1:48 Avro Anson Mk.I *FINISHED*

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

Well this is exciting! I've finally got my hands on Airfix' lovely Annie, after a veeeeeeery long wait! I've been itching to get this kit so as soon as it popped up as available I got it ordered. Here's the box, which is surprisingly big:

 

 

Here's the sprue shots:

 

 

You can see some lovely surface detail there!

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the rather lovely transparencies:

 

 

The decal sheet, which allows for 3 schemes (one RAF, one RCAF and one RAAF):

 

 

I'm going to complete as one of these schemes - more precisely this one:

 

 

As you can see it's an RAAF version, AW665 of 71 Sqn RAAF, based at Lowood QLD in October 1943. This was an experimental camouflage scheme for anti-submarine missions. The aircraft has often been modelled in TSS, which would have been lovely but sadly incorrect. Here's a photo of the aircraft:

 

 

You can see that the codes are pretty dark - Airfix present them in Sky so I shall have to do something about that. I believe they should be in Dark Sea Grey so I shall whip out the Silhouette to cut some stencils. I am very much looking forward to this build!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

 

 

[heloman1]

Now doesn't that look special, you might have jut twisted my arm into getting one. We'll see...

 

I'll follow your build.

 

Colin

[Dunny]

Just now, heloman1 said:

Now doesn't that look special, you might have jut twisted my arm into getting one. We'll see...

 

I'll follow your build.

 

Colin

Thanks Colin - it's an absolute beauty of a kit! Welcome aboard...

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

Glad you have got this one Roger, hope you enjoy, looks a fantastic kit too, hats off to Airfix for bringing it to us modellers. Looking forward to seeing this build up.

Chris

[Dunny]

19 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Glad you have got this one Roger, hope you enjoy, looks a fantastic kit too, hats off to Airfix for bringing it to us modellers. Looking forward to seeing this build up.

Chris

Thanks Chris - it's been a long wait to get it and I couldn't resist getting straight in! It looks like an absolute beauty,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[ianwau]

Excellent!  Great scheme choice. I have one of these in the stash with intentions for a civilian scheme (CSIRO). Will be following your lead! 

[Dunny]

5 minutes ago, ianwau said:

Excellent!  Great scheme choice. I have one of these in the stash with intentions for a civilian scheme (CSIRO). Will be following your lead! 

Thanks very much Ian - could't resist doing an RAAF version! Will look forward to seeing your CSIRO scheme,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[AliGauld]

Ooooh now you're talking.

Looking forward to this one but you've nicked my favoured scheme.

I'll go looking for something equally striking.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Dunny]

3 hours ago, AliGauld said:

Ooooh now you're talking.

Looking forward to this one but you've nicked my favoured scheme.

I'll go looking for something equally striking.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Thanks Alistair - I had to do an RAAF version, didn't !?! Very much looking forward to this one...

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

I did make a start on the Annie last weekend, but have had a busy week so no chance to post an update! Amidst lots of priming and painting of interior grey green and assorted other colours, I managed to make an absolute pig's ear of the instrument panel decal, to the point that I had to scrap it and repaint the panel - not an auspicious start! Luckily I had sufficient Airscale instrument decals remaining to salvage the panel as best I could. Here's the result:

 

 

Here's the cabin coming together:

 

 

For such a kit it's a real shame that Airfix don't include harnesses (or any PE for that matter), so these were cobbled together from spares. Here's another view:

 

 

Note the angle poise lamp at the navigator's table - cuuuuute! Here's the radio equipment in position:

 

 

There is some lovely detail on the cabin rear bulkhead, including a decal:

 

 

Here's a final shot showing the framework in position:

 

 

That should all be very visible through the glazing so well worth the effort! 

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

[ianwau]

Nice work on the interior - certainly lots going on in there!

[Dunny]

35 minutes ago, ianwau said:

Nice work on the interior - certainly lots going on in there!

Thanks Ian - it certainly is busy! Airfix have done a superb job on the engineering and fit of such a complex cabin,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

Looks absolutely fantastic Roger,  great recovery on the IP and all that lovely detail inside too. Cracking work.

Chris

[AliGauld]

Looking superb Roger,

The IP looks the business too.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Dunny]

10 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Looks absolutely fantastic Roger,  great recovery on the IP and all that lovely detail inside too. Cracking work.

Chris

Thanks Chris - it is quite a kit in terms of detail 

3 hours ago, AliGauld said:

Looking superb Roger,

The IP looks the business too.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Thanks very much Alistair - Airscale saves the day (again!)

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Fritag]

Excellent start, Roger; and great choice of scheme.

[TheBaron]

That interior looks very compelling already Roger - lovely work.

