realworkingsailor

And, we're off! A small marathon of Eduard origami has begun. I figured I could start with some of the bomb bay details, as they will all have to painted the same colour anyway. There are these tiny box structures with perforated plates bases (tops?) that sit below the bomb bay walkway. Not sure of their prototype purpose, but this is step one. A view of the prototype can be seen here. The boxes are missing, but the perforated base plates can bee seen. Here's where things stand so far. There are four different types, although the last two only differ in the pattern of the perforations, the box structures are the same. Haven't quite got to folding them yet. There's a limit to how much tiny PE one can fold in a single setting. A rough idea of the layout under the bomb bay walkway. Everything's just sitting there, dry fit, for the time being. The two remaining perforated base plates are supposed to sit along the centre line between the other larger perforated base plates. A small frustration with Eduard, though, the instructional drawing is isometric, and the depiction of the basket weave framing is only rudimentary, so there's no way to really accurately locate the position of the base plates. I guess close will have to be good enough. While the base plates just require bending a flange around the perimeter, the boxes are a bit more complex. Kind of like a miniature hip-roofed bungalow with a vertical flange along the roof peak. (That's a 1/2" grid on my cutting mat to give some idea of scale). I've gotten away with crunching only one so far, thankfully the brass seems reasonably soft, and the piece has since made a full recovery (currently resting comfortably in a sealed Tupperware container alongside close friends and family). It's nice to be back to building small fiddly things again. Andy

Thanks for joining in the fun! The Airfix rendering of the bomb bay is done well enough for plastic, in 1:72, but when I looked at a few different models (like the Avro Lancaster, or the HP Hampton), there was simply no matching the Wellington in terms of complexity, so I absolutely had to go for the upgrade. Andy

Moving on... It's Here! It's Here!! It's Here!!! (Even better, I didn't get charged any duty! YAY!) So what did the mailman bring? First off, a tip of the hat to BNA Model World, everything arrived well packaged and in great condition, and definitely within the posted timeframe (14 business days, out of the estimated 10 to 20). About the only (very minor) issue was that I didn't get a tracking number until the items landed in my own country, but otherwise service was excellent. Now back to the box! First up, a sizeable selection of PE from Eduard: Starting with the bomb bay and bomb bay doors. Next up, seatbelts and cockpit gauges, as well as radio and other instrument panels. Pre coloured too! (Neato!) Some more internal and external details like landing gear doors, throttle leavers, break lines and the like. This set is actually for the MK II kit, as the Mk Ia/Ic was not available, but aside from a few extra details specific to the Mk II Merlin Engines, the rest is identical to the Mk I. The last bits of details from Eduard, a three piece kit that includes resin wheels (with the "Dunlop" tire branding), some more bombs, and upgraded engines. I am really looking forward to the engines, they're considerably more detailed than the Airfix offerings (and a good reason to leave off a panel or two to show them off, maybe add a maintenance scaffold). Finally, the last item: A masking set from Montex. I veered away from Eduard and other options, as Montex offered masks for the little bomb bay windows, where the others didn't. I should mention, there is one more PE set made by Eduard for this kit, the landing flaps, but I decided not to order this set. I need to order some paint in the coming days, before I can begin building, but luckily I can source that locally (within my own province), so that shouldn't take too long. Let the fun begin! Andy

To further my previous point, and provide you with a far more detailed answer: Andy

A couple of years ago I’d ordered some items from a seed company in Manitoba (vegetable seeds). The shipment got as far as the local post office and never moved again. After an appropriate amount of time (about two weeks after the “expected delivery date), I contacted the seed company, they were really good about it and I was refunded my purchase. But ever since then I’ve been paranoid about Canada Post…. This is one of the few times I’ve been able to follow a package via a different postal service (I can track on either Australia Post or Canada Post), and I must say that Australia is much more open about the various stages. Lots of details like when the package was booked to fly, what time the plane left, what time it arrived and departed the various depots etc. With Canada Post it’s just “item arrived at facility” “item processed” then four days of nothing followed by “item processed” at a different facility. Big difference. (BTW, I do understand the seven day delay in Melbourne waiting for a flight). Andy

Small update: according to Canada Post my package has crossed the country and is now in the same province as me. The alleged expected delivery day is tomorrow. It almost feels like Christmas…… Andy

Colour matching is always a hard task. I don’t doubt the accuracy of yours. It’s a source of much continued debate in the model railway community, memories, like colour photos, fade over time. Even after someone manages to find an actual factory paint chip from the period with the actual colour formula written on the back, there’s always some old crank or another who’ll swear up and down it was something else (“just look at this colour photo I took on a bright sunny day seventy years ago”). Can’t wait to see that Lanc! Andy

