Airfix Canberra E15, 98 Squadron 1974

[RussG]

Hi,

Here is my attempt at at the 1/72 Airfix Canberra E15, built in flight and representing 98 Squadron, serial WH957 during 1974 using the Modeldecal MD028 sheet. Although this is an old kit, it was great fun to build, with a reasonable amount of filling/sanding but spoilt a little by some silvering under the wings and not brilliant spraying.

I love putting these old jets in the ‘in flight’ mode which means of course less faffing around with fiddly undercarriages. Although the kit was a lot of fun to build it is helpful to have a fettish for applying decals….there’s dozens of them!!

I hope you like it,

Russ

[Procopius]

That looks marvelous. I love the look of the old fishbowl-canopied Canberras, and this is a really clean example.

[stevej60]

Cracking job Russ,look's very elegant in flight.

[franky boy]

Excellent build Russ

There have been a few on hear lately in flight which is good to see.

Well done

James

[Andy Dyck]

Superb! An excellent Model there!!!!!!!!!!!! I like it !!

Andy

[F-32]

[fids]

My favourite 'type' of Canberra, great job

[Rangi01]

That brings back some wonderful memories, built one as a boy but I am sure it looked nowhere as nice as yours Russ. Great finish and looks great in an 'in flight' pose. Thanks for sharing.

Shane

[Meatbox8]

Very nice and an interesting example. Just goes to show that Airfix need to release a 1/72nd scale B2/B6. The old workhorse wore so many different schemes.

[Tiger331]

Russ,

A great trip down memory lane for me !. I can still remember the thrill of receiving this brand new kit as a Christmas present in Cyprus in 1974 and, unlike most of my kits at the time, I stored it away until I felt I had the confidence and ability to make a really good job of it. A few years later (I think we were in Malta by this time), and having cut my teeth on one out-of-the box, I decided to build a second example using another of my then recent discoveries, aftermarket decals of contemporary RAF subjects from Modeldecal !. Sheet 28 was one of the very first I obtained via Mail Order from Portsmouth and I took great care in reproducing as many of the details as I could of the E.15 using the excellent reference material included in the decal placement guides, so expertly put together by Dick Ward and Mike Silk (R.I.P) at the time; a trend that is sadly lacking with many (but not all) contemporary decal manufacturers. Like you, I was attracted by the then new low visibility national insignia on the Canberra and those great tail markings and it was also one of my earliest attempts at scratch building, adding detail to the cockpit and building that 'towel rail' antenna and other blade aerials. Happy days when I built more than two models a year !.

Thanks again for posting this and bringing back happy memories of my more prolific modelling days.

Mark

[Devilfish]

The E.15 has a particular place in my heart. I did my final board practical exam on one at RAF Cosford in 1987. I got 97%. Top of the class.

[RussG]

Thank you for all your positive comments and I must echo Meatbox8 in that it would be fantastic to see a new re-tooled 1/72 Canberra B2/B6 kit by Airfix....and a 1/72 Beaufort and Hudson too if at all possible!!

Thanks again,

Russ

[phildagreek]