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As modellers and, dare I say it, amateur historians of 1940s British air power, we sometimes throw terms like "Fighter Command" and "Bomber Command" around without really considering what they mean. For many, I am sure, mentioning Bomber Command conjures images of Lancasters and The Dambusters. Forgive me, therefore, if I indulge in a little background history before I get stuck into making models. As I'm sure you may recognise, this thread could well be the start of something longwinded. I don't expect swift progress on any of the planned builds, and neither should you. British bombers tended to be large and often complex machines, so it's fair to expect the same of this thread! Origins Let's start at the beginning. The Royal Air Force was formed in April 1918 by the merger of the British Army's Royal Flying Corps and the Admiralty's Royal Naval Air Service. By the time of the merger, both air wings had been more or less working together anyway. Although the world's first official independent air force, the nascent RAF had a difficult childhood. Both older military arms wanted their toys back, doing all they could to stifle the newcomer before it could get started. The British government didn't really help, starving the RAF of cash, and slashing it to a fraction of the size of the circa 300,000 men with which it ended the war. The service was saved essentially by Sir Hugh Trenchard, its founding father in many respects and by the 1920s the first Chief of the Air Staff, who argued that air power would be a cost-effective method of policing parts of the British Empire. In 1921, the RAF was given responsibility for all British forces in Iraq, aiming to "police" tribal unrest. The RAF was also deployed to Afghanistan, on its own, to deal with other tribal issues. Back home, the RAF was still fighting to survive. Self-promotion, with events like the Hendon air pageants and taking part in (and winning) the Schneider Trophy air races, were very successful in keeping the air force in the public consciousness. At the same time, the still new technology of flight was seen as glamorous and air-mindedness, particularly among the wealthier classes, was taking hold. Air Defence of Great Britain The Steel-Bartholomew Committee, meeting in 1923, recommended that defence of the British Isles, and London in particular, as then capital city of a global empire, should be handled by the new Air Ministry instead of the War Office. The defence structure was to involve the RAF's Metropolitan Air Force, with 52 squadrons of mostly bombers, plus the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers to handle anti-aircraft artillery and searchlights. It also recommended setting up a volunteer Observer Corps. Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) was formed in 1925, and was organised in three defensive zones: Inner Artillery Zone (IAZ), over London Air Fighter Zone (AFZ), divided in two areas controlling regular squadrons, the so-called Wessex Bombing Area and Fighting Area Outer Artillery Zone (OAZ), a narrow belt along the English east and south coast from Suffolk to Sussex You may well get the impression from that arrangement that much of the military dogma in Britain deemed France as the next potential enemy. It is true, at the time, that the French military was the strongest and best equipped on the Continent and France was also a major colonial power, so perhaps the fears were somewhat justified. This thinking persisted for some time. Planning and developing a British strategic bomber force without a clear idea of who the enemy might be led to some poor decisions about how to equip what was intended to be a deterrent force. Until the mid-1930s, also partially due to limited resources and factory capacity, the bulk of the RAF's bomber force comprised light biplane day bombers, like the Hawker Hart and Hind, cheap and easy to build. Someone at the Air Ministry finally realised that bigger and better machines would be required. Specifications were set out, though still somewhat hampered by various international arms limitations treaties, and the results were aircraft like the Handley Page Heyford and Fairey Hendon. Eventually, specifications laid the groundwork for the aircraft with which the RAF would enter the next war, the Hampden, Wellington and Whitley, plus the light and medium bombers of the Battle and Blenheim. Advanced designs for four-engined heavy bombers were well under way by the time war broke out in 1939. Rethinking ADGB In 1936 ADGB was abolished. In its place, four new Commands were created: Fighter, Bomber, Coastal and Training. Fighter Command would deal with defending the British Isles, Coastal would protect shipping around the coasts, Training needs no explanation, leaving Bomber Command to handle the task of deterring and attacking a potential enemy. (I am, of course, effectively ignoring much of the geopolitical landscape of the late 1920s and 1930s. I think most of us know what the situation was, and I'm trying to explain simplistically how Bomber Command came into existence.) The new Bomber Command inherited a motley selection of aircraft. Arranged into four Groups, oddly numbered 1, 2, 3 and 6, the last being an auxiliary Group, the Command could field squadrons flying a lot of biplanes, some of which could date their designs right back to the Great War. Light bombers like Hawker Hinds, medium bombers like the Boulton-Paul Overstrand, heavies like the Vickers Virginia, were being supplemented by new machines like the Handley Page Heyford and the massive Fairey Hendon, the first all-metal monoplane bomber in the RAF. Modernisation, frankly, couldn't come quickly enough. Happily, the previously mentioned Hampden/Hereford, Wellington and Whitley were starting to enter service, and plans were already in train for the big four-engined heavies. And to the models So, what do I have in store? Well, as you might expect, we modellers in the gentleman's scale have been pretty well served by Airfix over the past few years. Already built, I have the Bristol Blenheim MkIV twin-engined light bomber and the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley MkV. The latter is lined up for a mild repaint to correct some dodgy transfers, so may make an appearance here in time. News from afar tells me that the long-awaited Ffrom Fairey Battle will be with us soon (May 2023 is currently mooted), so that's a big hole in the light bomber fleet to be plugged. I did attempt to upgrade the rather elderly Airfix Handley Page Hampden a few years ago, but happily I now have this Valom kit to replace it. Ignore what it says on the box, because I know the right parts for the RAF bomber are inside. Good old Airfix is providing a pair of Wellingtons. There's a joke in there somewhere, but I can't find it. Take no heed to what markings come in the box. I'm still to choose suitable squadron markings, and I'm keen to do at least one of these to represent either Czech or Polish air crews. Not photographed is a Revell Handley Page Halifax MkI with some aftermarket bits to improve the Merlin engines. A nice vintage 1975 box of the Short Stirling. Why, you may ask, have I not gone for the Italeri kit? Well, right now they are like hens' teeth, plus having reviewed various builds and noted how much effort builders went to in order to minimise the rather excessive panel lines, I reckoned a tenner spent on the old Stirling plus some fun scratching interior parts and "upgrading" the exterior in ways I've not yet explored was a better bet. Then there's this. Wait, what? Any fule no that the Lancaster wasn't around in 1940. What gives? Well, what gives is the engines. I had planned to nick a couple of the Bristol Hercules engines and props for another kit, but they might just get purloined en masse to upgrade the Stirling. Meanwhile... This quite heavy collection of parts from Blackbird Models will let me de-evolve Roy Chadwick's masterpiece into the Avro Manchester. Now, the more astute among you might have noticed several of these aircraft don't strictly meet my 1940 criteria. This is true. I have a self-imposed rule that I only build models of aircraft in squadron service at any time from 1 January to 31 December 1940. That is actual squadron service, so no prototypes or one-offs or other oddities. No De Havilland Mosquitos, I'm afraid. When it comes to the bombers, however, I am happy to bend that rule. While it is true the Stirling, Manchester and Halifax did not fly operational bombing sorties until the early part of 1941, they were in actual squadrons towards the end of 1940 so crews could begin converting to them and working up to full operations. This bend of my rule means I can begin to show how Bomber Command was being set up to prosecute the rest of the war, which I think is important. Quite when I will begin any of these builds is up in the air. I am currently leaning towards the Valom Hampden as the first off the blocks. The Stirling and Halifax may get a look in as far as deciding what work needs doing, while the Manchester conversion almost inevitably may take the longest to start - and complete! I don't expect much aggro from the Wellington department, being modern kits that go together well. If you've made it this far, well done! I hope it won't be too long before you see more than just words from me.

