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

[realworkingsailor]

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

[realworkingsailor]

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

[Old Collingwood]

28 minutes ago, realworkingsailor said:

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 would have said the Green on the Right   as  the other  one looks  a  wee bit  to  bright.

 

OC.

[Egilman]

Definitely the Green on the right brother, the left side is more a chromate green, too bright..

[Edwardkenway]

Yep the right side darker on👍

[Rick01]

No argument - the one on the right. I've seen R-Roger in the UK and the colour was very close to the right one (as was the earth colour you have shown).

 

Rick

[Canute]

Left one looks like a green the Russian used on their radomes/antennas on certain MiGs.

[realworkingsailor]

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

 

 

[realworkingsailor]

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

 

 

[Old Collingwood]

Such fine work.

 

OC.

[king derelict]

The PE work is really nicely done. Congratulations

Alan

[Rick01]

This is the bit in real life. 🙂 Note the cut-out in the seat for the control column (useful when pulling back hard to get an enemy fighter off your tail ). 

 

Rick

Edited November 1, 2022 by Rick01

[Egilman]

Well done Andy, the PE work that you 1/72nd guys can do still amazes me....

Edited November 2, 2022 by Egilman

[realworkingsailor]

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

[Rick01]

3 hours ago, realworkingsailor said:

 Which Wellington is that? The poor thing looks quite stripped down, is it being restored? (Fully or partially?)

It's a "walk through" display at Brooklands Museum alongside R-Robert. Basically just a fuselage using assorted items collected over the years, but it really does make you appreciate what the crew went through every time they flew.

 

Rick

 

[Canute]

Those 3D decals for the cockpit are a vast improvement over the kit supplied ones. 😁

 

Too bad the seat-belts are so hard to decipher the construction sheet. 😕

[CDW]

Very nice cockpit. 3D cockpits are a great addition to the aircraft modeling detail parts arsenal. Been seeing some real nice examples of them on Ebay from eastern Europe.

[realworkingsailor]

 

16 minutes ago, Canute said:

Those 3D decals for the cockpit are a vast improvement over the kit supplied ones. 😁

 

Too bad the seat-belts are so hard to decipher the construction sheet. 😕

 

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

Edited November 5, 2022 by realworkingsailor

[Canute]

Our seatbelts usually laid on the side panels; too bulky to fall between the seat and the side panels. I think it was the same in the big airplane; the lap belts were draped over the arm rests.

[AJohnson]

Very nice start to the interior details, really neat Andy

[Javlin]

I use to play in this scale with some of that details in the day but my patience and eyesight won't go there anymore.Nice work Andy!

[realworkingsailor]

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

[realworkingsailor]

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

[Canute]

Nicely done with your detailing, Andy. Give the aircraft personality. 👍

 

In the big airplane I flew, that was called a honey bucket, although my unit converted them to the chemical toilets used in RV campers and boars. We only used the honey bucket when the jet went back to the Air Force maintenance depot. Same thing for our digital radar sets going back to the old crt set. If we forgot and sent the good stuff, it disappeared into the labyrinth at the depot, never to be seen again. That thing above the stretcher. No idea.

[realworkingsailor]

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

 

[CDW]

Looking at the incredible detail in your model, it’s hard to believe it’s 1:72 scale. You are doing a very excellent work on it and I enjoy seeing your photographic updates. Plus, it’s an aircraft I am not familiar with and that’s refreshing.

[realworkingsailor]

2 hours ago, CDW said:

Looking at the incredible detail in your model, it’s hard to believe it’s 1:72 scale. You are doing a very excellent work on it and I enjoy seeing your photographic updates. Plus, it’s an aircraft I am not familiar with and that’s refreshing.

 

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

 

 

 

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by realworkingsailor
Can’t tell left from right 🙄

[AJohnson]

1 hour ago, realworkingsailor said:

 

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 right, 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

 

 

 

 

Hey, I’m on the North East England map! My neck of the woods and I like visiting the old airbases, many returned to agriculture or industrial parks now, but many of the old buildings survive, either repurposed or quietly crumbling.  
 

Great interior detailing Andy, you are much neater than me. 

[realworkingsailor]

23 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

Hey, I’m on the North East England map! My neck of the woods and I like visiting the old airbases, many returned to agriculture or industrial parks now, but many of the old buildings survive, either repurposed or quietly crumbling.  
 

Great interior detailing Andy, you are much neater than me. 

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

[realworkingsailor]

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