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.

 

A Quiet Evening in Lincolnshire: Lancaster Diorama Part 3

Time for another quick update on the Lancaster diorama. I’m happy to say that the ground vehicles are now more or less completed, apart from a couple of decals. The diorama will include a David Brown RAF tug and a Bedford MDC light truck from the Airfix Bomber Re-Supply set, mentioned last time, and the classic AEC Matador refuelling tanker, a veteran kit from the old Airfix RAF refuelling set. Last time, I had not even bought the Matador refueller, but I managed to get hold of one from my excellent local model shop, Regal Models of Chatham, and a few days later it is ready to go into the diorama. I have also finished the small hut which will be the only building on the diorama.

 

The Airfix AEC Matador RAF refueller. I based the colour scheme on a Matador in the film ‘In Search of RAF Bomber Command’, a wonderful resource which shows bombers being readied for action back in WW2.  

 

The hut is a model railway kit, though I think it suits the WW2 airfield role pretty well. It has been weathered with enamel paints and a Tamiya weathering set.

I thought I should also capture a couple of photos of the Lanc’s cockpit before I cover it up for ever with its large clear ‘glasshouse’.

 

This is what the Lanc’s nose looks like with the front turret installed: it’s starting to look more like a Lancaster now!

 

Next time, I will show the diorama scenic base and hopefully some shots of the finished Lancaster.

A Quiet Evening in Lincolnshire: Lancaster Diorama Part 2

I thought I’d post a quick update on the Lancaster diorama. Last time I mentioned that I would be adding some RAF ground vehicles to the display to add some life and realism, and these have started to come together in the past week or so. I have been referring regularly to my three volumes of ‘Lancaster at War’, a multi-part reference work which has first-hand accounts from Lancaster aircrews and ground crews as well as many great photos of the Lancs and their crewmen. The photos show how many people and how much equipment was depended upon to service and maintain the aircraft, and it is clear that I need to reflect this in my diorama.

So, I will be using at least one vehicle from the Airfix Bomber Re-Supply set I mentioned last time, plus a die-cast tractor intended for railway modellers. I might also include an Airfix refuelling bowser, as well as several RAF ground crew figures.

I have built the Bedford MVT from the Airfix Bomber Resupply set, and it builds up as a really nice little truck. The kit allows you to build it either as a water bowser or as a light truck with a canvas roof, which is what I chose.

 

I bought a David Brown aircraft tug tractor made as a die-cast model by Oxford Diecast. It’s a nice little model (it really is small, about an inch long) but was in the wrong colour, being in the light blue colour of the Fleet Air Arm, so I repainted it in RAF blue-grey. I’m not sure it’s quite the right colour, but it looks OK. It is also apparently 1/76 scale, so too small for a 1/72 diorama, but again it looks alright to me.

Both vehicles have been painted with Humbrol enamel paints then gently weathered using a Tamiya weathering set. The next job is to buy and build an AEC Matador refuelling bowser kit.

A Quiet Evening in Lincolnshire: Lancaster Diorama Part 1

Growing up in the 1980s, I found myself enthralled by World War 2 history. My grandparents’ generation had lived as adults through WW2 and even 40 years later, it seemed to my young eyes that all the best films, the best comics – and the best model kits – were focused on WW2. In Britain we maintain a strong remembrance of previous wars, particularly WW2, so growing up I was accustomed to seeing the RAF's surviving Lancaster flying over each year as part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and naturally I was very impressed by this mighty, rumbling, graceful machine.

Back in the 21^st Century, and I realised recently that I have never built a model Lancaster. It occurred to me at the same time that some acquaintances of mine are involved with an armed forces charity, and a plan began to form: what if I made a model Lancaster diorama as a fundraiser for them? They quickly agreed and work began earlier this summer. The plan is to create a diorama showing a Lancaster being readied by ground personnel for an evening mission at a Lincolnshire bomber base.

The main focus will be the Lancaster, of course, and for this I chose the  Revell Lancaster Mk.I/III kit in 1/72 scale. This has turned out to be a decent kit with good detail and nice build options. I deliberately didn’t select one of the Dambuster Lancaster kits available because I wanted the model to represent a typical aircraft preparing for a typical mission, rather than a one-off.

