Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 Hi folks, I needed a quick build and fancied something which evokes my mental image of the Cold War era RAF. I had a pair of 1/48 Canberras in the stash, one of those because I forgot I already had one. ?e've all done it. I hope...? I purchased the T17/T17A conversion from Alleycat along with their resin engine nacelle fronts. I built an Airfix B(I)8 previously when I was, frankly, pretty mediocre (who shouted "you still are" from the back?) and these were a bit ropey. @canberra kid gave me advice on the ejection seats recently and based on that I'm using the kit items with Eduard pull handles. With so much black inside it's debatable how much effort it's worth putting into a Canberra cockpit, especially for a so-called "quick build". The parts arrived quickly from Alleycat, and I have made a start. First of all, I have been a little distracted lately coordinating a redundancy consultation process at my day-job which, if you've never done it, is probably worse than when I was made redundant previously. We've also bought a Cricut Maker, and the very first thing I've done is draw up some masks for my dad who wants to build a Phantom in a particular scheme but doesn't have decals. This was as good a first project as any, and I have spent time both tinning paint which is selling alarmingly faster than I can replace it without @Stew Dapple's or indeed my dad's help during lockdown, as well as preparing some illustrations for a new book which is otherwise secret not entirely mine to share, and tinkering with models in between. Some stencil artwork (coloured in to help me figure out what I'm doing, but what gets cut is just the vector drawing outlines - it looks all pixel-y here saved as a JPG). I expect I'll improve with practise but my dad's pleased with it so far Anyway, Canberra. The Alleycat conversion comes with a nice looking (I'll proclaim them good once I've used them, but have no reason to doubt them right now) decals for 3 colour schemes. The hemp aircraft with red tail looks attractive on the instructions, but I'm always on a half-hearted lookout for a PR9 so if I find one of those in one of the old s/h kit Steptoe & Sons type traders at Telford or ScotNats I'll do that one hemp instead - and it was the green & grey I had in mind from the beginning. Whether it will be fresh and glossy or old, matt and a bit tired looking is something I can decide a bit later... The best way to start a quick build is to immediately get out the razor saw and hack the roof off. The new clear resin lid is nice, but mine was a little splayed out at the aft end and about 3mm too long so both problem and solution presented themselves simultaneously. I trimmed about 2mm off the front and 1mm from the rear of it, then glued on a plasticard bulkhead at the aft end which I traced from the kit fuselage diameter at the cut line. This little bulkhead was CA glued to the clear resin piece such that it pulled the aft end in to shape. Now we're just about there: The engines are very nicely cast. The casting blocks are really thick and my forearms were aching by the time I'd sawn through one of them - due to the shapes involved I couldn't come up with anything except the Finger Vice(TM), so I did one 2 nights back and the other last night. They fit really well however once cut As you will see there's a small amount of packing needed each side but the contours match the wings perfectly and that really is best case scenario here and easily less work than blending in the kit parts. The jet pipes have been added too. These have quite a ropey relationship with the rather flimsy trailing edges of the wings. Once the styrene cement has done its stuff I shall run medium CA into the gaps with the trailing edges of the wings. I've started basic painting of the cockpit. I was going to add some cabling etc, then gave my head a wobble and realised it's a waste of time in the main. Perhaps a few bits around the pilot's seat might be visible if I model the crew hatch open, but otherwise nope. Some hydraulic tubing and cabling in the wheel wells may have more merit. The photos on canberra kid's website are very valuable here: https://ipmscanberrasig.webs.com/apps/photos/ Which brings me up to about now. Again, in the interests of a quick build, I have realised that the tailplanes have entirely the wrong relationship with the fuselage, and since I'd heard some good things, like supporting small businesses and wanted to try this one out, I have ordered a set from Phase Hangar resin a day or two ago. https://phasehangarresin.com/collections/48001-1-48/products/48034-ee-canberra-tail-correction-all-airfix-1-48-kits I can work on the cockpit, undercarriage and cleaning up the wings and engines whilst I await them. 18 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 Off to a flyer! Looking good so far, I'd go for the early gloss with red white and blue roundels, that's what I'm doing with mine if and when I ever get it finnished. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 I can't express my inner rage at the casual ease with which you razor-sawed the whole cabin roof off, so tidily, and with a breezy impression of confidence that you could not possibly be about to ruin a perfectly good kit Hopefully I'll be able to get up there sooner rather than later, and I won't even skive and whinge like I usually do this time Cheers. Stew 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted June 3, 2020 Author Share Posted June 3, 2020 58 minutes ago, Stew Dapple said: I can't express my inner rage at the casual ease with which you razor-sawed the whole cabin roof off, so tidily, and with a breezy impression of confidence that you could not possibly be about to ruin a perfectly good kit Hopefully I'll be able to get up there sooner rather than later, and I won't even skive and whinge like I usually do this time Cheers. Stew You're looking at this all wrong my friend. Had I cocked it up it would merely have been quietly substituted for the second kit and we'd have said no more about it 2 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted June 3, 2020 Author Share Posted June 3, 2020 I perceive that Canberras seem to be parked mostly with the flaps fully retracted. Am I on safe ground following suit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter W Posted June 3, 2020 Share Posted June 3, 2020 Got this one in my pile do too at some point so, if you don't mind, I'll pull up a seat and see how it goes together. Currently building the B(I)8 which is pretty agricultural but fun so far. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Not my era. Not my scale. Jamie build - I'm in! 16 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said: The best way to start a quick build is to immediately get out the razor saw and hack the roof off. Ah, that's where I'm going wrong then! Nice solution to the canopy problem 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 If cutting up a giant Canberra and using resin constitutes a 'quick build', what on earth do you consider a difficult one?! How come everyone else is so much better at this modelling lark than me!? 😡 Fantastic subject by the way, absolutely love the Canberra. I remember when we used to drive to Norfolk for family holidays and often stopped at Wyton on the way for lunch while I got all the reg numbers of the Canberras parked out in the open. If only we still had an air force like that. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 Guys I'm simultaneously amused, flattered and yet distressed at what I read because I consider myself fairly mediocre really and there's nothing I can do that anyone else couldn't pick up, improve upon and surpass! Do you think it's worth having a bit of a "webinar" about stuff perceived as a bit risque such as cutting the roofs of model cuts and stuff like that? It's not difficult now I know how to do it, although freely admit to some grotesque efforts in the past but I had nobody to show me how to do it. There were plenty photos in magazines of it done, but all that really did was highlight how inept I was. I found making a few vacuum formed kits helpful in the long run. If there's an appetite we could arrange a Zoom or Teams meeting and share practical tips...? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Nice idea Jamie - how long would that Zoom be?!! I'd like some more 'how Jamie does it' videos though… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey-1980 Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 I'd sign up to that webinar Sounds very interesting and always willing to learn new skills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 Dunno - I'm shooting from the hip here, so to speak! An hour maybe? I'm thinking evenings or weekends and if we've got stuff still to talk about at the end of it we could do another. I'm envisaging something with a sort of agenda but loosely, not just me or A.N. Other on broadcast droning on all night. It might be wise at first at least to come up with a running order offline or perhaps just 2 or 3 of us have a yap to agree it. That could let whoever is happy to demonstrate something clear their pigsty of a modelling space and dig out a suitable victim from the stash etc. If we were proper winging it you could be sat for 45 minutes whilst I look for my razor saw. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmas Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 19 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said: The best way to start a quick build is to immediately get out the razor saw and hack the roof off. Ha ha...perfect!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever219 Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 16 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said: I perceive that Canberras seem to be parked mostly with the flaps fully retracted. Am I on safe ground following suit? I should think so: keep FOD at bay😁👍. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted June 5, 2020 Author Share Posted June 5, 2020 I did a couple of mods copying John's previous Canberra threads, namely adding the tubular cross member behind the pilot's seat as well as the circular back end of the fuselage cut out below the bubble. Whilst it's good to know they're there, it was an utter waste of time as nothing is visible. I'm not going to waste any more time on the cockpit of this thing! 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 After tinning some paint earlier this morning, I decided to tackle the bomb bay doors which I recall weren't a stellar fit last time I built an Airfix Canberra. I tacked each end on using medium CA applied with a needle and some zipkicker thus Then Tamiya Extra-Thinned the join between each end. I added Eduard handles to the bang seats and scratched some needles onto the instrument panel faces with a blade before glazing with gloss varnish. I think this will indeed do as very little can be seen as I hope the audience will agree! Btw that awful "paint" finish isn't paint. It's just from the resin casting - I brush painted the inside matt black so you're seeing the texture on the outside of the clear resin See? No? Me neither... I shall tackle the panel lines next I believe whilst waiting on my new tailplanes coming from the USA. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 (edited) Lovely work Jamie, not sure how I missed this. I do like a T.17. In case your tailplanes take a while to urn up there are other fixes, but more fiddly! Edited June 6, 2020 by 71chally 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter W Posted June 6, 2020 Share Posted June 6, 2020 Making some good progress Jamie. I did the same with my bomb bay doors because they really don’t look like they would fit well if you follow the instructions. It’s definitely going to tempt me to follow my build up with this or a TT18. Pete 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted June 9, 2020 Author Share Posted June 9, 2020 I have started filling the unwanted panel lines... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 Nice progress Jamie, it's good to see two Canberra's on the go! Are you going to re-scribe the bomb bay doors, to represent the T.17 ones? John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted June 9, 2020 Author Share Posted June 9, 2020 Hi John, I didn't spot the difference to be honest but now you've alerted me to it I shall try to pay more attention and yes, I will address it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 15 hours ago, canberra kid said: Nice progress Jamie, it's good to see two Canberra's on the go! Are you going to re-scribe the bomb bay doors, to represent the T.17 ones? John Hi again John, Is this a typical representation? Am I correct in interpreting that there are no longer hinged doors split down the centreline but instead the bomb bay is a one-piece unit lifted into the aircraft? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 2 minutes ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said: Hi again John, Is this a typical representation? Am I correct in interpreting that there are no longer hinged doors split down the centreline but instead the bomb bay is a one-piece unit lifted into the aircraft? Close Jamie, the new 'door' is a solid center beam where the intaks are with 2 removable panels eatch side I'll post you some drawings this evening. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 Fantastic! Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 I hope these help Jamie John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now