Airfix 1/72 Lancaster B.III

Oh yes, that's right folks the venerable Lancaster. Who can resist this one. Threw my last one out during a move. Something I regretted, even though I built it when I was 15. Well its BACK!! May I introduce to you the Lancaster B.III.

Box Art

Sprue's

you can follow my build here.

Finished Model
I found some historical information about the aircraft which was interesting.

Aircraft Markings
"Frederick II" flown by Wing Commander Frederick Campbell Hopcroft, Commanding Officer No 57 Squadron, Royal Air Force Scampton, Lincolnshire, England, August 1943.


Comments
The Lancaster is quite a nostalgic aircraft and I can still remember when I built my first one as a 15 year old, a long long time ago. The new Airfix tooling is magnificent and I thoroughly enjoyed this build. The only minor negative comment is the bomb bay doors were warped, but a bit of superglue held them in place quite well. Otherwise, the kit was stunning in its detail and crispness.
The cockpit was quite detailed and you can see plenty through the canopy.
The other thing to note are the top fuselage escape hatches, these really should be clear plastic not just dents in the roof, Mr Airfix!. The landing gear is excellently detailed and I put mine in the flaps down position just for added variety.

Rating:
Instructions - 3 - very easy to understand

Assembly Complexity - 3 - No complexities in this one, just a big kit.

Quality of Molding - 3 - Excellent quality, fine detail, no flash

Part Fit - 3 - Excellent part fit, only minor negative was the bomb bay doors, but I wont take marks off just for that as its easily fixable.

Overall Score 12/12

Paints Used
Fuselage - Tamiya AS-22 Dark Earth, Tamiya AS-30 Dark green 2(RAF)
Underside - Tamiya TS-6 Matt Black
Cockpit- Tamiya XF-71 Cockpit green
Wheel wells - Tamiya XF-71 Cockpit green
Wheels - Tamiya XF-85 - Rubber Black
Clear Coat - Testors Dullcote 1260

Airfix 1/72 F-51D Mustang

I've always admired the mustang with its full view cockpit and big air intake underneath. I grabbed this from the hobby shop as I was looking for the tamiya corsair and not paying much attention, grabbed an F51D instead of a P51D,  the distinction being this a Korean War era plane rather than a WW2 one. Not be undeterred, it should build into a nice model. I might pick up a WW2 P51D sometime in the future.

Box Art

Finished Model

Comments
This was a nice build. My first attempt at natural metal finish (NMF) and its come out quite well. I did a gloss black undercoat, then a tamiya NMF Silver spray over the top. One thing I did do which I think made a huge difference was put the tamiya silver spray into hot water for 5 minutes before spraying. Doing that caused the spray to come out as a nice fine mist and it went on very smooth over the gloss black. The decals are incredibly detailed, more than I have seen on any other aircraft in this scale. Thumbs up for this one, highly recommended!!

Rating:
Instructions - 3 - very easy to understand - designed for beginners

Assembly Complexity - 3 - very easy to assemble, good for beginners

Quality of Molding - 3 - Very good - the new airfix toolings are excellent

Part Fit - 3 - all went together very well.

Overall Score 12/12

Paints Used
Underside & Fuselage - Tamiya TS-14 - Gloss Black (undercoat), Tamiya AS-12 - Bare Metal Silver
Cockpit- Tamiya XF-71 - Cockpit Green
Wheel wells - Tamiya XF71 - Cockpit green
Propellor - Tamiya X-10 - Gun Metal

Airfix 1/72 Messerschmitt Bf109E-4

Well modelling fans, I'm onto my next one straight away. Another new tooling from Airfix, the mainstay of the German Luftwaffe, the ME 109.

Box Art

Sprues

Finished Model

Rating:
Instructions - 3 - very easy to understand - designed for beginners

Assembly Complexity - 3 - very easy to assemble, good for beginners

Quality of Molding - 2.5 - some very minor flash, not perfect, but nothing a quick sand here or there can't fix. Detail on the starboard fuselage where the wing meets the fuselage, was obscured. Perhaps a factory quality issue there

Part Fit - 2.5 most parts were perfect but some parts needed a bit of  sanding or were a tight (buckling) fit.

Overall Score 11/12

Paints Used
Underside and lower fuselage - Tamiya AS-5 - Light Blue
Camouflage - Tamiya TS-2 - Dark green, Tamiya AS-29 - Gray-Green
Cockpit and wheel wells - Tamiya As-29 - Gray Green (I think this may be a little too light coloured compared to the real thing, but I went with it anyway.)

Airfix 1/72 Spitfire Mk.Va

Well here we go, first ww2 fighter I've done for at least 15 years. I chose the iconic Spitfire as its easy to build, everyone recognises it and it looks damn nice.

Box Art

Finished Model

Its an out of the box build (OOB). At 1/72 scale I don't plan to buy any after market items.
I've learnt a lot over the years and although there are a few bits that need cleaning up on this one, its my first for quite some time and I'm reasonably happy with the way it turned out.
I was planning on doing the panel lines, but I decided against it as the airfix panel lines are decent without any extra effect.
I painted the model camouflage initially, then gave it a coat of clear gloss, put the decals on and finished off with a Tamiya clear matt.

Rating:
Instructions - 3 - very easy to understand - designed for beginners

Assembly Complexity - 3 - very easy to assemble, good for beginners

Quality of Molding - 3 - no flash, very sharp definition

Part Fit - 3 parts fitted together perfectly, all parts well engineered

Overall Score 12/12

A perfect score for the first one. This really was a breeze to put together and probably designed by Airfix so that anyone can build it, but that doesn't belittle the superb accuracy and sharpness of the kit. A very enjoyable kit for all levels if you want a fantastic looking spitfire!!

Paints Used:
Underside - Tamiya AS32 - Medium Sea Grey 2
Camouflage - Tamiya AS30 - Dark Green 2, Tamiya AS31 - Ocean Grey 2
Cockpit - Tamiya XF51 - Khaki Drab