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Thoughts on the Trumpeter Wellington Accuracy


Tokyo Raider

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Hi Brits...

 

I have been disappointed in a few of the Trumpeter/Hobby Boss kits as far as accuracy...  I was an airplane designer at McDonnell Douglas...  So Wing Fillets on Whirlwinds and flat gun hatches on FW190D9's drive me nuts.

 

I do have the Wellington kit...  But am late to this party...  The kit looks nice, but am I missing any issues with accuracy on this kit?  Thanks in advance for your help...

 

 

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The only comments I am aware of are the representation of the fabric over the geodesic frame. Some feel it is overdone (but this is subjective) and can be reduced with a light sanding.

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The cockpit in the model has dual controls which is bogus for most aircraft that you'd want to depict. The cockpit floor therefore needs to be hacked up to show the correct access to the bomb aimer's position. No compass on the instrument panel and the IP itself is.....weird, being a clear part with no realistic way to show the instrument faces. The bomb bays are rudimentary and look much better with a PE upgrade set and the wheel wells could use work too. I got part way through my detailed build and set it aside so there may be other areas that I've not encountered yet. Must get to it again some day!

 

 

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The major shape problem (in addition to the detail issues and the fabric representation mentioned above) which definitely affects the 1/72nd kits (not sure about the 1/48th) is that the wheels are too narrow - they look like motorbike wheels! This is not a simple fix as the undercarriage legs, all the wheel well parts, nacelle apertures, wheel bay doors and possibly even the nacelles are too narrow as well! Trying to fix this has put me off building my 1/72nd Trumpeter Wellington - all the more so now I have the Airfix which is far superior. I'll probably build the Trumpeter wheels up!

 

I have often wondered whether it would be possible to do a kitbash of the Airfix and Trumpeter kits to achieve an accurate Wellington III - you would need the engines, cowlings and exhausts from the Trumpeter kit plus rear turret and sundry other bits - with the nacelles, undercarriage wings and fuselage of the Airfix.

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Which scale?

Recently completed the 1/48 rendition. As has been said, the fabric effect seems a little overdone, but acceptable. No shortage of detail, lots of it unseen. If you fit the closed bomb doors, you will save yourself about 300 parts. Compares favourably with the Brooklands example. You might consider using Master brass gun barrels and fit them last, otherwise you will break them off, repeatedly.

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10 hours ago, Vulcanicity said:

The major shape problem (in addition to the detail issues and the fabric representation mentioned above) which definitely affects the 1/72nd kits (not sure about the 1/48th) is that the wheels are too narrow - they look like motorbike wheels! This is not a simple fix as the undercarriage legs, all the wheel well parts, nacelle apertures, wheel bay doors and possibly even the nacelles are too narrow as well! Trying to fix this has put me off building my 1/72nd Trumpeter Wellington - all the more so now I have the Airfix which is far superior. I'll probably build the Trumpeter wheels up!

 

I have often wondered whether it would be possible to do a kitbash of the Airfix and Trumpeter kits to achieve an accurate Wellington III - you would need the engines, cowlings and exhausts from the Trumpeter kit plus rear turret and sundry other bits - with the nacelles, undercarriage wings and fuselage of the Airfix.

I am not a big fan of the plastic Airfix uses for their kits but in this case... an exception might be made.

 

I've read similar comments regarding the engine nacelles and wheels.  Like you, I've given thought to mating the new Airfix kit's wings to the Trumpeter kit.  In fact, I've gone so far as to pick up a few sets of the sprues needed to do this (there was an eBay seller in the US who was offering the sprues separately).  To get all the needed pieces for the wings, engines, control surface and u/c, you need damn near all the sprues from the kit (save for fuselage and clear parts).  It cost me almost as much as if I'd have bought the kit complete, but at least I'll have only the left over Trumpeter kit parts if I end up doing this.   In the end, I think I saved myself about $7 - $8 going this route.

 

I did a dry fit of the wing to fuselage and it looks promising.  In comparing how the Airfix wing will sit against the fuselage, it looked quite good in particular when I compared it to a picture of the real thing.  This is for building a Mk.Ic.

 

I believe one could take the same approach for a Mk.III, just substitute the Trumpeter engines (at least that's my plan).  I would be inclined to use the Airfix props for such a conversion.  Trumpeter's just do not look right.

 

To push this dream a little further, if this Mk.Ic Trumpeter/Airfix hybrid works and does not prove to be more headache than it's worth, I want to also do an RCAF Mk.X.  My plan will be to use the Trumpeter engine nacelles again and substitute the Trumpeter props for a set from the old Matchbox Wellington kit.  Matchbox's props are heads better than what Trumpeter provides.  Sadly it means trashing a Matchbox kit just for a set of props.  Oh well...  such are the joys of modelling!

