1:72 Avro Lancaster- Remembering the crew of ED412

[cathasatail]

"Semper Paratus"

Remembering the "Badge crew"

Lancaster B.1 - ED412 - EM-Q

(12/13th July 1943)

 

Crew of ED412 (Left to right)                                                                                             (Photos courtesy of Jim Wright, Drew MacIntyre and Mark Chandler)

(Top row)

Sgt Robert Wood- Flight Engineer- RAF(VR)- Age 21

F/S Ronald Oswald Charles ("Roc") Brett- RAAF- Age 27

Sgt James Arthur Spence- RAF(VR)- Age 21

Sgt Edward Higgins- Wireless Operator- RAF(VR)- Age 24

(Bottom row)

Sgt Arthur Charles Wright- Observer (Air Bomber)- RAF(VR)- Age 32

P/O Horace Badge- Pilot- RAF(VR)- Age 20

Flt Lt Arthur Charles Jepps- Observer (Navigator)- RAF- Age 29

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Hi everyone,

 

With the exams over, and the summer months providing a brief period of time in which I can resume a spot of modelling, I have decided to have a go at starting this long term project. Many years ago I picked up a 1:72 Airfix BBMF Collection set and built the two Spitfires that came with it. However, I never got around to building the Lancaster.

 

Over a period of years and through my family becoming interested in researching our family history, I became more aware of my great uncle Horace Badge. And over recent weeks I started to delve more into the events of the 12th and 13th of July 1943, and the loss of the crew of Lancaster ED412. At the end of this project I would like to have made a suitably accurate representation of Lancaster ED412 alongside a written collection of Horace Badge's life, his service in the RAF, and the loss of the Badge crew over Switzerland in 1943.

 

The 207 Squadron RAF History site (linked here) has provided a comprehensive account of the events surrounding the events of that evening, and I would suggest that anyone interested have a read of their information first.

 

Lancaster ED412 and its crew set off from RAF Langar at 22:35 on Monday 12th July 1943 on a night raid to attack Turin, Italy. ED412 carried a 4000lbs "Cookie" alongside incendiary munitions. Following a route that took them over Lake Annecy in France, the formation encountered poor weather and some 100 aircraft crossed over into Swiss territory.

Whether ED412 was hit by Swiss anti aircraft fire, or whether the aircraft fell victim to the poor weather encountered that night, is still up for debate. Regardless of the cause, the aircraft was seen to break through the clouds North of Lake Geneva and circle twice, before finally impacting Le Grammont at approximately one o'clock in the morning on the 13th of July 1943.

 

One day I would like to visit the area and see both Le Grammont and the CWGC cemetery of St Martin's in Vevey. In the meantime, however, we were able to visit the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln, and locate Horace Badge's name on their wall of names (a surprisingly moving experience, and a place which I will happily encourage you to visit if you're in the area).

 

Based on this, you might be able to get a sense of why I want to model Lancaster ED412. As a tribute to the Badge crew, and in a larger part as a tribute to the crews of Bomber Command, some 57,000 of which would never return from operations.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The Build

 

Based on the documentation that has been unearthed regarding ED412, I intend to model the aircraft on the ground at RAF Langar as she would have been before her final mission. A variety of aftermarket additions will be added, including (but not limited to):

-Eduard photo-etch interior

-Kits-World lettering decals

-Quickboost gun barrels

-Quickboost air intakes

-Eduard resin wheels

-AIM (Transport Wings) crew ladder

-Eduard canopy masks

-Kits-World seatbelts

-CMK engine

-Belcher Bits small bomb containers (SBC's)

-Airfix bomber resupply set

 

I am currently aiming to have the crew door open, with one engine being worked on (cowlings removed), with part of the payload on it relevant trolley, and (maybe) the crew members waiting nearby prior to boarding. We will see how it goes but first things first is the Lancaster.

For the exterior of the Lancaster I would like to use the technique used by "viper_models" on Instagram (an example of whose technique can be seen here)- this seems to involve making lines of rivets and then filling in the panels with Mr Surfacer to create a stressed skin appearance. While I appreciate this might not be an entirely authentic addition (especially for a Lancaster with relatively few flying hours) I feel that it would provide a nice visual addition to the aircraft.

 

(For those following along with the Midlands Air Ambulance EC-135 build, I will be working alongside that at the same time!)

