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1/72 Bristol Superfreighter


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Hi all

 

Finally finished the Bristol Superfreighter.  What a thoroughly enjoyable kit.  It went together well and was built OOB apart from some masking tape seatbelts and the Aileron actuator arms and covers and the Decals as I used the S&M decals for a Silver City machine.  As a young lad in the mid 70's I remember these lumbering giants taking off and landing at Lydd Airport although under another operator.  They used to fly very near to a corner of the school field and it was amazing to watch them along with the HP Dart Heralds, Viscounts and Dakotas.  What lovely sounds they all made.

 

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Thanks for looking


All the best
Chris

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Great job .. I also remember these going in to Lydd , Heathrow , Southampton Eastleigh , Weston- super- Mare (NZAF ) and Blackbushe . Never saw this one though , it crashed in the Channel Islands in 1963 in service with BUAF . That was another World then ! Love it , well done and thanks for showing !

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Chris, that is great. I too remember fondly the Superfreighters and Carvairs at Lydd. We lived in Eastry, near Sandwich and a trip to Lydd was an occasional treat. The sound was amazing as they lumbered -  oh so slowly - into the air. I was always fascinated watching the cars being loaded and unloaded. I live in the midlands now but sometimes visit the area for a reminisce.

 

Great job on the Airfix kit - I had one as a Lad but it didn't look that good!

 

Cheers

 

Malcolm

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Hi Chris,

Great work, love the sharp and crisp finish you've achieved with this old kit, just beautiful.

Are you going to model a Carvair to go with it?

Like many others I built this as a kid too but don't remember much about it except that I just varnished the silvery plastic it was moulded in rather than paint the bare metal areas!

Cheers,

Ian

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4 hours ago, Alpha Delta 210 said:

You've done a sensational job there, Chris.

Thanks AD210, very kind of you.

 

4 hours ago, bzn20 said:

Great job .. I also remember these going in to Lydd , Heathrow , Southampton Eastleigh , Weston- super- Mare (NZAF ) and Blackbushe . Never saw this one though , it crashed in the Channel Islands in 1963 in service with BUAF . That was another World then ! Love it , well done and thanks for showing !

Thanks Bzn20, did you fly in this type ?

 

3 hours ago, bristol boy said:

Looks great, really neat decals and pin stripes.

Thanks BB, the decals were very nice in hot water if I recall. Although one section did break up.

 

2 hours ago, Spitfire31 said:

Beautiful model!

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

Thanks Joachim

 

1 hour ago, woody37 said:

Really enjoyed your build Chris, it's come out superbly :)

 

Thanks Neil that is very kind of you to say. It was an enjoyable build.

 

3 hours ago, Head in the clouds. said:

Very smart and nice to see one looking so resplendent.

Thanks HitC I am going through my clean build phase at the moment.  I usually weather a bit more but fancied a change.

 

1 hour ago, Buzby061 said:

Wow, I'd never have believed that was the Airfix kit I made as a kid all those years ago. Top class!

 

Pete

Thanks Pete I do love some of the old Airfix kits like the Trimotor and Avro 504 to name a couple.

 

1 hour ago, Baldy said:

Chris, that is great. I too remember fondly the Superfreighters and Carvairs at Lydd. We lived in Eastry, near Sandwich and a trip to Lydd was an occasional treat. The sound was amazing as they lumbered -  oh so slowly - into the air. I was always fascinated watching the cars being loaded and unloaded. I live in the midlands now but sometimes visit the area for a reminisce.

 

Great job on the Airfix kit - I had one as a Lad but it didn't look that good!

 

Cheers

 

Malcolm

Thanks Malcolm.  They did seem so slow. There were a few of us that used to congregate in the corner of the school field to watch them on approach and watch. 

8 minutes ago, Turbofan said:

Hi Chris,

Great work, love the sharp and crisp finish you've achieved with this old kit, just beautiful.

Are you going to model a Carvair to go with it?

Like many others I built this as a kid too but don't remember much about it except that I just varnished the silvery plastic it was moulded in rather than paint the bare metal areas!

Cheers,

Ian

Thanks Ian . I am not sure what kits are out there and I had better not get another for a while. I have a Herald, a Viscount and Dakota to do still. 

7 minutes ago, Viking said:

Wow, lovely work on bringing that old kit up to standard!

 

Cheers

 

John

Thanks John, but it's the kit that is good I just made it.

 

6 minutes ago, Unfinished project said:

Stunning SuperFreighter you've brought the classic kit to life 👍

Thank you for your kind comment.

 

All the best

Chris

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Super. Freighter! A statement and a wonderful non mainstream model!

When comes Airfix 1:72 Beverley? I would love to hear the four Centaurus turning ....

Cheers,

Tom

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That's a fine looking model, and an Airfix Classic to boot!

 

The original plane had all the grace of a block of flats, but that gives it a certain charm that I like a lot. I have a built Silver City version boxed up in the loft. I thoroughly enjoyed building it.

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Ah, nice..... I remember those AL engines each night singing me to sleep from the short-nose machine used by BCAL from Gatwick on night freight runs to AMS.... A great sound :)

 

a great model!

 

Martin

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I used to play cricket in Wellington, NZ as a schoolgirl. The ground was under the downwind flight path for the SAFEair Bristol Freighters enroute from their home base in Blenheim. Even then I was aircraft mad, and couldn’t help but look up at these lumbering giants as they flew overhead. It proved such a distraction that my teammates used to call me “Bristol”. 

Later, when I actually became a pilot, I had the opportunity to join SAFEair, but turned it down for an airline career...fortuitously as SAFE ceased operating a few years later. Still have some pictures somewhere of the inside of a Bristol when they were parked up, having been retired, in Blenheim.

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That is superb Chris, the one photo on your WIP just a teaser which hardly did it justice, justice well done with your photos above, simply sublime if I can call a lumbering old girl that.  I worked with the SAFE Air Freighters that @F1xena mentioned above, they flew into the local airport where I helped load & unload them & were a huge favourite of mine, a flight deck not too removed from a Lancaster or similar, character held together by 50,000 rivets. :)

Steve.

Edited by stevehnz
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