1/32nd scale Avro Shackleton - scratchbuild project

[GusMac]

Hi Tom, lovely work on a great subject. Used to see them a lot up here heading to and from Lossiemouth.

 

Am I understanding you correctly that you're now going to cut the tail off again? I find it hard enough to assemble things once never mind chopping them off and re-attaching!

 

Gus

[ThomasProbert]

Impressive progress.

As with some other Large scale subjects you've tackled this one is unlike to be kitted anytime soon.

Makes it even more special.

 

 

Hopefully it'll not be released any time soon, but it'll just be my luck that HK announce it as soon as I've added the finishing touches!

 

 

Hi Tom, lovely work on a great subject. Used to see them a lot up here heading to and from Lossiemouth.

Am I understanding you correctly that you're now going to cut the tail off again? I find it hard enough to assemble things once never mind chopping them off and re-attaching!

Gus

I'm a little too young to remember them clearly, although I do have a vague memory of seeing one (or rather hearing one) at a Mildenhall airshow in the very early 90s.

 

Yes, you do read correctly, the tail section will be cut off for two reasons:

 

1) To enable me to add some detail to the interior,

2) The tail section is ever so slightly twisted and will need realigning before a final blend with some filler.

 

All in a day's work...

 

Tom

[ThomasProbert]

I've sprayed and initial coat of Halfords' filler primer onto the fuselage; this enables me to check for any errors or blemishes more easily than when it is in a mish-mash of plastic card and filler, and it also shows off the shape of the model more easily as it's all one uniform colour.

 

Considering the amount of different card panels and bits of the Lancaster I've cobbled together and added, it's gone remarkably well, even if I do say so myself! However, as expected there are a few areas that showed up as needing some additional work, which have been addressed with my trusty P38 filler.

 

Forward section:

 

 

The rear section had a dip on the left side which needed remedying, so I've added some P38 here which will be blended in and hopefully bring it level:

 

 

So... where's the sandpaper?

 

Tom

[Wingco57]

You'll certainly need some Tom.

It's a good idea to spray uniform layers of primer to check for flaws.

Do you have the Aeroplane monograph of the Shack? It is full of useful information including

equipment diagrams.

Cees

[ThomasProbert]

You'll certainly need some Tom.

It's a good idea to spray uniform layers of primer to check for flaws.

Do you have the Aeroplane monograph of the Shack? It is full of useful information including

equipment diagrams.

Cees

Sandpaper is my best friend at the moment...

 

Yes I do indeed have the Aeroplane publication, along with many others useful for reference. Thankfully, information on the Shackleton isn't too hard to come by.

[ThomasProbert]

A very productive last couple of days...

 

The fuselage has had some further fettling with more filling and sanding, and has also had a few coats of filler primer with some sanding in between each coat to rid the surface of any minor imperfections.

 

So, here's where the project stands now:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I'm now at a stage where I can start to think about the wings and stabilisers - I think I'm going to have a crack at the inner wing sections initially as these, being identical to the Lancaster, mean it'll be a nice and simple job of using the ID Models parts... in theory, anyway.

 

Until next time,

 

Tom

[Wingco57]

Incredible work Tom. Hiw are you going to represent the skinpanels and rivets?

IIRC the Shack used enlarged Lincoln tailplanes. Will you widen the ID parts accordingly?

Cees

[ThomasProbert]

Incredible work Tom. Hiw are you going to represent the skinpanels and rivets?

IIRC the Shack used enlarged Lincoln tailplanes. Will you widen the ID parts accordingly?

Cees

 

Hi Cees,

 

The model will be fully scribed and riveted in due course - there's no point doing any of the surface detailing yet as there's still a lot of sanding and filling to do which would obliterate my hard work. For example, the flight deck and cockpit roof needs to be done, and that'll all need blending in, as well as the areas around the wing roots and stabilisers.

 

And you're quite right - Lincoln tailplanes with increased chord - although the elevators were identical.

 

Tom

[Dennis.E]

What an inspirational and technically astute peice of work Tom. Fantastic!

[ThomasProbert]

A start has been made on making the wings for the big Shackleton...

 

I have the great Mr Chadwick to thank for making my life easy for this part, as the the original Manchester wing centre section was carried through to the Lancaster, then Lincoln and finally the Shackleton. Therefore, it has just been a case of using the ID Models' Lancaster wing centre sections for this, but with some minor modifications.

 

Here's the vacformed parts removed from the backing sheet and rubbed down to the correct thickness:

 

 

 

These were then checked against the plans, and the exact position on the fuselage was worked out. Also, the Lancaster's fuel pump fairings would also need to be removed as these were not present on the Shackleton:

 

 

 

I then set about removing the pump fairings, undercarriage bays as well as the inboard flaps, as I plan to have these down on the finished model:

 

 

The wheel bays and flap apertures were made from 1mm plastic card, and installed on the lower wing halves - this provides a very strong structure to support the weight of the model:

 

 

The main spars were then trimmed slightly and the lower wing sections glued to the spars with poly cement for the strongest possible join. A few extra bits of bracing were added at this point, too:

 

 

With the lower sections dry, the upper sections were then glued over the top, making sure a strong bond was attained to the internal spars etc:

 

 

Some gaps at the upper wing root needed plugging with scrap plastic card in preparation for filling:

 

 

The next task will be getting everything blended in nicely with filler and the joins made good. Now where's the P38..?

 

Until next time,

 

Tom

[Wingco57]

Dang Tom, you are moving fast with that centresection.

Cees

[ThomasProbert]

Dang Tom, you are moving fast with that centresection.

Cees

Cheers, Cees.