Short Stirling MkI Series 1, MG-D N3641, No 7 Squadron, RAF Oakington, Bomber Command, late 1940 According to my own rules about my 1940 collection, aircraft such as the Avro Manchester, Handley Page Halifax and Short Stirling shouldn’t be eligible for inclusion. All three aircraft mentioned, although in squadrons by the end of 1940, really didn’t begin proper operational flying until early 1941. I do feel, however, it is important to show how decisions made late in the 1930s led to the aircraft that would take the war back to Germany in the 1940s. Virtually from its foundation, and throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the Royal Air Force followed the doctrine that to be an effective defence force meant having more and better bombers than any prospective enemy. The Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) was built on this guiding principle from its earliest days. The strategic bombing force was the jewel in the RAF’s crown, with fighters coming very much second best. A country didn’t need silly little peashooters to prevent an enemy attacking it; it just need more bombers to deter the enemy in the first place. This principle, of being able to hit back just as hard, if not harder, remains to this day – only with nuclear warheads instead of aeroplanes. Until the 1930s, the notional “enemy” the bomber force was to counter was France. With the rise of Hitler in 1933, all that changed. The Air Ministry began desperately chasing an almost entirely fictitious figure, that of how many bombers Germany was able to build, and how quickly. The attempts to retain or even beat parity with Luftwaffe bomber numbers would obsess the Ministry for the rest of the decade, and require ever more precious money from the Treasury. Various schemes were put forward to boost front line bomber strength to match that of the Luftwaffe. From 1934, the stated aim was to reach a total of 41 bomber squadrons by the end of March 1939, but this set of goal posts continued to move until war eventually broke out. With a lack of new designs on the horizon, the various expansion schemes tended to fall back on quantity over quality. Many obsolete light bombers were ordered just to make up the numbers quickly. Eventually, sense began to prevail. Specifications, thrashed out by committee, began to be drawn up to encourage manufacturers to tender for new bomber designs. Aircraft, such as the Bristol Blenheim, Fairey Battle, Vickers Wellington, Handley Page Hampden, and Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, were created and filled the squadrons of Bomber Command - but the Air Ministry’s eyes were always on the next level. In 1936, it was realised the RAF may well need even larger aircraft, capable of delivering more bombs further and faster than the current designs. Air Ministry specifications P.13/36 and B.12/36 were circulated in July 1936, inviting tenders from the main British aircraft and engine manufacturers. The former called for a twin-engined medium bomber for “worldwide” use, meaning it would be capable of operating in a wide variety of environments. It was also expected to be able to carry two torpedoes in its bomb bay. This flexibility in the design of the bay meant both the Halifax and Manchester-cum-Lancaster were much more adaptable to new ordnance designs. B.12/36, on the other hand, was the Ministry sort of hedging its bets in case the “heavy twins” concept didn’t bear fruit. The specification called for a four-engined heavy bomber, capable of cruising at 250mph over 1500 miles with at least a 4000lb bomb load. Tenders for designs were submitted by Bristol, de Havilland, Vickers-Armstrong, Armstrong Whitworth, Vickers Supermarine and Short Brothers. Only the last two were given orders, and work began on detail design and prototypes. The Supermarine Type 317 and 318 prototypes were under construction at the outbreak of war in 1939. Supermarine, however, was a small company, and found themselves virtually swamped with orders for their small fighter and the Walrus amphibian. The bomber prototypes were worked on in a piecemeal fashion at the company’s Woolston, Hampshire, factory, until late September 1940 when a Luftwaffe raid destroyed the aircraft and most of the drawings associated with them. The Air Ministry cancelled the order in November. The only B.12/36 design to see operations was the Stirling. The myth has always been the 100ft wing span limitation was to accommodate the new type in standard RAF hangars. The standard hangar of the time was larger than that, and the specification actually expected routine maintenance to be done in the open. It should be noted the reason for the limitation was more down to the Air Ministry wanting to limit the overall size of the aircraft. Worries were voiced that a very large aircraft simply wouldn’t be able to operate safely from typical bomber airfields, which were pretty much universally grass fields at the time. It was also expected that the new aircraft should be easily broken down into manageable pieces that could be transported by road to maintenance centres. The centre fuselage, for instance, was not to exceed 35ft long, 9ft 6in high and 8ft wide. These sorts of restrictions meant the designers had to be a bit creative about where the bomb load was to be carried. The Air Staff had discussed the types of bombs the new design was to carry. No bomb heavier than the 500lb general purpose was expected to be deployed in any future conflict, and such things as 4000lb, 8000lb and 12000lb bombs were beyond comprehension at the time. The designs submitted to B.12/36, therefore, were to carry a large load of 250lb and 500lb general purpose bombs, only just coming into service in 1936. A 2000lb bomb was also being introduced, but it was considered this weapon wouldn’t be used against land targets, designed as it was for use against heavily-armoured capital ships. The B.12/36 specification omitted the requirement for the new bomber to carry torpedoes. This oversight, perhaps intentional since the parallel P.13/36 specification did include torpedoes, would lead to limitations in the Stirling’s operational usefulness. The first prototype Stirling had its maiden flight from Short’s Rochester factory site, with Lankester Parker at the controls, on 14 May 1939. The big plane handled well, but a brake seized on the port main wheel on landing. The aircraft slewed and the undercarriage collapsed. The first prototype had to be written off, and the undercarriage had to be redesigned to make it stronger. The second prototype didn’t fly until December 1939. L7605 was eventually flown to the A&AEE at Boscombe Down in April 1940 for testing and acceptance trials. The RAF’s Scheme L expansion plan called for 3,500 heavy bombers to be delivered by April 1942, around 1,500 of which were to be the new Stirling. Such numbers meant Short began building aircraft at the Short & Harland factory in Belfast, plus Austin Motors at Longbridge providing a third production line, as well as various subcontracted firms for smaller components. The first production Stirling from Rochester flew in May 1940, but Belfast’s first aircraft flight wasn’t until October. On 9 August 1940, Short’s Rochester factory was attacked by the Luftwaffe, destroying six newly-completed aircraft, and another six destroyed by an attack on the Belfast factory a week later. Deliveries were also slowed as priority from May 1940 was given to other aircraft already in production. A total of 15 Stirlings had been delivered by the end of 1940. No 7 Squadron had been operating Hampdens at the start of the war. It had been disbanded in April 1940, but was reformed in August specifically for operating the big new bomber. Deliveries began in late August 1940, but the aircraft were found to be somewhat underpowered. Shorts were busy trying to improve the performance of the Bristol Hercules engines, but until the improved aircraft were ready the fifteen Stirlings at Oakington were designated as trainers, and used to familiarise the aircrews with the new planes. Upgrades and scratch building enhanced the rather basic flight deck in the venerable Airfix kit. Many thanks to @12jaguar John, part of the Stirling Project, who helped with detail research and information. I was attracted to the early camouflage layout for my model. The first MkIs in service had a retractable belly turret, and lacked the dorsal turret more familiar in later marks. There were other detail differences, and I thought it would make an unusual variant to the Stirlings usually modelled. I chose to do the conversion work on an old Airfix kit rather than invest in the now-scarce Italeri modern tooling. I didn’t realise the modern kit contained parts to make an early MkI. Some aftermarket parts, such as a photo-etch detail set and vacuum-formed transparencies, were acquired, and some old-fashioned kit-bashing and scratchbuilding took place. Sadly, the turrets defeated me. I had planned to use the Falcon vac-form parts and scratch interior details, with brass barrels to finish off. I simply couldn’t get the clear parts to fit nicely, and rather than leave the model as a shelf queen when it was so close to completion, I opted to modify the original kit parts and paint them black as temporary fittings. One day, I will either work out how to make decent turrets or end up buying an Italeri kit and doing a new version! Either way, I enjoyed the research and modelling that has given me a fairly decent rendition of a really early Short Stirling for my 1940 obsession. The WIP thread for the Stirling is part of a much longer thread dedicated to all of my 1940 Bomber Command builds. The Stirling part, full of pitfalls and errors, sort of begins here:

