Airfix Dambuster diorama set.

[TonyW]

I'm going to take a short break on my two Lancaster builds as they are starting to be a bit of a task. that's not how things should be!

I'll crack out a couple of builds for the Kits you built as a Kid GB and then get back to the Lancasters all refreshed and ready to go. They WILL get finished. 😊

 

Tony.

[JOCKNEY]

I know that feeling well, but I've been foolish enough to choose a B-17 in the other GB so its not going to be much of a break ! 😨

Look forward to seeing you return to these later on

Cheers Pat

[TonyW]

I got back in the saddle with this one today.

 

After the disaster with the wing decals I though I might as well make a start sorting the wings out for the second time. I had removed the dodgy decals and flatted of the wings, ready for round two. This time I went back to Humbrol Enamels as brush painting with Aquacolour on wings this big is proving a bit of a task for me. I mixed H30 and 116 50/50 for the green, straight 29 for the dark earth. The colours went on terribly. They dried very rough and uneven with areas glossy right through to flat matt. I couldn't figure out what was going on here. I thought maybe me mixing two colours for the green somehow went wrong, but the dark earth was the same. The temptation to bin the kit was growing a bit, but I went for one more go. Out with the turps and off with the fresh Humbrol paint then.

Hang about! the remains of the old Revell Aquacolour were coming away as well! 

The Humbrol paint had been reacting with the Revell Aquacolour underneath all along. That explained the appalling finish I was getting. With a bit of elbow grease, I rubbed the whole lot off, leaving bare wings for fresh paint, hopefully tomorrow.

 

[Rabbit Leader]

My god Tony, this is proving to be a challenging build. If you can't resurrect this pile of plastic into something that resembles a Lanc, no one can. History proves that you'll end up with another well finished plastic classic soon enough so keep at it my friend. 

Cheers.. Dave 

[TonyW]

For some reason both Lancaster builds I've entered here have given me problems. The Revell kit is now as done as it will ever be, and it's sitting in the Gallery awaiting its Airfix mate. Time to crack on with this one then.

 

 

 

The wings have been repainted, in Revell Aquacolours and things are looking good there. The fuselage sides got a clear gloss varnish and FROG roundels plus the kits codes added. Hmmm...

 

 

Adding the Airfix codes was more like laying lino. Nothing I could do would persuade them to conform. The FROG roundels behaved perfectly.  There was nothing to be done here, but strip the whole lot off, flat off the fuselage to remove the rivet detail,, repaint and re decal. Grrr.  The rest of the Airfix sheet now resides in the bin. 

I used an unknown part complete sheet I had in my decal files. It had AJ-G codes, serial number and fin flashes on it. Bright red and glossy, with a /G at the end of the serial number. Everything went on a treat, if a little on the bright side. The sheet looked to be on the old side, yet it still worked perfectly without any setting solutions.

 

The fuselage was buttoned up at this point, interior detailing has left the building. It will get what Airfix provided, plus a crew. There's a bit of paintwork needed in there and I'll be sorting that out today.

Once closed up, the fuselage was masked and painted, along with the rest of the kit. The Green is Revell Aquacolour again. I really like the look of the colours. They darken down a bit when clear coated. but still look the part. The wing/engine cowl joints need a bit of work but the wing to fuselage joint is pretty much perfect.

 

At last it's starting to look like a Lancaster and I think I can see the end in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

More as it happens.

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

[malpaso]

Looks like you have used a set of the old Revell codes...as far as I could research, correct for 1955 film but not for 1943 mission!  The squared off base of the J and G are the giveaways of post war codes.

Sorry,  this doesn't really help.

Cheers

Will

 

[TonyW]

2 hours ago, malpaso said:

Looks like you have used a set of the old Revell codes...as far as I could research, correct for 1955 film but not for 1943 mission!  The squared off base of the J and G are the giveaways of post war codes.

Sorry,  this doesn't really help.

Cheers

Will

 

I did wonder if they were old Revell transfers Will. The ease with which they went on didn't suggest Revell though! My Revell Lancaster build was plagued with transfer problems as well. 

 

Wherever they came from, they did the job for me. The dam part of the diorama base isn't the most accurate depiction going, so I'm giving myself a bit of leeway with the plane itself. A bit of a cop out, but it's either that or do the job again.

Things are getting a bit Groundhog Day here, what with endless Lancaster building and faffing about. , I'm approaching Lancaster burnout, so the path of least resistance is my chosen route. I also have to remember I've got a Stirling sat here asking me when it gets a go plus a Halifax that's getting restless. By the end of the current GB's I'm in, I'll be ready for something that isn't camouflaged and isn't a plane!

 

I blame Airfix, It can't be my fault.

[jackroadkill]

I've only just found this thread but have read it with much enjoyment.  It's a shame you struggled with some parts of it but really good to see that you're overcoming them.  As a newbie all this is a revelation to me, as I didn't know it was possible to get rid of dried enamel so effectively, for example.

 

I shall really enjoy watching as the project develops. 

 

Thanks,

 

JRK

[TonyW]

It's become a plane at last!

 

 

Wings and tailplanes now glued and blocked nice and square, just waiting for everything to set hard before cracking on with a bit more work.

