Avro Lancaster Mk I 424 Sqn RCAF

[rcaf_100]

Hey there folks,

Just thought I'd better start a thread and post some pics before I get too far along in the build...

I'm using Airfix's 1979 release of the kit that I got off eBay with a 1/72 Lincoln conversion.

That conversion is going with a Hasegawa kit to represent Lincoln Mk XV FM300, the only Lincoln built in Canada....but back to this Lanc.

I started this kit just after New Year's as something to 'slap together' and not detail to death, to give to the Harvard Association as a teaching aide.

We are starting an education program at CHAA, but at the moment it is focusing on the Grade 6 'Theory of Flight' lessons. In the future, we will hopefully be starting a program for the Grade 10 history classes focusing on the BCATP. Canadian Warplane Heritage in Hamilton has a similar education program, but since they have a great variety of WWII aircraft to teach with, they can do WWII in general. We have all training aircraft, so we naturally chose to focus on the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with its effect on Canada and the outcome of the war. Since we don't have a Lancaster, Spitfire, or even an Anson on hand, I offered to build models of the main types of aircraft used in the BCATP, as well as the main fighters and bombers BCATP graduates would have flown in combat.

This brings us to the Lancaster. I was wanting to build a Canadian Lancaster without having to spend the time/energy on converting it into a Mk X, and I came across the Tally Ho's 'Avro 683 Lancaster B Mk.I/Mk.X Volume Two' sheet, which featured 424 (City of Hamilton) Squadron Lancaster Mk I NG347 QB-P "Piccadilly Princess". Perfect!

(I've since found out that this aircraft is also featured in the kit decals that come with the new-release Tamiya Lanc, but what the hey...)

Here's NG347 in 1945:

Anyway, on to the build.

I've glued all the engine nacelles and wings/stabs together, and am carefully sanding the seams to hopefully preserve as much surface detail as possible. (Good luck!)

The fuselage went together OK, and the only details I put in the cockpit were the instrument panel off a spare decal sheet (the kit came with no decals) and the yellow 'dot' on the pilot's seat headrest. That's it.

I've also modified the gun turrets so they can be added after painting. The mid-upper was the trickiest. I cut off the retaining rings on the bottom of the turret and put a piece of styrene about 3/4" x 1" across the two 'turret holders' in the fuselage. The turret simply sits on top of the styrene once it's added. Sorry, no pics of this step...

The big thing that usually turns me off (and probably most others as well) about kits like this with raised rivet detail is that it's hard to make it look right again once you sand the seams.

I was able to counter this by using a pounce wheel by Excel that almost matched the rivet spacing on the kit to replace the rivets lost in sanding. Looks good enough for me!

hopefully you can see it in these photos:

And here's the wings & fuselage test fitted together. Looking good so far.

The tail feathers are ready to be installed...but not yet!

And the only addition to the kit thus far is the main wheels off a Hasegawa kit. They were left over when I was using Belcher Bits checkered tires on another kit.

The bulging is the only real advantage here, since they are almost identical to the Airfix items.

Now back to building!

Edited March 6, 2010 by rcaf_100

[rcaf_100]

Well, it's about time for an update.

After putting the nacelles together, I decided that I just couldn't stand the emptyness in the main gear bays. I had some scrap styrene laying around and using photos I took of FM213 at CWH, I made it a bit more interesting to look at. I used the part from the Revell kit as a template for the ribs.

I also decided to put masking tape seatbelts on the pilot's seat (since it would be visible through the canopy) and added the nozzles for the windscreen de-icers out of .020 styrene.

(sorry for the dust...)

Anyway, I'm still plugging away at it. It hopefully will be done before the GB is finished, but we'll see.

[phantom]

Looking darn nice so far.