 

The fact it's Lancaster parts from the ID kit means it's easy really. The outer wing sections may slow me down a little though!

[Wingco57]

That sure helps too.

Interesting that you fit the centresection first to the fuselage. I intend to wait with the Manchester until the

outerwings fit before doing that. Doesn't that make it harder for you to work on the outerwings?

Cees

[ThomasProbert]

Hopefully it won't - I'm going to be working on the outer sections separately anyway so adding them to the inner sections after they're complete shouldn't be too tricky.

 

Plus I think it'll be easier to get the dihedral correct with the centre section already in situ.

[Wingco57]

Tom,

You have a point there. I think the Manchester is about to grow a centresection too.

Good for rapid visual progress.

Cheers

Cees

[ThomasProbert]

A quick update for you...

 

I've been working on getting the wing centre-section fared into to the fuselage which, surprise surprise, involves plenty of filler. I actually apply more than is needed, but this makes the whole process of blending everything in that much simpler, giving a smooth transaction between the parts. P38 sands very easily so it's no hardship:

 

 

 

Tools of the trade: an old patio table at the bottom of the garden, lots of sand paper of varying grades, water to keep dust to a minimum, a wooden block to avoid creating bumps and troughs whilst sanding, face mask and of course the model itself. It's essential to sand outside as the dust gets everywhere, and my dearly beloved tends to get excited if I do it indoors, especially if she's just done the dusting 

 

 

And the result - as you can see with some careful sanding and the use of fine finishing paper and micromesh you can get a beautifully smooth result which is ready for priming:

 

 

Hopefully I can get a shot of primer on tomorrow...

 

Until next time,

 

Tom

[ThomasProbert]

 

Have shot some primer on the centre-section this afternoon - has come out well on the whole:

 

 

 

 

Just need to give it a good polish with some micromesh now - I always allow the paint to harden for a good 24hrs first though.

 

Tom

 

[theseeker]

Amazing build! Looks like this will be a gem.

[Wingco57]

Tom,

That's a pretty smooth surface to work with.

Cees

[ThomasProbert]

I've made a start on the stabilisers, which will be based on the ID Models Lancaster parts:

 

 

The later model Manchesters, Lancaster, Lincoln and Shackleton all share the same span, but the chord was increased on the Shackleton. Here you can see how the chord needs to be widened with the Lancaster parts being placed on the Shackleton plans. I've also removed the elevators as these are a little basic in shape and I will make my own at a later date:

 

 

So the solution is to cut the stabilisers down their length:

 

 

And add a plastic card insert to widen them to the correct chord:

 

Now that's sorted, it'll be a case of filling the gap and constructing the stabilisers in readiness for adding to the rear fuselage...

 

Until next time,

 

Tom

[Wingco57]

Great work again Tom,

Having that old Lanc vacform sure comes in handy. Do you just glue that strip against the edges of the vacform part or

do you also fit scrap plastic underneath for strengh? With the fins on it will need to be rigid.

Cees

[ThomasProbert]

The inserts extend about 5mm either side of the gap - nice and strong! I added some more card in the gap to bring the surfaces flush last night, and these will then get a final blend with filler next.

[ThomasProbert]

Evening all,

 

Time for another update for you - it's the last day of my Easter holidays and I return to work tomorrow so things may well slow a little for a while, but I've made the most of the few days of freedom...

 

I've been working on the stabilisers and after the last update I sparred them internally and glued them together. The area where I'd increased the chord was filled with plastic card to bring the gap up to the level of the rest of the aerofoil, and this was then filled and sanded smooth to blend everything in. Lastly, I made some hinges for the elevators from Evergreen plastic strip.

 

It was then a case of consulting the plans carefully to establish where the stabilisers are situated, and this was a case of measure thrice, cut once, before I inserted a spar from thick left over sprue:

 

 

The completed stabilisers were then test-fitted:

 

 

And with some careful trimming the fit is quite satisfactory - only a quick lick of filler will be required:

 

 

On the underside you can also see where I've done a little re-shaping of the underside as I wasn't happy with the shape:

 

 

I've also started adding the upper escape hatches on the top of the fuselage:

 

 

As well as making the lower radome aperture on the lower fuselage behind the bomb bay:

 

 

Speaking of radomes - this chunk of resin has arrived:

 

 

Yup... I'm going to complete this project as an AEW.2, my favourite of the breed.

 

So, with the elevators added it's certainly starting to look like a Shackleton... which is a bonus I suppose

 

 

I'm off to fill the stabiliser to fuselage join now, so cheerio for now.

 

Tom

[Wingco57]

Wow Tom,

For your first scratchbuild you certainly keep up the speed. With the stabs on this looks fantastic. Is that sprue spar up to the job to keep everything in place?

With such a huge airframe it will be increasingly difficult to handle it without knocking yourself over the head (with the Halifax fuselage parts I kept hitting the

lamp that hung over the table).

Scribing those acres of plastic will be interesting too.
Cees

[ThomasProbert]

Cheers, Cees,

 

Hopefully the spar will be up to the job - time will tell I suppose. Now it's all set up it feels strong enough, but we'll see! And yes scribing is going to be a challenge, but with all of the sanding and filling of the surface it's only going to be scribed once I've finished building it, otherwise I'd just be sanding any detail I add to it it off.

 

Something had been bugging me about the overall look of the fuselage, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The shape is right (according to the plans anyway) but something looked out. Then it occurred to me what I'd done whilst looking at pictures of the real AEW2s... the windows I'd made in the fuselage were too high and out of position... it was throwing the whole look of the fuselage. So, it was out with some plastic card last night, and I filled in the original windows and will now make new ones, which will hopefully solve the problem. More updates soon...

 

Tom