tomprobert

…or is it Trump being Trump and attempting to force Boeing to lower the price in a similar way he did with the VC-25A replacement? He is a ‘business man’ after all…

Keeping politics out of this, questions have to be asked... how does anyone break into a frontline airbase undetected and damage aircraft?! BBC link here

Hello all, I’ve hankered after building the famous “VeRA” (more formally known as ‘The Mynarski Memorial Lancaster’) flown by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum out of Hamilton, Ontario, ever since it made the long trip across the Atlantic back in 2014. I was invited up to Biggin Hill where she was residing whilst displaying at the Eastbourne Airshow and seeing her sitting on the tarmac along with the BMMF’s Lancaster, I instantly fell in love! This love affair was exacerbated seeing her perform at numerous air shows during the time she was in the UK. Fast forward 11 years (how has it been that long?) and I’m finally getting around to it - using the Tamiya classic 1/48 kit as a base. Tamiya’s kit is very well known so there’s no need to go into any detail describing it, but as we all know it comes in BI/BIII guise with the classic Frazer Nash FN50 mid upper, which is not suitable for the Canadian Lanc, being a MkX and fitted with the later Martin Turret. There are also a few other subtle differences, such as the fuselage window arrangement (the centre section is actually a replacement from an earlier machine) as well as a modern aerial fit. The picture below, borrowed from the CWHM’s Facebook page and used for illustrative purposes only, shows her in all her glory: So… I began by building up the interior out of the box, the only change to the Tamiya instructions being to paint the seats in a deep red as seen in photographs of her in her warbird guise. I’ve used an Eduard set for the instrument panels and seat belts, and added the second control column from an old Lanc I built years ago and have since salvaged - VeRA is dual control and always flies with a copilot, as do the BBMF. I have carefully studied pictures of VeRA and blanked off and filled the appropriate windows, and the main mod has been blanking off the mid upper position and opening up a new one above the rear escape hatch. The Martin turret, being heavier, was moved forward to restore the correct CoG. I’ve also made the fairing for the turret and added the strengthening strips on the fuselage from plastic card. All raised panel lines lost in the filling/sanding process have been restored using a sharp scalpel and a dousing of TET and then a light sanding back. I’m in the process of converting a 1/48 Monogram B-24 to a Privateer, so fortunately have a spare Martin turret. The MkXs were fitted with a ‘high hat’ dome but the B-24 turret is earlier, lower version, but with no other option I’m aware of in 1/48 it’ll have to do. Today the fuselage has had a squirt of primer and, so far, so good: I’m really enjoying this so far - more when there’s more… Cheers, Tom

Don’t tempt me… 😄

Afternoon all, My modelling mojo has deserted me of late, but I have had the beginnings of a return the last couple of days, so fancied doing a bit more to the Stirling. A while ago I made all the framing for the bomb aimer’s windows from Evergreen, as the kit supplied parts are completely the wrong shape and the plan was/is to add my own glazing. Thankfully, and despite the incorrect shape, I have been able to use parts of the kit supplied clear parts, carefully measuring and cutting them one by one: They were then ‘dropped’ into the framing using Formula 560 canopy glue, with the edges neatened up and sealed with Milliput Black. The end result isn’t too bad and once the whole area has been blended in with a top coat of paint, it should pass muster from 50 yards! I’m leaving the centre panel right until the end as a means to remove any bits of dust or stray debris - plus I need to make the bomb sight mounts which will be very fragile. Another job ticked off… More when there’s more. Tom

That is very nicely done - might have to get myself one of these… Tom

You’ve done a fantastic job on a real classic there, Rob - it’s gorgeous! I have been perusing the VFD website on the back of your build as I have a DC-7C ready for paint. He does some lovely schemes but the postage… ouch!

It’s really interesting seeing how people’s mileage varies with the new tool kit. I think a lot of it depends on test fits and the clean up of mould lines, etc. I built mine a couple of years back and encountered no problems whatsoever with construction, but the tolerances are very, very tight. I gently sanded the mating surfaces to remove the aforementioned mould lines, which are enough to throw out the geometry if left unattended to. I also removed any paint on the mating surfaces as this too can throw things out, so tight are the tolerances. Also, if you get even a minor misalignment early on in the build, you’re in trouble as it exacerbates things further down the line. The message is to test fit, test fit and then test fit again before applying any glue!

Thank you! The APU is there - it's moulded into the resin tail cone section. Unfortunately the angle of the photographs hasn't captured it!

