realworkingsailor

A small progress update. The propellor shaft lengthening has been a success. I ended up using some 1/16" brass rod that I just happened to have kicking around. It's a little bit thicker than the cast propellor shaft, so I did have to drill out the prop hub, but otherwise everything has worked out (prop spins freely, and there's more than enough to glue on the spinner). I blackened the new shaft as well as the exhaust manifold mounting brackets (fiddly tiny fold-y pieces): There are three brackets required per engine. Speaking of the exhaust manifold, I've been having a little fun getting that piece ready. On the prototype these manifolds appear to be unpainted, for obvious reasons, and I wanted to replicate a little bit of the heat action on the metal. Airfix would have you simply paint them a "gun metal" colour, and Eduard says to paint them "stainless steel". My approach was to first paint the cowling a silver/aluminium colour. For the second layer I dry-brushed some Floquil brass. I drew this very thin coat down almost the full depth of the manifold. This was then followed by a dry brushed coat of Floquil copper. I tried to keep this focused more along the front of the manifold. Overall I think the effect works: It's not quite as red as it appears in the above photo (and that large silvery area on the right is a result of the natural light). For the most part I'm satisfied with how things are going so-far, I may add another thin dry brush coating of blueish gunmetal colour, but I'll do a trial first on some scrap before I commit. Andy

Thanks everyone for the comments and likes! Work has begun on the engines. The Wellington Mk I, Mk Ia and Mk Ic was equipped with a 9 cylinder Bristol Pegasus engine, the main production variant producing just over 1000hp. Versions like the Mk II used Rolls Royce Merlin X, the Mk III and Mk X versions used variants of the Bristol Hercules developing up to 1600hp. A small number of Wellingtons (the Mk IV variant) even used Pratt And Whitney Twin Wasp engines. As there were only 200 or so built, photos of this variant are hard to come by. Both the Hercules and Pegasus engines had forward mounted exhaust manifolds that formed part of the streamlined engine cowling. I imagine this was designed to provide for improved cooling, but it makes for easy spotting as the exhaust pipes emerge from the from of the engine, as opposed to the P&W variant where the exhaust pipe emerges from the cowling behind the engine. The aftermarket Eduard/Brassin Pegasus engine kit is very intricate and well executed. Compared to other resin kits I've built in the past, there is only a minimum of flash, and most of that is concentrated on the moulding "pins" rather than the parts. Crucially there are no air bubbles in any of the parts (an annoying side effect of working with resin that can only be fully avoided by the use of a vacuum chamber). There are multiple resin castings that make up the major components as well as some PE brackets for both the engine mounts and exhaust manifold. A quick side by side of the engine castings shows the major step up in detail: They really make the kit supplied parts almost toy-like in comparison. For what it's worth, the detail level in the kit parts is not a big deal after assembly as the kit engines would be largely hidden by the engine cowlings anyway, so there's no need to bash Airfix for any perceived shortcomings. One could happily assemble this entire kit out of the box and produce a perfectly acceptable model. I do have one criticism of the Eduard upgrade and that has to do with the propellor shaft. They're too short. A trial fit with the propellors shows that the shaft only protrudes as far as the propeller hub. There's not enough to allow for the mounting of the spinner (kind of important if you want the propellers to spin freely). I will probably cut them off and replace them with an appropriately sized, and adequate length of brass wire. In the long run, that might prove a bit more durable too. Painting and assemble has begun. Each engine differs slightly between left and right, it's probably a good idea to assemble one at a time, rather than building both and risking getting mixed up. In this case, I'm going to build the right engine first. I plan to display this engine with the cowling closed, so any "learning mistakes" will be hidden away (also there was a wobble in one of the cast on pushrods, so that will be hidden too). That spidery looking thing in the photo above is the intake manifold which mounts behind the cylinders. Next up is the PE brackets for the exhaust manifold. The instructions say to paint them black, but I will probably chemically blacken them instead. I think it will make for a nicer effect. Andy

Hi BE, I don’t comment much, but you’re doing some amazing work with this little model! Nice solution to the deck problem, but I couldn’t help but notice one tiny detail. It looks like you’ve got the wood grain running fore and aft, while the planks are scribed athwart ships. Not sure if this was intentional for other reasons not apparent to me, or isn’t really that noticeable from normal viewing distance. Andy

