Airfix Avro Lancaster B.I - 'G-George coming in, ready or not'

[Ventora3300]

 

On 22/07/2020 at 15:30, modelling minion said:

Nice neat painting, I hope that it all goes together well and doesn't need much filling.

Thanks, MM. I need to avoid filler where I'm leaving the plastic in black, which is most of the kit, so (clean) fingers crossed!

 

Wings, stabilisers and engine nacelles all together now. The undercarriage doors needed a little flash removed and one spinner hub needed the hole in the back deepened but other than that, it all went together OK. The ailerons move in the main wings and I drilled out the molded landing lights under the port wing, backed with aluminium foil as per the hint from @stever219 and dropped in some pva glue as lenses.

 

I nearly obsessed about the engine nacelles as much as the turrets as I drilled out the exhaust shrouds front and back and had a go at re-shaping the radiator grilles under the spinners without success - the plastic is very hard and a sharp knife slipped and ended up in my finger a couple of times so I stopped before I did some serious damage. Touched in the radiators and intakes in matt black / matt cote to try to create the impression of depth (trying to stick a bit of mesh type material in the radiator inlets didn't work) and same for the rad shutters at the back.

 

The kit has no representation of the fuselage upper hatches so I drilled out the circular windows and filled with some clear circular sprue.

 

Surprisingly, I managed to drill and cut out the small windows both at the sides and underneath the bomb aimer's position - side windows given the clear silicon blob treatment and a piece of clear flash from the big stand leg was cut down for the one underneath.

 

I remember when I built this kit originally as a kid, I was always moving the ailerons and elevator(s) into the banking / diving / climbing positions and always thought that the elevator halves moved independently / oppositely like the ailerons. Now that I know better, I drilled the elevator inside pivot pins and will join with a bit of tube inside the fuselage to keep both halves of the elevator in synch.

 

The undercarriage legs are not as detailed as those on the new tool kit so I daubed on some Humbrol Acrylic 53 where I thought best

 

The undercarriage doors are actually on 'hinges' made from a small strip of silver ductape - very sticky. All of the inside of the wheel wells are painted matt black 33

 

I was working under the delusion that I may be able to retain the wheels on the undercarriage legs and fold away into the wheel shaped wells provided by Airfix but they don't swing back far enough and the doors will not close over them.

 

I am building this kit wheels up so left the main legs in to fill the pivot holes in the nacelles and took out the bracing legs and wheels to let the doors close. Some thin cement is drying at present.

[modelling minion]

I like it, very nice work.

By the looks of things you should have her all Lancaster shaped before too long.

[Ventora3300]

I've finished the internal add-ins with seats for the Nav and W/Op and bombsight plus other equipment boxes scattered around. I put in the decals for the IP and Engineer's Panel from a spare BBMF Lancaster sheet.

 

I spent some time doing turret framing free-hand (since no lines on the clear parts) with my 'thinnest' brush and this needs to be trimmed back with a cocktail stick. I used a black sharpie on the rear turret and this came out well, although the turret is clearly undersized. I just wish I had the same pen in Dark Earth and Dark Green!

 

 

Fuselage now together and the seam steps are there as usual. I may be able to do some filling and sanding where there is paint but the bare black plastic on the underside will probably stay as is. The Mid Upper turret from the Stirling does look much better than the one with the kit.

[modelling minion]

I think that you have done a good job on getting the fuselage joined up, that seam doesn't look too bad to me.

Its a pity that manufacturers of pens like Sharpie don't take us modellers into account isn't it, it would make our lives much easier and earn them such extra cash.

[Dansk]

Good progress you should comfortably have this in the gallery by the weekend

[Ventora3300]

Still in progress. The turret framing has been trimmed back a bit with a cocktail stick and all the turrets move and guns elevate!

The transfers went on the fuselage - behaved beautifully although the backing seemed a bit thick and needed a good soaking to come off the paper. The red in the fuselage roundels is a bit off centre but the shades of red and blue of this kit era are definitely lighter than those of the more modern decals so replacement would mean a whole new set. The addition of walkways on the upper wings comes from the spare BBMF Lancaster set and there are several red trestle/support lines going on underneath - they just disappear into the black backgound.

