This is my first Xtrakit and is typical limited run. I am building this for the RAF 100 Anniversary GB. Its also par of a personal project to build aircrfat from all 37 military airfields in the county on Norfolk. This one was based at Marham, the only one of the 37 still in use as an airbase, in 2006 and wears a special scheme to mark the retirement of the Canberra from the RAF.
The only AM is some resin wheels. There is nothing for this kit and i decided not to try and squeeze in the stuff for the Airfix kit as i think this one has enough for the job.
So, the kit.
And the real thing. Not the special markings on the tail.
So to start, get the pilots and navigators positions together. Not many parts, the seats are resin and rather nice.
After a coat of primer and a coat of Humbrol matt black, i painted in some switches and dials and painted up the seats.
I limited the weathering to some Tamiya silver weathering powder for chipping and then fitted everything in and got the fuselage closed up. It was a bit awkward and was done in several stages useing clamps to hold it together. No location tabs of course, so had to try and line it up as carefully as i could.
You can see here that one side of the fuselage is thicker than the otehr, so i’ll use a needle file to sand that down.
Got a bit of sanding to do along the seam, but doesn’t look to bad. The wheels bays were painted silver when i did the pit so once the sanding is done i can go straight into getting the wings on.
Thats all for now. Thanks for looking, all comments and feedback welcome as always.
Ye i thought that. I had thought the nav’s position was behind the pilot and he climb in through the pit. It was only when i looked at the instructions that i noticed he was in the front. And then i looked at some photo’s and realised how he got in, by opening the nose. Also a bit strange to have the pilot over to one side.
I think the B-57 was based on the initial version of the Canberra which had the same canopy and cockpit as the 57. The new canopy and offset pit was only introduced with the B(I).8 i believe.
This is true for earlier versions. The bomb aimer & navigator’s seats were in a compartment behind the pilot. Even in the original “goldfish bowl” versions, the pilot’s seat was offset to the left.
PS: The B-57A retained the “goldfish bowl” canopy. The elogated “fighter style” tandem canopy was introduced with the B-57B
Been plugging away at the Canberra and am rather enjoying this. Its needed quite a bit of work with every major part needing sanding before fitting and then filling and sanding after. My testors silver enamel pen has had a really good outing on this build, certainly proved its worth. Before adding the wing the main wheel wells were fitted to the side of the fuselage.
But before the wings could be fitted, the mateing edge had to be thinned to fit in a slight gap above the wheel wells. In hindsite, both wings should have been thinned before they were put together as the fit over the wells was very tigt, i was surprised the seams did not burst.
But with a bit of encouragment they did go on. And after the horizontal tail, the front and rear of the engines, canopy and the few small portrusions were fitted. O, and not forgetting the clear piece which includes the camera window, and its all ready to hit the paint booth.
All being well, i will get her primed and painted over the weekend and can star the decals Mon/Tues.
Hey Bish, I just checked in on your Canberra project and it’s looking good. They were present as the B-57 version in the '50s and one would occasionally buzz our home town. Ever since that experience as a kid, I’ve followed the progression of the long lived design. A few years ago I did see several versions at the USAF museum. There’s a B-57 on-a-stick at a Kansas Air Force base that is a beauty and lit at night. You are getting me enthused! lol! It’s a model that I’ve always considered building.
Thanks Max, glad its got you interested. Italeri are to re-release there 72nd B-57B next month if that takes your fancy. There don’t seem to be that many kits out there of the subject.
Those cockpits look very cramped. (I thought economy class was bad)
A friend of mine in the local modeling club recently built a Canberra. He told me that in his research he found that the little windows on either side of the navigator compartment were affectionately referred to as day/night indicators, as this was just about the only thing that they were good for.
Chris, ye, it does look cramped in there. The cockpit looks more like somthing you would see in a WW2 singleengine fighter. And i can see what he means about those windows.
While we’re talking Canberras, I just saw on the news this morning that two NASA WB-57s will study the August 21 total eclipse that will cross the United States coast to coast.
Its nice to see they are still being put to good use. I know its not front line service like the B-52, but nearly 70 years old and still going strong.
After a couple of days i got the canberra all painted up. The grey tail is not normal for this type, from what i can tell it was only on this aircraft with its special markings. I used Xtracolr as usual, so no need for a gloss coat.
The nose did not come out to well. I have had to sand that down and have just re-pained so will leave that until tomorrow.
But for now, i can start on the decals. And there are enough to keep me busy with loads of stencils.
PQ, huh? Unless they just repainted any old B-57, my Dad may have flown that bird when he was in Viet Nam!
My Dad was one of the pilots involved in certification/verification of the B-57, and became quite fond of those. He flew them a lot. Nice plane. And even the tandem cockpit arrangement had a fair amount of space.
