Canberra PR.9 XH175 - Xtrakit 1/72
![Album image #1 Album image #1](/albums/img/5/4/8/1078548-10003-51-720.jpg)
After some thought, I decided to show the navigator's cockpit open. He entered from the front, the hinged nose was swung to the side. The etched parts are actually intended for the Airfix kit, so they can only be used with adaptation work.
![Album image #2 Album image #2](/albums/img/5/4/9/1078549-10003-33-720.jpg)
Some details were scratchbuilt according to prototype photos. Lead wire (here from plusmodel) is very convenient to shape into the desired forms.
![Album image #3 Album image #3](/albums/img/3/7/8/1086378-10003-56-720.jpg)
The cockpit was painted in Model Color 70.862 Black Grey and received a black wash. Worn edges were simulated with the help of a metallic pencil.
![Album image #4 Album image #4](/albums/img/3/7/6/1086376-10003-46-720.jpg)
The navigators dashboard is included in Eduard's PE set. However, I decided not to try and bend the round viewfinder from a photo-etched part, but made it from some scrap plastic.
![Album image #5 Album image #5](/albums/img/3/7/7/1086377-10003-43-720.jpg)
In the meantime I had also painted the resin seats. On the right the MB.Mk. 4QS seat of the navigator, which looks a bit different from the pilot's seat. It comes from Pavla as the kit offers two examples of the same seat.
![Album image #6 Album image #6](/albums/img/7/5/4/1090754-10003-10-720.jpg)
I gave the Vallejo plastic putty a second chance and used it for a gap on the nose gear well. It's acrylic and cannot be wet sanded as it has the tendency to peel off. However, it can easily be wiped off when still wet. Some lead (fishing supply) was glued under the cockpit in order to prevent the model from being a tail sitter.
![Album image #7 Album image #7](/albums/img/7/5/3/1090753-10003-77-720.jpg)
The PE parts needed to be trimmed a bit as they are intended for the Airfix kit. But in the end they work for the Xtrakit cockpit, too - as long as you don't start to count every gauge.
![Album image #8 Album image #8](/albums/img/7/5/5/1090755-10003-68-720.jpg)
Xtrakit depicts a late PR.9 with a different camera layout than on my 80's jet. So I needed to fill the big camera window on the clear part that'll later go in the aft lower hull.
![Album image #9 Album image #9](/albums/img/4/7/3/1091473-10003-62-720.jpg)
As you can see, in the end I decided to glue the clear part for the aft camera windows in one of the fuselage halves prior to joining both fuselage halves. This allowed me to reinforce it with some clipped sprue. On the other hand a lot of dry fitting with both fuselage halves was necessary before I glued the clear part in the left half. Otherwise you would end up with a bad surprise later on when you try to assemble both fuselage halves.
![Album image #10 Album image #10](/albums/img/4/9/0/1092490-10003-54-720.jpg)
Time to close the fuselage. Step by step for proper alignement using extra thin and fast drying plastic cement.
![Album image #11 Album image #11](/albums/img/4/9/1/1092491-10003-78-720.jpg)
Some stretched sprue was glued on the seams. The glue practically melts the thin stretched sprue which can then be pressed in any gaps. Once the cement and the plastic has dried this can be easily sanded. At least that's the plan. At the same time you can adore your model with your signature finger print...
![Album image #12 Album image #12](/albums/img/0/6/6/1096066-10003-93-720.jpg)
The kit offers only a closed canopy. As I want to show it in an open position I'll need the cut the one-piece canopy in three parts: Windscreen, main canopy and the "bulge" behind the canopy that is part of the fuselage. This bulge will go to the right of the pencil. Here I am making a template to cut some plasticsheet in order to bolster up the area behind the cockpit. The kit part looks a bit too shallow in this area.
![Album image #13 Album image #13](/albums/img/0/6/5/1096065-10003-59-720.jpg)
Some plastic sheet has ben cut using the mentioned template and sanded to fit smoothly.
![Album image #14 Album image #14](/albums/img/5/0/6/1109506-10003-26-720.jpg)
Unfortunately, the CMK landing gear bays for the Airfix kit are shorter than the bays provided by Xtrakit. After giving it some thought and a lot of dry fitting I decided to stick with the original Xtrakit parts. Each of them has a nasty ejector pin that needs to be removed and filled.
![Album image #15 Album image #15](/albums/img/5/0/5/1109505-10003-26-720.jpg)
The ejector pin marks have been eliminated and I'm now adding some wiring to make it look "busy", loosely based on what's visible in the CMK parts and my reference pictures.
