FME erk

This is as updated as you can get . . . taken not ten minutes ago

I'm sorry to say that I did stall with the tank supports and struggled to find the best way to produce five such supports. The original one that I shaped was two pieces of 60 thou. plasti-card. I stopped after the thought of doing a support 10 times and trying to shape them all the same. I aint into resin so I didnt know how to cast anything like that so as i said, I stalled. I built some bomb trolleys for my David Brown tractor. I looked up on YouTube vids for inspiration and found a material called 'Blue Stuff'. My first attempt . . . I had varying success after failures and eventually ended up with five decent tank supports . . . I decided to use some Epoxy resin to best secure them . . . and with all five secured I tried to sit the tank on the chassis . . . I am now trying to get this completed before the end of December as I want to start the HK Lancaster in the New Year, so I have completed the access ladder and cracking on with the box housing for the pump system . . . More to come in the following weeks, Thanks for looking in Ian

Just a peek at some progress, its rather slow burning I'm afraid . . . A conversion of the AFV 4 x 4 Matador . . .

I think I got my first one around 1977 . . . . A more recent addition

I'd like a couple of 48th Lancasters if they do produce a scale down version . . .

I am curious about the bottom left hand message . . . 'Replacement parts info ' does that mean they are to provide spares ????

That will be me then . . . . (Starting my HK model in the New Year) Great photos Martin Is there any possibility that you can get a photo of the tail wheel strut at the back as I'm trying to suss out where the towing fork was inserted ?????? I PRESUME there are two holes in the top of the strut near to the axle for towing ?? Many thanks for sharing what must have been a wonderful day out . . . . Ian

Phil I'm pretty much there regards to vehicular and ancillary equipment, I am struggling to create constant tank supports for the AEC 4x4 conversion to a 6 x 6 refueller and the Ford WOT bus need some front fenders. When they are complete I will post a photo of them and all equipment together along with the Nissen hut. I intend to start the Lancaster in the New Year . . . .

The completed 'Bomb train' measuring some 700mm and will be in place on my HK Lancaster diorama . . . .

A collection of photos for the completed set up is in the Armour Finished section . .. . a taster

ScottsGT Can you post a couple of pics of them ?? thanks Ian

What a resource that will make . . . The only details missing are the price and availability . . .

As many of you probably know 2021 is the 80th anniversary of the introduction of the Lancaster into RAF service. Xmas Eve 1941 saw the delivery of the first three Lancaster to RAF Waddington, near the city of Lincoln. As my small tribute to this great aircraft, I intend to start my HK Lancaster with the hindsight of previous builds at the start of the new year. There are a lot of tweaks to do with this kit and I shall endeavour to do my best as for me, this will be the ultimate Lancaster kit that I can build.

Look forward to seeing a bit more of that book . . ..

He has moved on to build/demonstrate things like the mods to the Titanic kit and the B52 'Big Bad Buff' aircraft amongst other things . . .

When is the official start date for that Lancastrian Ernie ?? The wingspan is massive as you know but the fuselage will be even longer than your standard Lanc with those extend nose and tail pieces . . . I , along with many others, will be looking forward to seeing this on your bench . . .

Nose and tail cones . . . . look to be pretty well shaped

Progress is rather slow but its progress none the less. I have aligned all the wheels within the gauge, they are square and vertical . . . I have painted the tyres for all the trolleys and as I type, I have just finished the wheel hubs . . . Both of the chassis for the 500Ib bombs are almost finished, just need to put the tow arm on the front plus a tow hook on the rear . . . All the bombs have been painted to spec. taken from the manual . . . . Another week and hopefully they shall be done

Bombs painted. I have also modified the 4000Ib bomb. You often see on period photos that bombs are far from 'clean' they show signs of staining and or dirt due to weathering . . . they were stored outside in the open air. I have now to get the steering/Tow bar in place and this will be for display and not actually functioning. Ian

Unbelievable . . . I might as well give up now

I hope my good wishes find you doing well Take Care harv

I have been making up the smaller bombs to be carried on the trolleys x2 I have also removed the two fixing lugs that attach them into the bomb bay of the aircraft. I believe at some point during the war that some British bombs carried an American tail unit. These were square as you have probably seen as issued in the HK B17 aircraft model. The fact that you could attach tails unit that were available presents the opportunity to paint those units a different color . . . . The 4000Ib bomb I have altered slightly as well. There was a 'lip' on the front section that can be seen in reference photos therefore to replicate this I have wrapped a sheet of plasti-card around the front 2/3rd section of the bomb . . . I am progressing on with the second of the 500Ib trolley . . . Ian

I wonder if anybody can actually tell me with 100% certainty the supposed size of these bombs that come with the HK Lancaster kit. I firmly believe that they are 1000Ibs bombs but a good friend of mine tells me that they are 500Ibs bombs, hence you get 20 of them with the kit ?? All answers on a postcard pleaseee

Phil The examples I have seen at EK are the larger F type that were capable of holding the 12,000Ib 'Blockbuster' or a 'Grand Slam' 22,000Ib bomb. I believe also that their examples have mudguards which I suspect are post-war types . . .

Here is a bit of progress . . . In the first photo you can see the two width of the tyres. I found these wheels/tyres which are the correct diameter but not the correct width so I spilt the wheels and added some plasti-card to obtain the width . . . To ensure that I had all three bomb trolleys the same width I cobbled together a gauge that meant that each trolley was the same . . . This is how far I have got with the 4000Ib trolley, the bomb being taken from the kit . . . Thanks for looking in Ian