I wasn't at all sure which forum to post this little exercise in. It's military vehicles, but not; it's aircraft related, but not. So, rather than risk the ire of the moderators, I will post here. I like to create vignettes or small dioramas when taking nice photos of my model aircraft efforts. For years now, I've been trying to make sure any supporting vehicles are period correct - no easy task, especially when you leave the comfort of UK airfields in 1940. Anyway, one of those jobs I planned to get around to was sorting out some suitable bomb trolleys and their loads. Airfix was kind enough to produce a 1/72nd scale set of airfield accessories a few years ago. Vehicles, ladders, platforms, bombs and so on, it all came in handy. The bombs in the set were mostly for a bit later in the Second World War for me, but the trolleys were more or less correct. Only a pair of them, though. A bit limiting if you want to reproduce the classic bomb train images often seen on bomber airfields at the time. Back in 1966 Airfix had produced a kit for the Short Stirling, and that included a David Brown tractor and four bomb trolleys. Having one in the stash, I raided it for parts, and hoped I could use the bomb load as well. Here's a shot showing the four Stirling trolleys with one of the later Airfix ones at the front. The Stirling kit ones are basic, but of their time. They do represent something like the trolleys in service at the start of the war, and as such will do until something better comes along. The only enhancement I could reasonably do was to spin the rather conical-shaped wheels up in my Dremel and sand them down to a better tyre shape. Right, that's the carrying set-up organised. What about loads. How do the Stirling bombs stack up? Well, to be charitable, and considering they're from a mould nearly 60 years old, they're vaguely bomb-shaped. The bomb casings were split in two and needed gluing together, but that left a ridge that would need sanding down. The tail rings, though, were nasty. Shaped more like buckets, with thick sides. Could I spend hours refining these? I felt I could better. I piled into my brass tube stocks, and amazingly found a suitable diameter right away. The task then was to cut off 16 pieces more or less the right size, and fit them to the bomb cases. Some time later, and after having made a fair stab at making the bombs more or less the right shape, I was ready to assemble things. Even later, and I got to this stage. I hope @Selwyn approves! I also hope he will correct any major errors I've made. Now, this pile of 250lb GP bombs is far from perfect. The shapes are pretty much anywhere, and I failed to glue the rings on square in many cases. The colour, trying to get close to the "buff" specified, was mixed from Humbrol 93 and Humbrol 24. The eau de nil and red rings were painted with a very fine brush and steady hand while the bomb was clamped in a battery-powered Black & Decker spinning as slow as my trigger finger would let it. I'm still unsure about the red tail rings - which denoted delayed action fuzes, apparently - but felt they would add a little variety to the load. I am open to correction, but assumed such bombs would be spread around in a normal bomb load for some variety. Trolleys loaded, Small Bomb Containers ready, and just masking tape straps to fit to stop the bombs bouncing off the trolleys as they head out round the perimeter track to their intended aircraft. I feel I want to do better, so I may well swap out the Stirling bombs in time. I have several modern Airfix bomber kits which have ordnance in them which will make a better fist of the overall shape. I also know Flightpath have some trolley kits which include bombs, so I shall save my pennies to get those. If there's enough interest in my 1940 rabbit hole I may well keep this thread going as I add other bits and bobs to my set dressing collection. I am trying to get good information on French, Belgian and Dutch airfield support equipment, and adding some German military stuff for the Luftwaffe. Perhaps you, dear reader, might be able to point me in suitable directions there. Thanks for looking!

Exactly 80 years ago, at around 21:00hrs on Monday 12th August eleven Hampdens (5 from 83Sqn and 6 from 49 Sqn) took off from their Scampton base for the Dortmund-Ems canal. Identified early on as a target after the Battle of France, this canal was a supply route built in the late 19th century to get a direct connection from the Ruhr area to the North sea. Aquaducts carried the canal over part of the Ems river, creating choke points in the route that the Germans used to transport river barges to captured ports in Holland via the Rhine river. Bomber Command Headquarters felt that destroying the aqueducts (codenamed M.25 & M.25A) was key to disrupting the movement of supplies (and later, the barges themselves) towards the proposed invasion ports. Several raids already took place from end of June onwards, mostly unsuccesful apart from one minor breach. To be armed with adapted Aerial dropped mines with a delayed fuse based on Aspirin (the headache stuff!), the best crews from both squadrons would be selected to do the raid. For two weeks, the crews trained intensively, following the local canals in Lincolnshire in preparation for the attack. One of these pilots was a young Guy Gibson - who ended up not going on this raid because it was his birthday. (Apparently, BC felt it was not a good idea to send a man out on a high-risk mission as a present) Six aircraft were to be used as a diversionary attack, and the other five for the bombing run. The five crews designated to attack the canal aqueducts in attack order were: Sqn Ldr Pitcairn-Hill (83 Sqn) F/O Ross (83 Sqn) Flt Lt Mulligan (83 Sqn) P/O Matthews (49 Sqn) Flt Lt Learoyd (49 Sqn) I intend to build this as P4403, EA-M - 'Babe' Learoyd's aircraft. Valom's box art and version allows for the photographed EA-F aircraft. Should not take too much to get an M and the rest of the serial from the decal storage Plastic looks lovely detailed, although the fit is not always exact. I also have replacement clear parts (currently shipped by AZmodel with a new boxing).

