Border Model Lancaster Nose - “Spook n Droop” - Details, Details, Details...

[Westland WhirlWill]

Hi everyone,

 

Been taking a little break from my ongoing Spitfire project ( https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/90445-first-ever-lsp-tamiya’s-mk-viii-spit-mt594-wheel-well-mods/ ) as the engine stuff is getting a little tedious and I’m waiting for a few bits and pieces from Hannants to finish off the wheel wells before I paint them and glue them all together. The typically useless Langley distribution centre at Heathrow has been holding onto my package for the last two weeks now. Hopefully I get it some time soon…

 

So in the meantime, and to give me a little variety I went and bought the Border models nose kit. The whole Lancaster kit looks beautiful from the builds and such I’ve seen online but it costs a fortune and I’d have nowhere to put the ridiculously large final model so I opted for just the nose. I was initially planning on doing the phantom scheme included in the kit but the kit decals are quite a ways off the actual nose art from photos and I feel like almost every modeller has a model of the “Phantom of the Ruhr” on their shelf so why not do something a little different?

 

Whilst searching for Lancaster details online I stumbled upon this very interesting blog https://clarencesimonsen745590793.wordpress.com/2019/07/15/from-clarence-simonsens-collection/ detailing the research and efforts of a certain Mr Clarence Simonsen to preserve WW2 nose art from Canadian bomber squadrons. 

 

As a Brit-Canadian myself, the idea of modelling a British-built, Canadian-flown Lanc was appealing and amongst the many interesting nose art photos on the above blog, the ones of NN701 of 429 Squadron caught my eye in particular with its striking double skulls wearing top hats! 
 

 

It also has the nicknames of its crew painted at their respective stations which I thought was cool so that’s the Lanc I’ll be doing!

 

To avoid the detail paralysis that sometimes takes hold of me and which has definitely slowed my spitfire build at times, I’m going to be keeping this one as an out the box build (we’ll see how long that lasts…)

 

Comically inaccurate box art aside, the kit itself is fantastic. The moulded in detail is beautiful, the outer skin surfaces are lovely. I did find some of the parts were a little more flash-y than expected but nothing that couldn’t be fixed with some careful scraping. 
 

I’ve cleaned up and put together all the interior parts into paintable sub assemblies, as you can see here.

 

I used plasticard in a few places to fill holes or cover ejector pin marks that were difficult to fill and sand. 

 

The ribs in the bomb-aimer’s section are separate from the side walls and are a very tight fit. I trimmed the parts that inserted into the slots slightly to ensure a flush fit with the wall and also filled and sanded the ejector pin marks on each rib as they face towards the nose when installed. I also filled and sanded the front rib so it had a flush finish all around the edge of the side wall piece as this would be visible through the front blister. 
 

 

 

As a ‘44 British production Lanc, and based off the one photo of her, I’m going with interior green for the cockpit, black for the bomb-aimer’s area and front turret but happy to be dissuaded by more knowledgeable folk! 
 

Annoyingly, I planned for the Gee installation option over the H2S as I was originally going to do the Phantom, but I’m pretty sure I can see the pole in the cockpit that indicated H2S fitted in this photo (see circled below).

 

So I’ll have to fix that and put together the H2S boxes that go at the end of the navigator’s table. 
 

Also does anyone happen to have or know of a higher definition version of this photo of this aircraft? The original photo I believe was owned by Mr Simonsen of the aforementioned blog but he has sadly passed away. Not sure if that photo has ever been reproduced in any books or museums or anything like that…
 

The reason I ask is because I can read the nicknames of all the crew, save for the wireless operator position (circled below) which is too blurry to read in this small low res scan of a photo. I’d like to be able to have his name there too as its location is a part of the nose kit. 
 

I also tried to find the names of H.A.M. Humphries’ crew online to see if it might help me guess but to no avail. So if anyone has a better copy of the photo or info about the names of the crew, that would be much appreciated. For all I know, the nickname of the flight engineer may well be painted on the starboard side where I can’t even see it. 