![Album image #16 Album image #16](/albums/img/5/0/4/1109504-10003-30-720.jpg)
Excursus: I'd like to try the "dissolved plastic putty" method which Thomas Kolb has described before (see discussion of this build thread). Therefore I've purchased a new bottle of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement and put my side cutter to good work.
![Album image #17 Album image #17](/albums/img/5/0/3/1109503-10003-98-720.jpg)
Moments after the sprue parts have been added to the bottle. Now I'll wait a few days.
![Album image #18 Album image #18](/albums/img/1/5/6/1113156-10003-53-720.jpg)
I'm now working on the jet exhausts. The tubes are assembled from two halves each and have to be sanded thinner to fit into each other and look realistic. I gave the Albion Alloys sanding needles another chance - I haven't been particulary happy with this product. I seems you cannot use them for wet sanding as the sanding material will then start to peel off the sticks. And you cannot use the tapered tip for sanding small holes as there are burrs on the sanding stick. For sanding the tubes from the inside the sticks worked okayish. But I still won't recommend them generally speaking.
![Album image #19 Album image #19](/albums/img/9/8/0/1120980-10003-62-720.jpg)
The jet exhausts are now assembled and have been painted with Alclad II. Some finishing touches were applied with "soot" from Tamiyas "weathering master B" set.
![Album image #20 Album image #20](/albums/img/9/8/1/1120981-10003-26-720.jpg)
The wing tips house the landing and position lights and need some extra attention. First I drilled some holes to simulate the wing's end spar. Then I drilled a hole big enough to insert a 1,5mm lense from modellingtools.co.uk. A pick and place tool was very handy for this task. Before the lense was added, I painted the wing tip area in AK455 True Metal Aluminium and polished it.
![Album image #21 Album image #21](/albums/img/5/2/3/1129523-10003-79-720.jpg)
Especially on the underside of the wings there are a lot of air scoops that look much better when drilled open.
![Album image #22 Album image #22](/albums/img/5/2/4/1129524-10003-37-720.jpg)
The engine nacelles needed some putty and sanding.
![Album image #23 Album image #23](/albums/img/5/2/5/1129525-10003-14-720.jpg)
The wings must be attached at a 90° angle to the fuselage. The best way to do this is to use a jig, like for example this one.
![Album image #24 Album image #24](/albums/img/5/2/6/1129526-10003-43-720.jpg)
A nasty gap shows on the top side of the fuselage-wing joints. I used Revell putty for this. The putty can be softened/moistened with some ultra thin plastic cement. For example you can put a few drops into the putty tube to prevent it from drying up.
![Album image #25 Album image #25](/albums/img/5/5/4/1130554-10003-73-720.jpg)
With the wings attached it was time to glue the horizontal stabilizers in place. Not so easy as the stabilizers need to be glued on in an angle and there are again no location pins. I had a look at reference photos and drawings. The jig played an importan role again, too, while the viscous slow bonding Revell Contacta plastic glue dried.
![Album image #26 Album image #26](/albums/img/5/5/5/1130555-10003-69-720.jpg)
While the glue cured on the horizontal stabilizers I turned to the one-piece canopy. As I'd like to show it in the opened position the canopy needs to be cut in three parts. Here I have already separated the windscreen. At the rear of the canopy you can see where the second cut needs to be placed.
![Album image #27 Album image #27](/albums/img/9/4/2/1134942-10003-76-720.jpg)
On the underside, some details of the camera system must be backdated. This includes scribing some new camera hatches.
![Album image #28 Album image #28](/albums/img/9/4/3/1134943-10003-25-720.jpg)
The Xtrakit wing tip lights depict those of late PR.9 machines. For my 70's/80's bird I needed the early all clear version. Some sanding and polishing with Tamyia polishing compounds took care of it.
![Album image #29 Album image #29](/albums/img/5/7/1/1137571-10003-75-720.jpg)
Some scratch and PE detail was added around the cockpit opening before painting it black.
![Album image #30 Album image #30](/albums/img/5/7/0/1137570-10003-60-720.jpg)
First I sprayed some black, followed by highlighting with a slightly lighter shade of black. Any prominent details were then highlighted with a grey pencil.
![Album image #31 Album image #31](/albums/img/2/6/2/1139262-10003-48-720.jpg)
I treated myself to a turned metal pitot tube from Master. It's only 4mm long but as it was not included in the kit the purchase of the Master part made all the more sense - and it was only about 3 € - ok, that's almost one Euro per Millimeter...
![Album image #32 Album image #32](/albums/img/3/4/6/1139346-10003-80-720.jpg)
Ready for some primer! The model has been cleaned with some alcohol to remove any grease.
![Album image #33 Album image #33](/albums/img/1/7/7/1143177-10003-85-720.jpg)
I used Vallejo's grey surface primer, diluted with some drops of the same brand's airbrush thinner and a few drops water.
