Jump to content

Avro Lancaster B.Mk.I/III


Recommended Posts

At my son's request my next build is Revell's 1:72 Avro Lancaster B.Mk.III. I have just finished building a Shackleton, so it is going to be great comparing the kit's and aircraft. The iconic Lancaster bomber has rapidly become one of my favourite military aircraft, whether it is watching the BBMF displaying or visiting the haunting Mk. I on display in London, the sheer presence of the aircraft is thrilling. Anyway, back to the build! I am planning to build Lancaster B.MK.III, No.100 Squadron from RAF Elsham Wolds, 1945, with landing gear up. It will be a straight from the box build with the exception of Vallejo acrylic in place of Revell and a home made display stand. The box includes, detailed instructions, a set of decals and small clear sprue.

IMG_20181125_091053

There are also 6 white/grey sprues with little to no flash and a nice amount of detailing. 

IMG_20181125_091128IMG_20181125_091320IMG_20181125_091414

Time for the fun to begin.

  • Like 17
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh I will look at this one. The Revell kit is a good kit. I have one in my stash and detail looks fine from what I can say. The dihedral seems to be a problem, but can be fixed as I read. Wheels up will omit the problem wth the too small tyres. One thing I really would exchange are gun barrels by Quickboost or so. They a crude and make very visible difference. Cheers

Edited by bbudde
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Shellie.  Enjoyed your Shackleton build and looking forward to this one.

 

One thing that Ted Taylor didn’t comment on is that the Revell cockpit detail is a bit “off”: the pilot’s floor/pedestal is too tall, too long and puts the pilot’s seat too far back from the instrument panel.  Both the 1980 and more recent Airfix kits have this feature right.

 

If you’re modelling LM739 from 100 Squadron you will need to blank off the fuselage windows; it’s not a major job but does take a little time to do properly.  By the time that aeroplane was built the underside colour was smooth Night, a very dark blue-black with a slight sheen, as opposed to the dead matt of RDM2A Special Night used earlier in the war.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This will certainly be interesting, especially with a dihedral correction.

I realise this is early in the build but..

The preshading on your Shack was very effective, and a "negative" method can be used where lots of black is concerned. Lighten the centre of panels using white to achieve the same effect.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since my last post I have been busy, firstly washing and priming some of the sprues, and then airbrushing the interior of the fuselage. Then I began work on the cockpit, I know there are several inaccuracies in the Revell cockpit, however putting some thought into what will actually be that visible once the build is complete I have decided to build this area as the instructions suggests. Once airbrushed I carefully built the cockpit (the indents in which some sections fit are tiny, thus meaning they have little to secure them).

IMG_20181127_185058

 

IMG_20181127_185053

Next on the agenda, according to the instructions is adding the bombs to the bomb bay, I am pondering if these need to be added before the fuselage halves are joined??🤔

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I decided to build the fuselage and add the bombs later......less to mask and break when airbrushing the top coats. Therefore, I carefully inserted the rotating section for the turret, added the interior and tail plane strut and secured the fuselage halves together. Having struggled to get my Shackleton's fuselage together, I had done multiple dry fits with the Lancaster and shaved off bits of plastic until I got a nice fit......and hey presto it fits!

IMG_20181129_201958

It also seems tiny, but I'm guessing that is because the Shackleton is massive. Then I started joining pieces for the tail plane, which was nice and easy.

IMG_20181129_202120

Now to the wings, I am no expert at scratch building and having read the best way to alter the dihedral of the wings to make them truer to the real aircraft, I opted for a slight alteration that I felt comfortable with. So, I scored along the inside of the wings where the slight bend was visible and gently bent them some more. Then, gluing one section at a time, I ensured the angle was greater than the kit would have. I am fairly happy with the results, the wings have more of a dihedral than they did and give it a more authentic appearance.

IMG_20181129_202102

Now onto sanding the seams....my favourite job!

 

  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been busy sanding the seam on the fuselage, I am pleased to say the kit went together easily (makes a change not having to struggle to make the fuselage halves join) so there was hardly any filler needed. I have sanded along the seam using various Sanding sticks, and finally brushed along some Mr.Surfacer 1000 (which worked a treat on the Shackleton), to ensure the seam was smooth. Putting this to one side I built the engines, all pretty simple, and easy to assemble.

