Airfix 1/72 Wellington Mk 1a/c "R" Robert
Alongside my He111, I'm also making the Airfix new mould kit. I'm going to be doing "R" Robert. I will therefore be building her in the Mk1a configuration. The actual aircraft was recovered from Loch Ness back in the 1980's and was remarkably well preserved. A car battery was hooked up to the electrics and the tail light illuminated! She has been restored to the point of how she came out of the Loch. The last image is of the tail turret and section. I took the image during a trip to Brooklands where she is displayed.
Apparently, due to it's geodetic design, it took a while for pilots to get used to the twisting of the aircraft during flight.
I'm going to "neaten" the red dope/geodetic metal with a pin wash of black. Once the fuselage has been fully detailed, how much of it will be seen, I don't know. Can't wait to see... I'll have to find the Coastal Command one soon!
Nice work on this. The amount of detail packed into that kit is amazing.
Thank you John. The detail is fantastic, but how much remains to be seen when the fuselage is glued together I don't know.
I think that this is a long overdue kit from Airfix. I remember building the old mould kit when I was about 8 and even then being disappointed with it! Apparently the mould was originally from the 1950's(!)
Great job so far, Ian!
Looks like a super kit!
Again, thanks Spiros. This is a kit that really will pay dividends in careful painting. I might get some seat belts for her though...
The interior looks excellent!
Thanks Dan, the interior is amazing. Of course, they have had the Brooklands one to work from. There's bound to be some masochist at some point who will either scratch build or convert the Airfix kit to show the full geodetic design of the aircraft! It just won't be me!
Nice work so far, Ian. I remember being very jealous of my brother getting the original Airfix kit for his birthday back in the 1950s when it first came out, his birthday was in early December. You can imagine how thrilled I was to receive the Lancaster for Christmas... those were the days.
Thanks George. My sort of era as well. It's just a shame that Airfix did not invest in new moulding technology like the Japanese did! The first Vulcan release by Airfix had the same basic moulding technology as the earlier kits! I never made the first or second moulds of the Airfix Lancaster...
Cannot wait to see the progress, @ianfoulk96