1/32 Short Stirling

[chrish]

Amazing but, expected crisp clean work. I’m enjoying my foray into vac kits as well but, I’ll never be near your level. I couldn’t build a mainstream kit this well!

[tomprobert]

On 3/5/2023 at 3:53 PM, chrish said:

Amazing but, expected crisp clean work. I’m enjoying my foray into vac kits as well but, I’ll never be near your level. I couldn’t build a mainstream kit this well!

I think you're doing yourself an injustice here, Chris - seeing your Orion and Hudson you more than the necessary skills.

 

 

[airscale]

spelbinding - what a build

 

I am waiting with baited breath to see what you do with the U/C - if I recall its quite a complex gangly assembly..

 

gonna take some 3 dimensional chess that one...

 

Peter

[mozart]

When you do a bit of research involving Stirlings, especially at Operational Training and Heavy Conversion Units where aircrew were trained, the most frequent problem encountered is the collapse of that gangly undercarriage. It’s certainly going to be a challenge, soldered brass construction would be my choice. 
 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by mozart

[tomprobert]

Thanks, chaps - the landing gear is certainly going to be the most challenging part of this build. 
 

Speaking of which, I thought I’d start with something relatively straightforward as a first, tentative step. 
 

When I inherited Cees’ parts he kindly threw in some spare HK Lancaster wheels which has been most helpful. The Stirling and Lancaster shared the same hub, but the Stirling’s tyre was larger. Plans consulted, I came up with a cunning plan…

 

First up, I used some Evergreen block strip of the correct size to enlarge the Lancaster tyre to the correct diameter. Using strip, rather than a sheet of plastic card, means they follow the contours of the tyre well and reduce the amount of sanding needed later. Here you can see the modified wheels with the strip added:

 

 

Next, I used some tape to protect the hubs, and layered on some P38. The rear-most tyre has already begun the sanding to shape:

 

 

Both tyres sanded:

 

 

And then primed:

 

 

Not bad - although the shoulders need rounding off a little more. A job for another day. 
 

Until next time,

Tom

[Archimedes]

I bet not more than a handful of these have ever been built so it is wonderful to see this one in the hands of someone like you Tom who really knows how to do it. You Sunderland was jaw dropping and this Stirling will be evening more so because of the mind boggling complexity of the landing gear alone!

 

Kind regards,

Paul

[mozart]

That’s a really ingenious solution to increasing the size of those wheels Tom, brilliant! 

[blackbetty]

allways a pleasure watching your work, Tom

[TankBuster]

Fascinating work as allways. Cheers.

[Shoggz]

Great ingenuity on those wheels Tom! I've always had a soft spot for Stirlings and to see one being built in 1/32 is brilliant.

[vvwse4]

Looks great!!

 

Try to get a hold of the Meng Air Modeller issue 67 from august 2016. There is a build in there from Megas Tsonos who scratch builds a Stirling 1/48th scale ( and it is a beauty!!). In this issue he builds the undercarriage. If you need the pictures from those pages let me know.

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235034085-sanger-148-stirling-mki-bf372-ron-middleton-vc-finished-at-last/page/17/

 

But I think you know this one already.

 

Rick

Edited March 7, 2023 by vvwse4

[Troy Molitor]

Great efforts going on here Tom. As mentioned above: I have the Meng Air Modeller issue 67 from august 2016 if you need it.  I thought there were a couple different build articles on the specific 1:48 build if not mistaken.  Loving your efforts to date.  

[tomprobert]

Thanks for the kind words, chaps 

 

I subscribe to Air Modeller so have all of the Stirling articles you mention - they have already been an invaluable resource. I've also found some really interesting clips on YouTube about the landing gear for those that are interested:

 

 

 

It's going to be a nightmare of epic proportions making this!!!

 

Tom

[Jack]

Tom, just "stumbled" on your thread, how could i have missed that, unbelievable project and superbly executed, can't wait to see the end result!!

Very very good show

 

Jack

[Derek B]

2 hours ago, tomprobert said:

It's going to be a nightmare of epic proportions making this!!!

 

I have always considered that the Stirling undercarriage was actually two - an undercarriage within an undercarriage! (I am not sure why it was designed to be so long?).

 

Derek