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1/48 Tamiya Lancaster. RAF Squadron 101


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Hay chuck

I like the idea of replicating the "best wishes" , seems to me to have been done often by ground crews.

As others have stated this is "humm dinger" (American slang for: real good) of a model. :D

Edited by Prop Duster
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"May 7, 1945. Operation MANNA (cont'd). Dropped 284 bags of food (5,016 lbs) from 500 feet over Rotterdam. Many Allied flags waving in Holland."

As mentioned earlier, I took my uncle Will to the Abbotsford air show to see the only flying Lanc in North America perform. We had a blast, but boy the weather was SMOKIN' hot! 35 degrees Celsius with no breeze. Here's a pic of my uncle in the middle between my son on the left and cousin on the right enjoying a much needed cool one. The "umbrella" was his idea, which is pretty cool for an 87 year old....

Abbotsford2.jpg

As promised, the "Mynarski Memorial" Lancaster was there in all her glory, so I took at least 50 detail pics of various items that only a modeler would care about. You could climb through this bird for only a $5 donation, entering from the escape hatch under the bomb-aimer position.....

Mynarski1.jpg

Since my uncle has been through this Lanc many times before, he hung outside while we climbed through the Lanc. Once we exited the Lanc from the rear, my uncle had already made many new friends once he told them he used to fly in one of these beasts in WW-II. As a matter of fact, some of them wanted to have their picture with my uncle, so I had to take a few pics using their cameras. A little while later, my uncle found his way into the high security area next to the Thunderbird acrobatic team where he became an instant hit. Here he poses with 2 Thunderbird pilots who were performing that day, along with my cousin. What a ham.....

Abbotsford1.jpg

Now back to modeling stuff. As clean as the Mynarski Lanc is kept, those Merlin engines spit out a lot of soot behind the exhausts. This whitish colored stain is all over the engines and the wings. Here's a pic of the port side inboard engine. Also note the carb intake screen, which fits this larger intake fairly closely....

Mynarski3.jpg

Now the starboard outboard engine. Note the carb intake is smaller than the inboard, but they use the same intake screen. This is common to all Lanc pics I've seen, both modern and old....

Mynarski2.jpg

Looking out the top of the escape hatch, I got a good pic of the top of the wing for the exhaust stains. Pretty dirty for a clean new paint job....

Mynarski4.jpg

So what did this stain look like on a war weary Lanc in WW-II? The answer I found in some of my uncle's old pics of operational Lancs below. Note the exhaust stain pattern on and around the exhaust cover. Since this cover is not flush with the engine, there is still a significant gap between the attaching bolts of each cover, allowing exhaust gases to spray out staining the cover itself. Extreme heat also cooked off much of the black paint....

Lanc1.jpg

I'm pretty sure there are some out there who think I've gone a bit overboard with the weathering of this model. This pic shows that maybe I haven't gone far enough!.....

Lanc2.jpg

Edited by chuck540z3
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Using these and other pics as a guide, I attached the Belcher bit exhaust covers and did a little touch-up of the exhaust stains. The inboard engine on the starboard side.....

Engine7.jpg

Both engines on the port side....

Engine9.jpg

A close-up of the inboard engine. You won't find those "bolts" on the kit intake covers, which are too small to scale anyway....

Engine8.jpg

Same engine from the front. Note the carb screen covers I made earlier. The props are only stuck in temporarily. Alignment will be better when I'm done....

Engine13.jpg

A lower view.

Engine11.jpg

Engine12.jpg

These Belcher Bit engines also have radiator covers that tilt down so that you can see the rad....

Engine15.jpg

It's sad to think this build will be over soon....

Engine10.jpg

Thanks for your continued interest.

Edited by chuck540z3
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wOw :woot.gif: Chuck thats amazing - how did you get them to paint the "Mynarski Memorial" Lancaster exausts just like yours?????

Also, good thing you guys had your sun glasses on, :coolio: the glare from the white knees would have caused snow blindess other wise

:lol:

OK seriously, the pictures were a treat and I'm glad your uncle was able to go and make new friends and you could confirm details.

I, like others, will be glad/sad to see this fine project come to an end.

