A Quiet Evening in Lincolnshire: Lancaster Diorama Finished!

My WW2 Lancaster diorama, A Quiet Evening in Lincolnshire, is finally finished. You can read all about the making of it in previous blog posts, so I won't say too much: instead I’ll let the photos do the talking.

 

 

 

AEC Matador refuelling bowser tops up the Lanc's starboard tank

 

 

 

Three 'erks' work on the port-inner Merlin engine while an officer looks on

 

 A sergeant arrives in a Bedford MW, accompanied by a WAAF

 

Important documents arriving by bicycle

 

A father and his two sons watch progress from behind the hedge

Z-Zulu, the star of the scene, a Lancaster B.III

 

 

 

To make this diorama I used:

Revell 1/72 Lancaster B.I/III

Airfix 1/72 Bomber Resupply Set

Airfix WW2 RAF Personnel

Revell WW2 RAF Ground Crew

Oxford Diecast 1/76 RAF David Brown tractor

Wills 1/76 weigh bridge hut

Model Scene 1/76 schoolboys and master

Woodland Scenics foliage and scenery

A Quiet Evening in Lincolnshire: Lancaster Diorama Part 5

Time for a quick update on the WW2 RAF bomber base diorama. The Lancaster is now practically finished, with a just a handful of aerials and navigation lights to fit, so I thought I would take advantage of a break in the rain to take it outside and get some photos. You can see some white blobs in the cockpit, which are caused by the PVA glue I used to attach the glazing. It will be clear and invisible when it’s dry.

 

The ‘Lanc’ was painted with Humbrol paints. First I airbrushed the whole plane with no.30 enamel for the green, then hand-painted no.29 brown enamel to make the camouflage pattern. The upper surfaces were then masked off and the extensive black underside was sprayed with Humbrol gloss black acrylic paint from an aerosol can. 

The whole model was then sprayed with Humbrol gloss acrylic aerosol paint to provide a good smooth base for the decals (transfers). When the decals had been applied and allowed to dry, the aircraft was sprayed with Humbrol matt acrylic. The main reason for this part of the process is to prevent silvering of the decals, which often happens if they applied onto a matt surface – air remains trapped beneath the decals and the rough matt surface, and gives a silvered or frosted look to the markings. Trapping the decals between a gloss undercoat and a matt overcoat not only minimises silvering, but also helps to blend the decals in so they appear to be painted on. Actually it didn’t work 100% on this model, though I was able to resolve the silvering using a technique I found online, and which I will go into another time. Some subtle weathering was applied using dilute black oil paint, especially on the wing surfaces behind the exhausts so represent exhaust staining. Detail parts such as the turrets, cockpit glazing, under carriage and propellers were fitted after painting was completed.

Now the Lancaster is ready to be placed in the diorama, and the vehicles and figures placed around it to create the scene. Most of the work is now done, and the diorama should be finished very soon.

A Quiet Evening in Lincolnshire: Lancaster Diorama Part 4

 

Work continues on the Lancaster diorama, and as I am due to hand it over to the charity volunteers in the first week of October, I need to be getting to the final stages of the build. The Lancaster itself is almost finished, the ground vehicles and ground crew are finished, and now the scenic base itself is finished.

The base of the base – if you follow me – is a 50cm x 60cm offcut of MDF, provided very cheaply by my local branch of B&Q. This I sprayed black. On top of this is a sheet of brown mounting card to serve as a basis for the scenic materials to stick to. I avoided putting the actual scene directly on to the board in case it went wrong and had to be reworked, in which case I would have wasted the board: it’s safer to stick the scenery to the card, which could always be replaced if necessary.

I used  Woodland Scenics scatter material for the grass, stuck down with diluted PVA glue and with Spray Mount craft adhesive, then over-sprayed with Humbrol olive green acrylic paint to add some variety to the colour tone. The hedge is made of Woodland Scenics foliage material, broken into pieces and glued down with PVA. The farm track was created by adding brown scatter material, and the boundary fence is made of short pieces of cocktail sticks glued into place as posts, with fine black wire used as fencing wire. To add some interest to the hedge, I added some small twigs from the garden to represent tree trunks and branches, which perhaps would have been felled a few years ago when the airfield was commissioned.

 

Next jobs: finish the Lancaster and add all the components to the base, creating the diorama.