HK Lancaster RCAF Patrol bomber

[Clunkmeister]

A couple years ago when HK brought out their Avro Lancaster in The One True Scale  (1/32), I knew I had to build the ultimate Lanc, the gorgeous and long lived Lanc 10MR, circa the Cuban Missile Crisis where she served as a blockade enforcer.

Much kitbashing will be needed, including modifying the cockpit to dual controls. The brilliant Airscale panel will be used, and at the time, I somehow convinced Mike Belcher at Belcher Bits to upscale is Lanc 10 decal set, talk Roy Sutherland to make some correct postwar Lanc block tread wheels, and conned Mike Swinburne into doing some 3D printing...
A second Lanc kit will be raided for the extra cockpit parts needed, and the Sprue replaced as soon as sprues become available on ebay.



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She went through many different paint schemes. I’ve chosen the second last version, the last version moving the lightning stripe a bit forward, and sheeting over the entire rear greenhouse. The last version is cool, but the sheeting over the rear greenhouse, to me, takes some of the classic “Lanc” look away...



The version before the one I chose was all kinds of cool as well, but I don’t remember her this way.

[Clunkmeister]

So we took the first step: cut the observer windows in the rear fuselage. Hacking plastic!  No going back now, folks.



Now let’s fix the known dimensional issues with the seat and pedestal.

[Clunkmeister]

Most side windows need to be removed.









And the interior built.

[Clunkmeister]

Let’s prepare the sides to fit after we hacked off a half inch of the pedestal





But does it fit?





Quick, glue it closed before something flies off and gets eaten by the carpet monster!

[Clunkmeister]

So now, I gotta sweet talk Mike into making me look good. 

I somehow convince him to print me some 3D parts. Radome, fuselage side scoop, long range fuel tank, convex observer windows, and the special postwar transport exhausts.



The exhausts are way, wat different from wartime.

















Now let’s eliminate the front turret.



The original turret was sheeted over with aluminum and faired into the fuselage.



First, Milliput was used to smooth the turret and get rid of the frame.
Next, Tamiya tape was used as the aluminum fairing to the fuselage.  All tape was solidified with super thin CA. I didn’t care about fogging the faired over turret.

Yes, this was one of those WTF! were you THINKING! moments in this build











To make it look official, I used Radu’s riveter and marked it all up with rivet rows that halfway followed the frame lines.

[Clunkmeister]

Now it gets interesting, and bit of scratching is needed. Late production Lanc 10s used a Martin turret, which was mounted much farther forward due to it being heavier, so, first, we must make the big, gaping no,e where the kit turret goes disappear.



Next, we need to reproduce the prominent doublers the late war Mk.10 Lancs sported where the Martin turret sat.
Very thin clear Evergreen was cut to fit and mounted. Then Radu’s trusty rivet tool was run over it to make it all official.

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Then, we make a thin blanking plate for what was once where the Martin turret was, and run Radu’s Magic all over it again.  A squirt of primer and away we go.

 



And we start chasing cracks...







Aaaand, it almost looks normal.



But then we find the missed spots and back over the entire shootin’ match, uglifying it like you ain’t never seen...

[Clunkmeister]

Good Grief folks!  I haven’t FUBAR’d the thing yet, so we take the next step.....

Wings.

[Clunkmeister]

But first, let’s fix a really hideous part of this kit. The radiators.

HK have a gorgeous intake, but absolutely no air exits....
So, we hack some in...



Look lovely, doesn’t it?



But wait, there’s more!



And we gotta eliminate the exhaust shrouds.  Fill the slots.



Then slather on some cure-all....

[Clunkmeister]

Yeah, the dreaded wingtips confounded me...











So orange goes on first, then the NMF





Roll on some Mission Models aluminum, followed my Mission Models dark aluminum for contrast,





Squirt some polished aluminum on the power eggs to show the quick change capability of these,...



And finally see how badly we can screw up the deicing boots.

[Clunkmeister]

Now some alchemy.
Turn this thing into silver.





An International Orange band...



And Roundel Blue edging...
Carefully scaled from pictures using the trusty Mk.1a eyeball




A white top, Canadian Voodoo grey from my old stock for the undersides, and stand back, I’m almost impressing myself.

[Clunkmeister]

Belcher Bits decals are some of the finest I’ve ever used. Perfectly in register, insanely researched, and just downright easy to apply.



Mike Belcher printed FM104’s numbers specifically for me. It is, was, and always will be much appreciated

[Clunkmeister]

The bump at the rear is a rear scan camera for the observers.
This might have said RESCUE on it, but it was mostly employed as a Patrol Bomber much like the Liberators once were.
Fisheries Patrol, SAR, ASW work, and Blockade Enforcer

[Clunkmeister]

She’s gonna be huge!

[Clunkmeister]

Painted walkways

[Clunkmeister]

Black hole is the APU exhaust, and the triangle is black paint to hide exhaust stains