Airfix 1:72 Avro Lancaster B.III The Dambusters Aircraft Model Kit, Multicolor, 29.21 x 43.18 x 8.89 cm

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The engine nacelles are well done, and I think capture the seemingly simple but actually quite subtle lines of the real plane well. I would go so far as to say they see the best representation of these that I have seen in 1/72nd scale. The carburettor air intakes are moulded solid, and will benefit from being opened up; and if appropriate, you could add PE mesh intake-guards by Brengun. The propellers for the dambuster option are the pointed type; both these plus the wider paddle blade type are supplied. I am not sure if the pointed type’s chord may appear just a little under-nourished. The spinners however look pretty good to me. As to its competitors from Revell and Hasegawa – You can save around 25-30% on Airfix and buy the less accurately shaped kit from Revell. The price of replacement resin wheels, which really are a must with the Revell kit, will reduce its price advantage however. For around 60-80% more than Airfix you can buy Hasegawa’s kit which offers only more refined panel lines and better props, but falls short on interior detail, no lowered flaps option, and inferior shape in a few subtle places.

I consider this to be the best Lancaster kit so far released, with the promise of several versions including a long-awaited Mk.II. Airfix has I think the best shaped paddle blade props, and possibly the best pointed type too, although this latter type appears to be a bit narrow in chord; in which case Hasegawa could have the edge. Sorry to be vague on this point, but I could not make a firm call. However, Revell definitely comes third in the prop stakes. There is variation in the shape of engine nacelles, with Airfix and Hasegawa being closer to each other and Revell with their own interpretation. In fact I wonder if Revell was just practicing for the horrible Merlin engines on their Halifax kit when tooling their Lancaster, as their Lancaster too has over-sized and misshapen radiator mouths (but nowhere near as gross as the Halifax’s!). The Lancaster’s development and operational history must be one of the best known amongst aircraft modellers and enthusiasts. With this in mind I shall not provide an account here. For those who want to know more the Internet is replete with information on this famous WW2 bomber and the famous Dams Raid, not to mention numerous publications and video documentaries. The operational schemes of the Grand Slam carriers has been discussed from time to time, sometimes heatedly. All too often latter day experts of the self-designated kind are most vociferous in their attempts to impose their alternate facts. Rupert Moore was an experienced and careful observer who took notes. I know whose opinions I trust.Here is one of the best earlier threads re GRAND SLAM Lanc colours. I quote, and muse upon, a lot of Moore's findings as recorded in the Scale Models article in posts 12 and 65. It really does come down to faith: in what/whom do you put your trust: what the colours ought to be as far as we can discern from the available documents from the time combined with the culture of rigid adherence to laid-down standards or the testimony of a skilled and respected artist armed with painted MAP paint samples visiting the aircraft in person with the explicit aim of getting the colours right for a painting he had been commissioned to do. I'm still on the fence, I'm afraid. Elsewhere in the thread people contribute many of the available photos of GRAND SLAM Lancasters. The tail-planes have subtle differences in the angles of the leading a trailing edge. My images aligned with the fin mounting point and ensured the elevator hinge lines were parallel. It is apparent that Airfix overlooked giving the outboard edge of their elevators a chamfer to allow for rudder movement inboard (it is present on the real aircraft). Fortunately this is easy to fix with a simple cut. The tailfins and rudders are all very similar, with Airfix looking the best I think. The Airfix brand offers a wide selection of models in diverse themes. The collection contains simple models and kits rich in qualified details. The range is aimed at both modeling enthusiasts and professional modellers. Here are some of them: As an aside, I often think finished models using the 1981 Airfix kit with its raised surface detail, either retained or sanded off, look more realistic than models using the Hasegawa or Revell kits with their extensive engraved panel lines. However, the more modern kits are clearly easier to build and weather, thanks in a large part to their recessed surface detail.

