Bomber Command nut Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Really starting to come together now Dennis, the Phantom will soon be ready . . . . (I'm building her sister on LSM, 'Nan', one of the last aircraft lost flying out of Grimsby(Waltham) ) . . . So looking forward to see more of her . . . Ian Dennis7423 and Uncarina 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis7423 Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 All- When I left you last (technically, I left you on Tom's Lancaster build!), I had started work on adding framework to the interior of the canopy. I saw this as the most logical solution to adding the horizontal stringers inside the rear of the canopy, which are depicted on the exterior of the canopy like the vertical frames. While this may* be accurate for some birds, photos of Phantom show her in the manufactured state, which has the horizontal frames on the interior of the canopy, while the vertical ones are on the exterior. By capturing this properly, it can seriously enhance the look of the kit. I started by adding Evergreen round stock to the inside frames, very carefully applying them with Tamiya extra thin: I managed to get them all installed, with only one boo-boo to correct. Not too shabby! The big kicker here was to carefully apply the horizontal pieces in the back... once the exterior frames are sanded away, they will show, and would need to be tidy. The others will be hidden behind exterior painted framework, so they didn't have to be quite as neat: Here, I have already sanded away the exterior horizontal frame on the left, and have the other five to go. You can see the effect of sanding away the exterior frame, leaving the interior, added frame showing through the window. Once paint is complete, archer rivets will be added to these stringers to show the window attached to these internal frames. Here's another view, showing the external frame on the left sanded away: To deplete them, I gently sand away the frame with a flat needle file, and then attack the window with a run of 12 sanding pads, ranging from course to fine. After sanding pads are complete, I hit it with some Novus plastic polish. If you don't like to finish, simply start over! Just a matter of patience, careful handling, and time. After the framework was complete, it was time to tackle another aspect of this kit that really bugged me: The side blisters are simply plastered on the side of a flat pane of glass. I knew early on that I wanted to correct this, and now was the time. I started by taping the blister to the starboard side (Phantom does not have a blister on the port side), and used a Sharpie on the inside of the canopy to mark where I wanted to grind away. I placed a piece of Tamiya tape on the inside to air with visualizing where to drill, and also to provide a little more rigidity to the brittle clear plastic. I then drilled pilot holes with a hand drill, and finally drilled all the way through with my handy Tamiya power drill: From here, I used a heated Exacto blade to cut from hole to hole, removing the inside piece. It was then just a matter of using the Dremel and needle files, carefully, to sand away all the parts where Sharpie was present. Again, good handling, and a careful approach, and you can avoid cracks and breaks, and make it out on the other side successfully! From there, it was just a matter of carefully attaching the blister with a little bit of Tamiya extra thin: Voila! A blister you can actually stick your 1/32 head into. I'm not sure this conversion was absolutely necessary, but it was an itch I just needed to scratch. So I scratched it. The next step was to add the blackout curtains to the roof of the canopy. First, I installed some EZ Line for the wires that the curtains run in. The added internal framing made this step a snap: Then, curtains were fashioned with diluted white glue and tissue paper. These were then slid under the EZ Line, pressed into place, and secured with a very, very small amount of super glue: I'm tickled pink with how the canopy is coming along! I've got five more frames to sand off, and a few other details to add to the inside before it's ready to be attached. Moving right along! As always, comments and critiques are most welcome. Thanks for checking in! - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA Troy Molitor, dennismcc, Trak-Tor and 13 others 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Looking good Dennis. Derek Dennis7423 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 That canopy looks great Dennis! Patience, a steady hand, and lots of ingenuity really takes your build to another level. Will you be sanding back the last vertical frame before the rear blister? This like the horizontal frame you’ve addressed (nicely I might add) was also internal. Cheers, Tom Derek B and Dennis7423 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis7423 Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 2 hours ago, Uncarina said: Will you be sanding back the last vertical frame before the rear blister? This like the horizontal frame you’ve addressed (nicely I might add) was also internal. I suppose I'll have to! I