Avro Anson vacuform

[mozart]

OK, so this will be an attempt to move on with my Anson, a plane that is very dear to my heart and which has been lingering in its box for far too long.  Taped together below just to get some idea of shape etc:

 

 

And this is a 1/48 (Classic Airframes) kit sitting on the 1/32 scale drawings for size comparison.

 

My father flew them when he was a staff pilot at No. 24 Bombing and Gunnery School, Moffat, S Rhodesia in 1944/45 but this is the only photo that he took of one (they were so run of the mill and no worth bothering with I guess!):

 

 

The original picture is only 40mm x 30mm and this is a crop of just one section, so detail is a bit vague.  The colour scheme interests me, I think the front section and wings are probably the original silver but the aft section has been painted yellow when shipped to Rhodesia, though this little water-colour that Dad did shows them all yellow too:

 

 

Time to have a detailed look through the bits and try to remember where I'd got to.

 

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by mozart

[BradG]

Good choice this definitely deserves to be finished.

[monthebiff]

Nice to see your Anson back on the bench Max, very much enjoyed your progress on this build so far and looking forward to more!

 

Regards. Andy 

[Out2gtcha]

Great start Max! Not a plane you often see, nor one you see built

[mozart]

Thank you all .  I originally did the main cockpit framing in metal tubing using Albion Alloys “Connecto”:

 

 

and it works quite well, but I have a hankering to redo it using plastic rod because I want to get some variation in the thicknesses between the main structures and the supporting/strengthening ones:

 

 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by mozart

[geedubelyer]

The reason for this build being on the SOD looks quite understandable to me. Any vac-form is difficult but this clearly has it's own set of challenges Max. 

I wish you good luck on your journey and will be sending many positive vibes your way.  

[KiwiZac]

Anson? Cool. Vac? Very cool. That cockpit structure? AWESOME! I'm following this one for sure.

 

I've been very fortunate to see Anson Mk.I MH120 perform at several airshows here in NZ and apparently its interior has been restored to such detail that even the pencils at the nav station are period-correct! I was never an Anson fan until her restoration. Rides are available...

 

[mozart]

I hope so Maru, if it wasn't for the pandemic I'd be visiting NZ next year and seeing, possibly flying on the Anson, was on my bucket list.  She differs from my build in that she has the later all-metal wing whereas mine is wooden + fabric, but the internal shots are excellent reference material.

Edited December 4, 2021 by mozart

[Rick Griewski]

Yesss!  Great!  Mine keeps whimpering each time I get close to the “In Process” shelf.  But many other kits are ahead of it in the queue.  

[Tony T]

Astonishing Max! I absolutely love this. Exquisite. My adoptive Dad trained on canary yellow Faithful Annie Vs in Canada as part of his navigator training in early-mid 1944, so I wish there existed an IM kit for idiots like me.

 

Cheers, enjoying this marvel,

 

Tony