The cockpit update parts have arrived and a paint test has been done. Some other extra parts have also arrived and with a kit of this size and display options with the clear fuselage parts preparation and plans take time. As this is new on the market, detailing companies take time to catch up and Eduard has just released the cockpit, seatbelt and masking set, with next month (April) a bomb bay set and flaps set that I know of.
Exterior painting sets are becoming available and these will be added to the build. You have to have a clear idea of just how YOU want the finished thing to look and formulate a plan for this as well as building in some flexibility for something that is released that is going to increase the detail that you didn't know about. This is why builds of this scale take longer than you think it will!
Eduards cockpit parts have arrived and I think they will be a great enhancement. Eduard have a steel seatbelt set available, but I think HGW's set when it comes available will be better.
The Main colours of the Lancaster are dark green, dark brown and black. Vallejo have the correct chipset colour for the green and brown, but the black is a bit peculiar.
Night black, as applied to bombers is not a true black but a blackish grey but so dark is looks black. To give a totally matt non-reflective surface, soot was added to the mix and it was usually applied with a brush rather than a spray gun.
Today, we can produce this without the need to add soot and get totally covered slapping it on to a huge aircraft. Just Jane, the BBMF and Canadian Lancasters show this colour, but for we modellers this is a hard colour to replicate which makes us cast about for alternatives.
In my opinion, the best available susbstitute is NATO black from Vallejo as it is chipset accurate and is probably 5% lighter than the original and to me and my eyes it looks the same.
Using a cockpit exterior part that won't be used in the actual build I did a paint test with NATO black from Vallejo directly onto the plastic with no primer. The primer used is just a little darker and will compensate for the 5% making the paint match exactly.
I have run the photos through photoshop as my camera paniced when pointed as the middle of a black subject and I have altered the levels to produce the correct result. This is also due to the changing light in my build room and lights in the room.
Vallejo's NATO black is totally matt and sits nice on the part and the detail that could be hard to see, now comes out and under this colour looks fantastic! I think the nail has been hit on the head and I would like to know what others think.
James