On Heather's Workbench - Strike Hard, Strike Sure: RAF Bomber Command 1940

[Heather Kay]

31 minutes ago, Martian said:

Help!

I love distra… oh! Look! A squirrel! 🐿️

 

You've reminded me there’s a Tutor and Master sitting patiently on the Shelf of Doom…

[CedB]

Great save Heather!

[AdrianMF]

Getting ever more interesting! Good remedial work going on...

 

Regards,

Adrian

[woody37]

I'd say you are winning, looks great with that vac canopy on.

[Brandy]

Always nice when a major problem can be overcome with hot water and tape.

Just ask the General!

 

Ian

[Martian]

On 07/06/2023 at 18:04, Brandy said:

Always nice when a major problem can be overcome with hot water and tape.

Just ask the General!

 

Ian

I thought that was his dicky bladder?

 

Confused (As always) of Mars 👽

[Heather Kay]

 

That’s better. I raided my model railway parts bin, found some PE 6-spoke brake wheels that were amenable to some careful surgery.

 

More flight deck works soon.

[Brandy]

Huge improvement!

 

Ian

[Pete in Lincs]

The bits box wins again. Good thinking inside the box, Heather.

[Heather Kay]

19 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

The bits box wins again. Good thinking inside the box, Heather.

Like all good modellers, I rarely throw anything away. The Bits Box has also provided a navigator's chair. The Airfix one was moulded integrally with the space alien figure, and would have been set far too low anyway.

 

 

I spent this morning in my happy place, fettling tiny bits of plastic. The kit seats were sort of okay for size, although there are integrally moulded cushions where the bucket seat was usually filled by the pilots' parachute. All I needed to do was make some shapes from scrap and strip to more or less match the photos I have. So, the driver's seat got the armour plate, folded down, and the co-driver got some frames and cylinders.

 

 

The flight deck had some surgery to reshape it a bit, and the seat runners made from strip. I had to extend the "footwell" a bit to accommodate the PE rudder pedals at a more realistic position. The Eduard pre-coloured instrument panel only actually fitted the Airfix plastic without needing any major mods, didn’t it. Chuffed, was I. The seats also acquired some side framing and arm rests, the inner ones of each pair folded up just because. I based the framework on the Italeri instruction sheet acquired via Scalemates.

 

A lot of photos show a large tank on the lower deck behind the co-pilot's seat. This was for glycol and fed the windscreen de-icer jets. These weren’t fitted to the early MkI Stirlings, so I didn’t need to scratch build anything.

 

 

With that, it was time to get some interior green about the place. A lot of the references I have seem to show aluminium interior parts, but that may be works photos of the prototype aircraft. I’ve been adding the odd scrap detail to the side walls. Once the paint is dry I can add the Eduard parts as well, which should liven things up a bit. I still need to work out what to do in the bomb aimer's position. I doubt much will be visible, so I’ll do a basic couch and a few greeblies on the walls. Some thought is also being given to the gubbins fitted up in the canopy, but I’m not fretting about that just yet. I’d like to think I’m close to joining the fuselage halves, which will feel like a proper milestone in the build.

 

[Heather Kay]

The Stirling was all-metal construction and the largest land-based aircraft Short had built. Each wing had seven fuel tanks, giving a total fuel load of 2,254 gallons (10,246 litres). The three bomb cells in each wing could also be fitted with tanks to carry a total of 438 gallons (1,991 litres).
 

The early MkI aircraft were fitted with four 1,375hp Bristol Hercules II 14-cylinder sleeve valve radials, but these were found to be underpowered and struggled to get the large plane off the ground. Short made it their business to modify the Hercules II engines to give more power for takeoff with full loads. Eventually, more powerful Hercules XI engines were fitted on the production lines, and retrofitted to aircraft already in service. As seems to be common at the time, worries over engine supplies led to three Stirling MkI airframes being fitted with four Wright Cyclone 1,600hp radials. Known as the Stirling MkII, it was thought this configuration might be ideal for building the type in Canada, but this never came to pass. I think the MkIIs were restored to MkI standard eventually.