Whilst on furlough, I had a play around in Photoshop. I don't really know what I'm doing in there, I just press buttons and pull levers until it does something interesting! One of the levers I pulled made some arty changes to the images which looked pretty cool so thought I'd share them as something slightly different yet still RFI photo's. The first two are of the recent FM 1/48 Halifax This one is the Blackbird 1/72 Manchester conversion on the Airfix Lanc This one is the Sanger 1/48 Stirling done last year An old one this, the frog 1/72 Whitley The CMR Lanc B.II Lanc Conversion for the Revell 1/72 Kit The Hasegawa Grandslam 1/72 Another oldie, the Airfix 1/72 Halifax in 347Sqn markings Another Blackbird conversion, the 1/72 Lincoln The Italeri Stirling as McRoberts Reply Yet another oldie, the airfix 1/72 Stirling And another from this years output, the Airfix 1/72 Lanc straight out of the box Hope it's brought something a little bit different. Thanks for looking Neil

Avro Lancaster B Mk.I Nose Art Kit (01E033) 1:32 HK Models The Lancaster was a development from the two-engined Manchester, which was always an unsatisfactory aircraft. The Manchester was a response to the air force's obsession with twin-engined bombers in the 30s, which would have required engines of greater power than were available at the time, and led to a change in mindset due to the comparative success of our allies with four-engined bombers. Rather than start from scratch, AVRO simply re-designed the Manchester by adding an extra wing section between the inner engine and the outer, thereby extending the wing and improving both lift and power output substantially – of course it wasn't that simple. AVRO's chief designer, the incredible Roy Chadwick submitted this design to the specification that also brought forth the designs for the Halifax and the Stirling, in a sort-of prequel to the post-war V-bombers, where the Government gave the go-ahead for all three due to the untried technology being used. The use of the then-new Merlin engine with its previously unheard-of power output put the Lancaster's various capabilities into alignment and created a rather impressive "heavy". After renaming the initial prototype Manchester III to Lancaster perhaps to distance it from its less-than-stellar twin-engined sibling, the prototype first flew in 1941, partially due to the fact that AVRO had already been working on improving the performance of the Manchester, and partly because of the urgent need for a heavy bomber capable of taking the fight (and a lot of bombs) to Berlin. A large contract for over 1,000 Lancasters was soon forthcoming, and further production was begun at AVRO Canada after an airframe was flown to them as a pattern for production. The quality of the eventual design was such that very few noticeable differences were made between the initial and later variants, with cosmetic changes such as side windows and the enlarged bomb-aimer's window being some of the few that were readily seen if we ignore the specials. The main wartime alternative to the B.I was the B.III, which differed mainly by having license-built engines that were manufactured in the US by Packard, with over 3,000 built. The installation was so close to the original, that a B.I could easily be retrofitted with a Packard built Merlin with very little problem. There were of course the "Specials" such as the Dambusters and Grandslam versions, but other than 300 or so of the Hercules radial engine Lancs, most of the in-service machines looked very similar. At the end of WWII the Lancaster carried on in service in some shape or form for long after hostilities ceased, with a name change to Lincoln when the design became mostly unrecognisable, and later the spirit of the original design lingering on in the Shackleton, which retired in the mid 1980s, 40 years after the end of WWII. The Kit The origins of this kit are the full 1:32 HK Models Lancaster B Mk.I that we reviewed here, where I pinched the preamble and some of the pictures from in case you were wondering (why reinvent the wheel?). This reduction to just the nose of that kit worked out beautifully due to the convenient break in the fuselage just past the leading edge of the wing. It’s a big portion of the detail however, as evidenced by the hefty 171 kit parts, which includes a sprue of new parts that have been tooled specifically to act as a convenient support trolley to hold the finished model. A lot of modellers have expressed an interest in the kit but baulked at the size of this well-known heavy in 1:32, and so the nose with the all-important cockpit was requested from HK Models and the other company that was planning a big Lanc, who sadly went into administration at the start of the current Covid-19 crisis. HKM have obliged with this new boxing, reusing the nose area of the artwork as well as the majority of sprues, plus the aforementioned trolley sprue, some new decals that only cover the necessary area (who has roundels on their nose?), plus a wee-small clear sprue that holds a couple of new parts. So what’s in the box? It’s not a head, so don’t fret. There are seven sprues in grey styrene and two nose halves in the same colour, two sprues of clear parts and a bonus clear starboard fuselage half to show off all your hard work, the original sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass containing seatbelts etc., a decal sheet and finally the new shorter instruction manual. Everything is bagged either in pairs or separately for protection, and the clear parts have additional sticky clear sheets attached to the more vulnerable areas to ensure that the parts arrive in pristine condition with no chaffing. Detail is just as good as before as you’d expect, as you can see from the pic of some of the cockpit parts below. Construction begins with the cockpit. I know, shocker, right? The prominent pilot's seat, which is made up of a substantial number of parts including PE seatbelts is large and has a highly visible location within the cockpit aperture. The cockpit floor is on two levels, and is fitted out with various equipment, including the radio-operator's station, the pilot's seat and control column on the upper level, and the instrument panel, which has controls, rudder pedals and other parts added along the way, being added to the assembly along with the side walls that have instruments moulded in, and a small extension to the front bulkhead beneath the instrument panel. More instrumentation is added to both sides of the nose interior, and if you are using the grey styrene parts, you'll need to add all the clear side windows. Attention turns toward the nose turret, with the detailed interior made up before it is cocooned inside the front and rear halves of the glazing, and as is standard with HK models, the gun barrels are separate parts that can be added later after painting, which is always good to see. The Canadian airframe has some slight colour variations inside, and needs a few holes drilling, which is covered in a scrap diagram showing which areas are painted black and interior green, with separate call-outs for the various areas of the assembly as construction proceeds, then the halves are joined and some small parts are fitted in the upper cockpit, the fairing at the base of the nose turret is inserted, and the glazing under the nose is also glued in, with a choice of two styles, the circular insert being for the Canadian version. The big glazed canopy appears almost complete as it comes off the sprues, but there are two openable panels that are separate, and the additional vision blisters need adding to the large side frames for all but the Canadian option, which is probably best done with a non-solvent adhesive to avoid fogging. I'll be using either GS-Hypo, or even Klear when the time comes, although be wary when you pull off the masking so you don't also pull off the blister if you use the latter. A small forest of antennae are fitted to the exterior depending on your decal choice, then it’s time to build up the trolley. In terms of display options, it’s your only one unless you plan on building some kind of placard or base, so let’s get on with, as the DIY solution sounds too complicated. The floor is made from two layers of framework that are laminated to create a deeper frame, and hide the ejector pin marks on the mating surface. To be certain of a good fit however, it would be wise to at least flatten them off and test-fit them in place to achieve a good join. Four castor wheels and their yokes are made up next, and they are joined by struts slotted through the frame with little round feet to take the weight off the castors and to make sure the trolley doesn’t go anywhere unexpectedly. The corners of the frame have verticals with supports added, then the finished model can be slotted in between them, relying on styrene’s flexibility to safely insert the lateral pegs into the holes in the nose. Markings The new decal sheet has some elements of the original boxing, but with a lady in white added so that you can depict one of four airframes: B MK.I R5868/OL-Q, No.83 Sqn. RAF, Wyton UK, June 1943 B MK.I R5868/PO-S, No.467 Sqn. RAAF, Waddington UK, May 1944 B MK.I W4783/AR-G, No.460 Sqn. RaAF, Binbrook UK, May 1944 B MK.I RF128/QB-V, No.424 Sqn. RCAF, Skipton-on-Swale UK, Spring 1945 Each aircraft is painted in the same green/brown over black with a high demarcation, although the location of the dark green sections are different on two of the machines. The decals and painting guides are shown on a series of three drawings showing left, right and overhead with the decals shown using numbers, while the colours are marked in letters, both in triangles. The fact that the drawings are in greyscale doesn’t really matter given the relatively small variations and low decal count, but you've also got the colour one above now too. The colours are called out by name plus AK Interactive, Tamiya and Gunze brands, which shouldn’t be difficult to find in any brand, although the Tamiya mix for Dark Earth involves mixing four colours to achieve one. I was sure that Tamiya now have a Dark Earth and Dark Green in their range now. Did I imagine that? Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion Every home should have a big Lancaster, but if you’re short on space this is the perfect compromise, with lots of detail and still with a lot of the presence of the full kit. There is already plenty of aftermarket devoted to the cockpit of the original kit that will fit this one, so you can start straight away, even if you’re addicted to aftermarket like a lot of us. Very highly recommended. Available soon from all good model shops. Review samples courtesy of