 

On to the paint shop! 
 

Will

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 25 by Westland WhirlWill

[Finn]

Here are the crew names:

 

https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c12304/642

 

https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c12304/643

 

crews tended to fly together in whatever a/c they were assigned to for the mission.

 

Jari

[geedubelyer]

That molded in relief is amazing. 

Can hardly to see everything in colour 

[AngryJazz_Models]

Great start to the kit! I had this kit on my wishlist for a long time, so will be following with great interest 😊

[Westland WhirlWill]

On 3/11/2025 at 10:03 AM, Finn said:

Here are the crew names:

 

https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c12304/642

 

https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c12304/643

 

crews tended to fly together in whatever a/c they were assigned to for the mission.

 

Jari

Jari, thank you so much, that’s really helpful! I spent several hours trying to find that info myself but to no avail… good to have knowledgeable and helpful folk like you to help us out eh? 
 

Looks like my mystery wireless operator is K C Purdy then. I’ve looked again at the photo but can’t make out anything that makes sense for an obvious nickname but I may have an answer soon… 🤞🏼

 

On 3/11/2025 at 12:52 PM, geedubelyer said:

That molded in relief is amazing. 

Can hardly to see everything in colour 

 

On 3/12/2025 at 2:16 AM, AngryJazz_Models said:

Great start to the kit! I had this kit on my wishlist for a long time, so will be following with great interest 😊

 

Thanks guys, yeah the kit really is great. Wingnut Wings were really pushing the envelope when it comes to moulded interior detail, I haven’t seen anything close! Unfortunately Border’s instructions are pretty woeful compared to what we got used to from Wingnut and I haven’t heard great things about the decals. Clear parts issues are well known too. Nevertheless, I can only recommend the kit as it frankly makes a mockery of HK’s similar offering, which is the only competition I guess.

 

Since my last post I’ve been working on the front turret which is quite a kit in itself. I count 37 parts total for just the turret! It’s almost a shame to have it all black but my chosen model is a ‘44 model and the photos seem to confirm a black turret interior as opposed to the earlier aluminium/interior green versions. 
 

Here are all the interior parts minus belts. Everything was sprayed Tamiya rubber black initially and detailing was mainly done with Vallejo acrylics. 

 

Guns were painted gunmetal, then got a black wash. 

 

Careful painting of the gunsight allows it to be seen through.

 

Ammo tracks received a black line through the gold to simulate the black belt links. (Bear in mind this is WAY bigger than real life so it doesn’t look as messy to the eye)

 

Although the rest of the cockpit leather will be green I went for brown on the gunner’s seat for a change. 

 

Side frames also got the same brown leather treatment on the little side pouches which is questionable as they were probably overpainted black but oh well… the piston rams are Molotov chrome pen. Again to break up the colours a bit, part of the control handles are grey as they are an aluminium casting and I saw some unpainted examples online. 

 

Turret base got some brush chipping on the backrest as seen in some photos. Also took the artistic liberty of painting the wiring on the hoop frame a tan colour, again to break up the black.

 

Oxygen regulator

 

Ammo cans were heavily sponge chipped with Tamiya flat aluminium as I figured they’d take a beating being constantly removed/replaced/refilled. Maybe overdid it a little…

Parts of the framing with spare bulbs and does anyone know what the little square panel bit with the two tiny blocks on it is? 

 

Finally the gunner’s control panel. Picked out the radio connector in brown and a few other details in white, silver and gold. 

 

Just need to glue it all together now and I’ll take some better pictures of it all assembled outside in the daylight tomorrow! 
 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Will

[gavinrolstad]

Looking like a great build so far! Have you found much info on the color for the nose turret? Probably going to be getting around to the nose turret on my lanc and I’m struggling to find reference for the interior color.

Edited March 19 by gavinrolstad

[Westland WhirlWill]

8 hours ago, gavinrolstad said:

Looking like a great build so far! Have you found much info on the color for the nose turret? Probably going to be getting around to the nose turret on my lanc and I’m struggling to find reference for the interior color.

