canberra kid

Hi Andy, Did your uncle pay the ultimate price for our freedom? it is good when you can associate a model with a person, even better if they are a relation. I have got the ORB's and Sqn diaries for 79 Sqn, which was his first Sqn, though he was assigned to 34 Sqn; on arrival in Burma my dad was one of a small number of pilots that were loaned to 79 Sqn as they were desperately short of Thunderbolt qualified pilots, including the Sqn CO! It's not until I got the ORB's that I finally found all but one of of the serial numbers for his T-bolts, It wasn't until then I could build an accurate representation. John

Thanks Alistair, my dad was always a bit miffed to say the least that what went on in the far east was very much the forgotten war. John

It's a wee bit late, it should have been posted on the 12th. This is my model of the 34 Sqn T-Bolt my dad was flying when they got the call back on VJ day 1945. I've tried to capture the worn and weathered look of these hard worked war horses, not easy with a paint brush! Lest we forget. John

No problem. John

I have drawings of the Canberra jack's but no dimensions unfortunately. John

Thanks @Selwyn, I knew you'd know. John

Some B(I)8 bombs, not sure what type though. John

Yes it's quite straightforward. John

Unfortunately, that won't work, the fuselage will be too short. Every thing else is ok though. John

No problems, I'm poised on stand by! John

As I said, the A model looks superficially like the Canberra but there are a lot of detail changes. John

That's why I'd like to see one, though superficially they look very much the same, in detail there are a lot of differences between the B.2 and Martin A model Canberra, I suspect HP got some of them but I'd like to see how much they got right. John

I've got the D, I've not seen the A but I'd like to have a look at one. John

Could well be Bill! Thanks 😎 John

They did Steve, some of the very first PR.3's may not have done though. I've still not got to the bottom of that. All PR.7's did though.

The mark the anniversary of the first flight of the Martin B.57 Canberra I posted what I considered to be the Alpha and Omega of the type. A few people thought that the B.57G was not the true representative of the Omega, instead it should have been the RB/WB.57F. The F may represent the ultimate development of the Canberra family but even with my slim grasp of the English language I'm sure F comes before G also in reality the RB.57F is not a Canberra but a General Dynamics product. The biggest and only slightly less impressive long wing development of the Canberra family was the RB.57D. John

Phew, I'm glad it's clear! Yes, it really is that line. It's the forward transport joint, the Canberra fuselage brakes down into three sections, simple! John

@BillF67 a PS. If you want some reference have a look around my site IPMS UK Canberra SIG or drop me an email, as I said I can send you some plans for the PR.7 John

Ok @BillF67 Here's how I think it can work using the Airfix B.57 and HP B(I)8. The Areoclub nose you have will fit the Airfix B.57 fuselage, all you need to do is remove so of the thickness on the inside to take the locating ring on the nose. As I've said be fore, for some odd reason when Palitoy destroyed to B.6 to make the B.57 they increased the length to that of the PR. Canberra's, every cloud and all that! The photo shows where the change (yellow line) was made, and where the extra length accrued (blue line) and where to make the cut (red line) The next photo shows after cutting. Another silver lining to the butchery of the B.6 was the decision not to give the new version an open bomb bay option, this means that all you need to do is remove the raisd detail for the Martin bomb bay, and re-scribe as required. I can email the necessary plans for the forward full tank/ flair bay position. The HP B(I)8 wings will be good to go, you will need to either remove some of the span either by reducing the the integral part of wing from the Airfix kit or part of the HP wing, personnel I would remove some from the wing but that's up to you. As a an aside this is a link to my PR.3 that I started, it's not quite the same way as your build but it may give a few pointers. I have done it the way I'm suggesting here on a T.22 but I have no WIP for that PR.3 build. John

That's ok @rossm, it's always good to get other input on a subject. The fuselage dimension on the Italeri B.57B is about the only thing that is right, is fine, 6' 6" that is up until the rear of the bomb bay, that's where it all goes horribly wrong! Well from that aspect anyway, there is so much more, but that's a diferant story! Nice to see you building an A model, what are you going to do it as?

Yes Bill that should work too. I'll get back to you later with more detail. John

Thanks Bill it's the older one not the clear one. Still all is not lost it's a good set. Unfortunately this won't give you the extra fuselage length needed for a PR. Canberra. Rather than the HP Canberra you may be better looking for an old 1/72 Airfix B.57B/RB.57E and a cheap FROG/ Novo/ Revel B.(I)8. The Airfix B.57 for some odd reason is the correct length for a PR.Canberra. The FROG 8 will give you the correct wings. I have one on my site that I started that way some time ago. John

Is the Aeroclub conversion a transparent nose section? You should be good to go with the HP kit, if you are after building a PR.7 you may be better starting with a later Mk.20 or a B.6 as they will have the correct size triple starter fairings for the Avon 109's. I assume you are aware of all the other mods to make a PR Canberra? John

When you say that HP do a B.57 what model? I know they do an RB/EB.57A and RB/EB.57D do they have a B or E in the range? John

That's right the PR.9 was the last operational type in the RAF, and if you allow a point stretch then the WB.57F will be the last of the Canberra family still earning it's keep for the military. John