Revell Lancaster BI/BIII 1:72

Revell Lancaster BI/BIII 1:72

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Discussion

blinkythefish

Original Poster:

972 posts

256 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
quotequote all
Hi all,

I mentioned that I quite fancied doing some modelling, and as a result my girlfriend has given me a Lancaster kit for my birthday. Obviously I want to make a good job of said kit, however the problem is, I haven't done any modelling since I was a teen, and I was never particularly good.

I have had a read up on the kit itself and I found some reviews which said that it is a reasonably good kit, although it is rated as difficult by Revell.

I'm struggling on lots of fronts with this:
1. I don't think I have the right equipment to build/paint it(and am not sure what I need).
As part of the present, I got the paints specified by the kits and some brushes, but anything I have read on here about models suggests that this is below the minimum requirement. I don't mind buying the kit I need, but I'd rather not buy stuff I can live without. Does anyone have any advice on a good "start up" set of tools?

2. I don't have the skills to build/paint it.
I think this will be a case of reading as much as possible and having a go. Does anyone have any good links to advice on how to do various techniques?

3. I don't have any references for what I am aiming for in the final result(pictures, differences between Mks etc.).
I reckon I can manage this with a bit of google/library hunting although if anyone has any links handy that would be nice.

Any help with the above three would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks

Graham

dr_gn

16,130 posts

183 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
quotequote all
blinkythefish said:
Hi all,

I mentioned that I quite fancied doing some modelling, and as a result my girlfriend has given me a Lancaster kit for my birthday. Obviously I want to make a good job of said kit, however the problem is, I haven't done any modelling since I was a teen, and I was never particularly good.

I have had a read up on the kit itself and I found some reviews which said that it is a reasonably good kit, although it is rated as difficult by Revell.

I'm struggling on lots of fronts with this:
1. I don't think I have the right equipment to build/paint it(and am not sure what I need).
As part of the present, I got the paints specified by the kits and some brushes, but anything I have read on here about models suggests that this is below the minimum requirement. I don't mind buying the kit I need, but I'd rather not buy stuff I can live without. Does anyone have any advice on a good "start up" set of tools?

2. I don't have the skills to build/paint it.
I think this will be a case of reading as much as possible and having a go. Does anyone have any good links to advice on how to do various techniques?

3. I don't have any references for what I am aiming for in the final result(pictures, differences between Mks etc.).
I reckon I can manage this with a bit of google/library hunting although if anyone has any links handy that would be nice.

Any help with the above three would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks

Graham
There must be hundreds of 'how to' websites out there on plastic modelling, here's just one:

http://buildingscalemodelaircraft.com/construction...

Look on Youtube too...same story.

You'd be well advised to join the Britmodeller Forum and ask the same questions there:

www.britmodeller.com

Here is a thread on tools for example:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showt...

Have a quick read of the above and then just make a start, you'll learn far more by having a go than by any amount of reading!

Good luck and post some progress pics.


Gareth350

1,556 posts

178 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
quotequote all
I would echo the advice given there.
Also, dont set yourself a time limit, take plenty of time on each stage. You will be surprised how good things turn out with a bit of patience!
Good luck! biggrin

dr_gn

16,130 posts

183 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
quotequote all
Gareth350 said:
Also, dont set yourself a time limit, take plenty of time on each stage. You will be surprised how good things turn out with a bit of patience!
Good luck! biggrin
+1

I guess thinking about it more, possibly the best advice might be to get everything to fit at every stage as perfectly as you can before putting glue anywhere near it (dry fit). If you apply glue to two pieces that subsequently don't happen to fit very well, you could have a real problem! If two parts 'spring' apart at this stage, then find a method of lightly clamping them together (clothes pegs, rubber bands etc) *before* putting glue on them.

Painting? Just do your best for now - use masking tape for straight lines (you might think you can paint straight freehand, but it'll become obvious you can't, believe me!). And..leave every camo colour overnight before applying the next colour (especially if you need to use masking tape over the previous colour).

XG332

3,927 posts

187 months

Tuesday 17th August 2010
quotequote all
i was the same, i was toying with building a vulcan. Having watched the Concorde doc i am now building 9 Red Arrows and a Concorde. I think its a good idea to buy a cheap easy kit to get your hand in.
Hence why the accuracy between Red 1 - 9 improves.

blinkythefish

Original Poster:

972 posts

256 months

Wednesday 18th August 2010
quotequote all
Cheers for the advice. Having been for some birthday beers, I think I'll jump in and learn from my mistakes(this plan may change tomorrow). Hopefully I'll produce something reasonable.

I think i was panicking a bit about how to do weathering etc., but maybe its a better idea to concentrate on basic painting and construction just now.

