Profile Photo
Greg Kittinger
122 articles

Airfix 1/72 Lysander Mk. III (SD), Burma

November 5, 2021 · in Aviation · · 22 · 1.7K

I saw a couple of images of the in this scheme, found decals for it, and boom! - project on! I had this old bagged kit in the stash, and with the ribbing and rivets already there, it had a surprisingly good exterior look. I only engraved one line around the cowling, added the aerials to the top of the wing and beneath the fuselage, and changed up how the tank mounted beneath the fuselage.

On the inside - nothing! Just a couple of solid seats and the 2 crew. With all that glass I was afraid it would be obvious so I scratchbuilt the entire interior, including added details to the back of the IP (looked like it might be visible), bracing, extra fuel tank, revised seats, back deck and gun mount, etc.

The engine was also rudimentary so I added push rods, intake tubes, and some other details I saw in reference photos but aren't totally sure what they are. The original exhaust was just a straight slab that ended at the end of the cowling so I sanded that off and carved/hollowed a replacement out of a block of styrene. The back of the cowl where it mated to the fuselage was solid, so I engraved out around the lip of the cowl flaps as much as I could, leaving just enough plastic to mate to the fuselage successfully.

I learned one lesson: I used a rubber-colored AK weathering pencil to mottle the black areas, but the flat coat made it totally disappear! I didn't want to redo all that work - next time that's the last step.

I was a tad disappointed in how much of the interior work is visible through that thick canopy, and you really can't see much in photos due to glare, but it looks better than it would have, and it was enjoyable to do. The only other issue with the end result was the angle of the wings. I believe they should have a bit of anhedral to them, but due to the way the bracing connected to the wings and legs, I could achieve that without major surgery, and it was dicey enough to assemble that aspect of the kit so I left it alone.

Overall I am pleased - I love the scheme, and the Lysander has an elegantly purposeful look to it with the ratio of wingspan to length and those beautifully shaped wings.

Reader reactions:
20  Awesome

23 additional images. Click to enlarge.


22 responses

  1. A mini masterpiece, Greg!
    All your improvements over the basic, simplistic kit, have really paid off!
    I love the Lysander shape and your model pays good justice to it.
    Congratulations!

  2. Awesome job. When I was a kid I wondered how the glass supported the wing. I actually had a chrome plated Lysander kit. No idea who made it but I'm sure the chrome was marred by tube cement once I got done with it. Those were the days...

  3. Greg,

    You hit this one out of the ball park. Old school model with old school elbow grease, some excellent painting, scratching the interior with out the aide of PE and Resin. Add a little paint chipping . . . now add all of that cockpit glazing. It all comes together. It works.

    Two thumbs up.

  4. Nice job, Greg! I love the weathered camouflage scheme on your Lysander and yes, I do remember I had seen this little Airfix bag kit a longtime ago. Have you got any idea on how old must be this edition?

  5. Great job you did on detailing it. I always thought it looks like a big dragonfly or so, must be the shape of the wings. Super result!

  6. Great job all around and always that trade mark Kittinger display stand. Love the results, Great job, Greg.

  7. Great job, Greg!

  8. What a wonderful result, Greg @gkittinger
    Amazing what you achieved on a 1/72 scale Lysander.
    I saw it flying in Duxford and was amazed by the dimensions of this aircraft, much bigger than expected.
    The looks of it however are great, just like your build is revealing.

  9. Great work Greg @gkittinger on making a mediocre kit look exceptional.

  10. Well done, Greg. Those oldies in the stash are always fun.

  11. Wonderful results Greg.
    Looks amazing for a 1/72 Scale Kit.
    Love The Lysander, the ( not that ) little spy plane that could

  12. Impressive workmanship .

  13. 🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
    A gorgeous work and show of modeling skills Greg !
    You managed to bring this old kit to life and give it looks of these times, again ... great modeling.

  14. Great work on that oldie! Love the added details and paint scheme!

  15. Brilliant result with that old Airfix kit, one of my favourite WW2 aircraft. I remember a BBC TV series featuring a Lysander helping the French Resistance, but I can’t remember what it was called, those were indeed the days, everyone had coal fires then...

  16. A real beauty, Greg! Love that color scheme, great added detail work! I always liked the Lysander , I built the old I/48 Hawk kit way back. Might have to try one in 1/72.@gkittinger

  17. Well done, Greg (@gkittinger). You have made this old kit really shine. I think I would have taken one look at all the masking required for the canopy and put it back on the shelf.

  18. Great job Greg! All the extra work looks great. I know about thick clear parts with a build up cockpit. I always tell myself why do it but I always end up adding more and in the end happy with it. Your build is a pleasure to look at from any angle.

  19. Fantastic work!

  20. Nice Job Greg @gkittinger on this Lysi. This aircraft is on my wish list but in 1/48. Who knows maybe Santa Claus will come to town with this gift... Thanks for sharing

Leave a Reply