Hi guys,
I fancy making either a Lanc or Halifax in 1:72nd.
Halifax first ! Is the Airfix kit the only option here ? Does it have ’ movable ’ control surfaces ( shame if it does ) ?
Lancaster ! which is the best Lanc. Airfix or Revell, are there any others ?
I don’t want toy like movable control surfaces. Just something which makes up into a reasonable replica without to much work as I prefer to spend time on the paint and markings.
Happy 2004 to everybody,
Pete
Pete,
I’m not sure if anyone other than Airfix makes the 1/72 Hally-bag. I’ve built this kits and while it turned out to be a reasonable looking model, it didn’t go together without its fair share of problems.
The control surfaces are moveable. It’s quite easy to make them non-moveable. It looks a little more real than having to shade the recesses if the surfaces weren’t moveable.
As I alluded to in another post, the cockpit canopy is poorly moulded. It doesn’t fit properly at the rear and right side of the fuselage and you’ll require something like Humbrol’s Clear Fix to attach it properly and to fill the enourmous gaps.
Second, the method that Airfix uses to mount the guns in the upper turret are absolutely horrendous. There’s a poorly moulded crew figure (half figure actually) with a large ring where the hands should be. You slide a rod on one half of the guns through this hole and then attach the other half of the guns to the pin. Then ther’es the issue of the fit of the clear part of the turret to the “dustbin” it attaches to. This required a fair amount of modification.
Third, the seam that runs along the spine and belly of the aircraft requires a fair amount of filler.
True to Airfix form, this kit requires a fair amount of attention and extra work. However, with a little elbow grease and patience, it turns into a fairly acceptable kit.
I’ve never built the Airfix 1/72 Lanc. My wife spoiled me a few years ago with the Tamiya 1/48 Lanc.
T.T.F.N.
Murph
Hi Murph,
I too have a Tamiya 1:48th somewhere, was gonna use the Aeromaster decals for a Canadian 419 Sqn. bird with the sharkmouths on each engine.
As for 1:72nd , I fancy one in the rescue scheme of the RCAF, natural metal and dayglo, nice !
Pete
Hi Pete, there is another halifax kit. it’s by Matchbox and it is the merlin engined version. it isn’t a bad kit considering it was one of theirs but getting hold of one may be difficult now. revell got most of the matchbox molds so they may re-relese it. the best lanc in 1/72 is the airfix one, the revell one is hard work (i know because i have both versions and am doing the dambuster at the moment) i have a spare decal sheet for the BoBMF lanc and some canadian roundels too if you want to swap for ??? i could use some swedish roundels if you have any. hope this helps. Greg
Greg, didn’t Matchbox also have a 1/72 Lanc? Seems I remember seeing one at a show a while back.
yep they did do a lanc. not the best one on the market but not the worst either and its the only one available with the bulged bomb bay. it is the one that i prefer for conversions as it has a blanking piece for the fuselage top and the turret fairing as a seperate part and the front fuselage (from the cockpit front) as a seperate assembly so a conversion into a lancastrian is made much simpler. hope this helps you guys. Greg
http://groups.msn.com/BOXART/61.msnw?Page=2
Will give a bigger image - 1:72 Airfix Dambuster (+ ‘adjusted’ image)
not sure i did the kit full justice but its from a while back now…
theres lots of versions, B1 B3 ect of this kit available, which dates origonally from 1980, with the Dambuster issue in 93 i think.