Revell Lancaster Mk I/III & Heinkel 117

[Beginner]

Hallo everyone. I interduced myself yesterday here and am new here and also to moddeling. I used to do it as a kid a lot with my dad who did it as a hobby. And about a week ago, almost 20 years after I built my last kit with my dad, I came across a big box with 15 unopened Revell kits on a yardsale for 20 euros and bought it to take up my dads hobby. I am currently buying all the required colours, an airbrush and all the other required equiptment and will then go to building kits. Within the box of 15 kits I decided to start off with building either the Revell Lancaster MK I or the Revell Heinkel 117.

 

I am hoping for your advice here as a beginner and am looking forward to post images/videos of my progress/failures.

 

Thanks.

[brewerjerry]

Hi 

   My vote lancaster,

  as it has less nose glazing, unless you are good at painting cockpit framing

   cheers

     jerry

[dogsbody]

The Lanc is probably the easier kit to do, especially from a painting point of view. Luftwaffe camo can be a right pain to do.

 

 

Chris

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

I agree go for the Lancaster. 

[Nigel Bunker]

Ah but which Revell Lancaster is it? The ancient one or the newer release?

[Jure Miljevic]

Hello Begginer

I know this is knit picking but you probably meant He 177 kit? Otherwise, pick either of them as both kits are fairly recent and despite some minor inaccuracies quite good. Cheers

Jure

[FatFlyHalf]

Hello and welcome to scale modelling.

1. You don't need an airbrush.  As a beginner I'd suggest using a brush, cheaper and it'll help you get a more intimate feel for the details on the surface of the kit 

2. Building the kit is the first skill to master.  Take your time.  Clean up the parts and dry fit (no glue) then fix any misalignments or errors, dry fit again (and again) before getting the glue out.

3. Use fine grade sandpaper, some decent filler and above all - don't rush things.

4. Don't despair if it doesn't look like experts such as Fuad's models (see his work in the RFI section - that's hours of practice and skill)

5. Take your time and have fun, but on sunny days - get outside!

 

I'd go for the Lancaster. 

It's unlikely to be the newer mould given it was in a €20 box of kits. 

Regardless, it's an impressive aeroplane with a simple camouflage scheme that is hard to do (big areas of black can be - well - just black).

I look forward to seeing it when completed on RFI.

 

hwyl fawr,

FFH

[Beginner]

6 hours ago, Nigel Bunker said:

Ah but which Revell Lancaster is it? The ancient one or the newer release?

this one

[Beginner]

24 minutes ago, FatFlyHalf said:

Hello and welcome to scale modelling.

1. You don't need an airbrush.  As a beginner I'd suggest using a brush, cheaper and it'll help you get a more intimate feel for the details on the surface of the kit 

2. Building the kit is the first skill to master.  Take your time.  Clean up the parts and dry fit (no glue) then fix any misalignments or errors, dry fit again (and again) before getting the glue out.

3. Use fine grade sandpaper, some decent filler and above all - don't rush things.

4. Don't despair if it doesn't look like experts such as Fuad's models (see his work in the RFI section - that's hours of practice and skill)

5. Take your time and have fun, but on sunny days - get outside!

 

I'd go for the Lancaster. 

It's unlikely to be the newer mould given it was in a €20 box of kits. 

Regardless, it's an impressive aeroplane with a simple camouflage scheme that is hard to do (big areas of black can be - well - just black).

I look forward to seeing it when completed on RFI.

 

hwyl fawr,

FFH

 

Thanks for all the advice, I have though already ordered an airbrush on amazon, but will take your advice and go for a brush first.

The model is from 2007, a lot of the kits in the box seemd to have been rather new.

[RJP]

I am glad to see that's the new Lancaster kit.  The old one had a lot that was wrong and this one is very nice.

 

As an aside, if you got 15 kits for 20 Euros, what were the other 13?

[Beginner]

9 minutes ago, RJP said:

I am glad to see that's the new Lancaster kit.  The old one had a lot that was wrong and this one is very nice.

 

As an aside, if you got 15 kits for 20 Euros, what were the other 13?

Besides the Lancaster and He117 these are the kits that were in the box, I thought it was cheap for the price of 20 so I took it.

 

 

 

[Work In Progress]

Congratulations on getting the bargain box of the century. The Lancaster is a decent choice. My suggestion is just work straight from the box, don't attempt anything involving aftermarket accessories (except maybe decals) and keep your technique simple for a first model. Brush painting is not a bad idea for a first try (but buy a few good flat brushes).

 

Concentrate on a nice clean accurate assembly job and run a build thread here -

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/forum/52-work-in-progress-aircraft/

- so that you can get help if you run into any questions. Getting to the stage where you can put it on the shelf is the aim! Then, using your renewed confidence and re-emerging skills you'll be in a great position to build another straightforward kit, or try some more adventurous new techniques.

[Beginner]

 

[Work In Progress]

These are some fun kits you've picked up. By modern standards the Ki-61 is very basic so if you want to just practice some assembly skills then you could use that as a practice piece with no risk of spoiling something special.

[Beginner]

1 minute ago, Work In Progress said:

These are some fun kits you've picked up. By modern standards the Ki-61 is very basic so if you want to just practice some assembly skills then you could use that as a practice piece with no risk of spoiling something special.

So you would advise me to leave the Lancaster be for the time being and start with the Ki-61 as a beginner?

