GRRR.... Lancaster cheap model makes me so mad!!!

I just picked up the Arfix Lancaster Dam Buster yesterday. I haven't opened the box yet and now I'm a little nervous. Anyone built the Airfix version?

Duckman,

Yep, I'd say you're mad alright.

Well, I'm not really into WW2 aircraft but modern jet and helo kits do have down sides as well. I bought a 72nd Zeng Dhefu F-16 about a year or two ago and discovered it was a cheap reformatted rip-off of a Japanese brand. The plastic is way too grainy and the nose gear looks like melted butter. Worse, the rather spartan decal sheet simply dissolved in water! But then again, I did get it cheap.

But I wouldnt strike Revell off my list yet if I were you. They have great kit offerings you might want to take a peek into. I've been hearing great things about the 72nd F-101, for example, and I couldnt wait to get my hands on one.

Why dont you check out the aftermarket suppliers? Maybe theres an update set for your Lancaster somewhere.

Hold off on puting Revell on your blacklist, duckman.

If the Lancaster you're talking about is the kit I think it is (1/72 scale, moving contol surfaces, retracting landing gear and opening and closing bomb bay) then you have to know that the kit is positively ancient (we're talking nearly a fossil here).

I built it once when I was a kid, the above mentioned moving parts were typical sales gimmicks in kits years ago and raised rivet detail so overdone that you could use the kit parts for sanding blocks are another give away to the kit's age.

I thought that kit had been out of production for ages, the last time I clearly remember it showing up on hobby shop shelves was on a very limited basis in the mid 1980s.

Don't let this old kit form your opinion of Revell today, its NOT indicative of their current product line quality.

As for the Airfix Lancaster, I can't really say. If its a new release it should be alright if its just a reboxing of older stuff, who knows. Airfix is generally O.K. stuff, but largely middle of the road in quality in most things these days.

Hi Duckman,
Lets face it, if ya going to build a Lanc the only way to go is Tamiya's 1:48 kit. Its a bit old now but nothing that a few brass seat harnessess won't put right.

The Airfix kit is a re-tooling of the late seventies- early eighties release. While not up to today's TamiGawa standards, it's at least an order of magnitude better than that old Revell piece of excreta.

The current Airfix 1/72nd scale Lancaster is the best on the market. Their original old kit was replaced years ago by a whole new tool that is fantastic. I remember when it came out everyone saying that it was just like having a smaller version of the Tamiya 1/48th scale Lanc. The old Revell Lanc is terrible and the later Matchbox Lancaster is not much better if you can find one. The trick is to ask here to get opinions before buying if you don't know. A good rule to follow is - You get what you pay for- A cheap kit is usually just that.
Cheers
Bob S.

Yup i'd agree with Bob on that, Airfix released their conversion to a BIII 'special' Dambuster in 1993 and for my money made a very nice job of it, its been the pride of my built collection for sometime, the 93 issue was in black plastic tho it may be soapy grey by now - your left with unused origional version bits and pieces for the spares box too.........I've not seen the Revell version but have liking for their and other older kits, if the kit is an origonal boxing and in good condition you have a fairly desirable collectable as a consolation.............

Hi as some of you will know the dam buster lanc is a pet project of mine and i am using the revell kit to model it and although it is an ancient kit and i have spent the better part of five hours on it just sanding the rivets off i am still enjoying the build. the first thing that i am going to do is scratchbuild a new cockpit interior for it and send off for, or mould a new canopy for it. there is loads of work to do bringing an old kit like this to modern standards but that to me is part of the fun of modeling anyway thats my two pence worth so see y'all....Greg

I am backdating my airfix lanc to represent the BBMF' Johnnie Walker' scheme.
It's a long term project but a very sweet kit - I must dig it out and do some more work!

Hi Gregers
Maybe you should just replace the Revell parts with Airfix parts and build it. That would be the best way to make a decent Revell Lancaster. You could tell everyone that it is the Revell kit and we would keep your secret. I have the Revell kit and it is toy-like compared to the Airfix. Of course, if this is how you have fun, then you will be having a ball with this project. After spending all that time and extra cash for detail parts you will have one as good as an Airfix Lanc and probably spent more money. If you need more Revell parts I'll send you mine for nothing.
Cheers
Bob S.

