"Sugar's Blues" Late War RCAF Lancaster

[Uncarina]

Thanks Mark, and welcome to the forums! I really appreciate your info, and it explains the lacking nose art in the later photos. Any links to your sources?

 

Cheers,  Tom

[mrp]

Glad to be a help, I do have a  large number of photos in my collection of Canadian Lancasters, including a number of "Sugar's Blues". Most of these photos are going to be used in a forthcoming book project on Canadian wartime  Lancasters, so I would prefer not to toss them out into the wind of the web quite yet!

Send me a e-mail address via PM , and I am more than happy to share that way.

[Uncarina]

That is fantastic, and I will be buying that book! I’ll send a PM in the meantime.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Tom

[Bomber Command nut]

On 4/16/2021 at 6:21 PM, mrp said:

Glad to be a help, I do have a  large number of photos in my collection of Canadian Lancasters, including a number of "Sugar's Blues". Most of these photos are going to be used in a forthcoming book project on Canadian wartime  Lancasters, so I would prefer not to toss them out into the wind of the web quite yet!

Send me a e-mail address via PM , and I am more than happy to share that way.

Be sure to make notification on here Mark as I'm sure many of us would like a copy  . . .

Ian

[Uncarina]

"In the midst of the shells S-Sugar’s past run of luck had seemed a flimsy guarantee. But as I flew westward a few feet above the white caps and the boys belted out some dirty ditty with unfettered joy and vigour, a more positive interpretation recommended itself. She had pulled it off again. The sixteenth motif would be added below my port window. And still she was invulnerable."

 

Yates, Harry. Luck and a Lancaster (Airlife Classics) . Crowood. Kindle Edition.

 

I've begun painting, starting with some preshaded panel lines followed by MRP RAF Dark Earth, with some RAF Light Earth mottling. After three paint sessions of an hour each and almost a complete bottle of paint I still have the starboard wing to cover. However, I wanted to start using the TopNotch camo masks before the hot weather became a factor, so I painted the tailplanes. I'm pretty pleased with the progress so far., with just a little bit of touch-up from overspray. The masks that I've used have aligned fairly well, with just a few gaps here and there at the edges which I supplement with patches of tape. Onward and upward!

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

 

 

 

[dennismcc]

Looking good

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[monthebiff]

Very nice Tom, really like the colour modulation you have.

 

Regards. Andy 

[Uncarina]

Dennis, Andy,

 

Thank you! The tricky part will be introducing a tight feather which I should have included in the first place. I could go over the edges with a very fine airbrush setting, or reapply the masks with a lifted edge. I will check out both options in practice, then take care of this.

 

I appreciate your support,

 

Tom

[Dennis7423]

Outstanding! You're well on your way, and it's looking good. I just picked up some of the new Revell enamels, and am going to give them a go on my Lanc.

 

Hot weather?!?!? We're mired in a cold spell, which is stopping me from painting my beast. Hopefully in the next few weeks I can start laying down some paint.

 

Looking forward to more and more!

 

- Dennis S.

   Thornton, CO USA

[Thunnus]

Initial paint looks Awesome, Tom!   But you want a slight feather on the edge? 

[Uncarina]

21 hours ago, Dennis7423 said:

Outstanding! You're well on your way, and it's looking good. I just picked up some of the new Revell enamels, and am going to give them a go on my Lanc.

 

Hot weather?!?!? We're mired in a cold spell, which is stopping me from painting my beast. Hopefully in the next few weeks I can start laying down some paint.

 

Looking forward to more and more!

 

- Dennis S.

   Thornton, CO USA

Dennis, thanks--your support has really helped me along with the build. I'll be curious to see how the new paints work out, but no doubt your results will be outstanding!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Uncarina]

7 hours ago, Thunnus said:

Initial paint looks Awesome, Tom!   But you want a slight feather on the edge? 

Thanks John! Yes indeed with the feather--it turns out that Canadian-build Lancasters were painted with more of a slight feather than the earlier British-built counterparts, so that'll explain the variation. I originally went with a solid demarcation after looking at the earlier Lancs, but now that I've had a chance to see (thanks to Mark, AKA MRP) the difference, I'll be making the change.

 

Cheers, Tom

Edited April 24, 2021 by Uncarina

[Uncarina]

After experimenting with different techniques to introduce the slight feathering, which included double-sided foam tape applied to the underside of the mask, I've decided to apply the feather freehand with the airbrush on a very tight setting, at ~12psi, applied 45-50 degrees to the edge of the pattern. It's actually easier for me because the foam tape proved to be more work and left more cleanup work.

 

Before:

 

And after:

 

So at this point my plan is to apply the masks and paint as before, go over the edges to introduce the feather, then fade back with the paint into the pattern to avoid shade differences along the edges. Until next time!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[JayW]

Awesome painting so far.  Feeling sorrowful, as painting is not my strong point. 

 

[Uncarina]

Thanks Jay! I’ve just finished applying all of the camo masks, so I’ll be painting the dark green next. This build will offer you lots of opportunities to practice painting . BTW, almost all my airbrushing is done with a $22.00 salon nail-painting airbrush I picked up from E-bay. I’ve been using it for the past several years with good results after using an Aztek. The included needles range from 0.2mm to 0.5mm. Don’t tell anyone!

 

Cheers,  Tom