tomprobert

Hi Alain, Yes it’s huge - the only problem was due to the centre beams running down the length of the main bay it couldn’t carry the larger bombs, meaning the Lanc and Halifax were left to do the really heavy lifting. Saying that, a Stirling could carry a hefty 14,000lbs. Our resident @wunwinglow has sent me a set of his excellent 3D printed 500lb British bombs so she’ll be fully loaded when she’s finished. I also scratchbuilt some incendiary carriers when I did the ID Models Lancaster years ago so I may well mix it up a little…

What a fantastic model - beautiful paint job! The only thing I would suggest is sanding the framing off the top turret and polishing it smooth. No B-24 ever has that style of framing fitted!

Cheers, guys - you are all very, very kind. Not this year - I’m taking a few smaller builds I’ve completed of late. Hopefully, next year… finished!

Evening guys and gals! I’ve been working on the huge flaps on this beast of late - they are absolutely massive and I imagine vital in providing extra lift to get this behemoth off the ground. These two pics (used purely for illustrative purposes) show them fully deployed as they often were seen when parked up: I set about them by carefully cutting plastic card to the correct shape for the upper and lower skins, bending the upper surfaces carefully in some very hot water (ouch!) to best replicate the aerofoil shape. I then cut out the runners for the flap tracks and scribed some surface detail - incorrectly at first as the plans I was using were wrong! The uppers and lowers were then carefully glued together over a wooden dowel to act as a spar and help keep the aerofoil correct: As with all scratch building, test fit, test fit, test fit… I then made all the rough edges good with Milliput white and added the distinctive bullet fairings beneath - these were actually old and spare H2S scanners from 1/48th Sanger Halifaxes and with some minor mods did the job perfectly! These will then fit the wing like so: And the undersides: I’m well ‘appy with those! Onwards and upwards! Until next time, Tom

Fantastic, Craig - a workspace I can only dream of! I'm still residing on the kitchen table - when her indoors allows me to! Good to see you settling in and the Fort looks as good as ever - we'll be waiting patently for an update when you get back to it. No pressure..! All the best, Tom

I find Halfords’ appliance white excellent - although warm, dry weather is preferable. Over a coat of their matt white primer you can’t go wrong. As a top coat, Tamiya’s gloss clear is great - not too glossy but enough sheen to be about right.

Any updates, Craig? I need my B-17 fix!

Great stuff, Derek - gotta love an MD-11! I built this model a few years ago and it's great - I remember the engines being a bit fiddly (although the resin is very nice!) but other than that it was more or less like an IM kit once the parts were all removed and sanded appropriately. It seems you are making a great start! Tom

Hi Iain, I’d have to agree - whilst it’s good to see someone take the plunge with some 3-pane windows the shape of these, in my humble opinion, is somewhat off: The outer windows are way too wide and the shape of the curved sections at the top/bottom is way off. There should not be any flat areas along these sections - the whole upper/lower profile is one smooth curve… Monogram, back in the 1970s got this spot on! As you say, a decent starting point but these will need some mods to be an accurate representation of this version of waist window.

Hobby Boss’ imminent new tool 1/48th scale B-24J has reached the test shot phase and… it looks as if they’ve got the wing right! I was worried they’d simply scale down their 1/32 kit but it’s clear some mods have been made to the wing. It looks much, much better to my eye - I can see a few of these in my future! Tom

Not the most exciting of updates but important progress nonetheless. I decided to tackle the distinctive oil coolers that hang under the nacelles on the Stirling MkIII onwards, having moved from the leading edge of the wing on the MkI. The kit parts were lacking somewhat, so I had a brainwave and decided to see what I could do with some spare 1/48th 500lb bombs, some old felt pen lids and a bit of filler! The bombs are actually an almost exact fit, in terms of the diameter, according to my plans so I threw caution to the wind and had a play to see if I could come up with something viable… I began by removing the fin section from each bomb and extreme nose, leaving the hollow shell of the bomb body. Rather than leaving them hollow, I trimmed the pen lids to give them some ‘guts’ and to represent the oil cooler itself. The forward section was then improved by adding some Evergreen tube of the correct diameter and everything was blended in. Finally, I used some thin Evergreen to add some external detail, and fashioned the mounts from plastic strip: Next, they were given a squirt of black as once installed on the nacelle it would be problematic getting the airbrush into the nooks and crannies: They were then glued to the correct position on each engine: Not perfect or totally accurate but they’ll do! All the best, Tom

I’ve built both, having done the Revell kit more recently so it’s fresh in the mind. It’s not an easy build by any stretch, but not as bad as many will lead you to believe. You need to do some very careful test fitting, and in some instances, trimming of the interior bulkheads to get a decent fit. Even then, a fair bit of filler is required, but it is perfectly buildable in my experience - just not a particularly enjoyable one. The Revell kit does have some strange inaccuracies, if you’re bothered about that kind of thing, but in parts it’s much better than the Trumpeter kit. The wheel bays, for example, are far superior in detail and the surface detailing is also much better. However, if I was to build another, simply from an ease of build point of view, I’d go Trumpeter. It goes together well and looks like a Super Hornet. Either will build into an impressive rendition of the F/A-18, but the Trumpeter kit will be an easier ride.

