FME erk

It certainly brings it to life . . . .

There has been some progress although not much, the builders are in the house so . . . A new vehicle fuel tank was put on the chassis made from a solid bar of plastic, fortunately the filler neck and gauge are from the kit parts A new Air tank was also put in place on the near side . . . The six wheels are now permanently in place, all square and vertical I installed the photo etch grill which is something I have never used before Those sharp eyed amongst you will spot the two styles of roof, the curved version with sliding hatch and the more usual with the arched roof, again with a slide hatch neither of which come in kit form with the kit David

Would a Wellington III in 32nd suit anybody ?

Your guess would be as good as mine

Those new wheels/tyres look spot on Ernie. I shall invest in some of the smooth tyres when they come on line . . . .

What I really like is the alternative scheme from the usual BC night camouflage (nothing wrong with that of course). The Canadian version is really bright for such a role but I see now that you can get decals for a French version, presumably all White so that could possibly be a temptation for somebody ??? https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/BER32061 Coming together really well Ernie, Good luck at Chatoo David

Its a beauty and its not even finished

Who rescues the rescue plane??

Reported as being a Lancaster of 83 Squadron at RAF Scampton in June 1942 An usual 'bracket' at the front of the 4,000lb bomb ?

Now that is a VERY STRANGE bomb-aimer blister and I cannot think what that might have been used for ? A camera perhaps ?? Its the very first time I have seen such a 'mod'

Here is the profile of the Phantom when she was with 100 Squadron, the photo above shows her at a later date with 550 Squadron. It does give clues as to the spec. ie Windows, ASI and she carried pointed props, no H2S David

Beautiful work and those engine/wing joints are virtually flawless . . . The paint work is absolutely spot-on, you have done a grand job on that Ernie Its looking like its going to be the best post-war Lancaster build EVER .. David

Such fine detailing is worthy of such admiration. I shall be interested in the construction of the Vultures, has the 3D printing proved worthy ?? I built mine from scratch (in 72nd) and that first foray highlighted some points that I would be more attentive to second time around. Cees, I would have thought that the bulkhead looking from the cockpit to the navigators position, would have had some form of padding as seen in the Lancaster. Somebody would have a nasty cut if he bobbed down without looking ?? Carry on with the good work Cees, dont forget, . . . . it will be a world first !! David

Some progress has been made . . . honest First photo is a comparison of the Airfix OO scale and the 'massive' 35th scale Next a shot of the drivers area, note the two triangular windows rear of the cab. There will be a 'Fire shield' to go behind the cab that will also have the triangular cut outs without glass. Near side of the cab with a glance of the double axles at the rear The cab front. An etch mesh is provided for the distinctive AEC engine cover You may be able to see the two triangular windows in the rear bulkhead, a mod for this vehicle to aid the driver when reversing. The drive shaft between the two axles. I cast this shaft using 'Blue Stuff' and Milliput View of the 6 x 6 chassis with the modified cab roof for the MKII version. A few bits such as the windows in the cab to complete when the painting is completed, it also needs a new fuel and Air tank but the next challenge will be the 2500 Gall. tank and pump housing at its rear . Thanks for looking in David

Lost my Boxer dog after 12 years. The family were in tears. A great loss Jeff, I know your pain . . .

Should be pretty straight forward now Ern . . . Do you have etch guards for the engine intakes ?? David

Doesn't look good when there are traces of blood everywhere

I had this display unit built especially for my 48th Lancasters (second one is under construction), and measures approx. 5ft across the front, is 30" deep and the height is 18". Its fits nicely into the bay window at the front of the house because I never was going to purchase a suite with a second chair . . . Individually designed by me and crafted by a local cabinet maker and costing around £300. I am well pleased with it David

Progressing with the rear twin axle combination. I need to complete the front axle with the wheels so I can then fix the height of the rear axles. I think in photos of actual vehicles, the rear end is slightly down but that is probably due to the weight of the fuel in the tank so I am aiming to get it as level as possible. The cab will be a point of interest and AFV do not let you down with detailing. Provision is there to have a number of window combinations and I will probably run with at least a couple of them being open. I hope to get the 6 wheel chassis complete with the cab before starting on the tank and pump housing David

Lovely paint work and that decal is such a nice touch , bring it on ! Thing with the .303 guns, bomber crews were not there to slug it out with night fighters but they could bring down a night fighter with a well aimed burst. The American P51 only became the escort to their bombers when it had the British Merlin added I am looking forward to seeing the paint work on the wings and tailplane Ernie, she will look ACE David

Completed the front axle and drive shaft last night. The fun begins when I try and build the two axles at the rear :shock: Just a snap to see how the cab is going to look . . . you dont see many ( if any) with the early style roof and sliding hatch being built even in the smaller scale a couple of days off before I start again David

All paint work chips on real aircraft so dont beat yourself up to much

The one thing about AFV instructions, they aint very clear Ideally they could have had exploded views to clearly show where to stick stuff A bit of progress here with the suspension on the front, so many small pieces Modifications to the cab with a roof sliding hatch and on the refueller vehicles there were two triangular windows cut out to aid reversing. I will need also to do the same for the 'Fire shield' inserted behind the cab. Thanks for looking in . . . .

You have to believe that this took over two hours to assemble. The instruction sheet does not offer the best placement of parts onto the main frame. There are quite a few recesses in the frame and its not the biggest/clearest diagram. As you can see I have extended the chassis and as such I have used artistic licence in placing certain parts on the extended section regards the hawser wire. I will be have to produced a larger fuel tank and a longer Air tank as those in the kit are smaller for the 4 x 4 Gun tractor. The kit only provides the bottom section of the engine.

Thanks for coming back and sharing this