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Airfix 1:72 Short Sunderland


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Thanks for the nice comments guys.

Thanks Woody, I think you're absolutely right, but I was very conscious of not overdoing it, which is *too* easy to do when you're learning and trying new techniques. In this case, since it wasn't my model I thought discretion was the better part of valor! Someone over on the other Sunderland thread did point out that at some point, most aircraft are 'new'. I did add some exhaust stains and a tide mark though, as well as very subtle preshading and a bit of tinting of the upper camoflague with lighter and darker patches. Doesn't show up well in the photos though. The lower planing surfaces were given a Mig dark wash to show the rivets up, but again it's not obvious from the photos.

Cheers,

Dr_GN.

Well, to me it looks fab - I have one of these kits, I'll get round to it......eventually.

I was wondering a little about how "used" it might look, I wondered if, having put some exhaust staining on, maybe a little more weatherring around the fuse - I have a pic somewhere of one of these and its filthy!!!!!

still love yours tho :)

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Well, to me it looks fab - I have one of these kits, I'll get round to it......eventually.

I was wondering a little about how "used" it might look, I wondered if, having put some exhaust staining on, maybe a little more weatherring around the fuse - I have a pic somewhere of one of these and its filthy!!!!!

still love yours tho :)

Thanks Kev1n.

Sunderlands can indeed look absolutely filthy and knackered, maybe because of the large areas of white which shows the dirt up. I was happy with my airbrushed 'tide mark' and then I chickened out of doing much more!

I think there is a very fine line between the right amount of weathering, and too much to the extent that despite the skill of the modeller, the model looks like it was simply painted badly. I admit that in this case I probably didn't come close enough to that line! Far better to keep the right side of it though IMHO. The guy on this forum with the FAA Wellington and Liberator has got it spot on...then again those models seem to have engraved panel lines, which I think would have helped me a lot with the Sunderland and adding dark washes etc.

One of these days I will get it spot on - hopefully with my ongoing '109 build.

Cheers,

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That is one superb build. If there are inaccuracies there, they sure don't show. Great work. :thumbsup:

Can the crew claim industrial injury, or are they just footloose?? :winkgrin:

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Lovely job well done, what a stunner. As it's out of the box, your build shows the kit to be rather superb, what with your well applied painting.

Martin

Cheers Martin. Maybe I've been a bit harsh on Airfix (I'm not their biggest fan by any means), and obviously the same effort spent on a state of the art model Sunderland would result in a much better result. BTW I think the Vallejo Air Matt Varnish contributed a great deal to the final finish. I've tried Vallejo Satin and Revell Aqua Colour Matt, but Vallejo Matt is the best so far IMHO.

Cheers.

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I got one of these as a free gift for subscribing to SAMI - I was quite excited as I built one when I was a kid and it was a big kit then, but when I opened the box I almost cried - the transparencies were milky and the tooling really shows its age - you deserve a medal for finishing one off so well!!!!

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when I opened the box I almost cried

Yup! To be fair the transparencies on mine were fairly transparent, and responded well to a dip in Klear. As I said, the portholes are riddled with sink marks too. The lack of any canopy/turret framing guides (and subsequent masking) was my biggest problem in terms of time with this model. Having said that, more or less every single part needed a lot of cleaning up - the bomb racks ware almost completely lost in flash.

Thats a bit bloody special !

Superb work mate.

Thanks Skii ! Looking forward to seeing your next masterpiece...

Edited by dr_gn
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  • 2 years later...

Really lovely job. I am half way through building one, not anyway near your standard, then again I doubt you have two 11 year old and two seven year old "helpers" !

I appreciate the weathered comments but would like to think of yours as having just had its pre-delivery inspection at the factory prior to dispatch, I'm sure if you look carefully you can see the covers on the seats to stop them getting dirty.

Seriously a really lovely job and very encouraging for those of us still in the construction phase.

Cheers Pat

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  • 1 year later...

Having the vivid experience of building one of these big beasties when it was almost as large as I was (circa 1985) I'm startled quite how good that looks!

Fabulous, nostalgia-inspiring build. Top work, and a beautiful finish.

  • Like 1
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Thanks guys.

The strange thing is, that after 15 months, it appears that the new comments were made at about the time I was at the Pembroke Flying Boat Museum yesterday morning, looking at the bits and pieces salvaged from the Sunderland that sank in the eastury.

Coincidence?

Either way, the museum (both parts of it) are well worth a visit if you're in the area. The plans for the new museum are really impressive, and what it currently lacks in size, it more than makes up for in terms of staff knowledge and enthusiasm, and the interesting exhibits.

Cheers!

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Lovely finish from what is a very old kit.

One little point, the bombs should have a thinner ( 1" wide in real life) Eau de nil band (a light green) instead of red band around the middle, and a thin red band just behind the nose to be properly accurate!

Selwyn

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Lovely finish from what is a very old kit.

One little point, the bombs should have a thinner ( 1" wide in real life) Eau de nil band (a light green) instead of red band around the middle, and a thin red band just behind the nose to be properly accurate!

Selwyn

Not according to this photo

250 lb Anti Sub Bombs

http://www.historyofwar.org/Pictures/short_sunderland_bombbay.jpg

Regards

Alan

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Not according to this photo

250 lb Anti Sub Bombs

http://www.historyofwar.org/Pictures/short_sunderland_bombbay.jpg

Regards

Alan

Err Sorry, but its yes according to this Photo.

The Eau De Nil band is visible around the widest point of the bomb. The red Live fill band cannot be seen as it has been hidden beneath the (optional) flat nose ballistic cap fitted to the nose of the bomb.

250lb AS bombs were actually round nosed like a conventional bomb. they were often fitted with a flat nose ballistic cap as seen in this image. I believe the flat nose was fitted as an aid to accuracy making the bomb "dig in" to the sea on impact and stop the bomb "skipping" off the sea surface when dropped from low levels.

This looks to be an early war picture as the bomb is still in the overall buff colour, they were later painted bronze green as standard.

Selwyn

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Err Sorry, but its yes according to this Photo.

The Eau De Nil band is visible around the widest point of the bomb. The red Live fill band cannot be seen as it has been hidden beneath the (optional) flat nose ballistic cap fitted to the nose of the bomb.

250lb AS bombs were actually round nosed like a conventional bomb. they were often fitted with a flat nose ballistic cap as seen in this image. I believe the flat nose was fitted as an aid to accuracy making the bomb "dig in" to the sea on impact and stop the bomb "skipping" off the sea surface when dropped from low levels.

This looks to be an early war picture as the bomb is still in the overall buff colour, they were later painted bronze green as standard.

Selwyn

I think it's down to interpretation of the type of photograph -the ring around the mid section may well be Eau De Nil but appears dark due to the photo type.

Agree that that the AS bomb has a cap on it, you can see it in the photo. The caps (at least on later Depth Charges) were designed to come away upon entry to the water to protect the nose fuse/pistol.

The bombs how ever were not that great in actually killing a submarine, they at times had a propensity to bounce off the side of the submarine and not explode.

The Sunderland in the photo is a Mk I - N9207, this aircraft was destroyed in a bombing attack at Malta

Regards

Alan

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