Clunkmeister

Nightmares of models past.... Went looking for some Airscale placards, dug through a bottom drawer and found these nasty old parts. Plus a long stalled Canadair Tutor project.

Kais, thank you, thank you, thank you for showing us that there is a use for the Dragon 51D. I’m glued to this thread, sir. This will be interesting.

Well, we’re inland, so we should be safe from a...

Tony, you’re whipping this one into shape. It looks amazing with your normal attention to detail.

Mike, it was a real postwar workhorse. Drone controller, SAR bird, Maritime Patrol, ASW Patrol, photo mapping, etc. FM104 shows as a rescue ship, but according to her history, she was mostly a Maritime Patrol ship. No drones from this one, though. That video almost looks like Edwards. Definitely the Southwest.

It’s just BIG, Bill.

I've got two of the 1/48 CF-100s as well. One long wing and one short wing. Just waiting.... All those kits have great shapes. They just need plenty of love and affection, you're right. I bought a 1/48 Tutor also, along with a few resin sets for them, thinking I'd buy more than one. Those resin sets are impossible to find today. Cockpit, intakes, and speed boards with wells.

I have that same 1/48 Hobbycrap monster. I've been waiting and praying for the Mastercasters sets to come out so I could do my build.... The shape is actually spreety decent, but the interior, wheel bays, and gear leaves much to be desired.

A CF-100 just might sell in Belgium as well...

Fixed it for you, Martin.

All I can say is that a up to date solif CF-100 and CF-105 in 48 or 32 would sell like crazy around here. In TEXAS.

And I will say that his 1/32 CF-5 conversion set is stellar!

Agreed, Jeff. After talking to Mike, this almost took on a life of it's own. He was extremely Gung-Ho, as any Red Blooded Canadian would be, and it's my sincere hope that this set allows others to try Mike's decals and build some uniquely Canadian Lancasters.

Tony, there are videos on YouTube, and I buy casting resin right from Hobby Lobby. I’m not sure where to get the RTV solution for making a mold, though.

Of course, a HUGE thank you to Mr. Mike Belcher for picking up this project and printing me som FM104 numbers for my bird.

Included schemes are 1. KB889, VR Z, Ruhr Express, the very first Mk.X built. 2. KB736, VR A, the aircraft Andrew Mynarski crewed when he was awarded the Victoria Cross. This is the scheme the CWH Lancaster flies in. Just note that KB736 carried the British Nash turret, but the CWH Lanc is a later Mk.X with the Martin turret. 3. KB732, VR X, Xterminator. The first Mk.X to shoot down a German fighter. 4. Postwar Lanc KB889, which whas shipped to Britain, rerstored to wartime colors, and is now on display at Duxford. 5. Postwar Lanc FM213, which is the CWH Lanc as she flew in her final RCAF scheme. So you have five choices, and with a bit of ingenuity, you can do many, many more. The nice thing about this set is that all three wartime offerings can be built using the box stock HK Lancaster kit. They all have side windows, and all are pre-Martin turret production. The two postwar options will take a bit more work, but many of the parts needed for the conversion are included in the kit. The others may possibly be offered in resin in the future. This set was badly needed, and now that it’s here, I hope we’ll see some great Lancs in display cases and on contest tables.

There are enough markings to do more than one bird here.

So, a few months ago, I announced here that I was going to use the beautiful HK Lancaster kit build RCAF Lancaster Mk.X FM104 as she appeared in her last paint scheme, circa 1961 or so. The biggest stumbling block was going to be finding the correct markings for the aircraft. Now, the lightning stripe and lettering would be no issue, as I can mask those, but finding the correct roundels with not only the correct sizes but also the correct style maple leafs was going to be a concern. Plus, the Red Ensign flags on the fins would be a very serious problem. So I approached Mike Belcher of Belcher’s Bits to inquire about the possibility of him scaling up his 1/48 scale decal set to 1/32, to fit the new crop of large scale Lancs. Mr. Belcher immediately offered to scale up the drawings to 1/32 and pass me the files so I could print masks. But I guess that more than just myself ended up asking, because within a week or two, he had decided to produce these in actual decals. This set is absolutely flawless, folks. You are given a set that allows you to produce three wartime Mk.Xs, plus two postwar rescue birds. But FM104 is not one of them, so Mr. Belcher actually took the time to make me a set of FM104 markings so I can finish my build. This type of incredible personal service is incredible these days. I know Mr. Belcher is an extremely busy man, and to just go out and do he lettering for -104 as a one off is way, way, way beyond my wildest dreams or expectations. He offered files for masks. We got decal sheets. Buy these, folks. Buy from Belcher Bits often. His line of decals and resin is second to none. I promised him that barring a major calamity, my Lanc will be at the Nats this year, and we’ll do some pics for his website. Or, Joy will do the pics because my crappy pictures ability is legendary. Check out the following pics, folks.

Springtime is the time for new life to come forth. These pics are on my friend Randy’s ranch, just a couple or three miles from my front door, where we have our outdoor pistol and rifle range set up. Pics were taken three weeks ago.

Discarding all the tumbleweed clichés, springtime in Texas is a magical time. For a few weeks in spring, we have the Bluebonnets blooming and the sight absolutely takes your breath away. Let me assure you that this picture doesn’t even begin to capture the raw beauty of these scenes.

I thought exactly the same thing. Double and triple takes

Welcome to the Forums, Angus! I spent a half hour trying to place my lower jaw back on my face. I was blown away by your level of detail on this build. Stunning work! You’ll love it here, we’re all laid back and easy going. Now you gotta get a Lanc and start building.. hehe

Well, it certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s a start. Through the Perspex, it’ll look the part, I suppose.

Here’s what we’re looking to achieve.

Preach it, Brother!!!