HKM Lancaster Barracuda wheels
Relatively hot off the press, these wheels are definitely an improvement on those supplied in the kit.
They show the mould ribs on the side and the hub is a lot more delicate. I think that the holes in the hub are slightly too small but the kit ones could house mice!
A “must” to improve a prominent part of the kit.
Here is a shot during the war of a wheel with a black hub (too easy Mate) shows the difference.
I had only just applied a rough coat of paint to the kit wheels before I saw the announcement of these.
One of the more noticeable things missing from this kit are the securing clips for the blister. This is a relatively easy (although time consuming) fix.
Cut these out from from Plastruct 2.4mm “u” shaped length. It is actually a square “U”…
…I judged their length by eye. Make sure that you cut them using a tacky surface otherwise you will spend the whole day crawling around on your knees!
Paint the clips silver grey.
A problem has occurred fitting the Inner engine nacelles to the wings. A number of builders have mentioned this but have not shown how they solved it.
The problem is that the engines do not seat into the wings – this leaves a bit of the undercarriage compartment visible through the nacelle on the outer surfaces of the wings.
The solution (I can’t see another) is a fairly drastic sanding down of both the wing and undercarriage nacelles. If you have a Dremel, that makes the job slightly shorter. You will be surprised (or at least I was!) by the amount that has to be removed.
Luckily (and probably the cause) the top side of the undercarriage compartment is fairly thick and quite a lot can be removed. Eventually it settled in, but it still required some filling of the engine to wing fitting.
There is some tidying up to do but it has worked out in the end.
And…
I came to this problem quite late. The fitting of the wings to the fuselage is designed to enable removal of the wings for transportation. I had completely forgotten to test-fit this before putting the locking part into the wing base.
When I came to try to attach the wings they jammed solid well before they seated.
The problem was that I could not see exactly where the jam was occurring. After some rather tentative filing of the wing insert the only way I solved it was by taking small amounts off the joint shown in the photo and test-fitting the increments. It eased quite quickly and the result is a good fit.
I took a small amount off (1) – the leading edge, sanded down the top of all the sections that look like (2) and thinned those sides towards the fuselage
and, (3) I sanded the “rib” all around the edge. Do a bit at a time and test-fit . By doing that you won’t suddenly have a big gap
Stuart Mackay says
Sir, I admire your dedication with the oil canning which will surely take such an outstanding model to another Level!
I could, quite easily run out of superlatives for the work that you have done so far!
Truly amazing, and I can hardly wait for each installment of this epic build!
Max Williams says
You’ve made a wonderful job of the oil canning effect Julian, it should look most realistic under a coat of paint.
RossPaton Paton says
Amazing. You tempted to put the transparent side on it?
Julian Seddon says
Hi everyone ! Thanks for the comments. When I started this I was only thinking in terms of the of the fuselage and wings. But as I looked at more and more references I realized that the stress to the aircraft included everything !! The engine nacelles, u/carriage doors,bomb doors etc. this has all taken much longer than I had anticipated.
I am only finishing up what can be seen.
In answer to you Ross two reasons for not using that transparent sides
a. I have only finished the cockpit everything else internally is not touched. The a/c I am modelling P – OS has all the side windows (barring the radio ops) painted over
b. The would have negated the work on stressing the airframe !
Julian Seddon says
some how in (b) above I have missed out the “transparent sides would have negated ” sorry !!!
Michael Chilestone says
There’s some amazing work there Julian; you have more patience than I do!
I assume the site header on the home page is this model as well? I was particularly struck by the weathering on the bombs: they really look as if they’ve spent a few weeks sitting outside on the bomb dump.
Chapeau!
Julian Seddon says
Thanks Michael, yes the header is the same model.
I tried to make the aircraft look as though it has been sitting next to the bombs for a similar time !!
JS
Christopher Woolford says
In 1967 or early ’68 a noted historian, Professor Alan J.P. Taylor, told me that historians are not custodians of the truth. He said historians make interpretations of verifiable facts. The truth, he said can only be told by creative artists. To illustrate his point, he told me to read Len Deighton’s ‘Bomber’. I did and I will never forget it. The bomb bay of your model is likewise chillingly memorable. Well done.
Julian Seddon says
Thank you Christopher. I must say that the word “chillingly” hadn’t occurred to me, but now, bearing in mind what it represents, the contents of the bomb bay of a Lancaster was chillingly fearful to those on the receiving end of it.
Your quote was well extracted !!
JS
Bruce Anders says
An absolutely fantastic build of the model Julian. It has been a joy to watch it’s progress. I sold mine upon the news HKM would be releasing a 48 version. Your build almost makes me regret it
Julian Seddon says
Hi Bruce, I wouldn’t regret it too much !! This was a grind in many ways as, at first, I had no real concept of the amount of oil canning I was faced with. Almost every part of the air frame showed signs of wear, right down to the fasteners on the engine covers !
Looking back it was worth it but it took some resolve to continue from time to time !!
I am sure that HKM will release a very good 1/48th scale version although I have not, as yet, heard about it
Thanks for your comment !
JS