AVRO Lancaster B Mk.1 (01E010) 1:32 HK Models The Lancaster was a development from the two-engined Manchester, which was always an unsatisfactory aircraft. The Manchester was a response to the air force's obsession with twin-engined bombers in the 30s, which would have required engines of greater power than were available at the time, and led to a change in mindset due to the comparative success of our allies with four-engined bombers. Rather than start from scratch, AVRO simply re-designed the Manchester by adding an extra wing section between the inner engine and the outer, thereby extending the wing and improving both lift and power output substantially – of course it wasn't that simple. AVRO's chief designer, the incredible Roy Chadwick submitted this design to the specification that also drew the designs for the Halifax and the Stirling, in a sort-of prequel to the post-war V-bombers, where the Government gave the go-ahead for all three due to the untried technology. The use of the then-new Merlin engine with its previously unheard of power output put the Lancaster's various capabilities into alignment and created a rather impressive "heavy". After renaming the initial prototype Manchester III to Lancaster perhaps to distance it from its less-than-stellar twin-engined sibling, the design first flew in 1941, partially due to the fact that AVRO had already been working on improving the performance of the Manchester, and partly because of the urgent need for a heavy bomber capable of taking the fight (and a lot of bombs) to Berlin. A large contract for over 1,000 Lancasters was soon forthcoming, and further production was begun at AVRO Canada after an airframe was flown to them as a pattern for production. The quality of the eventual design was such that very few noticeable differences were made between the initial and later variants, with cosmetic changes such as side windows and the enlarged bomb-aimer's window being some of the few that were readily seen if we ignore the specials. The main wartime alternative to the B.I was the B.III, which differed mainly by having license built engines that were manufactured in the US by Packard, with over 3,000 built. The installation was so close to the original, that a B.I could easily be retrofitted with a Packard built Merlin with very little problem. There were of course the "Specials" such as the Dambusters and Grandslam versions, but other than 300 or so of the Hercules radial engine Lancs, most of the in-service machines looked very similar. At the end of WWII the Lancaster carried on in service in some shape or form for long after hostilities ceased, with a name change to Lincoln when the design became mostly unrecognisable, and later the spirit of the original design lingering on in the Shackleton, which retired in the mid 1980s, 40 years after the end of WWII. The Kit We have been waiting a long time for this model from HK Models, and there has been much written about it over the years since its original announcement. After a long hiatus where little was heard of the kit, they came back with a much improved design that they were working toward releasing, when another manufacturer sprang a surprise announcement that took some of the wind out of their sails. They have progressed quickly however and have now brought their product to market well in advance of the competition, which should result in good sales as many modellers will be keen as mustard to acquire a 1:32 Lancaster. A 1:32 Lancaster, by golly!!!!! As mentioned in my review of the recent Hobby Boss B-24J review, the 1:32 modeller is pretty well spoiled by comparison to his or her former selves only a few years previously. Never mind golden, we're in a platinum age of modelling! As you can imagine, the model arrives in a large box, and it's well-stocked with plastic. You may have heard that the initial issue will be doubly-blessed by including an additional clear fuselage and nose section for a transparent model should you wish – this is the edition that we will be reviewing, although at some point these will run out and the unbadged boxes will be all that are left with no clear fuselages inside. My review copy came directly from HK in its own box, so rather than benefiting from the "herd" protection offered to models stacked together in a container, it had to suffer the slings and arrows of careless handlers on its journey from the Far East, which resulted in a few parts being damaged. Always check your models when they arrive anyway, as you never can tell what's happened to it in transit. The box contains forty-two sprues of grey styrene, plus two fuselage halves, two nose halves and two wings, two clear sprues and if you're getting the special edition clear fuselage edition, the same fuselage and nose parts in clear. When I say "same" I mean the same shape. The external detail that would reduce transparency have been omitted from the clear parts, so have clearly been moulded in separate moulds. There is also a small sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass parts, two decal sheets plus a tiny addendum sheet, and finally a veritable tome of an instruction booklet. First impressions? We'll ignore the sheer size of it, and note that the external detail is neat, crisp and of varying thicknesses and depth to improve the detail, with many rivets to entertain the eye. In addition, clever moulding techniques have been used to improve detail and reduce work for the modeller. The wings of the model are both moulded as single parts, with the trailing edges open to receive the flying surface detail, a set of hollow wingtips, hollow barrels and other slide-moulding tricks to improve your experience. The clear parts are incredibly bright and smooth, extending from the smallest parts to the special edition fuselage parts that you can see in the accompanying pictures. A full interior, detailed cockpit and turrets, bomb bay with contents and a full set of engines also bring yet more detail to the party, plus dropped flaps and poseable flying surfaces. The instructions seem to be a little prone to flitting from area to area at times, but for the most part this makes sense later when they are brought together. Construction begins of course with the interior, and starts at the front with the pilot's seat, which is made up of a substantial number of parts including PE seatbelts as it is large and has a prominent location within the cockpit aperture. The cockpit floor is on two levels, and is fitted out with various equipment, including the radio-operator's station, the pilot's seat and control column on the upper level, and the instrument panel, which has controls, rudder pedals and other parts added along the way, being added to the assembly along with the side walls that have instruments moulded in, and a small extension to the front bulkhead beneath the instrument panel. More instrumentation is added to both sides of the nose interior of choice, and if you are using the grey styrene parts, you'll need to add the clear side windows. A scrap diagram shows which areas are painted black and interior green, with separate call-outs for the various areas of the assembly as construction proceeds, but the halves are not yet joined. Attention turns toward the nose turret, with the detailed interior made up before it is cocooned inside the front and rear halves of the glazing, and as is standard with HK models, the gun barrels are separate parts that can be added later after painting, which is always good to see. The big glazed canopy appears almost complete as it comes off the sprues, but there are two openable panels that are separate, and the additional vision blisters need adding to the large side frames, which is probably best done with a non-solvent adhesive to avoid fogging. I'll be using either GS-Hypo, or even Klear when the time comes, although be wary when you pull off the masking so you don't also pull off the blister! Now for the rudders at the opposite end of the airframe. These are made traditionally from two halves each, but with a bull-nosed section glued to the front to mimic the aerodynamics of the real thing, plus horn balances and trim-actuators. The elevators get the same treatment minus the leading edge section, and their fins are fitted out with hinge-points before being closed up and added to the elevators. The rudder and elevator panels are joined together with a large tab, and they too are set aside while the mid-upper and tail turrets are built up along the same lines as the nose turret, complete with separate barrels, and in the case of the rear turret, the prominent c-shaped chutes under the gun barrel slots, which are PE. Bombs! They're also done at this stage, with eighteen plus a single Cookie for the centre of the bomb bay. The smaller bombs have two halves and a separate fin ring, while the Cookie is just a two-part cylinder with pegs poking out from the inside that affix it to the bay. About that bomb bay. The cockpit floor doubles as the forward part of the bay, while the next assembly is built upon the aft section, which is joined later on. Equipment, storage and ammo boxes are added along with a funny-looking chaise-longue affair, then a short bulkhead is glued to the rear so that a curved floor section can be installed and joined up. When the full interior is together, the long ammo feeds are added to the aft, and the bomb bay sides are fitted to the now complete bomb bay. The interior is pretty much done, save for the details that are mounted to the fuselage, of which there are plenty. The long rows of clear windows are first, with the aft hatch, the "Window" dispenser chute, fake tail spar and the plinth for the tail turret all fitted and painted along with the interior, which has lots of nice ribbing detail moulded into it, as you can see from the pictures. The nose