'course that means the next one is closer to starting.

Many thanks ;)

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"May 9, 1945. Operation EXODUS. 24 POW's and their kits were picked up and delivered to Dunsfold, then we returned to base."

I hope I haven't bored you guys too much with my uncle's log book entries, but I find them really interesting, especially when you can see some of the camera shots of their bombing "Ops", like the ones below....

Logbook2.jpg

Logbook1.jpg

Well this build is finally coming to an end, but there are few do-dads that still require some attention. The rear gun turret does not have sliders at the rear for ejection of shell casings. Here's a couple of close-up pics I took last week of the Mynarski Lanc. Note the sliders on each side, but also the reinforcement plate in the corner of the glass right beside it. The port side plate has a ridge along it too....

Rearturret1.jpg

A close-up of the starboard side....

Rearturret2.jpg

To replicate these thin metal sliders, I was going to use some thin Evergreen card, but then I had a better idea, now that I've got my "Hold and Fold" metal bender. What better way to replicate thin metal, than to use thin metal! A can of Diet Pepsi turned out to be just the ticket, partly because much of it doesn't have writing on it, leaving clean metal to work with. Note the Tamiya kit parts don't have the sliders or the reinforcement plates...

Rearturret3.jpg

After a little cutting, bending and trimming, this is how it turned out before painting....

Rearturret4.jpg

... and how it looks now after painting, ready to be plugged into the rear fuselage.....

Rearturret5.jpg

I think I'll be using aluminum pop cans for future scratch building, because they're easy to cut with scissors, they bend easily keeping their shape and rivet detail is easily added with a needle.

Now I need to attach those long aerial wires from the cockpit to the rear stabilizers, add a few more small pieces, plug in the props to the engines properly and I'm DONE!

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Your Lancaster is really coming on :thumbsup: . Can I ask what you used to flat varnish it as the black has stayed black.

Thanks- nothing fancy, just lightened flat black (MM enamel) over Alclad steel. By spraying it on thin it gives that weathered metal look.

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Chuck504z3

Too cool for words. Great addition, those sliders, puts your fine work up several notches higher than ever.

FYI: I use the Aluminum from the cans my cats food comes in. It is a bitty bit thicker gage for those times when Pepsi doesn't " hit the spot".

peach20cropMA10078647-0011.jpg

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Chuck,

This build is truly a masterpiece. Be very proud of what you have accomplished. It's outstanding and a wonderful testament to your uncle.

Extremely well done, my good man.

Mike

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"May 9, 1945. Operation EXODUS. 24 POW's and their kits were picked up and delivered to Dunsfold, then we returned to base."

I hope I haven't bored you guys too much with my uncle's log book entries, but I find them really interesting, especially when you can see some of the camera shots of their bombing "Ops", ....

As for my self, Those incites and these reproductions of his log book are extraordinary and make the experience of seeing your build come together that much more involving, than the usual research and detailing that most of us are able to do.

Your uncle's words give a sense of that real world and time, of which many are only able to vaguely understand.

VICTORY.jpg

I salute your uncle for his work then and you for yours in shareing this with us.

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"May 10, 1945. Brussels Operation Exodus (cont'd). 24 more POW's delivered to wing headquarters, then we returned to base."

Well boys, she's DONE! I took about a hundred pics, but I offer these 2 teasers until sometime tomorrow when I can edit the rest and get them down to the top 20 or so. As much as I loved my last F-14B Tomcat build, I think this one is a little bit more "special"- at least to me. Until then, here you go....

Final2.jpg

Final1.jpg

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Chuck,

This build is truly a masterpiece. Be very proud of what you have accomplished. It's outstanding and a wonderful testament to your uncle.

Extremely well done, my good man.

Mike

AND.....I heartily aggree with MY friend Mike.... TRUE MASTER and it is extremely a STUNNING build... :thumbsup:

KUDOS to you Chuck540z3 for a BEAUTIFUL LANCASTER........ :(

And the BEST testimony you could have for your Uncle Will....SALUTE to him for his Services too.. :cheers:

HOLMES

Edited by HOLMES
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