Thanks again, everyone, for the kind comments and "likes", and you're all especially welcome to share any experiences of the war, family, friend or personal. There's so much history that's gone undocumented, or poorly documented, and in the grand scheme of things, little time left to find out about it. For my next update, she has wings! We're flying' now! All of the elements went together quite well, a little patience and some green tape and there's hardly a seam to be seen. If the triangular patch for the waist window seems a bit more pronounced, it's due to a little Tamiya filler that was needed. The blank insert fit more like a window piece should, rather than right and tight. A small nuisance but Airfix could have done better, considering how well, for the most part, everything else has gone so far. On the rudder, the first little bits of external PE have also now been applied: Some tiny sticky-outy brass bits representing what I think are supposed to be balance weights. The original casting was a rather crude blob, and didn't compare nicely at all with the prototype. One slight modification, the Eduard instructions require the complete removal of the blob, but this leaves precious little gluing surface for the PE bits (literally the 0.050" thickness of the PE sheet). My approach was to trim down the cast on piece, leaving a little triangular tab on which to glue the PE replacement. I was also able to thin down the plastic to a little less than half the original thickness. This results in a much more secure attachment point for what is, after all, a very vulnerable detail. I should mention that as per the instructions, the landing gear should also be attached, but with all the additional PE and a load of painting yet to come, I've skipped over that step, and I'm likely to skip over a few more, (such as the turret installation and the bomb bay details in order to make things easier for painting. I worry that masking these fragile details might cause them harm as well as increase the risk of paint getting in places I don't want it to! Andy

Both of my grandparents were teenagers living in occupied Holland during the war. Early one morning (sometime in ‘43, I think) an RAF pilot parachuted in to my grandmother’s backyard in Dieppenveen (just outside of Deventer). My great grandfather got in touch with the Dutch resistance to get him out. My great grandfather gave the pilot a change of clothes and afterwards escorted him on the train to meet up with another contact (look normal, don’t talk or make eye contact with anyone). Eventually the RAF pilot made it all the way through Holland, Belgium and France and finally made it to Spain to be repatriated. RAF policy at the time required that any returned pilots could not be sent over enemy territory in order to protect the people who helped them escape. Usually this meant “flying a desk”. The pilot in question didn’t particularly care for this and continued to bother his superiors to return to flying duties. Eventually they relented, some time in 1944, as the danger to the civilians was much reduced as the liberation of Europe was progressing. Sadly the RAF pilot was shot down again over the Friesian islands, this time fatally. My family didn’t find out about this until many years afterwards. I’ll see if I can find the name of the pilot online, but I found my great grandfather listed here: https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/helpers-of-allied-airmen/dutch-helper-list/dutch-helpers-by-selected-cities-and-towns/dutch-cities-chaam-to-fijnaart/deventer/ The second name on the list, Nicolaas Ankersmit. The name of the house should be Uiterwaard, (sounds kind of like “Aardvark”, but with a “d” instead of a “k”) not Viterwaard. Andy

I just finished reading “Prisoners of the Castle” by Ben Macintyre. All about the POWs kept in Colditz. If you haven’t yet, I recommend it. Andy

The red was a result of the dope used on the fabric skin. If you go back to the “Worker’s Weekend” video at the beginning of my log, there’s a mention of the dope colour. My camera (and lighting) makes it seem redder than it really is, it’s more of a duller oxide red colour. Andy

You might get a kick out of poking around through here: https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca Although primarily focused on Canadian records and experiences, there’s a lot of interesting information available. Personal stories, daily ops reports etc. Andy

