AIRFIX SHORT SUNDERLAND in 1/154 SCALE

[adey m]

About thirty five years ago while looking around a model kit trader's tent at the RAF Finningley airshow I picked up a small box with a very comical painting of a banana-shaped Sunderland on the front. The box looked like it should contain a jig saw puzzle or chocolates instead of a model kit. I was amazed though when I opened the box, inside was a miniature replica almost piece for piece of the AIRFIX Sunderland moulded in a hard silver grey plastic. The manufacturer was a Hong Kong company named Kader.

In the intervening years I have come across a number of other Kader models which seem to be scaled down copies of other kits, such as the FROG Britannia and they are all to odd scales to fit inside a standard box size.

 

About twenty years ago I decided to build this model but to convert it into a Mk1 instead of the kit Mk III.

 

I blanked off the top turret opening and cut out the earlier beam gunners hatches. I then had to alter the hull step from streamlined to stepped. I altered the engine exhausts and did the props in spinning mode.

 

I originally brush painted the model in Humbrol Silver H11 to represent a pre war overall silver aircraft and it stayed in this colour scheme for many years.

 

Then recently I decided to repaint it in the early camouflage scheme of Slate Grey and Sea Grey.

 

 

That inspiring box artwork

 

 

Replicated old style AIRFIX instructions and decal sheet.

 

 

Even the silver grey plastic seems to be AIRFIX.

 

 

One of my only photos showing my Kader Sunderland in its original silver finish on display with a selection of my other maritime aircraft.

 

 

And here we are in my model room with references and paints to hand.

 

 

The 1970 Short Sunderland Profile proved invaluable for the camouflage pattern.

 

 

First brush painted coat of Humbrol M31 Slate Grey enamel over the Humbrol G11 Silver.

 

 

First application of Humbrol Satin 164 Dark Sea Grey enamel.  I found it a real challenge to try and paint the camouflage pattern to scale on such a small complex model.

 

 

 

 

After both colours had been applied I then decided to try and replicate the worn and chipped paint effect illustrated in the Profile.

I carefully scraped the top paint layers away from the underlying silver with a modelling knife.

The trick was to try not to get carried away so I carefully scraped away only the areas I could see in the photos.

I have also applied the white of the fin flash with Vallejo White.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

 

 

Edited February 11, 2017 by adey m

[TallBlondJohn]

Lovely little model, these small scales have their own rewards. And since the box emphatically states NO CUTTING and NO SANDING the fit must have been amazing fro such results! Hopefully you found some decals to fit?

[glyn]

All things considered that is a cracking build.

Glyn

[Graham Boak]

In the 1950s, Kader (a Hong Kong trading company) sold their kits under the name Lincoln, but they were not copies of anyone else's.  Most of them were distinct subjects either in type or at least in variant.  I don't recall a Britannia but there might have been.  Since then a few have crept out under the Kader label - the Sycamore, perhaps the Gnat, and I have a Viscount in what appears to be a very similar box to your Sunderland.  Your's is the first time I've seen reference to then re-scaling other people's kits, but that's a pretty clear case there!  I suspect that there may have been a lot more Kader kits that never reached Western markets - a fascinating piece of research for someone?

[TheBaron]

Good Lord! Amazing.

[Martian]

Nice! I have wanted one of these kits for the stash for a while now.

 

Martian

[adey m]

46 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

In the 1950s, Kader (a Hong Kong trading company) sold their kits under the name Lincoln, but they were not copies of anyone else's.  Most of them were distinct subjects either in type or at least in variant.  I don't recall a Britannia but there might have been.  Since then a few have crept out under the Kader label - the Sycamore, perhaps the Gnat, and I have a Viscount in what appears to be a very similar box to your Sunderland.  Your's is the first time I've seen reference to then re-scaling other people's kits, but that's a pretty clear case there!  I suspect that there may have been a lot more Kader kits that never reached Western markets - a fascinating piece of research for someone?

 

 

Here it is Graham at a quoted scale of 1/166.

Edited February 8, 2017 by adey m

[Horatio Gruntfuttock]

I recall the Kader/Lincoln kits being available quite regularly here in Oz - the Lincoln kits were made in NZ and , I believe, were part of a larger toy-manufacturing business that advertised on TV with the by-line "Boy oh boy, a Lincoln Toy".

