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 Bristol Beaufighter TF.x

Will be starting this one after I finish the Focke Wulf 190 in the same set.

Box Art

Finished Model

Comments
Nice easy kit. Very nice detailing by Airfix. Everything went together very smoothly.

Rating:
Instructions - 3 - very easy to understand

Assembly Complexity - 3 - Very straight forward, just follow the instructions.

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

Part Fit - 2.5 - Good part fit mostly, Had trouble with the wing fit, the spars don't push up enough into the fuselage and then the wings don't align when the are attached. The engine cowlings could have been done a bit better than a three piece, always looking for trouble when you have to fit three pieces into a round circle. No reason they couldn't have done the engine cowling as a single piece.

Overall Score 11.5/12

Paints Used
Fuselage - Tamiya AS-31 Ocean grey (RAF)
Underside - Humbrol 90 Beige green (came with the kit, very grainy)
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 Focke Wulf Fw190A-8

Time for a new set. I picked this one up a while ago as it was quite cheap for the two of them. Going to build the Focke Wulf first.

Box Art

Sprues

Instructions 
Thought I would make special mention of the instructions as these are very well laid out and rather than the normal wire diagrams, Airfix have actually put a bit more substance into the drawings, probably to make it more obvious for the younger fans.
 

 

Finished Model

Comments

I've started this one and first impressions so far are ok. A few problems with fit and some very minor flash. The most trouble was around the engine cowling and the top machine gun fuselage. It didn't quite go together perfectly and there were some seams to fill.The rest of it was ok and it builds up into a nice little model. They could have offered some more options in the kit for decals as there is only one choice and this version of the Focke Wulf had a wide variety of different colour schemes. Detailing is nice on all the panels, except the wheels which seemed to lack finesse.

Rating:
Instructions - 3 - very easy to understand

Assembly Complexity - 3 - Requires moderately experienced person to do this one

Quality of Molding - 2 - Lost points because some of the parts could be crisper, especially the wheels and some parts did have a very minor amount of flash.

Part Fit - 2 -Most parts ok, but the engine cowling and nose area left seams and gaps.

Overall Score 10/12

Paints Used
Fuselage - Tamiya TS2 - Dark green, Tamiya AS31 - Ocean Gray 2
Underside - Tamiya AS5 - Light Blue (Luftwaffe)
Cockpit- Humbrol Acrylic 27 - Sea Grey (comes with the kit)
Wheel wells - Tamiya XF71 - Cockpit green
Wheels - Tamiya XF-85 - Rubber Black
Clear Coat - Mr Hobby 503 Matt Clear