ThomasProbert

That’s good know - it’s a lovely feeling when a model passes the point of no return The Shackleton is still ticking along in the background and I’m working on finishing off the engines. Nothing really worth photographing yet but I’ll take some when done. This is the last of the construction work before a marathon scribing session.

This is so cool - it looks like the shapes are very close of not spot on compared to the real thing. 3D printed cans or more scratch building?

Progress is progress, Cees, no matter how small. Glad to hear you’re still at it! Tom

Does anyone know of any aftermarket decals for standard D-model versions in OD/NG? I’ve seen plenty for Ploesti-era birds with their sand camouflage done by the aftermarket, but I want to do later standard camo 8AF D-model with the larger squadron letters etc. which add a bit more visual interest. Any ideas? Tom

The latest model off the bench is Trumpeter's 1/24th Bf-109 G-10. More or less out of the box, but I did add a couple of extras in the form of Eduard seatbelts and Barracuda wheels, and I opened up the armour plate behind the pilot (as the kit had it molded solid) and I added some clear acetate to replicate the armoured glass. Paints were my usual Xtracolor enamels, and it is my first ever attempt at mottling which I was pleased with. Best regards to all, Tom DSC_0055 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0062 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0065 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0061 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0058 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0053 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0048 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0043 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0040 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0035 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0034 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0072 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

Any more progress on this, Cees? I’m missing my Manchester fix. Tom

Indeed it was - but it hid a multitude of sin! Tom

Second round of filling/sanding on the cockpit now complete - and a shot of grey primer to check how things look. Pretty happy with that - a few tiny blemishes to sort when the filler is next out, but nothing too drastic. And boy am I glad to see the back of that hideous brown/orange filler primer! Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Not sure what to tackle next - finish off the engine nacelles, make a start on the flaps or possibly even the undercarriage bays. Decisions, decisions. Stay safe all, Tom

Hi Neil, I have had a helping hand from John Wilkes (aka Tigger) and he’s supplied me with a few of his vac 1/32 Lancaster canopies so they will be cut up and added. The fact that the forward curved sections are the same between the Lancaster and Shackleton should make things nice and simple. Famous last words... Tom

Hello Kevin, Thanks for stopping by and sharing your Shackleton experiences. Sadly I only have very vague memories of seeing them - I was a young lad at one of the Mildenhall airshows in the early 1990s and recall an AEW2 giving a spirited display but that's about it.... A 1/10th scale beast you say? What's that - comparable in size to a Cessna 152? I'll speak to Kev to see if he can help - he only does the 3D parts as a favour for me and not commercially but there's no harm in asking. I'll let you know if he can help. Anyway, some more Shackleton news... I have been working on getting the cockpit roof attached to the fuselage of late. I spent a fun (not) couple of hours finishing the making of the sills for the transparent parts to sit on when the time comes - Evergreen to the rescue once again: IMG_0191 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr With that done, I made the pilots' overhead panel from some generic bits and bobs from the spares box - not particularly accurate but it's almost impossible to see it once the roof is on - and sprayed the inside of the cockpit roof matt black: IMG_0202 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr A final test-fit then followed to ensure all of the interior fits as it should - which thankfully it did: IMG_0204 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr You can see how little of the interior is actually visible, which is why I haven't really gone to town on the insides. Before finally attaching the roof section I made some more tabs to ensure a strong and secure join, and then masked the windows from the inside to keep dust and future paint out of the flightdeck. I then slathered P-38 automotive filler over the joins and allowed everything to settle for a couple of days before attacking it with the sandpaper. IMG_0207 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr As you can see things have gone reasonably well, but there is a pronounced dip where the cross-hatched area is that'll need more filler. This was due to me not being careful enough when constructing the fuselage but P-38 is the scratch-builder's best friend and it should make light work of this. You can see the 'dip' more clearly when a straight line is superimposed on the pictures: IMG_0209 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr So here's the state of play now - some more filling and sanding over the weekend and then some primer to see how it's all bedded in: IMG_0206 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Until next time, Tom

Good to see some more progress on this, Cees. The undercart is looking good and I’ll remember the axle technique when it comes to doing the landing gear on my Shackleton. Cheers! Tom

Greetings all, This rather large box somehow appeared on my doorstep this week - how these things happen I shall never understand... I love the 8th Air Force and the B-17 and B-24 in particular, so decided to have a go at the recent HobbyBoss release of the B-24, or the 'crate the B-17 was delivered in' if you spoke a B-17 crew. Not very fair really, especially when you consider it could fly farther, faster and with a greater bombload than the Fort. The kit looks fairly simple in places as has been discussed at length elsewhere, but that's just what I'm after at the moment - something nice and straightforward but with an imposing end product. We shall see... Customary box shots: IMG_0197 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_0199 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr And progress so far... I thought I'd ignore the instructions and start with the main undercarriage bays. First up was a spraying of aluminium and a grey Flory wash to bring out some of the lovely detailing: IMG_0195 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Following by it all slotting together rather nicely into a very sturdy box-structure: IMG_0200 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_0201 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr All that only took a couple of hours in total - lovely! Take care all,Tom

Afternoon folks, The main cockpit section is more or less done. I've made and added the small throttle boxes which are against the cockpit sidewalls on the Shackleton (one for each pilot) and then I gave the interior a spraying of matt black. The centre floor panel in the rear cabin was picked out in a dark reddy-brown, as I'd seen in the Charlwood machine which has a sort of lino flooring. Then it was just a case of some light scuff marks on the floor, and adding the pre-made parts to the correct position in the cabin and flightdeck. S1030334 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030329 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030323 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030311 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030338 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030332 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030330 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The detail and parts I've added will be perfectly adequate for what's going to be seen through the cockpit windows - which is best described as very little: S1030327 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030309 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The next job is to finish off the cabin roof and make the upper pilots' panel, and then I can think about attaching the roof permanently and blend it all in. Happy modelling and stay safe, Tom