 

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

(Photo courtesy of Jim Wright and the IBCC)

 

"A few months before he was killed Badge stood in the Quad talking to us, chuckling at the unexpected destiny which has called him from his father's Devon farm: fit, solid, unperturbed, he grinned as he recounted awkward and dangerous incidents during his flying instruction in Canada and England. In his even tones there was not the mildest hint of swagger: as in his eyes there was no hint, no shadow fear: Devon stock this. He went away to fly a Stirling; and shortly after a great flight to Turin there came the news that his aircraft, and another, had crashed near Vevey in Switzerland. He and his crew lie buried on a hill above the old church of Saint Martin that looks out over the Lake of Geneva.

 

He was at Shebbear from 1937-1941, finishing in the Sixth; he served Shebbear faithfully, as librarian, a cadet in the A.T.C., member of the 1st XV, and not least as a member of the choir whose playing of the violin we remember. Throughout his training in the R.A.F. he kept in touch with Shebbear, though so keen about his work that the days were hardly long enough: "Although it is time for bed," he wrote, "I still have some more work to do, so I must close this letter." It was hard to believe that so much life was quenched."

 

(Entry in the Shebbear College Roll of Honour booklet- With thanks to Amy Bernstone and Andy Bryan).

 

 

So until next time, thank you ever so much for reading and following along.

 

Best wishes,

Sam

 

 

"We have loved him in life, let us not forget him in death"

-Epitaph of Horace Badge

Edited May 18, 2022 by cathasatail

[IanC]

This sounds like a great project and a wonderful tribute. 

 

To be strictly realistic, I think you need to decide whether to have the aircraft being worked on (daily inspection etc), being fuelled and bombed up or ready to go and awaiting its crew. It wouldn't all happen at the same time. 

 

I shall be watching this one with interest. 

[cathasatail]

5 minutes ago, IanC said:

This sounds like a great project and a wonderful tribute. 

 

To be strictly realistic, I think you need to decide whether to have the aircraft being worked on (daily inspection etc), being fuelled and bombed up or ready to go and awaiting its crew. It wouldn't all happen at the same time. 

 

I shall be watching this one with interest. 

 

Thank you for your kind comments!

It will definitely be something that I will have to pay attention to and decide which direction I want to go down. From the comments (and photos) in this thread, it seems that having the engine worked on while bombing up was a rarity but not an impossibility. However, I would agree that having the crew ready and waiting might be a bit of a push. As I have yet to buy any figures or a base, there's still time to decide and we'll see how the build progresses!

 

Many thanks, and all the best,

[cathasatail]

Hi everyone,

 

Finally, it's time to start gluing some plastic!

But before that, this is what I'll be using throughout this build:

 

Firstly, the base kit- a 1:72 Airfix Lancaster courtesy of their BBMF boxing.

 

A myriad of aftermarket pieces.

 

 

 

The "Cookie" and assorted diorama pieces should come in very handy!

 

As well as this tremendous book, which was very kindly suggested by @Troy Smith.

 

To get back into the swing of things, and to refresh myself in working with PE and scratchbuilding, I decided to have a go at the FN-5 nose turret first.

 

The kit parts make a good rendition of the turret but it's crying out for some extra scratchbuilding to make it more lively. Also note the resin gun barrels courtesy of QuickBoost.

 

The result of a few hours working with Tamiya tape, plasticard, Eduard photo-etch parts, cut sections of wiring, and a lot of superglue!

 

 

 

(A 2p coin for reference)

 

There is plenty more detailing work that needs to be done prior to painting, yet it seems to be coming on nicely. I should add that some of the detailing is not 100% accurate (for example, there should be a raised inner "step" towards the inside of the turret base, however I felt this would have been slightly beyond my reach).

 

I have yet to find many images of the rear of an FN-5 turret- that is, images looking from within towards the inside of the rear turret casing. However, I shall keep trying!

 

Thanks again for dropping by,

Sam

[Adam Poultney]

Love a Lancaster! The extra detailing in the turret looks great. 

We currently have the Big and British Group Build running on the group builds section and this would be a great fit if you would like to move the build over to there.

[cathasatail]

Hi,

 

The front turret is really coming along now, as a splash of paint has been applied and we are almost ready to close up the turret behind its glazing/coaming.

 

 

 

 

 

Ammo boxes on either side made from plasticard, as was the gunner's seat (which is swiveled rearwards and painted in green- although it's hard to pick out in this photo).

 

Eduard masks helped for the turret coaming a great deal! Although, sadly, it's not the clearest transparency that I've come across...

 

A dry fit of the turret coaming/glazing

 

A dry fit of the turret parts, as they stand.

