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Posted

Westland Lysander Mk.I/Mk.III (A07116)

1:48 Airfix

 

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The Lysander was designed in response to a 1934 requirement from the British Air Ministry for a Liaison and cooperation aircraft for the Army, supplanting the obsolete Hawker Hector in the role, an aircraft that had nowhere near the reputation as the Lysander would go on to earn.  Three companies were given the opportunity to submit proposals, with Westland invited late to the party, almost as an afterthought.  Westland’s designer was relatively inexperienced, so took the precaution of canvassing the opinions of the pilots that would eventually fly the aircraft, which paid dividends when it came to the competition.  The design was advanced for its time, despite having a fabric wing and rear fuselage, using metals where they would benefit performance, and reverting to wooden parts where practical, which saved weight and made for a resilient airframe.  Its aerodynamic design was so effective that it had an incredibly low stall-speed of only 65mph that allowed it to take-off and land in extraordinarily small spaces, using rough fields that would have destroyed more dainty aircraft.  The flaps and slats were independent and would deploy automatically as conditions dictated, often resulting in asymmetric deployment under many circumstances, simplifying the process of controlling low-speed handling, thereby reducing pilot workload at critical moments.

 

In 1938 the first airframes reached service in their original cooperation role, and by the time war broke out, most Mk.Is had been replaced by the more advanced Mk.IIs that substituted the Bristol Mercury engine with a slightly more powerful  Bristol Perseus XII.  During the invasion of France, Lysanders were on the front-line, their slow speed making tempting targets for German fighters and anti-aircraft gunners, which caused heavy losses that mounted to 118 of the 175 aircraft that had been sent to France and Belgium, leading to its withdrawal from service in its original role.  With invasion of Britain looking increasingly likely, the Lysander was to be tasked with patrolling the coast, attacking the enemy with guns and light bombs should they be encountered, to the extent that a prototype was engineered with a large Delanne four-gun turret replacing the rear fuselage, bracketed by a pair of large rudders that formed a H-tail akin to that of a Lancaster.  Designated  P.12, and sometimes known as the Wendover, it was intended to be a beach-strafer, but was more likely to kill the enemy by asphyxiation through laughing at its ungainly design.  Fortunately for all, its services and those of its sister project nicknamed the “Pregnant Guppy” were never called upon.  By 1941 a new lease of life for the Lizzie had been envisaged, engaging in covert duties behind enemy lines, dropping off and picking up special operations operatives and equipment on missions for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), painting them matt black in an attempt to hide from the enemy when over their territory.  They were very successful in this role, although casualties weren’t uncommon due to the nature of their duties, with a similar situation overseas in Burma where Lysanders were also used.  Some aircraft were converted to target tug duties, seeing them painted in bright schemes to ensure they didn’t become an inadvertent target of the trainees, rather than the drogue they were towing.  In total, almost 1,800 airframes were produced encompassing all variants including the Mk.III that saw the engine reverting back to a later variant of the Mercury, seeing service with the Free French, Canadians and other countries, followed by some civilian operations after the war.

 

 

The Kit

A brand-new tooling from Airfix that was announced late in 2024 to a great deal of excitement from modellers in 1:48 and anyone with an interest in WWII British aviation, myself included.  I’ve always had a soft-spot for the Lizzie since my father built an old Keil-Kraft Lysander from balsa and doped tissue paper in my youth, so I was amongst those folks that were most excited.  Now it is here as Airfix’s first major release of 2025 at the start of a promising modelling year for most of us, unless your modelling desires drift too far from the beaten path.  The kit arrives in a large top-opening box in Airfix’s traditional red-theme, although the logo is still the old 3D variant that has just been replaced with a simplified rendition.  The box art is up to Airfix’s usual high standard showing a Lizzie ascending into a darkening sky, possibly on the way to bomb something, but without a gunner visible in the rear seat to crew the Vickers K gun.  Inside are five sprues in dark grey styrene, plus another relatively large sprue in clear.  The decals are slipped inside the instruction booklet that is printed on A4 paper in spot colour, with another folded sheet of glossy A3 paper having the painting and decaling instructions printed in full colour.  Detail is rather good, with a part-count of 171 offering plenty of options, while the exterior is covered with finely engraved panel lines, raised and recessed fasteners, and a subtly scalloped surface in between the ribs on the fabric-covered wings and aft fuselage.  A pair of crew figures with separate arms and heads are also to be found on the sprues, which is good to see, as they will be easy to place in realistic poses, rather than the traditional hands-on-lap of yore, which weren’t particularly convincing in an in-flight model unless they had psycho-kinetic powers!  The designer(s) have clearly gone to a great deal of trouble to make a highly-detailed kit for us all to play with.

 

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Construction begins unusually with a fuel tank that is situated between the crew members, and is a key structure in the cockpit.  It is made from five parts plus a feeder tube, and has a frame applied to its vertical rear, mating it with the cockpit floor that extends to the rear of the fuselage, with framework moulded-in.  Detail painting of the moulded-in details is called out while fitting the gunner’s round seat on an L-shaped bracket that fixes to the frame at the rear of the tank.  The port side frame has additional parts glued on, with two decals applied to the side around the controls, fitting that frame first, then adding two cross-braces, and the upper frame of the aft fuselage that requires removal of two lugs at the very rear on the underside of the balance-weight compartment floor.  The starboard frame is also detailed and has more decals applied around controls, with another lug removed from the rear of an instrument panel before it is glued to the fuselage assembly, which allows the map table to be fixed over the fuel tank with a choice of map decal, plus a diagonal cross-brace behind the pilot, and the rudder pedals, fitting a square sill to the cockpit opening, which has more decals applied.  A pair of stacked balance-weights are fitted into the small compartment under the tail fin, which sometimes also carried a manual starter handle, which you could scratch-build from wire if you feel the urge.

 

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The pilot’s seat can be built either for installing a pilot or to portray an empty cockpit, using the seat back without belts for the former, and an alternative part with belts moulded-in for the empty option.  A pair of arms are fitted to the sides of the seat, using an alternative part for a dropped arm on the port side to accommodate the pilot.  Your chosen seat is inserted into the cockpit tub, showing its correct orientation in two scrap diagrams with the seat highlighted in red.  A circular firewall bulkhead is fixed to the front of the fuselage frame, optionally attaching a circular palette of Vickers gun magazines moulded as a single part to the rear, which must have a pair of lugs removed from their underside to ensure a good fit, then mounting a shallow rear deck over the top with a circular winder glued into a recess.  The other fitting for decal option B leaves the magazines on the sprues, and instead has a deck with raised rear and separate sides installed instead.  The pilot’s control column is detail-painted and installed in front of the seat, building the instrument panel from two parts plus a decal to depict the dials, mounting it in front of the pilot on the side frames.

 

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The fuselage halves are prepared by adding inserts near the front of the cockpit sides, painting the interior as instructed, and if you have chosen decal option A, removing a small triangular section of the gunner’s sill, as indicated in green.  Decal option B has a small flashed-over hole drilled out from inside at a 50° angle, inserting the almost complete interior into the port side, which locates on three guides moulded into the fuselage, bringing the starboard fuselage half in to close the model, adding a nose insert in front of the pilot, a belly insert with the inner faces of the gear legs moulded-in underneath, plus the appropriate insert under the rear, depending on your decal choice.  The outer faces of the gear legs are applied over the inners, then the elevators are each made from two halves, with the option of fitting them in the fuselage either configured for flight, or for take-off and landing, for which they are angled up at the rear, inserting the rectangular tabs and gluing them according to the scrap diagrams that advise the location for glue in yellow.  The rudder is another two-part assembly that slots into the rear of the fin, and can be deflected if you wish.

 

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You have another choice when it comes to the landing gear spats, which depends on your decal choice, as you’d probably have guessed.  For decal choice A there are no weapons mounts, first cutting out a nick in the leading edge of the spat outer face, then closing the two halves around a liner, and inserting a landing light into the recess in the nose.  The nick is a guide for drilling out the machine gun hole with a 1mm bit, following the instructions to achieve the correct angle, and paying attention to the scrap view from the front.  For option B, the same process is carried out, replacing the outer skin with a different part that has a recess for the weapons winglet moulded into the side, which are both single parts.  Your chosen gear option is glued to the upper portion of the struts, building the wheels from two-part tyres and adding hubs to both sides, choosing a different hub part for option B, installing them on the hubs, and enclosing them with covers for option A, which also has a lens applied over the landing light recess.  The tail-wheel consists of a simple strut with a wheel fitted to the axle, which is inserted into a recess in the underside of the fuselage at the rear.

 

Moving back inside the cockpit, a ring sight is mounted on the tubular coaming, building the pilot from integrated torso and legs, plus separate arms, head, and parachute pack under his rear, taking care to align his hands with the controls as best you can for added realism.  A scrap diagram assists with this, marking the figure out in red.  The gunner offers a choice between options A and B.  Gunner A has a single Vickers Gun, and has different arms to glue onto the torso part, remembering to add his head, and align his hands with the controls of his weapons, so you may wish to build those first.  The Vickers Gun has a barrel moulded into the breech, adding a plate-magazine to the top and a brass-catcher with dump-bag to the right side, then mounting it with a single part that attaches to the deck at the rear of his compartment.  The twin Browning .303s for option B are glued together, with a towel-rail handle fitted over the top, and a curving twin ammo-feed that is flex-fitted to the forward part of the breech, attaching it to the model via the same mount as the Vickers Gun uses for the closed-cockpit option.  Two additional diagrams show the position of the guns when not in use and with the canopy closed, which is shown in blue with a ghost of the weapons visible through the plexiglass.

 

The glazing of the canopy offers the open or closed choice for both the A and B options, using shortened side panels for the open options, the part numbers of which differ between variants.  The windscreen is common between both decal options, as is the styrene wing root spar that rests on top of the side panels and interior framework.  The gunner’s canopy has four parts for open and closed A and B options to allow it to slide back over the fuselage, using the same top panel for the pilot’s canopy either closed over his location or slid back over the fixed top section that has a small part glued inside.  The pilot’s side windows drop down inside the fuselage, so aren’t required if you intend to leave them open.  A small glazed panel is inserted on either side of the tail root, presumably to allow the quick checking of the ballast weights before take-off, avoiding any unpleasant handling characteristics once mobile.

 

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Lizzie had odd-shaped wings that are moulded as two parts per wing, drilling out a flashed-over hole on the upper half for antennae for option B.  The two halves are glued together, adding slats to the leading-edge, plus flaps and ailerons to the trailing edges, utilising two different parts if you intend to show the slats deployed.  Clear wingtip lights are inserted, which have recesses inside to allow painting of the appropriately coloured bulb, fitting a choice of pitot probes to the starboard wing.  The wing supports are V-shaped, and mate with the undersides of the wings in deep recesses, after which they can be installed on the root spar, locating the tip of the V in another recess in the upper landing gear fairing.  When the glue is cured, clear inserts are fitted in a small gap at the root of the wing, drilling a 0.7mm hole in the port side, using a 1:1 template that is printed on the relevant instruction step for option B.

 

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As the Lysander wasn’t intended to be a glider, the engine is made next, starting with front of the cylinders that have push-rods and bell-housing attached to the front, trapping the prop-axle in place without glue, then fitting the rear of engine after removing a lug that is marked in green, inserting a pair of intake trumpets in slots in the rear of the engine, as shown in the accompanying diagram.  The exhaust collector ring fairing has a 1mm hole drilled in one side from within, a technique suggested in a scrap diagram, then fitting an insert in a recess moulded into it, sliding the collector ring inside, lining up with the insert fitted earlier.  The insert also lines up with the engine as it is brought in, enclosing the assembly in three cowling segments that have bulged fairings moulded into their outer skin, choosing open or closed cooling gills by selecting the appropriate part.  A two-part exhaust and auxiliary intake are fitted into recesses on the exterior of the cowling, finishing it by adding the bead-sight with a V-shaped support in the 12 O’clock position.  The engine and cowling are then glued to the model on a keyed peg, fitting the three-bladed prop and separate spinner to the front of the aircraft, which if you’ve been careful/lucky with the glue, should remain mobile.

 

Option B is armed with a quantity of small bombs, with a choice of four single-part small bombs in the recess under the tail, two larger two-part bombs with separate mounting rails under the winglets, or two palettes that each contain four of the smaller bombs as an alternative.  A long tube is glued under the belly, its location confirmed by two additional scrap diagrams, then several short antennae are dotted around the airframe depending on which decal option you have chosen, one of which is mounted in the hole drilled in the wing root glazing earlier.  Option B also has a Camera Gun Type G-22 (D57) mounted over the wing, a part that was identified for me by
@hwallen1410 who knows things.  The last steps of the instructions show the installation one of the two rear gun options for an open cockpit, using a different mount from that used for the closed canopy option, with extra diagrams showing their orientation from a side view.

 

 

Markings

There are two options in this initial boxing, each one covered by a full side of A3 in full colour.  They both wear the same green/brown camouflage on the upper surfaces, option B having a sky underside, while A has wrap-around camo on the fuselage, with black/white wings that were used as identification markings during the early days of WWII.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

  • Lysander Mk.I, No.16 Sqn., RAF Old Sarum, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, 1938-9
  • Lysander Mk.III, No.309 Polish Fighter-Reconnaissance Sqn., RAF Renfrew, Glasgow, Scotland, 1940

 

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Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

Awesome.  It’s all I can do to not break out the glue and paint right now.  Detail is excellent, as are the many options throughout the build.  Make your decal choice early and mark the options you’ll use to avoid confusion, and you’ll build a great-looking model of this much-loved iconic aircraft that performed a valuable job through WWII.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

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Review sample courtesy of

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Posted

I heard that someone said it's a bit good. Certainly looks like it

20 minutes ago, Enzo the Magnificent said:

Mine is on the way from Jadlam!

And I'm waiting for Airfix to extract the digit on my pre-order

 

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Posted

@Mike  What are your thoughts as to the buildability of this kit?  Is it a "shake and bake" kit?   From what I can see I think it will be a straightforward build but, due to the amount of interior detail, not a quick one.  However, I'm far more confidant about the ease of build of this one than I am of the Eduard/Gavia Lysander that is currently lurking in The Stash. 

Posted
9 minutes ago, Enzo the Magnificent said:

@Mike  What are your thoughts as to the buildability of this kit?  Is it a "shake and bake" kit?   From what I can see I think it will be a straightforward build but, due to the amount of interior detail, not a quick one.  However, I'm far more confidant about the ease of build of this one than I am of the Eduard/Gavia Lysander that is currently lurking in The Stash. 

I'd say it'll be an easy enough OOB build, if you plan ahead with your choices, and get your sub-assembly ducks in a row for ease of painting, as it were ;)

 

I'm really struggling to leave it in the box right now, but I've got so many unfinished kits to complete that I just can't start another one :owww:

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Posted
1 minute ago, Mike said:

I'm really struggling to leave it in the box right now, but I've got so many unfinished kits to complete that I just can't start another one :owww:

 

I'm in a better position.  Gideon, the AI (well...  Excel spreadsheet ;) ) which controls my life, is very supportive of my plan to start building as soon as possible. I only have seven concurrent builds at the moment which is underheard of for me.   I'm looking at the Mk I 16 Sqn option.   I really want to build a IV Sqn Mk II but I'll see what aftermarket options present themselves in the coming months.  

 

This is exciting!  :bounce: 

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Posted
1 minute ago, Enzo the Magnificent said:

This is exciting!  :bounce: 

It is indeed, Bob. :yes:

 

If I were doing one, it'd be the 309 Sqn. bird with all the weapons.  Things wot go bang is fun :D

Posted
1 minute ago, Mike said:

Things wot go bang is fun :D

 

Having spent all of my RAF career dealing wiv fings wot go bang, I have to agree with you there!  :lol:  

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Posted
8 minutes ago, sniperUK said:

Vickers, not Lewis gun, same magazine, totally different weapon. 

More haste less speed next time :shrug:

Posted

Drove past the Hornby / Airfix head office on Saturday, completely forgot about this being released. :wall:.

Mine you, I need to get an airbrush and practice first, not painting this or the Lancasters by hand.

Posted

Beginning to regret my choice to go with 1:72.  A few years back when I decided to get back into aircraft I decided on a theme for my collection, British WII, but agonised for some time over 1:72 or 1:48.  In the end I decided on 1:72 because there was more choice and certainly more options for twins and the rarer stuff.

 

Roll on today and we have an Anson, Battle, Lysander, Beaufort and Hampden all in 1:48.

 

Beginning to wish I’d gone 1:48.

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Posted
19 hours ago, Enzo the Magnificent said:

However, I'm far more confidant about the ease of build of this one than I am of the Eduard/Gavia Lysander that is currently lurking in The Stash. 

I came to the same conclusion and pre-ordered a couple from Jadlam to replace my Eduard boxings of the Gavia plastic.  I'll be interesting to see if the p/e and resin are compatible with the Airfix kit, I have the Eduard boxing of some Finnish Lysander options, a worn white paint job with the resin ski's looks nice. :hmmm: 

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Posted (edited)

Mike, I think part D57 is a Camera Gun Type G-22 (At least it looks like the one in the link below to my old eyes)

https://bid.candtauctions.co.uk/lot-details/index/catalog/95/lot/30537/WW2-RAF-Camera-Gun-Type-G-22

 

From the Lysander Pilots Notes

25. Camera gun controls. When the G.22 type gun training camera is fitted to the root end of the starboard plane the shutter is operated pneumatically by the gun firing control (12) on the spade grip of the control column

https://spruemaster.com/wp-content/gallery/manual/Westland-Lysander-Pilots-Notes.pdf

Edited by hwallen1410
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Posted
On 1/18/2025 at 10:21 PM, Enzo the Magnificent said:

@Mike  What are your thoughts as to the buildability of this kit?  Is it a "shake and bake" kit?   From what I can see I think it will be a straightforward build but, due to the amount of interior detail, not a quick one.  However, I'm far more confidant about the ease of build of this one than I am of the Eduard/Gavia Lysander that is currently lurking in The Stash. 

I also have the Eduard limited edition in the stash and this one had pre-ordered from airfix.  am thinking of building both at the same time to see how the two compare.

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Posted

Another great review and looks like a likely candidate to add to my model shop (the stash is too big to be called a stash, it's now a model shop.)

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Posted
On 1/19/2025 at 2:22 PM, Pedro52 said:

Drove past the Hornby / Airfix head office on Saturday, completely forgot about this being released. :wall:.

 

 

we were there at the 'Wonder Works' Model show  - it wasn't in the shop, but had arrived in the storeroom next door.  Its still not in the shop apparently as they deal with the orders..

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Posted
46 minutes ago, FalkeEins said:

  Its still not in the shop apparently as they deal with the orders..

 

 

It was when I picked mine up yesterday.

 

Also the whare House is in Hersden, some 15 or so miles away , not next door.

 

Dick

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Posted

Mine arrived today and as Mike said at the top of the page, it's awesome!   :thumbsup:   The box is about twice the volume of the Gavia/Eduard one yet it is still jam packed full of plastic!  I will be starting my build on Saturday.

 

My choice would be option A, the 16 Sqn pre-war aircraft.  However I was a little concerned to see that this option does not carry upperwing roundels or serials.   Not a mistake on the part of Airfix.  That is accurate as I have numerous photos of the aircraft.  Just google "lysander 16 sqn" and they will jump right out at you.   I would prefer to build a Mk I with upperwing roundels, B-type roundels on the fuselage sides, codes and serials.  Does anyone know of any photos of aircraft like this?   I have searched for them but each time I come up with something promising it turns out to be a Mk II.  

 

Failing that, how different is a Perseus engine to a Mercury?   If I simply omitted the pushrods from the kit engine would it pass as a Perseus?  I know there are other differences with the Mk II - slightly longer nose, no bumps on the cowling, a full set of cooling flaps - but I have a cunning plan to deal with those.

 

Typical, eh!  Superb kit!  Still not satisfied...   :wall:    :lol: 

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Posted

My pre-order from Jadlam was waiting for me when I got home yesterday. 

I haven't had time to look at it in any detail yet but as Enzo says, the thing that strikes you is the size of the box. There's a lot of plastic in there. 

John 

Edited to say +1 for a MkII conversion, by the way. 

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Posted
On 19/01/2025 at 17:53, nheather said:

Beginning to regret my choice to go with 1:72.  A few years back when I decided to get back into aircraft I decided on a theme for my collection, British WII, but agonised for some time over 1:72 or 1:48.  In the end I decided on 1:72 because there was more choice and certainly more options for twins and the rarer stuff.

 

Roll on today and we have an Anson, Battle, Lysander, Beaufort and Hampden all in 1:48.

 

Beginning to wish I’d gone 1:48.

If it is of any comfort I regret deciding to go for detail over choice back in the 90's, and sticking to 1/48th scale when I returned to the hobby in 2014 after a 15 year hiatus. When I see how detailed 1/72 kits have become (and with detail sets for older kits), not to mention how long I spend on a 1/48 kit, I could have had everything from a Flying Flea to a B-36 to choose from. 

Then again, I may be too clumsy for 1/72 scale now. Oh well. 


This Lysander certainly made my list, detail looks great.  :like:

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Posted

Hi, my name is George and I am an addict.  I tried to resist the urges and fought hard to keep to the program, but I got the shakes and the sweats and found myself, (after reading this review, must give some of the blame to Mike), somehow on the Hornsby USA site with a pre-order for this kit in my name.  Back to day 0 of my addiction program, the model shop inventory continues to grow unabated, and I have to confess to my sponsor (SWMBO) that another curious package that makes that distinctive rattle will be once again in the drive.

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Posted
34 minutes ago, georgeusa said:

Hi, my name is George and I am an addict. 

 

Hi George.  You are among friends here. 

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