I had the Gnat Mk1 fighter and it was about 1/48th scale, and a Sycamore which I think is irregularly available as a Glencoe kit in about 1/68th. I recall, but never bought the Britannia, but the Sunderland was my pride and joy - rotating turrets, retractable bomb-racks and front turret and teeny-weeny bombs and rotating props. One recently sold on NZ E-bay for over $200!!

[ROBOT]

Just can't resist old box art/old kits... So refreshing to try to get the best of old kits and you do'nt have to fear destroying delicate panel lines or break off tiny tiny resin antennae, don't you think?

LOVING your maritime aircraft selection, please post more pics of them !!!!

 

Your modelling room looks as clean as the operating rooms in our hospital... you should see my bench (joking, you can't, it's buried under modellinig waste...)

 

Thnx for sharing, olli

 

[F1xena]

4 hours ago, Horatio Gruntfuttock said:

I recall the Kader/Lincoln kits being available quite regularly here in Oz - the Lincoln kits were made in NZ and , I believe, were part of a larger toy-manufacturing business that advertised on TV with the by-line "Boy oh boy, a Lincoln Toy".

I had the Gnat Mk1 fighter and it was about 1/48th scale, and a Sycamore which I think is irregularly available as a Glencoe kit in about 1/68th. I recall, but never bought the Britannia, but the Sunderland was my pride and joy - rotating turrets, retractable bomb-racks and front turret and teeny-weeny bombs and rotating props. One recently sold on NZ E-bay for over $200!!

 

I remember the Sunderland kit from back around the mid 70s. They were sold in our local supermarket (in Lower Hutt, NZ) at a very reasonable price. At the time, my standard diet was Matchbox kits, and I recall being surprised by the detail and features in this kit that was perhaps half the price of a Purple range Matchbox. Did they do a Lancaster as well?

 

The playground rhyme for Lincoln was "boy oh boy a Lincoln toy, takes two minutes to destroy"!

 

Thanks for the memories....your Sunderland looks much better than mine ever did!

[aircraftkit]

Fantastic. These Sunderland kits occasionally pop-up on on-line Auction sites, I've been tempted to get one in the past.  Having seen yours built up, I think I'll give it the go-ahead now. Beautifully built and finished, and certainly something very different !

 

I did have some Kadar and Lincoln "Fokka" (as the box tops said) F27 Friendships.  They were about 1/132 scale I think, and almost exact copies of the 1958 Airfix F27 kit that was to 1/72 scale, even down to the separate airstairs.  From dim and distant memory, the only difference between these F27 kits and the (different scale) Airfix one was that the Lincoln/Kadar ones had the nose wheel in two parts, whereas the Airfix component was one.

I also had a Lockheed Constellation from the same series, approximately 1/150 scale, it was surprisingly good although the kit lacked any undercarriage.

 

Anyway, wonderful to see your Sunderland kit made up; thanks for sharing !

 

Don

[F-32]

What a great build, really nicely done!

[Graham Boak]

I suspect that my Viscount 700 was part of this "70s batch" although the box isn't identical, more red and yellow.  I can't say what it could be a smaller version of, Frog or Lindberg(?) although a Viscount specialist might.   If there was a wider range available at the time I don't recall them.  It was in my collection by 1980 but may date back to a 1974 buy.

 

I recall was a DC-7 and an XF-92 in the original range as well, but I'm trying to remember old magazine ads as the kits weren't terribly common, or at least not in my visits to NE model shops.

[adey m]

8 hours ago, F1xena said:

 

I remember the Sunderland kit from back around the mid 70s. They were sold in our local supermarket (in Lower Hutt, NZ) at a very reasonable price. At the time, my standard diet was Matchbox kits, and I recall being surprised by the detail and features in this kit that was perhaps half the price of a Purple range Matchbox. Did they do a Lancaster as well?

 

The playground rhyme for Lincoln was "boy oh boy a Lincoln toy, takes two minutes to destroy"!

 

Thanks for the memories....your Sunderland looks much better than mine ever did!

 

       They did do a Lancaster and it appears that it could be a simplified Airfix one at 1/125 scale.