Say goodbye to the interior! All the interior components have been installed and it's time to join the two fuselage halves! I did add one little extra scratch built detail, not included in the kit, let's see if anyone can spot it! I had a bit of a bit of a fitment issue; there's some cast wiring extending forward from the Second Pilot's Jump seat that interferes with the instrument panel. This didn't make it's presence known until I did a trial fit of the two halves and noticed the nose of the plane wouldn't close. A little bit of delicate surgery was needed to trim back the offending wires. It really won't be seen, especially after a little paint touch up: You can see the now severed cables in the centre of the above photo. I can't imagine that the Second Pilot's Seat was particularly comfortable, it doesn't even appear to have any kind of a back rest. Just a flip up metal stool with a seat belt! Anyway, after this issue was resolved, it was time to join up the fuselage: This is best done slowly, one section at a time to ensure things stay in their proper place. There is the inevitable warp in the parts to deal with, but nothing a little green tape and patience can't overcome! I don't recommend gluing in the wing spar until after the fuselage is set. The instructions would have you fix the spar in place before joining the two halves, but I found it easier to leave it "floating" to allow for a bit of flexibility. Now that things are joined, there's no more wiggle in the spar at all. I will have to do a little sanding, mostly because of a very slight difference in part thickness, and there are a couple spots that need a touch up of filler, mostly around the blanks for the waist windows. Andy

Thanks everyone for the kind replies and "likes"! Rick, that's a fascinating document! Yes, the Mk II Wellingtons were identical to the Mk I, with the exception of the engines. Although I don't have parachute packs, it does explain the PE little storage racks that came in the detail set are the stowage spots for the 'chutes (there's one in the photo below above the cot, just forward of the bulkhead). A small update for today. I've been busy working on the other half of the fuselage, picking out all the frame details. All that remains is a little touch up of the base colours. In between detail painting sessions, I've been getting other components ready, things like the second pilot's jump seat, the flares and flare chute, and a couple more PE instruments. I have to make (fold) and paint a couple more parachute holders that sit in the nose of the aircraft, but otherwise, the interior is nearing completion. Andy

Like what this guy has beneath his right hand? I think the sextant was stored under the chart table. My excuse is that I’m modelling the bomber on the ground, so the sextant should be stowed (the chart is out for planning a training/shakedown flight after some minor engine maintenance).😁 Andy

I’ve finally just figured it out! Haha! The key hint I was missing, both of those fittings are located directly below the astro-dome. When the navigator needed to take a sight, those panels would be swung up and clipped together. They would help him steady himself while taking a sextant sight. Item #91 in this detailed drawing Incidentally, it also explains those box things located in the bomb bay. Apparently they’re an inflatable floatation system, to be used in the event of a water landing. I need to spend a couple of hours studying this drawing…. Andy

So this has been a fun little diversion project... A chart, some parallel rulers and a little set of dividers. The ruler I made out of some thin clear styrene stock, I used some tiny pieces of stainless steel fret from one of the Eduard PE sets to simulate the links (these things are microscopically tiny). I did stick them on with a minute drop of canopy glue, but it still left a little smudge on the plastic, unfortunately. The dividers were made from a leftover lever, from the PE control console, folded over on itself. I gave the chart a quick shot of dulcote before I glued it in place on the chart table. The navigator is starting to look like he's actually doing his job, and not just staring out his perspex bubble! I also took a cue from that earlier interior photo to add an extra bit of detail: Just in the corner above the stretcher there is some sort of storage case. The PE set indicates there are supposed to be a couple located just inside the entryway (beside the bomb aimer), but curiously supplies a couple extras. One of them has now found a home. I wonder if I could manage those curtains too....🤔 Andy

I misspoke in my above post, I meant to say I was going to use the chart on the left (since corrected). Now it seems I have an obligation to do so! 😁 Andy

Thank you for your kind compliments! I have to give Airfix credit in the design of this kit, they've really done a great job. I think over the passage of time, when people think of the air war over Europe, the Wellington bomber has become overshadowed by its larger, more popular cousins, the Lancaster and the ubiquitous B-17. As I mentioned last evening, I found a good source of Hi-Res aeronautical charts, out of the extensive collection, I settled on two possible examples: Unfortunately, I am constrained by the resolution of my printer, but I think they will suit my purposes. I printed the charts from full resolution, scaled down to 5%. On the left is supposed to be the aeronautical chart of England North East dating from 1941 and on the right is a plotting chart covering Cork to Stettin dated July 1942. You can sort of vaguely make out the charts. I have room on the chart table for only one chart, so I may use the one on the *left*, as there is a bit of contrast and a more defined shape of "something". I may now have to make up some instruments for the navigator, a set of dividers and parallel rulers... Andy