section is mated to each fuselage half and then glued together around the interior, and if you're planning on using the clear fuselage, your choice of glue will be most important here so that you don't end up with a horrible hazy fuselage. You'll have noted by now that all the external detail moulded into the grey styrene isn't present on the clear parts to better preserve its clarity so that you can see all your hard work more clearly. With the fuselage closed and two inserts added to the underside at the front, you are directed to fill up the bomb bay with those bombs you made up earlier. Adding the bombs will also save you from having to clean up the ejector pin marks that are hidden between the ribs, which is never a pleasant task from experience. The bay doors are split into two parts, and can be posed open or closed, simply by removing the tabs along the hinge-line. For the open option, leave the tabs on, and add the two end bulkheads that have the actuators moulded in and set the doors to the correct angle. The fixed tail wheel, three identification lights and a towel-rail aerial are installed at the rear, then the fuselage is flipped over and the top is detailed with circular window inserts (including the dingy hatch), DF loop inside the rear of the cockpit, plus a gaggle of other aerials. A couple of last detail parts are added to the starboard interior of the cockpit, a bulkhead inserted behind the nose turret, that distinctive bomb-aimer's window at the nose, some small parts on the bomb bay doors, and moving aft the fairing around the mid-upper turret, then the rear turret is dropped into place. Keeping the turret theme, the mid-upper and nose turrets are dropped in, and the main canopy is fitted. Moving swiftly on, the nose turret is then pinned in place by adding in the fairing with the pivot fairing, which is a delicate part and will need protecting from handling. My part didn't survive shipping, but it's easy enough to put it back together again, as I found with my broken nose section (did you spot the damage to that?). Those tail fins (remember them?) are inserted into the depression, securing tightly with two pegs at the bottom of the well. Another few small parts are added around the bay including some PE parts, and then the fuselage is set to one side while the engines and wings are constructed. The Lanc has four Merlins, and each of those is identical, but their mounting into the nacelles is another matter. There are two types of mount, and these are then mirrored, giving four individual designs in total. The engines are each made up from a healthy number of parts, with individual exhaust stacks with hollow tips thanks to slide-moulding. Take care assembling the four engine mounts, as they are all quite similar, but a slip here will cause you trouble later on. The engines and their accessories behind are encased in the mounts and set aside while the main landing gear is built up. The wheels are both made up from two halves, having no tread as was common during the war and a flat, weighted patch to add a little realism. The wheels are fitted into the right-hand side of the leg, joined by the cross-braces, and trapped in place by the left side and a couple of small braces. Times two, of course. After this interlude, the aft sections of the outer nacelles are assembled, beginning with a large tank sat on a trestle between the tubular frame. A firewall fits to the front of this, and the engine mounts slide into the front, with the aft section of the cowling enclosing this. The front cowling is optional, and can be omitted if you want to show off your work on the engines, or glue them in after putting the two-part flame dampers on each of the side panels. The lower cowling with the intake for the radiator is separate from the rest of the chin, and should show the radiator panel slung under the engine earlier once complete. These nacelles are finished off with a spinner backplate, an outlet and intake underneath, and then they get set to one side while the inner nacelles are built up. The inner nacelles house the gear bays, which fit against the underside of the top skin of the wing, and it is this section that is made first. The inner skin has stringers moulded-in, and two large ribs are added along with a rear bulkhead and smaller front bulkhead. Again, the engine is attached to its firewall, but this time it is enclosed in its cowling and spinner backplate and given its intake/outlets before it is attached to the aft section. The two rear fairings are prepared by adding some tankage in the front, next to the moulded-in detail of the zig-zag structure at the sides of each bay. The bay roof is fitted to the port side, and hemmed in by the starboard. If you are modelling your Lanc in-flight, cut off the tabs of the bay doors and fit them in place and you're done. If you are going for the wheels-down option, the gear assembly is installed into the bay before the starboard fairing is glued in-place, then a small set of notches are made in the edges of the bay sides to accept the bay doors. The engine assembly joins the aft section to complete the inner engine nacelles, which must then wait until the wings have been prepared with flying surfaces and other such details. The wings are each moulded as a single part, with the top and bottom surfaces as a single part, which is a little disturbing initially, as it looks like you're missing some parts! They are effectively an almost closed clamshell that is open at the rear where the flaps and ailerons will go later. Each wing also has a separate tip, which is slide-moulded as one hollow part, and has a cut-out for a clear formation light, and a stepped contact patch to make for a stronger bond. With these joined, the aileron "bay" is closed at the rear by adding a long narrow part that spaces the wings correctly. Two single-piece flap bays are then slid into the remaining trailing edge space, and a wing root insert is added at the open wing root. There are three aerodynamic fairings spaced between the nacelles that aren't yet present, and before these are dropped into place, a rectangular part is fitted to the circular hole in the outer nacelle slot. Then it should be a matter of inserting the two nacelles into their recesses and applying plenty of glue to hold them in place. The flaps are in two sections like their bays, and the outer section is a single part, while the inner section has the tapered rear of the nacelle added before it is fixed in place, which is where you have options. To add them stowed, you just glue them in place across the flap bays, and to show them deployed there are slender actuators that glue into gaps in the ribs, then fix into the inside of the flaps to hold them at the correct angle. The Ailerons are each a single hollow part with a separate front section plus an actuator, which attach to the wing via two hinge-points that are glued into slots in the trailing edge of the wing. To finish off each wing, the two top cowlings are fixed to the nacelles, and a couple of small parts are attached to the leading edge. That's the wing done, and as you may remember there are two of them, so you'll need to do that twice, with one being a mirror image of the other. Four engines means four props unless your Lanc is broken, and here you have a choice of paddle or needle-bladed props, three of which fit onto each of four central bosses, and are covered with the spinner. They fit onto the nacelles via the four pins protruding from the nacelles. The final act is to fit the wings to your creation, which should be a doddle, and won't even require any glue, unless you never want to remove them again. The root inserts you innocently inserted earlier have a set of slots moulded-in, and these match the lugs that are moulded into the fuselage at the wing roots. You simply align them with each other, and pull the wing backwards to lock them. It's that simple, and if you're one of us mere mortals that doesn't have infinite storage space, you can take off the wings any time and stow them in a smaller space. I wish that Hobby Boss had the same thought when they were doing their B-24J that I reviewed recently. Markings The Lancaster B.Mk.Is usually wore a fairly standard finish of Night (a matt blackish shade) with the topsides in a green/dark earth camouflage that had a high demarcation along the fuselage sides. The aircraft were more often than not differentiated by their codes, and by the personalisation and nose art that their crews applied to them, some of which have become quite famous, and for good reason. There are three decal options supplied in the box, and you can build one of the following: B.Mk.I R5868/OL-Q, No.83 Sq. RAF, Wyton, UK, June 1943 B.Mk.I R5868/PO-S, No.467 Sq. (RAAF), Waddington, UK, May 1944 B.Mk.I W4783/AR-G, No.460 Sq. (RAAF), Binbrook, UK, May 1944 There are two decal sheets, which are necessarily large, and a separate page at the rear shows you where to place all the stencils, which are also included. There are a surprisingly large number of them, which should keep you busy for a little while. Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. There is a tiny third sheet with the heading "erratum" with a single decal for the dinghy release stencil on the spine of the aircraft. Conclusion It's the first 1:32 Lancaster in injection moulded styrene. It's been a long time coming, and there are bound to be more variants to come, such as the aforementioned Dambusters and Grand Slam versions, plus I'd imagine a B.Mk.III, but if you're after a vanilla Lanc, you can now buy one! There's tons of detail, and by now you've seen a few builds and will know what to watch out for. Careful test fitting and a methodical approach should serve you well though, so don't rush it. Very highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of