Fortune favours the brave... as the old saying goes. Just an observation, but the photo of the real aircraft shows the firewall more rounded at the lower part - yours seems quite straight. A compromise to help the HK parts fit..? Tom

Nicely done, Cees. I too have problems with cracks appearing - that's why I think it's been useful to let the model 'settle' for a while (in my Shackleton's case over a year!) as it allows for repairs to be made now that everything is stable - at least that's the hope! Tom

I've now painted the seats and control columns: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Seatbelts are some left over etch from something or other - not sure what but they're 1/32nd scale and do the job. This gives some idea of the position in the cockpit: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr And now the pilots' seats and control columns go into the box of tricks with the other interior parts already made ready for proper installation when the time comes: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Only the throttle boxes and overhead panel to go now. Happy days. Night all, Tom

Still plodding on with the making of interior parts... The basics of the pilots' seats is now done (plasticcard and Milliput) - still some additional details to add such as the trim wheels etc. but you get the idea: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr I've also made the two control columns - I used the part in the HK Lancaster kit as a guide as they're more or less identical in the Shackleton MR2. An old paperclip, some Tamiya tape and various bits of Evergreen was the order of the day here: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Hopefully I'll get a splash of paint on these later. Regards to all, Tom

I've been doing a bit of research into schemes for this model and have more or less settled on something like the following: (Illustration used for illustrative purposes only) This is WR957 of 228 Squadron, and relatively simple to replicate without any decals being available, this is the sort of finish I'm aiming for. I think the white/medium sea grey scheme suits the Shackleton so well. I'm making some good headway with the pilots' seats so hopefully some more pictures soon. Tom

That really does look fantastic, Cees. Agreed about the sheen - I think you've got it about right. No stopping you now - looking forward to seeing the wings come to life next. Tom

This is looking sooooooooooooo good! Tom

Some little progress this week - I'm continuing with the interior at a glacial pace, but have got the navigator's and engineer's seats done. A basic structure was made from plastic card and Evergreen, and then some cushions were fashioned from Milliput: Seats by Thomas Probert, on Flickr These were then painted up and some etch seatbelts from the spares box were added, and now the seats sit patiently with the other interior components ready for installation in time: IMG_0087 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr That's about all I'm going to do for the main interior area as very little will be seen when the forward bulkhead is installed. In other news, I've finished off the last shaping of the rear fuselage and have got some primer on it: IMG_0081 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_0080 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_0078 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_0076 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr It's good to see the rear fuselage and tail all one uniform colour and I'm happy with the rear fuselage mods now so this section is ready for scribing. Until next time, Tom

That looks fantastic, Cees - what a great milestone to reach. Are you going to decal the fuselage or wait until the wings are done? Great to see such rapid progress again Tom

Evening guys and gals, I've been having a go at making the bomb doors of late - my dad built the HK Models Lancaster as a Dambuster so he didn't use the bomb doors from his kit. With the Lancaster and Shackleton sharing the same ancestry, I twisted his arm and he let me have them as a starting point for the Shackleton. The Shackleton is obviously wider than the Lanc so I have had to add some additional plastic to the Lancaster doors (the grey areas in the picture below). The bay was the same length, however, and I was pleased that my bomb bay was exactly the same length as the HK bomb doors - at least I know one part of this model is more or less spot on in terms of accuracy! With the Shackleton doors being wider, I had to remove the Lancaster door end plates and add my own from plastic card: S1030282 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The HK bomb doors have some beautiful surface detail, but sadly this has to go as the outer skins on the Shackleton's bomb doors are quite different, with lots or raised ribbing. I slathered a layer of filler on, and sanded it smooth. This also helped to blend in the new plastic card additions: S1030284 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr A shot of Halfrords' grey primer came next: S1030299 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Pleased with that - a good blank surface to add the surface details. I've been careful to get the sit of the doors correct - on the real aircraft they almost touch the ground at the rear end when open. A test fit reveals they look ok thus far: S1030292 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030296 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr I still need to add the internal skinning and linings: S1030297 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Those who have been following this build for a while may wonder why I'm doing full length doors if this is going to be an AEW2. I must confess I'm at a crossroads with this build - I love the AEW2 versions but decals are going to be a real headache. The red serials with white surrounds, squadron badges, all the stencilling, etc. mean it's going to be lot of extra time, not to mention cost, to get it to a standard I'm happy with. Therefore, I'm now considering resorting to my original plan and do this as a MR2 in the grey over white scheme. Much simpler decal-wise and very attractive - although it'll mean scratching a mid-upper turret but I'm more or less settled on a scheme such as below (used for illustrative purposes only): Shackleton MR2 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr I've not forgotten the flightdeck and have also made the navigator's station which sits immediately behind the pilot - the map is just there for effect but it does add a nice splash of colour: S1030301 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr This was once again made from plastic card, with details added from Airscale's bezels and decals. I'm going to keep plodding on with the flightdeck details, and I may have a go at adding the surface details to the exterior of the bomb doors - we'll see where the mood takes me. Stay safe all, Tom

This is looking splendid - amazing how a splash of paint can bring something to life. Looking forward to seeing the green and black go on. Tom

That all makes perfect sense - during long term builds such as this it's really a case of bringing a lot of smaller projects together to complete the one model. Good luck with the engines - they're pretty complex in terms of shape so I'll look forward to seeing how you get on. Tom