I agree with RJP - Moore is a most reliable source. However the key date is June 1946. Paul Lucas has taken the matter further, published what he found in some edition (sorry) of Model Aircraft Monthly, and this scheme was adopted for post-war trials. As shown in the photo of one being dropped, the wartime scheme was standard, Moores's observations do not contradict this. Unless of course you can find documentary evidence otherwise, but I fear visits to the NA are not on for you - even were they open at the moment! Venue of England, Airfix specializes in the manufacture of plastic models available in several themes. All you can know about the manufacturer Airfix Who is the manufacturer Airfix?From @EwenS post above it would appear that the undersurface coulour should be Sky, and from the photo's it would appear likely that the PB series specials were delivered in standard bomber command scheme, and the PD series were delivered in the day camouflage scheme. The finesse of the undercarriage legs is extraordinary – probably amongst the best I have seen in this small scale. No flash, just fine, accurate crisp moulding – impressive. Also a nice set of slightly bulged tyres is supplied and when painted and weathered these will add to the final authentic look of your model. Fuselage There are a number of small fuselage windows to add; which some later Lancasters had blanked off. I am quite sure that Airfix has made theirs too deep compared to photos of the real thing, and are also after comparison with the Hasegawa and Revell kits. This is a minor problem however. Small clear inserts rarely fit perfectly due to their angled sides that are needed to release them from the mould, and so frequently require filling around their circumference. Once filled and sanded to fully blend in with the fuselage, the windows can be polished up and simply have a suitably shallower area masked off to ensure that they appear the right size after painting. Lesson: Wash the pieces in warm soapy water before painting them and (perhaps) undercoat them with a neutral colour, particularly if using acrylic paint.

Airfix beats Revell on accuracy and shape quite significantly in some areas (engines, wing dihedral, mid-upper turret fairing, and main-wheels), equals it on internal detail, and falls behind on panel line finesse.

Instructions, decals and painting guide

Pleasingly, the wing panel lines are based on panel skins and not rivet lines, so the wings do not share the patchwork quilt appearance of its Japanese and German competitors. This advantage balances out some of the downside to having deeper and wider surface detail compared to the Hasegawa and Revel kits. I did notice that the panel lines on the wings look wider at first glance than they actually are. This is because the plastic surface has a minutely pebbled finish*, other than a very narrow smooth surface finish either side of the recessed panel lines. These smooth strips either side of the panel line stand out against the pebbled surface making the unpainted line appear wider. There is big price range across the three brands, with Revell at one end, and Hasegawa at the other, whilst Airfix lies on the Revell side of the middle. Airfix is close enough in price to Revell to side with Airfix regardless of extra cost. I think therefore that the choice comes down to Airfix or Hasegawa - You can have a marginally better shape and internal detail, with less surface detail finesse, or more refined surface detail with marginally poorer shape (and either live with poorer internal detail or dress it up at a cost using after-market sets).

The kit is engineered in a slightly unusual way compared to most Lancaster kits because the wings must accept both in-line and radial engine options. Theses differ in the way the nacelles blend with the wing, and so Airfix has cutouts in the wing leading edges to allow for this. The other unusual aspect is the way the two wing spars, having been inserted through the fuselage, then have the wheel well interiors attached directly to them. This then requires that the wings be assembled around the wheel wells and onto the spars. All well and good, except that one of the benefits of building WW2 British heavies is that you can usually assemble the wings separately from the fuselage to aid dealing with seams and enable the wings and fuselage to be painted and decaled separately from each other. All is not lost however, as you can assemble the spars and wheel well structure as per the instructions, then simply cut through the spars adjacent to the wheel well to enable these to be assembled with the wings separately. More than enough spar will be left to slide the wings onto later after painting. The rearmost part of the fuselage adjacent to the elevators is catered for by an insert to allow for slight variances depending on the model of tail-turret fitted.

All you can know about the manufacturer Airfix

Each year, Airfix impresses modeling fans with new featured products and special products. The British brand produces a wide range of kits to satisfy all modeller profiles. The topics presented are varied such as: A figurine is a miniature-sized statuette that reproduces an animal subject or fictional character to scale. It is important to choose the scale of the figurine to ensure the realistic effect of the scale model. The Airfix catalogue offers products in a wide variety of scales: This is a sterling effort from Airfix (which reminds me, if only Airfix rather than Italeri were to release a new Stirling kit!). I consider this to be the best Lancaster kit so far released, with the promise of several versions including a long-awaited Mk.II. The IWM photo of 2 of them together with a standard B1 in standard bomber command colours clearly shows the upper surface colours to be the same, and not the Light Earth/Light Green combination observed by C Rupert Moore.