Airfix Avro Lancaster Mk.II 1/72
This is the Airfix Avro Lancaster Mk. II, representing "Zombie" from 408 Sqn. in 1944.
Painted with AK interactive acrylics, some pencils for weathering and a panel line wash from Ammo Mig. A matte coat at the end.
I was looking forward to building a Lancaster. But this particular kit was very disappointing: The fuselage halves were completely warped. In general, fit is very bad (It is impossible to close the bomb bay), the instructions are faulty and mention parts that don't exist. Huge ejector pins. Large decals that cover transparent parts - why not split them in multiple parts instead? Basically every step was a source of frustration.
This was a tough fight from the beginning and that's not what i want from a modern tooling. I love Airfix but this one was a letdown. I hope the other Lancaster versions are different or maybe i just got a faulty kit.
Oh well, on to the next one!
I like your paint work on this. Came out looking great despite the issues you encountered!
Thank you very much, Greg @gkittinged! Painting it was the fun part🙂
You fought your way to building & finishing a model that looks super. Great work.
Thanks a lot ,Bob @bails for your kind words!
Despite the challenges, you did a great job on it, Felix!
Well done!
Thank you Spiros @fiveten! Much appreciated!
It looks great despite the difficulties you encountered. It’s too your credit that you didn’t give up.
Thanks a lot, Jay @ssgt!
I experienced the same frustration.
Salut Michiel @michiel_gielen, i have heard this from a couple of builders. How did yours turn out?
No signs of the issues you encountered, Felix @fxrob
She turned out really nice, especially the painting is beautifully done.
Dear John @johnb, thanks a lot for your kind comments!
Great work! Nice to see one of those built, Felix. Did yours come from the first run back around 2013? I have one in the stash from that initial run and it’s warped like yours. Buildable, but it looks like a headache.
Dear John @j-healy, thank you! I bought it last year because it was on sale. Here is what i recommend when it comes to the fuselages: Don't try to glue them together all at once, instead start on one end where they fit and let them dry. Then proceed, maybe split this even into three steps. Oh, did i mention the gaps around the engines?
Actually the fuselage insignia was painted over the windows, so Airfix got that right (seems counterintuitive, but that's what they did). FWIW, the black lower surfaces on British WW2 bombers are semi-gloss, since they discovered that a dead-flat finish would show up when hit by a searchlight, while a semi-gloss finish would be invisible in the light. (file away for future reference).
You did a good job with this not-easy kit and have a very nice result here.
Dear Tom @tcinla
Thank you for the background information, did not know about this. But obviously it makes sense! By the way, that story about the DC6 is incredible - things that are no longer possible 🙂
Great job, Felix
Thanks a lot, Gary @gwskat!
Mom said there would be kits like this . . . Felix, it would appeared that you did some old school modeling using mind over matter. Some elbow grease, filling and a splended paint job to make this kit work. Beating a sword ( plastic) in to a plow share ( Lancaster). Two thumbs up.
Hey Stephen @stephen-w-towle, i sure used some old school swearing! Thanks for your kind words.