Italeri 1/72 Stirling I

[Mancunian airman]

The detailings is wonderful . . .

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

Superb work.

I will unashamedly use this thread as a reference for when I get around to build mine.

Richard

[Brandy]

Beautifully done! Almost worth cutting the nose open to show it all!

Ian

[Simon]

Update time, though not too much to report. The bits for the underside of the floor and the bomb aimer's floor section are now ready for a coat of paint:

 

 

 

I've also made a small horizontal bulkhead to go under the nose turret:

 

which fits here:

 

The cockpit itself is also pretty much ready, so I've test fitted the seats to make sure everything still fits okay:

 

 

The main cockpit canopy is pretty large, so plenty can be seen throught it, so making it look a bit more busy will help make it a bit more interesting, hopefully.

More soon.

Cheers

Simon

Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon
relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr

[Brandy]

That's gorgeous. Just beautiful work, especially in 1:72!

[Simon]

Been a few days since my last post, so here's a quick update...

I've added all the bits and pieces to the underside of the pilot/co-pilot floor, so that's all done and dusted:

 

Control cables are Albion Alloys nickel silver 0.2mm rods.

Now that's ready, I have made a start on the cabin sides for the bomb aimer's position. Here's the port side - cabling, parachute storage and couple of other bits:

 

And here's it all together:

 

Naturally, a bomb aimer needs a bomb sight. Fortunately I had a spare from my Revell Halifax Mk. II. This is a Mk.IX, which I think should be the right model for the time:

 

 

I'm getting things ready for the starboard cabin wall, so hopefully my next update will have some progress on this.

More soon,

Cheers

Simon

Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon
relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr

[12jaguar]

Hi Simon

I've seen your email and will have a look for the stbd side photos tomorrow. Seeing this in 1/72 makes me even more scared of doing the 1:1 version. Just a quick bit of advice if I may, Italeri will have you install an R1155 radio on the back frame of the cockpit, this installation was only ever found on some Mk IVs and Vs.

There's also a flaw in the cockpit area as the small tank fitted just behind the 2nd pilot actually sits on a small raised platform, not on the cockpit floor as depicted. Might be a bit late to change this now though

John

Edited February 28, 2016 by 12jaguar

[Simon]

Thanks for the kind words John, that means a lot.

I'll see if I can change the small tank - I do have a photo that shows this area, but I wasn't 100% sure. And thanks for pointing out the issue with the radio.

If you manage to find anything showing the starboard side, it would be very helpful indeed.

Regards

Simon

[dogsbody]

I was just browsing through The IWM site and found this. If you've already seen it, sorry.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205210466

Chris

[Badder]

Wanders in by mistake from the dirty side. You fly boys are nutters. Super super-detailing... but will much of it be seen when it's all finished?

Blown away,

Badder.

[Spookytooth]

Nice work Simon.

Simon.

[Alain De Loor]

Excellent work!

Al

[Simon]

Another quick update for today. Thanks must once again go to John, a.k.a. 12jaguar, who put me right on a couple of things that shouldn't be on a Mk. I Stirling.

Firstly, the throttle cables only came in with the Mk.III, so out with the scalpel, and they were carefully removed, together with the associated other bits and bobs:

 

Not too much of a problem. He also sent me some photos of the starboard side of the bomb aimer's postion, which were very helpful indeed. I've therefore been able to add some various odds and ends to that area:

 

 

The photo etch is from an Eduard set for a 1/48 Wildcat, of all things...waste not, want not.

The other change was to the Navigator's station. The radio on the rear wall only came in with the Mk.III, so I had to do some more dis-assembling and removed the offending item. It gave me the chance to make a more realistic map case, as well as adding a fire extinguisher and the navigator's desk lamp:

 

More updates in due course.

Cheers

Simon

Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon
relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr

[elger]

The awesomeness continues. One question though, are you sure the fire extinguisher should be red? I've seen RAF extinguishers in bronze quite often.

[Simon]

Yes, you're right - I think it should be brass, rather than red. I'll get it changed...thanks for the heads-up.

Cheers

Simon

[dogsbody]

A question regarding the maps. I know it looks nice to see a miniature map on the navigator's table, especially in 1/72 scale but would any maps be left inside an aircraft while sitting on the ground during the war? Seems to me that would violate some kind of security code. Were maps not issued to navigators just before pre-flight briefing?

