# 1/32 Lancaster... The weekly kit



## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Well after a bit of a break from modeling I decided over the last three weeks to kick it off again. And what better way to get back to it than to start the weekly 1/32 Lancaster build up...:freak: I've actually been hording the thing for the last year or so. I have seen these sort of magazines in the shops before and always thought them an expensive way to build a model. which indeed they are!!! but as this war bird is one of my child hood favorites, before I dove into sci-fi at full warp, also I have been disapointed with what I've seen in styrene. Aside from cost I've been looking at it and the various bits and to be honest feeling some what intimidated by it all. I reckon this things is way up the ladder in a lot of ways for me. But I survived the the master replicas big Eagle transport I did last year so how hard/bad could it be...

At first I was going to tackle the beast by doing the main sub assemblies as they collessed with the weeks but in the end I decided to do it as per the weeks/parts. What I have completed to date over the last two weeks or so is up to stage 18, except for parts like the engines, bombs and props. These I have held off doing till I feel the time is right.

This the first timber model I have done so there are certainly some learning curves for me :tongue: All the wood pieces are laser cut ply and so far, they seem to fit pretty well, Though I have had to do some heavier sanding in parts but that may just be me building attempts. The metal parts look to be machined/cast well but the plastic strips they supply for the stringers have proved a challenge the main ones are those that are bent as a 'U' shape to fit in the smaller bags are a nightmare to straigten...

The glues I am using are, welbond which is a ployphilatic pva, super glue, both gel and normal and krystal klear for the consoles.

















The wing section were for me quite daunting but in the end they came out could I think.
















Opps to many pics... been a while since being here so I gotta learn the limits again...

Cheers,

Alec


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

The next pics are of the main cabin sub assembly completed with the instrument panels in place and the wing/fusilage section and not yet fully painted seats. I have read some other threads on the web for others tackling this kit and they talk of tweeking and adding there own enhancementse.g epxy putty seat cusions etc. Discretion is the better part of valor for me so this is one is a OOB build for me :thumbsup:















It actually felt good doing the fuel tanks as they go together in a tradional styrene method... Glue, fill sand and paint. :tongue: The control panels are thin aluminium sheet with the dials made on what looks like photo paper and are glued behind the panels. They are clean well printed and actually quite resiliant to a lot of handling. There are no decals for the front of the panels so all the lettering etc around the dials and such is painted by hand...:drunk:
















Cheers and thanks for looking

Alec.


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## Jafo (Apr 22, 2005)

off to a great start


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## Whiteraven_2001 (Apr 12, 2008)

Whose kit is this? Gullows?


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

This is the main website in the UK. Down here in OZ they use a distribution company to forward them out to the news agents each week. As i said earlier it is "a little" expensive but if I can pull off even 80%  of the finish that they show off in the pictures I'll be more than pleased with it. :thumbsup:

http://www.lancasterbombercollection.co.uk/

Cheers,

Alec


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## btbrush (Sep 20, 2010)

Alec, what a great build! I'll wait with baited breath to see the progress. Since you're going to have to build an addition to your house to display her, may I suggest getting a Lowes card for lumber.


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## GordonMitchell (Feb 12, 2009)

Glad your enjoying it Alec,I have built the first years parts myself and am gathering up the second lot,I'm actually into the last quarter,you have some fantastic bits to come including full working undercarraige fuselage wiring harnesses,hydraulics ammo box's and ammo trays for the turrets,parachutes,flares......I could go on,I'm alternating my build with the 1/16th Tiger 1 in weekly parts and the 1/8th James Bond Aston martin,these models dont get the credit they really are due from both their advertising or the public,and we couldn't afford these if they were to be available as a prebuilt display model,built correctly they are worthy of any museum quality piece out there and for the weekly sum that you would probably spend more of in the pub of an evening,I cut my teeth on flying models in my early teens and there are some things I would have done differently on the fuselage build as getting some of the details in after closing in the plastic stringers is difficult but even so this is a well put together model and very beginner orientated,with the amount of attention to detail so far I can't wait to see the turret mechanisms,I havn't worked out if she's going together or staying in sections as if being put together in the factory as it would be a shame to close her up and lose all the detail,
love your pics so far,
all the best with your build,Gordon M


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## Parts Pit Mike (Jan 3, 2001)

Wow. Looking forward to following this one. I was under the bomb bay of a real Lancaster in Hamilton Ontario Canada last week. Awesome plane and an unforgettable sound when she flies.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

Bloody amazing M8!! :thumbsup: Thats one huge bird! This one I will be following for sure.


