Avro Manchester***FINISHED***

[PeterB]

Well, whilst it did not go quite as well as I had hoped, it could have been a lot worse!

The front end was fine but the back end was a bit distorted and I have ended up with a short stretch of the top where the port side sits a mil or so higher than the starboard so it will as expected be a case of scraping, filing, filling etc. Not too bad as I am going to have to fill in the panelling around where the upper turret would go and rescribe it anyway! As explained earlier I have  now cut out the windows by the bomb aimer and glued in the floor where the front turret will go. It was supposed to have gone in before the fuselage was joined up but I thought I would have enough fun gluing the halves together without trying to line that up.

 

Speaking of the front turret, that and the rear turret glazing are vac-form and whilst I do not mind vac-form canopies, I am rather less keen on turrets, particularly  as the rear is split down the centreline. In a previous post somebody complained that the framing on the Planet nose turret was inaccurate, and as the Manchester used the same FN5 turret as the Lanc I will probably use the spare from my Lanc/Lincoln conversion which looks like it can be made to fit. The Manchester tail turret was an FN4 whilst the Lanc used the later FN20, but they are very similar as the FN20 was a slightly redesigned FN4 I believe, with added armour, modified clear vision panel and ammunition storage moved to the fuselage under the turret instead of being in it , The FN4 seems to have been used in the Whitley and early Stirling Mk I. The Airfix kit of the latter is supposed to build either a Mk I or a Mk III which had the FN20 turret, but Airfix only provide one version of the turret so it could be either I guess. Anyway I have a spare one so that might get used, but I am getting a bit ahead of myself.

 

So, I will fettle the fuselage and at the same time see if I can get the engine nacelles on the wings, and drill some holes for a spar or two to support the horizontal tail, I was going to do the same with the wings, but it seems Planet have provided interlocking tabs on them which should give some extra support - time will tell! I may have to put a pin on the middle vertical tail as well.

 

More as and when, and thanks for watching.

 

Pete

Edited April 30, 2020 by PeterB

[DaveyGair]

Great job so far. I had one of these a few years ago but sold it on as I felt I wouldn't do it justice but regret it now.  They're still available at a touch over 100 euros each from Special Hobby. Come on Airfix, give us a Manchester, and a decent Stirling...…. a Battle...… 🤔

 

 

Davey.

 

 

[PeterB]

Hi Davey,

 

Well at least they are finally doing a Beaufort - I have mine on order for whenever it turns up.

 

Pete

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff Pete

Look forward to seeing you bring this one to life 

cheers Pat 

[PeterB]

Thanks Pat,

 

True it was dormant for at least 5 years, more like 10, and now it is showing some signs of life, but it is putting up a struggle and I have only 5 weeks left so it could be a close run thing. It might make it, only time will tell. Assuming I get the wings and tail on then in theory the only major problem might be the undercarriage which may involve a certain amount of brass tube as the resin is very flimsy. Oh, I almost forgot the 8 stub exhausts which look like they will be a real pain to keep from being sacrificed to the carpet monster. The resin fuselage is thin and brittle, the only advantage is that it sands easily compared to some plastics. This is going to require a lot of care and a certain amount of luck!

 

Pete

Edited April 30, 2020 by PeterB

[Rabbit Leader]

Keep at it Pete, little steps will yield big results in the end. Come to think of it, why’s your great Lincoln not in the Gallery as yet?  
Cheers.. Dave 

[PeterB]

Thanks Dave,

 I am still waiting to get the Linc sprayed. Soon hopefully, but whenever I decide to do it my wife decides to bake so it is not very practical. Also, one of the problems with this virus thingy is that I am having to order most of our food etc for delivery and delivery slots are like gold. As a result I have to keep checking the various supermarket sites 3 or 4 times a day looking out for them drip feeding new slots into their system. So far I have always managed to get one eventually but it is very time consuming on top of the kit building - Manchester, Intruder and Fury on the go and 4 more in the queue even before the Buccaneer STGB starts tomorrow! Add in the things Mrs PB wants me to help with in the garden, putting up more storage shelves and the like, not to mention keeping an eye out for"Wildcat and Madcat" and there do not seem to be enough hours in the day. Still - better than being bored I guess.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

 

Edited May 1, 2020 by PeterB

[Rabbit Leader]

9 hours ago, PeterB said:

Still - better than being bored I guess.

