I picked up this kit, at a show in Poughkeepsie, New York, off the club's sale table. The guy who put it up for "adoption", tasked me with building her, saying, "You're gonna build that kit, right? I mean, you're not just gonna turn around and sell her right?" So I said in reply, "I don't buy kits to resell them, I'm a builder...". He smiled, shook my hand and said, "Right answer! I hope to see it on the table next year!"

Well, that was three years ago, so 'next year' didn't happen, but I kept the kit down from the attic, and really did plan on building her. Next year, she will be on that table in Poughkeepsie, but not for sale. She'll be competing in the 1:48 scale, multi engine category.

I found the kit to be one of Trumpeter's better releases. Trumpy can be hit or miss, (And I use the Savoia Marchetti SM-79 as an example...UGH!). Fit and alignment of all the major parts like the wings and tail planes went smoothly and without a hitch. There is plenty of detail inside the fuselage, with a nicely detailed cockpit. Joining the fuselage proved to be tricky, as there are a lot of parts that need to be lined up. That left a decent seam to address, but not one that was insurmountable.

The front and rear turrets a extremly well detailed, but caution is needed, because they MUST be installed BEFORE the fuselage is joined. You can't put them in afterwards. I used the Eduard mask set, which I felt was a must with all the clear parts. I masked the turrets and painted them before they were added.

The engines were a thing of beauty, very nicely done with nice detail. I am a pretty much "Out of the Box" kind of guy, so super detailing, and extra aftermarket parts are not my thing. Not that I shy away totally from using aftermarket, I'm not a huge fan...unless the kit really SCREAMS fix me. This does not do that. I also chose to build her with the bomb bay open. Trumpy gives you a one piece bomb bay if you decide to build it closed, but frankly it looked like poop, so I went with an open bomb bay...there are THIRTY bomb bay doors. This is where I am at with this build, but she will be done with in this year.
Decals were weak. They were okay, but I went with an ExtraDecals sheet, (That was in the box)

I used a slew of paints during the build. Tamiya, MRP, and Model Master were my "Weapons of Choice" All the upper camo colors are MRP, (Mr Paint) and the scheme is the standard RAF colors of Dark Earth and Dark Green. Lower colors are Tamiya Semi Gloss Black, thinned 50/50 with Tamiya Thinner. For interior spaces, I used Tamiya Flat Black, with details painted with Model Master Enamels.

I found the kit to be a challenging build, but in a good way. I am thoroughly enjoying putting this one together. The Wellington is not a common model to see built, so it's one that really struck me. I absolutely recommend this model, but be warned, she is a big one! 😉

The pictures show where I have gotten to so far, which is basically some more weathering and the fiddlies, then I'll her done.

24 attached images. Click to enlarge.