Thanks Gavin! 
Generally, early aircraft featured all aluminium or a mix of aluminium and interior green on the turret interiors whereas later aircraft, such as the one I’m doing had all black finish on the turret interiors and framework. 
The Wingnut Wings page for this kit is still up on their website and has some decent reference photos including some period colour photos. Have a look here:

http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/A5E54CF918413E7300ADE4F3CF63D033
 

If you are doing one of the kit schemes, Phantom of the Ruhr has the early aluminium/interior green finishes inside the turret and Victorious Virgin was a late production so has all black turret interior, as well as fuselage windows deleted and taller astrodome (included on clear parts frame but not mentioned in the instructions I don’t think).

 

Cheers,

 

Will

[Finn]

Here are a couple more pics:

 

 

 

Jari

[Westland WhirlWill]

4 hours ago, Finn said:

Here are a couple more pics:

 

 

 

Jari

Jari, you sir, are a gentleman and a scholar - these are both wonderful! Thank you so much! May I ask where you found these? I struggled to find many pictures of this aircraft online. Most were just poorer quality, cropped versions of that first one. 
 

Your picture however is good enough to read that W/O K C Purdy was nicknamed “Casey” which solves the issue I was having and will allow me to accurately recreate the markings of this plane! 😁

 

I don’t think I’d ever seen that second one though with (presumably) “HAM” himself. Looks like it was a bit later than the first one as they’ve added six missions and what looks like 3 kills. It also gives me a better picture of the details of their skull artwork to work from when I get to that part so thanks again, really appreciated! 
 

Will

[Finn]

Will, i found them here:

 

https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/noseart/

 

in the second pic i do not know if those are kill markings as 429 didn't start flying the Lanc until Mar 45 when the Luftwaffe wasn't much of a problem, perhaps a search of ORBs may yield some info. Kill markings were assigned to the aircraft not the crew so another crew may have been flying it.

 

Jari

[Westland WhirlWill]

12 hours ago, Finn said:

Will, i found them here:

 

https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/noseart/

 

in the second pic i do not know if those are kill markings as 429 didn't start flying the Lanc until Mar 45 when the Luftwaffe wasn't much of a problem, perhaps a search of ORBs may yield some info. Kill markings were assigned to the aircraft not the crew so another crew may have been flying it.

 

Jari

Thanks Jari, what a great website. Might have to go buy 10 more of these kits to do some of the others on here… 😅

 

That makes sense, I’ll take a look through the ORBs and see if there’s anything listed there. 🤞🏼

[Westland WhirlWill]

Just a few quick shots of the assembled FN5 front turret, as promised. I’ve left off the clear part and rear part for now in case I need to change anything and because there’ll probably be some masking to do inside the clear part as well as outside which will be easier to do with the clear part separate and without those gun barrels getting in the way of everything! 

 

That’s all for now but I’ll be back again soon with more work on the cockpit.

 

Cheers,

Will

[Finn]

Great work Will, have you seen this front section photo of a Lancaster:

 

 

it might give you some details you may wish to add. I plan on getting a nose section kit as well one day, with mine i'd like to add a partial bomb load, i think should to fit the first two rows with bombs or SBCs. The Border kit has the bomb bay doors and an in-flight stand but with the canopy problems they seem to have, the HK kit might the better option and cheaper.

 

Jari

[Westland WhirlWill]

On 3/21/2025 at 8:28 AM, Finn said:

Great work Will, have you seen this front section photo of a Lancaster:

 

 

it might give you some details you may wish to add. I plan on getting a nose section kit as well one day, with mine i'd like to add a partial bomb load, i think should to fit the first two rows with bombs or SBCs. The Border kit has the bomb bay doors and an in-flight stand but with the canopy problems they seem to have, the HK kit might the better option and cheaper.