I wonder if that’s also a result of the different camo colours. The green on grey(?) over black looks quite a bit muted compared to the green on brown scheme (to me, at any rate). Andy

That’s typically a dirty UPS trick (not sure about other couriers). I think with most international postal services, it winds up going through the regular customs service at the airport. I’m expecting to pay a little bit in sales tax, though. Andy

It was largely based on standardization. Every British infantry rifle (Lee Enfield) and machine gun (Browning, Vickers, Lewis, Bren) were all .303. British manufacturing had only to supply one type of round that could be sent anywhere it was needed, no need for the extra logistical issues such as supply asymmetry (an excess production of one type of round and a shortage of another). Even with Lend-Lease most American industries (and the US Government) could see that war was coming and production capacity would also be needed for domestic supply. Lend-Lease was only signed into law in March 1941, barely nine months later the US became fully involved in WW2. In 1941, British and Commonwealth units were fare flung across the world in places like India, the Middle East, North Africa, Singapore, Burma, Hong Kong Southern Europe, etc. Trying to re-equip with different caliber weapons would have been a logistical nightmare, the results would have been piecemeal at best. Andy

The joke of all this, now that I finally have a tracking number, is resisting the urge to check every five minutes… “Has it gone anywhere yet? Where is it now? How about now? Now? Why isn’t it moving? Augh!” 🤪 Andy

Well, a bit of a surprise this morning. I received an email notification from Australia Post saying my package had landed in Canada, and it looks like it even cleared customs. Hooray… I… uh… oh wait… it’s in Vancouver…. The other side of the country… well…. Hmm…. I am now at the mercy of Canada Post…. 🙄 Andy

Found another interesting film: This is turning out to be a particularly fruitful rabbit hole to dive down, as there seems to be a number of vintage films posted on YouTube featuring Wellington bombers (accompanied by appropriately fraffly accented narrators 😜). Andy

A short video showing the Wellington prototype: Still waiting for my order to arrive from parts unknown, until then…. 🤪 Andy

I noticed that conversion kit, along with all the other aftermarket products available, listed on Scalemates. For sure that would be an eye catching model! Andy

Another one for good measure: A couple of old film reels, one showing some training torpedo operations. The other gives an explanation of the Wellingtons that we’re fitted with the “Directional Wireless Installation” (DWI). A code name for the large electro-magnetic hoop used to detonate magnetic sea mines. Although these specialty variants were never produced in large numbers, it all shows the versatility of this aircraft in a number of different roles. Andy

Another interesting propaganda film to help pass the time until my parts arrive from the far side of the world. This one is from 1943: Not quite as cheesy as the last one… Andy

That seems to have been a running issue with many bomber designs, bailing out was a bit of an afterthought. If I read correctly, only the Halifax had one halfway decent exit. I’ve seen pictures of the belly turret: https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/aircraftphotoessays/aircraft_photoessay_whitley.pdf Scroll through to pg 9. I can’t imagine hanging out in what looks like a trash can, let alone getting shot at trying to shoot back. I think the experiences with the Whitley proved that the design left a lot to be desired, and it was never widely adapted elsewhere. Andy

Try here for something more closer to your location: https://www.bnamodelworld.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=Scale ruler Andy

https://uk.airfix.com/products/vickers-wellington-mkii-a08021 Just saying’, is all… Andy

Found this restored British propaganda film from 1941: Andy

Hi John, I’m glad I’ve caught your interest. After @Old Collingwood’s post above, and now yours, it seems like a good chance there might be more MSW members with a connection to this aircraft. I truly hope my modelling skills can live up to those legacies. Andy

Small update. I placed my order for the aftermarket PE and detail sets from BNA Model World. Shipping was not as dire as I had anticipated ($15), estimated travel time of 10 to 20 business days, still not crazy. Nice that all prices where automatically converted for me to Canadian dollars. Took a lot of guess work out of the equation, although the Loonie usually favours the Aussie dollar by about 10%. I fully expected a slow process to accumulate the required ancillaries. Next up is getting the remaining paints that I will need. Some colours I've managed to substitute from stock I have on hand (from colours that match very closely to the Humbrol colours specified by Airfix), so it's really only a couple of specific colours that I will need. In the interim, some vintage footage (no sound): (Also happens to be #75 (NZ) Squadron) Andy

Great picture! That’s a Mk II (you can tell by the Merlin engines). If I’m not mistaken, they were built concurrently with the Mk Ia/c variants, so they share many of the same fuselage features (windows, turrets, etc). Have you had a chance to go through that photo essay I posted earlier? I could easily spend hours going through it with a magnifying glass hunting for details! Andy

So other than travel time, nothing to really worry about. Thanks EG! Between here and some cursory searching online, there’s almost nothing but positive reviews of BNA, I feel a lot more confident, and I’ll be ordering from them shortly. Andy