I'll start a thread with pic updates as soon as I start building.

blinkythefish

Original Poster:

972 posts

256 months

Wednesday 18th August 2010
quotequote all
Cheers for the advice. Having been for some birthday beers, I think I'll jump in and learn from my mistakes(this plan may change tomorrow). Hopefully I'll produce something reasonable.

I think i was panicking a bit about how to do weathering etc., but maybe its a better idea to concentrate on basic painting and construction just now.

I'll start a thread with pic updates as soon as I start building.

Gareth350

1,556 posts

178 months

Wednesday 18th August 2010
quotequote all
You can say that again! wink

dr_gn

16,130 posts

183 months

Wednesday 18th August 2010
quotequote all
blinkythefish said:
Cheers for the advice. Having been for some birthday beers, I think I'll jump in and learn from my mistakes(this plan may change tomorrow). Hopefully I'll produce something reasonable.

I think i was panicking a bit about how to do weathering etc., but maybe its a better idea to concentrate on basic painting and construction just now.

I'll start a thread with pic updates as soon as I start building.
Yep, I'd forget weathering. Anyway, most Lancasters were new at some point. If you did want to try something, then exhaust staining is fairly strightforward, and you don't need an airbrush. Best to see how you get along with building and painting first though: worry about anything else later.

Eric Mc

121,684 posts

264 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
quotequote all
Hopefully she bought yiou the new Revell Lancaster kit - as it is a very nice model and, by all accounts, goes together very well (I have two unbuilt ones in my stash).

There is an old Revell Lancaster that they still produce which is a bit naff - being almost 50 years old.

The new one



Here's a reply I made to a query on Lancaster kits around a year ago -

"The new Revell Lancasters (1/72) are very good. They released their Dambusters version in the past few weeks too. Just be careful not to purchase their old tool Dambusters Lanc which is still available, and could cause confusion. The old model was originally tooled in the mid 60s and converted to Dambuster spec in the early 1970s - so is very crude and inaccurate by the latest Revell standards.

Hasegawa's new tool (1/72) Lancasters are also very good - but now cost the best part of £40 each so are too expensive for what they are, in my opinion.

The Airfix 1/72 Lancasters aren't too bad either but the tools originally date from around 1979/80 so are a bit old fashioned in many ways. However, the outline of the kit is pretty accurate and it is available as a standard MkI/III Lancaster, a Dambuster and as a BI (Special) carrying the Tallboy and Grand Slam bomb.

As a counter to the new Revell Dambuster release, Airfix have re-released their Dambuster variant which now contains a dam parapet as well.

In 1/48 there is the Tamiya Lancaster, which, although a beautifully engineered kit (as Tamiya models usually are), it does have some accuracy problems, especially regarding the fuselage cross section shape".


Edited by Eric Mc on Thursday 19th August 13:31

chris watton

22,477 posts

259 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
quotequote all
Have you seen these new "Haynes Owner's Workshop" Manuals

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lancaster-Manual-Restoring...

Seem to do them for a lot of planes now, Vulcan, Concorde, Spitfire etc...

Eric Mc

121,684 posts

264 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
quotequote all
They are good sellers - so Haynes are gradually adding to the repetoire.

Evangelion

7,628 posts

177 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
quotequote all
Sorry Eric, you're a little off the mark with the old Revell Lancaster ... it came out as a Dam Buster FIRST in about 1963/64. The standard version followed in 1966, one of the options on the decal sheet being PO-S which stood as the 'gate guardian' outside RAF Scampton for many years.

The Airfix is the other way round, first came out in standard form in 1980 then as a Dam Buster about 10 years later.

Didn't realise the new Revell one was now available as a Dam Buster, will have to look for that. I did buy the standard one when it first came out but am building it as a very early Mk 1 as I donated the turret fairing to a friend who badly needed one.

Eric Mc

121,684 posts

264 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
quotequote all
Evangelion said:
Sorry Eric, you're a little off the mark with the old Revell Lancaster ... it came out as a Dam Buster FIRST in about 1963/64. The standard version followed in 1966, one of the options on the decal sheet being PO-S which stood as the 'gate guardian' outside RAF Scampton for many years.

The Airfix is the other way round, first came out in standard form in 1980 then as a Dam Buster about 10 years later.

Didn't realise the new Revell one was now available as a Dam Buster, will have to look for that. I did buy the standard one when it first came out but am building it as a very early Mk 1 as I donated the turret fairing to a friend who badly needed one.
Can't say I was into building models in 1963 though.

What I do remember is the advertising in 1973ish for the old Revell Dambuster Lanc release and having been based on recently declassified blueprints of the Upkeep mechanism.

This is the old kit - avoid it like the plague -



Although a bit basic, most pundits consider the Airfix 1/72 Lancasters to be the most accurate overall.

Airfix originally released a Lancaster around 1960 but the Airfix kits you can buy today are based on a totally updated set of mouldings from 1980.

blinkythefish

Original Poster:

972 posts

256 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
Hopefully she bought yiou the new Revell Lancaster kit - as it is a very nice model and, by all accounts, goes together very well (I have two unbuilt ones in my stash).

There is an old Revell Lancaster that they still produce which is a bit naff - being almost 50 years old.

The new one



Here's a reply I made to a query on Lancaster kits around a year ago -

"The new Revell Lancasters (1/72) are very good. They released their Dambusters version in the past few weeks too. Just be careful not to purchase their old tool Dambusters Lanc which is still available, and could cause confusion. The old model was originally tooled in the mid 60s and converted to Dambuster spec in the early 1970s - so is very crude and inaccurate by the latest Revell standards.

Hasegawa's new tool (1/72) Lancasters are also very good - but now cost the best part of £40 each so are too expensive for what they are, in my opinion.

The Airfix 1/72 Lancasters aren't too bad either but the tools originally date from around 1979/80 so are a bit old fashioned in many ways. However, the outline of the kit is pretty accurate and it is available as a standard MkI/III Lancaster, a Dambuster and as a BI (Special) carrying the Tallboy and Grand Slam bomb.

As a counter to the new Revell Dambuster release, Airfix have re-released their Dambuster variant which now contains a dam parapet as well.

In 1/48 there is the Tamiya Lancaster, which, although a beautifully engineered kit (as Tamiya models usually are), it does have some accuracy problems, especially regarding the fuselage cross section shape".


Edited by Eric Mc on Thursday 19th August 13:31
It is definitely the new one - I went and read some reviews of the kit and they, like you, seemed to reckon that it was a pretty good kit. I had a look through the kit last night and it seems like itll be interesting to make up. I'm looking forward to getting started with it.

blinkythefish

Original Poster:

972 posts

256 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
quotequote all
chris watton said:
Have you seen these new "Haynes Owner's Workshop" Manuals

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lancaster-Manual-Restoring...

Seem to do them for a lot of planes now, Vulcan, Concorde, Spitfire etc...
Might have to get that....

dr_gn

16,130 posts

183 months

Thursday 19th August 2010
quotequote all
Evangelion said:
Sorry Eric, you're a little off the mark with the old Revell Lancaster ... it came out as a Dam Buster FIRST in about 1963/64. The standard version followed in 1966, one of the options on the decal sheet being PO-S which stood as the 'gate guardian' outside RAF Scampton for many years.

The Airfix is the other way round, first came out in standard form in 1980 then as a Dam Buster about 10 years later.

Didn't realise the new Revell one was now available as a Dam Buster, will have to look for that. I did buy the standard one when it first came out but am building it as a very early Mk 1 as I donated the turret fairing to a friend who badly needed one.
The "Dam Buster" version was one of the first models I built in about 1975. I built 2 of the standard Revell ones too at various times. Still got the remains on one built in about 1980 hanging in the garage:



Happy days...

Eric Mc

121,684 posts

264 months

Friday 20th August 2010
quotequote all
The old kite's looking a bit forlorn. I only have one surviving model from that era - the Revell P-26 Peashooter.

dr_gn

16,130 posts

183 months

Friday 20th August 2010
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
The old kite's looking a bit forlorn. I only have one surviving model from that era - the Revell P-26 Peashooter.
Sure is. It was hanging up next to the Spitfire I rebuilt recently. The Spitfire fell on the floor, the Lancaster survived.

Yertis

18,011 posts

265 months

Friday 20th August 2010
quotequote all
dr_gn said:
Evangelion said:
Sorry Eric, you're a little off the mark with the old Revell Lancaster ... it came out as a Dam Buster FIRST in about 1963/64. The standard version followed in 1966, one of the options on the decal sheet being PO-S which stood as the 'gate guardian' outside RAF Scampton for many years.

The Airfix is the other way round, first came out in standard form in 1980 then as a Dam Buster about 10 years later.

Didn't realise the new Revell one was now available as a Dam Buster, will have to look for that. I did buy the standard one when it first came out but am building it as a very early Mk 1 as I donated the turret fairing to a friend who badly needed one.
The "Dam Buster" version was one of the first models I built in about 1975. I built 2 of the standard Revell ones too at various times. Still got the remains on one built in about 1980 hanging in the garage:



Happy days...
I'm off down to Mum's house in a minute. I'll pick up a couple of my 1980 vintage efforts for you to see. I've got about 75 of them in the loft, all built between 1977 and 1980, when I packed in modelling for rock music and theoretical girlfriends. idea Actually, easier to take the camera and photograph them there, I don't think they'll ride well in the back of a Monaro.