[adey m]

7 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

I suspect that my Viscount 700 was part of this "70s batch" although the box isn't identical, more red and yellow.  I can't say what it could be a smaller version of, Frog or Lindberg(?) although a Viscount specialist might.   If there was a wider range available at the time I don't recall them.  It was in my collection by 1980 but may date back to a 1974 buy.

 

I recall was a DC-7 and an XF-92 in the original range as well, but I'm trying to remember old magazine ads as the kits weren't terribly common, or at least not in my visits to NE model shops.

 

Not sure about this one Graham although the Kader fuselage does seem quite different from the Triang FROG one.

[Graham Boak]

Looking at those, I believe the Frog one was a Series 800 whereas the Kadar was a Series 700 (initial production).

 

PS Mine does say Lincoln International rather than Kader - the box has yellow sides a about 1/4 red from the left, with an early BEA Viscount.  Kit 103.

Edited February 9, 2017 by Graham Boak

[adey m]

I managed to find some reasonably suitable decals in my spares box which I had to touch up with Humbrol paints .

 

Here it is , in flying mode mounted on an AIRFIX stand.

 

Some additional portholes had to be added and these were glazed with Humbrol Clearfix.

 

A cluster of four bombs were provided in the kit which fitted into the slot under each wing root.....I think I used mine on a 1/72 Lysander.

 

 

 

 

Trying to evade a Ju88C over the Bay of Biscay.

 

 

 

 

And finally, the Airfix and Kader Sunderlands in comparison.

 

cheers, Adrian

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

It's tiny and you've rigged the floats!

Well done and a nice history lesson too.

[Martian]

Great models both of them!

 

Martian

[Horatio Gruntfuttock]

Well Adrian , you have really done that old girl justice. .  well done. And I presume you had cut out the early gun placements earlier in the conversion? No thought about modifying the hull to the early shape? heh heh!

[adey m]

5 hours ago, Horatio Gruntfuttock said:

Well Adrian , you have really done that old girl justice. .  well done. And I presume you had cut out the early gun placements earlier in the conversion? No thought about modifying the hull to the early shape? heh heh!

 

Hi there Horatio, thanks for your comments.

 

I decided during the build twenty years ago to cut out the early gun hatches.........I don't think I would have been happy doing it later.

 

I have modified the hull to the early shape, I used a big metal file to create the square shaped step in the hull .

 

cheers,  Adrian

[adey m]

22 hours ago, ROBOT said:

Just can't resist old box art/old kits... So refreshing to try to get the best of old kits and you do'nt have to fear destroying delicate panel lines or break off tiny tiny resin antennae, don't you think?

LOVING your maritime aircraft selection, please post more pics of them !!!!

 

Your modelling room looks as clean as the operating rooms in our hospital... you should see my bench (joking, you can't, it's buried under modellinig waste...)

 

Thnx for sharing, olli

 

LOVING your maritime aircraft selection, please post more pics of them !!!!

 

Hi olli. thanks for your comments.

 

I have recently done the Hasegawa Shin Meiwa PS-1 and the Hasegawa Martin P5M-2 Marlin on here somewhere and I still have others to post .

 

keep watching,

 

all the best, Adrian

[G.E.SAUNDERS]

hi All,

             I used to buy these LINCOLN Kits from WOOLWORTHS in Dandenong Vic in the 60's.

             They sold for 4 Shillings and were at the time excellent value as AIRFIX sold for 4/9p

             They were bigger than the AIRFIX 1/72 Scale kits and cheaper than the REVELL 1/48 Kits

              but were simple Construction and the Transfers were awful !

 

            I actually still have some of to this day,  the Lockheed Starfire ( I believe the 1st Kit they produced )

             Lancaster, Sunderland ,Viscount, Brittania, Canberra, Fokker Friendship

           in both the LINCOLN and KADER Range bought on eBay

           and have doubled up on some .....one for the Poolroom....... and one to build !

 

                                                                             cheery "Old Models " mumbas !

 

                                                                                                Geoff

                                                                                                  F.,T.G. 3156

[occa]

Amazing !!

[oldmodeler]

I do not recall KADER, perhaps not sold in the UK, an amazing find of rare subjects and scale, there are allmost no kits of the Viscount.