Avro Anson Mk.I (Special Hobby)

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March 19, 2018
I've had this kit for a few years now, it's time to build it.
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March 19, 2018
Typical short run plastic from several years ago.
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March 19, 2018
The size and shape of the parts conform quite well to my drawings from the Warpaint volume.
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March 19, 2018
I can't wait to mask off all of the windows.
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March 19, 2018
Only aftermarket is the mask set, but I might look for another decal sheet.
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March 19, 2018
Losts of resin, some nice some not. Why 32 cylinder heads when the Annie only has 14?
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March 19, 2018
The tubular framework around the cockpit looks pretty rough. These are the top crossmembers.
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March 19, 2018
Not only a lot of resin flash, but also warped.
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March 19, 2018
Even after cleaning it up, I didn't like the framework.
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March 19, 2018
So I cut it off and glued the sidewalls onto the fuselage.
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March 19, 2018
Always check to see if the clear parts are the right width. It's easier to adjust the fuselage!
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March 19, 2018
I think I can replace the framework with styrene rod. Here is a quick sample I made up, and the original.
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March 19, 2018
A quick attempt at the framework for the port side.
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March 19, 2018
Be very careful cleaning up the beautiful resin cowls.
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March 19, 2018
Special Hobby forgot the day/night indicators for the bomb aimer, so I had to drill some holes.
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March 19, 2018
Some British interior grey/green and a light Future wash. Brings out the detail nicely. At the back of the starboard sidewall is a relief tube.
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March 19, 2018
That's a fire extinguisher up front.
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March 19, 2018
Starting to work on the framework, and the offices for the radioman and the navigator.
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March 19, 2018
It's like building a roll cage for a race car.
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March 19, 2018
Starting to look busy!
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March 19, 2018
The radio operator has a copy of the quick-start guide for the Fiio X5 III high-res music player (really!).
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March 19, 2018
The navigator has a Pub Walk map of London. The pilot just has an instrument panel.
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March 19, 2018
And the rest of the roll cage.
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March 19, 2018
Note the jump seat for the bomb aimer, alonside the pilot.
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March 19, 2018
I like it, and I think it's much nicer than the resin that came with the kit.
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March 19, 2018
None of this will be visible once the canopy and windscreen are added. 🙁
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March 31, 2018
Who says parts aren't numbered in short run kits? You need to use the right ones because...
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March 31, 2018
...you need to have the bulkhead at a slight angle to correct for wing dihedral. Now the gear struts will be nice and straight.
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March 31, 2018
I think this is where they go - at least the struts will emerge from the bottom of the nacelles in the right place.
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March 31, 2018
The struts attach to the ridge on the lower part of the bulkhead.
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March 31, 2018
Hey, it looks like an airplane! Note that I've marked where I have to cut out the landing light.
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March 31, 2018
A couple of Cheetahs.
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March 31, 2018
Special Hobby did a nice job on the fit of the wing roots. Very nice, no filler.
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March 31, 2018
Test fitting the engines...
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March 31, 2018
...and the cowls. Nice.
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March 31, 2018
The postman always brings such nice packages. I like the RCAF version at the top.
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March 31, 2018
Special Hobby provide the landing lights and lens, but make no mention of them in the instructions. Odd.
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March 31, 2018
Notch cut out, and styrene used to close up the hole. I'll probably use clear tape for the lens.
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March 31, 2018
I broke the resin seat support, so I made a new one.
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March 31, 2018
I also had to repair one of the landing gear parts (note the white area).
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March 31, 2018
The landing lights cut to size so they'll fit in the notch.
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May 6, 2018
I had to cut these out by hand because the diecut didn't go all the way through - argh!
43
May 6, 2018
I decided on this scheme, after I had finished building the basic kit. Should have picked this sooner, as we shall see!
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May 6, 2018
Gotta love those stripes, eh?
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May 6, 2018
Let's start with some nice RAF Trainer Yellow...
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May 6, 2018
...and then realise that there is NO turret in this scheme! Yikes! I must learn to read the instructions.
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May 6, 2018
I got lucky cutting this out with a razor saw, as I covered up the seams so well I couldn't see where they were.
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May 6, 2018
The part for a spine without a turret fits OK, now we just need to blend it in and repaint.
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June 3, 2018
After filling the seams, primer, and paint you can hardly tell I messed up!
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June 3, 2018
OK, who convinced me to paint stripes on this baby?
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June 3, 2018
Masking took about three hours, but it was fun. Really. I'm not kidding. No, wait...
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June 3, 2018
I have a lot of small touch up to do, but I think it's pretty close.
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June 3, 2018
I painted the black with Gunze Acrysion paint, and it's not as good as Mr. Color or the Aqueous Hobby paints.
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June 3, 2018
My eyes have gone crossed already, just looking at this. Reminds me of a railroad car or something... 🙂
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June 13, 2018
The stickers are on! I had to stack two sets of roundels so the black stripes wouldn't show through.
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June 13, 2018
The rudder balance was added, I hope I don't break it off!
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June 14, 2018
With a little effort, you can still see all the work I did in the cabin.
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June 14, 2018
Canopy framework came out much better than I expected! Especially after the masks were on for so long.
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June 27, 2018
Engines are on! I also used pastels for some very subtle weathering.
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June 27, 2018
The pastels don't photograph well - it looks better in real life.
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June 27, 2018
I tried to highlight the canvas lines with the pastels - use your imagination. 🙂
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June 27, 2018
Cowlings, temperature sensor on the nose, oil coolers, landing lights, gun barrel, exhausts all added.
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June 27, 2018
Not much left to do - props, pitot, aerial mast, aerial wire, loop antenna, landing light lens...and whatever I forgot.
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July 1, 2018
Finished!
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July 1, 2018
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July 1, 2018
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July 1, 2018
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July 1, 2018
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July 1, 2018
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July 1, 2018
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July 1, 2018