Its funny you should be talking about the Revell Lancaster Dambuster. When I was small, my father would buy kits for me and help me build them. These were Revell, Monogram, Hawk, Aurora, etc. By the time the Lancaster came out in 1963, I was 10 and my Mother bought the Lancaster Dambuster with "Secret Bomb" for me to build by myself. This was my first completely on-my -own-project, and I still remember the drugstore where she bought it for me, and the begging I went through to get it. After all, they cost a whole $1.98 back then. I quit building at about 13, but started again when I was 23 and met a guy at work who was crazy like us, and had a house full of models. One of the first things I did was start looking for the kits I had built as a kid, especially the Dam Buster, and it took tons of time going through model lists to find those kits. What a thrill when I had them all, and I still have a 1963 issue in the box just like the one I had back then.

I suppose they were all pretty simple and inaccurate kits, but that was the state of the state at the time. Except for nostalgia, for a challenge, or for a subject that has never been redone, I can't imagine many people being thrilled to build any of those old molds today (and the Revell Dam Buster is a 40 year old kit), especially with the vast improvements in detail since then. But don't write off Revell. Just be aware that they still reissue old molds, as do Airfix, Testors (old Hawk), and others, and you have to check out the history of some of these models. Otherwise you may end of with more "retro" kits that don't stand up to today's standards. I'm guessing you didn't have to pay a fortune for it, so hopefully its not the most expensive lesson ever learned. If you did pay a lot, at least you are in good company, since I bet almost everyone on these boards has sunk money into a piece of s..........

Build a model today for the FUN of it!
Gerald

Hi Gerald you just about hit the nail right on the head as far as nostalgia is concerned and as this lanc only cost me £2 it didn't break the bank. i don't normaly buy aftermarket parts as i prefer to try to make improvements myself so i will probably mould my own canopy and turrets. i also have the standard revell lanc B1 and two airfix lancs and the airfix Grand slam lanc so i can definitly see the difference in these two kits. I have read a build report on the airfix dambuster lanc and it does have a few problems that need to be overcome such as overthin bomb struts and the wrong(later) type of bombaimers blister window. anyway as i don't enter comps (i dont consider myself good enough for that) i only have myself to please - stop sniggering i didn't mean THAT !!! hehehe - so if i am happy with what i have built its ok if i am not it goes into the spares box ...Thanks....Greg
HEY Bob thanks for the offer..you serious?? I am asking because i have a hankering to do a Manchester and the kit would be useful... if so how much do you want for postage? cheers...Greg

Hi Gregers
Of course I am serious. Anyone with enough determination to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear has my support. I'll need your mailing address and I'll have to go on a dig up in my attic to see if I can find the kit. I believe that it is all there but has been started. I remember starting to sand down all those rivets. I wouldn't worry over the postage. Maybe you might have something that I might want someday. I am a Spitfire "Boffin" big time.
Cheers
Bob S.

Hi Bob thanks thats great i am emailing you my address as soon as i have posted this are you sure about the postage? i cant imagine it being cheap. if you need any info on Spitfires i have plenty of reference material, just ask. and also i am (hopefully ) going to the BoBMF base later this year, in return would you like copies of the photo's? i don't know when i am going but as i have the model set with every a/c they operate, yep all eleven of em, i need to go do some photo's real bad. again ..meny thanks....Greg

Hi Greg
I've got lots on the Spitfire too. I've worked on them since 1976. I would love to see photos of the BBMF. I'll climb up into the attic tonight for a dig for the Lancaster. I know that I have an Airfix and a Matchbox up there also two Tamiya Lancs, a B III and a Dambuster/Grand Slam Special. Anyway I'll try to dig out the Revell for you. I might have both Revell's B III and Dambuster. I have over 700 kits up there so it can take a while.
Cheers
Bob S.

