1:32 scale Lancaster Mk.1 Hachette Partworks

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Impressive and extraordinary work Gerry !!

Those photos of the interior make you want to walk through all that fuselage.
As you say, it really will be a heavy monster.
I really want these joints of different pieces to have the force that this beauty requires.

If you can add an object that allows us to have a size reference ... it will be big size !!

Saludos con aprecio amigo!
Luis Carlos
 
If you can add an object that allows us to have a size reference ... it will be big size !!

Saludos con aprecio amigo!
Luis Carlos

Dont you have LEGO (post #1061), I believe ex bomber command airfields are still littered with these large plastic blocks.
 
I really appreciate your clips Garry very helpful in my build, I up to issue 69 and the fiddly bits are driving me mad I use watchmakers glasses to get some parts together and still get it wrong. However still enjoyable overall. As mentioned before I have a kit and a half so have some spare parts available if its of any help to anyone, sorry both the rear gunner turrets are broken. I will post some photos soon.
 
Well Lads, I'm back from a summer break and am slowly picking up the threads of this build again. At the moment I'm still filling and sanding the fuselage but also trying to make progress on other aspects of the build. I'm working on issue 111 currently (out of 125) and the next number of issues consists mainly of skinning and preparing the outer wings for attaching to the inner wings.

But, back to the elements of issue 111 that I've been working on. There were two simple tasks left in this issue, attaching aileron hinges to the port wing and building the parachute escape hatch door in the nose section. There are errors in the instructions for positioning the aileron hinges that I would like to highlight for the benefit of Tim and Cranky Pete who might benefit from this heads-up.

These are the hinges on the port wing of the BBMF Lancaster. It's about the best reference I have for them on an actual Lanc.



The hinges start at the outer edge of the aileron and end opposite the centre of the aileron trim tab, directly opposite the aileron servo-tab (not supplied).

Below are the instructions for positioning them on the model.



The measurements given between the hinges, 48mm, is incorrect and it's only because I test fitted the aileron before I positioned them that I didn't place them in the wrong place. The actual measurements between the hinges should be 40mm only. The next photo, of the hinge installations, should make it clear why.



Here, the distances between the hinges have been adjusted so that the innermost hinge aligns with the centre of the aileron trim tab, as it does on the actual aircraft. If you were to follow the measurements in the instructions, that hinge will be in the position of the strip of masking tape, marked 'X' and the aileron servo-tab, if you choose to add it, won't line up. As you can see the trim tab is positioned off-centre on the aileron. This is correct as shown on schematics for the Lancaster.

The assembly of the door for the parachute escape hatch was more straightforward. Here, the frame is assembled and the inner and outer panels have been cut to size and riveted.




The walls of the frame are curved to match the curves of the floor of the nose section. Here plenty of clamping was applied to ensure that the skins adhered to the shape of the curves. I should emphasize that these are mini pegs! I forgot to place a scale object in when taking the photos but the size of the hatch is 24mm X 16mm, with a depth between interior and exterior panels of 4mm.



Here an undercoat and a topcoat of black have been sprayed. I made the decision to add the exterior panel after the hatch is installed. Test fits have shown that, even with sanding, it's going to be a very tight fit and once installed will be very difficult to remove. It will be easier to add the outer panel when the hatch is in position.



Finally, I'm hoping to detail the inside of the hatch as in the next photo.



This will entail creating and printing some stencil decals and adding the release mechanism, probably after the hatch is fitted.

That's as far as I've got. I'll keep posting as I make some interesting visual advancements. At the moment there are lots of simple build additions to be made which are not very exciting.

Gerry
 
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Nice work Gerry, and a great help for those building this model.
Here's another pic of the bomb aimer's compartment, this one being the BBMF Lanc. Not very helpful for the escape hatch, it being covered by the padded cushion, but some of the other detail might be useful.


 
Thanks Terry for posting the reference and to all who posted. The reference, as always, is useful, although the window in the floor of the nose in the one I'm building is the narrow slit type rather than the oval as shown.

Sláinte,

Gerry
 
Thanks Wayne and Darryl. Good to see you're still following the build.


To keep the thread ticking over, I can show some progress I've made by adding the trailing edge with the split flap (A) to the port inner wing.




The instructions call for butt joins, with Superglue, to the rear spar and to the fuselage. Again, I felt that it would need the added support of pins. Because of the configuration, the section needed to be attached to the fuselage pin first and then the wing pins would need to be added when it was in position. Lots of measuring and test fits later, the section was first anchored to the fuselage pin. Fortunately the main fuel tank, in front of the spar, is still removable so I was able to drill the holes in the spar. When the trailing edge was positioned against the spar I was able to drill through from the fuel tank position and push through the pins from the front. Very thin, runny Superglue was then used and capillary action secured the trailing edge to the spar


Finally, in position in the photo, below.





The next task was to add some supports to the port inner wing to enable the joining of the outer wing at the correct dihedral.





This entailed adding brackets around the protruding edge of both front and rear spars. In the photo, three brackets have been added, with the fourth still to be added to the front spar (B). The idea here is that the corresponding angled spars on the outer wing slot between the brackets at the correct dihedral. This and the rear rib extension (C), added to allow for small lengths of stringers to strengthen the join, are all that's supposed to hold the two sections of wing together. I'm very dubious about whether this will be strong enough and really think that two pins will need to be added in the positions marked (X). This will be tricky as the gap between the wing sections is only 4-5mm when joined. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to accurately position the pins to hold it and ensure the correct dihedral.


Here the additions to the inner wing have been completed.





Further rib extensions have been added to the wing (A). All four brackets now enclose the spars (B). I'm not sure if some of the same work needs doing to the outer wing. The skinning of the port wingtip needs completing and there will be filling and sanding required before the wing sections are joined. I'll post again when I make some more progress.


Gerry
 
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It is a good advance Gary, it is quite what you have done, but it is less what remains to be done !!
I continue to enjoy and learn from the process ...

Saludos amigo
 

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