The Lancaster is currently about 75% finished. The main assembly is complete, together with the finished paintwork and decals, with the propellers, landing gear, gun turrets and cockpit glazing still to add. The rear vertical stabilisers are finished but still to be added.

To add some life to the scene, I will be adding some ground personnel and RAF vehicles to the display. Luckily, Airfix have just released their WW2 RAF Bomber Re-Supply set, and I will be making good use of the excellent vehicles and ground accessories within to give some purpose to my display. I will also add some figures from Revell and Airfix RAF personnel kits.

Airfix RAF Bedford in progress

 

Next jobs on A Quiet Evening in Lincolnshire:

Finish the Lancaster

Build the ground vehicles

Finish the ground base and figures

 

Down Memory Lane 2: The Teenage Years

It is fashionable for people to recall their teenage years as a period of unfettered and hedonistic rebellion. Just as well then that I’m not interested in being fashionable, as I spent my teenage years resolved to stay out of trouble and lead a quiet life – much like the majority of teenagers, if we are going to be honest. Modelling fitted nicely into that kind of lifestyle, and between the ages of 13 and 18 I picked up some skills which have stood in me good stead ever since.

I can’t think of any obvious reason why a 13 year old in Lincolnshire should be an ardent fan of American cars, but I was. I loved their incredible, dramatic styling, their luxury and size, and their powerful V8 engines. I suppose I had been influenced by the popular TV and film programming of my childhood, with the Dukes of Hazzard, Smokey & the Bandit, Gumball Rally, Cannonball Run, American Graffiti and Steven King’s Christine all making impressions on my mind. Perhaps I was, in a simple childish way, also mystified by the fact that cars at home were very different: I mean, why did people drive around England in Austin Rover Maestro 1.3Ls instead of 5.0-litre Chevrolets? Unhindered by adult practicality, my young mind decided that US cars made much more sense than our own, and I started building them.

My first ever American car kit was a Revell 1979 McLaren Mustang, built when I was about 10. I didn’t know much about the real car, but I made a reasonable job of the model. However, in my mind my American car building career began for real when I built a Monogram 1956 Chevy, bought by my brother Ash for my 12^th birthday. I spent many evenings happily painting parts and gradually building the Chevy, also choosing from the various options in the kit. My Chevy ended up with the slightly unlikely combination of factory wheels and suspension coupled with twin turbos on its old V8 engine. In those days I didn’t paint the car body shells, though I did carefully paint the interior of the Chevy in two-tone blue and white.

In the next couple of years I expanded by American stable nicely, with such additions as a 1958 Ford Thunderbird, 1966 Shelby GT350, 1970 Buick GSX, 1969 Oldsmobile 442, Shelby GT500 and 1966 Ford Fairlane. At this time, my local area (and I think the UK generally) had adopted US diner imagery as a fashionable cultural reference: American-style diners and bars sprung up serving American beers and menus, the shops were full of checked shirts and Caterpillar boots, and my stereo at home played ZZ Top tapes almost every night. At this point, I had stopped building model aircraft entirely, and I had begun to paint all my cars with car spray paint.

It was during this time that I joined a local model club, IPMS Fenland, which I am pleased to see continues to thrive. There I made new friends and also leaned many new tricks, which helped me to generally raise the standard of my builds. While a club member, I built a number of cars which I still own including a 1989 Corvette, Ford F-350 pickup, 1959 Cadillac Eldorado and my first truck model – a Revell Peterbilt 359 custom truck called Black Widow. At my first and only appearance at a model show (in Stevenage, Lincolnshire), I won my first and only trophy: Best in Class for vehicles, awarded to my Ford F-350 pickup. In a hobby dominated at that time by aircraft models, it felt great to win something for the club and to see some recognition of my own emerging skills: at this point I had been modelling for about 10 years.

I continued building, with more cars and another truck coming off the production line in the next year, until I was about 18 years old. At that point modelling began to take a back seat to my social life, and the final builds from my teenage years were an Italeri Volvo F-16 truck and a Monogram 1/12-scale 1957 Chevy.  Soon I left for university, and modelling was forgotten about – but not for long.

To be continued