Quite... and you say you're retired? .. could have fooled me! 

Cheers and all in good time mate... Dave 

[zebra]

Your Manc is looking great Pete. Hope you get some time to paint soon!

 

My Mum has become obsessed with supermarket delivery slots. She goes into far too much detail about it every time I call! She’s heard somewhere that they release new slots at something like 4am so she’s getting up to book them in the middle of the night - I don’t get the impression that it’s working though. Fortunately here on the other side of the world going to the supermarket doesn’t seem to be a problem!

[PeterB]

I did try booking a slot at 1 am and their computer system had either crashed or was down for maintenance - not bothered since. Anyway I have finished the Lincoln at last so I can concentrate more on the Manchester. The fuselage seams have been rubbed down, filled, rubbed down again,  and filled again. Once I have rubbed it down once more I should be getting close. After that is a case of final patching up and rescribing which should be fun.

 

Pete

Edited May 2, 2020 by PeterB

[PeterB]

After 3 lots of filling and sanding I think the fuselage will do.

Nowhere near as good as Dave aka  @Rabbit Leader would have done but he clearly has a lot more patience than me - I only went down to 3000 grade! Next I will have a shot at rescribing the panel lines - finding a way to hold it may be a problem but I will try. In the meantime I have made a start on the engine nacelles. The casting stubs were a pain, but I am gradually sanding them out. I think a little packing with thin card will be called for to get everything lined up correctly. Normally I would leave this until the wings were on, but a combination of getting at the engines to rub down the joints, and those horribly little exhaust stubs which look very much like food for the carpet monster, mean that it will perhaps be easier to get at before the wing goes on. Anyway, once the wings are on I do not want to fiddle with them too much as the joint to the fuselage may be a little weak, We will see. I may end up drilling and pinning them as well as the horizontal and vertical tail. Incidentally I have lengthened the floor of the rear turret slightly to prevent the Airfix Stirling one overlapping. Once the "feathers" are on the only real work left will be the ruddy undercarriage and I am debating whether to do that as well before putting the wings on - knowing how clumsy I am getting in my old age I would probably break something.

 

I am running out of grey primer so I will see if I can get anymore - should be possible. Anybody know if it had the same props as the Lancaster, the blades in the kit seem a bit longer than the Airfix Lanc ones I was thinking of using, and the spinners are a more pointy shape, rightly or wrongly.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

Edited May 4, 2020 by PeterB

[woody37]

Lovely progress Peter. The props were much bigger on the vultures, similar to the typhoon 3 blader I believe. I think the props are pretty good in the kit from what I remember 

[Rabbit Leader]

On 5/5/2020 at 1:24 AM, PeterB said:

Nowhere near as good as Dave aka  @Rabbit Leader would have done but he clearly has a lot more patience than me

Ha!! .... but who has more runs on the modelling board and a cracking Lincoln in their collection?? Not I I'm afraid. 

I also don't seem to have the time on my hands that many others have experienced due to COVID-19. Work is still busy in comparison to many of my airline colleagues and employees in general, so I really shouldn't complain in light of how economically devastating this virus has been. I really could do with some time off, however best I front up to work when required in case someone thinks they can do without me. 

 

Apologies for digressing... this Manc is coming along lovely as well and I'll be doubly jealous that you'll have both this and the Linc as completed kits. 

Cheers.. Dave 

[PeterB]

Thanks Dave.

 

I spent most of today on my EA-6A Intruder, but I did managed to drill holes in the fuselage, wings and horizontal tails for 1.2mm brass rod. Bit narrow to have much strength but all I had to hand and it will help a bit with locating them when I glue them on I hope. I also managed to get the radiator air intakes fronts on the engine cowlings, and with luck should get them and the nacelles on the wings in a day or so.  I also managed to unbend the sides of the nacelles which were seriously warped. I know you are supposed to use hot but not boiling water, but striking the right temperature is tricky. Initailly they bent straight back so in the end I used almost boiling water and it has worked. All being well I should have the wings and stabs on before the end of the week. Could be a bit tight but I think I should be able to finish it by the deadline. I am trying to decide when to put the canopy on - before I put the wings on would make it easier to paint, but that would almost certainly mean I would have to glue the radio mast in place before putting the canopy on (as per the instructions), which is just asking for me to break it off!

