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Ulf Lundberg
73 articles

Trumpeters Wellington Mk III.

December 31, 2017 · in Aviation · · 18 · 2.1K

Hi friends!
I guess some of you know that this build was my "FRYING PAN CHALLENGE".

Yesterday was spent planting grass on the base plate. As you can see, I made some low valleys and hills in the plate, to give it a bit more life.

The grass is model railroaders grass. I bought a few different lengths and colors of it and mixed them up to make it a bit more interesting. The "earth" is wall putty mixed with white glue tinted with some brown. Note the little puddle that I left bare. I don't think wartime airfields looked like the lawn of Windsor Palace.

Once the "earth" had cured, all that remained to be done was to put the model on the base plate and photograph it.

I'm really happy with the way I managed to bleach the decals on the wings.
Some of you have remarked on the speed of the build. Yes, I finished it in less than a month, but fast builds come with a price, and if you promise not to tell the judges, I'll show it to you.

Sloppy joinery between the canopy and the fuselage and a visible joint between the two fuselage halves. It doesn't show so well on this picture but an observant modeler will see it directly when looking at the real model.

I made a sloppy job of touching up and bleaching some of the decals. The decals were rather brittle and several of them broke when I applied them to the model.

Flash not completely removed from the landing gear. The landing gear of the kit is made from white metal and wonderfully sturdy.

Also, those of you who know your RAF colors, will notice that my Dark Earth isn't quite right.
SSSHHHHH! Don't tell the judges.

I point out these flaws for a reason.
I hope to be able to convey, that you can finish a model with a generally satisfactory result if you concentrate on doing a good basic construction job, and then put some energy into the paint job. I'm really happy with this model.
Don't get stuck with the Advanced Modelers Syndrome.

Happy new year!

Reader reactions:
10  Awesome

12 additional images. Click to enlarge.


18 responses

  1. My goodness...your base is just as well done as your model. I like it.

  2. Sits well on that turf. Amazing you got such robust growth this time of year...!

  3. Hello Ulf,
    Nice vignette and blended into that the Wellington.
    The mishaps you described, will be unnoticeable on the table. To me it looks prefect. And remember, every model has something wrong. Only the constructor knows the inns and outs.
    Have a save 2018. Regards, Dirk / The Netherlands.

  4. Every model built has a few small Imperfections... somewhere... if you look hard enough.

    Your Wellington looks fantastic to me... I really like it. You had fun building it and you are happy with how it turned out. Your last comments summed it up nicely...

    This is a "Well Done Wellinton". Happy New Year ! 🙂

  5. I love it! Base - model - painting - the whole enchilada! Those airbase gardeners need to cut some grass, though ... Ha - just kidding; the grass looks outstanding and VERY real!

  6. Nevermind the “judges” Ulf, your Wellington is super, and yes the rounders are very well blended. Just how did you do that?

    Happy new year and bring on more models!

    • If by roundels you mean the national markings, I did it like this:
      After applying the decals and letting them dry thoroughly, I masked them and sprayed them unevenly with thin mists of bleached blue and red. Then I completed the bleaching with artists pencils. They allowed me to accentuate the underlying square pattern.

  7. Well done on your challenge Ulf. You made a very nice job of a rarely seen kit. All the best for the new year.

  8. A great build and base!

  9. Well done Ulf, looks really good, happy new year to you.

  10. Good challenge, what’s next?

  11. I really, really like this bird. So very well done. And the comment about AMS is well made.

  12. This is much nicer than shattered bits of styrene...;)

  13. Magnifico modelado y la pintura inmejorable.

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