 

 

So now, unless I discover some catastrophic error with the paintwork, I'll be gluing the parts together tomorrow- just awaiting on an order of Humrol Clearfix (which I must confess that I haven't used before).

 

2 hours ago, Adam Poultney said:

Love a Lancaster! The extra detailing in the turret looks great. 

We currently have the Big and British Group Build running on the group builds section and this would be a great fit if you would like to move the build over to there.

 

Many thanks for your kind comments, and for the invite!

I suspect it might be best to keep this thread in one place, as though I would like to be finished by the end of June, I can't guarantee that'll be the case (keeping it here would prevent any potential bouncing between the two).

 

Best wishes,

Sam

Edited May 19, 2022 by cathasatail
The perils of pressing "enter" too many times

[Wicksy]

Im currently doing the Lancaster in memory of my wife’s grandfather who was a rear gunner  in 100 Sqn. I will also use the re-supply set plus RAF personnel for a diorama.  I am just a beginner so my quality of build is not great, but I’m having fun. I look forward to following your build. It looks great so far!

[TeaWeasel]

Always wanted to get a Lanc. Some fantastic work so far, looking forward to seeing more. 

[cathasatail]

Thank you @Wicksy and @TeaWeasel for your kind words!

 

Work has begun (while awaiting the elusive bottle of Clearfix) on the FN-20 rear turret. Again, the kit parts form a good canvas on which to build upon:

 

 

Not being one to shy away from scratchbuilding, I cut away the rear aspect of the turret glazing to make way for some scratchbuilt doors!

 

 

Now, I come across a bit of a dilemma.

The Airfix transparency has a hole on the front aspect of the glazing. While I'm sure this was present for some Lancasters, I'm less sure as to whether ED412 would have had a similar arrangement.

 

Some of the reference photos show slight differences. For example, this photo from ~1943:

 

(Source: Etienne du Plessis on Flickr)

-This shows what appears to be a panel covering the hole which (slides/rotates???) upwards.

-Note the tail warning radar(?)

 

Or this photo from 1944:

Edit: I'm not convinced this was from 1944. Information points to this being R5740, which was downed on 26th June 1943.

(Source: Etienne du Plessis of Flickr)

-This shows the opening, but now with armour plates below it

 

Further, would the turret framing of the rear turret be similar to that of the nose FN-5 turret- in terms of colour?

The images above suggest it to be painted, with other such images from earlier dates (~1942) show an unpainted/aluminium colour:

(Source: Lancaster: Picture archive)

-Although showing R5727, the pattern aircraft for Mk.X Lancasters, the framing of the rear turret does appear to be unpainted/aluminium in colour.

 

On the subject of turrets, looking back at photos of FN-5 nose turrets, I can't now help but notice how the rear structure of said turrets appear to be painted brown (at least up to a certain level):

(Source: Etienne du Plessis on Flickr)

As such, I will be painting this onto the rear of the turret when it's finally glued together.

 

Thanks for dropping by!

Sam

Edited May 22, 2022 by cathasatail
Typo corrections, and correcting dates

[dogsbody]

This B.II has a brown variation.

 

 

 

 

 

Chris

[cathasatail]

Hi everyone,

 

After a bit of deliberation, and doing a bit of research into the photos of the rear turret linked to in my previous post, I've decided on the way to go.

With the nose turret likely having unpainted/aluminium framing, and with previously linked photos (showing the rear turret's armour plating- now believed to be of R5740) showing such framing being present at least during September 1942, I will be trying to replicate that in this build.

 

But before that, we need to add some framing.

Many of the photos that I came across showed the FN-120 turret design. While this isn't too dissimilar to the FN-20 model that would have been used on this aircraft, there seem to be some differences that can be used to differentiate some references from each other.

 

Armed with a few (hopefully) reliable references, work begins!

 

As always, plasticard and wire used to add some detail to the turret.

 

It wouldn't be an FN-20 turret if we didn't add the doors!

 

And the pieces all ready to go- note the armour plate.

 

All fitting together quite nicely.

 

 

 

I have yet to glue the parts in place, and will have to add some of the support framing for the armour plate, but I'm very pleased with how it is coming together.

As it turns out, the ClearFix will take another week to arrive so final assembly of the turrets will have to be paused slightly. However, there is one more turret to get started on in the meantime!

 

This photo of R5740 was taken in September 1942, some 2 months after it was first delivered to 44 squadron (link to source). ED412 was delivered first to 57 squadron in December 1942 (link to source). While I can't be sure that ED412 would have had aluminium framing or armour plating (I'm very happy to be corrected if anyone has any information), I feel that at least when delivered she may very well have had this fitted. As for whether they would still be on the aircraft by July 1943... I am less sure. But in the absence of contrary information, I feel that this adds an extra level of interest to the build anyway.

