Harry_the_Spider Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Go on then... I'm in! Revell Dambusters B.III that cost me £10. Going to build it OOB, but I'll change the wheels, add some cockpit "greeblies" and fix the wing dehidral. Phase 1: Cockpit Greeblies. I've moved the seat and control column so that they are in the same post code as the instrument panel and added a trim wheel and document holders to the side of the pilot's plinth. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mancunian airman Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 You already started then ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 6 hours ago, Mancunian airman said: You already started then ? Yes, I got him talked over to continue the build here 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 Yep, not done much really apart from bash the cockpit together, look at loads of photos and buy some resin wheels. The kit ones look like donuts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 And we're off! The "Cut & Shut" Dihedral fix on the wings was very straight forwards. I'll leave it to dry for 24 hours before cleaning it up. Meanwhile, me and going to watch The Dambusters. [EDIT] Sanded and primed. If it look rough with the inner nacelle in place I'll hide my crimes with a "strengthener". 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 So, how do you fix the outer engine nacelle so it's not at a weird angle? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 16 minutes ago, dogsbody said: So, how do you fix the outer engine nacelle so it's not at a weird angle? File back the inner edges of them. Carefully. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever219 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 @Harry_the_Spider before you get the fuselage buttoned up you should remove the H2S “box on a stick” from behind the pilot’s seat. This wasn’t installed on the Operation Chastise aircraft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 Thanks. Was going to ask that very question as it wasn't visible in the film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted March 1, 2020 Author Share Posted March 1, 2020 Dry fit of cockpit in to fuselage. Waiting for the Haynes manual to turn up before detailing the wall mounted panels. I'll probably thin out the tape seat belts too after seeing these pictures. However, mating the two halves together confirms that 98.4% of the interior behind the pilot's seat will be invisible. Wing surgery doesn't look to bad. Will see how it is once the nacelles are on. The map is from Operation Chastise. Please feel free to steal it. There's a "whitened" version of it in this thread. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235068424-white-tailed-warbird/&tab=comments#comment-3596628 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever219 Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 23 hours ago, Harry_the_Spider said: Thanks. Was going to ask that very question as it wasn't visible in the film. The aircraft used for the film were from a far later production batch (RTxxx serials, as opposed to ED937 for example) than those used on the raid itself. The film aircraft had all been withdrawn from storage so the H2S instruments and controls would not have been installed to prevent theft or damage whilst the aeroplanes were inactive. Once filming was complete the Lancaster’s were sent back to an MU, there to be scrapped shortly thereafter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted March 1, 2020 Author Share Posted March 1, 2020 Scrapped. You can't imagine that now. If you go to the Avro museum at Woodford they have sections of farm yard fencing made from Lancaster propeller blades! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 Many years ago I looked up the film aircraft histories as background gen for a FlyPast article and found that one of the Lancasters in the film had actually been on the books of 617 Squadron (albeit after the event) and that another had been with 9 Squadron. IIRC the others were just MU queens. Give me some time and I can dig out the histories if anyone’s interested. Trevor 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted March 2, 2020 Author Share Posted March 2, 2020 Resin has arrived. Wheelie good, wheelie bad. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 I don't think any of the dambusters had those treaded tires. Those were a much later development. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted March 2, 2020 Author Share Posted March 2, 2020 I'll get over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 On 3/1/2020 at 9:01 PM, Harry_the_Spider said: However, mating the two halves together confirms that 98.4% of the interior behind the pilot's seat will be invisible. The 98.4% comment made me laugh 😂 The bulgy resin wheels look great, maybe just sand off the tread if the dambusters didnt have it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 I’m not a rivet counter and I’m a bit colour blind, so accuracy isn’t a big thing for me. I do it because : a) I like the subject. b) I like the satisfaction of the final result (if it is a bit better than my last effort). c) I like the peace of getting lost mentally in the build process. d) It reminds me of my childhood. e) People buy me model kits for Christmas instead of socks. However, as this is my first GB I want to do my absolute best. Therefore, the Revell kit probably wasn’t the best choice accuracy-wise but it had one outstanding attribute that drew me towards it above all others... £10 with free postage. From what I have learned recently the kit has some short comings that I’ll try to either address or ignore. Either way I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. Outer wing dihedral – Fixed surprisingly easily. Pilot’s seat too far back – Fixed. Chopped it off and moved it forwards about 6mm. The pilot still can’t reach the throttles, but that is because there aren’t any*. However, he can now press some buttons without having to prod from a distance with a broom handle. He can also rest his elbow on the open cockpit window. If you move the seat you have to move the wall mounted panel to his left. *I will try and make some throttle levers. Wheels look like the rubber ring – Replaced, but maybe with the wrong ones. However, after minutes of extensive online research I couldn’t find an image of a Chastise Lanc wheel and the Tamiya 1/48 scale one has a treaded tyre too. Radiator “chins” too square – I’ll think about sanding back the profile, but I’m not going to do any surgery. Waiting for my Haynes Manual to show up before I make a decision. H2S Radar shouldn’t be there – Stuck it in. Removed it. It is now in the spares box and will probably appear in my Airfix Mosquito as a general cockpit greeblie. The Wikipedia entry on H2S sets is worth a read. Very informative. No Flight Engineer’s seat – I’ve made one from plasticard. No Bomb Aimer’s padding – See above. Upper escape hatches in the wrong place – Ignore Guns are “a bit wrong” – Ignore Wings are too short or too long (to be confirmed) – Ignore Please feel free to add to the list. 8 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Newsome Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 19 minutes ago, Harry_the_Spider said: a) I like the subject. b) I lik the satisfaction of the final result (if it is a bit better than my last effort). c) I like the peace of getting lost mentally in the build process. d) It reminds me of my childhood. e) People buy me model kits for Christmas instead of socks. Agree 100%!. Looking good so far. 👍 Roger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 ...but mostly it is about avoiding the novelty socks. The look on my Brother in Law’s face on Christmas Day when he got more socks and pants and I got a Phantom FGR2. Priceless. 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 This may not be correct but I read somewhere that the "Specials" used on the dams raid had a single 0.303 mg fitted in the belly behind the bomb bay - any sign of it in the kit? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 Not included in the Revell kit as far as I know. Would they need one at 60 ft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 That thought had crossed my mind too but I have just looked at the instructions for the Airfix Dam Buster Lanc (3rd moulding) and they seem to include one as an option - how many if any planes actually carried one I don't know. I know they went in at low level but not sure about going home - must dig out my copy of Paul Brickhill's book. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 Low level all the way in and out IIRC. But I'm often wrong. Reading Enemy Coast Ahead at the moment. Gibson nearly ended up in the North Sea whilst trying to light a cigarette. Another one did bounce off the water and lost his Upkeep as a result. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Hi, Quite a good book though Gibson is a bit over the top - perhaps that is what made him a good leader according to most (but not all) of his crews/ground staff. As to the wheels, I know that late model Lancs had the "Lincoln Style" wheels and treaded tyres, so the preserved ones will presumably do so as well - causing the usual confusion for both kit manufacturers and the after-market people as with Spitfire wheels, wing bulges etc. Pavla do a plain set of Lanc wheels which look quite good. Some if not all Lancs also seem to have had the grooved anti-shimmy type tail wheel as well which Airfix seem to have got right - don't know about Revell. Cheers Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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