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Best Avro Lancaster in any scale?


Ham Hands

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Hi all.

I want to build a Lancaster. Which model should I choose?

 

I know the Wingnut wings kit is coming. However, a 1/32 scale Lancaster will see me living in a car. :)

 

Thanks.

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It depends on a number of factors, I think. Do you have a specific Lancaster in mind? In general, I'm quite favourably disposed towards the 1/72 Airfix kit, but if ease of build is your priority, it may prove frustrating for you.

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My personal opinion is: "Fighters in 48 and bombers in 72," since the latter take the same space as the former.

In 1:72 (if you so desire), you have Airfix, Hasegawa and Revell. I believe the three made the B.Mk I/III and the Dambuster. The Hasegawa kit would be the most expensive, the Revell instructions are confusing, and I haven't seen the Airfix kit, but it's the most recent.

Edited by Sturmovik
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In 1/72, Airfix. Revell messed up the dihedral in the wings, it is fixable but why bother if Airfix got it right. Hasegawa has the escape hatch in the canopy in the wrong place and also messed up the wing/engine nacelle junction resulting in something more akin to a step.

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Best in any scale from everything I've seen of the test shots is the forthcoming WNW 1/32, but as you say, it's massive and seriously expensive. 

After that the best in 1/72 is the latest Airfix in its various guises, and the 1979 Airfix kit is good too in terms of accuracy though the tooling got very tired towards the end, and it does not have modern levels of detailing.

The current Revell kit is pretty good if you fix up the dihedral. 

 

The 1/48 Tamiya is a good game but needs a fair amount of work to bring up to a modern level and is nowhere near the standard of their fall-together toolings from the last 15 years or so.

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Depending on the detail you want from the kit really . . . 

I would suggest the older Airfix 08002 kit. You can add the cockpit detail and as others have said, its probably the most accurate in shape.

The only thing that lets it down is the canopy, its a bit low at the front but vac-form replacements are available.

Here is one I built earlier (Airfix 08002)

 

34535260476_80b428b26e_z.jpg

 

Be sure to keep us informed and if you need detail of particular aircraft I'm sure many on here will supply links etc

Edited by Mancunian airman
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Thank you all very much. I will order the Airfix kit.

 

A chap, X Wing,  just built a Stirling and presented it here. Lovely. I found it most inspiring and thought "Lancaster!" Seconds later, "Halifax!" I read Don Charlwood's book years ago. I was so moved I went to Penguin books in Australia. I wanted to speak to Charlwood and thought they may help me. The staff was wonderful, helpful, then sad. They informed me Don had died 2 weeks previously.

 

Two weeks.

 

Thanks again. :)

 

 

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Would you want to build a 103 Squadron aircraft that he flew ??

 

The old Airfix kit came with the squadron codes 'PM' and was based on the 'Mothers of them all' ED888 --  PM-M

 

From memory I think his regular Lancaster was B-Baker

Edited by Mancunian airman
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If you decide to go with the older Airfix kit, I recommend: buy an early release, as the mouldings are a lot better, and after-market decals as the early kit ones were not great.

if you can, use the Falcon transparencies.

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/FNCV2272

though that is really only economic if you are going to build some of the other types on the sheet as well.  If not, then a modern Airfix kit is probably your best bet.

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5 hours ago, Work In Progress said:

If you decide to go with the older Airfix kit, I recommend: buy an early release, as the mouldings are a lot better, and after-market decals as the early kit ones were not great.

When I had my wildest time on a certain auction site, some 15 years ago, 1980 boxings could be had for around 10 €, and then the new mould was a long way in the future. There may be some inflation, but they still should be cheap enough. I also have an early Humbrol Type 8 photobox which is still cleanly moulded. Early Type 10 „white“ boxes may also still be OK, but mine are all still sealed.

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On 05/03/2019 at 22:08, Mancunian airman said:

Would you want to build a 103 Squadron aircraft that he flew ??

 

The old Airfix kit came with the squadron codes 'PM' and was based on the 'Mothers of them all' ED888 --  PM-M

 

From memory I think his regular Lancaster was B-Baker

 

Charlwood? I would love to build an aircraft he flew. I read No moon tonight long ago and do not recall a Lancaster. I must re-read it. :)

On 05/03/2019 at 23:31, Work In Progress said:

If you decide to go with the older Airfix kit, I recommend: buy an early release, as the mouldings are a lot better, and after-market decals as the early kit ones were not great.

if you can, use the Falcon transparencies.

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/FNCV2272

though that is really only economic if you are going to build some of the other types on the sheet as well.  If not, then a modern Airfix kit is probably your best bet.

I would like to build a new model. I built the old Airfix kit in the 70's and later again in the 90's. I don't want to build it again. I super detailed the kit in the 90's. Especially the cockpit. Chris Wauchop asked, "Why?" He was correct. Nothing could be seen. :)

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On 3/5/2019 at 5:08 AM, Mancunian airman said:

Would you want to build a 103 Squadron aircraft that he flew ??

 

The old Airfix kit came with the squadron codes 'PM' and was based on the 'Mothers of them all' ED888 --  PM-M

 

From memory I think his regular Lancaster was B-Baker

The Maddern crew (Geoff Maddern was the pilot of the aircraft Charlwood flew in during No Moon Tonight) first flew on ops in W4333/B-Beer, which crashed on a training flight on March 4 1943. They also flew in W4338/L-London (which had a bad reputation  and which was, while flown by another crew, shot down over Krefeld by flak on 13/14 January 1943), W4363/PM-U, and, on their last op with 103, ED701/PM-B2.

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7 hours ago, Procopius said:

The Maddern crew (Geoff Maddern was the pilot of the aircraft Charlwood flew in during No Moon Tonight) first flew on ops in W4333/B-Beer, which crashed on a training flight on March 4 1943. They also flew in W4338/L-London (which had a bad reputation  and which was, while flown by another crew, shot down over Krefeld by flak on 13/14 January 1943), W4363/PM-U, and, on their last op with 103, ED701/PM-B2.

Thanks,Procopius.

 

:)

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On 5 March 2019 at 9:26 AM, Work In Progress said:

Best in any scale from everything I've seen of the test shots is the forthcoming WNW 1/32, but as you say, it's massive and seriously expensive. 

 

Is there any word on when this is scheduled for release?

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