FME erk

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

Is it a secret as to how much it cost to run this site ? I have already donated hoping it will go some way towards the running cost. I think its an excellent site and sincerely hope many will contribute in the hope that it will ease the burden of cost for you James . . .

Morning all I have made the initial start on some bomb trolleys to display the bombs of the Lancaster kit. I know that A bomb trolley is available in resin but I think that it is a later 'E Type', heavily engineered for carrying the 500Ib bombs and even the 4000Ibs 'cookie' bomb. The 4000Ib bomb has been taken from the kits sprue . . . There will be more to come as I find the time to build at least three trolleys, there being two to carry the 500Ib bombs (6 on each trolley) and one for the 4000Ib'er Ian

By all means Ernie . . . .

I do like the fact that the 'Topics' panel has been lengthened, see at a glance more of whats going on . . .

Talking of the David Brown tractor kit mentioned above kinda sent me rushing to my photo album to copy this here . . . The OIL bowser in tow with the Iconicair DB tractor . . . completed September 2020 and the completed DB tractor pulling a set of bomb trolleys (scratch-built)

The build log is here . . .

The completed kit. It was a simple build but I made a few alteration. I took off the front 'nudge' bar as I didnt see one on wartime photos. I also added a battery box seen on the nearside step, again you see these in wartime pics. I also 'damaged' the front off-side mudguard (fender) and also the near side mudguard was 'bent' back slightly, again seen in a number of photos. I added my own 'B/1' designation and placed the 'Type' on the rear mudguard as per photo. This is the tractor with my scratch built OIL bowser; this will join my vehicles and other equipment on my HK Lancaster diorama . . . coming soon Thanks for looking in Ian

I've got this finished tonite so will post some photos tomorrow. Next thing may well be some scratch bomb trolleys or even a towing arms to take out the Lancaster to dispersal . . .

Just seen this on the net . . . I am not affiliated to this dealership but thought it may be of interest somebody as a package . . . https://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/hkm01e12-os.htm

The instructions are clear and the steps straight forward . . . and the parts glued in place as per instructions . . . I have added small 'sidelights' on the front wheel arches based on reference photos. The rear wheel inserts seen in place while I had the epoxy glue out . . . they wont be seen once the main wheels are in place Winch also partially constructed Thanks for looking in Ian

For a first resin kit I am finding it quite easy to build. As mentioned previously, selective painting of parts before the actual constructed starts with epoxy adhesive . . . I have painted other such items as the steering wheel and gear levers etc so actual construction isnt that far away . . . thanks for looking in Ian

A little bit done, the centre pieces is just four parts . . . They are just sat together and there is a firm fit/location of the parts. The wheels and tyres have been painted and weathered with five colours . . . so far I purposely bent the front near-side fender (mudguard) as seen in one photo I have; Its not a poor molding . . . Ian

I have made a start Instructions for the initial build I will not be using the front nudge bar as I haven't seen any on wartime photos of tractors pulling bomb trolleys or even the Oil bowser. A good reference is the film on DVD entitled 'Night Bombers' I also cut around the front semi-circle shape on the square base . . . seen in illustration 2, to allow the front grill then to hide the alteration, I added a piece to extend it slightly . . . Looking through the instructions I think it will be easier to paint selected parts before glueing them together. I hope to also build an aircraft 'tow-bar' to accompany the tractor but I have been struggling to find a CLEAR wartime photo of such ?? More to come Ian

I, it was the old Stirling kit. Not a bad representation of the tractor or the trolleys even if by todays standard they were rather simplistic, the Airfix set that you can get now is somewhat better although one piece in the Bomber Re-supply set is still wrong . . . If I could find some small wheels to the correct size, I would love to scratch build a couple of bomb trolleys . . . . in 1/32nd of course Ian

Thought I would show some progress photos of this kit which I recently acquired to join my same scale Lancaster and scratch built OIL bowser. The usual box and parts photos . . . . I would just like to say that this is the FIRST resin model I have attempted. The parts are very crisp and I am liking the detail . . . I will be wanting to make a few alterations to the kit that I have observed from numerous photo of tractors, primarily the front nudge bar and the positioning of the lights and decals. Talking of decals, there are numbers that represent No's 2, 4 and 5 bomber groups but not my particular group, No. 1. Not a big issue More to come soon Ian

Expensive if they are really necessary ??

That looks very similar to my efforts . . . It will turn out as a fairly accurate replica of the Vulture engine Cees, looking forward to seeing more Ian

Dennis You have just beat me to the bombsight frame. I spotted it as an 'obvious' flaw and have it in hand to alter, yours looks alot better than the kit part . . .well done mate. I look forward to seeing more progress over the coming weeks (months) . . . Ian

The plan is shown in the rear of the book 'Modellers guide to the Lancaster' and is drawn in 144 scale but has the details to enlarge the plan by %n for larger scales . . .

Carl Are these the style of bomb doors you are looking at ?? Ian

Carl have you thought about laminating the doors with 20 thou and finishing with some filler of sorts to shape ??? Ian

I already have new artwork for two aircraft that I had produced for my existing HK Lancaster. I'm sure such a kit will appeal to those who have not got the space for the full kit but this will make a new tribute centre piece for a fallen one .