1/72 Airfix Avro Lancaster B. III Dambuster "Operation Chastise" (Finished)
I suppose this was bound to happen eventually. I was coaxed, into a 1/72 subject. At last it's a cool subject and large enough for me to actually see what I'm doing. In May of 1943, specially modified Lancasters from the 617 Squadron successfully attacked dams in the German Ruhr Valley using a specially designed bouncing bomb, called the "Upkeep". It would skip across the water to avoid torpedo nets then detonate at the dam. The bombers destroyed two dams and damaged a third. I'm taking a crack at AJ-T, "T-Tommy", piloted by Joe McCarthy and crew, of the second wave tasked with breaching the Sorpe Dam. After nine practice runs, likely under AA fire, they dropped the bomb on the tenth pass and only managed to damage it. Talk about brave men.
I will be using the newer Airfix kit. I've read good things about it. It's apparently detailed for the scale and engineered quite well. If it's anything like their Hurricane and P-40, I won't be disappointed. T-Tommy is one of the kit options. I'll admit I'm no expert on RAF Bomber Command and it's my first RAF bomber as well.
I started with the inside. Like my B-25, I decided I would not get carried away with interior detail. There's no point in detailing things that won't be seen. Life is too short. First impression?.....wow everything is small!. I was however surprised on the detail, particularly the pilot seat. I sprayed everything XF-71 Cockpit Green with a bit of Xf-19 Sky Grey. I added a PE seatbelt to the pilot seat which was a pain, but it was worth it as I suspect the seat will be seen. The map decal on the table was a cool touch by Airfix. I should have filled those sink marks on the floor but oh well.
About to close it up.
The fuselage went together fine. I must have misaligned the halves a smidgen as I had a slight step to deal with. It required a bit more sanding than usual. Once I was satisfied, the upper wings were then added. The fit was great.
I didn't like the "squares or portals" on the top of the fuselage, so I sanded them off and replaced them with plasticard. It's my understanding the "circles" were windows. I'm not sure how to replicate this. I doubt I'll worry about it if Airfix didn't.
These turkeys must have been huge. Even in this scale the wingspan is over 17 inches.
To be continued...