Popular Post tomprobert Posted October 25 Popular Post Posted October 25 Evening guys and gals, Here's a model I completed today - Tamiya's classic of the mighty Lancaster in 1/48th scale. My model represents a B MkIII of 300 (Polish) Squadron, based at RAF Faldingworth in early/mid-1944. I picked this up for a steal on a well known auction site a while back, shortly after HK Models released their new kit and thus a lot of these were being sold off cheaply. Whilst the Tamiya kit is of 1975 vintage, it still builds up well and holds its own against the newer HK rendition well: I actually like the raised surface detail (which although a little overdone in places is a more life-like rendition of the real aircraft) and whilst it has the odd tricky element during construction - namely the fit of the engines - it doesn't take any major effort to put it together: Painting all the bombs took nearly as long as building the entire model - that is one impressive amount of ordnance! I painted it with my trusty Badger 200 using Xtracolor enamels, and added a Flory 'grime' wash and did all the exhaust staining with Mig-Ammo pastels which are really easy to work with: Decals came from Techmod and were superb, bedding down over the raised details without issue: All in all a very straightforward and enjoyable build, and whilst I need to get hold of the newer HK kit one day, I'd happily build another of these if the opportunity arose - you can't beat giving an older classic some love! Tom 80 2 7 1
georgeusa Posted October 25 Posted October 25 Your build of the old Tamiya kit turned out spectacular. It is just a beauty. I have one of these in the stash so now I have an idea of how well it can be built and finished and have something to shoot for. Thanks for sharing. 1
johnny akes Posted October 25 Posted October 25 I’m with you on this Tom, I think it’s a great kit with plenty of detail that comes out really well and there’s plenty of a/m out there if anyone feels the need to embellish it more. It’s a few years since I built mine but it still has pride of place on my wall. Thanks for reminding us how well this builds up with a bit of skill and care. 1
tomprobert Posted October 25 Author Posted October 25 2 hours ago, georgeusa said: Your build of the old Tamiya kit turned out spectacular. It is just a beauty. I have one of these in the stash so now I have an idea of how well it can be built and finished and have something to shoot for. Thanks for sharing. Very kind - thank you. I think a lot of us have them lurking in the stash but many are put off by the raised details and, by modern standards, slightly dated detail. It can, however, scrub up very well! 1 hour ago, johnny akes said: I’m with you on this Tom, I think it’s a great kit with plenty of detail that comes out really well and there’s plenty of a/m out there if anyone feels the need to embellish it more. It’s a few years since I built mine but it still has pride of place on my wall. Thanks for reminding us how well this builds up with a bit of skill and care. Agreed - and thank you. You’re quite right about the aftermarket for this kit - there’s loads. I, however, decided to build it more or less out of the box for simplicities sake and it was very enjoyable at that. 1
Viking Posted October 25 Posted October 25 Beautifully done as always Tom, proving that these old kits are still worth building, Cheers John 1
Dunny Posted October 25 Posted October 25 Tom, Superb work on this classic kit. You coped amazingly well with the smaller scale 🤣 Cheers, Roger 1 1
Farmerboy Posted October 26 Posted October 26 Classic Tom, beautifully built and painted and immaculate presentation, real pleasure to look at, good job! 1
tomprobert Posted October 26 Author Posted October 26 12 hours ago, Dunny said: Tom, Superb work on this classic kit. You coped amazingly well with the smaller scale 🤣 Cheers, Roger Many thanks, Roger - and yes my poor eyes did struggle! Fear not, though, as I have a 1/32 version waiting patiently for when I eventually finish my Stirling. 4 hours ago, Farmerboy said: Classic Tom, beautifully built and painted and immaculate presentation, real pleasure to look at, good job! Very kind - thank you. 13 hours ago, Viking said: Beautifully done as always Tom, proving that these old kits are still worth buildong, Cheers John Absolutely, John - I’ve got all the 1/48 Monogram classics too and they are well worth the time and effort in my humble opinion. 1
spitfire Posted October 26 Posted October 26 Beautifully finished, this kit is one of the ones that tempted me back to modelling, I intended to build it when I had honed my skills enough to do it justice, but alas they are still sitting in the loft, one day I will get around to them. Cheers Dennis
Mattlow Posted October 26 Posted October 26 Very nice work Tom. I have one of these and I'm not so much put off by the raised detail, (as you say - it looks good) but how to repair it along seam lines after sanding/making good. It's certainly easier to restore scribed detail than raised.. Matt 1
tomprobert Posted October 26 Author Posted October 26 2 hours ago, Mattlow said: Very nice work Tom. I have one of these and I'm not so much put off by the raised detail, (as you say - it looks good) but how to repair it along seam lines after sanding/making good. It's certainly easier to restore scribed detail than raised.. Matt Many thanks, Matt - and yes, restoring raised detail can be tricky but I’ve learnt a good, easy and straightforward trick to repair lost panel lines through sanding and joint work, which I’m happy to share: 1) Taking great care to ensure you’ve aligned some dymo tape (or the like) with the existing, undamaged, panel lines, take a very sharp scalpel blade and score the surface of the model as necessary. This will leave a very, very thin scored line, but nicely raised lips/ridges either side. The deeper you score, the higher the ridges. 2) Now run a small amount of Tamiya Extra Thin along the newly scored line. Be careful not to add too much as the delicate ridges will melt away. I use the extra quick drying type of TET which seems to work better than the normal. Leave to dry for a couple of hours. 3) With some very fine sandpaper, lightly sand the ridges so they are smooth and uniform. The TET will have melted some of the plastic into the scored line, but the ridges will remain and are just fine enough to replicate the raised line. If they’re too high, sand a little more until they match the kit detail. 4) Spray a light coat of the primer of your choice and viola, a nicely repaired and raised panel line. I did just this with the Lanc featured here and you’d never know the difference between my repairs and the original kit parts. As will all things, the more often you do this, the better you’ll get. I learnt this when building some of the Monogram classics of the 1970s and it’s now my go-to method and takes away the fear of damaging any raised detail. You can also do the same with raised rivets, using a sharp needle. I hope that’s useful? Tom 1 2
Mattlow Posted October 26 Posted October 26 2 hours ago, tomprobert said: I hope that’s useful? More than useful... I hadn't thought of that, but it's the sort of advice that immediately sounds very logical. I have a couple of Monogram kits that I could test this out on before going to the Lanc.. Thanks very much. Matt 1
dnl42 Posted October 26 Posted October 26 Very well done! I love the squadron choice. I'd love to do heavies in 1/48 but they're too large for my display cabinet. 1
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