Here’s the interior photo again (from Wikipedia): There’s a wealth of details to take in, including the black lid on the…. Seat… (subsequently corrected on my model!). Andy

Well, that was easy! Found a great online resource for WWII vintage aeronautical charts in my own backyard. McMaster University, in conjunction with the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum has a fully digitized online archive, free to download, in high resolution. It’s a pretty impressive collection: http://digitalarchive.mcmaster.ca/islandora/object/macrepo%3A75555 Andy

Thanks everyone for the kind comments and "likes"! More forward progress has been made, and some larger assembly has begun. It's starting to look like something!. I first finished picking out the aluminium frames in the fuselage half, and the interior is now being installed. Looking at the aft end of the bomb bay, I'm pretty sure the large silver "can" is the airborne seat of ease (to use the local parlance). There's a flare chute that goes on the other half of the fuselage, which leaves only one other real possibility. I can't help but wonder, given its location over the bomb bay, that some crews didn't feel the urge to add a little something special to their deliveries. Something I've never seen spoken of. Just forward of the bulkhead was a cot/stretcher. Airfix must have chosen to model this in the stowed position, as any contemporary photo's show it laying flat, ready for use. Just above the stretcher is another small piece of PE, a device I am wracking my brains trying to figure out. I have found only one photo online showing that particular object, and it seems to be simply a board with a vinyl/leather bolster draped from it (the black crescent shaped object). Finally, just aft the bulkhead with the open door, are some oxygen bottles. Moving along, the first position forward of the bulkhead is the navigator's station. Not much there, just what I am assuming are flight information readouts (heading, altitude, airspeed) above the window, along with a nice plotting table and chair. The seatbelts for this station were very easy to figure out! I am thinking about trying to find an aerial chart online that I could print out and stick on the table. One more view of the work to date, for good measure. There are a couple more components yet to be added to this side of the fuselage, before shifting my attention to the other side, (a lot more PE on the other side) and getting things closed up. Andy

The shoulder harness is straight forward. The lap belt…. ??? 🤔 I’ve tried looking online at photos of the prototype cockpit, can’t even find a seatbelt… Andy

Thanks everyone for the comments and the likes, they're always greatly appreciated! @Rick01 Which Wellington is that? The poor thing looks quite stripped down, is it being restored? (Fully or partially?) @Egilman LOL I would hesitate to call myself one of the "1/72nd guys"...yet! I have some experience in 1/87th as far as model trains go, but nothing quite as finely detailed as this. Aside from ship models, most of my PE experience comes from working with Athabasca Scale Models kits. (Back when they were still in business, some of their stuff can still be found kicking around). They tended to require a little something a little more akin to brute force than finesse! Carrying on with Wimpy, More fine PE detail work, although this is more along the lines of file off the grey plastic blob and add this more detailed face plate. First up, the radio station: Next up the cockpit console: The kit supplies decals for the instrumentation, but this looks way better in my opinion. I like the depth in the individual gauges. Although I don't need this part yet, it's nice to have it finished and ready for installation when the time comes (soon enough). This now officially brings me up to step 8 in the instructions (still one page 1, though). This now means I have the pilot's seat, and some flight controls, as well as the radio operator's station built. Step 9 involves installing what I can only assume is the.... um... "extra functional" seating, above the aft end of the bomb bay decking. I do need to grouse about the Eduard instructions regarding the seat belts, however. Specifically the lap belts for the pilot, it would have been nice to see a picture of how things were supposed to go, rather than some misleading drawing saying to bend the PE in some weird way and attach roughly to this location in some manner that cannot possibly work. Apologies if I have the lap belts incorrect, it's the closest I could figure out. The view looking forward from the radio operator's station: Slowly things are coming together. I'm almost through picking out the aluminium frame on one fuselage half, and after some touch up, more assembly can progress (at least until some more PE induced sidetracking crops up). Andy

