dismantle my airbrushes to clean them every time I use them, I mean every shoot, I use a nozzle pick, airbrush brushes clean water the lot, I use an ultrasonic cleaner at the end of a session........result? I still had problems, I stir the paint with a battery paint stirrer and thin it, normally 2:1, I use the same brand of thinner as the brand of paint........result? I still had problems. Finally I thought I would try and filter the paint as I was taught to decades ago, I found these on a well known internet retailers site https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07YFCNFDY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. They are big, about the size of a coffee filter, obviously intended for professional use, but at a penny a go I took a punt. I tell you what, they worked for me, I pour all my paint and primer through filters now, I`ve not had an issue with clogging or flecks or loss of pressure since. Now I`m not suggesting this is the panacea to all your issues, or that ten quid is necessarily a cheap fix for everyone, but no one else has suggested it, and it has worked as a remedy for my airbrushing issues!
Best of luck
Granto
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So here I am in my fifth week of lockdown, I think I`m coping with it quite well, in fact this is the longest period of inactivity in my life....since I left the Army! Ideal training for doing nothing!
I decided I didn't like the poxy H2S scanner in the kit, so I built a better one after having a look on the internet. Here is my Mk2c scanner, it`s probably over scale, but it fits in the dome and will only be seen from the rear.
Then it was time for paint! This is the first pass of MSG.
This is the second pass
The starboard wing is in reality a lot closer to the even finish of the port wing, but I am happy with the tonal variation overall. I will shoot a third very light coat, and then leave it for 24 hours before masking.
Winning!
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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9 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:
I’ll be interested to see how that preshading looks after the top coat white goes on
So will I Dave!, TBH, I have never painted an aeroplane white, but some of the Lancasters in Martin Derry`s book Avro Lancaster Lincoln and York in post-war service look particularly "Lived in", and those images have been my inspiration with this build, so I thought I would try as many painting techniques as my skills would support! So that would be the pre-shading covered! It`s all a learning curve anyhow, I think the Revell Lanc is a good kit, there is some nice detail there, and with a few corrective mods builds into a very nice representation for £20!
Granto
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A small amount of progress to report, I had hoped to do a bit more, but last Tuesday the "Leg Iron" tripped over the kerb in the deserted car park of the leisure centre and broke her wrist while we were walking the dog, so we have had a "redistribution of household duties" following her emergency operation! Apparently the doctor at the hospital said she can drink as much Gin as she needs to numb the pain, at least thats what she said when I brought her home!
Anyway, I found time to attach the bomb aimers dome and insert the undercarriage, which is probably more robust than it looks, but was in my opinion a bit of a faf! It`s all been primed and is now awaiting the paint job.
I`m still debating whether to spray the grey first, in terms of masking it would be less work to mask the grey off and then spray the white than vice versa.
The sub assemblies of the turrets and the props and wheels are just about done.
As are the spinners, the exhausts and the U/C doors have had some primer as well.
So still winning, until I have to put my wimple on and become Flo Nightingoon!
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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A bit more progress to report
I attached the canopy over the weekend, it got a good shot of black primer, then the whole shebang was sprayed with white Stynylrez which revealed a few flaws, I sorted them out and resprayed those areas. I had to do a little mod on the rudders where the mass balances will go, this involved inserting a small block of plastic strip into a hole in the rudder and gluing it solid, I also decided to fill the gap between the tail-plane and the fuselage. While that was going off I did some pre-shading with dark ocean grey, all very random to help break up what will be a vast area of white!
The grey blob is right over my new windows, I might have to tone that down a bit1
And finally it`s time to mask the props up!
So that was an Easter weekend`s work, Not a lot to show for it! But still winning!
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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1 hour ago, PeterB said:
Not going to be much clearance under the boat!
Easy there Pete, don`t fill me full of doubt at this stage of the build, I`m four spiced rums down, anything could happen!
Granto
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As my old drill sergeant used to say, "We are in a tunnel, but there is a glimmer of light in the distance", what relevance that has to this build God only knows, but a bit more progress has occurred. And for you lovely people I`m going to share it today!
All the lovely little transparencies are awaiting fitting, there are a couple of bits still to mask, the aft end of the canopy and three areas of liquid mask.
I took the plunge and fitted the wings, tail-plane and fins, there was a slight fettle required with the starboard main-plane but it`s all firm now. The tail-plane and fins need priming once I have fitted the mass balances to the rudders, there are a smaller set of four mass balances intended for the rudder trim tabs, but as far as I can tell they were not required or fitted to the Lincoln type rudder, PA474 hasn't got them in any Images from the Haynes manual, nor can I see them in any of the other images of the Lincoln rudder Lancasters in my reference books or my searching the web!
I do like a Lincoln rudder! There are two rear turret fairings in the kit, I don`t know which should be used, anyone out there able to point me in the right direction?
Underneath hasn't come out too bad........
This little bunch of bits needs refining, I`m going to try and convert the early pitot head into the third "toasting fork" antenna that goes centrally beneath the bomb aimers window.
And finally, as an Easter treat, I couldn't resist trying the Lifeboat for size!
There will be an amount of fettling to get this snug underneath, but it looks the part!
Still winning!
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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Nice work!
