Vickers Wellington Mk 1a/c by Realworkingsailor - FINISHED - Airfix - 1/72

[Egilman]

12 hours ago, Charter33 said:

Green over brown or brown over green? The answer is 'Yes, either way.' Which ever the way, you're displaying it brilliantly...

It depends, in real life, Green went over the Brown, in the modeling world either way works....

 

And I agree he's doing a fantastic job of it.... the Black sides will set it off perfectly...

[AlanDavison]

Lightest colour first, darkest colour last is my mantra. So brown, green, black

 

[realworkingsailor]

Thanks everyone, although I had hopes of a more philosophical discussion regarding stripes, I still appreciate all the kind remarks!😁

 

Well, nerves wracked, or otherwise, the masking tape came off this afternoon. Big sigh of relief, it worked:

 

 

 

Very little touch up to do, and most of that is on the engine nacelle forward ends (and those parts are only yet held on by poster putty, so easy to fix). I'm very happy with the way it turned out, hopefully the experts will agree. The sacrificial canopy and window masks will stay on for a while yet, at least until after the decals are applied and sealed. I can't express how relieved I am, and I can't believe how close I am to finishing. Still a bit of work to do on the engines, and other small details, but I think this is now the single largest task behind me. Whew!

 

Andy

 

PS

Hopefully We get some brighter weather soon, it's rather dull and gloomy right now, not good for photography.

 

[Egilman]

And very well done I might add....

 

Congratulations!

[AlanDavison]

Looking very good. Regarding decals, it is usual practice to apply a coat of gloss varnish over the whole model as this means you can slide the decals around for fine adjustment before final fixing . Johnson’s clear (yes the floor polish) or it’s equivalent is often used. Also consider using a Decal softener and fixative so that the decals follow the surface contours. After all that you then apply your final coat of Matt or semi-Matt varnish to tone down the gloss. Weathering using powders, oils and so can also be added if you want a ‘used’ look

[realworkingsailor]

13 minutes ago, AlanDavison said:

Looking very good. Regarding decals, it is usual practice to apply a coat of gloss varnish over the whole model as this means you can slide the decals around for fine adjustment before final fixing . Johnson’s clear (yes the floor polish) or it’s equivalent is often used. Also consider using a Decal softener and fixative so that the decals follow the surface contours. After all that you then apply your final coat of Matt or semi-Matt varnish to tone down the gloss. Weathering using powders, oils and so can also be added if you want a ‘used’ look

You’re talking to an old hand when it comes to decals😉😁

I have some Testors Glosscote and Dulcote on hand for just such an eventuality (as well as Microsol setting solutions). 
 

 

And as for weathering I do have these:

 

I have all kinds of things hidden in my stash…

 

😁😁

 

Andy

Edited November 28, 2022 by realworkingsailor

[Canute]

Pan Pastels, about the only powder product that doesn't disappear with a topping varnish. Use them a bit myself. And weathering pencils, like AK Interactive has.

[popeye the sailor]

looking very good!  

[realworkingsailor]

Well, I ran into a small snag today. Nothing that can’t be surmounted, and it doesn’t require any steps backwards (deconstruction etc.). No broken or lost pieces, or anything like that. As I said, just a teeny tiny snag…. 
 

I was getting back to working on the engines, and I went to prime the cowling parts, got part way through and the can sputtered….spat….wheezed… aaaand that was it. The last gasps of propellant slowly sissled out of the nozzle. Dang it! Outta primer…. Nuts (or something to that effect). A frantic search of the usual hiding spots turned up nothing. The dregs of the can didn’t really coat the parts well, and I decided to clean that  off with a few dabs of lacquer thinner, so I ended up right back where I started.
 

I guess I’ll have to get on with decaling….

Thanks again everyone for the kind comments and likes. Your encouragement is most appreciated.

 

Andy

[Kevin]

very nice Andy, Sorry i missed the start of the build

[realworkingsailor]

46 minutes ago, Kevin said:

very nice Andy, Sorry i missed the start of the build

Thanks Kevin! No worries, glad to have you join in!

 

Andy

[realworkingsailor]

 I think lettering/decalling has got to be one of my favourite parts of any build. The moment a model is given an identity it gains a story and a reflection of history. I feel the same way whether it be a piece of model railway rolling stock, or a ship, or an airplane. Today, that part of my build has been accomplished, and for the first time, my Wellington model (although still incomplete), actually IS something.

 

 

The Airfix supplied decals are of fairly good quality. The decal film was a little thicker than what I'm used to with some model railway suppliers, but since the surfaces are reasonably flat (and the decals reasonably large), it wasn't an issue to get the lettering to sit down nicely. That being said, a gloss coating is absolutely necessary to achieve good results.

 

 

I like that Airfix included a number of technical stencils to go along with the main lettering, as tedious as it is to apply them. I don't remember these stencils being included in the Airfix kits I made many many years ago, so I'm glad they've made that improvement.

 

 

Once the decals have had a chance to completely dry (and I've conducted a thorough close inspection for bubbles), I'll go ahead and seal everything up with a shot of Dullcote. 

 

I'm still working on getting some more primer, the main issue I've run into is shipping fees. I got most of the paint for this model from Sunward Hobbies in Toronto (they have pretty good service, and I'd recommend them), the problem is that their free shipping starts at orders of $60. Seems a little ridiculous to pay the price of a can of primer to ship a single can of primer. So how to make up the $60? Well, I've been looking at making a little diorama for this plane, since I'd noticed Airfix also makes an RAF bomber resupply set. Unfortunately someone bought the set that Sunward had in stock the day I ran out of primer. It seems I have no choice but to wait until they restock, hopefully that won't take too long... In the mean time, there's a couple of small jobs I can do, such as the gun turrets. But I have to wait to finish the engines, bomb bay, bomb bay doors, landing gear (including the aftermarket wheels) and landing gear doors. Oh, and some bombs too....

 

Andy

[realworkingsailor]

Thanks, everyone for the continued "likes"!

 

Just another small update to show that progress is still being made. 

 

The nose and tail turrets have been built and installed. Depending on how I weather the plane, I may yet need to add another coat of Dullcote when all is said and done, so I have not yet fixed them permanently, and I may leave it that way. They fit quite snugly into place (they're not going to randomly drop out), and, although they're not designed to rotate freely, I'd rather maintain a little flexibility.

 

 

 

When I painted the clear parts I made a conscious decision to avoid using primer (despite the fact that I had run out, I never planned to in the first place). To a degree the opposite inside of the "glass" is visible, so instead I used a silver/aluminium base layer, followed by a black top coat. This allows the inside to appear "metal" rather than primer grey, as well through incidental handling, the silver on the various rivet heads and sharp areas became visible as the black was slightly worn off, giving it a bit of a weathered look in places. I've seen a few prototype photos where the black paint appears to have been fairly well worn off (chipped or otherwise blasted off), so a little silver highlighting is not uncalled for. I followed the same approach for the cockpit canopy (although with a brown top layer), to the same effect. I will hold off on that installation as well, until the last moment.

 

Andy

[Danstream]

Quite nice and sharp work on the turrets.

Cheers,

Dan

 

[Canute]

Yes, the turrets turned out well.

[realworkingsailor]

On 12/6/2022 at 1:39 PM, Danstream said:

Quite nice and sharp work on the turrets.

Cheers,

Dan

 

 

On 12/6/2022 at 8:55 PM, Canute said:

Yes, the turrets turned out well.

 

Thanks, guys, for your kind comments! And thanks to everyone for the "likes"!

 

So, a bit of good news, I few supplies showed up today, including a can of Tamiya primer, yay!

 

 

I needed some wider masking tape as well, and I got a set of RAF figures to help "flesh" out my plans for displaying my Wellington.

 

Some time in the new year I will look into getting the RAF bomber resupply set and.. I... uh... HEY! What's that in the top right background?!

 

 

How did that get there?!

 

Sigh..... ah well.... 🙄

 

Andy

 

 

[Kevin]

lovely work

 

[Canute]

Nice Hurricane from BoB. I've been a fan of the battle for years. Very close run thing.

 

There is a build review of the Airfix kit here: https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/builds/airfix/build_airfix_2067.shtml

[realworkingsailor]

2 hours ago, Canute said:

Nice Hurricane from BoB. I've been a fan of the battle for years. Very close run thing.

 

There is a build review of the Airfix kit here: https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/builds/airfix/build_airfix_2067.shtml

 

According to the box info, this one was in the Battle of France (given the red/white/blue fin flash was located on the rudder itself, French fashion), but if it survived that one, I'm sure it was involved in the other. For lack of a better descriptor, it's a cute little kit and I'm looking forward to getting in to it. I will build it mostly out of the box, but seeing as there's parts for different versions, I may mix and match a little bit here and there. I'm thinking of taking a few liberties with the paint job, I prefer the sky green underside over the black and white, and I'm going to attempt to restore the yellow outer ring to the fuselage roundel. More on all that when the time comes!