Afternoon all, Only my second completion so far this year, and it's the Welsh Models Boeing 737-200Adv in 1/72nd scale: This is a mixed-media kit from Welsh - you get a crisply moulded vacform fuselage, with resin fin, stabilisers, wingbox and wings, engines and cockpit interior. There are nicely cast white metal details such as the landing gear and wheels, and you also get a vacformed clear part for the canopy if you're not planning on using window decals: It's a kit that goes together very quickly, and once you've cut out and rubbed down the vac fuselage, it's more or less built in a couple more sessions. Fit was generally good, with the only problem I encountered being a warped bottom section (quiet at the back!) which some Milliput soon took care of: I decided to spruce it up a bit and purchased the very eye-catching MetroJet scheme from Draw Decals, as well as a window decal set from Authentic Airliners. Xtracolor enamels were used throughout, with some light weathering using Mig pastels. All in all a fun and quick build, and if you're thinking of dipping your toes into vacform and resin kits, I highly recommend it. Tom

@Mike the B-17 MkI was actually the shark-finned B-17C, the MkIIA the B-17E and the B-17F the MkII. The B-17G was indeed the MkIII... sorry to be pedantic Staggered waist guns are indeed incorrect for the USAAF version - it had the three-pane opposite window arrangement. The Cheyenne tail is a retro-fit - quite common practice and therefore correct. I'm not sure about the RAF version - will need to do some digging... Tom

Hello! I’ve been tinkering in the background and have the interior painted and detailed, and I just need to finish off the side blisters and instal them before I can join the fuselage halves. As usual, I’ve got about 10 builds on the go so hop around a bit, but this will be back on the bench soon 🙂 Cheers, Tom

Superb info - I wasn't aware of the use in the ETO... thank you! According to the instructions I have, boats were yellow...

Academy did a kit of this version of the B-17 - they are quite hard to find these days but do crop up from time to time. It's basically a late-build B-17G with the ball turret removed, chin turret replaced with the radome and some additional aerials around the airframe. Some had bulged waist gun windows fitted, too. Some kept their top turrets and tail guns, but others had these removed, depending on the timeframe. They were not used in the ETO/MTO during WWII, but were used to a limited extent in the last days of the Pacific war and extensively in Korea. I have the lifeboat and radome from the 299Models conversion - I'm unlikely to use it so if you want it I'll try and find it! Tom

I emailed Gerald a while back regarding some parts for a kit I wanted but didn't hear back - I know he had some health issues a while back and hope all is OK.

Absolutely fantastic work - wonderful!

Yes - I’d run out of paint at that point though! Thank you! It’s the only place big enough to work on it! Cheers, Johnny - it’s taking a while but is slowly coming together…

I can't claim any credit for that, Colin - Peter at Airscale is the genius behind the cockpit and has saved me a lot of work as the kit canopy was next to useless...

Cheers, James - fuselage roundels will be done last. I’ve never tried doing a complex and multicoloured marking like that before so have a decal in reserve just in case.

Predictably I got bored of making and painting cockpit parts, so have digressed… I have tried to make the ailerons look fabric covered by using my tried and tested trick of masking off the areas between the ribs with tape, and then spray some high-build primer over the top which, when removed, leaves some subtly raised areas. It worked well for the elevators, so I’ve done the same here and with the rudder. I have also begun to tentatively splash a little paint - I’m trying to avoid using decals for this build as sprayed-on markings look better in this scale. I did think about sourcing a generic Lancaster decal sheet for the codes, etc., but have decided to make my own masks. Here, you can see I’ve laid down the first layer of ‘RAF roundel red’ from Xtracolor - and the finished rudder and ailerons: If the weather stays fine I’ll paint the rest of the wing roundels before inevitably I’m going to have to finish the cockpit off. More when there’s more… Tom

This isn’t modelling, it’s engineering! I’m in awe of what you’re doing here - amazing work!

Erm… so where are the pictures of the model? 🙂 Superbly built and photographed - outstanding job all round! Tom

Thanks, Mike - you know me… I like to hop about between projects 😄

Scratch work a plenty as the main cockpit components have been made and splashed with some paint this morning: Next up is the radios and electrical boxes… More when there’s more… Tom

Cheers, Neil - it certainly isn't a ’Tamiya quality’ finish but looks ok from a few feet 🙂 Thanks again for the canopy - it took a bit of extra fettling to get it to fit the Sanger fuselage but it’s worth it as it really improves the look of the kit. The Sanger offering was poor and didn’t capture the shape well at all so I am very grateful! And as for the rumour… time will tell. All the best, Tom