Hi Gregers
If you're interested MadelArt Australia did an article on converting a Lanc to Manchester in issues 12 and 13 their web address is bassman@modelartaus.com.au .
The article however contains those dredded words "these conversion parts are no longer available". Which is anoying.
Dai.

hi Dai thanks for that link. i have a book on the lanc that has several conversions in it and the one for the manchester uses the lanc wings with a s**t load of cutting but as i am a sucker for punishment as far as kits are concerned i'll give it a go. other than that its trying to find the contrail? conversion kit.. cheers...Greg

In the past twelve months I've built both Airfix Dambuster and Grand Slam variants of the Lancaster, neither of which gave me too much grief. I've also hankered after a Manchester and found one whilst raking around Hannants a few months ago. It's sitting on the shelf staring me in the face for I haven't yet had the courage to start it as it's a vac-form jobbie with a sqillion microscopic cast metal parts. I'll probably wait for the approaching long, dark winter nights.

I also fancy having a go at the Tamiya Lancaster BIII but its out of production and I have been singularly unsuccessful in finding one.

Gregers...If you are feeling especially masochistic look on the Historic Wings web page www.aim72.co.uk for details of the Manchester.

Cheers

Bill Brignal

i have a avro lancaster mk 1 revel "s for sugar" dated 1965 does mean anything to anybody

Hey Duckman,

Revell can be a bit hit and miss, but for a lot of Jets and Helos, they're cool.

I can personally recommend:

Tornado GR1.

F-16 MLU.

Wessex HAS 3.

Sea King AEW.

All of which are very fine kits!

The trick is to get the ones which are their own mouldings and not some long in the tooth reboxed 1960s offering.

Cheers,

Rob M.

Hi Pau320 that is a model of the lancaster that is on display in the RAF museum in Hendon.London it is the oldest surviving Lancaster and when it was built it was initialy laid down to be a manchester but was modified on the production line and completed as a lancaster mk 1 . hope this info is useful...Greg

21-07-03
Dear Bob!
700 KITS!! i was calmly enjoying the thread and then fell out of my chair at that!!
( and i was so proud of the ten i have in the cupboard)
i know, all you guys are shaking your heads sympathetically and saying, "Poor chap! Still, he's young and has years left in him yet!!"

700.
man
liam

Yes and the trouble is my wife found out. Really,the number is 700+ now.
Don't forget that I have been a serious modeller since I got out of college in 1970 and it only takes a second to buy a kit, and months to build one. I am not really a kit collector except for Spitfire kits. Believe me there are modellers about with a lot more than me. I don't sell kits, but if someone is looking for something, and I have one, and I am not intending to build it soon, I'll simply mail it to him. I'd rather see someone have it and appreciate it than for it to sit in my attic for years and never get built at all.
Cheers
Bob S.

Hi Bob my wife wont find out how many kits i have. i keep em in the loft along with my modeling bench and she wont go up there ever since i told her that i had just seen the biggest spider i have ever seen in my life up there. I hadn't but it stops her from poking her nose in and disturbing me (ain't i bad hehehe )...cheers....Greg

Did anyone read the Airfix Dambuster article in the June issue of Scale Aircraft Modelling. Interesting and informative.

at one time i had over 1000 kits. really. this guy had died, and a friend of mine new i liked models. this guy also traded in baseball cards and stuff like that. so i went to the store and looked around. i checked the stuff out using FMS mag and decided to buy the collection for $900. everybody thought i was crazy. i had to load them in a pick up truck. big joke in the neighborhood. there were all kind s of kits. matchbox, hasagawa, jap revell w/ the frameable pix etc. sold a bunch at a show and to a guy who had an ad in FMS. to my regret he cherry picked me. at the time i really didn't know any better. i think i made close to $1000. this was 20 years ago or longer. any way this collection was big on seaplanes. Do 24-T, Stranear, Williams Bros kits, etc still have those and the german kits have swastika decals. you guys seem to know a lot about this stuff . sorry about this but i was always an armor guy. any input? thanks

if you don't believe me i'll post the pix.

also my mom is from manchester. my dad was oversexed, overpaid and over there. god bless tim horton and canadian beer

This thread really demonstrates what we mean when we refer to the "FineScale.com community." I was reading along, taking in the very good comparison of the old Revell and the newer Airfix kit, when I hit Bob Swaddling's post with his offer to give his spare Revell kit to another member. Then it turned into this tremendous example of modeling camaraderie. Wow!

I hafta say, when we overhauled the website, I *never* thought the forum would take off as it has. Sometimes, it's great to be wrong.

There's only one problem: I'm starting to spend too much time "monitoring" the forum instead of editing!