1/72 Valom Vickers Wellesley
I have a soft spot for early war British bombers. I bought this kit many years ago and have always hesitated to build it because it is a prime example of the old school limited run kit. It kept calling me from its home on a shelf in the garage, so I decided to build it.
First, a short history. This plane was designed and built to meet a pre-war British requirement for a general service aircraft. Several major aviation companies submitted designs, including Vickers. This plane was designed by Barnes Wallis, who would later design several successful British bombers using the innovative geodesic design. This was the first plane Barnes Wallis designed using this new aircraft structure. The RAF liked the plane, but were concerned about the strength of the structure, so a prototype was subjected to an extensive series of strength tests, which it passed with "flying colors". It was clear during the testing that the Wellesley was superior to the other entrants. As the testing wrapped up, the RAF changed the requirement to a bomber and approached Vickers to determine if they could change the design to meet this new requirement. Barnes Wallis felt that cutting a bomb bay in the fuselage would weaken the structure, so he designed "bomb panniers" that would act as underwing bomb bays. The long wings on the Wellesley gave it a phenominal range, and it made several exceptionally long distance flights early in its service. In once record-breaking flight, Wellesleys flew from Ismailia in Egypt to Darwin, Australia in one hop. Just prior to the start of WW2, several squadrons were assigned in Africa and Southeast Asia to counter Italian incursions in the region. On the second day of the war, Wellesleys were heavily engaged against Italian targets in East Africa and Southeast Asia.
I finally decided to build the Wellesley because of the interesting camouflage that it carried. These planes carried the standard European camouflage of dark green/dark earth over black. When they first arrived in East Africa/East Asia, it was unclear how long the deployment would last. Instead of painting a desert scheme in permanent paint, they approximated desert camo using a "distemper" paint. I wasn't completely sure what that was, but I soon discovered that it was a paint that could be easily removed when they planes re-deployed to England. To create a desert scheme, a distemper tan paint was painted over the green of the standard camo. The planes were deployed much longer than planned, so the tan soon became very worn. A contemporary description of the planes said they were "very tatty, patched, and unkempt". I thought this might be fun to recreate. I created the camo in the same way the RAF did. I painted the plane in the standard dark green/dark earth over black. I then used "washable" tan paint created for armor modellers. When it was dry, I used water and a stiff brush to wear away some of the paint.
The model was enjoyable, even though it was definitely of the limited run type. Not my best build, but I think it came out OK. Cheers.
Awesome result, George! Excellent build, painting and weathering!
Thanks, Spiros (@fiveten). You and John convinced me that I could build more than one model at a time, so this is the result. When you build a Wellesley and an F-104, you don't have to worry about mixing the parts together.
George (@gblair) I always build more than one at a time !
Excellent result, George!
Thanks, John (@j-healy).
Excellent model, George! The propeller is very interesting indeed.
Thanks, Christopher (@christopher). I was of the same mind about the prop. When I saw how the prop was configured in the kit instructions, I decided to check my photos. Sure enough, the prop is depicted accurately in the kit. I have no idea about the odd hub.
Yes, I looked it up too and kudos to Valom for getting it right.
Absolutely wonderful, George @gblair
The camouflage turned out really nice. You really created a very realistic temporary desert scheme.
Thanks for following along, John (@johnb). Great observations and suggestions, as usual.
Nicely done George.
Thanks, Allan (@kalamazoo). Building more than one model is a new thing for me, but it has worked well.
some unique aircraft designs out there...
you did a great job!
Thanks, Reinhard (@grimreaper). I like early war RAF bombers, but I think it was the camo that attracted me to this one.
Dear George @gblair, i followed your build with great interest. I too love those interwar two engine planes from the RAF. Your build looks great and the paintjob with the unusual scheme is lovely!
Thanks for following along, Felix (@fxrob). I have several more early RAF bombers that I want to do. That was an interesting time period for planes.
Nicely done, George
Thanks, Gary (@gwskat).
Very nice construction and painting of this unique aircraft, George @gblair ! I think this is the first model of one I’ve seen built.
Thanks, Jay (@ssgt). I love this plane, but the long wings will make it a space hog on the shelf. I don't know of any other models of this plane, and I don't think Valom makes this one any more.
Well done interwar/early war plane model. Very uniquely British design...
Thanks, Dan (@dbdlee). There are several more that I want to do. All of them seemed to have some unusual design feature.
That is unusual and damned good, George @gblair! đź‘Ź I'm glad you built that and shared it with us. I enjoyed your article a lot, sir! đź‘Ť
Thanks, Gary (@garybrantley). I appreciate the kind comments. I like unusual planes, and this fit the bill.
Nicely done. Thanks for explaining what”distemper” paint is all about, George @gblair.
Thanks, Eric (@eb801). When I read the article about this plane, I didn't know what "distemper" paint was. I gathered that it probably meant "temporary", like whitewash. When I finally looked up the definition, it looks like it refers to a paint that was more than temporary, but less than permanent. It was supposed to be fairly easy to remove. I don't think they thought the paint would need to last very long, but they ended up staying deployed for a much longer time.
Thanks for sharing this unusual aircraft.
Never heard of this plane before.
I think it really turned out great despite the fact it’s a limited run kit.
You did an amazing job clearly showing your skills.
Thanks for the kind words, Alfred (@alfred). When I got this kit many years ago, I had never heard of this plane either. The long wings make it look really cool.
Nice build of an interesting interwar aircraft.