Work is still progressing slowly. Between painting, and picking away at one minute task after another (or more frequently bouncy between one microscopic task and another ignorer to preserve one's sanity). The "fun" thing I'm finding out is how to slot in the various PE detail parts into which step of the instructions, there's a lot of looking ahead (and prefabricating), then returning to the instructions to work out a slightly revised order of operations to ensure things go together smoothly. The latest bits concern the cockpit, specifically the control stand beside the pilot's seat. This wonderfully designed PE torture device replaces a nondescript moulded grey blob cast on the deck. Lots of curves and counter curves to this little lovely. The top piece (where the control levers slot in) comes in two parts; a short forward piece with only one large-ish curve, and the aft piece with a weird wavy profile. Guaranteed the more complex aft one will snap off at the corner seam (the nearest vertical seam visible in the photo above). For anyone else building this kit, I suggest just going ahead and doing this anyway, as it makes bending the top profile easier. I inserted a styrene block inside the stand to provide a better glueing surface (which should be done anyway, even if you do manage this piece of Eduard Origami without breaking anything). Oh yeah, the control levers.... they're small.... very small.... and fiddly.... and annoying... and easily lost/bent/mangled/transferred to another dimension. Six down, four more to go. Thankfully, with many of the smaller parts, Eduard does supply SOME extras. Another little surprise to watch out for, the new control stand is larger than the grey blob. In order for things to fit, a portion of the pilot's seat needs to be filed off. You can kinda see here: And somewhat here: Thankfully, it should all be well hidden, and not noticeable. Most components are still only dry fit for testing/demonstration purposes. Still so much yet to do and paint, before any large assembly can take place. When my eyes are too strained from microscopic PE parts, I will indulge with some more eye strain inducing detail painting. Picking out the aluminium frames in an appropriate colour paint. I find this can only be done in 15 to 20 minute intervals, as once the paint on the brush starts to get a little clumpy, it's best to stop before making too much of a mess. As it is, I will still have to go back and touch up some spots with the base colours. The Silver is Floquil Old Silver, which isn't too bad a match for the Tamiya Aluminium. In the forward area, I opted for Humbrol's Gunmetal colour, for something more subdued in keeping with the black, but maintaining a little metallic shine. Over all, I'm still having fun with this build. It is definitely a challenge, but not impossible. Andy

Thanks for the input! I actually agree and had already decided to go with the darker green on the right. For what it’s worth, Tamiya labels both paints as RAF dark green, the right one as Dark Green #2 (Tamiya paint code AS-30). Tamiya itself recommends the other shade of green (code AS-9), for their Lancaster model. Trying to hunt down and replicate accurate prototype colours can be challenge. Many colourized photos (which I don’t consider to be an accurate source as far as colours go), show a green more similar to the green on the left (and the brown to be much more of a tan/sandy colour), and contemporary colour photos shouldn’t be trusted, as time can play havoc with colour film, without the ability to ascertain how, in what conditions, the print/negative/slide was stored, and the degree of oxidation/UV degradation. It can be equally hard to tell from modern museum photos due to varying light levels, the age of the paint (and the layers of dust), to say nothing of the odds that the museum itself had the correct colour of paint to begin with (yes, museums do make mistakes). I’ll still use the lighter colour, but it will be relegated to interior details, that won’t be as visible. Andy

Hi Kev! Looks great. I had to look online, but yeah, that looks basically like how they were stowed. Have you thought of sourcing some Evergreen “I” beam or “C” channel? If you can find a small enough size, it might give you that fine profile of the racks. Going by this photo here: Otherwise, looks great! Andy

My paints finally showed up yesterday! Yay! I had to whip up a test panel as Tamiya's AS line of rattle cans has two options for RAF dark green, and I needed to see which was closer to the Humbrol paint call out, and which one I liked better: I've made my choice (and I won't say which yet), but what does everyone else think? Andy

I did some digging, as I remembered I had an old stereoscopic image viewer. Maybe worth a try…. I do cut the PE on the cutting mat with a sharp craft knife, but I do so as close to the fret as possible. The Eduard PE is very thin, 0.010” if I had to guess, so it doesn’t take much pressure to cut. Afterwards I’ll remove the connecting tab with some flush cutting sprue nippers. So far I’ve had no trouble with extra bends (at least, none caused by the cutting out of parts🙄). Andy