Hi All,
since construction of my P-38 proceeds a tad too slowly (new WIP pics hopefully soon) I've decided to post some images of my last build, a 1/48 scale CA Canberra B.62.
Building this kit was a struggle from beginning to end, nonetheless it was a fun and a teaching experience to try new tools, techniques and material. Most importantly the end result is rewarding, at least to my eyes, and the finished model size is imposing.
Now a few tips to accurately depict an argentinean Canberra: I lost the instruction sheet sometime during costruction but as far as I can remember these mods are not quoted there nor the relevant parts included in the kit.
1. fair-over the starboard window at the backseater position; leave only the port window;
2. open the two solid rectangular windows in the cabin ceiling and put in place the two provided transparent parts; alternatively you can leave the solid plastic where it is and paint fake windows in black;
3. scratchbuild two small air scoops and place them at each side of the aircraft belly: they are minute and barely visible on images of the real thing so I've tried to include some pics of my model to help show size shape and position of these items;
4. add the teardrop shaped antenna on the aircaft upper centerline just behind the cockpit;
5. shape two blade antenna from plasticard: they need to be placed on the top and the bottom of the model according to pictures;
6. scratchbuild a "towel rack" antenna to be placed at the upper side of the port wing by the root: again look at the enclosed pics;
7. arrange a wire aerial running from the tail top to a little mast by the cockpit port side;
8. finally, you would like to add two position and two navigation lights.
Other than this you need to actually assemble the model and keep all the parts together. It is not too difficoult but any skill and lot of perseverance are definitely required. One of the main challenges I can recall is hiding as much weight in the aircraft front while providing strenght to the frame to prevent the model from collapsing. Just to give you a figure, there are at least two bulky collars behind the cockpit backwall other than several pieces of lead, hammered to proper thickness, hidden under the cockpit floor. As a result the wing attachment points had to be strenghtened with metal and plastic spars, so the joint between the front and the rear fuselage, while the undercarriage legs were hollowed to receive reinforcing steel pins passing through the resin wheel well and the plastic wing. I cannot state the amount of weight added to counter the model tail-sitting attitude but I can say it never seemed enough. I guess dremelling away as much plastic thickness as possible from the inner part of the tailplanes and the back of fuselage can help to reduce the ballast amount. I started by sanding with very coarse grades all the joints (a very critical one is that between the engine nacelles and the wing) and ended rescribing all the panel lines since they disappeared during the sanding and filing process. The model was primed with automotive spray putty and painted with xtracylics paints (loved that stuff): I replicated the weary look of the original machine by airbrushing structural lines with various shades of the base colour. Decals performed reasonably well between two layers of Klear; I think the argentinean roundels and flags and the large numerals add a lot of character to the model.
I agree that my photo skills need to improve so if you have any suggestion on the matter, as well as questions and any point of discussion on my model please feel free to post them here or to contact me directly.
Thanks for looking and have a great weekend.
Francesco