Fins, stabilisers and elevators are on although the plan to have the two elevator halves linked through the fuselage didn't work out - a brass rod rather than a bendy plastic tube would have probably worked..

 

Edited August 18, 2020 by Ventora3300

[modelling minion]

Getting ever closer and looking very good.

[Brian]

OM Goodness.  I remember building this kit in about 1960.  Cost, including tax, was $3.15 Canadian.  Looks much better than my effort then.  Cheers.

[stevehnz]

This is looking good, it has been a big project for a GB like this but you've brought it along nicely. I've just picked up a later boxing of this kit. I'm looking forward to doing a 75(NZ) sqn one with it when I've the space.

Steve.

[Ventora3300]

On 14/08/2020 at 22:14, modelling minion said:

Getting ever closer and looking very good.

Many thanks MM. Getting to the finish line now.

On 14/08/2020 at 23:25, Brian said:

OM Goodness.  I remember building this kit in about 1960.  Cost, including tax, was $3.15 Canadian.  Looks much better than my effort then.  Cheers.

Many thanks Brian. It still feels heavy now when all built up so must have been awesome to handle as a kid.

On 14/08/2020 at 23:28, stevehnz said:

This is looking good, it has been a big project for a GB like this but you've brought it along nicely. I've just picked up a later boxing of this kit. I'm looking forward to doing a 75(NZ) sqn one with it when I've the space.

Steve.

Cheers, Steve. Watch out for those seams! Best of luck.

 

It's all come together now and the wings went on with a bit of pushing required into the 'sockets' in the fuselage. Engines then went on the wings and a good fit with maybe a bit of filling required at the top seam. 

Pitot tube and bomb aimer's bubble with the additional clear panel underneath went on, the circular frame done with the black sharpie pen again. Just had time to add in the Nav before putting on the main canopy. 

 

 

The main canopy framing was done a few frames at a time using lengths of the flexible 5mm Tamiya tape - the acrylic paint dried quickly so  I didn't have to wait too long before re-masking etc. The side blisters went on the canopy sides with Clearfix. Trim tab actuators were added on top of the ailerons. I added in the wingtip navigation and formation lights using a chrome background and dotting in the 'bulbs' then covering in Gloss Cote. Finished off with Matt Cote on the top surfaces.

 

 

All the m/g's got a touch of Gunmetal on the tips, borrowed from the 'new tool' paint scheme. There was a bit of a 'save' required on the starboard fuselage 'R' in the codes as I got a blob of acrylic dark earth on it and didn't notice until a couple of days later. It would not come off and eventually, I had to remove part of the transfer and paint in with almost the same shade of red.

 

 

Trim tab actuators added underneath the elevator halves and the 'towel rail' aerial added in alongside the recognition lights - all copied from the detail on the 'new tool' kit. The underfuselage recognition lights were just drilled depressions (that plastic is thick!) with a blob of colour, covered with a blob of Clearfix.

 

The ailerons move so we are into a corkscrew on the big stand. Any black surfaces you can see is the kit plastic unpainted, other than the prop blades given a coat of black metallic enamel. Fuselage sides and undersurfaces given a coat of Satin Cote on the bare plastic surfaces. I used Matt Black on the facings of the rad and intakes/outlets and exhaust shrouds to create the impression of openings.

 

Perversely. the only prop which spins under a light breeze is the port outer - the one that has been shot to bits in the box art!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2020 by Ventora3300

[modelling minion]

Really glad that you got this one finished, couldn't really have a GB like this and not have the old Airfix Lancaster in it. 

She looks great and I especially like the unpainted black plastic. 

Very well done. 

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Nice result, looks great 

[Hewy]

top job you don't see many modelled wheels up,but it really suits the lancaster,

Smashing 👍

[Dansk]

Lovely. It really turned out nicely. Looks perfect on the stand 👍