 

Jari

Thanks Jari, what a cool photo! Looks like one of the earlier Lanc noses given the interior green finish and older bombsight mountings. I've chosen a black-finished nose interior for my aircraft as it was a late war aircraft. I would love to add all the extra detail seen here but I doubt I'd ever finish if I did and most of it wouldn't be seen anyway!

 

With that being said, although it's been a while since my last update, I have been busy. This kit has so much interior detail, it takes forever to get it painted. I've spent easily north of 70 hours painting and researching this cockpit! 😅 The 33 part youtube series "Lancaster Explored" has been invaluable for this build. It contains in depth information on the function and workings of almost every piece of equipment inside a Lancaster as well as some great colour references. So I now know what everything is as well as what colour it was (probably) painted! 😁 

 

Here’s the link if anyone is interested:

 

Without further ado, here is a photo of most of the interior parts painted up.

 

Everything was sprayed with my custom mix of interior green (Tamiya XF71 plus some grey and buff to lighten and dull it down a bit) and rubber or nato black for the black painted areas. The details were all brush painted primarily with vallejo acrylics. Everything in this picture has received a gloss coat in preparation for an oil wash so excuse the shiny finish - it will be dulled down eventually!

 

Here are a few close-up shots of bits I'm particularly proud of:

 

 

The Bombsight - I hollowed out the arm using a drill and sharp knife as the original part was moulded solid and added some small details where appropriate using photos of the actual thing for reference. 

 

 

 

I spent quite a bit of time on the pilot's seat as it is one of the most visible parts of the finished interior. I sponge-chipped the aluminium seat parts with a light grey and the steel plate of the head armour with a darker grey to differentiate between the two metals. I chose to use the moulded in belts as I find the drape convincing and hate trying to bend photoetch seatbelts in a way that looks natural. I think they look very good once painted up and am pleased that manufacturers such as Kotare continue to give this as an option because when done well, I think it looks better than any photoetch belts ever can.

 

 

The IP doesn't look great here in its current gloss finish, but it looks better IRL. The decals were a real pain as the sheet was somewhat out of register meaning that part of each dial disappeared when applied over black paint because the white backing of each dial wasn't centred. I therefore had to paint many of the dials white before applying the decal, then touching up all around the edges with black paint to remove the white ring that was left around it. This added considerable time and frustration to the whole affair! 😡 I lost one decal in the process which you may be able to spot on this photo... I'll replace it with an airscale one before I install the IP in the final build. I'll also touch up a couple of bits I've noticed in this photo!

 

 

I cut off and rebuilt the lower levers (upper in this photo) on this part as they were moulded as a single blocky piece and looked nothing like the real thing. The new ones are simply plasticard strip and punched discs.

 

 

Here is a closeup of the leather pads on which the bomb aimer lies. I tried to give them a scratched and worn look, as with all the leather on these cockpit parts.

 

 

Some hand-painted details for which there are no decals supplied in the kit. I was particularly pleased with the fire extinguisher (which will be completely hidden behind the bombing computer 😂) The extinguishers in the Lancaster were not Pyrene ones as I first thought, but rather Graviner models and they were certainly not red! The label is roughly copied from a photo in the Lancaster explored series I mentioned earlier.

 

 

 

Flare cartridges complete with markings and stripes denoting their colour.

 

 

The F24 camera, mounted in its rack, with an airscale placard for detail.

 

 

Radio equipment and bombing computer. Lots of tiny decals here too, many of which were out of register! 🤬

 

 

The navigator and wireless operator's desks complete with scratches to the plywood surface.

 

 

And finally, the cockpit floor which has received an oil wash and some dirtying up along the main walkway area. I also did some hairspray chipping with moderate success on this part to represent the most worn areas around the pilot and engineer's feet.

 

That's all for now, got a few more parts to paint, some weathering to apply to the rest of the parts and a few more decals to add. Thanks for looking in and see you soon!

 

Will

Edited May 25 by Westland WhirlWill
added radios photo

[Iain]

Fabulous work - especially those radios!

 

Iain