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Westland Lysander Mk. III SD Matchbox-Revell 1/32


mc65

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I have to agree with the others here.  If there's an issue with the wing, it's very hard to see and you'd need to be familiar with Lysanders too.  I guess you're like most of us here in that you're your own worst critic.

 

This build has been epic, and you've turned a sow's ear into a silk purse.  Very well done indeed.:bow: :goodjob:

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

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  • 1 month later...

thank you all!

 

Russ, I really want to finish it, but I'm waiting for the customized decals of the cricket and the serial number. then a quite simple setting and I'll be able to close this tiring modeling chapter.

I must confess that I tried to strain the wing thinking of exerting a progressive pressure up to bring it into square, but a bad creak immediately stopped me.

it will stay that way, luckily it doesn't have to fly, otherwise it would be totally out of trim!

 

see it soon here completed, I hope.

cheers, Paolo

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Paolo

Meant to ask about your wheels. Did you have any in progress shots of how you did the spats for the wheel support?

I would like to do that on my Lizzie as well, but have not seen any thing that shows how the strut goes up the spat.

 

Thanks

 

Russ

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Excellent build+very good tips for assembling, I just found old Matchbox for very good price and feel tempted to try build one..but after seeing this it seems that some engineering skills are required to set wings and other parts alligned right..but why not to try and have some challenge :)

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Hi Paolo,

This aircraft is one of my all-time favourites from WWII and your build is probably the best one I've ever seen of this particular kit (in all its releases).  Your modelling skills are clearly evident and you should be proud of your efforts.   I have this kit (Matchbox) in my stash and if mine ends up being half as good as yours, I will be happy.

 

Kind regards,

 

Wayne 

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thank you all, I'm really glad you appreciate, as me, this definetly strange aircraft!

 

I won't be pretending to be modest: to finish this kit I sweated seven shirts, but I must say (only now that it is practically finished) that by addressing a single problem at a time it's possible to come out of it.

having third millennium's capabilities, it can be further improved by redesigning the fuselage structure, creating specific PE, and creating stencils for the signs to be painted.

 

if I had to do it again, I believe I would assemble the wing with the metal spars right away, reinforcing the whole structure inside the wing.

another thing I would do is build a sturdy template for the wing-fuselage gluing phase, the stands I used proved too optimistic to keep a decidedly too complex geometry at bay, by the standards of the 70s kit.

 

Russ, unfortunately I don't have any pic of the work in progress of the landing gear leg inside the spats. I just used a 3,5mm square brass element curved by the hard way (anvil and hammer) to match the spat curve. instead of doing a unique leg, as in the real, I divided it in two low semi-legs, just the lenght necessary to accomodate in the spats.

i realized some cuts in the upper end of the legs to match some plasticards strips and have a strong joint. once the legs were positioned correctly, I reinforced everything by filling the upper fairing with cyanacrylate and glass microspheres.

 

here some pics (posted for discussion purposes only) from a book still available, that I strongly reccomend to whom want to confront himself with the Lizzie.

first, the book itself:

IMG-5103.jpg

 

then some specific images. the whole leg. 

IMG-5102.jpg

 

here it is possible to appreciate the curvature in situ.

a thing that must be considered is the camber and the position of the leg under load. in the photo above it's evident that the leg is closed without load, and the wheels are not perpendicular to the ground.

I decided to represent an airplane not at its maximum weight, therefore with the wheels and the spats open but not at the maximum.

reading the reports of those who have piloted a restored kite in flight conditions, it is understood that during taxiing the landing gear moves even an inch in one direction or the other due to the compression of the elastic leg. it follows that the wing must also be affected by such excursions, in some way.

IMG-5098.jpg

 

and here even better, the relationship with the outer fairing.

in particular it is important that the leg is positioned adjacent to the inner panel of the spat. otherwise the wheel will tend to come out of the volume of the spat on the opposite side.

IMG-5099.jpg

 


here it is possible to appreciate the position of the leg in relation to the rest of the fuselage.

IMG-5100.jpg

 

but, since it would have been difficult to manage the leg as a single piece during the assembly of the fuselage, and considering that you can see just a tiny part of it under the pilot's seat, I decided to insert the central part as a purely aesthetic piece.

you can see the central part in the first photos of page 2 of this wip.

IMG-5101.jpg

 

I hope it could have been of some help!

 

cheers, Paolo

 

 

Edited by mc65
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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Paolo, great job on Lizzie, the Matchbox molds are really generous in the panels but I have seen that you have been able to optimally reduce the trenches. I had a lot of fun building Eduard's one in 1/48 and I didn't have to suffer as much as you, in 1/48 it is already big enough I don't want to think how much it is in 1/32. Congratulations again, Bravo.

Edited by spartacus2000
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  • 11 months later...

sometimes they come back...  :o

 

I don't believe it either, but I can finally declare FINISHED this model on which I sweated so much but which also amused me so much.

not to contradict itself, given that I bought the 1978 kit in 2003 and put it on the workbench in 2021, the decals had to wait for that further year. the friend who had taken charge of it has gone through and is going through a series of vicissitudes that I wouldn't wish on anyone, so I resolved to do the simplest thing (I thought): contact professionals. I won't name names, it seems inelegant to me, but the first attempt, made with a company with a name that should give guarantees and with a friendly and helpful owner, took over 4 months and countless emails and phone calls to get me a well printed, but on a thick backing such as a quilt. and yes, while I was at it I optimized preparing the groundwork for three further projects to come.:coolio:

IMG-7037.jpg

 

thick, opaque, and with the aggravating circumstance of requiring two steps: one for white and one for colour.

IMG-7106.jpg

 

stupid me that I launched myself directly on the model instead of doing some lateral tests.

IMG-7193.jpg

 

then I did a thousand thousand tests, also contacting the company and informing them of the bad results, pointing out that if the problem was the support (other decals from the same company are fine) they risked dissatisfying all future customers. the answer was that they will do some tests too.

given the time that had elapsed, and in fact almost two months passed without news, I closed my eyes and made the first random number found after a search on the web. result, after a phone call to finalize the details and a week of waiting, I received this.

8d669327-1807-49c5-ba14-fa9f18edc878.JPG

 

after a couple of more than satisfactory tests on the side, I peeled off poor Lysander's areas and started over. better I would say.

IMG-8562.jpg

 

the red shoots a bit, and my sanding steps to reduce the step of the film partially damaged the color, making the background white appear in some places.

IMG-8583.jpg

 

nothing that a few gouache touch-ups on the suggestion of the friend Master of Color and a veil of black oil applied with an airbrush cannot solve.

IMG-8587.jpg

 

IMG-8586.jpg

 

aaaand... ta-daaaah!! FINISHED!!

IMG-8588.jpg

 

decent pics in RFI section coming soon I hope. meanwhile, as proof that the house is hiding but not stealing, the original instrument panel is hacked out. take your time, no prob!

IMG-8594.jpg

 

and that's all, thank you all for your participation, patience and perseverance in following me in this madness.

I remind those interested that I have kept the masters for the transparent parts and I have an excess of customized decals, in case anyone wants to try their hand at the only Lysander currently available in 1/32. :)

cheers, Paolo.

 

the-end2-e1372677052820.jpg

 

 

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Brilliant result, Paolo! That instrument panel is a work of art. I have one of these in the stash too, and definitely plan to tackle it some day. Congrats on achieving such a terrific result with yours.

 

Kev

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