 

The Stirling's main bomb bay was 42ft long, divided longitudinally into three narrow compartments since the main deck of the fuselage was carried by a pair of deep longitudinal beams. Loads could be varied, typically 13,500lb made up of seven 500lb GP bombs in each bay, plus six more in the wing cells. Alternatively, a maximum load of 14,000lb could be made up of seven 2,000lb bombs, laid out three in the central bay, two in each outer bay, and no bombs in the wing cells. Bombs larger than 2,000lb could not be accommodated, a legacy of the 1936 specification.

 

The Stirling MkI original defensive armament consisted of a Fraser-Nash FN5 nose turret, with two 0.303in Browning machine guns, Fraser-Nash FN20A tail turret with four 0.303in Brownings, and a Fraser-Nash FN25 ventral "dustbin" turret just aft of the bomb bay with two Browning guns. The latter was soon dropped as it caused drag when deployed, and was known accidentally lower itself in flight or when the aircraft was on the ground. MkI Series 2 aircraft had a pair of 0.303in Browning mounted in small hatches let into each side of the fuselage aligned with the standard windows. Series 3 finally saw a Fraser-Nash FN7 turret fitted in the mid-upper position with a pair of Brownings.

 

A normal Stirling crew was seven men. Unique for Bomber Command aircraft, the pilot and co-pilot sat next to each other with a full set of controls. The navigator doubled as bomb aimer, wireless operator, flight engineer - a new trade created for the Stirling - also worked beam guns and later the mid-upper turret, and two air gunners for nose and tail.

 

In service, various problems surfaced with the big aircraft. The throttle control was hydraulic, and was known to have a significant lag if the levers were operated quickly. Some of these issues were corrected in time, though the poor service ceiling was never fixed. Short did propose a new wing design, but this was declined by the Air Ministry.

 

The first Stirling to reach an operational squadron was N3640 on 3 August 1940, where it flew into RAF Leeming, Yorkshire, to join No 7 Squadron. The Squadron had been operating Hampdens, but was disbanded in May 1940. It was reformed at Leeming specifically to operate the Stirling. The unit transferred to RAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire, in October 1940 as part of 3 Group Bomber Command.

 

 

Nearly there. The harnesses need to be fitted, and I’ve got to paint the cushions. For a new aircraft, I’ve decided not to do any paint wear or chipping in the cabin.

 

 

 

 

With some of the Eduard PE installed, things are looking good. I still need to add the blackout curtains, and I think they’re just going to be crudely painted on the inside of the glazed panels. I’ve also drilled those curious portholes on the nose in front of the windscreen. Not sure if they shouldn’t be a little larger.

 

Once I’ve done the various harnesses and final detail painting, I need to tackle the bomb aimer's station. Some of the unused PE might find its way in there.

[Samuraiwarrior]

Oooh, that looks nice. 

Coming along nicely now. 

Thanks for sharing 

Kevin 

[elger]

Fantastic stuff! Painted folded up bits of tin foil might work really well for the curtains. Are you going to add wiring to the cockpit as well? I think that might transform the look of things.

[Heather Kay]

1 hour ago, elger said:

Are you going to add wiring to the cockpit as well? I think that might transform the look of things.

I could, but I don't think I shall. I’m not entirely sure it would be visible, it’s a veritable rat's nest, I don’t think even the thinnest wire I have would look right, and there are limits to how far I should push my sanity. 
 

The curtains, again, could just be ignored. The biggest problem is the windows are nigh-on a scale six inches thick. Photos show the curtains, and it was one of the first fun details I really wanted to add, but if they end up looking rubbish it would just spoil it all. I’ll have a bit of a play today and decide whether to go ahead.

[heloman1]

I've missed some of your recent post, just catching  up this am. Vent neat work on the Sterling cockpit, it's looking very business like.

 

Colin

[Heather Kay]

37 minutes ago, heloman1 said:

I've missed some of your recent post

Thanks Colin!
 