can't go to this much effort and leave one behind. I'll add it to the list of frames to make go away. I'm assuming the one that wraps around the perspex blister, correct? Thanks for the heads up! - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA Derek B and Uncarina 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber Command nut Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 I for one admire you patience's in going so far Dennis . . . I am intrigued to how it will look when you have finished, it will be the new benchmark for the Lancaster canopy I dont think I am that brave Ian Derek B, Uncarina, Troy Molitor and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 2 hours ago, Dennis7423 said: I suppose I'll have to! I can't go to this much effort and leave one behind. I'll add it to the list of frames to make go away. I'm assuming the one that wraps around the perspex blister, correct? Thanks for the heads up! - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA Dennis, I figured as much. Oddly enough, it’s not the wraparound frame, it’s the one just forward of that. Again, nice job on this, and let me know if you need any reference pics. Cheers, Tom Derek B and Dennis7423 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis7423 Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 2 hours ago, Uncarina said: let me know if you need any reference pics. Oh I'll always welcome reference photos! - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA Uncarina and Derek B 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Ok, I’ll post these in the morning. Cheers, Tom Dennis7423, Bomber Command nut and Derek B 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Dennis, Here you go: Cheers, Tom Bomber Command nut and Dennis7423 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis7423 Posted March 2, 2021 Author Share Posted March 2, 2021 All- Small update today, and a bit of neat news! I finished up the cockpit bits, and threw some base paint on the nose turret so it could be installed. Once the nose turret was in, I could finish sealing up the fuselage in preparations for seam work. The keen observer will see that I also added the fasteners to the nose for the front perspex: I also noticed a little niggle with Phantom, that will require some additional bits being purchased from our friends at Inconicair. The HK kit comes with two nose blisters; one shallow, and one deep. The shallow one is more akin to postwar birds, and doesn't have sensors installed. The deep one is more accurate for WWII birds, and has "sensors" that are molded as frames with holes through the nose piece. Phantom had a deep nose blister, without sensors! If the kit one didn't have holes through it, I could simply sand it down and polish it. But alas, no such luck here. Fortunately, Inconicair makes a replacement, deep nose blister, sans sensors, which is what Phantom was fitted with early in her career. So, I'm off to make an order! Fortunately, I've got plenty to work on in the mean time before it arrives. In cooler news, my parents were visiting me yesterday and my Mother asked me what I was currently working on. When I told her a Lancaster, she said, "You know you have family that served in Lancasters, correct?" Turns out my Great-Grandfather's nephew, Hugh Hughes, from Stirling, Scotland, was a tail gunner on Lancasters during WWII. I have no idea which squadron, crew, or anything more than what I've just shared with you! Hopefully someone here can shed some light on his service. Here's a photo of Hugh: That's all for today! Thanks for checking in. - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA Derek B, scvrobeson, Victor K2 and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 (edited) Great work Dennis, and I see paint and markings in your future! I hadn't realized the two nose blisters had different depths. HK has you install the one without IFF devices in earlier Lancasters, according to the supplement instructions for the "Victorious Virgin" kit. Glad you found a replacement. That's great that you've found a family connection with the Lanc, just like you have with the B-17! Cheers, Tom Edited March 2, 2021 by Uncarina Derek B and Dennis7423 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber Command nut Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Dennis Did you produce your own fasteners for the nose blister or are they an AM product ?? Ian Dennis7423 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis7423 Posted March 3, 2021 Author Share Posted March 3, 2021 48 minutes ago, Bomber Command nut said: Did you produce your own fasteners for the nose blister or are they an AM product ?? I produced my own using thin Evergreen strip. Took about a half hour for the whole operation, so not too bad! - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA Derek B, Bomber Command nut and Uncarina 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancman Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Shallow nose blister was fitted to early Lancs the deeper one was fitted later on in the war. Graham mozart and Uncarina 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now