 

So that's it for now- thank you as always for dropping by.

 

Best wishes,

Sam

Edited May 22, 2022 by cathasatail
Again, the perils of "Enter" and submitting the post too early

[mark.au]

Great work so far, the details in 72nd scale are masterful.

 

6 hours ago, cathasatail said:

This photo of R5740 was taken in September 1942, some 2 months after it was first delivered to 44 squadron (link to source). ED412 was delivered first to 57 squadron in December 1942

Interesting that at only 2 months old there’s already significant paint chipping on the inner starboard wing.  Also, quite a bit of oil(?) blown back from the inner starboard engine onto the stabiliser.

[cathasatail]

Hi everyone,

 

As it turned out, the ClearFix did end up arriving (despite the shipping date having been pushed back to the end of this week- but still, I'm not complaining!).

 

So with the help of the ClearFix, some superglue, and a splash of paint, the rear and nose turrets have finally been fully assembled:

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The black dots on the rear of the turret are from dry-fitting the nose section together- these will be well hidden)

 

 

I'll have to wait until the model is near the end stages to get a sense of whether the weathering effects "fit" the model or not. But for now, I'm happy with how they have both turned out.

Also of note, the dark earth colour was custom-mixed based on the fantastic Vallejo mixing guides provided by @Casey -(link to guides here)

 

Edit: Here is the link for the Vallejo guides, the above refers to Tamiya and Golden paints

 

On 5/23/2022 at 3:20 AM, mark.au said:

Great work so far, the details in 72nd scale are masterful.

 

Interesting that at only 2 months old there’s already significant paint chipping on the inner starboard wing.  Also, quite a bit of oil(?) blown back from the inner starboard engine onto the stabiliser.

Thank you very much! It certainly looks that way- almost every photo I can find of a Lancaster around that time has a noticeable amount of chipping on the nose turret too. I have to confess that I'm somewhat nervous about the prospect of weathering the final model!

 

Best wishes,

Sam

Edited May 24, 2022 by cathasatail
Edit: correct link added

[Casey]

9 hours ago, cathasatail said:

Vallejo

... Vallejo? I thought I only published Golden and Tamiya...

[cathasatail]

6 minutes ago, Casey said:

... Vallejo? I thought I only published Golden and Tamiya...

Apologies for the previous link, here is the link to your post about Vallejo -->

I used the more expensive mixing options for Dark Earth and Dark Green, and they certainly look the part!

Thank you so much for the mixing guides

 

[Casey]

Ha, they were very work in progress - I am still yet to work on Vallejo more. But I am glad they worked out well!

Edited May 24, 2022 by Casey

[cathasatail]

Evening all!

 

It's been a few days since the last update, and this build has been moving on in the background.

With the rear and front turrets done for the time being, work started on the fuselage. As alluded to previously, the current plan will be to replicate the stressed skin appearance by scribing on panel lines, adding lines of rivets, then filling in the spaces with Mr Surfacer- (something which is demonstrated exceptionally well here by "viper_models").

 

However, I also plan to fully detail the interior. I figured that adding rivet lines on the fuselage and bending the parts as I went would disturb any interior detailing- so I resolved myself to cracking on with the task of riveting before even starting to detail the interior.

 

 

 

 

 

(Note: the bomb bay, mid-lower blanking plate, and the formation lights are glued into one fuselage half- allowing the other to be removed while the interior is being built)

 

(Note: the aperture for the bomb camera has also been drilled out- this will be filled in with ClearFix a finishing touch to the build)

 

So with the rivets done for now, I moved onto the interior.

Adding windows into the fuselage after all the detailing/painting had been finished would risk damage to the detailing and to the paintwork. Hence, the widows were added in quite early on at this stage. To prevent any paint over-spray, they've been masked from the outside with Eduard masks and from the inside with strips of Tamiya tape.

The bomb bay was added in, alongside the cockpit flooring courtesy of Eduard, and a section of plasticard (appropriately riveted) for additional flooring.

 

 

(Note: the green colour is just for the window framing, before the windows went in. I suspect it's a little too light so will use a slightly darker green when the time comes- although it will be rather dark in there anyway when it's all closed up)

 

(Note: the inspection holes in the aft bomb-bay wall were drilled out- these will be filled with ClearFix as well)

 

Now that the slightly mundane task of riveting (at least for the fuselage) has been done, I can now move onto detailing the interior!

