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Dambuster AJ-Z "Zebra" Revell 1/72 - Finished at last !


woody37

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I'm using the drawing Chadders provided on page 3 to build the fairing, this is straight along the sides not rounded like the Airfix kit. How accurate I don't know, but I'm on with it now, sometimes, you just godda go with it !!!

Miggers, thanks. The yellow hand rail is no longer yellow, I'll remove that box on a stick, I didn't know it was a H2S box, cheers.

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I'm using the drawing Chadders provided on page 3 to build the fairing, this is straight along the sides not rounded like the Airfix kit. How accurate I don't know, but I'm on with it now, sometimes, you just godda go with it !!!

Miggers, thanks. The yellow hand rail is no longer yellow, I'll remove that box on a stick, I didn't know it was a H2S box, cheers.

That's as good as anything. Without that AVRO part drawing or photographic evidence the exact shape of the fairing is difficult to ascertain anyway.

Cheers

Edited by chaddy
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I have just taken 2 images comparing 3 Dambuster weapons bays.

Left to Right: 1960's Revell; New Revell; Airfix

lancX.jpg

lancZ.jpg

Chris

Interestingly none of those seem to show the "join" along the centre line of the front fairing. That was closed by four clips. This allowed the front fairing to hinge open like the normal bomb doors, and allow access when loading the mine (if necessary).

Cheers

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Nice progress Neil.

Mind me asking where you got your blue backing from for photos? I sometimes use white photographic stuff but the blue looks better!

Think you missed this Woody, loads of replies straight after about the underside! :) Happy new year chap.

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Sorry mate, I did :blush:

It's card from Hobby Craft, thay do big sheets of it (A0 ?). There is a thinner more papery one but this is the slightly thicker 'card'. They do all sorts of colours and as most of the parts are in light grey in the WIP stage, I prefer to use a contrast colour.

Chaddy,

To check whether I'm understanding correctly, rather than the two panel lines in the from section, are you saying there should be one down the middle ? If so this should be an easy correction.

Dogsbody, thanks for posting them comparisons, very useful

Happy new year guys, hope you aren't suffering the ill effects too much today :)

Cheers, Neil

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Neil,

I don't know how many panel lines should be depicted on the kit. I'm always wary of being dogmatic and saying "this should be like this, not like that".

However there is an extract from AVRO drawing Z2353 (showing the bomb winches used to lift the Upkeep), in Haynes. there is a note on the drawing which states "special fairing to be in open position when loading if required". An arrow from the note points to the front fairing.

This is supplemented in the text which states that the front "fairing was in two parts, hinged along the upper edge in the same manner as the original doors; it was held together along the aircraft centreline by four fasteners". I believe you can make this out in the CAD sketch I posted earlier.

Now...having said all that, I'm looking at a well known photograph of ED932. This is a view looking back along the aircraft from the nose to the Upkeep. There is little or no detail visible that would confirm this,or indeed the two panel lines in the kit.

Cheers

ps 5:40 Channel 5 today....The Dambusters.

Edited by chaddy
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Here's the mods to correct the Revell rear bomb bay. There's still some final tidying up to do, but you get the general idea. I've used the drawing on page 3 that Chaddy posted to get the profile, it's not as rounded as the airfix kit part and I dare say there is some discussion as to what is actually correct, but it's certainly better than it was !!!

Step 1 - cut off the offending part:

bomb-bay_zpsdcb578c5.jpg

Step 2 - put some packing spacers in. The hole is 5.5mm deep, as I am using 1mm plasticard, I made spacers 4.5mm deep.

baymod1_zps25946a77.jpg

Step3 - Fill the hole with plasticard and fill gaps with filler

baymod2_zps9706ba00.jpg

Step 4 - make a frame for the filler and mask the area for the profile

baymod3_zpsc0fb624e.jpg

Step 5 - Fill and sand the profile - I used P38 which dries really quickly, ideal for impatient modellers !!!

baymod6_zpsb58077ea.jpg

baymod5_zps4900941c.jpg

Some final tidying up of the area needed before moving on to the clear part masking for the overall prime.

Cheers

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Nice work on that fairing. Looks good. It's kind of amazing that so little is actually known about these mods to the Dambuster Lancs. You'd think that with the fame that came with the success of the raid that more would be known. I guess with everything being kept so secret 'til well after war's end that some of the little details got lost.

Chris

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Looking good Neil; nice work.

There was a nice shot of it in the film earlier. I'm guessing back then details of the fairing were known to the filmakers. Obviously Upkeep was still secret and exagerated for film purposes though.

Considering that Airfix, Matchbox Hasegawa and Tamiya were on the right lines I'm amazed that Revell made another mistake!

Cheers

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Dambusters is on C5 HD at the mo, btw. I have it on in the background. :)

Was watching that ;)

Cheers Neil re: the card... Trip to Hobbycraft I think this week! Nice progress too, the rear mod looks good :)

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Hi Woody

It's coming along nicely. I built the Tamiya 1/48 version last year and did a lot of research for it, the link is here if it helps

http://www.relishmodels.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/612-tamiya-dam-buster-lanc/

I notice you chose black for the cockpit, there was a lot of discussion on the RAF Commands forum and the outcome was that British built machines were all green interiors while Canadian built machines MkXs were black and also had various detail differences introduced because of service experience. I think this sometimes explains why various bumps and blisters and escape hatches appear in locations other than some scale drawings. Also some later machines were modified on squadron and had cockpits painted black.