Comments

23 19 March 2018, 23:48

Bill Gilman
And away we go with another project. This time it's the Special Hobby 1:72 kit of the Avro Anson. The kit is miles ahead of the old Airfix offering, but it has its challenges. Especially with the resin framework inside the fuselage (the Anson was mostly wood and canvas). But I think we beat it, have a look at the photos. Cheers, Bill

20 March 2018, 00:11

Dave Flitton
Watching!!!!

20 March 2018, 00:34

Stefan Schneider
Following!

20 March 2018, 10:18

Bart Goesaert
me too, nice start, what one should call start...

20 March 2018, 10:33

Alec K
Great project Bill! The cockpit looks fantastic, and I love the detailing. What are the maps made out of?

20 March 2018, 11:22

Bill Gilman
Thanks mates. The maps were purloined from an Internet search, reduced in CorelDraw and printed out on a Canon inkjet printer on regular old plain paper.

20 March 2018, 14:11

Cuajete
Well done so far. Watching.

20 March 2018, 19:52

Bill Gilman
I've uploaded a few more photos. The progress is a bit slow right now, as we've had a lot of family time, especially for my 63rd birthday. One thing I can say about making it to 63, it sure beats not making it to 63 when you look at my medical history! 🙂

31 March 2018, 22:26

Alec K
Happy belated b-day Bill. Hope you are doing well. Nice progress on the Anson 👍

1 April 2018, 01:50

Patrick Hagelstein
Happy birthday Bill and may your life be long and prosporous!

1 April 2018, 03:39

Bart Goesaert
Happy belated birthday, and I hope many more to come in good health

1 April 2018, 08:27

Guy Rump
Superb detailing Bill and I looked in awe at your frame build.

1 April 2018, 09:33

Christian Keller
very nice. Im watching your progress because i have the same in my stash 😉

1 April 2018, 11:23

Bill Gilman
Sometimes I do the stupidest things. Like that time I built up an entire model with a dorsal turret, only to suddenly discover the markings I wanted to use were for an aircraft with no turret. No, wait, that was this build! What a dolt! Anyway, some quick work with a razor saw and I think we'll be OK. And all this after I left the model where my 2 year old grandson could have a go at it, seeing if it could fly. I fixed all of that damage only to goof up the turret...remind me again why I like modelling. Oh, right, it helps me relax. 🙂

6 May 2018, 23:05

Alec K
Good to know I am not the only one who makes mistakes modeling. In this case, I think I would take the easy way out and switch to a different camo... 😄

7 May 2018, 00:32

Patrick Hagelstein
Dodged that bullit there Bill....

7 May 2018, 04:27

Bart Goesaert
Nice sheme.. and luckily you've seen this now, and not after painting the stripes... would be a double bummer...

7 May 2018, 10:00

Bill Gilman
Well, the stripes are on. A bit of a chore to do all that masking, but nothing too difficult. It turns out the width of the stripes scaled quite close to the 6mm Tamiya tape, so I just used that. I hope no one notices that they are 0.3mm too wide. I have quite a it of touch up to do, especially around the nacelles and other assorted lumps and bumps. But I think it looks kind of cool, as long as you don't look at it too long - otherwise your eyes go crossed.

3 June 2018, 23:25

Spanjaard
excellent Bill. i love your "quick attempt at the framework"... it would have taken me forever 😄 . really excellent job all around

4 June 2018, 07:31

Bart Goesaert
excellent work so far...

4 June 2018, 08:40

Bill Gilman
Thanks, mates. I finally got around to adding the stickers. The roundels from Xtradecal were not opaque enough, and the black stripes were visible through the white section. I ended up stacking two sets of roundels - luckily I had some spares that were the same size and style. I added the rudder balance, blending it in with some filler and then painting. Annie then got a overall flat varnish. The landing gear and tyres went on next, and today I will be removing the canopy masks that have been on for a very long time. I hope they don't give me any trouble.