Yeah I get it. There’s only so much one can do when the basic kit is so off. The framing is a huge improvement over the original, however, and I will be buying a set myself when the time comes for me to build another big Lightning. I can’t help but think it’s a shame to close the cockpit up though - the detail in there is well worth showing off. All the best, Tom

This is indeed a book produced by @Learstang and he has assembled a wide variety of builds from various modellers which cover lots of varied approaches and techniques. Admittedly, Jason was scraping the barrel when he asked me to contribute with a chapter on my 1/32 Halifax, but the others are top-notch!

The detailing in the cockpit is phenomenal - it looks as if you could climb in and start her up! The extra time and effort you are applying here has really paid off. I know you said the transparencies are not yet attached, but does the main canopy sit right? It looks, to my eye at least, that the main canopy slants down too much towards the front. I think the framing of the lower glazing should sit more or less parallel to the wiring ducting - yours looks as if it is off by a few degrees and slants down too much. Not a criticism in any way at all - just an observation - but knowing your desire for total accuracy I thought I'd mention it. However, this could of course be rectified once the canopies are properly glued, and if you are having the cockpit open (which I hope you do to show off all that detail!) it won't be a problem at all All the best, Tom

Cheers, gents. The aim is to eventually have “the big three” of bomber command in 1/32 scale. I’ve done the Halifax, the Stirling is well on the way and I’ve the HK Lancaster in the stash ready to be done when this is finished. I’d love to display them all together at a model show one day in the future, but I will need to do some serious negotiations with my club in regard to display space..! I’ve not done a lot to this of late as I’ve been away on a family holiday and have now returned to teaching and the classroom after the summer break - a shock to the system! However, I’m slowly working out how to make my own oil coolers which hang beneath the nacelles on the MkIII as the kit parts are, shall we say, rather crude… More when there’s more! Tom

Very nicely done, Chuck - your build thread is bookmarked for when I come to build mine. An invaluable resource - thank you! Tom

I was worried there for a moment… I’m only ever called Thomas when I’m in trouble! The wife, therefore, refers to me as such on a fairly regularly basis - especially when a large model arrives at home… Many thanks for the kind words, Peter.

Very kind, Richard - thank you! Many thanks! The 1/32 collection is fairly large. So far I have a B-29, B-17, B-24, Sunderland, Halifax, Shackleton (stalled scratch-build) and this. I’ve also got the HK Lanc to do as well. Room, as you can imagine, is running out fast!! Thanks - I’ll take that as a compliment! My humble apologies - I’ll try to do better next time

Howdy, partners… I’ve now completed the main bomb bay structure as well as the wing bomb cells on the Stirling. 250+ pieces of individually cut Evergreen has got the job done - quite tedious but the results are worth it. There will still be some more to add when the bomb load goes in such as racks and some piping, plus the doors of course. On the real aircraft the divider between the gear bays and the outermost bomb cell is actually open with the truss work exposed, but I’ve gone for strength over accuracy as beefy card is needed for the wheel bays and general wing structure to give it enough strength to support the model. I need to finish off the main gear bays but I’ve had enough if cutting plastic strip for the time being so will focus on something else! All the best, Tom

Evening folks, With the summer holidays here, there's been some welcome additional modelling time and this was finished off over the weekend. I was given this by my dad who had in turn been given it by an old family friend - I think it is an original issue, and if not it's a very early issue of this classic kit from Airfix: I just wanted to build this more or less as it comes and enjoy it. However, I couldn't let the gaping hollow wheel bays pass so made some simple mods by adding plastic card sidewalls and some Evergreen stiffeners to at least make them sort of passable: Other than that, I used some Eduard belts for the pilot's seat, Barracuda wheels as the kit's had dried out and cracked when I tried to apply them to the hubs, and some aftermarket decals from Techmod to represent Von Werra's machine who crash-landed not far from me in Marden, Kent - and became 'the one that got away'. Although old and basic by modern standards, this kit is a joy and went together pretty well. Surface detail is sublime and the super-detailer could really have a field day if they were so inclined. I really enjoyed it as nostalgic build from days gone by and that's what it's all about! Evolution: here is the 109E alongside the G-model: like the Spitfire the basic airframe had huge potential to evolve and did so as the war progressed: Paints were all Xtracolor enamels with some weathering using Mig-Ammo pastels. A really enjoyable build - don't overlook these oldies as they scrub up really well! All the best, Tom

I have the Tigger vac which John did as a bit of a favour. It was pulled from an old mold with a few bits missing here and there. I’d be very keen to get a set of your engines and nacelles, as well as the undercarriage and props. I have a full set of transparencies if they’re of any use. Tom

This is shaping up to be one incredible model, Dan.

Thanks, Jeff. It’s very time-consuming but worth the effort and great fun!

Those engines are incredible! Lovely detailing work. Flap interiors were certainly black on later Lancs but I do seem to recall seeing pictures of early birds having green. I imagine with various factories building then there was likely some variation anyway.