1/72 NOVO Westland Lysander COMPLETED !

Thanks so much Greg,

It was a fun build.  I've wanted to build a Lysander for quite some time.

About brush painting - I guess I'm surprised by people's comments.  To me - as long as I follow a few simple rules: Keep the paints thinned,  apply in multiple light coats, and don't overwork the paint, the processs is pretty easy.   This is especially true of the hard-edged camo patterns that I use on WWII British A/C.

The things I have a hard time with are the things that an air-brush can do well . . . painting light colors (white and yellow) & painting feathered edges.  I can fake a feathered edge with a brush if you don't look too close - but getting good coverage with brush-painted light colors still eludes me.  I usually switch to a rattle can for whites.

I look forward to seeing your Matchbox Lysander !

Chris

Chris-

Truly epic work on a not-terribly-builder-friendly kit! Every time I see one of these old Frog kits turned into something this grand, I am in awe.

I have the Matchbox version waiting in the stash---destined for a certain oft-replicated SEAC scheme---and yours is certainly an inspiration I will bookmark for that build.

Also...to echo what others have said...your brushed finishes always blow me away. My airbrushed ones rarely look as smooth!

Cheers

Greg

Thanks Max -  I enjoy being able to share my builds with others through this forum.  People seem to appreciate seeing other's work no matter what the skill level.  I appreciate your kind words.

Thanks John - I was thinking about the misallignment, and now I'm wondering if it might be due to more than just the wing/strut joints.  The landing gear may also be a tad off - and the wing strut is anchored on the gear legs.  Like I mentioned - too many degrees of freedom, to many parts that are attached at only one or two points and are able to twist or sag as the glue dries.  I'm guessing I made a series of undetected allignment errors that all kinda ganged up and bit me in the end - showing up in the starboard wing - the last place to be nailed down.  I may yet go back to this for a correction, but for now I'm movin' on.  I have a Blenheim that is part of a GB that ends in May - so I gotta get crackin'. 

A 1/32 Lizzy ?   I've heard some good things about that Revell kit, but I've been limiting the scale of my builds to 1/72, with a few 1/48 kits of my favorite single engine fighters.  I just don't have the space.  Even now - I don't have display room for the last two builds I've completed.  My display shelves are packed tight.  Time for another shelf I guess.

Chris

Too bad about the wing, maybe you could still adjust it by fiddling with the strut?  Other than that it is grade A.  Now that you are all tuned up on Lysanders there is always the 1/32 Matchbox kit, eh?

Hey Chris, the final looks great! I had no idea that it would turn out that cool. You are persistent! First I watched the post I guess because it was a Lysander, like I've only seen one. Then I watched it because you were actually making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, lol. Amazing my man, Good job!

Max

Thanks Bish - yes the wing shape is pretty unique - along with alot of other aspects of the Lizzy's design.  It all comes together to give the Lizzy a rather insect-like look I think.  From what I've read - the design proved to be very effective - outperforming many of the other STOL recon aircraft of the time.

Thanks Mike - I don't know if I'd call it a "flaw" in the kit with the wing/canopy/strut assembly.  But it certainly wasn't a simple design for allignment.  It was probably a flaw in my assembly.  I should have built some kind of jig to hold the whole thing in place as it was being assembled.  I thought I could assemble the wing halves and canopy in one step - and then add that whole assembly and the struts to the fuselage in another step.  There were alot of degrees of freedom to deal with all at the same time.  Kinda like herding cats.

Thanks Pawel - I agree, I can't remember ever seeing anyone build a Lysander on this forum.  I hope this WIP doesn't discourage others from trying one.  Hopefully "New Airfix" will release a nicer kit having a cleaner design.  This kit would seem to be right up their alley.  

What's next you say ?   Hmmm.   That almost sounds like I build one kit at a time !  I started working on two other kits while I was working on the Lysander:  A 1/72 Bristol Blenheim for the Multi-prop GB, and a 1/48 Hurricane for the RAF GB.  These are the priority builds for now.  I have a few other partially completed kits that are taking a backseat for a while.  (It's a disease)

Thanks Toshi - I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope it inspires you to try one one day !

Thanks for looking guys 

Chris

What a great job you've done and the recovery.  I really enjoyed following this build as the subject is extremely unique!  Not some thing you see everyday.