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Edited by Wm Blecky
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7 hours ago, Wm Blecky said:

 

I did a dry fit of the wing to fuselage and it looks promising.  In comparing how the Airfix wing will sit against the fuselage, it looked quite good in particular when I compared it to a picture of the real thing.  This is for building a Mk.Ic.

 

sorry I'm a little confused - I completely understand why in 1/72 Airfix parts might improve the Trumpeter Mk.III and other versions, but Airfix already makes a very nice Mk.Ic - why throw Trumpeter in the mix there?

 

About the 1/48 Wellington - main points have been made: slightly overdone surface details, the dual controls, narrow lower nacelles and a narrow landing gear, and some people say that the cockpit window isn't deep enough and it does look a little off when you compare it to photos.

 

But I would say that the issues of Trumpeter's 1/48 Wellington are similar to the issues of Tamiya's 1/48 Mosquito and people build that all the time. So I think Trumpeter's Wellingtons will make you cringe as much as you would with any other model kit with flaws and compromises.

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12 hours ago, elger said:

sorry I'm a little confused - I completely understand why in 1/72 Airfix parts might improve the Trumpeter Mk.III and other versions, but Airfix already makes a very nice Mk.Ic - why throw Trumpeter in the mix there?

 

About the 1/48 Wellington - main points have been made: slightly overdone surface details, the dual controls, narrow lower nacelles and a narrow landing gear, and some people say that the cockpit window isn't deep enough and it does look a little off when you compare it to photos.

 

But I would say that the issues of Trumpeter's 1/48 Wellington are similar to the issues of Tamiya's 1/48 Mosquito and people build that all the time. So I think Trumpeter's Wellingtons will make you cringe as much as you would with any other model kit with flaws and compromises.

I would think that had you read what I had to say, my very first sentence would have answered your question.  That aside, in terms of consistency, whether doing a Mk.I, a Mk.III or Mk.X, all would have the same appearance.

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15 minutes ago, Wm Blecky said:

I would think that had you read what I had to say, my very first sentence would have answered your question. 

I don't appreciate the tone of your reply. I don't think such passive aggression is necessary when someone asks a question for clarification. It's not exactly high stakes here, and we're just trying to exchange information and help each other learn.

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  • 2 years later...

I am looking to purchase the Trumpeter 1/48 Wellington Mk.III (Model #02823).  However, according to Wikipedia, this version had a 4 gun rear turret.  The kit instructions (via scalemates) clearly show this kit with a 2 gun rear turret.

The same goes for Trumpeter's 1/72 (Model # 01627) version of the kit.

Are Trumpeter just re issuing a MK.II, hoping no one will notice?

 

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Not really just a re-issue, given that the Wellington II was Merlin powered and the I (which is what you probably meant) was Pegasus powered, and their III kit does have the correct Hercules engines. 

 

I gather that while the B.III is normally associated with the four-gun FN.4 turret as opposed to the two-gun FN.5 of earlier marks, some early examples of the B.III did have the early two-gun turret. Source: page 4 of this generally very helpful thread https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=114&t=20042

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4 hours ago, Work In Progress said:

Not really just a re-issue, given that the Wellington II was Merlin powered and the I (which is what you probably meant) was Pegasus powered, and their III kit does have the correct Hercules engines. 

@Work In Progress

I did mean Wellington MK.III

Both the 1/72 and the 1/48 scale models are advertised as MK.III. here.  Scalemates instructions:  1:72 and 1:48  Both scales show  a 2 gun rear turret.

I already have the Airfix Mk.I A/C (#A08019) and the Airfix MK.II, (#A08021), both in 1/72 scale,  and was looking to add a Mark III to my collection.

Is there a kit of a Mark III with a 4 gun rear turret by any manufacturer? 

 

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Not sure, but I guess a 4 gun turret might be available from anyone who's built the Tamiya Lanc. Off hand, I don't know if the rear end of the aircraft was modified to cater for the change in turret however. 

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I have built the Mk 3 in 1/48, and it came with a 4 gun turret. I know this for certain as I kept breaking the barrels, and ended up using Master barrels throughout, all 8 of them.

This is the only photo I have that shows the rear turret to effect, you can see 3 barrels here, as they are angled, and the port barrels are super imposed.

Bottom left.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2373257909474296&set=pb.100067230352194.-2207520000.

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If you look at the 1/48 instructions, Step 16 it shows 2 barrels ( Q1) being installed on the left side of the turret, the ones on the right already installed although only one barrel is shown.

 

Jari

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Yes I see now.

And, on closer inspection of the pictures of the aircraft in the instructions, the thickness of the guns on the rear turret is slightly greater than on the front, indicating 4 guns.

My usual retailer also confirmed that there are 4 gun barrels on the rear turret.

Many thanks.

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