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Thanks for the compliments guys.



btbrush said:


> Alec, what a great build! I'll wait with baited breath to see the progress. Since you're going to have to build an addition to your house to display her, may I suggest getting a Lowes card for lumber.


After 2 marriges and many assorted dwellings I finally got my own show room to display my builds in our newly built house. :woohoo: But I reckon between this, the 1/24th mossie and the future big kits for the movie Seaview and TOS Enterprise coming out not to mention the rest of my stash I will still be struggling:freak:

Gordonm I was thinking of a open air Dio with ground crews pulling off various repairs on the fly, as it were, so I can show off parts. As long as I can get 1/32 raf ground crews etc. Otherwise I am hoping that the parts supplied for the skin can be mounted as such that they can be lifted off to show off the interior.

Cheers,

Alec.


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## surfsup (Apr 19, 2009)

Fantastic job so far Alec. Will watch this one with great interest......Cheers Mark


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

So far so good. Thanks for the build pix. Keep them coming. :thumbsup: rr


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Thanks again every one.

I've now done up to stage 24, well there are some things yet to do such as painting the bombs,engine etc. But I've decided to wait till I have all those so they can be done together. I forgot to mention earlier about the dials that they all had a dollop of microscale krystal klear on them after completion.
Something else I did was to fill and sand smooth as many of the joins etc, where I thinking that areas will be seen. I filled in some time waiting for glue to dry on the last of the larger fuselage sections by pre painting the extra bombay ribbing flat black, just to make it easier to touch up later.















All the bomb bay racks and beams are done now. Part 20 is still on back order so the wing roots aren't yet installed... Thats why the last main fuslage piece from stage 19 isn't painted yet... 















The rear sections leading to the tail gunner were interesting as the main rib sections needed to have a slight camber to them. I also nearly cocked up the section with the hatch opening as I glued all the ribs the wrong way around putting the opening on the wrong side... That one time you don't fully test fit??? I did how ever managed to correct it, but not with out some gut wrenching injury to a couple of the key pieces. Also the little ledge/platform wasn't the best fit so it needed some extra loving too..









Cheers,

Alec,


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## roadskare63 (Apr 14, 2010)

holy cow!!! heck of a build!!!..as said in another post...all those fine details would drive me blind or insane...and the tunnel carpal would paralize me for months...keep at it, it's looking great:thumbsup:


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Another update...

Haven't done much on it over the last couple of weeks as life oncew again interceedes. I just finished week 29 as it were... So what have I done?

Well I have put in the first of the thin metal plates for the floor after using a pin wheel to score in the rivets... :freak: Then I moved onto the first split wing frame assembly. I do have the other assembly pieces but I have resisted temptation to do anything out of sequence aprt from the metal asseblies i.e engines, props and bombs
















I then tackled the rear top gunner assembly complete with the stringers and the last of the rear main fuselage and tail gunner frames. There are some ribs on the last tail section that will need some extra attenition with file and sand paper. The glue is taking a bit longer to set in the colder nights here and as a result a couple of them went a tad askew...
















The section for the top rear gunner is ready for paint as is the additional floor plates with rivets done...
















I may take a rest from it for a bit as I need to finish my Jupiter 2 build and dio before the hobby expo here in August...

Cheers,

Alec.


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## surfsup (Apr 19, 2009)

Beautiful buils so far Alec. Look forward to seeing your J2 at QMHE this Year.....Cheers Mark


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Thanks Mark

All going well my J2 will be there in the diorama section 

Cheers,

Alec


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## taskmaster58 (Feb 9, 2010)

Whats this about a 1/8 scale James Bond car, What kit is that?


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## GordonMitchell (Feb 12, 2009)

taskmaster58 said:


> Whats this about a 1/8 scale James Bond car, What kit is that?


