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1/32 Short Stirling


tomprobert

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On 8/25/2023 at 8:21 PM, airscale said:

Thomas.....

 

 

 

You owe me a new laptop...

 

 

This one is now covered in dribble...

 

 

 

Quite exceptional :wub:

I was worried there for a moment… I’m only ever called Thomas when I’m in trouble! The wife, therefore, refers to me as such on a fairly regularly basis - especially when a large model arrives at home…

 

Many thanks for the kind words, Peter. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
8 hours ago, Maxim61 said:

Wonderful work! I've always had a soft spot for the Stirling over the Lancaster. It'll be really impressive once finished sitting next to the Lancaster.

Cheers, gents. 
 

The aim is to eventually have “the big three” of bomber command in 1/32 scale. I’ve done the Halifax, the Stirling is well on the way and I’ve the HK Lancaster in the stash ready to be done when this is finished. I’d love to display them all together at a model show one day in the future, but I will need to do some serious negotiations with my club in regard to display space..!

 

I’ve not done a lot to this of late as I’ve been away on a family holiday and have now returned to teaching and the classroom after the summer break - a shock to the system! However, I’m slowly working out how to make my own oil coolers which hang beneath the nacelles on the MkIII as the kit parts are, shall we say, rather crude…
 

More when there’s more!

 

Tom

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Anybody with a passing interest in Bomber Command, and Stirlings in particular should read this:

 

W3mNy3.jpg

 

The cover artwork isn’t great, but Murray Peden’s writing brings the experiences, the frustrations and the sorrows of wartime aircrew vividly to life. I love this bit:

 

”When you did your flare out and check on landing, she dropped onto the runway like a 39 ton boulder; there was no float to speak of at all. If you checked six inches above the runway the result was a beautiful landing. If you checked a foot and a half above the runway you arrived very firmly and definitely; and if you were two feet above the runway when you cut the throttles it felt as if the undercarriage were being driven through the wings.” 
 

Peden was a great fan of the much maligned Stirling, usually being regarded as the real ugly sister of the Lancaster and Halifax trio but it’s obvious it needed very precise flying. No wonder so many were damaged at Heavy Conversion Unit stage.

Edited by mozart
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Not the most exciting of updates but important progress nonetheless. 
 

I decided to tackle the distinctive oil coolers that hang under the nacelles on the Stirling MkIII onwards, having moved from the leading edge of the wing on the MkI. 
 

The kit parts were lacking somewhat, so I had a brainwave and decided to see what I could do with some spare 1/48th 500lb bombs, some old felt pen lids and a bit of filler! The bombs are actually an almost exact fit, in terms of the diameter, according to my plans so I threw caution to the wind and had a play to see if I could come up with something viable…

 

53191361070_cc7264dd5d_b.jpg

 

I began by removing the fin section from each bomb and extreme nose, leaving the hollow shell of the bomb body. 
 

Rather than leaving them hollow, I trimmed the pen lids to give them some ‘guts’ and to represent the oil cooler itself. The forward section was then improved by adding some Evergreen tube of the correct diameter and everything was blended in. Finally, I used some thin Evergreen to add some external detail, and fashioned the mounts from plastic strip:

 

53190705227_5ab93eba9d_b.jpg

 

Next, they were given a squirt of black as once installed on the nacelle it would be problematic getting the airbrush into the nooks and crannies:

 

53190705192_d508e6a7d0_b.jpg


They were then glued to the correct position on each engine:

 

53190704662_301d6b6120_b.jpg

 

53191166601_55bd69011e_b.jpg

 

53190967409_9a733395f2_b.jpg

 

Not perfect or totally accurate but they’ll do! 
 

All the best,

Tom

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