Enzo the Magnificent Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 I have never built a Wellington before. That seems a little unfair to the aircraft, which was the mainstay of Bomber Command in the early years of the second world war. This GB seems like the right play to redress that injustice. However, I can't help being a little bit contrary. Most Wimpys had radial engines and that is the look that is familiar. I thought I would go for something a little bit different. The Wellington Mk.II had Merlin engines. Airfix recently issued the Mk.II so I will use that kit. I will also be using the Eduard interior detail set. How much of it will actually be visible remains to be seen. 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted January 28, 2022 Author Share Posted January 28, 2022 Again, being quite contrary, I'm not going to use either of the kit marking schemes. Both of those aircraft have the beam gun installations in the fuselage sides, which makes the marking placement quite awkward. Some Mk.II aircraft were built without them and I will be building this aircraft from 140 Sqn. Linked from Wikipedia. Content is in the public domain. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 Chair pulled to watch this. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted January 28, 2022 Author Share Posted January 28, 2022 Lets look at the sprues. This is the fuselage exterior. It has some nice detailing to represent the fuselage structure. But let's look at the interior... The geodesic structure is reproduced in full, even in the areas where it will not be seen! I believe the fuselage sprue and this one are common with the Wellington Ic kit. The following two sprues are specific to the Mk.II kit as they provide the wing structure and nacelles which are required for the Merlin engined version. Edit: many thanks to @Dave Swindell who informs me that these two sprues are also common to the Mk.I kit. Edit: it is just this sprue which is Mk.II specific. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted January 28, 2022 Author Share Posted January 28, 2022 Let's discuss this kit. I feel that whoever designed this kit saw it as a labour of love. There are a number of detail parts that will never be seen in the finished model. The instruction sheet actually tells you what these parts are and states that they can be left out of the build. Yet... they are still included and very well detailed. I wonder if this has raised the cost of the kit. A few years ago, I remember a discussion about moulding costs. It was stated that a single part could add up to £10,000 to the cost of a mould, so anything that was not absolutely essential was never included. I can only imagine that with the rise of CAD/CAM and computerised mould cutting, those costs have drastically fallen. Oooh! Split infinitive... I know that Trumpeter regularly have details - and even whole assemblies - in their kits that will never be visible. It seems that Airfix have gone down the same route with this kit. The Eduard detailing set provides extra detail for the areas that will never be seen. This kit simply cries out for someone to build it as a cutaway. I won't be building it as a cutaway... But, I'll attempt to do the interior justice. It will never be seen, but I'll know it's there. I have form for this sort of behaviour. Twenty-odd years ago I built a short rake of LMS railway carriages with full interiors. Even including the toilet areas, which had no external windows. It's all about the joy of modelling. 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted January 28, 2022 Author Share Posted January 28, 2022 So let's crack on with the interior. There are a bewildering number of parts... I sprayed everything with Xtracrylix XA1010 Aircraft Grey Green. The bomb bay areas were masked and sprayed with Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black. I then set to work painting bits and peices with whatever came to hand. Most components were sprayed with Flory Models dark dirt wash. Once it had dried I used the airbrush as a pressure washer to reduce the weathering. Most of the Eduard pre-coloured PE was the added, Then I assembled the interior. Be aware that there are at least half a dozen parts which have yet to be painted and fitted. This is effectively a full day's work. EDIT: Airfix provide blanking plates for the beam gun positions. 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 Looking really good, you've gotta like a Wellington! As an armour modeller why am I being drawn to these blasted wingy-things! Good luck! Darryl 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 Interesting. Very interesting... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 1 minute ago, Jasper dog said: As an armour modeller why am I being drawn to these blasted wingy-things Pull yourself together man, resist! ✋ 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 That does look like quite the cracking "little" kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 That’s a lovely kit that looks like it will be lovingly built. I like the idea of the unseen detail. I think it gives a better appreciation of the details of the aircraft and the crew’s experiences of it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted January 28, 2022 Share Posted January 28, 2022 22 minutes ago, Jasper dog said: As an armour modeller why am I being drawn to these blasted wingy-things! Actually it is quite tempting, but the scale's just too small for me. A larger version, with realistically scaled structure including the horizontal stringers and without the pin marks would be a hard to resist. I'll content myself with watching what Enzo does with this one. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 8 hours ago, Enzo Matrix said: I have never built a Wellington before. That seems a little unfair to the aircraft, which was the mainstay of Bomber Command in the early years of the second world war. That would make two of us, I need to fix that someday soon. Of course Ive only built the Lancaster once (Tamiya) many many years ago. So I still need to build all of the British bombers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky boy Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Nice work Enzo. There certainly is is a lot to cram into that fuselage. James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Welcome to the GB boss and off to a great start. So is it finished yet? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 12 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said: Actually it is quite tempting, but the scale's just too small for me. A larger version, with realistically scaled structure including the horizontal stringers and without the pin marks would be a hard to resist. I'll content myself with watching what Enzo does with this one. Trumpeter do a 1/48 th one.......just saying. Just think all that shredded fabric with the geodetic frame visible.... 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 I'll be interested to see how this build plays out. Looks like one of Airfix's best kits. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 10 minutes ago, Jasper dog said: Trumpeter do a 1/48 th one.......just saying. Just think all that shredded fabric with the geodetic frame visible.... Yeah, been there, done that. This is one of the reasons I've gone off aircraft lately. I seem to have had a go at just about all of them! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Swindell Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 15 hours ago, Enzo Matrix said: The following two sprues are specific to the Mk.II kit as they provide the wing structure and nacelles which are required for the Merlin engined version. The two sprues with the wings (B & C) are common with the B.I kit, its just the sprue with the engines & props on that is different. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 7 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said: Yeah, been there, done that. This is one of the reasons I've gone off aircraft lately. I seem to have had a go at just about all of them! Just do what I do! Become incredibly interested in a specific aircraft, want to build every possible minor variation and come to the conclusion that you'll end up building so many you might as well build them all 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 18 minutes ago, Adam Poultney said: Just do what I do! Become incredibly interested in a specific aircraft, want to build every possible minor variation and come to the conclusion that you'll end up building so many you might as well build them all Oh really? What aircraft are you interested in? 🤣 Seriously, I have the Valentine Tank Obsession at the moment. 🙂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted January 29, 2022 Author Share Posted January 29, 2022 7 hours ago, Dave Swindell said: The two sprues with the wings (B & C) are common with the B.I kit, its just the sprue with the engines & props on that is different. Thanks Dave. That makes more sense. That's an awful lot of plastic to be used for a little known version. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted January 29, 2022 Author Share Posted January 29, 2022 6 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said: Seriously, I have the Valentine Tank Obsession at the moment. 🙂 I could easily go down that rabbit hole myself. I have three 1/35 Valentines in The Stash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 1 minute ago, Enzo Matrix said: That's an awful lot of plastic to be used for a little known version. Actually, the tailplane is also new for the MkII. It’s different to the MkI tailplane. Basically, only the fuselage is common! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 7 minutes ago, Enzo Matrix said: I could easily go down that rabbit hole myself. I have three 1/35 Valentines in The Stash. STGB????????? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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