Airfix 1:72 Lancaster "G George"

[Mutley]

An older Airfix Lancaster. And for me with a limited skill set (at the moment) for the more challenging kit I did enjoy making it. It was a practice model for masking and correcting, for when I build and amend some models later this year.

Sadly, the fuselage seams are visible and I missed some filling and masks, and the masking of the canopy wasn’t as good as it could have been. OK, so I’m being picky. I did mask with maskol for the first time and was amazed how easy it was to use, and I also tried microsol for the first time.
All the camo was applied freehand, no masking. Looking at the end result, I would like to give this a matt varnish, not having done that before, and that I’ve used enamel paint, any recommendations?

So, after all that, here are some photos of the finished kit.









I really did enjoy building this, and I have a new tool Dam Buster Lancaster to build at some point this year.

P-40B next

[Eric Mc]

Good effort.

I was building the Grand Slam version of this kit a while back but the build stalled.

The new tool version is from an altogether different era.

[perdu]

Using Maskol is a two edged sword

It covers areas well and usually prevents creep under it

But when you apply it you cannot get tight hard edge lines as you see on the transparencies

So paint pools over the edges and when you pull it off (which can be VERY satisfying ) it tends to leave ragged edges beneath the pulled off zones

You can tidy it up fairly well sometimes with a clean dry sharp pointed cocktail stick but if you are hoping for a decent satisfying new build Lanc next time, conside buying some masking tape for modelling the canopy framing

Tamiya and Aizu make very good masking materials for modelling

And now I'm going to poo on the model too, sorry

I think you need a darker green paint as that looks too light to me

but that is all I'm going to poo on

I like your Lanc and I'm looking forward to seeing the next one

[Eric Mc]

The green looked too light to me as well but I thought that it could be down to the way the model was lit.

[dr_gn]

I think you've certainly got the basics of construction, apart form the extra filler along the seams which you mentioned.

My other comments would be:

• Use masking tape for all straight edges, including wing leading edges and engine nacelles.

• I'd also use masking tape for the glazing rather than maskol, after coating with the Revell clear. To make things easier, Eduard sell pre-cut masks for your next Lancaster (and loads of other kits). I've just bought a set for a Tamiya Zero, and they look very good.

• Use PVA glue for transparent parts (and really small parts if appropriate) - there looks to be some frosting on the mid upper turret.

• Coat the model with gloss varnish before putting the decals on - thre is some silvering apparent there on yours. Revell do some "Clear" which would be ideal for the job. Then when you've applied the decals/Microsol, and everything is dry, overcoat with matt varnish.

• The green is definitely too light - for the green/earth RAF schemes I always use Vallejo Green Brown and Reflective Green, which are acrylics.

[Mutley]

Thanks for your comments chaps.

Perdu, you haven't 'poo-d' on my build, so no apologies needed, yours and Erics comments have been appreciated.

Am not sure what happened with the green, perhaps it’s the recurring issue that Humbrol enamels are not as good as they were that I have read about. Originally I accidentally used quite a bright green. I let it dry and covered with a darker one, but it may have needed either another coat, or stripping back.

re the canopy, I masked off with tape, cut to shape as best I could, but I think I need more practice I used the maskol on the wheels to protect the hubs, and on the small skylights.

Doc, PVA and glazing masks on the shopping list, .

Clear varnish, before decals, thanks, I didn't know the right order. All a steep learning curve at the moment and will definately give acrylics a go at some point.

Thanks for the tips all noted and will be practiced on the next build. At the end of the day it's confidence you're doing a good job and not going to balls it up totally

Edited by Mutley on Tuesday 6th January 13:36

[ecsrobin]

Nice job and look forward to the next model, maybe a build thread if you get the time.

I'm a big fan of Tamiya paints if your painting my hand. The other gents will suggest airbrushing which they can talk more about.

And in off topic news gents looking at moving this year the current properties will have a garage or a decent sized shed/man cave so I can start building again and have space for spraying.

[dr_gn]

ecsrobin said:

Nice job and look forward to the next model, maybe a build thread if you get the time.

I'm a big fan of Tamiya paints if your painting my hand. The other gents will suggest airbrushing which they can talk more about.

And in off topic news gents looking at moving this year the current properties will have a garage or a decent sized shed/man cave so I can start building again and have space for spraying.

I thought it looked like it was airbrushed. FWIW I can't brush Tamiya paints, I find Vallejo much better, not that I brush paint much at all these days.

[Evangelion]

I always give the model two coats of gloss (Halfords clear spray) before and after decalling. If a final matt finish is required, I then use Tamiya clear with some Tamiya Flat Base added (I spray this too, thinned with Tamiya thinners).

[Mutley]

ecsrobin said:

Nice job and look forward to the next model, maybe a build thread if you get the time.

I'm a big fan of Tamiya paints if your painting my hand. The other gents will suggest airbrushing which they can talk more about.

And in off topic news gents looking at moving this year the current properties will have a garage or a decent sized shed/man cave so I can start building again and have space for spraying.

Thanks, yes, airbrushed my hand painting is awful, and I didn't fancy painting this one by hand. I will definately try to do a build thread for the next one. Speaking of which, I was browsing Kits-World, and finally looks like their 3 Lancaster decal set (Thumper, Vera and Just Jane) will be ready this month, soon I will have a full RCAF Squadron (What have I started??). www.kitsworld.co.uk/index.php?CATEGORY=5&SUB=6...

Will definately have to practice with the sprays and techniques recomended

Good luck with the man cave purchase, nice it comes with a free house.

Edited by Mutley on Wednesday 7th January 14:08

[ecsrobin]

My apologies I saw the humbrol enamels and just assumed that it was a very good hand paint job.

[jamieduff1981]

I agree it's a nice result as well as with the pointers offered.

RAF Dark Green is a dark and muddy coloured green. There are several acrylic and enamel offers out there which are matched to original colour chips. When used whole thing suddenly looks 'right' if you see what I mean.

I actually quite like Humbrol enamels for general use although their colours don't match anything in particular. I've never used Vallejo but hear good things. Hannants offer a good range of colour matched paints in enamel and acrylic under their Xtracolor and Xtracrylic brands and in my experience the matches are good. There's also Lifecolor acrylics but I've never used those either. My personal favourites were the Colourcoats enamels developed by John Snyder for White Ensign Models. WEM has been liquidated now but with some budget available and afraid I wouldn't get Royal Navy warship colours any more unless I did something drastic, I bought the Colourcoats brand and stock in December and my wife and I are aiming to have those back on the market this spring. In the mean time I have 26,000 tins to feed my habit