That is another weekly model builds in 85 parts and is absolutely stunning,I just got the latest 4 parts and it includes the ignition switch system and even uses 18th scale Aston Martin replica keys(ones a spare....lol)the quality is stunning and next couple of issues will include the speaker(working)system and the tracking device,all the gadgets are there and lights and other systems are all working pieces as in the original vehicle I am at part 27 so far and I am not building this till its complete although there are no hiidden bits coming to put inside once you have assembled the stages unlike the lancaster or the Tiger Tank so you could feasably build the car as they publish the mags which up till now is the engine and engine compartment and the two front wheels,there are other parts but they wont be used till the chassis comes along in about 8 more issues,
sorry about this I should have started another thread for the car
the lancaster is looking great by the way,I have stopped for the moment at part 54,it looks as though they have extended the issues as they say model complete in 125 issues originally it was 104 when I started collecting it,I'm at part 91(I think)and there still seems an awful lot still to come,they havn't given any of the turret workings yet and there is only a tiny bit of aluminium skin to put on so far,and no sign of glazing either,but a stunning model no matter what and you really could'ntafford to buy this off the shelf ready made so its a great way to get a great model of a great/historical aircraft
cheers,Gordon M


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## GordonMitchell (Feb 12, 2009)

Hi taskmaster,heres a link to the James Bond Aston martin site,it shows all the assembly diagrams upto the current issue,

Cheers,Gordon M:thumbsup:


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

No link to the Aston? Try this: http://www.007db5.com/index.asp

(sorry for the OT)


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## GordonMitchell (Feb 12, 2009)

I'm a plonker,I put up the post copied the link and didn't paste it,sorry and thanks for rectifying that for me,too early in the morning and the wife was harrasing me for a lift to work,
cheers,Gordon M:thumbsup:


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

*Another update*

Ok so the weather here at present sucks... raining and really low cloud base means no skydiving this w/end so putting aside the last parts to my J2 dio I went to work on my Lancaster. Finally the missing issue 20 and the missing wing roots turned up. :woohoo:So I was able to finish off up to weeks 34. I must also appologise for the pics my batteries were going flat in the camera so there was no flash. 

So with the added wing roots I then painted the centre fuselage piece added the flares, mounts and flooring as well. 






























I took an idea I use to use from my WH40k modeling. Which is super glue and a plastic support to stand the flares so I could prime and base coat them all at one go.









Cheers,

Alec


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

*Another update pt2*

To many images for the previous post...

I have also added all the stringers to the rear & top waist gunner fuselage subassemblies painted them put in the flare tube launcher (I think thats what it is...)and added the flooring plates. It doesn't really come out in the pics but I rubbed and chipped the paint on the floor plates to simulate some wear n tear... And I also completed the other split wing assembly with the life raft storage box































I just noticed how much the etched number on the rear gunner piece stands out so I'll be filling that in and repainting just in case.

GordonMitchell You are right about the stuff coming up I'm up to week 64 from the news agent now and things are starting to look cool from there. To date I have resisted the instructions to paint the bombs, props, engines etc and I'm pretty sure I'll wait till I have both main landing gears before I tackle them. With reading the up coming weeks and what goes into the super structure I'm having mixed feelings about how to display it.:drunk:

Cheers,

Alec.


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## GordonMitchell (Feb 12, 2009)

Hi Alec,I know what you mean about displaying it,with all the interior detail it seems a shame to cover it up,I'm on the look out for 32nd scale civilian style figures that can be converted easily to have say overalls etc on and display the model in sections of equal size so that they can go on a shelf easily and you can set it up on a table as a factory build rather than join it all together and try to find a big enough space for it,I'm trying to finish an HMS Victory for a friend before I continue on the Lanc,I am also toying with the idea of changing her to a Dambuster but that would mean building it as a complete model,we'll see when I get started again,hope they dont bring out a 1/1 scale Spitfire,there's no way the wife will allow that...lol,
pics are great by the way and funnily enough it looks the same as mine...lol
all the best,Gordon


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

G'day Gordon.

If you manage to source some figures could you please let me know. I haven' had a lot of success yet and as for scratch building or sculpting them...:drunk: I would love to display it with ground crew attending her, repairing and fixing things after a rugged n nasty bomb run.

Of course there is the display area to consider as well. Between this build, the 1/24th Mozzie along with the 3 or 4 biggish sci fi kits in my stash and the upcoming movie seaview being released next year. All this has my other half at me about room, but I just keep casually saying it's all good honey don't stress. 

The only draw back to these weekly part builds is the cost By the time I have finished this I would have spent almost as much as the 1/32 20,000 leagues Naultilus I have in my dream list.:freak: But I reckon this little war bird build is worth every cent though.

Cheers,

Alec.


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

*Update time...*

Well after working on my Mad Max 2 interceptor and then a bit of a rest. I got stuck into my Lancaster build over the last week or so completing up to part 42 except the two engines that I have received so far. Which means so far added to what’s done is the cabin bunk and oxygen tanks. The oil tank, control board, the two hinged leading edges and the starboard heat ducting unit. I have also completed the back of the flight control panel and painted the assembled nose frame black and most of the starboard landing gear assembly. The later is also a working assembly as well which has certainly tested my abilities n stamina …  What I found the most frustrating thing about the landing gear is the little simulated bolt head/rivets that you need to glue on. These are just over a millimeter wide and even with careful handling they still fall, fly or break off… I certainly know I will do a couple of things differently on the port gear well and assemblies and I am glad there are only two to do…

The completed bunk and oxygen tanks...
















The hinged leading edges and heating duct...
















And the landing gear well and assembly to date along with the oil tank assembly...
















Cheers,

Alec.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

M8....this is amazing! :thumbsup:


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## GordonMitchell (Feb 12, 2009)

coming along nicely Alex,these are the good bits,did you drop any rivets on the floor?after gluing I put some clear varnish on each rivet just to make sure it stayed in place,I havn't built anymore since part 52 and I'm in the 100's now so not long to go...lol,started to get the sheet aluminium and templates in the last couple of issues,still no turret detail or glazing yet,there's came for the cockpit area to finish and bring out more detail in the seats and control column,your going to love it,I still dont know if I'll put the aluminium skin on yet,I just think it would be ashame to cover up all the detail thats in the fuselage,keep enjoying the model,
cheers,Gordon


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Thanks guys.

Gordon did I drop some rivets:freak: I'm sure glade they have extras is all Iam goning to say  I like the idea of clear varnish :thumbsup: I hope you don't mind if I "borrow" it.

I can't say when I'll be getting back to the bench though. I had a bad landing on sunday when I was out skydiving and ended up in hospital with a compressed vertibrae and disc.... I still have good use of all working parts:thumbsup: on reflection I won't be continuing that particular sport. So instead I'll devote my time to winning more medals with my models :tongue:

Cheers,
Alec.


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## GordonMitchell (Feb 12, 2009)

Hi Alec,know what you mean about bad landings,took a few when I was youngerand have to suffer 1/2 knee replacements now due to the damage/wear done with all my sports,had the big Custom Replica's Nautilus and it was gorgeous but once out of the box it was also enormous and had no idea where it was going as it was to big to sit on top of my display cabinets in the dining room,not length wise but width wise,so I made the desision to sell it and I was lucky enough to get waht I paid for it so no loss's,I am considering the 31"version though for xmas(hope shes listening...lol)back to the thread,I've just recieved another 4 parts which takes me to 107 so not long to go now,thats the navigator and radio ops instruments and some more alu and props,still no turret detail yet,just hope its to the same standard as the rest of the interior parts,I'm still sourcing figures so I will let you know if I find anything suitable,
hope you feel up to modelling soon,dont rush though as your health is first and if you get fed up with the sky diving(I did)and hurting yourself there's always motor bikes(did that too)....lol,
cheers,Gordon


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## s.moe (Jul 18, 2011)

AJ 1701........s.moe,here........What you have done so far is looking very impressive......Have been following your posts and love the pic's........s.moe..........out.


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Thanks Gordon & s.moe.

Sadly I haven't tackled anything more on the build. I tried a bit on another project but it took almost an hour to do a 10 minute job. Thanks also for your concern Gordon  I've been told I will be out of commision for 3 months  I'm glad I went the non surgical route as the Dr told me I'd be sidelined twice as long. had I elected the knife... I'm booked in to start hydro therapy with a physio soon. I guess I'm a bit like the lancastor build... one step at a time... 

Cheers,
Alec


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## GordonMitchell (Feb 12, 2009)

lol.....got to learn to walk before you run Alec ,keep your chin up the model will wait,and gather bits,
cheers,Gordon


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## s.moe (Jul 18, 2011)

AJ-1701......s.moe, here......Just take it one day at a time, man......Heck, we're all getting older and need just a little more time to heal, than we use too.....I'll keep checking in on your progress, and up dates on the build.......s.moe.......out.


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