 

Cheers

 

Pete

Edited May 5, 2020 by PeterB

[PeterB]

Well, that was not exactly fun but the engine nacelles and cowlings are on.

The fit and alignment are not perfect, due to a combination of the kit and me being my usual clumsy  self. The cowlings are a big heavy lump of resin and only the outer couple of mil  on about the top third actually touch the wing cut out, though I did put a bit of packing in to get a larger surface to glue on to. Fortunately the sides of the nacelle then support it but it is not going to be a very strong joint so I will leave it for 24 hours before starting the inevitable filling and sanding. I will have to watch I don't accidentally sand off any of the various bumps in the process. Once that is done, there is a large intake to go on top, and those ruddy exhausts - as a precaution I have taken a mould of the latter so I should be able to cast replacements in case I lose any.

 

When I started this build I could see perhaps 5 potential problem areas. The first was getting the fuselage together and providing the glue holds that seems to be done. The second was fitting the engines and hopefully I should be able to tick that box in a few days. Third is of course getting the wings and stabs on which is in itself likely to be fairly easy - the real problem is getting the ruddy things aligned correctly. If and when that is done, the fourth problem is fitting the undercarriage, but that should be more fiddly than difficult (famous last words)! The fifth, and hopefully final problem is fitting the vacform transparent bits, but I should be able to use Airfix front and rear turrets which reduces the risk somewhat. Of course there is bound to be something crop up that I had not anticipated!

 

So, with three and a half weeks to go there seems to be a chance it might get finished - fingers crossed!

 

One question - the kit provides a "towel rail" aerial for under the rear fuselage - Loran I guess. It says that it is optional and I am not sure if I should fit it to my early Manchester Mk I L7284 with the 28' tailplane - any thoughts?

 

Cheers

 

Pete

Edited May 6, 2020 by PeterB

[Rabbit Leader]

2 hours ago, PeterB said:

One question - the kit provides a "towel rail" aerial for under the rear fuselage - Loran I guess. It says that it is optional and I am not sure if I should fit it to my early Manchester Mk I L7284 with the 28' tailplane - any thoughts?

Pete, 

A very quick flick through my Manchester Profile book (#260) suggests that this aerial is shown on all aircraft fitted with the taller 'Lancaster' type tail fins, whilst those fitted with the smaller three finned arrangements do not. This appears to be quite consistent with all the photographs and colour artwork, so my call would be to leave this off. Now I am no Manchester expert, so cannot be 100% sure that there was ever any aircraft fitted with the short span hori stabs and taller fins. Nice wing / engine progress as well. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

 

 

[Mancunian airman]

The pole along the bottom side on the port side was for the S.B.A. system 

SBA is the Standard Beam Approach aid to landing where you heard a series of dots and dashes in the earphones.

It was probably fitted to the Manchester but I aint looked at operational photos yet  . . . .

 

[malpaso]

My recollection is only the first 20 Manchesters had the short tail plane, before they discovered it didn’t have enough control to trim adequately.  So most triple fin and all twin fins will have the same horizontal surfaces as a Lanc.

[PeterB]

5 hours ago, Mancunian airman said:

The pole along the bottom side on the port side was for the S.B.A. system 

SBA is the Standard Beam Approach aid to landing where you heard a series of dots and dashes in the earphones.

It was probably fitted to the Manchester but I aint looked at operational photos yet  . . . .

 

Thanks,

 

I have always associated this type of aerial with some form of navigational system such as Loran - may be wrong. Anyway I have decided I probably won't fit it. Other than a little filling and re-scribing the engines are now complete - the exhausts were a bit easier than expected as I used my usual method of doubled back Tamiya tape as DIY double sided and that stopped them flying about when I cut them off the sprue. I then glued them in place with a blob of Humbrol Clearfix which meant I could use a wet fingertip to locate them without bonding myself to the kit. Once that was dry I ran some extra thin CA in reduce the risk of them coming loose. I think I will drill a couple of depressions in the landing light cut out to represent lenses and then I will work out how I am going to hold the wings at the correct angle etc whilst I glue them - fun!