I must admit I don’t follow as many builds as I could. I tend to only be drawn to things in my interest bubble, and must be missing a ton of great modelling as a consequence.

[stevehnz]

That was a far bigger catch up than I'd bargained on, teach me for neglecting my homework. Some seriously good stuff going on here Heather, especially enjoying seeing the Stirling beaten into submission. It will hopefully lead me to a better job on the one I hold in trust than the one I built 50 + years ago. I'll try to pay better attention from now on.

Steve.

[Heather Kay]

Thanks Steve! Like you, I built one when I was knee high to a grasshopper, and I was pretty pleased with my efforts back then. Leaving aside the lack of internal detail, overall the old kit looks like a Stirling when it’s put together.

 

I fitted harnesses, painted cushions, failed to think about bomb aimers at all, but I had the interior decorators in to hang some curtains.

 

 

Can you see them? Just about, which was kind of the effect I was after. 
 

When I sort client railway models out for transport and delivery, I first wrap the models in acid-free tissue paper. It’s very, very thin paper, and tears easily. It is also about scale for 1/72nd blackout material. I applied some black sharpie felt tip to it, and carefully scrunched a piece up like a concertina. Placed in position, it looked absolutely spot on for what I had in mind - albeit I think the real ones were a lighter colour, judging by the contrast between the curtains and the Night Black of the camouflage. A couple of strategic spots of PVA held the paper in place, and some artistic scrunching with fine tweezers finished the job.

 

Pleased with that.

 

 

As a sort of answer to why I’m not adding wiring in the cockpit, well, you can see - or, rather, you can’t see - how little would show. Incidentally, the Falcon canopy is incorrect: it’s missing the X-shaped frame for the escape hatch over the pilot's seat.

[AdrianMF]

Smashing cockpit!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Heather Kay]

1 minute ago, AdrianMF said:

Smashing cockpit!

Learning from the best. 

[Heather Kay]

After further consideration, I have decided that even with vac-form transparency attached there’s the square root of diddly-squat that can be seen in the bomb aimer's cubby hole. I’ve fitted a basic floor, and will apply some paint, and call that done. Joining fuselage halves is getting closer.

[Heather Kay]

 

Oh, hello.

[Heather Kay]

 

Well, it could’ve been a heck of a lot worse. The bomb bay doors are on, as is the tail wheel well. There’s no way I’m going to try and detail the latter, so it’s as Airfix created it. The bomb bay will need some filler here and there. The aircraft I’ve selected to try and represent had the glazed astrodome, so the base part's been glued in. Now I’ve slapped some filler along the seams and my turret plug. I see a lot of sanding and mess in my future. Considering the age of the plastic, it has stuck together - with a few clamps here and there - very well, with only a slight step along the upper edge. I have to say, I expected that, and it’s one of the reasons for sacrificing all those rivets. They’d have been mullered by remedial work anyway.

 

Despite my best efforts, the front section has a slight bend to the left, a bit like Arthur Mullard's nose. It is what it is, and I’m going to live with it, not that there’s a fat lot I can do about it now. I hope it won’t be all that obvious on general inspection.

[Brandy]

Well that was a fun catch up.

I really like the improvements you've made in the cockpit, it actually looks like a cockpit now.

Nice to see the fuselage together too. 

Onwards and upwards!

 

Ian

[Heather Kay]

Thanks Ian. I’m actually enjoying this build.

 

 

A good session with scrapers and sanding sticks left me ankle-deep in swarf! Overall, not too bad. A quick coat with some Humbrol acrylic shows up where more work is needed.

 

 

On the nose. Yes, I did manage to knock a seat out. It’s friend has since joined it on the bench!

 

 

This seam on the upper fuselage is recalcitrant. It may need some more glue of some kind before it stops reappearing.

 

 

And a reasonable amount of work still needed around the underside and bomb bay.

 

I don’t think that’s been a bad effort for a weekend's work. I suppose I really should sort out the oval window masks, and have a good think about how I’m going to make the turrets.