Revell 1/48 Lockheed Ventura
Hi Everyone,
This is my latest model. I have had it in the stash for a while, but took the plunge recently!
I didn,t want to build it in the standard US Navy colours, or in RAF colours, both marketed by Revell, I wanted to do something a little different. a quick root through the interweb, and a few well known retailers catalogues, and I found this...
It is modelled as a Canadian aircraft, of their Western Air Command (WAC), during Operation Polar Bear in 1944-45. They were apparently standard Venturas, supplied in US Navy scheme, but some were painted in this scheme, known as the "Saddleback", and very reminiscent of RAF Coastal Command aircraft. Because of the remoteness of their operations, often in winter conditions, the yellow search panels were applied, which I think give the model a strikingly different look.
Apparently, the plexiglass nose was fabric doped over, due to a tendency to shatter when firing the two forward mounted 50 cals in extreme cold!
Anyway to the kit. As usual, I added a number of aftermarket parts to the model, as follows:
True Details cockpit, wheels and propellers
Quick Boost Cowlings,
SAC undercarriage legs (as always!)
Eduard colour etched cockpit set
Master 50 cal barrels (for the turret)
Decals (whose manufacture I forget!)
Assembly was problem free, this kit goes together really well. Revell do produce good value for money kits! In the cockpit I started using the TD resin parts, but have been so impressed by the Eduard colour self adhesive etch on other models recently I bought one of these and used a mixture of TD, kit and Ed parts, which can be seen in the pictures.
The engines in their kit are little gems, and no replacements are needed. i replaced the cowls, which fit like a dream, and are a marked improvement on the kit parts. All of these, the wheel wells and bomb bay were all sprayed and weathered as the build proceeded.
The wings were left off the fuselage until after final painting and weathering. This just made it easier to get into all the nooks and crannies for weathering. I under shaded everything before applying the base colours, which gives a nice contrasting look, especially under the white finish. Everything was sealed in with a gloss varnish, and the decals went on like a dream. These were also sealed in and I weathered everything using AK Interactive washes. It is the first time I have used these, and I am now a huge fan! They are SO easy to use! A proportionate amount of chipping and scuffing, applied with dark grey and silver paint using a fine brush, was then applied to finish it all off.
Final assembly involved fitting the wings, then applying all the final "dangly bits" like ariels and gun barrels etc. This is the weakest part of the kit, the bomb doors are a very flimsy fit, and real care is needed to install them. The same applies to the undercarriage doors, please take note Revell, I enjoyed doing this kit, and it almost looks like you cut corners in these reas, which took the edge off it for me a little at the end.
Anyway, it fits nicely on my shelves next to a Ju88 in the same scale, and to me is a very attractive model, of an very elegant aircraft, in a slightly different colour scheme. Hope you all like it. Happy modelling!
Nicely finished, Ian...I like that. Well done, sir.
Love it! Very nice and different finish!
Nice! great weathering, unusual scheme
I like the finish, I like the wear, I really like the markings. Yes, I like it a lot. Very well done Ian.
Definitely different which is great to see. Great job.
It's really deifferent indeed. Great work and painting job!
Very neat work with this unusual livery, Ian, the yellow really works well, as on the real thing!
Nice work Ian, Really like the paint scheme.
Nice job! That's one of those kits that I want, but just haven't gotten around to buying. Well done.
Beautiful Ventura - very nice finish - inspires me to finish mine!
Just to help, the decals are "Venturas in Canada 3: RCAF WAC Squadrons" – 1/48 scale from Aviaeology Decals. (I have the same set - great decals!)
Colin
Nice work - like the Canadian markings and colour scheme
Ah man, I thought I was going to get by just building one Ventura, but after seeing yours (and checking to see if they have the same decals in 1/72, which they do!), I'm going to HAVE to secure another kit and build one like this. Beautiful build! Love the scheme, and excellent job on the paint and weathering!
Hi All,
Many thanks for all your feedback, i appreciate it. And Colin, you are correct, it is the Avieology set of decals i used!
Nice!