TonyW Posted April 28, 2020 Author Share Posted April 28, 2020 Todays efforts are shown below... ... Bomb bay floor added to one side. Cockpit parts assembled and given a coat of paint, followed by engine cowls masked and also given a first coat of Revell Aquacolor Dark Earth I'll be adding the crew to the build and will try them out tomorrow. Depending on how much can be seen under the glazing there might be a bit of detailing added. We shall see. Tony. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Coming along nicely Tony, you'll have plenty of time for that Halifax at this rate . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted April 28, 2020 Author Share Posted April 28, 2020 1 minute ago, modelling minion said: Coming along nicely Tony, you'll have plenty of time for that Halifax at this rate . Best I start looking for a Hampden then! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 8 minutes ago, TonyW said: Best I start looking for a Hampden then! You'll be able to mount your own 1000 bomber raid before too long! The Hampden is another of those Airfix classics that I somehow never got round to building. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Hows this one coming along Tony? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted May 26, 2020 Author Share Posted May 26, 2020 2 hours ago, Dansk said: Hows this one coming along Tony? It's in the line. Lancaster to finish, then the Blenheims. The Big Bird can have it's chance for glory then. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 Here's where it's going to be parked... ... all ready and waiting 😃 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted May 27, 2020 Share Posted May 27, 2020 Great to see the Stirling coming along Tony I know the feeling to too many GBs on the go at the same time, but its all self inflicted if we didn't vote for such great GBs each year we wouldn't be tempted to join so many of them ! Cheers Pat 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted June 2, 2020 Author Share Posted June 2, 2020 With the Revell Bf109 and the Airfix Blenheims now in the Gallery, it's time to crack on with the neglected Stirling. Here's things as of ten minutes ago, parts sitting on the bench, waiting attention. I've masked the fuselage cammo demarcation line and given the fuselage halves a coat of Humbrol Dk Earth as an undercoat. Checking the fit of the halves shows it to be very good so I'm hoping to get away with minimal work on the seam. I'll get a bit more building time in on this one tomorrow. Tony. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 2, 2020 Share Posted June 2, 2020 Great to see your Stirling getting some attention Tony, looking very nice too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 Am loving that base Tony 👍 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 A couple of hours shed time this morning got a fair bit done. After the highly enjoyable Phantom and Bf109 builds, I'm taking the same path with this one, straight out the box, 1960's Airfix Box Stock. The plan, such as it is, will be to finish this one without any additions, other than the bomb trolley and tractor. At some point in the future I would like to do another, D Day stripes, aftermarket decals, vac form glazing, better engines, recent Airfix Support Set items etc etc as an updated version of this current build. That's for later. Getting this one done will be half the task completed though. Anyway, back to the plane... The wings and tail got weathered a bit over the dark earth using any similar colours handy. Just a light scrubbing here and there for effect. Then the cammo pattern was added with pencil lines and Revell Aquacolour Dark Green added. I'm getting the hang of the Revell paint now. Using the biggest flat brush that would follow a curve and about 20% thinner the green went on smoothly and fairly evenly. Two coats should do it. I might get lucky and get away with repeating the different earth tones with the green instead of a second coat, I'll report back later on this. The fuselage join will need a little more work than I anticipated. There's a few ridges and dips to take care of. While I was sanding off the undercoat topside I decided to refinish the decals. That involved sanding the whole lot off and starting again. Not ideal, but the first attempt was winding me up. The decals cracked a bit going on and although I glossed the fuselage there was also a bit of silvering. Attempts at retouching the damage looked OK, but only OK. After the decal problems with my Lancaster builds, I didn't want OK, I wanted at least a good result. Off with the lot then, full flatdown of all the side rivets, fresh black sides and new decals got things looking very smart. I had my doubts about yet another lot of Airfix decals, my Lancaster ones were terrible! These ones went on perfectly though. Go figure! While I was on a roll with the fuselage decals, I also added wing roundels. They went on just as well as the fuselage ones. A bit of decal softener had them clinging to the wings like a coat of paint. Oh Happy Day!! Time to stop while I'm ahead now. Best let it all dry off before more work. I couldn't resist slotting the plane together and propping it up on its base, just to see how things looked. Yup. I'm happy enough with that. More later. . 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 2 hours ago, TonyW said: Yup. I'm happy enough with that As you should be! She really is taking shape very nicely Tony and your second set of decals look like they have performed flawlessly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 As a final job for today, a bit of extra fine white Milliput has been added to the suspect areas of the fuselage and with luck I'll be sanding that lot down tomorrow. Once the fuselage has been painted and the canopy framed I'll decide on what to do with the cockpit, depending on how much can be seen. The kit supplied paper instrument panel is in there, but is pretty much hidden. So far, so good. Tony. . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 That should look great when sanded flush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 I'm not having much luck with decals/transfers lately. The run of bad luck that I had on my Lancaster builds seems to be following me about at the moment. Checking the fuselage of the Stirling this morning saw a weird grey surround to the decals I put on yesterday, the decal clear backing was showing as less than clear. I could possibly paint my way around that but the decals felt raised somewhat. Trying a corner of one decal saw a great big bit ping right off!! It put up next to no fight. The decal on the other side came away in one piece! The decals were slightly rubbery and didn't want to crack up as I would have expected. Bugger. I had put them on a clean, shiny black surface and they looked fine when I left them. I've added the codes and roundel from the other kit option, this time from an Airfix sheet printed by Cartograf. This is purely to see if they are going to work. The separate red centre has also been added, again to see if it's going to work as the sheet like this I tried on one of my Lancasters didn't work at all. I've already found that these Cartograf ones don't like to be moved once on, this one cracked in half when I tried. Not to worry, I know now, so if I end up using the rest of the sheet for the other codes I'll be prepared. The decal looks fine so far. I'll leave it until tomorrow before going further. I will need to sand the fuselage right down and finish it in gloss black before I add my last lot of codes. A lack of any gloss black is holding that plan up but I can get on with the rest of the kit while I wait for supplies to get here. 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 Oh no bad luck. Hope plan b turns out ok tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 I've attacked the fuselage, giving it a good talking too and showing it the bin if it doesn't watch its step. I've also removed the trial decal, I think the Cartograf sheet will be fine, and sprayed the fuselage with a can of satin black I found in the tool shed. The fuselage then had an hour or two in the sun before a brushed on coat of Humbrol gloss clear. If the decals don't work on this surface then I don't know what I'll do, but it will probably involve a lump hammer! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 Really sorry about the issues you have had with your decals Tony, hopefully your new set will do the trick, and if they don't stick to the finish you have now then they never will. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 To think I had the cheek to complain about a bit of silvering with my Airfix Lancaster decals in the recent GB ! Your patience is to be admired Tony, the result will be worth it in the end, however as I am going to build the same kit in the "kit you didn't build as a kid" GB should I now be looking for alternative decal for it ? Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 I'm not sure Pat. Airfix decals really do seem to be hit and miss. I've used original 1950's ones that have been fine yet others that have exploded with water added or silvered so badly I've nearly cried. New Airfix decals seem to work fine but anything older that ten years or so is pot luck! I'm lucky in that I've amassed a fair sized decal collection over the years and can usually have a spare or two in the wings. My Stirling build has now gone through two sets of codes, with another lot ready to go, so that's just as well! The Lancaster GB was a decal nightmare for me and I never did beat the things in that one. A clearcoat over anything old has to be a good idea, although you are then getting into thick decal territory. Spares of some sort, Xtradecal codes and roundels or full aftermarket sheets seem to be almost essential as full insurance. I got an Extradecal D Day sheet just in case for the Stirling. I really would like to do one with D Day stripes and will get around to it one day. Good luck, what could possibly go wrong? Tony. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 Forgive the late interjection but I've only just discovered this thread. I built the Airfix Stirling way back in the late sixties - must have been not long after it came out. A friend blatantly lied to me and told me it had opening bomb doors - this was when moving parts were a major factor in my choosing which kit to buy, so I was disappointed when I found out this wasn't the case! It was also in the days that building a kit meant slapping it together as fast as possible and not worrying about stuff like paint. I do remember though being extremely proud of the bomb-aimer's window as it was the first time I'd managed to attach a transparency without a gluey fingerprint! I do have a Stirling in my stash but it's the recent Italeri version which assuming it gets built at all will be done as a D-Day glider tug as I've also got the Horsa. Of course if I go back to the slap-together method I could build both kits by teatime for the 76th anniversary! 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 The weather here today is terrible. That's a good thing, as I was due to help lay a great big shed base at a mates place. Pouring rain means shed time! First up, check out the fuselage for anything that might get in the way of getting the transfers to lay properly. All seems fine. Re-mask the demarcation line and start again with the cammo. One coat of aquacolour dark earth as an undercoat followed by an hour or so drying. Aquacolour dark green then added followed an hour later by a re-coat of the dark earth bits. Masking removed, and things look fine. Add a bit of wear and tear to the wings to get in front on that job... ... and while the wings are drying, add a few fuselage codes. Gulp. They went on perfectly. I nearly passed out doing this as I forgot to breathe, I was concentration so hard. And to finish todays efforts, yet another propped up picture on its base. The exhaust staining needs dialing in a bit more and it's not as heavy as the picture suggests. I'll find out tomorrow if the transfer/decals have behaved themselves, but they look like they are happy where they are now. That noise you just heard was a huge sigh of relief coming from me! More tomorrow. Tony. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 That looks great Tony, the re-paint you have done on the fuselage is really good. This set of decals look like they have behaved themselves very well, I can well believe you held your breath whilst applying them. The mock up with the wings in place looks really good on your base. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted June 7, 2020 Share Posted June 7, 2020 Really great work Tony, and i know that holding your breath feeling 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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