Splash's Dambuster AJ-J

[splash]

Airfix Dambuster boxed set including the Avro Lancaster 1/72 & Tornado GR4 1/48

I have got the lanc down from my stash and on inspection, you get two markings for AJ-G & AJ-S. As these are already being built I thought I would mix up the decals and build AJ-J

AJ-J was the fifth aircraft to attack the Mohne dam Flown by Flight Lieutenant David John Maltby DFC, Maltby's Upkeep hit the dam perfectly in contact and blew a hole right through it. AJ-J was the first attacking aircraft to return.

I will start the kit some time this weekend.

Regards
Splash

[Motley]

Airfix Dambuster boxed set including the Avro Lancaster 1/72 & Tornado GR4 1/48

I have got the lanc down from my stash and on inspection, you get two markings for AJ-G & AJ-S. As these are already being built I thought I would mix up the decals and build AJ-J

AJ-J was the fifth aircraft to attack the Mohne dam Flown by Flight Lieutenant David John Maltby DFC, Maltby's Upkeep hit the dam perfectly in contact and blew a hole right through it. AJ-J was the first attacking aircraft to return.

I will start the kit some time this weekend.

Regards
Splash

Nice choice Splash, im planning on doing this kit aswell as my second build, as i have the exact same boxing as you, and the strange thing is that was one of the markings i was going to choose from my Xtradecal set Going to be watching this one closely

[splash]

Nice choice Splash, im planning on doing this kit aswell as my second build, as i have the exact same boxing as you, and the strange thing is that was one of the markings i was going to choose from my Xtradecal set Going to be watching this one closely

This could be the blind following the blind

[Motley]

This could be the blind following the blind

That is very truee although im sure youll most likely do better than me looking at your other models on here , im more use to single engine thingys like Hurricanes, than big 4 engined monsters where mistakes show up easy

[splash]

Cunning plan as they are bigger you take the photos from further away so the mistakes don't show up

[bromo]

Very true Splash, looking forward to your build of this.

[splash]

I’m not going to have time to start this today, but should start cutting plastic tomorrow.

My plan is to build it straight out of the box with no extra detail, I looked at adding cockpit detail but as the canopy is quite thick and all will be black inside, I have decided not to add anything. I will reassess the situation once I have started.

[splash]

I have now started to cut plastic, the first thing I have noticed is the upkeep mine looks like Airfix have modelled the prototype that had wooden slats for protection, I think these kept flying off on impact and the final mines that were dropped had them removed, so the surface of the mine should be smooth. This will be easy to correct.

Looking at the cockpit I think I will have to add some detail as the large canopy is reasonably clear, the other option could be to add some revell crew figures to fill the cockpit as the airfix figures are the standard holding their nuts type.

The other thing I have noticed is the kit is covered in rivets, which aren't too bad, but I think I might just attempt to scribe some panel lines and remove the rivets.

[splash]

[bromo]

The rivets don't look to bad under a coat of paint to be honest Splash.

[splash]

The rivets don't look to bad under a coat of paint to be honest Splash.

Cheers bromo, I think you might be right.

I notice the airfix kit only shows the side windows as raised lines, should I spend the time and effort to cut them all out?

Tonight I assembled some of the sub assembles and was plecently surprised by the way the parts went together.

As you can see from the images the mine will need to be re-skinned as all the photos I have seen show it with a smooth skin, also what colour should it be? I have heard black or green, but as it was HE would it have been green with a yellow band?

[bromo]

Nice start Splash, weren't the windows painted/plated over?

[theplasticsurgeon]

As you can see from the images the mine will need to be re-skinned as all the photos I have seen show it with a smooth skin, also what colour should it be? I have heard black or green, but as it was HE would it have been green with a yellow band?

For this one I wrapped tape around the upkeep, then painted it aluminium.
Hardly visible in the photo, but it did get rid of that ribbed effect.

[Jagewa]

also what colour should it be? I have heard black or green, but as it was HE would it have been green with a yellow band?

Bassman posted some pages from The Dambusters raid by John Sweetman, (an excellent read on the raid btw) with colour info of the mine: http://gregers.7.forumer.com/viewtopic. ... 1&start=14

Cheers
Jim

[splash]

Cheers Jim

Regards
Splash