I think I have one of these in 1/72, I have a Sword bumper box of five Seafires of various Mks and this scheme looks familiar, unusual for sure, but familiar!
Granto
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Yeah, what they all said!
I have an Airfix Lanc and a Revell Lanc left in the stash, they both come with the parts to build a MkI or a MkIII, but there are subtle differences between early and late, early, narrow propeller blades, shallow bomb aimers dome, low astrodome above the navigator, late, Paddle blade props, deep bomb aimers dome , tall astrodome, the last Lancaster delivered to the RAF was a MKI, Turrets are another difference, as Mike has pointed out above!
I found the The Haynes manual a good source of information and the wikipedia page also details a lot of the differences between various marks!
Granto
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So here is today's remedial work update!
I had shot some primer onto the fuselage which revealed the join seam required a bit of rework, so last night I put some filler on the join and emptied the fridge of cider! Not happy! This morning I rubbed it back......
The second issue was even more frustrating, My preferred primer is Stynylrez, I have to take reasonable precautions with it because of previous problems spraying, so it gets a thorough stir from my electric whizzer, and then I pour it through a filter, then it goes on beautifully, anyhow, I was running low on primer and foolishly decided to try some Vallejo primer, it sprayed very well and I was happy with it, but I came across a review where a user said that if you had to mask with tape on this primer it would come off, since this version will require some masking I thought I would give it a go with a bit of Tamiya tape, and lo and behold the Vallejo primer lifted, so this morning I had to clean it off the upper wing surface with a cotton bud dipped in Mr Hobby thinners, which thankfully removes all makes of acrylic paint plus polyurethane primer! The engine nacelles were left because there wont be any masking there.
Once the fuselage was reworked I shot it with a light coat of white Stynylrez, much better! Starting to smile again!
I am going to try and paint the small portion of fuselage that is covered by the canopy tomorrow, then fit the canopy and astrodome.
Here is a very detailed and clear image of the starboard wing undera new coat of white Stynylrez!
Much much better!
I am masking the canopy with an Eduard mask, first time with one of these, I think if you can justify the expense it`s worth it with a big expanse of canopy like this!
This is where the manufacturers opinion differes from mine! Stage 56, parts 49 and 50 are the wrong way round, if you put them in as per this suggests the teardrop is too low on the canopy, you need to swap them over, then it looks fine!
I have been doing the transparencies bit by bit over the last couple of days. Still got the bomb aimers dome to go, and the back end of the canopy.
Here`s a better shot of my detailed front turret interior, not that any of this will be visible once I slap the front of the turret on!
So black eyes verses feathers in my cap? I think the win collumn just edges it!
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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I decided I didn`t like the front turret enhancement, so I ripped it off and started again!
This time I used a bit of styrene rod, two holes drilled into the base of the turret and the rod ends threaded through, I glued one end, and once set I adjusted the height of the hoop and glued the other end.
I cut two sections of tube and fettled them to fit in the slots for the guns, these would be part of the trunion/mounting for the guns if fitted, I glued them to the turret base using the transparency to hold them in the right place. I cut two braces from rod and glued them to support the hoop, then I removed the transparency, and cut away the interior portion of the trunion leaving a "C" shape with the curve to the front.
There is a prominent curved brace that goes from the hoop to the trunion/mount which I cut from some thin scrap card and glued it in place once I had added a couple of thin slices of rod that were drilled with lightening holes. Then I fitted the back of the turret and shot it with black stynylrez I think it looks a bit closer to the real thing now!
The Prop spinners got a coat of red and the exhaust stubs were readied for primer.
The fuselage transparencies were masked and fitted where necessary
The air conditioning scoop went on, this is part of the Freightdog set.
And finally for the day, the tail wheel leg was fitted with a few degrees of lock to port on. Oh and the Strike camera/ Flare chute was mounted as well.
So amongst all of the doom and gloom out there, I`m still winning...........
Ta for lookin` no G
Granto
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Afternoon everyone, I`m having a bit of a drought finding images of the various radio and navigation antenna fitted to ASR and MR Lancasters, from what I can find, I think there are three "toasting fork" type antenna, one each side of the nose and one underneath the bomb aimers position, a short whip type either side of the nose just above the front end of the bomb doors, two whips on top of the fuselage, one to the rear of the cockpit and one somewhere near the mid upper blanking plate, a whip behind the HS2 dome and two short whips side by side a couple of feet further aft. From what I can tell the "Towel rail" antenna isn't fitted on post war Lanc`s.......Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Granto
And finally it`s time to mask the props up!
All the lovely little transparencies are awaiting fitting, there are a couple of bits still to mask, the aft end of the canopy and three areas of liquid mask.
There will be an amount of fettling to get this snug underneath, but it looks the part!
Once the fuselage was reworked I shot it with a light coat of white Stynylrez, much better! Starting to smile again!
AA Stalwart Mk 2
in Ready for Inspection - Armour
Posted
Proper Minging, just like every one I pulled up alongside during countless tactical "Replens" on Soltau and across Germany in the 80`s, Excellent! You just need the SQMS`s "choggy wagon" parked at the end of the line now! Oh an Wolfgang's blue Merc to get the heads up on where you were going the next day!
Granto