[SleeperService]

10 minutes ago, Beginner said:

So you would advise me to leave the Lancaster be for the time being and start with the Ki-61 as a beginner?

To be honest I think that would be a good idea. Start small and work your way up. If painting a large area like the black on a Lancaster use acrylic spray paint cans from a car repair shop. Very easy and a cheap way to save money for everything else you'll want to buy.

 

You have got the best bargain I've ever heard of there. Welcome to BM by the way. In my experience the best model-making website there is.

[Work In Progress]

The thing about the Ki-61 is it's quite a nice little thing, but it's very simple, a small number of parts, and you can build it quickly. Most importantly of al you can do it with no fear whatsoever. It doesn't matter at all if you make a complete mess of it (which I'm sure you won't, but you know what I mean!). 

 

Frankly, if you treat it as a weekend project and just blast through from start to finish, it will give you some useful practice. And sometimes a quick simple build is the best fun of all.

[Beginner]

6 minutes ago, Work In Progress said:

The thing about the Ki-61 is it's quite a nice little thing, but it's very simple, a small number of parts, and you can build it quickly. Most importantly of al you can do it with no fear whatsoever. It doesn't matter at all if you make a complete mess of it (which I'm sure you won't, but you know what I mean!). 

 

Frankly, if you treat it as a weekend project and just blast through from start to finish, it will give you some useful practice. And sometimes a quick simple build is the best fun of all.

 

12 minutes ago, SleeperService said:

To be honest I think that would be a good idea. Start small and work your way up. If painting a large area like the black on a Lancaster use acrylic spray paint cans from a car repair shop. Very easy and a cheap way to save money for everything else you'll want to buy.

 

You have got the best bargain I've ever heard of there. Welcome to BM by the way. In my experience the best model-making website there is.

 

ok then, I started yesterday making masks for the transparent window pieces of the Lancaster, He 117 and He 111. I am going to quickly finish that work and then pack the pieces back up again.

I ordered all the paint for the Lancaster, He 111 and He 117 already, however not the paint for the Ki-61, so I would still have to go buy the paint for that moddel before I can start.

 

I was myself somewhat surprised about the sheer amount of kits in the box for such a cheap price.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Hello @Beginner ... As others have said i will add. As one truly restarting its best to learn one skill at a time. You can go back in the future and redo these models when you have learned newer skill sets. You would be surprised at just how quick you’ll pick up skills and techniques by focusing on them one at a time. 

 

Dennis

[Jure Miljevic]

Hello Begginer

I have Revell's Ki.61 kit, although from edition some fifty years older than yours. Judging by the box top kit represents one of Kobayashi's plane, so at least one of colour schemes inside is dark green mottle over natural metal. This scheme is quite tricky to apply with airbrush and Fine Molds of Japan even provide olive green mottle as decals in at least one of its kit. If you decide to paint your model in that scheme, my suggestion is not to bother with Japanese colours, at least not with dark green. Take Lancaster's Dark Green and lighten it up by some 25%. Then find suitably fine brush, arm yourself with all the patience you can muster, and start working on the scheme. Do not worry too much: this camouflage had been field applied and it varied considerably not only from one plane to another, but even on various parts of the same aircraft. Type ˝Ki.61 244 sentai˝ into any web browser, check results in its image section, and you will know what I mean. Happy modelling!

Jure

[Seahawk]

2 hours ago, Beginner said:

I was myself somewhat surprised about the sheer amount of kits in the box for such a cheap price.

Yes, I think there are people on this site who would have happily paid 20 euros for the He 177 alone.  Nice one!

[Beginner]

1 hour ago, Seahawk said:

Yes, I think there are people on this site who would have happily paid 20 euros for the He 177 alone.  Nice one!

I had no idea this was such a sought after kit.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

3 hours ago, Beginner said:

I was myself somewhat surprised about the sheer amount of kits in the box for such a cheap price.

It sounds like someone either quit building and decided to sell the stash off. Or someone passed and family just wanted to dump the stash. Either way thats a heck of a bargain. 

 

Dennis

[tempestfan]

Indeed, excellent bargain! As has been said, start small and work your way up. You could also start with the 190 ( or 262) and work your way up. - or with the Spit V which is not very good but should go together well. The 109 is a new one for me, and given its 46xx number, I wonder if it’s the piece of sh... iny steel first released some 55 years ago, or Hase ?!? The 111 also should be Hase plastic, so you got yourself a top deal. 

What airbrush did you order? I never used one before, but tested a real good one last Saturday, and it basically worked. If it’s a cheap one it may work, but it may just as well will not. I made the decision to invest 500 € into a good airbrush, compressor and ancillaries, as my experience is cheap tools won’t make you happy. Of course, expensive ones will only do if you use and master them ...

[Uncle Pete]

Coming from your end (inexperienced... I have only 6 built on my shelf so far) I'd have to agree with the experienced guys and say hold off on the bombers.  I'd be inclined to go with the Spit or the Stuka first.  They're small and sturdy with little in the way of "sticky-out bits" and you won't be tearing your hair out over the undercarriage assemblies (always a barrel of laughs).  Also, you don't have to sweat the mottled camo of a 109... Spits are almost all "standard" green and brown and, if I remember correctly, Stukas usually are similar to Brit planes.  The other advantage with Spitfires and the like is you can mess one up and bin it without too much worry since a replacement kit only costs as much as two lattes at Starbucks.