IMG_20181202_091903

Leaving these to dry I worked on the wheel bay in both wings, this was rather fiddly (needs tweezers ideally) because of the confined space, but the instructions are easy to follow and this step was completed easy enough.

IMG_20181202_091911

Once I was happy that the engines had dried, I secured them in their cowling housing units (was a squeeze, so I sanded the engine slightly), taped them up and have left them to dry. 

IMG_20181202_093042

The build is moving along nicely, and I am enjoying the quality of the kit......so far! Now to decorate our Christmas tree.

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is one of 'My' aircraft.

Stationed at Waltham before moving over to Elsham Wolds.

 

Piloted by S/Ldr Hedley Scott, the crew were selected to lead the flight of six aircraft, to guide No1 Group, onto the target at Berchestgaden. Primary reason is because the navigator Johnny Harwood was an absolute first class nav. 

 

I obtained the details of the nose artwork, having spoken to the mid-uper gunner, Jimmy Johnson, along with the wireless op. Reggie Jones and a rear gunner, Bob Petersen.

I produced it myself before it was published in my book, of which, Revell obtained consent to produce for their kit.

 

I love to see this particular aircraft built and it has already been noted, no fuselage windows,

I look forward with great interest Shellie that you will build it with pride and with your skills, it will turn out a real beaut.

 

Ian

  • Like 4
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Mancunian airman said:

This is one of 'My' aircraft.

Stationed at Waltham before moving over to Elsham Wolds.

 

Piloted by S/Ldr Hedley Scott, the crew were selected to lead the flight of six aircraft, to guide No1 Group, onto the target at Berchestgaden. Primary reason is because the navigator Johnny Harwood was an absolute first class nav. 

 

I obtained the details of the nose artwork, having spoken to the mid-uper gunner, Jimmy Johnson, along with the wireless op. Reggie Jones and a rear gunner, Bob Petersen.

I produced it myself before it was published in my book, of which, Revell obtained consent to produce for their kit.

 

I love to see this particular aircraft built and it has already been noted, no fuselage windows,

I look forward with great interest Shellie that you will build it with pride and with your skills, it will turn out a real beaut.

 

Ian

Thanks Ian,

I love finding out the history and background to the aircraft I build, it really brings the whole thing to life. It is also so important we remember these stunning aircraft were crewed by brave and inspirational young men. 

I found some pictures of the aircraft and noted the lack of fuselage windows, mine will be painted over once I get to the airbrushing stage.

I sincerely hope I can do the aircraft and those who knew her justice.

Thanks again,

Michelle

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

I'm back on the build after the Christmas break, and looking back at my posts I can see quite a lot has happened since. With the engines built, I secured them to the wings of the aircraft. This went smoothly, and I then placed the undercarriage doors on (in closed position as she will be flying), and filled around any gaps. I then secured all the glass sections in place (excluding the turrets, these I will add once the aircraft is painted). The glass sections (although they had their fair share of flash), seemed to fit together nicely, and after adding a little filler to ensure all gaps were eliminated. Then I attempted a dry fit with the wings, if they fitted cleanly with no gaps, I may have airbrushed the build and added the wings later. However, there were a few tiny gaps, so I secured the wings in place and filled any gaps. After a coat of primer, I masked the black sections up and set to work on preshading.

IMG_20190101_224339

 

IMG_20190101_224333

I find preshading exhausting, and the concentration, precision, but I know it will be worth it in the end. I plan to preshade the black underside using white as a highlight. So far I'm fairly happy.

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, CedB said:

Happy New Year Shellie! 

Nice work; is the underside painted white now or is just the photo? 

Hi Ced,

Happy new year to you too, I hope you had a good Christmas. The underside is primed in light grey, I think the lighting has made it look white. Would you give it a coat of white before the black?

Thanks,

Michelle.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm very interested to see this and will certainly keep watch. The 617 Squadron Dambusters version of this kit arrived with me over Christmas and I hope to make a start before too long. I've already picked up a set of the Eduard zoom details with new panels etc and I'm looking to get some new resin wheels as well. Good work so far by the way. John

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...