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Ballykelly Shackleton options..


alhenderson

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Morning All,

 

I'm currently mulling over a plan to build a 1:72 Shackleton MR.2 from the Ballykelly wing.  Hoping to do it as a present for my dad who has a soft spot for them (plus that way I don't have to worry about storage space!).  It looks like the Airfix MR.2 kit is a good starting point (when I can get hold of one!).  I don't think it has decals for a Ballykelly machine, but I think I'm right in saying that squadron markings were limited to the squadron number in red numerals on the rear fuselage.  So if I can get hold of some suitably sized red numbers I should be OK?

 

From the brief research I've done so far, I'm looking at 203, 240 or 269 squadrons (with the latter two renumbered to 204 and 210).  I'm keen on the dark grey and white top sides scheme (reckon I'd struggle with the mainly white one) - can anyone shed any light on the timeframe that this scheme came in?

 

I've found the Shackleton Association website for perusal which looks good for a huge amount of historical stuff...

 

Any other nuggets or useful bits of information anyone has to share?

 

Cheers,

Al.

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Essentially you are correct with squadron's and markings etc, the dark sea grey with white tops scheme came in during the late 1950s and was worn until Ballykelly closed in Spring 1971.  When the two MR.2 squadrons, 204 & 210, came under the Ballykelly Wing in the mid 1960s, the squadron numbers and the unit badges were removed altogether.

Aeroclub did a generic Shackleton decal sheet, which would allow you to build a machine from any squadron, and is worth getting hold of if you can.

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@71chally thanks for the info!  I'll keep an eye out for that decal sheet.  Have also found Xtradecal X72-235 which has a 204 sqn machine from 1963 which would do the job.  My ebay bid for a kit failed the other day, so the hunt goes on 🙂

 

Al.

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2 minutes ago, 71chally said:

It's also worth checking the 'For Sale' section of this forum, someone has just had this kit advertised there for £20!

 

Slightly too late to the party, as usual!  Another forum to browse - will make a change from ebay I guess.. 😁

 

Al.

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Ironically I am just about to start building my Shackleton as WR964 using that sheet! One thing to be aware of is the colour of the upper wing walk lines. These were yellow in the UK based Shacks in the DSG/white upper scheme, but red in the aircraft in the Far East with the white strip down the upper wing. The Airfix kit represents one of the latter so the yellow markings aren't supplied.

 

If you're fussed by this, the solution is probably to buy the AEW2 boxing as these had the yellow markings and you wouldn't be using the kit decals anyway (although I don't know if the MR2-specific aerials and armament are included in the AEW2 box so this is a risk).

Alternatively, I found a decal sheet designed for the Frog MR3 which has a complete best of yellow wing walk lines- I'll look it out later and see who made it.

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It looks like the AEW.2 kit doesn't come with the MR.2 parts, most importantly the full length bomb doors, and the ASV.21 radome just aft of the bomb bay.

However Kingkit does have the Airfix MR.2 in stock,

AIRFIX 1/72 11004 AVRO SHACKLETON MR.2 Model Kit (kingkit.co.uk)  

They have 10 pre-owned examples, I would give them a ring and see if they can do a deal with the decal sheet.

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Just now, 71chally said:

It looks like the AEW.2 kit doesn't come with the MR.2 parts, most importantly the full length bomb doors, and the ASV.21 radome just aft of the bomb bay.

However Kingkit does have the Airfix MR.2 in stock,

AIRFIX 1/72 11004 AVRO SHACKLETON MR.2 Model Kit (kingkit.co.uk)  

They have 10 pre-owned examples, I would give them a ring and see if they can do a deal with the decal sheet.

Are they usually amenable to that kind of thing, then?  I wouldn't normally dream of asking such a thing - not really a barterer (if that's a word!) 🙂

 

Al.

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I've not with them as I've only brought pretty rare or unique kits from them, but they have 10 in stock, and it's nearly Christmas, worst that they can say is no.

I do like to extract as much from my Pound as I can though!

