tomprobert Posted December 19, 2019 Author Share Posted December 19, 2019 Dragging this thread up from the distant past - has it really been nearly a year and a half since I did anything to this?! No progress as such, but I did manage to score some very useful parts for this project from the good folks at HK Models whilst at Telford... a full set of their Lancaster landing gear legs and struts which has given me a bit of nudge in this model's direction - thanks @Cees Broere! Now it's a case of digging out the reference books again and seeing how the Lanc/Shackleton set up differed... Tom 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janneman36 Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 1 hour ago, tomprobert said: Dragging this thread up from the distant past - has it really been nearly a year and a half since I did anything to this?! No progress as such, but I did manage to score some very useful parts for this project from the good folks at HK Models whilst at Telford... a full set of their Lancaster landing gear legs and struts which has given me a bit of nudge in this model's direction - thanks @Cees Broere! Now it's a case of digging out the reference books again and seeing how the Lanc/Shackleton set up differed... Tom Go for it Tom👍 cheers, Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) From working on WL795 years ago I seem to recall that the undercarriage legs were strengthened and so are thicker than Lancaster, but also that they are shorter in length. Not sure about the retraction struts but they do look remarkably similar. Certainly worth checking out properly and maybe asking @richw_82 about specifics and maybe even part numbers etc. These might help with detail, I don't think the retraction struts are normally at that angle to the main legs though. Shackleton MR.2 main undercarriage by James Thomas, on Flickr Shackleton MR.2 main undercarriage by James Thomas, on Flickr Edited December 19, 2019 by 71chally 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cees Broere Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Good to read you got the hint Tom🙂 Regarding the pic of the landing gear it seems that it has been fully deflated. Let's hope this project is on the move once again. Cheers Cees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Yes, the oleos are deflated Lancaster main struts definitely different, nothing beyond what Tom can modify, I'm sure https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=92647327%40N04&view_all=1&text=lancaster undercarriage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted December 19, 2019 Author Share Posted December 19, 2019 @71chally those pictures are fantastic - thank you! Are the main struts white? I can’t decide whether to go white or light grey - it seems at least some the AEW crates have grey legs..? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DalekCheese Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 I think they’re white, but you might want to look at a very light grey, something like GW’s celestial grey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 They were a light grey (hint of blue?) on the in service aircraft, I think that example is too light. Will try and dig out more shots later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) Not great shots, but gives you an idea. Somewhere I have shots with the doors etc removed. Shackleton AEW.2 WL756 8 sqn by James Thomas, on Flickr Shackleton AEW.2 WL747 25 May 91 by James Thomas, on Flickr Notice those two Shacks were at opposite ends of the paint and weathering spectrum! Edited December 19, 2019 by 71chally 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 (edited) Yes. When was that first piccie taken? I thought the AEW.2s were generally kept in pretty good nick (of especial interest to me now as I'm currently writing a book on the old Growler). Regards, Jason Edited December 19, 2019 by Learstang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Generally the AEWs were kept in really good order and looked like WL747, WL756 for some reason looked really tatty, I think it must have escaped a repaint in the early '80s. The shot above was taken in June 1991 at St Mawgan' after completing it's last flight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 WL756 looks like some of the MR.2s near the end of their service lives in Singapore in the late 1960s/early 1970s, when I suppose it wasn't considered high on the list to repaint an aeroplane that was about to go out of service. Regards, Jason 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Yeah the 205 Sqn Shacks weathered pretty badly, understandable given where they were and their usage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Glad you got those pieces even if you'll have to modify them a bit. Hopefully , you'll get your mojo back . Can't wait for the next parts of this adventure ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 I remember having to scratch build the legs when I converted the 'only game in town' Frog kit back in the early eighties because my potentially available Lancaster legs were seen to be way too skinny. Tom it is great news that you are looking to bring the thread back to life, I/we love the Shackleton and to have it Proberted is a marvellous thing for us. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 (edited) 9 minutes ago, perdu said: Tom it is great news that you are looking to bring the thread back to life, I/we love the Shackleton and to have it Proberted is a marvellous thing for us. Wot William said. One of my Bulldog instructors at Topcliffe was a Shackleton driver; RNEFTS was a joint RAF-RN squadron, so I flew at various times with men who’d flown front line Shack, Wasp, Phantom (RN!), Buccaneer, Hunter, Sea Vixen, Wessex, Canberra, Sea King, Lightning, Scimitar, Hawk, Gannet, Swift & Lynx. Is it any wonder that we held our instructors in considerable awe? [Not sure whether we had a Jaguar geezer; sorry, @Fritag - clearly far too elevated for the likes of the Bullfrog]. I too have a huge soft spot for the old Growler; quintessentially British. Basically a bodge - 50-60s MPA descended from bomber legend, hastily fitted with ex-Gannet AEW radar which itself had ancestry directly traceable to anti-kamikaze Pacific Fleet radar picket experiments... But it worked, and we named them after beloved children’s TV characters and loved them. Edited December 20, 2019 by Ex-FAAWAFU 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted December 20, 2019 Author Share Posted December 20, 2019 6 hours ago, perdu said: I remember having to scratch build the legs when I converted the 'only game in town' Frog kit back in the early eighties because my potentially available Lancaster legs were seen to be way too skinny. Tom it is great news that you are looking to bring the thread back to life, I/we love the Shackleton and to have it Proberted is a marvellous thing for us. The HK Lancaster legs don't look too bad actually, and I think the majority will be able to be used for the Shackleton's undercart. They may be a little slim but I'm keen to use what I can as the details will be far better than anything I can scratch-build. I'll certainly use the retraction struts, and if the legs themselves prove to be too skinny they shouldn't be the hardest thing to make. We'll see. 6 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: Wot William said. One of my Bulldog instructors at Topcliffe was a Shackleton driver; RNEFTS was a joint RAF-RN squadron, so I flew at various times with men who’d flown front line Shack, Wasp, Phantom (RN!), Buccaneer, Hunter, Sea Vixen, Wessex, Canberra, Sea King, Lightning, Scimitar, Hawk, Gannet, Swift & Lynx. Is it any wonder that we held our instructors in considerable awe? [Not sure whether we had a Jaguar geezer; sorry, @Fritag - clearly far too elevated for the likes of the Bullfrog]. I too have a huge soft spot for the old Growler; quintessentially British. Basically a bodge - 50-60s MPA descended from bomber legend, hastily fitted with ex-Gannet AEW radar which itself had ancestry directly traceable to anti-kamikaze Pacific Fleet radar picket experiments... But it worked, and we named them after beloved children’s TV characters and loved them. I still find it amazing that the centre-section on the Shackleton began life as a late 1930's design in the form of the Avro Manchester - and flew into the 1990's. Only in Britain... The longevity of the design is a real testament to the skill of Mr Chadwick - what a legend! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 Afternoon all It's been a while since I've done anything on this long-term build, but decided to get it back out for a bit of TLC and decided to jump straight back in and tackle something that I'd been needing to correct... When building the fuselage what seems like years ago I had somehow managed to make the extreme rear fuselage (where the rear observation glazing mates) completely the wrong shape. In my example, you can see I've made the fuselage sides curved, and the upper and lower fuselage too curved as well: IMG_1859 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr ...when compared to the real thing - taken at the Charlwood museum - which shows flat sides and top: Tail Glazing by Thomas Probert, on Flickr So, using some better plans as well as the good old Mk1 eyeball, I made a new shape for the rear fuselage: IMG_1861 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr ...which when offered up already improves the look: IMG_1860 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The difference has now been built up with filler, and slowly a much better-shaped rear fuselage is beginning to emerge: IMG_1868 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Still plenty of shaping and blending to do, but I'm much happier with this now. I've also began inserting the framing into the cockpit as these will be needed to support the glazing when the time comes: IMG_1867 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr I'm enjoying being back on this - let's see how long the motivation lasts! All the best, Tom 33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Nice catch on the tail cone, Tom! I hadn't noticed that before. Best Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_W Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Nice to see you back. When you look at the real tailcone you can see that once upon a time there was a Lancaster turret in the design. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Really nice catch on the tail section Tom, PHEW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted March 27, 2020 Author Share Posted March 27, 2020 13 hours ago, Learstang said: Nice catch on the tail cone, Tom! I hadn't noticed that before. Best Regards, Jason It was only when I crawled all over the one at Charlwood (a great little museum right next to Gatwick Airport) that I realised my error. Silly really, looking back, but sometimes you get so engrossed in trying to capture some shapes you forget others. 10 hours ago, John_W said: Nice to see you back. When you look at the real tailcone you can see that once upon a time there was a Lancaster turret in the design. Thanks, John. Indeed - lots of similarities between the two. Being a longer fuselage on the Shackleton there’s more of a taper but the Lancaster ancestry is there for all too see. 10 hours ago, perdu said: Really nice catch on the tail section Tom, PHEW! Indeed! I’d have been kicking myself if I hadn’t corrected now as the tail cone would have been totally misshaped when I came to make and add that - and that would have likely been after paint so timing is everything! Tom 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted March 27, 2020 Author Share Posted March 27, 2020 I've been steadily shaping the rear end today - quite pleased with the new look and I think a big improvement over my original effort: S1030208 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr I've also begun making the master mold for the plexiglass tail cone - this will be bulked out and shaped with Milliput in due course: S1030200 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Good to be making some progress on this again Take care all, Tom 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Good indeed to see you working on the Shack again, Tom! Don't forget about the bulge under the tail cone for the retractable aft camera housing (you probably already know about this, but as I'm writing a book about the Shackleton at the moment, I fancy I'm the world's expert on the Shackleton, so I have to take every opportunity to show off my expertise!). Best Regards, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pastor Rich Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Tom, Good to see the Shack back on the front-burner! This is one of my favourite projects to follow. Looking great!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now