Bertie McBoatface Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 Hello gang and thanks for the praise. It does help! I've been quite busy today getting more 'stuff' into that fuselage. The orange thing is an imagined rack for something made from a plug off a PCB. I've used a lot of electronics components to save building too much from scratch. The blue capacitor will be the Elsan. Shocking - lol. I have lots of references for the inside of the fuselage and no two agree in equipment layout so, as I did with the flaps, I'm doing an impression of a Lanc instead of a replica. My apologies to the purists, I always was a bit of a gash hand, or 'pragmatist' as I call it. lol. Other side. I forgot the door! You're only supposed to blow the... There will be a door soon. Further forward you can see (over-) large ammunition bins and chutes headed for the tail gun. Lots of mangles structure. Recall that the blast acted on the skin and the skin pulled away from the frames and stringers where it didn't take then with it. So, lots of cracks and gaps are in order. I airbrushed the green to get the paint around and under various odds and ends. There will be lots of touch ups and detail painting and then weathering followed by much more stuff to be added - wires, pipes, assorted debris. This is the interesting part but for now, I must let it dry for a day. Maybe I'll finally sort out that damned tailwheel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 Things are getting heated. I forgot all about the soddin' dorsal turret. No holes, no structure, no room for the fairing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Great work Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Superlative attention to detail and outstanding skills.... Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 24, 2011 Author Share Posted July 24, 2011 (edited) Why thanks guys. Interestingly I don't consider myself or this project to be particularly remarkable compared to the superb work I see from you and elsewhere on the site. This isn't 'false modesty' or 'fishing for praise'. Perhaps we each see our own stuff with super critical eyes? Whatever, on with the job. I got up early for a little drybrushing of that base green in the fuselage. I love dry-brushing, that easy instant improvement when the detail suddenly goes all ... three-dee! I started detailing some components, adding silver where metal has been torn, differentiating the walls from the floor and so on. Notice that I've made a new door? The hinges are rocket fins so the door is set at 90 degrees! The sharp eyed amongst you will see that there's now some structure for the top turret. The fairing, simply snapped into two will be the mount. I've decided that it will be hanging over the port side, upside down. This seems to be plausible when I look at the original photo and suits my plan for displaying the finished result too. Look at all that superglue! Very skilled work that - haha! This bit is the other half of the mount, drooping to starboard. This is that mid upper turret masked and with interior black applied. There are nineteen pieces of masking tape on there! The Eduard pre-cut masks were worth the money - whatever you pay, they are still worth the money! The turret as supplied looks like this. I have removed the kit barrels and drilled ready for the resin replacements. (Except that it will be upside down and almost invisible so that was a waste of time. Doh!) I've cut off the spurious phone box under the turret and added a few wires, a gun-sight, ammo bins and some imaginary levers. Ans a seat sling - thanks to the bloke who advised me on seatbelts some pages ago! The BEST thing about this build is that if anything goes on crooked, like those ammo bins, I can claim that I intended it to be like that because of the explosion damage. lol. That's all for today. Thanks for watching. Edited July 24, 2011 by per ardua ad ostentationem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Finally caught up with your progress this evening (I've been busy packing for my house movie for the last couple of weeks and not reading the board much). This has really come along... the detail looks fabulous, I'm really looking forward to seeing more of this. The Tilly looked great too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Wow.... thats awesome work indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeybee Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Hi thanks to the bloke Can't ever remember being called bloke before but you're welcome. It's all coming along nicely, keep it up. Regards Bloke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 This is just looking betterer and betterer!! Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfurm Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 That is fantastic. And I couldn't agree more about Eduard masks, especially for so many windows. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 The turret's coming on OK, if a little slowly. I just have to paint the sling-seat-thingie brown and it's done. It takes surprisingly few extras + drybrushing, to produce something busy enough to fool the eye. It looks like I sneezed in there! It's all black and silver really, so I guess the brown is reflections of my fingers! The nacelles are going together. Badly. I could have fettled the thing a lot better than this but have ended up bodging and filling. Oh well... Tonight I'm sorting the desk out. I've been sloppy recently and my work area and tool storage has become a mess. I don't like spending time looking for my own things so I'm doing a spring cleaning after tea. I may work on the Lanc after that. The fuselage is near ready for closing and I'd like to build a bombsight tonight. If I can stay awake... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Hello, I seem to be slowing down lately as I approach the fuselage closure point. I'm ready for it and want to get on with the painting now. I started cleaning up my desk and soon I wished I hadn't started! But it's better now and I'm focussed again. It was only when the mess was tidied up that I realised how few parts are remaining to be assembled. I have kept up with my schedule after all! Here's an importand detail for a bomber - the sight! Scratchbuild from a fighter gunsight. There's more to add because this will be pretty obvious to even the casual viewer. Theres also a little bench seat thingie for the bombardier but I forgot to photograph that. The pilot's seat is also quite prominent. Must have been a wonderful view from up there! I'm aiming for fuselage closed by cease work on Friday. Watch this space! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moofles Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 oh cool, what a great idea and fantastic work done so far, never thought of doing a dio like that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James V Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Fantastic build so far - really enjoyed looking through this build - can't wait to see it finished Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) Time I wrote back personally. I have been neglecting you, dear readers Thanks gcc, I'm glad you enjoy the updates. I love writing them for you. Thanks Mike, you are pretty darned good too. I admire your attention to accurate detail. Well thanks sailor (SHAR? I'm guessing Navy?). There's lots to inspire on this site, isn't there? Thank you Mish, we all appreciate your constant support. Lol Cliff, Thank you and where do you find these emoticons? Thanks Ian. Don't tell anyone but much of the detail is sort of ... made up on the spot! Thanks Kallisti, I thought you'd already gone, I hope your move goes well. Cheers Calum. Mostly it's just having a bash and not worrying about it too much. Not my usual personal style but it seems to be working this time. Wotcher Honeybee, me old mucker! Thank you, Busdriver. I'm glad you are enjoying it. Just wait until I start the painting! Thank you Greg. First time I bought the masks. I always thought they were unlikely to fit as well as my own. In fact they are far better as well as far far easier than mine. Thanks Moofles (Moofles?), the idea is the part I'm most proud of. I love a dio and so do the viewers at shows. Even the long-suffering-other-halves show some interest when the thing tells a story. Fantastic build so far - really enjoyed looking through this build - can't wait to see it finished Nor can I! Glad you are enjoying it in the meantime. Edited July 27, 2011 by per ardua ad ostentationem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPNGROATS Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Dear Don: Keep on modeling, you ARE an inspiration to us.... Cheers, ggc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Well, I did it. Sticking the two halves of a fuselage together is a real milestone in a build for me. Of course, this build is different, as usual. I've stuck three-quarters of the fuselage together this time. There's still some tinkering to be done with the front end but from the explosion aft, it's in one piece. Phew. I've attended to the wings as well today, mostly slapping more filler around the engine panels. Either Tamiya or I really porked those up! Then it's been niff-naff'n'trivia really. I've mounted the bomb-sight, painted the flaps, bomb bay doors, the bomb-aimer's seat and the seat in the turret. Then I turned to the airscrews which will need to be sanded into a completely different profile - all twelve blades! Boring! So I'm going to tidy up the kitchen, have some lunch and go to Tesco's instead. I find that forcing myself to sit here and model turns it into work instead of play and that's bad news indeed. No photos today, not really that much to show you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 Here's that bomb sight in position, held by Gloop so I can't disturb it for hours.. So while I was waiting I painted the MG barrels I love this end view! Remember that tail wheel? Came out better this time. Still not perfect but good enough as it will be in the shade anyway. Here's the evidence - partial closure! A self discipline tool. If I sit here for more than an hour I get a backache so this helps. It also keeps me here when the task is as boring as filling and sanding! Sanding. I hate it so I try to be systematic. This is how I keep my grades in order. Each piece has the grade on the back in waterproof marker pen. I always sand wet. I start with the coarse and then erase the scratches with the next grade and so on until I get to the polishing paper. I find that the trick is not to press on hard - plastic is so soft it just clogs wet'n'dry paper if I force it. I also throw the paper away as soon as it starts to wear. Paper which has lost most of its grit just makes more mess than it erases. However, you can get a little extra use from each piece by simply brushing with a toothbrush. Here's a tip for the filling process. Dilute your filler with liquid poly to make it stick better, and set smoother. Tail turret. So empty! But not for long...and more to come. See you tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F111Fan Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Wow, I can tell this is going to be something special Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 30, 2011 Author Share Posted July 30, 2011 (edited) I've been working the front and rear turrets today. Just filling them with odds and ends in some vague likeness of the machinery that was packed into these 'Mighty Wurlitzers'. Sprayed black and dry brushed. I'm not too chuffed with the drybrushing now I see it on screen. Lifesize looks ok but this macro photography shows them up a bit. I may tinker with that tomorrow... Fairly happy so far and with the addition of a few pipes perhaps, these will do. That means that I'll have to be doing all that awful masking again. No. wait! I have pre-cut masks, so I have that delightful masking to do tomorrow. The big event today was closing the fuselage halves and dealing with the very tidy seams. This required two attempts because I forgot to put the windows in first time! Doh! Still some work required at the back, more junk and wreckage to go in here. I can't resist posting a couple more pictures of the insides... I'm very pleased with the throttles and pitch levers. Dog whiskers if you remember? The instrument panel looks OK now it's in its proper context. The boring stuff today. Filling and sanding of the dodgy nacelles. This took hours and I have to admit I didn't take it all the way to perfect. I settled for good enough. I hope that will be good enough for you too. It took a surprisingly long time to get the U/C doors on too. A little more wing work. While loading up the airbrush for the turret insides, I decided to practice spraying large black areas and tidy up a loose end at the same time. I dislike having two jobs on the go at once. All in all, a good day. This Lancaster might be finished this week (with a little luck and a following wind). Any takers for that bet? Edited July 30, 2011 by per ardua ad ostentationem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Great work Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Looking really nice Don. Has your dog forgiven you yet? Cheers Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPNGROATS Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Hey Don, your bent Lancaster is looking great..!! Play me some music on the .303 Wurlitzers.... Cheers, ggc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted July 30, 2011 Author Share Posted July 30, 2011 (edited) Looking really nice Don.Has your dog forgiven you yet? Cheers Cliff Thanks Cliff, She's always happy to donate bodyparts in the cause of model engineering. Hey Don, your bent Lancaster is looking great..!! Play me some music on the .303 Wurlitzers.... Cheers, ggc dakadakadakadaka...... Remember that line from The Battle of Britain? Great work Don Cheers Mish Edited July 30, 2011 by per ardua ad ostentationem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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