Lancfan's 'Just Jane' build ***FINISHED***

[lancfan]

Finished, the mid upper turret was a pig to assemble and the result isn't what I would like so I will replace this at some point however, I will call this model finished now for the purposes of the GB.
Ex. Aeronavale Avro Lancaster MR VII, NX611 (G-ASXX) finished in RAF Bomber Command colours as 'Just Jane', East Kirby, Lincs, 1988- to date.






David.

[DazDaMan]

That's lovely!

Are those weighted tyres?

[lancfan]

Cheers Daren, the tyres come weighted in the kit.

David.

[MarkyM607]

Very nice.

[PaulBradley]

Lovely build, David!

[Stuart]

That is a fantastic Finsih David - it looks supurb and I'm it looks very good next to the shack you made last year!.

Apologies for not being as big a part of this GB as I would have liked, it's been a very bad year 'Real life' wise for modelling and GB's in particular. (It seems to be tripping along nicely without me anyway :-) )

[lancfan]

Thanks Mark, Paul, Stuart.
Stuart, real life always comes first and is very good at getting in the way of modelling time.

David.

[lancfan]

Critique-

The Model,
Overall the kit is just superb, it does have a few minor issues but there is nothing that an average modeller cannot deal with. It is essential that the instructions are properly read (there are a few mistakes in there) and followed accordingly- this kit is so over engineered that this is NOT a kit to be built blindly by the over confident. The biggest problem is the interference fit of the wing main spars, a light draw filing with a flat modelling file should give enough clearance after a few seconds work to both sides of each fuselage slot and don't paint the black parts of the spars until the fuselage has been assembled, as with all Airfix new tools it is prudent to VERY lightly and carefully draw file or block sand the edges of any parts which fit fully from side to side in the fuselage or half to half in the wing (in this case the floor/bomb bay roof, the fuselage frames attached to the spars and the assembled structure over the wheelbays) before assembly to ensure sufficient clearance for glue. The glaring ommision from this kit is the lack of an engraved dinghy stowage bin on the starboard wing root, this is only supplied as a decal which is wrongly positioned in the decal placement instructions anyway. Another fault (but not a build issue) is the location of the IP, this should be level with the windscreen sill and under the 'V' of the windscreen and not a scale 6 inches or so forward of the windscreen under the nose top decking as Airfix have positioned it. For all it's many faults the Revell kit actually got that right so how Airfix managed to get that so wrong is quite puzzling. Cabin Heater, Martin turret and tall astrodome options would have been nice touches.
This kit is not perfect but it has potential for future options including Tallboy and ASR versions. It is probably the nearest we shall get to a perfect Lancaster- 7/10


The Decal Sheet,
As decals they are superb although there aren't enough roundels/fin flashes for all three aircraft BUT the placement instructions are laughably awful, added to this is the fact that the three individual aircraft have been modified to varying degrees from the wartime aircraft depicted by all available kits and there is no real explanation of the various visible changes to each aircraft, also the decals are not numbered and there are no READABLE decal placement instructions with the sheet.
My opinion- this decal sheet by it's specialist nature desparately needs a set of readable placement instructions, these decals need numbering to match them and they need a set of 1/72 scale drawings to display the neccessary conversion work needed to build each subject aircraft- 5/10

Ideally we also need a set of conversion parts with scale drawings and instructions to accompany them.
It would need to include-
Three Cabin Heaters (all three)
Three pairs of Avro Lincoln mainwheels with treaded, weighted tyres (all three)
One Martin Gun Turret (Vera)
One 'Fake' Turret dome (Jane)
One tall Astrodome (Jane)
One pair of Avro Lincoln fins (PA474)
Scale conversion drawings/instructions.

David.

[JohnRatzenberger]

Well Done, and a good analysis / wish-list.