Just landed on my porch 2 hours ago.

Pawing through the box and looking at the contents, one thing is very clear: this kit is competitive price-wise (maybe +$20 at the max) with the 40+ year old Tamiya Lancaster - but what's-there-wise, there is no competition. This is the kit Mr. Tamiya would have wanted if he'd had the technology then to design and produce it. You won't need any Belcher Bits resin engine cowlings. Every sub-set - turrets, etc. - are models in themselves.

And in 1/48 rather than the magnificent 1/32 kit, you won't have to rent a hangar at the local airplane patch to store and display it. Quality-wise, it's the 1/32 kit downsized, just like the B-17s (without any of the "fatal flaws" of the B-17s).

Once I finish the Whirlwind and the Beaufighter 21, this is atop The Pile O' Kits.

1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

I agree, Tom. I got one last week but have too many projects on the go now to start this one. This will be the last large model I buy…….Looking forward to seeing lots of these built.

@holzhamer - get both! They're both beautiful kits and make great models. The "fatal errors" of the B-17 are far from Fatal. I have two done and another in-progress.

That’s the advice my wallet and space fear most Tom 😉

Well, I have finally started in on the project.

The kit is overall complex, but not complicated. It comes together easily. I decided to start with all the other sub-assemblies, leaving the fuselage to the end. Given how little of the in-fuselage detail can be seen, I'll be concentrating on that part of the cockpit visible under the canopy.

Overall, this kit is light years away from the Tamiya Lancaster. Which it should be! The Tamiya kit is going on 45 years old! The interesting thing is, price-wise, this kit is in the same ballpark with the contemporary price of the Tamiya kit. When you consider the quality difference, the detail difference and the "buildability," there's really no contest at all. Even if you were to consider this kit over the Tamiya kit that's been in your stash for-bloody-ever, this kit comes out on top on quality alone.

There is none of the headache of either buying Belcher Bits resin engine cowlings or applying lots of putty, sanding down and rescribing, as is the case with the Tamiya kit. The wings with engines went together over an afternoon -just straight assembly, no filler needed anywhere since I assembled with care, and since the parts fit perfectly.

I like that the flaps are equally easy whether one decides to raise or lower them (I'm lowering these).

The gun turrets are models in their own right - galaxies away from the Tamiya kit.

You have to build up the engines whether you will see them or not, since the props won't hang without them. The engines are beautifully detailed, and someone like our friend Valter - @zagorten27 - could really have a field day doing a diorama of an engine change or other such.

More pix later. I think this can be finished by the end of the week. It's that buildable.

Oh, one thing for those who are "space challenged" - the kit is designed so you do not have to glue the wings or the tail to the fuselage, yet they will stay in place without difficulty. This is like what H-K did with the 1/48 B-17 and the 1/32 kits.

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Starting looks good, Tom @tcinla
She will look impressive in 1/48

Oh damn...another one to put on the must get list...does this rabbit hole never end?

Here's the interior, assembled except for the radios.

Interestingly enough, it will be possible to see more of the interior than I thought, especially since all but the cockpit and bomb-aimer's position is in British Interior Green.

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.