G’day all, One of my fellow Adelaide Soaring Club members sent this out last week. Some fabulous footage of Lancasters, Manchesters and other WWII aircraft in amongst this, some of it in colour. Very well worth a look as a tribute to the heroes who risked their lives night after night so that we can live in a free society. Lest we forget.

Hallo again This is my HP Halifax in 1/48. The kit is from FM. Not easy to get a representative result. Together with my wife, we also worked about 3 months. After the HP Hampden. The kit was a nightmare. Lots of interior we scratched and we asked Sanger for the drawings. We were lucky, since the restoration of a Halifax took place in Canada. So many valuable photos were available on the web. After my Lancaster, the B-17 and B-24 it was my last four engine bomber. Happy modelling

Hi Chaps. After my LMF incident with the Vulcan (roll on Telford & hope my dreams come true I say) I bring you this little beauty. Airfix's very lovely looking Victor. The Victor is one of those quintessentially British aeroplanes, stung by Harris' and the Ministry's criticism of the Halifax in WW.2 and the plethora of new advances in engines and aerodynamics on the scene in the early 1950's the Victor was Handley Page's answer to the specification requirments. Keen to out do "those bar stewards at Woodford" or A.V.Roe & Co. as everyone else knew them HP went and snaffled some top German boffins, folk who had worked with the Horten Brothers no less, and got the back room boys at Radlett out of their brown jackets and into some lab coats and created the marvel of aerodynamics that is the Victor. The criticism that most stung over the Halifax was that there was no point developing it because of the small bomb bay, well the Victor righted that! The bomb bay of a Victor not only could carry any ordnance in use or planned at the time but it also backed up a a handy cathedral or bus storage depot... It's HUGE! The B.1 was pretty, briefly supersonic and flawed. The B.2 was an altogether more useful bit of kit, but still a little hamstrung as the RR Conways could not achieve full power due to inlet shape issues. King of the hill until the usual V-Bomber woes of Zinc based Duraluminum cracking issues, the Gary Powers incident and some ungainly big missile that Woodford designed especially so it wouldn't fit neatly under a Victor saw it relegated to Tanking from the late 1960's onwards. The mighty Victor has the last laugh, Last V Bomber to retire, 40+ years sterling service to the RAF. Please enjoy my rather swift and OOB build. Only mods is mine is NOT going to be a Blue Steel example, but rather a freefall bomber version, keeping it all HP. Enjoy. I have the Warpaint guide to the Victor as well, and some other bits of info about the house.

Hallo again This is our Wellington. Scale 1/48. Together with my wife https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/profile/27137-ruth/ I build it. It was a huge birthday gift from her with all available aftermarket products and literature at this time available on the market. We saw the Wellington in Hendon already before. For this distinctive a/c, I found enough photos from all views. Few days ago, I read a post about somebodies Wellington, about incendiary bombs; well here, they are from Flight Path. The bomb bay with etched parts from Eduard was at this time a masterpiece for me. Maybe it inspires one of you to catch up some ideas of modelling. Since we (my wife and me) are new on the forum, we want to represent you all a glimpse of our modelling in the past years. We actually wanted to build always aircrafts we wanted to build, and not being dictated by the market. Our choice was often combined with much more effort, since short run kits or highly detailed kits are this way. So I did also the side step with the vacuum-kits from Sanger. Happy modelling

Hallo again This is my HP Hempden in 1/48. The kit is from FM. Not easy to get a representative result. Together with my wife, we worked about 3 months. It was not easy to get the kit parts to fit. Lots of interior we scratched and we asked Sanger for glasses. Without the glasses from Sanger, we never would have finished the model. The model was for our exhibition. This exhibition was in Vienna in context of our show from IPMS-Austria (GoMo) at 2009. The topic was Multi Engine Propeller Driven Aircraft. The model was the eye catcher of the show. After the show, a storm blew the box with the Hamden away. The model was completely demolished. I was in tears! Friend of us saw the scene and asked for the wreckage. Take it! After ten days, he showed up with the new Hampden! The old one fixed and made as Met Flight aircraft. Well, this is the story behind. Happy modelling

Absolutely loved building this. A real Mojo restorer. OOB apart from some resin ejector seats that can't be seen and the Master pitot probes. Hope you like it. WIP here...