Toshi

Hello!

Lookin' good! Plus it's a very interesting aircraft, gets built way too seldom! You're probably right with the wing spar, but your wing doesn't look bad, neither! So what's next?

Thanks for sharing and have a nice day

Paweł

All of that wonderful effort and its got a stupid flaw like that wing?? 

Good thing its not noticeable until you see it from that one angle. The build and finish is excellent and one of my favorite parts are those landing lights in the wheel covers. Those are spectacular!

Very we'll done!! :)

I thinkyou have done a really nice job on this. I see what you mean about fitting the wing, and i had never noticed it had that shape befpore, a bit differant. And its good to see subjects like tyhis get an airing. Well done all round.

Hello All,

I'm calling this one DONE !

You guys have read my blabbings for a while - so - on to the pics . . . 

Some shots in different lighting . . . 

And this is where everything falls apart    -    owwww !

I have a few disappointments about my job on this one - and also some things that I was quite pleased with.  If I ever build another Lysander, I'll have some tricks up my sleeve.

Criticisms gladly accepted and encouraged !

Chris

Thanks Bish !

Tonight was the beginning of assembly on the rather weird Canopy/Wing join.  It turned out to be rather fiddley, with numerous opportunities for misallignment and not a whole lot of surface area to get good adhesion.  

Once the wing tabs were inserted into the top of the canopy they were glued together - but the assembly was shakey.  I added a plate cut from styrene to reinforce the joint of the two tabs together.  After a couple tries, it worked.   Sorry - didn't get any pics of that part.

Dry fitting showed me that the canopy had to be raised quite a bit in order to avoid having to use too much filling and sanding later.  I added a .040" square rod to the edge of the cockpit to lift it up, then I had to shave down the bottom of the canopy a little bit because .040" was too much.

So here she is - glued and clamped.  She'll rest overnight, and tomorrow I'll add the wing struts and paint those stark white styrene additions.  I have a feeling this will be a rather fragile model.  

If I ever build another one of these - I think it would be best to cut off the wing tabs, replace them with holes in each wing, and then create some kind of beam that goes through the canopy and inserts into each wing.

Live and learn !

Chris

That is looking very nice, and great recovering.

Thanks Max and Pawel,

I'm just getting back in the saddle after not being able to build - and not having time to post for the last two weeks - mostly because of a business trip.  Oddly enough - while on the trip, I was able to see the new movie "Allied" on one of my flights.  Go figure - Brad Pitt as a Lysander Pilot !

I've progressed a bit with painting and scratchbuilding since the last update.  The first order of business was to scratch build some lenses for Lizzy's landing lights.  These were not a part of the Novo kit, but the are a very noticable part of the Lysander - so I decided to add them.  I chucked a piece of clear sprue in a cordless drill and used an exacto blade like a lathe tool to turn it down to the right diameter (and make them nicely round.  Then hit the front surface with a polishing stick while it was still turning.  I drilled a shallow hole in the back of the lens with a pin drill to simulate a bulb.  Both lenses were then backed with a piece of aluminum foil.  Holes were drilled in the wheel spats to fit the lenses.  I like 'em !

Next was to smash mold a piece of clear plastic over the clear rear canopy part.  (Thanks to Fermis for explaining how this can be done so easily). The rear canopy part that came with the kit was not meant to be posed open.  It is so thick that it won't fit over the fuselage when it's in the open position, so I figured that if I smash molded a new one over the kit part - it would be pretty close to the right dimensions on its inside.   So far - so good.  After painting the frame, I think it will do the job.

Smash mold part on the Left / Kit part on the right 

So here she is.  Painting, decaling, and dull coating complete.   The kit decals were out of register and looked like they would disintegrate when they hit water - I didn't even try them.  All the decals were pulled from the spare decal pile.

Now I just need to wait for everything to dry, fix a bit of the broken cockpit framing, paint the tail wheel and main gear wheels, re-gloss the prop hub, assemble, and add some pastel chalk weathering.   She's on the home stretch !   I'm REALLY glad Lizzy doesn't require any rigging.

Chris

Nice save here - way to go! By the way you verified your glueing is strong enough :-) Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Go Chris! My that thing is teeny! 

