Reg Gibson Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 (edited) Lancaster JB141 UM-N2 of 626 Squadron Tamiya 1/48 This was my first attempt at modelling in decades to commemorate the crew of JB141 which I have researched over the past 2 years following the rediscovery of a poem my mother wrote to them but never delivered before their demise in 1944. https://juliaandrichard.wixsite.com/jb141 Things I have learned from the build: - Products such as photo etch - an incredible, fun, frustrating invention. Some parts were beyond my skills but I had fun with it. The same with the masking sets - Paints – what a bewildering array available now. Not just Humbrol any more and so many water based – and flesh wash – what a miracle product! - Air brushing – I overcame my fear and had a go. - Weathering – so many techniques out there. I overdid it then chickened out on the exhausts. I had FUN. I had forgotten the joys of creating something like this. It is not perfect but an enjoyable first attempt after a LOOONG break. Friendship – I received the decals and some of the parts from other modellers (shout out to @The Spadgent for his help and inspiration) and I'm overwhelmed at the generosity of them and those in these forums who have shared their builds. I still need to brush up on basic skills and techniques and not take short cuts. I was pretty patient (especially with the PE which seemed to take forever) but still didn't get rid of join lines etc which was lazy on my part. Edited April 21, 2022 by Reg Gibson URL amendment 46 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky boy Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 Hi Reg Just seeing plain text here and no photos. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Harmsworth Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 Have a look in the FAQ section - plenty of advice there on posting images. Looking forward to seeing your work - an excellent reason for building a model by the way. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Harmsworth Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 4 minutes ago, Reg Gibson said: https://www.flickr.com/photos/66952087@N06/52018113102/in/album-72157718151474933/ I've just copied this bit and got to your image on flickr - hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Gibson Posted April 21, 2022 Author Share Posted April 21, 2022 (edited) Whizzing over to FAQs now, my apologies Everything OK now? Edited April 21, 2022 by Reg Gibson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred piket Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 Hi Reg, yeah, it's working right now.. what a splendid machine you've made. After such a long break building you seem not to have lost all your techniques.. just keep building and you will be fine. My skills are less good anyway whoehahaha. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky boy Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 Great work Reg! And what a kit to start with. look forward to seeing more of your RFI’s in the future. James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolkerR. Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 Great model. Not the easiest kit and it came out perfect. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 That's epic! Welcome back to the best hobby of them all and can we have more photos please? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Gibson Posted April 21, 2022 Author Share Posted April 21, 2022 14 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said: That's epic! Welcome back to the best hobby of them all and can we have more photos please? Does this work? Link to Flickr album 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 4 minutes ago, Reg Gibson said: Does this work? Link to Flickr album It certainly does. Thanks for that. You made a brilliant job of this kit. I've built two so I know what you started with. I see that you have more of them to build so I'm going t tell you that you made the same error as I did on the tail turret. The outboard guns are the higher pair. Aside from that this is a masterpiece. Starting your airbrushing career on this big beastie was a brave move, well done for nerve! (Thin the paint more for a smoother finish). Your figures are splendid, the photos look so real. Thanks for sharing the personal connection you have with the aircraft, that was very touching. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spadgent Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 Excellent work Reg and a fitting tribute. The build, paintwork and subtle weathering are spot on. 😇 Think nothing of the gift of parts. It’s such a pleasure to help fellow modellers to achieve their goals be it through advice or the odd spare part or decal. What you have created is something special and I hope you continue on your re invigorated model journey. ‘Tis great fun. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maginot Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 Good job. Great to see figures in there. Bit worried about the airfield apron, though. Looks like one of the boys dropped his earthquake bomb 🤓 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Gibson Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 On 23/04/2022 at 17:11, Maginot said: Good job. Great to see figures in there. Bit worried about the airfield apron, though. Looks like one of the boys dropped his earthquake bomb 🤓 🤣She's under glass now, awaiting some vehicles and a proper airfield finish (A cheap facebook purchase) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Robin Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 That's my kind of subject, very well modelled. If'n you have fun building it and you've learned along the way, then it is classed a major success in my book anyways. Don't worry too much about the exhaust stains. You can always say that the ground crew scrubbed her up for a photo shoot.😜 And anyways, she ain't showing mission marks so maybe she is just delivered? Who knows or cares. She is yours and you have every right to be proud of her. Regards from an old fart Pete 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 Reg, this is exactly the kind of 'tribute' build that i love and appreciate! well done indeed. I had a look at your external webpages which tells the whole story in all its magnificent detail. I was most touched by the narrative and your mum's poem was a great tribute. When I read these personal stories it always brings home to me just what it must have meant to these young men to go out night after night facing almost impossible odds of survival. Not only that but each crew that was lost, their loss had a deep effect on many other people who knew them. Your mother's story reinforces this reality.As modellers we all immerse ourselves in the fine details of the subjects we choose to portray. It's worth thinking about the human stories associated with these models. I love the background research that comes about with a tribute build. I cant help thinking what splendid unselfish men these guys really were. we live each day with our freedoms that we take for granted due to their personal sacrifices, stoicism and sense of simple patriotism. quite humbling really. The model looks great. Really very well done. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 Despite it's age, the Tamiya kit comes up quite well with a bit of work. I used etch on mine, too - it adds a lot to the basic kit. Great job, Reg! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 What a sensational return to the hobby Quite a statement Congratulations When I returned to the hobby (after a hiatus of more than 30 years) I built a little 1/72 Hawker Typhoon and hand painted it with a hairy stick 🤣 Your comeback was.... well...... a little more remarkable!!! Cheers 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred piket Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 On 4/29/2022 at 1:12 AM, Col Walter E Kurtz said: Reg, this is exactly the kind of 'tribute' build that i love and appreciate! well done indeed. I had a look at your external webpages which tells the whole story in all its magnificent detail. I was most touched by the narrative and your mum's poem was a great tribute. When I read these personal stories it always brings home to me just what it must have meant to these young men to go out night after night facing almost impossible odds of survival. Not only that but each crew that was lost, their loss had a deep effect on many other people who knew them. Your mother's story reinforces this reality.As modellers we all immerse ourselves in the fine details of the subjects we choose to portray. It's worth thinking about the human stories associated with these models. I love the background research that comes about with a tribute build. I cant help thinking what splendid unselfish men these guys really were. we live each day with our freedoms that we take for granted due to their personal sacrifices, stoicism and sense of simple patriotism. quite humbling really. The model looks great. Really very well done. Very well spoken Sir.. those are exactly my thoughts. Lest we forget! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 On 4/25/2022 at 9:54 AM, Reg Gibson said: 🤣She's under glass now, awaiting some vehicles and a proper airfield finish (A cheap facebook purchase) Don't paint your vehicles RAF blue! They were camouflaged in WW2. Selwyn 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Gibson Posted May 4, 2022 Author Share Posted May 4, 2022 13 hours ago, Selwyn said: Don't paint your vehicles RAF blue! They were camouflaged in WW2. Selwyn Selwyn, no fear, they'll be a lovely shades of green or brown or maybe even with a bit of black! 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Gibson Posted May 4, 2022 Author Share Posted May 4, 2022 On 29/04/2022 at 00:12, Col Walter E Kurtz said: Reg, this is exactly the kind of 'tribute' build that i love and appreciate! well done indeed. I had a look at your external webpages which tells the whole story in all its magnificent detail. I was most touched by the narrative and your mum's poem was a great tribute. When I read these personal stories it always brings home to me just what it must have meant to these young men to go out night after night facing almost impossible odds of survival. Not only that but each crew that was lost, their loss had a deep effect on many other people who knew them. Your mother's story reinforces this reality.As modellers we all immerse ourselves in the fine details of the subjects we choose to portray. It's worth thinking about the human stories associated with these models. I love the background research that comes about with a tribute build. I cant help thinking what splendid unselfish men these guys really were. we live each day with our freedoms that we take for granted due to their personal sacrifices, stoicism and sense of simple patriotism. quite humbling really. The model looks great. Really very well done. Thank you very much for those words. It was a lot of work but worth it to do everything. I'm still receiving details. I'm unsure if I've added the link to a series of Youtube vids that I did as background and on the days that I visited the graves of the crew. I'll add it below On my return I received more information about the 7th crew member (we only have 6 graves in Hannover). Someone on that night, in the village where they crashed, was found hanging from a tree by his parachute. He was cut down and taken away. The journey continues ... My ramblings and videos from Hannover and the graves of the crew of JB141 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 11 hours ago, Reg Gibson said: The journey continues What a journey too! ... Volker Urbansky from Germany contacted me about my uncle's Tempest V which crashed ( thankfully he miraculously survived though badly injured. and taken Prisoner ) We are trying to definitely determine the exact crash site from a number of sources. The last document which might indicate this explicitly is a german document in the National Archives.. closed until Jan 2023 . I've made a Freedom Of Information Request formally to have it opened early. If it gives more exact information then Volker and his team may initiate a search for it. It's quite amazing what is available in archives and being able to tell a story about someone who was there.. is amazing and humbling. I don't want to hijack your thread Reg but if you'd like to have a look at my Uncle's story here's the link. Kind Regards, Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Gibson Posted May 7, 2022 Author Share Posted May 7, 2022 On 04/05/2022 at 20:48, Col Walter E Kurtz said: What a journey too! ... Volker Urbansky from Germany contacted me about my uncle's Tempest V which crashed ( thankfully he miraculously survived though badly injured. and taken Prisoner ) We are trying to definitely determine the exact crash site from a number of sources. The last document which might indicate this explicitly is a german document in the National <snip> Andy, yes Volker told me he had made contact and saw the link between my model, the Lanc and your research. He was quite excited! He has helped on numerous occasions despite being a long way from my search area. My next stage of the journey is to find the missing airman who was found hanging from a tree the night of the crash a couple of hundred yards from the crash site. He was taken away. The German love of record keeping should reveal the detail but it's the German archives i'm going to have to tackle. I'll have a look at your site, Good luck. Reg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SafetyDad Posted May 7, 2022 Share Posted May 7, 2022 Very well done with your Lanc, and equally well done with your background information. As others have said, it's both thought-provoking and humbling to imagine these lads quietly and bravely climbing aboard their aircraft on their last raid. The background given on the linked website to the crew really brings their personalities out - brave lads indeed. SD 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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