 

Thanks everyone for the kind comments and likes. I'm getting back underway with the engines, now that I can get the various components primed and painted. First up the right engine:

 

 

After fitting the fin ring, there are various plumbing pieces on the top, which I think have some function with the supercharger, as well as the carburetor located underneath:

 

 

Next up is to add all the finicky little engine mount brackets, and then the cowlings. I plan on displaying this engine with the cowlings closed, so any errors made when figuring things out will be hidden. 

 

 

I've already begun picking at the left engine. Out of the factory, for whatever reason, the left engine had a longer exhaust pipe than the right. Later on the right engines also received this extended exhaust pipe, and later still both engines received the hedgehog-like diffuser found on the Bristol Hercules engine (hedgehog like the animal, not the ASW mortar).

 

Andy

 

 

[realworkingsailor]

Well, this is somewhat disheartening...

 

 

 

I think someone didn't measure right, or rounded pi wrong.... Eduard... I'm looking at you! 🤨

 

Oh, yeah, and those engine mounting brackets.... Yeah... that's not gonna happen either, that's a level of finicky that I am ill equipped to deal with (in regards to tools, patience and sanity). I will attempt one more time on the other engine (maybe it will be easier if I change the order of operations a bit and do the brackets first before installing the fin ring. I dunno... We shall see. In the interim I have this problem now to solve as well. Time to break in to my styrene stash. Hopefully this won't fix won't end up looking too ugly......

 

Andy

[Kevin]

49 minutes ago, realworkingsailor said:

Hopefully this won't fix won't end up looking too ugly......

 

Andy

you can do it Andy

[Egilman]

Hey brother, that is all to common an occurrence with some manufacturers today... That one, the fix is easy though....

 

Slice the cowling in half and patch in an extension out of .015 or .010 plastic...  I would do it in .015 and if there is any thickness variation then leave the edge to the outside for easier sanding off... (once it is all glued together)

Thank god it's on a straight section of panel...

[realworkingsailor]

9 minutes ago, Egilman said:

Hey brother, that is all to common an occurrence with some manufacturers today... That one, the fix is easy though....

 

Slice the cowling in half and patch in an extension out of .015 or .010 plastic...  I would do it in .015 and if there is any thickness variation then leave the edge to the outside for easier sanding off... (once it is all glued together)

Thank god it's on a straight section of panel...

I have some thin strip, I believe 0.010”x0.060”, that should work. I don’t think I have to split the piece, the latch detail is only on one end, the other just has some raised bumps suggesting interior hinges. I’ve glued the piece with the latches together, so the gap is now on the other side compared to the photo above. All I will need to do after inserting my filler is hide the seam.
 

I hope 🤞 

 

Andy

[king derelict]

There is a lot of that around and this was with both parts from the kit

The kit provides black tank track like plastic for the gun wheel rims. It is quite nicely detailed but the strips are too short

I tried carefully stretching the track - and it broke without gaining any appreciable length. I glued them on and made up the gap with a piece of card of suitable thickness.

Alan

[realworkingsailor]

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement and suggestions. 

 

I am pleased to report that we are now flying on one engine... no propellor, but we've got an engine!

 

 

The insert is barely noticeable, it's located at the seam on the engine cowling at the 11 o'clock position. This seam is by design, as the engine cowlings are composed of three separate panels. A little weathering and some Dullcote and things will be just fine. 

 

Onwards!

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

[Canute]

Good save, Andy. 👍

[Egilman]

Excellent save....

[realworkingsailor]

Thanks guys!

 

Looks like the left engine cowlings have the same issue. I really shouldn’t be surprised, but knowing there’s a workable fix, I’m a little less disappointed. Of course, if I was to leave the middle cowling open to view the engine, I wouldn’t have to bother with the fix…. Until some wise guy thinks to check with a measuring tape… hmm….

 

Andy

[Old Collingwood]

She lives  to fly again.

 

OC.

[realworkingsailor]

16 minutes ago, Old Collingwood said:

She lives  to fly again.

 

OC.

Although I foresee more fiddly bits with the landing gear and bomb bay doors, I’m too close to finishing to let something like that hold things up! 😁

 

Andy