Max

Here's the pics of Lizzy's plastic surgery . . . 

The patient (pre-op):

No anesthesia required . . .

Lucky me !  The scoop came off clean enough to be salvaged !

Restore the styrene that was cut through by the saw . . .

. . .  Sand down . . . 

. . . and relocate.

Then clean up the wound, restore the panel line, and  . . .  Voila !

Almost back to where I was before !

Chris

Thanks GM !  

Unfortunately, I can't brush paint away numbskull assembly errors !

Chris

Holy cow that looks amazing. Your brush painting is better than my airbrushing.  Can't believe the level of detail you put in in such a small kit. It looked a lot bigger in your stand alone pics.  Just curious about your moniker. It reminds me of my old wing commander days on PC

Hello All,

So I'm layin' down the first coat of RAF Dark Green over the Dark Earth base.   The wings are done and I like the way this is turning out.  I'm following a paint scheme from a photo reference.   Then on to the fuselage and the engine cowling . . .  checking my photo ref again . . .  wait . . . what ? ! . . . .   NOOOOOOO !

How on earth did I miss that !    I glued the cowling 180 degrees off - and then glued the exhaust pipe in the "correct" orientation.

Well - here are the overall shots . . . 

In order to avoid as much damage to the cowling as I can - I might just cut that "chin" scoop off the top and fashion a new one to go underneath.

Chris

Looks nice, Chris.

Thanks Mike !

It's been fun working on it.

And Thanks Pawel !

Even in these pics - the painting looks rather coarse to me.  It still screams out "I'm a plastic model"  But at this point I don't really expect it to look that good.  It will look alot better after I refine some of the lines, and do all the other things to finish the finish.

I was thinking about it today . . .   With the way the wings join to this kit at the canopy - I think it will be easiest to complete all the painting and finishing first, before I do the final assembly.

Chris

Hello!

Nice idea on the tabs! While the kit might be old, looks like it's going to be a very nice model. Every time I see something like your paint job, makes me vow to improve my brush painting skill! Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

That is looking fantastic, Chris!

I absolutely love the added details.

A bit more progress . . .

Earlier this week I slapped the first light coat of dark earth on the Lysander.  These are brush painted MM acrylics, slightly watered down with a few drops of tap water.  The first coat never looks very good, but with a few thin coats I don't get significant brush strokes.  So this is where she stood this morning before I jumped back into working.

Last night I did some surgery on the wing tabs that fit into the top of the canopy.  The Lysander has a tubular frame in this area - so the two big fat solid tabs didn't really work  (you might be able to make out the solid tabs in the post above this one).  So I drilled some holes in them and carved away with an exacto knife.   It doesn't look exactly like a Lysander frame, but I think it's an improvement and it seems like it will still hold everything in place.

Then this morning I Painted a few coats of lightened Sky S on the underside, painted the prop and hub, drilled out the end of the exhaust tube, and put on a second coat of dark earth.

The prop needed alot of work.  Lots of flash - and each blade had its own unique shape and length !   Some cutting and filing helped make the differences less obvious. 

The RAF Dark Green will go on soon.

Here's where she stands now:

Chris

I made a little more progress with the Lizzy over the last couple days.  

Landing gear was added - so she's standing on her own now.  Winglet bomb racks added to the LG.  Some joints filled at the underside seam, around the gear, and the cowling - which still needs more work.  

Holes were drilled for the scoop on the cowling,   in the tube on the underside, and in the front of the wheel spats for the lights that need to be added.

A few sink marks and unused holes needed to be filled in a few places.

And there's more fiddley-fixing/scratch building work to be done before I can jump into final assembly and painting.

. . .    but she's definitely looking like a Lysander.

Chris 

Thanks Patrick, Mike, and Jay Jay,

The pleasure is all mine.  This has been a fun little kit to work with, and I'm pleasantly surprised with how she's turning out.  

I got the landing gear on , the engine in the cowling, and finished a bit of seam and sink hole filling last night.  Should have more pics soon.  Definitely looking like a Lysander at this point.

This thing has a giant wingspan compared to the rest of the body.  Looks pretty strange !

Chris

Just a little work goes a long way. Your interior is spruced up really nice and makes for a way more interesting model. Great job so far and I'm learning much. TY for taking the time to take us with you on this build Mate.