AX 365 Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 ALF / Ray / K5054NZ, Thank you gentlemen. I appreciate your looking in. I sprayed the landing gear parts with Alclad II Aluminum. I used the EZ Mask wheel masks for the wheel hubs. As Tony the Tiger would say, "They're great!" The two coats of MM Gloss Coat have been applied and allowed to cure for almost a week due to work and life obligations. I finished applying the decals last night. I couldn't watch the Red Sox roger the Blue Jays any further than the 5th inning. Anyway, I thought there might be some silvering due to the size of the fuselage decals but that has been kept to a minimum. As stated earlier about the seat belt and IP decals, the decals had to be soaked in warm water for 60 seconds to get them to move on the backing paper. Although they were somewhat thin, they were quite strong. There was only one slight error and that was due to my own ham-fistedness. All decals settled down very well with Solvaset. I'm going to let things cure for another day or so before applying a sealer coat and then some MM Dull Coat. When I sprayed the gloss coat, the wings and horizontal stabs were attached to the fuselage to facilitate keeping the aircraft elevated to allow drying. To apply the dull coat, I think I'll leave the wings and horizontal stabs off to make it easier to apply. The process may take a bit longer to do but it will look better, or at least I hope it will. Here are the photos. Thanks for looking in. As usual, comments and constructive criticism is always welcome. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CorsairMan Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 oh man... I saw your wing walk decals and instantly remembered those were a royal pain. Haha - you did very well with them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Can't wait to see this one finished Mike, decals look good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin_sam_2000 Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 This is looking great. I really love the yellow details. Your workmanship is nice and clean. Can't wait to see it all finished Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Coming along nicely, my friend. Knowing your skills, you shouldn't have any problem gluing it all together without muffing that beautiful finish with glue. Love the nose art - I can taste the cold suds! ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 CorsairDaddy ( :D ), Ray, Sean and ALF, Thanks you so much for your comments and support during this build. And an extra large shout out to ALF for his generousity. Thank buddy! Here are a couple of shots. There are more in the completed build thread. There were a couple of minor issues that cropped up during the final assembly. 1 - I should have glued the machine guns into place on their corresponding mounting pieces and painted the entire assemble flat black instead of painting the mounting pieces black and then painting the guns gunmetal. There is no noticeable difference in this scale. 2 - The landing gear bits were a tad tricky. They were a bit difficult to place properly but once in place, a bit of CA glue managed to keep everything in place. The mating surface between the gear struts and the part of the firewall is quite small but the Tamiya Extra Thin really holds everything together. I was worried that the landing gear might be a weak link but it is quite strong once complete. 3 - I should have glued the balance horns onto the vertical stabilizers before painting but the parts are so small there was a REALLY good chance that I wold knock them off during the assembly and painting process. And I wold have knocked them off. There's no ifs, ands or buts about that one. A difficult trade off but I managed. 4 - The seams on the two piece top and rear turret are cleverly engineered so that a paint line for the framing covers the seam. Nicely done, RoG! 5 - The wing joints are so strong without glue that the wings simply slide on and off. Good job by the engineers. Anyway, enough blabbering. Here are a couple of photos to complement the others in the complete build thread. Thanks to everyone who popped in and offered support and a comment or two. That's what makes this site so great. To the other participants; - great builds both complete and still in progress. And to the moderators, thank you for setting up and running the GB. Give yourselves a pat on the back. Now it's off to the Graveyard Shift GB. Thanks everyone! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Oh, that turned out real good! Yeah, for us 3 Canadians who seem to be building everything (so far) on this GB. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Nice job Mike, it has been great following the build. ... and Shawn I will finish something soon! :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 Shawn / Ray: Thanks for your kind words. I appreciate them. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Words fail me. Well done, my friend! ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K5054NZ Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Beautiful job my man! That is stunning! I really do like the look of the yellow accents. Bravo! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 Thanks guys. I opted for the clean look. Not as realistic as a war torn aircraft but I like the results. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RCAFFAN Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Mike...Just for interests sake I thought you would like to know that the Tail Gunner for the plane you built is alive and well and living in Calgary and is a member of our local CAHS chapter. He recently celebrated his 90th birthday by climbing into the rear turret of the Nanton Lancaster, his first time back there in some 70 years. If I recall correctly, he did 24 missions in that plane. He is a great character still going strong. He was once asked (in the bar after one of the meetings) how cold it was in the back turret to which he responded "I'm still trying to get warm"...A local modeler built him his plane after the Revell kit first came out so he is quite proud that his markings are the cover art on the box. Great job on the kit by the way.. Cheers Bruce Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Bruce, Great story. Thanks for sharing it along with your comments. A gentleman I know was a mid upper gunner in a Lancaster with 576 Sqn. Bob did 30 missions before he was 19. A different generation... Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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