Chris

Edited March 3, 2016 by dogsbody

[Simon]

Chris

Not sure about the maps - reckon you may be right, but I'll leave them for now.

On another note, I've just had a look at the parts for the nose turret, and something about the guns doesn't look right. This photo shows the kit's guns in grey, with some 1mm plastic rod in white to the right, and some spare Quickboost .303 gun barrels I had left over from another build in black on the left:

 

The kit's gun barrels look more like 1/48, or even 1/32 - they'd be about 72mm (2.8 inches) in diameter in real life at 1/72. So I've ordered some replacement Quickboost .303 barrels.

More soon,

Cheers

Simon

Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon
relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr

[Simon]

Time for another quick update. I've been looking at the front turret, and had a go at trying it straight out of the box:

 

 

I wasn't too happy with the photo-etch, as I found it a bit thick to work with, and the mounts for the guns are too wide. I'd already done a replacement turret when I made the Revell Dambuster Lancaster:

 

So I thought I'd try some new internals for the Stirling. Here are the elements ready to put together:

 

and after:

 

 

I've got the Quickboost .303 barrels, so it's all ready for a coat of paint. Reckon I'll look at the other two turrets next, so more news soon.

Cheers

Simon

Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon
relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr

[12jaguar]

FYI, the interior of the nose turret is aluminium colour

John

[Simon]

Thanks for the heads-up John

I'd assumed they'd be black, but double-checking my references there are some colour photos on the IWM website that clearly show them to be aluminium - goes to show you learn something new every day!

Regards

Simon

[12jaguar]

So did we as we painted our 1:1 one black! Something we'll have to revisit

John

[Simon]

A quick update for today (Photobucket allowing - it's playing silly b*ggers tonight).

After the front turret, I thought I'd take a look at the tail turret. Italeri supply what looks like an FN.20 turret:

 

After consulting with John again (thanks once more!), the Stirling Mk.I was fitted with either an FN.4A turret (early aircraft), or the FN.20 turret (later aircraft). I had a look online for Stirlings in the range of serials around W7449, and the nearest one I could find that showed the turret had what seemed to be an FN.4, so that's what I've gone with.

I think the glazing is the same or pretty similar, so I can use the kit's transparent part, as well as the turret base and frame. The photo-etch frame is an FN.20, and it's quite thick, and the framework is much too heavy anyway. So, more scratch-building:

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the Quickboost barrels, and the butts of the four .303s ready to add to the turret framework once it's painted - in aluminium, not black!

 

Next up I think I'll take a look at the upper turret, the conical FN.7. They seem to be camera-shy, and the only photo I could find was in the excellent reference book 'British Aircraft Armament, Vol.1: RAF Gun Turrets From 1914 to the Present Day' by R. Wallace Clarke. It's a great book if you're making RAF bombers, by the way.

Cheers

Simon

Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon
relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr

[Air-to-Air]

Thanks for sharing your progress on this one. I don't often see this level of detail being added to 1/72 scale aircraft so it's a real treat to follow your work on this one.

[Brandy]

That's very impressive scratchbuilding on the turrets, I don't think I've managed anything close to that kind of detail and cleanliness in all my attempts in this scale

Ian

[Simon]

Blimey, is it two weeks since the last update...?! Sorry.

Anyway, onwards and upwards, and now on to the wings. The instructions tell you that various intakes need opening up, and the wingtip and landing lights need removing, so that's all done:

 

(they do look better when the wings are correctly aligned, honest!)

 

Once that was out of the way, I thought I'd liven up the mainwheel bays a little. Taking some inspiration from Eduard's Stirling Exterior set, firstly I made some ribbed sections to represent the construction of the wing interior:

 

and I've added some strips of plastic card to the edges, with some details added with a scriber and a rivet tool:

 

For the roof of the bay, I made some inserts to represent the interior ribbing of the wing upper surface:

 

Here's it is all together, with the undercarriage test fitted:

 

The rear of the wheel bay is pretty dark, so there's not much to add, but the front of the bays are just empty spaces:

 

I came across a cutaway drawing that shows the interior of the inner engine nacelles: a bulkhead with the engine mounts attached to its front sits at the very front of the wheel bay, an oil tank behind that, and the front wing spar behind that, so I think I'll try and fill the space up a bit.

More soon...

Cheers

Simon

Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon
relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr