BOAC Lodestar

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Might as well put my model where my frantic fingers are (or some similar analogy) and join the fun!  This is my first GB, and I eagerly awaited it, but I'm unsure if I can meet the deadline.  The long pole in the tent is the decal sheet, which Arctic Decals has promised: a series of BOAC Lodestars used on the East African routes following WWII.  These served concurrently with the Lockheed L-049 Constellation and must've offered quite a contrast, but also some design continuity, for those "in the know."  Each was named after a local geographic feature.  I think mine will be Lake Nyasa, a huge body of water that borders three present-day Southern African states.

 

It comes in a sturdy box:

 

 

Obligatory sprue shots follow.  I have a set of C-47 props from the Airfix kit I plan to shave down, because they're better than the kit's.  This Special Hobby kit includes parts for the Lockheed Hudson, which might come in handy one day, and--most importantly--12 airline passenger seats and overhead racks for the pax compartment.  Based on my Viking experiences, I'm not counting on their being visible from outside, but I will paint the interior.

 

 

 

 

[modelling minion]

Now this really isn't something I expected to see, what a great choice! Such a great looking family of aircraft, I am looking forward to seeing this come together. 

[Mjwomack]

52 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

Now this really isn't something I expected to see, what a great choice!

That makes two of us! But I'm mighty glad to see it!

 

7 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

 These served concurrently with the Lockheed L-049 Constellation and must've offered quite a contrast, but also some design continuity, for those "in the know."

 

Very clever, wonder if anyone turned up and thought, 'gosh the plane has had a growth spurt!' or equally, 'I didn't know they shrank in the wash'?!

[81-er]

Welcome to the GB, I'm glad this one enticed you to come over to the darkside  A word of caution though, GB's become addictive very quickly. A very interesting choice for the subject too, it's good to see examples of the WW2-era machines in roles they filled after the war. Hopefully the decals come through in time, however the most important part of the GB is having fun, meeting the deadline is just a bonus

 

James

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Here's a couple photos of interest.  Note the BOAC L-049, the Lancastrian, and the Douglas DC-4 in the background of the first shot.  (Photo credit: Arctic Decals collection)

 

 

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Intrepid crew (converted from Airfix Skyvan figures) are wearing khaki BOAC uniforms of the period:

 

 

[modelling minion]

Nice job on the figures 👏. 

[Mjwomack]

6 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Intrepid crew (converted from Airfix Skyvan figures) are wearing khaki BOAC uniforms of the period:

 

Epaulettes and everything, oh my that's set the bar high- but I think you'll clear it easily

[Vingtor]

On 8/5/2025 at 1:51 AM, TheyJammedKenny! said:

 Each was named after a local geographic feature.

 

All BOAC Lodestars (and Hudsons) were named after lakes. Starting with Scottish and Norwegian Loch-names during WW2.

[81-er]

6 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Intrepid crew (converted from Airfix Skyvan figures) are wearing khaki BOAC uniforms of the period:

 

 

Well those are rather nice!

 

James

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Thanks for the compliments, folks!  I've done some corrective painting since this photo was taken, but you probably won't see much of them once I seal them into the fuselage.

[Vingtor]

The way Special Hobby has done the wings on this model is rather silly. The Lodestar was basically a Super Electra with a longer fuselage and wider chord inner section for the wings. Special Hobby simply provides standard Super Electra / Hudson wings, with an etched metal plate for the wing extension. This might give a nice upper wing surface with some effort. But the underside wing surface will be totally wrong. I had to use a lot of filler on the wing underside to correct this. For my next Lodestar model I think I will use the wings from the Academy/Minicraft Ventura kit. This has the correct shape for the Lodestar, but different engines and consoles, which needs to be cut out and replaced with the Lodestar engine and console. Still I think this would be easier than dealing with the wing shape.

[TheyJammedKenny!]

4 hours ago, Vingtor said:

use the wings from the Academy/Minicraft Ventura kit.

Aha!  Something I hadn't considered.  Let me give that some thought.

[TheyJammedKenny!]

On 8/7/2025 at 4:11 AM, Vingtor said:

which needs to be cut out and replaced with the Lodestar engine and console

I explored this, but it looks like the surgery is beyond what I'm prepared to do.

[Smudge]

Would a thicker piece of plastic card be an option?

I wasn't aware of this issue. Just asking as I have a different boxing (Pacific Transport) which is the same aircraft type.

[TheyJammedKenny!]

1 hour ago, Smudge said:

Would a thicker piece of plastic card be an option?

That's my approach, actually, rather than use the rickety piece of PE brass provided with the kit.  I could then smooth it into the contour of the underside of the wing and add the flap track fairings afterward, which are themselves a complicated bunch because some extend over the trailing edge and others are completely submerged beneath.

[Vingtor]

How I did it on my model, using the etced parts. Hope this might be useful.

 

 

 

[TheyJammedKenny!]

@Vingtor: that is superb, and really helps.  Can you explain how you drilled out the open slats near the wing tips?

[AaCee26]

When I'll built mine there are couple of things I plan to do: Copy main spar from the Hudson kit and visit local museum to have a closer look to check the trailing edge extension.

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee

[TheyJammedKenny!]

1 hour ago, AaCee26 said:

Copy main spar from the Hudson kit

Funny you should mention!  I started working on this in earnest today.  As much as I would dearly love to work on the interior, the Chronicles report that the wing dihedral on this model is too shallow, and the butt-join looks weak and intimidating.  So I measured off the distance between the wing leading edge and where I think Lockheed put the main spar, and drew vertical lines.  I then drilled three holes along the lines and cut out a chunk measuring about 2mm across.  This gives me some wiggle room.  

 

I passed a prototype spar through the assembled fuselage and this is what I got:

 

 

 

 

[TheyJammedKenny!]

The kit provides pieces that fill the recesses formed by the wing root fairings.  I measured these off and sawed them in half using a razor saw and miter box, then removed 2mm of plastic in-between.  This gives me some extra cementing surface for the wing spar:

 

 

I note that there were some ejection marks on the interior.  I cut these off using a chiseling blade then sanded the surface smooth.

[TheyJammedKenny!]

I've become a little obsessed with the cockpit; something about having crew figures and wanting their posture to be just right.  Special Hobby positions the cockpit floor just a tad high, I think, and I simply can't imagine how it would have been humanly possible to get in and out of their 1/1 scaled-up model, even with smaller statured men.  Lockheed would have ensured the cockpit had enough room for tall guys.  So I lowered the cockpit floor by about 1.5mm, temporarily installed the flying pilot's seat, and positioned him  to ensure he could see above the cockpit coaming.  I also lowered his arms just a bit with a set of grabbers so he'd be more "relaxed."  

 

 

[modelling minion]

Very nice work indeed, the wing spar should make a difference and rearranging the cockpit so that the pilots sit more realistically is a great touch. 

[Vingtor]

17 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Can you explain how you drilled out the open slats near the wing tips?

 

I simply opened up slits on each wing half before assembly. Then built up the inner structure with plasticard and sanded smooth.

 

When done, I cut off the outer wing leading edges and made resin copies for future Lodestar/Hudson models. I also made new wheel well interiors (which are far from correct in the kit) and made copies of these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[modelling minion]

4 hours ago, Vingtor said:

 

I simply opened up slits on each wing half before assembly. Then built up the inner structure with plasticard and sanded smooth.

 

When done, I cut off the outer wing leading edges and made resin copies for future Lodestar/Hudson models. I also made new wheel well interiors (which are far from correct in the kit) and made copies of these.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That really is excellent work 👏.