Short Stirling Mk.I

September 28, 2023 · in Aviation · · 36 · 0.7K
This article is part of a series:
  1. Short Stirling Mk.I
  2. Avro Lancaster Mk.II

I'm obviously very interested in the heavy bombers of RAF, amongst several other topics. Ever since I built the massive Airfix kit of the many years ago, I've been intrigued by the sheer size of this bomber. Not forgetting the Mosquito, of course, which were both used as bombers later during the war (it carried same weight of bombs as the American B-17), and as a pathfinder plane along with the , pin-pointing targets for the arriving four-engined "heavies". As you will know, the Mosquito also had a successful role as a fighter-plane, but that's another story.

The scene is RAF base Wyton, Cambridgeshire, autumn 1941. Stirling Mk.I, LS-F, “MacRobert's Reply” is being readied for another raid.
Stirling Mk.I . Airfix ground vehicles.
The massive Gouge flaps are partially scratch-built. The green and brown camouflage is Humbrol, and the black is "Worn black" from Lifecolor. The exhaust stains and general wear and tear have been made with MIG pigments.
Now, moving on to the Lancaster...

Reader reactions:
26  Awesome 5  3 

5 additional images. Click to enlarge.


36 responses

  1. I've heard bad things about that kit, but I only see very good things about your model.

    • Don't listen to such rumours, Tom.
      This kit is way better than the old Airfix kit, though I may have focused much on the flaps.
      Thank you very much for your kind comments - very much appreciated.

  2. Nicely done Keld @keldkh. I'll have to remember that Worn Black, I like it.

  3. Excellent Stirling, Keld.

  4. Excellent result and awesome looks, Keld!
    Congratulations!

  5. Superb result, Keld @keldkh
    A beautiful dynamic scene making clear how big this aircraft really is.

  6. Big & Beautiful. A great looking effort.

  7. A very nice build, great paintjob!

  8. Nicely done Keld, that grass is well kept.

  9. Impressive build.
    Between the Stirling and Lancaster, though, they both look to me like they got hit with the ugly stick. No reflection on your build.

  10. Very nice! I Remember building the Airfix kit as a kid (1970's). I think it came with a bomb trailer and tractor.

  11. Nice Sterling, Keld (@keldkh). I have heard that the Italeri kit is a handful, but you have certainly tamed it. Well done.

    • Thank you very much, George. Much appreciated.
      I don't think it's that hard to build. Lots of detail, though, many are inside, which you can't see. And you have to scratch-build the flaps, if you want them out. Anyway, I think it's a nice kit, though it's not a quick build.

  12. Well done, looks great!

  13. I always enjoy seeing a Sterling built, you see a lot on Lancaster's, but not many of the Sterling which flew a great number of ,missions. Nicely done, and great diorama.

  14. Great work on this kit, not that easy a build.

  15. What a beauty. I have the...IV? to build as a glider tug (I am exe AAC so it connects there and was based just down the road during 1944).

    My kit looks really nicely made. I am aware that people have had problems with the sequence but who doesn't plan first?

    The large flaps don't surprise me. The Stirling was hamstrung by bureaucracy from the start.

    The wingspan was kept short to accommodate the old hangars of the time. When they tried a scale model the thing wouldn't get airborne so they increased the angle of attack with the gangly undercarriage and no.doubt as big a set of flaps as they could. The Stirling stayed in production throughout though so...

    Really nice job chap❤️😎

  16. Great looking build!

  17. Very nice build! The Stirling is one of the larger bombers I would love to build someday, though I got rid of all my larger aircraft knowing I wouldn't really have room to store/display them! I've always been intrigued by that behemoth!

  18. Thank you very much, Greg.
    I know the problem - my house is out of much more space. Too bad.

Leave a Reply