Again referring to RAF Radials by Spencer Pollard, I had a bash at the Airfix Beaufighter. Aside from the inexplicably fiddly three piece engine cowling, this is as close as you get to a perfect kit. Like all new release Airfix kits the panel lines are too deep and it lacks rivet detail but I have to give it top marks for sheer modelling pleasure. It really suits panel line accentuation and paint modulation and the decals are really nice. Lovely little kit for a pleasant little aeroplane.
I do like this kit. It's chunky, very easy to build, has plenty of options and the results are pleasing. This one, however, was not without problems. Someone had started the kit and glued the wrong halves of the ailerons together which made them almost impossible to salvage. They had to be filed down and reshaped with filler, and they're never going to look right.
A thing to note with this kit is it actually needs considerably more weight in the nose than the instructions say so that it will sit on its own wheels, Like the real thing, it has tendency to fall on its tail. The kit even includes a small plastic prop on the assumption that it will. This time I compensated and it does sit well, but the undercarriage is unlikely to take the whole weight of it for very long.
The photo here doesn't do it much justice but this is quite a nicely finished silver grey of my own creation. The instructions recommend an aluminium coat but but in my view it's a metallic grey and the aircraft itself does not appear in the bare metal.
I've been pondering why I like it so much and then it occurred to me that in the gloss white with the circular bubble canopy looking like an astronaut's helmet, along with the 1950's lines, there is something quite space age about this one that gives it a real presence.
If I had the space and the money I could easily do a dozen Canberra's because they always appear in interesting schemes, and though it's by no means a sexy aeroplane, or even an interesting form, there's just something about it. Though it was the first jet bomber, it was one of the last proper bombers in the conventional sense. It serves as a bridge between the ages where you can tell where bombers has been and where it's going next. You either get it or you don't. You really need to see one in the sky to fall in love with the Cannie.
Having done that, I now regret it because a paint malfunction caused it to dry in uneven tones and it actually looks brilliant. This kit is more than the sum of its parts and it's a cheap way to fill the gap for a large self propelled gun. This is not a small vehicle.
This is the first time I've tried oil paint weathering on a vehicle and it really has worked. There's nothing better for rain streaking than a mucky blend of black, brown and white. I will probably revisit this one because there's a masterpiece hiding in this somewhere. If someone else releases a version of the AS90 I will jump at it because it can't possibly be worse than Trumpeters effort. I am quite surprised to be saying this.
Notwithstanding a few finishing touches, I've just completed the Airfix Lancaster B2. I was inspired to build this having bought RAF Radials by Spencer Pollard featuring three masterclass builds in 1:72. I decided to use his build of the Lancaster as a visual template to see if I could get anywhere close to that quality.
Though Pollard's book is a great resource, there are some procedural omissions leaving you guessing how to proceed so it isn't a how-to guide, but it does give you a few clues. It's also a review of the kit which was nice to have if only to have my own impressions confirmed.
I'm a little less diplomatic than Pollard. This is a stinker of a kit. The fuselage was warped and putting it together was seriously hard work. The main landing gear assembly is just bizarre and no thought has been put into attaching the bomb bay doors which are only precariously attached by small sprigs. The engine mounts are also a bit of a problem. They don't really attach to anything save for the forward cowling ring and they don't stay in place.
For a new tooling this was a bit of a disappointment from Airfix. I don't much recall if its predecessor was any good but this release isn't a quantum leap in development. As it happens, I did build the 1960's Airfix Handley Page Halifax not so long back which is not without its problems, but the fuselage rivets make for a more detailed and enjoyable finish. I do recall that the transparent parts weren't up to much but I have to concur with Pollard's conclusion that the fuselage detail on this Lancaster isn't as good, and is too smooth and too even to be considered realistic.
One of the flaws with the latest batch of new Airfix releases is the panel lines. On this and the new Vulcan, they're too deep and wide, more resembling a diecast model, presumably done that way for amateur modeller satisfaction but they do nothing for accuracy. The fuselage looks more like one of Brunel's iron clad ships than an actual Lancaster.
That said, I don't think it matters all that much if you get everything else right. The flaws in the kit can be overcome by a competent experienced modeller. Modelling, in essence, is the process of correcting a succession of problems either with the kit or from your own mistakes.
Speaking of which, I was not pleased with Pollard's recommendation to paint the tail plane separately. I categorically do not recommend this approach. The stabilisers don't fit on to the fuselage particularly well and it took several dry fits before realising that the locator slugs had to be more or less completely trimmed off, and in the process of fitting them the aft fuselage started to split open. If I ever do this kit again I will add them even before joining the fuselage. I would also say that there isn't very much point in going overboard on the interior because most of it cannot be seen.
As to the the paintwork, I must have done three or four RAF black/green/brown bombers in my time so this ain't my first rodeo. I went with my own mix of Tamiya colours. I've developed a reasonable instinct for it. The weathering was the real fun. Having watched a video on oil paint weathering, I went to town on this one, being that with oils you can simply wipe off what you don't like. Here I was able to fade and modulate the finishes in ways I have never succeeded with an airbrush. I've managed rudimentary pre-shading before but it goes wrong more often than not. Oils appear to be the way to go for now.
What really makes the difference on this one is the Eduard canopy mask. There's no way it would look nearly as good as it does without it. I'm now having to bend to the expensive truth that one should never attempt a complex kit without the laser cut masks.
There are a few problems with the end result that I may address with some advanced surgery later down the line. I always revisit my kits eventually. A second look often makes the difference between an average build and an excellent one. I had some problems with primer peeling and chipping, suggesting a release agent on the kit so I probably need to get back into the habit of washing Airfix sprues before commencing. This has left some surface imperfections I couldn't correct since I never seem to have a fully functioning airbrush.
With the help of Spencer Pollard's book I think I've produced one of my all time best efforts, if not the best. I'm usually a bit timid with aircraft weathering as you can very easily do something to ruin it, but this time I had the confidence to go much further. As Pollard points out, Lancasters did get absolutely filthy.
To seal in the streaking and modulation I gave it a very thin coat of (the now obligatory) Pledge floor polish, which may warrant a matt overcoat. I was going to give varnishes a miss but there was slight decal silvering and the Pledge takes the edge of it. The demarcation markings on the wing were something of a headache and I still don't trust decal solutions not to melt the decal completely or ruin the paintwork. I used a heavily diluted Humbrol Decalfix which was just enough.
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