Thanks, Chas (@chasbunch). Now I can get back to something in 1/48.
No George, 1/72 rules !
Great job on your Wellesley George @gblair. I love your approach on the overall paint scheme and it's final outlook. This is the second I've seen a model of the Wellesley painted like this while it was in the African campaign. Since a good portion of this aircraft was covered with fabric, when there was a ripped or a hole it was patched. In some cases the dope applied on the patches were mixed with red while most tried to match the color to the existing surface, that must have been hard to do. Like you mention, they must have looked pretty rough when they returned. This is an awesome build and it looks great!
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Thanks for stopping by, Bob (@v1pro). This is a cool photo. I have the Warpaint book on the Wellesley, as well as internet searches, and none of them have this photo. It clearly shows the patches, which none of my other photos showed. I like the paint schemes and the planes from the North African part of the war, so I will probably be doing another model in desert camo soon.
Hello George.
George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
I’m sorry that I missed this build. You have done an amazing job with it, and I’m especially impressed with the paint scheme.
It’s also the first one I’ve ever seen built.
It’s on odd looking bird, and I really like it. I’m guessing the extra long wings would make it a nice flying electric powered RC model too. Definitely one that would not be seen too often on the flight line.
I remember reading about how the US Army Air Corps was experimenting with the distemper paints in one of my books on Air Force colors. It is a part of three different books that cover the subject and going from memory it may have been written by Dana Bell.
One problem with this type of paint is that it would stain the base color and it often left traces of the distemper color on the surface of the original paint.
You have hit another home run with your latest build.
Well done my friend. I’m definitely going to be clicking on several of these various like buttons.
Thanks, Louis (@lgardner). I got this plane many years ago because it looks so unusual, then I found out about the distemper paint and I had to give it a try. I think we have the same series of books on Air Force Colors. I think they originally came from Squadron. I would bet that if you built this plane as a radio control model that it would float forever when it was landing. Glad you could stop by.
George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
I can remember building several of the Comet balsa wood planes that mimicked the same geodetic construction used on this real one to one scale aircraft. These particular Comet balsa models used wing ribs that were placed in an X pattern over the main spars, instead of the traditional style. The wings were less prone to warp when covered and I believe they were much stronger than the traditional style of wing construction. I built their FW-190 and their Bf-109 as a kid. They were rubber powered. I still have the FW hanging from the ceiling in my work shop out back.
Barnes Wallace was a genius and a bit eccentric. Sort of like Walter Christie and the tank he wanted to sell to the US Army. It had a patented suspension system naturally called "The Christie suspension". He ended up selling the tank to the Russians... who started building the light / small BT series tanks, and eventually the T-34 came from it.
I'm really happy that you decided to build this one. Thanks for sharing it with us. Yes we probably do have the same books, because mine came from Squadron too.
I think you are right about a flying RC model being a "floater". It probably wouldn't even need flaps ! The ground effect would keep it skimming just above the runway... but I bet it would be easy to fly and would have a great glide ratio too.
I'm not a good RC pilot... more of a builder / crasher than a pilot.
I am pleased to stop by and leave you a nice comment. It is well deserved.
I'm also sorry I have not been checking things out here lately. I have been too busy concentrating on my Cologne cathedral project with the Pershing, Panther, two Sherman's and a Panzer Mk IV. I picked up some foam boards to start making the walls and rubble for the streets. I hadn't planned to build a photo shoot base originally, but I think it would be nicer if I did.
I'm posting the latest update next, so please take a look if you can.
Thanks
Hi Louis (@lgardner): I remember Christie and his tanks. When we were stationed in New Jersey, we took a vacation down through Maryland, DC, and Virginia. We stopped at the Tank Museum at Aberdeen Proving Grounds and they had an early Christie tank that the Americans bought. They looked very similar to the BT series.
At one point, I was really intrigued in flying RC models. Back then, they didn't really have "ready to fly" stuff, so you had to make your own. When I was a T-37 instructor in Oklahoma, I had a student who had been the previous champion pattern flier (I think his name was Steve Rojecki, if I remember correctly). He designed and built his own planes. He taught me how to fly on weekends using two radios connected through a cord. He could flip a switch and take control, if he needed to. It was a funny reversal of roles. I had a harder time learning to fly RC than he did learning the T-37.
I have found that when I am working on a model that sometimes I don't post very often. There are times when I get on iModeler and I spend almost an hour looking at models and posting comments. Sometimes when I am busy working on a model or get busy around the house, I don't get to iModeler very much due to lack of time. So, no problem not stopping in when things get busy. I will go find your new post right after I leave here.
Cheers.
George, you did a wonderful job on that strange design. The camouflage is excellent and I really like the restrained effect on the brass(?) cowl.
Thanks, Russell (@russjurco). Good call on the color, but it was actually bronze. I used some really old Model Master Metallizer bronze paint that I had been dragging around for a lot of years. I am always looking for out-of-the-ordinary models to build, and this was a fun one.
Love it! I have an OOOOLD Airfix kit of this - I really need to get it on the bench. I never knew about that camo scheme - that sounds like a worth-while approach! I do love the unusual...
Hi, Greg (@gkittinger). I am also always looking for something a little different. Sometimes I hate treading over ground that has been plowed many times before. I am finally starting to find time to build some of those kits that have been sitting on the shelf for many years. Thanks for stopping by.
Very very nice work! It is interesting how long such outdated planes was use.
Thanks, Bernard (@lis). Similar to the bombers you are doing, but with only engine. A lot less complexity. :o)