But it is at this point where I'm faced with a bit of a problem. There are many threads on Britmodeller questioning the interior colour of the Lancaster, its cockpit, and the bomb aimer's position. The consensus seems to be that early Lancasters had an entirely green interior, with some saying later Lancasters having the cockpit and bomb aimer's position painted black, and others saying everything in front of the forward wing spar was painted black.

 

I'm torn between something along the lines of "Just Jane's" (NX611) interior (although she is a very late Lancaster indeed): link to 360 degree views of interior:  the interior shots suggests black from the navigator's position onwards, or another option is to have just the bomb aimer's position black.

 

On the question of the interior, although I've yet to find photographs confirming this, from the 1:48 Hong Kong Models Lancaster kit it would seem that there was a bed of some description between the front and rear wing spars (just beneath the foremost of the two ditching/escape hatches). Is there any veracity to this suggestion- as indicated with this build linked here ?

Edit (1.6.22): Photo evidence of said bed here

 

But until then, thanks for dropping by!

 

Best wishes,

Sam

Edited June 1, 2022 by cathasatail
Added "bed" photo link

[Bell209]

That work on the turrets is much better than my 1/48 scale efforts - bravo, sir!

[SafetyDad]

+1 for your work on the turrets - very impressive!

 

SD

[Chuuurles]

Very impressive and really enjoying this WIP! 

[cathasatail]

Thank you everyone for your generous words!

 

I can't say that any particularly exciting progress has happened in the past 3 days, but I have been working on the internal structure somewhat:

 

 

 

The vertical "ribs" are all single strips of thicker plasticard, with each of the horizontal ribs being made individually from a thinner plasticard. At least with riveting there is some variation, but sadly not with this task. I would estimate this fuselage half has had approximately 500 of the horizontal ribs cut and glued in.

I can't in all good faith suggest that the number of ribs is 100% accurate to the real thing (for example, I know there are fewer horizontal ribs in the rear fuselage than are represented here). But once all the internal detail, wiring, fixtures and fittings have been added, I hope that it shouldn't matter too much. It's not likely that the overwhelming majority of this will be seen when sealed-up anyway.

 

 

Now for the other side.... 🤪

 

Until next time!

 

Best wishes,

Sam

[TonyOD]

This is next-level stuff and I will be following with interest.

 

I'm on a bit of a modelling hiatus right now but in the near future I'm going to be starting my own Lanc tribute build to W4964/WS-J "Johnnie Walker". I plan to throw the kitchen sink at it, and I will certainly drawing inspiration from your excellent work.

[Hewy]

Smashing job so far ,love the turrets

[cathasatail]

Hi everyone!

 

Out of all the tasks planned for this build, adding the various "ribs" to the interior is not one that filled me with wild enthusiasm. And yet, some approximately ~900 ribs later, the fuselage ribbing has now been completed!

 

 

A little bit of interior work has already been started on- with the floors, spar sections and wiring/cables on the walls being the initial targets. To aid with this I will be using the port fuselage half as the main canvas to which the floors, etc, will be attached to. As such, I've riveted and glued in place the port horizontal stabiliser.

 

I couldn't resist a little bit of dry-fitting....

 

 

 

Note the bomb bay inspection windows in the rear bomb bay bulkhead- these will be filled with Clearfix when complete.

 

Starting back and working forwards, I couldn't help but notice the flare chute assembly and the corresponding hole in the rear port fuselage (something which I hadn't noticed before but is now glaringly obvious!).

 

As I'm slightly cautious about copyright with more recent photos, I will try to describe where the chute seems to be in each photo:

Photo 1: Rear of the H2S blanking plate are the 3 identification lights. Slightly rear of the last light, and towards the port side of the fuselage is a rectangular hole- presumably this is the opening for the flare chute.

Photo 2: Much clearer to see, the rectangular hole can easily be seen between the blanking plate and tail wheel, offset to the port side.

Photo 3: The same opening can be seen just forward of the tail wheel.

 

The kit parts show no such opening (or even the suggestion of one):

 

 

Clearly the next job is to create an opening for the flare tube assembly!

 

(Don't worry about the 3 black holes, seemingly drilled out. They're shallow depressions for the dipole aerial(?))

 

Talking of which, does anyone happen to have any clear photos of this ventral aerial assembly?

 

 

Thanks again for dropping by!

 

Best wishes,

Sam

Edited June 5, 2022 by cathasatail

[TonyOD]

Remarkable. This build is shaping up to be a valuable reference source!