 

I had a think regarding the post war codes. I have some correct shaped codes here, the only problem being, they are grey. I could use them and then paint them red but the thought of doing that didn't fill me with joy.  I'm sticking with what I have.

 

More as it happens.

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff Tony

 

Keep going mate, it's going to look the business.

 

I've had the same problem with my Airfix decals, as just as you say my Frog Avenger decals from a kit at least 15 years older, worked perfectly.

 

 Cheers Pat

 

 

[Ventora3300]

On 17/05/2020 at 19:47, TonyW said:

It's become a plane at last!

 

Wings and tailplanes now glued and blocked nice and square, just waiting for everything to set hard before cracking on with a bit more work.

 

 

That's looking excellent now, Tony, well done. I wonder if the Lanc really could have carried that unusual bomb load of giant paint jars/tins you have loaded on....

[CliffB]

I'm glad to see that this one is finally coming good Tony 

 

Cheers

[Rabbit Leader]

It's always a pleasure reading your posts Tony and although I'm a self proclaimed 'Font Nazi' do agree that you've made a wise choice leaving those code letters in place after all the issues you've described. The end result will look a peach, you're too good a modeller to not produce something wonderful. 

Cheers.. Dave

[TonyW]

Thanks for the moral boosters chaps.

I got a bit done on the model yesterday, but not what you would call photogenic stuff, unless there's art in heavy things weighing down a plastic dam glued to a card base! If everything's dried as it should, there will be progress shots today.

There's a Blitzbuild going on, starting five minutes ago, that I've been silly enough to add to my build list, things will have to fit in around that!

 

Tony.

[TonyW]

Well, the gluing up of the base is coming along well...

 

 

 

It's a 6mm Greystock card sandwich, painted with black Hammerite, as that was the only black paint I had here. I wanted it to look dark as befits a night time operation, although it looked a bit too dark, so I added a bit of the box top along the front as a bit of colour as well as a title. There's a second coat of black drying at the moment, then I'll be giving the water area more clear varnish to add depth and shine.

 

 

The plane itself has had work as well. Glazing framing has started, wing walks added with ruled out marker pen and a bit of exhaust stain added. This needs more work and should get it today. I'm looking forward to trying out the base and plane together.

 

 

 

[Ozzy]

Bomb gone, looking very nice Tony.

[TonyW]

Sorry Gang, I didn't get the Lancaster done in time. It turned into a task rather than a pleasure and that's not right. It got to the point of me just not looking forward to working on it. Sometimes builds go like that, it's a shame it happened here.

 

Well done to everyone who crossed the finish line though, there have been some quite exceptional builds appearing. I've enjoyed taking part and following the GB as it progressed and I did get my Revell contribution done, even if that one fought me as well!

 

Tony.

[vppelt68]

Sorry to read that but that's what actually quite often happens! If and when you find the inspiration to go on with this build, the thread will be here waiting for your update long after the STGB is over 😊. V-P

[fatalsky]

Did you end up putting the plane on the dam base though? 😊 I finished the damn plane. Now going to take a look on how to make the dam...

[Adrian Hills]

Looking forward to seeing this assembled. Some good work so far and an intelligent artistic touch to put the box top section as a label. We are more than just rivetcounter modellers as we make things we want to look at 😊

[TonyW]

42 minutes ago, Adrian Hills said:

Looking forward to seeing this assembled. Some good work so far and an intelligent artistic touch to put the box top section as a label. We are more than just rivetcounter modellers as we make things we want to look at 😊

 

This one never did see completion Adrian. It deserved a bit more attention really, but other projects and builds pushed it further and further back in the line. I took another look about six months ago(!) and the base had distorted somewhat. The vac form towers had also started to come apart. The effort involved in bringing it back from there was more than I was up for. The base is now landfill somewhere with the aircraft currently residing in a storage box labelled Built Lancasters. There's a few others keeping it company.

 

One day you're the dog. The next day, the Hydrant.

 

Tony.

[fatalsky]

25 minutes ago, TonyW said:

 

This one never did see completion Adrian. It deserved a bit more attention really, but other projects and builds pushed it further and further back in the line. I took another look about six months ago(!) and the base had distorted somewhat. The vac form towers had also started to come apart. The effort involved in bringing it back from there was more than I was up for. The base is now landfill somewhere with the aircraft currently residing in a storage box labelled Built Lancasters. There's a few others keeping it company.

 

One day you're the dog. The next day, the Hydrant.

 

Tony.

Oh 😳 that's too bad...so is putting the foam inside the vac a good or bad idea in the end? I think it's a shame they made the towers apart... I guess it wouldn't of fit the box but it would of been more neat if it was fabricated together.

[TonyW]

I'm not sure why things started distorting. Probably dissimilar materials expanding and contracting at different rates over time I guess. Without the foam filling everything would have been very delicate, although a bit of plastic sheet bracing might have been a solution. The card base itself might have moved about a bit and the foam stayed still. Who knows?

Foam mountboard has been problematic with a couple of recent builds. It's not the most stable of materials. I'll be avoiding adding foam to builds in the future. MDF seems a whole lot more stable as long as it's well sealed.