There is not a lot left to do - add the engines, cowlings, exhausts, props, loop antenna, aerial wire, etc. I don't plan on doing a lot of weathering, as this plane in 1941 (which the markings depict) was relatively new and had most likely just been painted in the training scheme when it was turned over to the Canadians. I'll use pastels, and perhaps some Gunze H95 Smoke Grey for any weathering I do. I have to say, she looks rather smart just the way she is. 🙂

13 June 2018, 13:10

Spanjaard
looking forward final reveal 🙂

13 June 2018, 17:16

Hanno Kleinecke
What an outstanding paintjob Bill ! Masking these stripes to this perfect symmetry must have been quite a
challenge !

13 June 2018, 20:15

Bill Gilman
Thanks mates! The masking for the stripes wasn't as bad as it looks. The stripes (and the spaces in-between) are 6mm wide, exactly the same as Tamiya tape. I was able to keep the width between the stripes consistent by using small pieces of tape as a "spacer." For symmetry, the first stripe on each side was put down with the help of a template I made that had the correct angle. I knew I kept that protractor around for something!

I took off the canopy masks, and fortunately everything came off easily and the edges look pretty good. I don't think I need to touch up any. I was a little worried because the masks had been on for quite some time, but no problems. More importantly, you can still see the detail that I added to the cabin, along with the scratch built framework. After the masks were removed I could see that the forward jump seat has come off, and it's making the rattle. Oddly though, I can't see it - I can only hear it. So I guess that's OK then? I've simply modelled the aircraft as it appeared while the jump seat was out for restitching in the maintenance shed.

Engines are next - one of the engine supports needed to have a bit of resin removed in order to slip into the nacelles. The propellers are pretty weak - maybe the weakest part of the entire kit. I'm going to look through my stash, but I don't think I have anything else that I could use. The props are moulded almost flat, with no pitch at all, and there is no twist to the blades either. They look quite odd actually, and not at all like my reference photos. Those photos are from restored aircraft or museum pieces and I don't know if they're the original props. Research hat on...

14 June 2018, 19:55

Jens
WOW just fascinating work, just great 👍 👍 👍

14 June 2018, 20:13

Patrick Hagelstein
Maybe that's why it's called a jump seat?...

14 June 2018, 22:32

Mike Grant
That is really sharp masking/paintwork. 👍

17 June 2018, 01:40

Łukasz Gliński
Fabulous! How come I missed it till now?

17 June 2018, 09:07

Gordon Sørensen
Great masking job, Bill! It came out looking fantastic!

17 June 2018, 12:29

Cuajete
Fantastic result, Bill!!

17 June 2018, 18:44

Bill Gilman
Creeping ever so closely to the finish line - I never thought I'd see this day after the time that my grandson put the model through its test flight. And, of course, when the bone-headed modeller (me) built the fuselage with provision for a turret. And breaking the canopy off, etc. I thought I was going to have to admit defeat, but somehow everything looks OK. Should have it finished up in a day or so. Cheers, Bill

27 June 2018, 20:03

Patrick Hagelstein
It looks more than OK! Not knowing all the horrors you've had to go through, I would have thought this was one of Bill's meticulously planned and flawlessly executed builds.

27 June 2018, 21:22

Spanjaard
it certainly looks impressive. and seeing all the history behind, even more 🙂

28 June 2018, 06:41

Roland Sachsenhofer
Wow, most beauttiful work, looks adorable clean and neat!

28 June 2018, 07:08

Wilfried Bogaerts
Persevere Uncle, it's going to become a beauty! 👍

28 June 2018, 07:31

Hanno Kleinecke
Your grandson obviously either is a good pilot, or his mechanic is very skilled, no sign of a crashlanding !
Beautiful result Bill !

28 June 2018, 10:15

Bill Gilman
OK, she's finished for sure now! Perseverance is a wonderful thing. I've added several photos of the finished model - the only unfortunate thing at this point is that the only space for it in my display case is on the bottom shelf. I have to get down on my knees to look at it. At my age, that is no fun at all! Cheers, Bill

1 July 2018, 23:39

Glenn
Looks great Bill, But it sure sends you cross eyed!

2 July 2018, 00:22

Spanjaard
she is certainly gorgeous 🙂

2 July 2018, 05:40

Łukasz Gliński
Looking great, you should definitely put it upwards in the display case 👍

2 July 2018, 06:09

Cuajete
Beautiful "wasp". Fantastic finish. Congratulations!

Have a stool next to the display case so you can admire your model on the bottom shelf 😉

2 July 2018, 10:38

Dave Flitton
Looks AWESOME!!

2 July 2018, 18:43

Roland Sachsenhofer
Such a beauty!

2 July 2018, 19:16

Gordon Sørensen
Looks great, Bill! Definately deserves to be higher up in the dispay case!

3 July 2018, 10:11