 

BTW I can't understand why I posted a link and it doesn't appear as one, but if you 'copy & paste' it in to the search bar it should find the item.

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Man! The level of knowledge on here is immense! Sadly, it's quite easy for that to be directly related to the level of expense! 😂

 

I see on the sheet that the red dots on the middle of the roundels are separate - why's that! Saw it on the other sets I was looking at earlier - is it common on bigger kits?

 

Al

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58 minutes ago, alhenderson said:

Man! The level of knowledge on here is immense! Sadly, it's quite easy for that to be directly related to the level of expense! 😂

 

I see on the sheet that the red dots on the middle of the roundels are separate - why's that! Saw it on the other sets I was looking at earlier - is it common on bigger kits?

 

Al

Stops any problems with the roundel centres being misaligned and out of register during the printing process.

 

Selwyn

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Also, it ensure that the red dot is over a white base, which helps colouration.

 

Again, the aforementioned Aeroclub sheet includes the correct yellow lines, amongst a whole plethora of other markings, it is a real plus for any Shackleton build.

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Popped into the local model shop to stock up on paints for my Spitfires to make sure I don't get caught out by any lockdown closures.  And what do I find therein - an Airfix Shack.  £39.99 seemed like a decent price for a new one, in fact it beats the King Kit price for a used one when you take postage into account.  Figured it was probably a sign, so I came out with a slightly bigger bag than I was expecting 😂

 

Just need to see if I can get hold of the Aeroclub decals, have not seen any on ebay etc yet, but there's plenty time.  One thing that strikes me about the kit - it has the upper turret.  Am I right in thinking these were removed at some point?  If so, I need to factor that in when deciding which example I am going to represent.

 

Al. 

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Yes, the upper gun turret was removed around the 1957-58 period.

It was generally only seen on the predominantly white Shacks and the very brief all over grey period.

 

Aeroclub did reissue those decals recently, @John Aeromight know if they are still available?

If not, it might be worth asking in the 'wanted' section for second hand decals, but my guess is the walkways will be used.

 

Good find, and glad you have the kit in your hands.

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18 minutes ago, 71chally said:

Yes, the upper gun turret was removed around the 1957-58 period.

It was generally only seen on the predominantly white Shacks and the very brief all over grey period.

 

Aeroclub did reissue those decals recently, @John Aeromight know if they are still available?

If not, it might be worth asking in the 'wanted' section for second hand decals, but my guess is the walkways will be used.

 

Good find, and glad you have the kit in your hands.

 

So if I am looking to do a grey/white upper machine I need to think about fairing over the turret?  Was this done as part of one of the 'Phase' updates?  I keep seeing mention of Phase II, Phase III etc..  Just wondering if there are any other visual differences.

 

Al.

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The turret removal wasn't part of the Phase updates, they were to do with equipment upgrades and crew comfort, though I dare say it freed up some useful space.

The parts are in the kit to do it without the turret, should be a circular blanking plate and square window, basically it became an extra ditching hatch. 

 

The aircraft on the box cover is a non Phase update, but this can't really be built straight from the box if you're fussy, as the windows are in the wrong positions.

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1 minute ago, 71chally said:

The turret removal wasn't part of the Phase updates, they were to do with equipment upgrades and crew comfort, though I dare say it freed up some useful space.

The parts are in the kit to do it without the turret, should be a circular blanking plate and square window, basically it became an extra ditching hatch. 

 

The aircraft on the box cover is a non Phase update, but this can't really be built straight from the box if you're fussy, as the windows are in the wrong positions.

I even opened the box and looked at the instructions to see if there was an option for no turret, I didn't see one.  But then it was only a quick look.  That's great news.  I can now start "researching" - i.e. trawling the internet for plane pictures 😁

 

Al.

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Hi There,

I have the Xtradecal X72-235 sheet and will eventually be building the Lossie version.

I've had a quick perusal of the sheet and I think the only common decals between that and your version are the fin flashes.

If you want I could send you the Ballykelly decals except for the fin flashes.

 

If you're interested drop me a pm with your address and I'll get them off to you.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

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