 

I still have various technical references I used on my own Annie sometime back lurking on the hard drive: if you need information on a particular detail just shout, otherwise I'll just quietly enjoy this unfolding. Good luck!

Best,

Tony

[galgos]

It’s a lovely kit, really must get back to mine. If you have access to a Silhouette or similar cutter Roger, I have prepared masks for both versions available for free download here and here. 

[AdrianMF]

Super progress.

 

Although I am firmly a 1/72 devotee, this kit and the Walrus from Airfix have caused me a lot of temptation! I will follow your build with interest.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[marvinneko]

Nice to see a full radio set and navigator table. Looks great so far inside.

 

I picked up a few ancient 1/72s at a show... I realize they will be a much tougher row to hoe.

[Dunny]

17 hours ago, Fritag said:

Excellent start, Roger; and great choice of scheme.

Thanks very much Steve - I could not resist the RAAF scheme!

17 hours ago, TheBaron said:

That interior looks very compelling already Roger - lovely work.

 

I still have various technical references I used on my own Annie sometime back lurking on the hard drive: if you need information on a particular detail just shout, otherwise I'll just quietly enjoy this unfolding. Good luck!

Best,

Tony

Thanks for the kind words Tony - much appreciated!

17 hours ago, galgos said:

It’s a lovely kit, really must get back to mine. If you have access to a Silhouette or similar cutter Roger, I have prepared masks for both versions available for free download here and here. 

I did enjoy following yours Max, and I shall take you up on your generosity! I do have a Silhouette so will download the masks...

17 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Super progress.

 

Although I am firmly a 1/72 devotee, this kit and the Walrus from Airfix have caused me a lot of temptation! I will follow your build with interest.

 

Regards,

Adrian

Thanks Adrian. I have been fortunate enough to build both and can highly recommend. Funny enough my Walrus was also RAAF...

10 hours ago, marvinneko said:

Nice to see a full radio set and navigator table. Looks great so far inside.

 

I picked up a few ancient 1/72s at a show... I realize they will be a much tougher row to hoe.

Thanks very much - it is a beautifully detailed and engineered kit...

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

With life being somewhat busy at the moment benchtime has been a little sparse! I have made a little progress on the Annie though, although it has really only been sticking bits of plastic together. I've added the top of the fuselage, the ventral wing roots and the empennage, all of which were a superb fit:

 

 

Airfix really have raised the bar with this kit - the surface detailing and finish is some of the best I have seen in 1:48. Just as an example, look at the 'oil-canning' on the stabilisers:

 

 

Very impressive, and should look lovely under a coat of paint! If I were to nit-pick, its a real shame that all of this lovely detail were to be hidden behind a closed door:

 

 

Airfix do not provide for a separate door component, rather integrating it with the glazing:

 

 

I shall separate that off and pose it open - simples! Today I shall be masking and painting the interior surfaces of the glazing. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of @galgos (bless you Max!) I have a fully formed set of interior and exterior masks cut on the Silhouette and ready to go, so should be a straightforward task! I may add another update later,

 

Thanks for looking, 

 

Roger

[ianwau]

2 hours ago, Dunny said:

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of @galgos (bless you Max!) I have a fully formed set of interior and exterior masks cut on the Silhouette and ready to go, so should be a straightforward task!

Hear hear!  Thank you Max!  I have downloaded the masks but am holding off on the cutting till I'm somewhere closer to needing them (I'm barely started on my kit). 

 

That's all come really nicely Roger. Looking forward to hearing your technique for getting the door safely detached. 

[Dunny]

57 minutes ago, ianwau said:

Hear hear!  Thank you Max!  I have downloaded the masks but am holding off on the cutting till I'm somewhere closer to needing them (I'm barely started on my kit). 

 

That's all come really nicely Roger. Looking forward to hearing your technique for getting the door safely detached. 

Thanks very much Ian - the masks fit very well but do be aware that you need to flip the inside masks to fit (ask me how I know?!) As for the door, masking tape and a sharp blade will be the order of the day! Look forward to seeing yours come along,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

Some strong progress on the Annie today! First job was masking up the extensive glazing:

 

 

The interior surfaces were then sprayed with Interior Grey Green (appropriately enough!), which gave us this:

 

 

And the cockpit glazing came up rather nicely:

 

 

Here's the undercarriage bays going together:

 

 

And in position on the lower wing:

 

 

Rather unconventionally, Airfix have you fix the lower wing to the fuselage first - again a lovely fit, and secure tabs make assembly a delight:

 

 

The upper wing is then added - it just clicked into place:

 

 

This shot shows off the 'oil canning' quite effectively, as well as the lovely surface detail. Here's the landing lamps:

 

 

Here's a final shot with the cockpit glazing in position:

 

 

Starting to look like an Annie!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger