1/32nd scale Short Stirling – WIP update

Greetings fellow imodelers!

I thought I'd update you all on my current long-term vacuform project - a Short Stirling in 1/32nd scale from Tigger Models which are the ex-ID Models moulds. I began this build around 5 years ago but ran out of steam and got side-tracked with other models. I'd made a start on the wings but had not made the best job, so it was consigned to the loft. However, after a conversation with a fellow modeller from The Netherlands and the offer of parts from his also-stalled project, got things moving again and I've been working on it on and off for the last year.

Kits such as this are very basic and just give you the shapes of the fuselage, tail, engines, stabilisers and wings in thick vacuformed plastic. There are no interiors or detail parts, the surfaces are completely smooth and in short, are bumps in plastic. They are a blank canvass for the modeller to work his/her magic - the sort of project I love. The model is around 3ft in length and approaching that in span, so it's a big canvass indeed!

Work began on the removing the fuselage halves from the sheets and cutting the openings for the cockpit, turrets and bomb bay etc. Unfortunately the kit's wing root is in the incorrect position, so this had to be removed, blanked off and repositioned. This was all done using the classic Airfix 1/72nd scale kit as a guide, with all measurements being scaled up to 1/32nd scale. Next, the visible areas of the interior were made from scratch, using Evergreen strip and plastic card. Only the basics of the flight deck have been completed this far, with the remaining detail to be made towards the end of the construction process just before the canopy goes on. When the interior construction was done, it got a quick lick of paint before the fuselage halves were joined using plastic tabs to align everything correctly. Spars were made and added in preparation for the wings to be joined at a later date, and the fuselage scribed its panel detail.

Next came the wings. I threw my earlier efforts away and began, once again, by removing the new wings (from my friend in Holland) from the backing sheet. All panel detail was scribed onto the wing surfaces, and thick spars were fashioned from 2mm plastic card to support the weight of the model. The basics of the wheel bays were made at this stage with a view to adding more accessible detail at a later stage. The wings were too narrow in depth and lacked the correct and distinctive aerofoil shape, so the spars were vital for correcting the wing's profile. The firewalls were made from plastic card to match the Revell Beaufighter cowls which would be used for the engines. All this was blended with filler, and the wings began to take shape and take on the form of the real aircraft. Once the wings were completed to a point that they could be joined to the fuselage, I slid them over the fuselage spars and everything locked nicely into place.

Next came the fin and stabilisers - once again everything was sanded to shape and scribed, before being added to the fuselage as appropriate using wooden doweling as spars. All joints were blended with filler and any lost detail re-scribed and then, with the main construction done, I gave the whole airframe a coat of white primer to highlight any blemishes that needed attention.

Next came the landing gear - a very complex structure on the Stirling! I used some spare HK Models Lancaster wheels (both aircraft shared the same hub) but enlarged the tyre's diameter by wrapping plastic around the tyre and shaping and blending it all with filler. The legs/struts themselves are wholly scratch-built and were made using mainly left-over sprue from the HobbyBoss B-24 kit, joined together with metal pins and detailed with Evergreen and various plastic card. The process of making the landing gear took me the best part of 2 months, but they look the part. Details such as brake wires and the doors are still be added, but will be done so later on.

The kit supplies engine cowlings but they are very basic. Therefore, Revell Beaufighter cowls and engines have been used - luckily both aircraft share the same 'power-egg'. These were constructed and painted, some additional detail added such as lengthening the intakes above the engines and adding fasteners, etc., before they were attached to the firewalls. Oil coolers, which hang below the nacelles, will be made and added in due course.

I am currently working on making the bomb bays - the main fuselage bays are more or less done (including 238 individually cut pieces of ribbing!) and I'm now about to turn my attention to the wing bomb cells.

Having passed the one-year point, I think I have around another year or so to go before I will be able to call this finished - I'll keep you updated from now on when there's some more meaningful progress to report.

All the best,
Tom

23 additional images. Click to enlarge.