Killingholme Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 No, not that FAA.... In the spirit of the Made in Britain theme of this groupbuild I think an example of the many British aircraft that were exported to other nations (although in this case to satisfy some wartime debt rather than purchased) will highlight how British aircraft equipped scores of the world's airforces in the 20th century. In this case, I will build an example of the Lancasters used by Argentina between 1948 and about 1966. I specifically have my eye on B-036 (ex- RAF PA369) which by the mid 50s displayed some interesting features such as what looks like a quite roughly sprayed narrow band on the rear fuselage (perhaps something to do with the uprising in '55?), and a white/ black overpainted canopy to reflect sunlight. I will be using the Revell Lancaster (I know, it's got some issues, but I have it in the stash- plus an Eduard mask set- I wouldn't even dream of wasting a day or two manually masking such complex clear parts!). I will also add some Pavla weighted main wheels, and I might just treat myself to some upgraded guns- or depending on the results of enumerating how much we actually spent over xmas on booze and food, I may just leave well alone- Argentine Lancasters are often photographed sans-armament afterall. I anticipate this to be a simple, quick build. (I wonder how many times that has been posted on here?!) Wish me luck! (p.s.- Any Argentine Lancaster experts out there- please do chime in before I do anything silly accuracy-wise!!!) Will 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Oh, and for those interested, here's some online reference material. http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_postwar-argentina.htm http://www.amilarg.com.ar/avro-lancaster.html http://www.taringa.net/comunidades/2-guerra-mundial/2851666/Avro-683-Lancaster.html Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 And just to prove I'm not cheating... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mancunian airman Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I love any Lancaster build so I shall be looking in regularly; good luck with the build. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh65 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I like the sound of this one. Good luck with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 Best of luck with this one Will. A British icon in unusual colours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 A nice choice Will - that over-painted canopy will surely cause a few double-takes... Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 A nice choice Will - that over-painted canopy will surely cause a few double-takes... Cliff Yes, I do wonder how long it will be before some smart alec reminds me I forgot to take the masking off... Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 (edited) OK, so I'm out the gates- fuselage interior complete and ready to be buttoned up. All OOB- I absolutely hate models with unecessary interior detail, and this kit is about as far as I would ever want to go on a 1/72 aircraft with a closed fuselage. I have also just remembered that none of this will be visible if I decide to paint the canopy white too!! On that subject, I honestly don't understand why modern Airfix and Revell kits add sprues of parts which will never see the light of day- such a waste of money.... Anyway- I must sound about a million years old moaning like this... Here's this morning's progress. I didn't bother adding any belts to the rear position as it will be invisible once the bulkead that bisects the wooden desk is glued in place. It annoys me ever so slightly that Revell give you decals for the box of tricks on the rear (invisible) side of this bulkead, but not for the front (almost visible) side!! The only fit problem I noticed up to now was that some of the fuselage interior stringers immediately ahead of the bomb bay will interfere with the fit of the cockpit floor- pushing the lower fuselage seam open. I shaved these back and the two fuselage halves fit perfectly now. The below picture shows the area I'm talking about- top right... and also includes some (never to be seen again) engines just to prove I haven't been cheating and I will glue and paint each and every part in the instructions... Next job- filling the fuselage windows and then buttoning the whole thing up. Edited January 6, 2016 by Killingholme 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 I've spent the morning looking at photos to try and pin down some details. Here is a picture of a Argentinian Lancaster presumably before it's delivery flight- note overpainted B type roundels. It also appears to have a H2S blister- (I have convinced myself that it is not the starboard mainwheel) I wonder whether the kit was actually fitted. What's really interesting is a narrow band intersecting the rear fuselage- in exactly the same place as the band pictured on B-038 in Argentinian service reproduced earlier in this thread. I assumed this was a local addition- possibly associated with the various turmoils of Argentina in the 50s, but clearly some aircraft seem to have had this applied in the UK. I can't think of any standard RAF marking in that place. Either way, it doesn't help me decide what colour it was! Finally, does anyone have access to data which would tell me when PA-369 was built? I'd be interested to know. Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mancunian airman Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Agree with you about the H2s, its there . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted January 8, 2016 Author Share Posted January 8, 2016 Agree with you about the H2s, its there . . . Yup, and to confirm, I've just got hold of a copy of the SAM Modellers Profile book on the Lancaster and it confirms a lot- the aircraft were all from a batch built by Armstrong-Vickers as B.Mk Is between June 44 and Sept 45. It further states that they were all delivered to Argentina with the H2S domes in place . Quite a bit of interesting stuff in that book, so I will pour over it tonight and decide whether it will help me make some modelling decisions re some of the finer details. Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Interesting photo Will and I see what you mean about the H2S bulge. Is the rear fuselage band possibly red? Seems a similar shade to the wing roundel centre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Interesting scheme. Always fancied doing one. That narrow band may be tape doped over some of the transport joints. These would usually be painted over afterwards to match the surrounding colour scheme. This is a well known photo showing the feature. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/0a/5b/e3/0a5be31c53fe4dabc5eec4c1516e7714.jpg Trevor PS also in natural metal http://www.419squadronbewarethemoose.com/images/Lanc26.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 (edited) Interesting scheme. Always fancied doing one. That narrow band may be tape doped over some of the transport joints. These would usually be painted over afterwards to match the surrounding colour scheme. This is a well known photo showing the feature. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/0a/5b/e3/0a5be31c53fe4dabc5eec4c1516e7714.jpg Trevor PS also in natural metal http://www.419squadronbewarethemoose.com/images/Lanc26.jpg I think you might just be right- In my opening post, the Lancaster pictured in the background has bands in exactly the same place as the picture you cite. Is it plausible that aircraft sent from RAF stocks back to the factory would have been broken down and re-assembled as part of the refurbishment process? Furthermore, is it likely that they were received by Argentina without doped over these areas touched-in? Also, if this dope is correct, then it appears to go over the fuselage white codes- not all that likely as surely the codes were applied to completed fuselages!? Gawd, I'm so sad actually caring about this sort of thing!!! Will Edited January 9, 2016 by Killingholme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted January 15, 2016 Author Share Posted January 15, 2016 (edited) Crickey, a lot of building going on in this GB- I'm languishing on the third page after forgetting to post for only three days. Anyway, Not much to report here really- I have the fuselage together and some of the transparencies masked. The fit is excellent, but the intructions really throw you off the scent- the blanking plate for the H2S and the fairing for the mid-upper is fitted right at the end- good job I spotted them early on. I have also found that my chosen aircraft B-038 at some point wore nose art- A poor shot, but it looks like stalk carrying a baby. My knowledge of Spanish is lmited to making myself understood when ordering a coffee in a tourist attraction, and my Latin-American Spanish is non-existent, but is the text spelling something like Beaba? A local dialect spelling of baby? My instinct says something like that. Pretty sure it wouldn't be the spanish word Beoda, which is 'drunk'... And a second question- does the font used for the codes look British? I only ask because I have just noticed that the 038 code in my opening post is a different font to the -038 pictured above. I wonder whether the codes were repainted at some time? The round-topped 3 looks more British in style than the flat-topped 3 in the opening post? Will Edited January 15, 2016 by Killingholme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Still going on this one. Just... Sadly, I've been stuck in Shanghai with work for a while (-7 degree cold and hotel staff that act like prison guards. I wouldn't have minded, but it's also a very dull city if you're not interested in buying designer handbags). Not much different to look at than many of the Korean and Japanese cities I also visit, but it was somehow much, much, much, much worse. ...And then to cap it off, I cracked my wrist cycling on the first day I got back to the UK... I should have got them to set it in a shape that would conveniently hold a 1/72 Lancaster. Didn't think... Anyway, ever the optimist, I'll hope for a better month- and maybe some attempts at one-handed 1/72 aircraft modelling. Might get this Lancaster finished yet- or more likely lose a finger trying... Oh, and these turned up whilst I was away... As always, great service from Flightdecs.ca (no connection- just repeat customer) Will 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Sorry to hear about your woes Will. Hope everything gets back to normal soon. Not that it helps at all (probably quite the opposite in fact), but you might like to know that I've recently had another great week's holiday in Finland ! Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mancunian airman Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Hope you get back on track very soon despite your injuries . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davek72 Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Sorry to hear about your injury Will especially after getting stuck in Shanghai. Hope you are back on track soon. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mancunian airman Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Any update of this very different Lancaster ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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