 

Pete

[PeterB]

Don't know if this is going to work, but I have stuck the port wing on! I could have used ordinary gel superglue which has the advantage of fairly quick "grab" but also allows very little time to make adjustments and might not have been strong enough to hold the weight of the wing. I therefore decided to use two part 5 minute epoxy which allows plenty of adjustment time, but then needs holding firmly in place for at least 5 minutes, preferably longer. After a lot of thought I came up with this solution.

Not very elegant but I clamped the wing in my old "mini workbench" using a towel to reduce the risk of damage. I mixed and spread on the glue to both surfaces then pressed the fuselage onto the wing. Having wiped off the excess glue with a paper towel moistened with meths, I pressed it down firmly and taped it in place. The alignment looks passable so far and I will leave it to stand overnight. One advantage of this glue is that it should fill most of the considerable gap!

 

I will trim off any excess glue on Sunday, adjust the fit of the starboard wing, and try to get that on, though I might not need to use the workbench this time as it might put a strain on the rather flimsy fuselage - we will see. In the meantime I have dipped the clear parts in future/kleer/pledge to give them some protection when I start painting and gluing them. Don't know about anybody else but I find whilst one coat is fine, putting a second coat on later seems sometimes to make them go cloudy! When that happened I found a thin coat of normal kit acrylic varnish made them clear again.

 

So if this works I will be one step nearer getting it done. I may partially paint it before putting the u/c on as it is going to be rather flimsy and easily broken.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

[Murdo]

9 hours ago, PeterB said:

Not very elegant

Looks "elegant" enough to me if it works.          

[Mancunian airman]

I thought initially that it was in the toaster . . . any methods is acceptable if it works, being practical come high up in my book in many aspects of modelling and life 

[PeterB]

Well the toaster might just have worked but this is a rather more useful device I bought many years ago. It is a sort of metal box about 18" square and 3" deep - open end to the top, with rubber feet and it can be clamped to a table if required. It has the normal "workmate " style top with a fixed wooden plate to the back and a screw operated movable front plate which can be closed by winding two handles allowing it to grip either straight or at an angle. It has the usual  sockets for 4 plastic "jaws" as well.  Heavy enough to be stable but also portable, and saves getting the big workmate out from the shed. OK it does not make toast, but it can be handy for modelling, sawing wood etc. I normally use it for holding a length of 2"x1" wood which  I support 1/76 resin model tanks on whilst I saw the ruddy big pour blocks off the tracks, but I have not built any of them since I started indulging in these GB - still have another 20 or so to do.

 

Pete

Edited May 10, 2020 by PeterB

[PeterB]

Bit more progress.

A rather more conventional method of support this time - William Green's small books are very useful for this sort of thing! Looks a bit "squarer" in real life and as you can see the port stab is on - used gel superglue last night as I thought epoxy would have been a bit much for such a small joint - I may regret that later. With luck I will get the starboard one on tonight, and can then clean everything up, give it a good wash and reprime on Monday. I am leaving the vertical fins off for the moment so maybe I can start getting some camo paint on as well - I will be painting my cleaned up old Lanc in parallel I think, though with luck that might only need 1 coat - the Manchester will need at least 2 I suspect.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

[PeterB]

Ok, not perfect but then I never expected it to be. I have given it a good wash in warm soapy water and re-primed it. Here it is with its big brother.

The hole for the astrodome is a lot bigger than the one Airfix provide, but I guess that could be right as even Airfix's crew could barely have got their heads into that kit version. So the target for tonight the next few days it to get both of these painted in Dark Green, Dark Earth, and Night Black - I did consider using Nato Black but I am not sure I have enough.

 

I have now hopefully cleared the third of my anticipated problem areas but I cannot relax as this kit can and probably will find a way of biting me in the bum! The plan at the moment is to get most of the paint and decs on before fitting the main undercarriage - the tail wheel will be the last thing to go on as it looks pretty fragile and I don't want a repeat of what happened to one of the other modellers (@Rafwaffe) in this GB. However we all know what happens to plans! 

 

Onwards and upwards.

 

Pete

Edited May 11, 2020 by PeterB