HKM's monstrous Lancaster, with tweaks

[Chaotic Mike]

Well, it's been a rollercoaster for the last 15 months or so.  I never said I was quick...  Presented for your delectation is HKM's Great Big Lancaster.  Build log is here.

 

I decided to do an approximation of R5868 as she is now in Hendon, so that means the groovy two-tone squadron codes, paddle blade propellers (handily, they come as an option with the kit) and some extra radar kit over and above what the version of R5868 the box builds is equipped with.  Again, the parts are in the box; I augmented them by removing the moulded antennae and replaced them with wire.

 

Things to note - it is engineered to extremely tight tolerances, such that paint makes a difference.  Once the wings go on, certainly the one associated with the transparent fuselage side ain't coming off again, so if you have any ideas about removing them for storage, be warned!

 

I thought I would indulge myself in spiffing it up a bit, supplying copious amounts of entirely fictitious wiring looms and pipes within the fuselage and engine bays.  You get 4 engines OOB; they are a bit skinny but hey-ho, I wasn't in the mood to acquire 4 Tamiya Spits or ZM Mustangs just for the engines!

 

Painting the internal framing was an act of insanity, but if you want to do it I recommend *not* masking and then painting the frames - just freehand the frames and polish off the edges with a wooden toothpick or similar, the transparent plastic is surprisingly robust.  The front section was done with masking, the rear was free handed and then cleaned up.  I experimented with one of the spare opaque fuselage halves with cutting out the panels to leave the framing... I wouldn't do that, if I were you! 

Paints were Tamiya for the camouflage, a mixture of Tamiya and LifeColor acrylics for the black areas.  The codes and insignia were custom masks made for me, I have a few spares if peeps are interested in buying some.  The Goering quote proved to be just too spindly, so it, along with the walkway stencil writing, are just about the only decals I used.  Camouflage masks were from Top Notch.

 

Right, on with the show...

A couple of overviews, left and right sides:

 

 

Some close ups of various bits:

 

 

 

 

And finally, these two:

 

 

I think I'll take the summer off, until the Special Hobby Whirlwind finally appears.  Although the ICM Gladiator looks like fun...  It'll certainly be smaller!

 

Laters, taters!

 

Mike

 

[Farmerboy]

I should take a well deserved lie down in a darkened room, that is awesome, that must be massive! Good job!

[Chaotic Mike]

42 minutes ago, Farmerboy said:

I should take a well deserved lie down in a darkened room, that is awesome, that must be massive! Good job!

Well, it certainly isn't small!

[Werdna]

Oustanding work, well done.  I'm trying to get my head around just how big that must be - is there any chance of seeing a pic next to something which would give some idea of scale?

[Chaotic Mike]

I'll see if I can get one with a classic 1/72 spit, a bit later. 

Mike

[SAT69]

Seats and shoulder straps very well done. Instrument panel: Unbelievable. Wish I knew how to do that. Painting the inside of the transparent fuselage half is something I wouldn't dare attempt so my hat's off to you on that, for sure. Excellent build!

[noelh]

That's impressive. No need to say more. 

 

 

[Muzz]

A monumental effort with stunning results, worthy of any display cabinet in any museum!

[Camo Viking]

Sensational!

[jeaton01]

Nice work!  Very dedicated man.  The Tamiya Lanc was enough for me.

Edited April 27, 2020 by jeaton01

[mick]

excellent work

[TonyW]

Magnificent. That would look at home in a Museum.

[Max Headroom]

Ooh, that’s nice. Painting the inside of the clear half was definitely worth the sacrifice of your sanity!

 

Trevor

[Robertjon5]

Awesome job!! Congrats. 

[Chaotic Mike]

1 hour ago, Max Headroom said:

Ooh, that’s nice. Painting the inside of the clear half was definitely worth the sacrifice of your sanity!

 

 

Thanks! The freehand method was a lot faster than masking, and also didn't leave tacky goo behind that required clean up. Masking the transparencies (no Eduard pre-teens masks for the me; they weren't available at the time!) was a strangely enjoyable experience. Go figure! 

[Chaotic Mike]

12 hours ago, SAT69 said:

Seats and shoulder straps very well done. Instrument panel: Unbelievable. Wish I knew how to do that. Painting the inside of the transparent fuselage half is something I wouldn't dare attempt so my hat's off to you on that, for sure. Excellent build!

The panel is Airscale's after market addition. I learned a lot about my capacity for patience whilst assembling it... twice... 

[Bangor Lad]

Excellent!

[Chaotic Mike]

Well for those men (and it's always men...!) who like to compare sizes, I thought I'd park a 1/72 Wurger on it, simply because I have one in the man cave.  The mat its sitting on is (I think) A2.

 

[SafetyDad]

That's a great job!  Well done indeed! 

 

SD

[spitfire]

Most impressive, what a challenge that clear half must have been.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Sky Keg]

Wow Mike!!!!!  What an impressive display of the mighty Lancaster.  

 

Mike

[Chaotic Mike]

12 minutes ago, spitfire said:

Most impressive, what a challenge that clear half must have been.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Thank you. Actually the kit's engineering made it fairly simple. As I've said earlier, the fit tolerances are quite tight but a sneaky advantage of the opaque/transparent approach is that it isn't necessary to develop a perfect join between the two halves. Underneath, where I painted the transparent half to match the opaque it is more critical, but handily it is on the underside, where few will ever venture! 

[F-32]

Superb work, what a monster!!!!

[stevej60]

Awesome is the word,great work all round.

[RMCS]

Fantastic