Preserved machines are often modified or rebuilt to modern standards not the original makers specification hence caution has to be applied when looking for details.

Don't forget the wing leading edge balloon cutters which although phased out on Lancasters were hastily reintroduced for the dams raid, also the tail wheel should be the original plain round profile not the later anti-shimmy type which were subsequently introduce to all Lancs as a modification. Another conundrum was the flight engineers seat, the Canadian version is quite different to the British pattern.

I'll be interested to see which colour you choose for the mine as discussion around that seems to suggest four possibilities. 1. unpainted 2 primer oxide red. 3 Black 4 green.

On my model I chose red oxide as this was the colour reported by the Germans from a recovered mine the morning after the raid.

Nice job so far.

Best wishes

Mike

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The best representation of the bomb bay,release gear and mine(and this will shock you)has

always been considered to be the original 1960's Revell model.

I may not entirely agree with that. I've never owned the 1960's Revell kit, so I can't be sure, but based on the pics supplied by Dogsbody, the rear of the front fairing looks to be "rounded". The pic of ED 932 appear to show the end of the fairing, adjacent to the Upkeep to be "flattened". It looks more in keeping with the later Revell model and the Airfix one.

lancZa_zps29d51a48.jpg

I'd say, for overall appearance, that the Airfix kit looks the part.

Cheers

Edited by chaddy
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I have a 2-part Paul Lucas article from a couple 2003 Scale Aircraft Modelling. Part 1 deals with the Upkeep weapons and the mods to the Lancasters. The second part is about building the Airfix kit and the improvements required to make it more accurate.

If anyone is interested, I will scan the articles and will email them to whoever may want them.

Chris

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Hi Woody

It's coming along nicely. I built the Tamiya 1/48 version last year and did a lot of research for it, the link is here if it helps

http://www.relishmod...am-buster-lanc/

I notice you chose black for the cockpit, there was a lot of discussion on the RAF Commands forum and the outcome was that British built machines were all green interiors while Canadian built machines MkXs were black and also had various detail differences introduced because of service experience. I think this sometimes explains why various bumps and blisters and escape hatches appear in locations other than some scale drawings. Also some later machines were modified on squadron and had cockpits painted black.

Preserved machines are often modified or rebuilt to modern standards not the original makers specification hence caution has to be applied when looking for details.

Don't forget the wing leading edge balloon cutters which although phased out on Lancasters were hastily reintroduced for the dams raid, also the tail wheel should be the original plain round profile not the later anti-shimmy type which were subsequently introduce to all Lancs as a modification. Another conundrum was the flight engineers seat, the Canadian version is quite different to the British pattern.

I'll be interested to see which colour you choose for the mine as discussion around that seems to suggest four possibilities. 1. unpainted 2 primer oxide red. 3 Black 4 green.

On my model I chose red oxide as this was the colour reported by the Germans from a recovered mine the morning after the raid.

Nice job so far.

Best wishes

Mike

Hi Mike,

I can't see that link, you have to register first look at it unfortunately.

The cockpit will have to stay black at this stage, however I'm not too worried about that as you don't see much anyway, but thanks for the information, all useful stuff. I've already added the cable cutters, not much to see other than some small pieces of strip plastic. I've seen them painted red, is that the case for wartime aircraft or is it something that was done afterwards ?

As for the mine, I've come across discussion about this in the past, so was either going to do it in primer or green to break up the monotany of black !

Cheers, Neil

I have a 2-part Paul Lucas article from a couple 2003 Scale Aircraft Modelling. Part 1 deals with the Upkeep weapons and the mods to the Lancasters. The second part is about building the Airfix kit and the improvements required to make it more accurate.

If anyone is interested, I will scan the articles and will email them to whoever may want them.

Chris

Ooo yes please mate, I'd be very grateful of that if you can :)

Thanks

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I have a 2-part Paul Lucas article from a couple 2003 Scale Aircraft Modelling. Part 1 deals with the Upkeep weapons and the mods to the Lancasters. The second part is about building the Airfix kit and the improvements required to make it more accurate.

If anyone is interested, I will scan the articles and will email them to whoever may want them.

Chris

Please, Chris. May I have a copy? I had the SAM copy once but it's been lost (possibly thanks to SWMBO demanding that some of my junk (her words) was disposed of!

Thanks in hope, etc.,

Jonny

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I have a 2-part Paul Lucas article from a couple 2003 Scale Aircraft Modelling. Part 1 deals with the Upkeep weapons and the mods to the Lancasters. The second part is about building the Airfix kit and the improvements required to make it more accurate.

If anyone is interested, I will scan the articles and will email them to whoever may want them.

Chris

Chris, may I have a copy of the articles? Thanks, Rob
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