Are there any good resources on the first "real" Bomber Command raid on Berlin on 25/26 August 1940? I've seen a number of vague statements about it: it was all Hampdens; there were some Wellingtons; etc etc etc. Which squadrons participated? Are there any 1/72 decals out there for any of the bombers involved?

Hello and welcome. I have been working away on this and not taken that many pictures because it has been a real mojo build and I've been enjoying myself too much! Anyhow here is the progress and some of the 'cheats' that I used to make my life easier. Kind of a 'How to Cheat' Valiant build.

Hi, excuse my ignorance but the Merlin engined Halifaxes were not as highly rated as the later Radial engined Mk.III versions. However conversely the Radial engined Lancaster II was not as good as the Merlin powered versions. Is this simply a case of right aircraft / engine combination, or is it a case that the other mods made to make the Halifax III are the source of improvement and if they had been fitted with the same Merlins as the Lancaster B.III that they would have been a better aircraft? Just one of those things that always puzzled me. Thanks.

Okay, Had a look through my stash and there is loads of stuff that fits this GB. 2 Lancasters, 2 Halifaxs, 2 1/48 Lightings, a Javelin, a Lynx HMA8 with the conversion kit to make a HAS3, a Valiant, 2 Victors... So obviously I went on eBay and bought a Short Stirling. Always had a soft spot for the Stirling. Classically British in so many ways... Second choice from the start (Supermarine's 4 engine bomber was on the cards). Hamstrung by stupid regulations (100' wingspan, carry 24 troops etc etc...). The first of the breed of 4 engined heavy bombers, later eclipsed by more capable aircraft that none the less never had to meet the original design compromises. When Shorts tried to bring out an upgraded Stirling the Ministry told them not to bother. Stayed in service from inception until the end of the war and found it's niche in a role it was never designed for. Remember reading when I was a school boy tales of flying through the Alps to Italy because of the low ceiling. Wow. Huge, majestic, slightly gawky and flawed. The Stirling has it all. Now off to do some research as I will be building one of 7 Squadron's aircraft. I like the idea of building one of the Pathfinder squadrons as the Mighty Stirling should be modelled not as a poor relation to the later Heavies (both developed from mere 2 engined aircraft I might add) or as a bloody glider tug but instead be doing the business, first in, last out in the hard role of Pathfinder / Master bomber. That appeals to me. I also plan to have a Bomber Command display cabinet eventually, with the Stirling, Halifax, Lancaster, Valiant, Victor, Vulcan all together. 4 engined heavy bombers, 3 in Night and 3 in anti-flash white. So fitting to build the Stirling first. Hopefully but the time I finish the Victor Airfix will have a lovely new tool Vulcan out! I'm not home for a few weeks, but will crack on then. See you all soon!

Hi, everybody. After several months of lurking around here and finding myself in awe of the quality of the builds on here, I finally decided I'd sign up and post my own efforts. I picked up Tamiya's 1:48 Lancaster on eBay, the other day. I've always had a thing for Lancasters, and the kit was relatively cheap. I couldn't resist. I'm afraid though, it seems I've bitten off a bit more than I can chew - I wouldn't consider myself to be the most accomplished modeller, and the equipment I've got to work with is...well, rudimentary at best. I really want to do this kit justice, so I'd love some constructive criticism, advice, tips, tricks or anything else you might be willing to share Anyway, here's the early going (apologies for the iPhone camera quality) Got some of that Eduard PE too, to spruce up the interior a bit. Heard a lot about it, but never used it before. Utterly fantastic, and quite cheap too. Reckon I'll get some more for the bomb bay - although the kit bay comes with lots of studs on it that need to be removed. Anyone have any tricks for removing them, or am I in for a lot of sanding?

Hello! Here's my 1/72 Airfix Lancaster BII, which I started working on in April 2014. It was already finished at the end of October and went on display at the Wiener Modellbaumesse (Vienna Model & Toy Fair), where IMPS Austria were attending. Now I finally managed to get pictures taken, thanks to Mr. Wolfgang Rabel of IGM Cars & Bikes. This is the 1/72 Airfix kit with some Eduard photo etch added, representing a machine of 408 (Goose) Squadron, 6 Group RCAF, RAF Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire, July 1944. The model was airbrushed using Gunze/Mr Hobby acrylics. TT Thanks for looking! Cheers from Vienna, Austria Roman

Hello, here's my current 'big' project - Airfix' 1/72 Avro Lancaster BII. I received this kit as a review example via IMPS Austria. Along with the basic kit, I also received a few upgrade sets from Eduard: Exterior, Bomb Bay, Flaps and their useful kabuki masks. As usual we start with the cockpit: I find the level of detail is more than enough for a 1/72 kit, especially since most of the interior parts are painted black. The metal parts for the bomb bay are plentiful - and it's a big piece. In fact it is bigger than my folding device, so I had to use a ruler for folding up the longer parts. Details added to the landing gear: ... and painted: Adding the ignition cables to the engine: ...and painted: Firewall in the engine bay: Fuselage halves closed: The covers for the engines are a poor fit. No matter how you position them, there's always a gap at some end. Now let's work on the Eduard flaps: You need a steady hand for these parts. Model primed with Tamiya Grey out of the rattle can, with one side of the flaps already attached: Pre-shading underway: I sprayed the upper surface colour "RAF Brown" (Gunze H72) first, then covering the spots to remain Brown with Uhu Tac rolls (I believe this stuff is called 'Blu Tac' in England). I started with the left upper wing, simply because I didn't have enough of the Uhu Tac stuff to cover up the whole airframe, before moving on to the rest. I never experienced any problems with this method - until now. For some reason, the Uhu Tac left a shiny demarcation line on the surface. This could be either due to the hot weather recently (over 30 degrees where I live), a chemical reaction, or simply because the Uhu Tac stayed on too long. However, I hope to cover it up with subsequent Goss/Matt cotes. Here you can see the problem: As soon as the upper sides are finished, I will turn my attention to the lower side. Since it will be painted Black, I chose to reverse my usual mode of painting. I'm still testing how to achieve a interesting monotone surface in Black; my plan is to spray the undersides dark Brown, then add pre-shading, and finally painting it black with a number of highly diluted coats of Black to let the Brown base colour shine through. More on this soon! Thanks for watching.

Hi, Does anyone know what the dimensions of the circular dispersal points on bomber command airfields would have been during world war 2? The reason I ask is that I'm trying to complete a diorama of a bomber command dispersal point but I can't find anywhere on the internet any info or pictures that would help and I was hoping that somebody on here might know. Many thanks, Rich