Italeri 1/72 - Short Stirling Mk1 Build - MG-V W7445 RAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire, England - Diorama to follow

[Nick21]

This build is of the Short Stirling MG-V W7445 based at RAF Oakington, that on Sunday 15th November 1941 eventually came to rest after just  missing my Grandfather’s farm house at Westwick Farm, Westwick, with the wing then  clipping another house close by leading to the Stirling crashing into the Orchard field on the  opposite side of the road to the farm house. The two aircrew that my Grandfather rescued  were Sgt A.J. Ansell R.A.F. and Sgt W.D. Topping and my Grandfather was awarded the British Empire Medal (Civil) for his heroic actions.  My plan is to then create a Diorama with the Stirling backed by a LNER D16 locomotive and carriage that is captured in the photograph on the railway line between RAF Oakington and my Grandfathers farm. I'm 100% sure that W7445 was the first Stirling to be fitted with the  Fraser Nash NN7A dorsal turret making it a Mk1 Series III. This isn't going to be Ia quick build😄👌

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Edited August 30, 2024 by Nick21
Upload of images

[Dave Swindell]

Hi Nick, welcome to Britmodeller

 

In Postimage, click on Share, then select direct link

et voila :-

 

 

[MarcNewitt]

Wow this one is really hitting close to home, I live in Cottenham and pass through Westwick on a regular basis, blink and you would miss it! It's a shame they are building on the old air base. I used to like walking to Rampton Road and looking over at the old place and imagining what it must've been like standing there in the late 30's and early 40's. 

[MOK61]

Good luck with this.

 

That is a fascinating back story with a dose of local history thrown in for good measure. I love this sort of stuff!

 

For reasons that I cannot remember I chose the Italeri Stirling MkI to ease myself back into scale aeroplane modelling after a break of almost 50 years. That was well over a year ago and I reckon I am just about on the home straight now.

[5huggy]

Superb back story to this one - I, for one, will be willing it goes well for YOU!

on a selfish note - can't wait to watch, learn and be fascinated  as it  develops 👍

[ColinChipmunkfan]

Really interested in the story and the model.  Shame the airfield has gone the way of so many others.

Colin

[Nick21]

On 19/08/2024 at 19:20, Dave Swindell said:

Hi Nick, welcome to Britmodeller

 

In Postimage, click on Share, then select direct link

et voila :-

 

 

Hi Dave, appreciate that top tip 👌

[Nick21]

On 20/08/2024 at 09:03, MOK61 said:

Good luck with this.

 

That is a fascinating back story with a dose of local history thrown in for good measure. I love this sort of stuff!

 

For reasons that I cannot remember I chose the Italeri Stirling MkI to ease myself back into scale aeroplane modelling after a break of almost 50 years. That was well over a year ago and I reckon I am just about on the home straight now.

Hi, I followed your build, great work. I'm a huge Stirling fan because the connection to my Grandfather. I lived in Westwick until I was 9 years old, my Father had 400 pigs on my Grandfather's farm. Use to pick up parts of a JU88 off one of the farms fields. Great memories. 

[Nick21]

Hoping this link works, as this has alot of detail on the history of: Fredrick Pearson BEM memoir and Short Stirling MG-V W7445 

Edited August 30, 2024 by Nick21

[Nick21]

On 20/08/2024 at 06:33, MarcNewitt said:

Wow this one is really hitting close to home, I live in Cottenham and pass through Westwick on a regular basis, blink and you would miss it! It's a shame they are building on the old air base. I used to like walking to Rampton Road and looking over at the old place and imagining what it must've been like standing there in the late 30's and early 40's. 

Hi Marc, as you drive from Cottenham to Westwick the field on the left hand side, opposite the Farm House and Farm buildings is where Short Stirling MG-V W7445 crashed upon take off. The first two semi detached houses on the left, if still there, are the ones the Stirling struck. I too would love to jump into a time machine and be on the airfield in the 1940's. My Granny would tell me stories of German and Italian POWs working on the farm and of Bomber crews, who would leave their pet dogs with her but never return. She stopped taking the pet dogs, as couldn't handle the trauma. Tough and in the same breathe, gallant times. 

[TeaWeasel]

Good luck with the Stirling, has to be my favourite box-art of all time and a good, if not underappreciated aircraft. While I don't like to toot my own horn, I built the MKIII version a while back, hope this helps.

 

 

 

[Nick21]

Being slightly obsessed with this topic and the Short Stirling I've also commissioned Mathew Emeny, artist from Ipswich to paint the scene in the photo in Dave Swindell's post, though from a slighty different angle. I'll share once I'm in receipt of it... Seriously excited about this! https://emenyart.com/

[Nick21]

9 minutes ago, TeaWeasel said:

Good luck with the Stirling, has to be my favourite box-art of all time and a good, if not underappreciated aircraft. While I don't like to toot my own horn, I built the MKIII version a while back, hope this helps.

 

Hi, thanks for sharing, these forums are all about learning and the enjoyment of the hobby. Yours is a great build, I'll use it as a reference for sure 👌cheers

 

 

[MOK61]

1 hour ago, Nick21 said:

Hi, I followed your build, great work. I'm a huge Stirling fan because the connection to my Grandfather. I lived in Westwick until I was 9 years old, my Father had 400 pigs on my Grandfather's farm. Use to pick up parts of a JU88 off one of the farms fields. Great memories. 

Thanks, Nick.

 

With 20/20; hindsight I now realise that I made things very difficult for myself by picking the Italeri Stirling with added scratch built interior details to ease myself back into modelling!

 

Your build is positively racing along in comparison. Great work!

 

Murray

[Nick21]

In the process of selling and moving home, so the old Short Stirling project may be grounded for a couple of months. I've only built three models in the last 7 years, all on diorama's. Photos below... This Stirling diorama is a bigger challenge for me... No rush, make the time invested get a good result 👌 

[Nick21]

I've got to fill around the windows, as the fit isn't quite right, especially where I drilled and cut out the windows. Especially under a prying lense of even a phone camera!! I've also decided to paint in the curtains (can you belive it, curtains!!) for a more realistic finish, though some tidying up required... Possibly!! I can even see the microscopic hairs on the arm rests of the seats in the close up cockpit photo... Ophs, the camera doesn't lie!!! 

[T-21]

Great work on the cockpit. I Iive close to RAF Bourn  following the build with interest.

[Tigerausfb]

Good backstory. I've lived around here most of my life and I've never heard of Westwick, didn't realise it was a seperate small hamlet but I know where it is. I'll be travelling along past that exact spot tomorrow morning. Certainly a lot has changed since you lived around here!

 

Andrew

[AndyL]

Here's the Australian repatriation file for Sergeant Arthur Charles Bennett RAAF:

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1054648

The National Archives at Kew hold a casualty file for this crash, file reference AIR81/10320.

There are also the files held at Kew relating to the incident and recommendation for an award to Frederick Pearson, the file references for his case (File 1859A) and the correspondence can be found in HO 250/58/1895A (dated 16th December 1941), and HO/250/60/1895A (dated 13th January 1942).

Hope this may be of interest.

Andy

[Nick21]

4 hours ago, AndyL said:

Here's the Australian repatriation file for Sergeant Arthur Charles Bennett RAAF:

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1054648

The National Archives at Kew hold a casualty file for this crash, file reference AIR81/10320.

There are also the files held at Kew relating to the incident and recommendation for an award to Frederick Pearson, the file references for his case (File 1859A) and the correspondence can be found in HO 250/58/1895A (dated 16th December 1941), and HO/250/60/1895A (dated 13th January 1942).

Hope this may be of interest.

Andy

Hi Andy, that is a great piece of research awesome 👌and yes, of great interest thankyou. 

[Nick21]

OK, Couple of spares hours have allowed me to tidy up the inside of the fuselage, paint the remaining leather satchel to be fitted next to other one near the water heater. Refilled external windows and had a monumental moment where I decided to use the "Master, reality in miniature" 1/72 brass gun barrels as those in the kit look like 50cal😁! Cut, drill, fit and repeat... If they that gave their lives for us to live ours as we do today, then this barrel exchange is just not an issue👌 as nor are many things in our lives. Bless them all. 

Edited September 1, 2024 by Nick21
New info on Barrel exchange

[Nick21]

Decided to glue the undercarriage in place, hand paint the section inside and just jutting out from the wheel well. Then mask off the painted area, ready for bringing the two parts of the wing together and priming with Grey, then some Grey / white to allow the final black coat to create a subtle weathered effect. The brass etching for the cooling air intakes is fiddly for sure 😬!! Slow but steady is the way to go for this detailed 1/72 model by Italeri.... It's a great kit! Have just bought an Airfix Stirling so I can get my hands on a Tractor unit and bomb trailers, for the diorama! 

[MOK61]

Yep, those oil cooler intakes were a nightmare. You've done a far neater job than I managed. 

[Nick21]

9 hours ago, MOK61 said:

Yep, those oil cooler intakes were a nightmare. You've done a far neater job than I managed. 

Thank you - You did a great job, your Stirling looks awesome.  The air intakes - i had to file the inside flush to provide a flat surface to mount them on and then hope the other wing surface receives them OK😆! Its a seriously detailed kit at 1/72, requiring some patience and commitment 😎

[MOK61]

11 hours ago, Nick21 said:

The air intakes - i had to file the inside flush to provide a flat surface to mount them on

Why didn't I think of that?

 

It doesn't help that their placement is missed out from the instructions. I almost glued them across the carburettor intakes instead. I would guess that when the kit was backdated from a MkIV to a MKI the whole issue of the different oil coolers was a last minute fudge. Best not mention the large recesses under the engines that have to be filled in! 😉