NigelR32

I have emailed HK regarding the issue with the wing and am expecting the replacement wing in the mail soon?? If it doesn't arrive I shall have to add my own stiffeners and add HK to a long list of kit manufacturers with poor customer service, however, I am confident the part will arrive.

I think I've discovered an issue with the radiator intakes on this kit as far as accuracy goes. I have studied many pictures and it would appear the MkI/III has different intakes to the Mk VII and X.? I wont post pictures of the real aircraft, these can be found all over the web. I will however post pics of the kit parts in an effort that someone can prove me wrong. As some of you will be aware, i am building mine as a Dambuster, which must have the early style intakes. In this pic you will see the bulge in the lower front corner of the engine side cover. This appears on later Lancs, but I cannot see this on MkI/II aircraft? In this next pic we can see that the lower cover panels are wider on the no2 and 3 engines than they are on the nos 1 and 4 engines. (No 2/3 is on the right). The cowling behind the engine is fatter as it tapers out around the landing gear, but according to my references it should be the same shape where it meets the intake cowling. The open vent is also longer on the inboard engines?? Here we can see what I'm talking about with reference to the difference between outboard and inboard intakes. I believe these parts should be identical?? I also think the actual intake opening should be smaller on the MkI/III?? Note also that the air outlet is blanked off.. really?? on a 1/32 kit??? Please someone, tell me I'm wrong!! I will correct all this, but would rather not, having said that my OCD will not allow me to leave it as is.. It shouldn't be too difficult to do, just some sanding and rivetting.

Ah, OK, now I get where you are coming from. I guess the model should be built to depict the aircraft as the period you wish to depict. S for Sugar had a very long career, and would have undergone many maintanence schedules and upgrades through her life. I still don't know what the holes in the blister are for, so if I were you I would check to see that the kit contains the necessary parts to make the larger blister viable?

I think there is variation, part to part. I really dont know how this could be, but I can tell you I have a new port wing on the way because my kits wing is paper thin on the upper outer end?? I ca only think the core is shifting during moulding, but having been involved in mould tool design myself, I doubt this very much? I really dont get why the wings were made in this way??

I would suggest printing this picture off and keeping it in your pocket if you plan to show your model in this scheme. Onlookers will comment, "He's overdone the weathering on that Lanc", pull out the picture and shout "SHUTUP" back at them.

This is a great idea, thank you, but unfortunately it will not cure the fit issues on this kit. It has issues not only with the "bulge" of the wing itself, but also the stepped flanges of the wing and tip do not match up, hence my adding the tape.

Could you please be a little more specific? I assume you mean the nose blister, but don't know why you refer to pages 40 and 42?

?????? These pics pop up every now and again.. just to get us looking at every other bloody picture we know of showing this area.

Interesting pics thank you Martin. You've raised another question in my head now though.. look at the navigators table. In the top pic it looks like a well battered wooden fabrication, in the bottom pic it looks like it's aluminium with a flange to stop things rolling off. AFAIK, we have always depicted the table as wood, but somehow the aluminium seems more logical.. lighter and that lip, well, it must have been required surely?

Deleted content

From the pictures I've seen it looks like the raised floor was an aluminium fabrictaed box, with internal stiffeners. The side gets covered in anyway, but the front and rear are visible.

Just thought I'd stick a couple of pics of my cockpit mods in my thread . I posted them on the tweaks and tips page, but those just looking for WIP pics won't see them in there. So here goes.. Stock plastic.. As I mentioned previously I thought the seat was too high, too long and too far back. The Throttle bulge and support for the IP was too small and straight and the platform was too long, too high and too wide. There is also some error around the design of the area of floor and platform around the pilots feet. So.... I did this... The closer you look, the more you'll see modified. The IP will be replaced with the beautiful Airscale PE, which is why, if you look closely you'll see the slots cut in the throttle "bulge". There's a long way to go yet.. all this is from restoration sites online and my reference books. Thanks for looking

Hello guys. In amomngst my other projects I have managed to get this far with the cockpit mods. Iseem to be going one step forwards five steps back.. If you look closely, you'll keep seeing more and more little mods. Yes, that IP support column or cable/chain/wiring conduit is leaning back as per the original. Obviously this is an ongoing series of mods with much more still to come. It's a bit different than stock though eh.. Thanks for looking..

Thanks for the tip off guys. You found another correction.

Not yet AFAIK? This is the test fret, so I would imagine 3 weeks to a month away right now?

Hey yknu.. I have done the same as you, but using the starboard parts as my port wing is faulty and is being replaced. In these first two pics, we can see that the fit is not so bad as yours.. That is because i shoved a soft sanding stick inside the wing To improve the fit on the top side, I laid two strips of tamiya tape on the flange... Obviously when actually assembling you would use plastic card... Then I refitted the tip to see if it was better.. it sure was. On the underside, I think some plastic will need to be removed from the flange on the wing to allow the tip to sit flush with the surface of the wing. Personally, I would have preferred the wings to be as standard with a one piece upper and one piece lower rather than this supposedly "clever" design. Fitting the tip seamlessly will obviously take some skill to do neatly, and will more than likely entail rivetting and scribing. Add this to the fact one of my wings is faulty.. that's where my opinion stems from.

You can use anything that is designed to thin acrylic paint. Obviously thinners like Mr Hobby Levelling Thinner and the new AK thinner are hotter, but as long as the plastic is not left to soak in the stuff you should be OK. I generally plump for my own alcohol water mix or Tamiya X22A. Some use Cellulose thinner or acetone.. beware.. this WILL affect the plastic.

Hi David, In my opinion there are many ways to do this, but by far the best, especialluy if you want to scribe over the panel lines is to either use sprue goo or Mr Surfacer. One thing to keep in mind with both is to leave them for at least a couple of weeks to fully cure before sanding back as you will experience shrinkage that will make the panel lines visible if you remove excess too soon. Super glue is a great filler but is very hard compared to the surrounding plastic so make scribing a little more difficult to look consistent. As I said, this is my opinion and others will have a different view.

Hey guys.. Peter has just sent me the mock ups from his first test shot of the brand new Instrument Panel upgrade for the Hobby Boss 1/32 B-24J. He's used my kit to do this.. Oh I'm so proud... Enjoy... drop your orders to Peter at Airscale.co.uk. Nice!!!

And.. for your entertainment.. here is the conversion.

Another upgrade in my stash.. This is worth watching...

I'll check mine later.. not looking good is it or is it the angle of the shot? Are you sure you've got the stb tip on stbd wing? I'm sure you have..

Nice!! Where did you get the wheels from?

I am a new follower. He seems like a real nice genuine guy and often replies to comments or at least gives a like.

OMG... there's a knock at the door...