![Album image #34 Album image #34](/albums/img/0/4/3/1144043-10003-34-720.jpg)
The first "real" colour has been sprayed on! Xtracrylix' "RAF Light Aircraft Grey" for the belly of this not so small jet.
![Album image #35 Album image #35](/albums/img/4/7/4/1147474-10003-21-720.jpg)
Some serious masking work has taken place. Next I'll spray the Dark Sea Grey.
![Album image #36 Album image #36](/albums/img/8/2/9/1149829-10003-76-720.jpg)
Before the Dark Sey Grey went on I sprayed some Future along the lines of the masking tape. I hope this will fill any small gabs where the masking tape does not sit properly on the model surface and help to achieve more or less flawless demarcation lines with no Dark Sey Grey getting under the masking tape. We'll see... After the Dark Sey Grey was on I sprayed some more Future. This time covering all non-masked areas.
![Album image #37 Album image #37](/albums/img/9/7/7/1150977-10003-88-720.jpg)
I spent several hours masking the "disruptive camouflage" pattern. Different aircraft show slightly different patterns. And even one and the same aircraft can be seen with different patterns on different photos. I tried to get as close to "reality" for my XH175 airframe as possible - but I'm sure there's more than one mistake. The white paper circle matches the size of the wing's RAF roundel. Like this I was able to check the relative position of the grey and green camouflage to the roundel.
![Album image #38 Album image #38](/albums/img/9/7/8/1150978-10003-95-720.jpg)
Photos suggest that only the Light Aircraft Grey and the Dark Sea Grey sport a crisp demarcation line. The Dark Green on the other hand looks a bit scraggy with overspray here and there. I tried to replicate this look using small sausages of UHU patafix. Germans will notice from the price tag that my package of patafix is already some years old. But it still works.
![Album image #39 Album image #39](/albums/img/9/7/9/1150979-10003-30-720.jpg)
Well, the patafix trick was only partially successfull. The Dark Green should have even softer transitions. Perhaps I'll try some very slight sanding with very fine grit.
![Album image #40 Album image #40](/albums/img/9/8/0/1150980-10003-77-720.jpg)
![Album image #41 Album image #41](/albums/img/3/6/2/1155362-10003-62-720.jpg)
With the main paint job completed it was time to do the detail paint work. For example there are no decals for the fuel tank nozzles. I masked those squared and painted them aluminium first. Then I masked a circle and painted the remaining area black. Before and in between I applied coats of future to prevent the aluminium and black colours from creeping under the masking tape.
![Album image #42 Album image #42](/albums/img/3/6/1/1155361-10003-19-720.jpg)
Detail painting is no more or less complete. Time to start the decal work. This was when it occured to me that neither the Model Alliance sheet I'm using for XH175 nore the Xtrakit decal sheet offer the 70's/80's style stencils 🙁.
![Album image #43 Album image #43](/albums/img/7/0/9/1155709-10003-51-720.jpg)
The Model Alliance decals went on like a charm and needed only very little decal softener. Now if I only had one of the decal sheets from the Revell re-box of the Matchbox kit or from the new Airfix kit to source those stencils from...
![Album image #44 Album image #44](/albums/img/4/7/1/1164471-10003-34-720.jpg)
Boy there are lots of stencils! I was able to find a Revell re-box and can now use that decal sheet - plus an old Modeldecal sheet which offers also some PR.9 stencils. For the latter I'm using Mark Fit Super Strong as they are very thick.
![Album image #45 Album image #45](/albums/img/1/8/5/1169185-10003-77-720.jpg)
After another coat of Future one of my favourite parts of modelling started: giving the model a wash with diluted grey oil paint in order to make the surface come to live. No need for any fancy oilbrushers here. Just a home made mix from black and white oil paints diluted with Humbrol enamel thinner. I keep the mixture in a jar in order to be able to use it again.
![Album image #46 Album image #46](/albums/img/1/8/3/1169183-10003-14-720.jpg)
The finished underside. Okay, I ended up using one oilbrusher for a different shafe for some selected panels.
![Album image #47 Album image #47](/albums/img/1/8/4/1169184-10003-67-720.jpg)
Compared to picture #39 this looks already much more like it.
![Album image #48 Album image #48](/albums/img/0/0/1/1173001-10003-98-720.jpg)
After all the painting was done I removed the canopy again and added two little hinges that will later support the canopy in an open position.
![Album image #49 Album image #49](/albums/img/3/2/3/1176323-10003-53-720.jpg)
There are some air scoops missing in the kit that need to be scatch built. Here one of them is already waiting on the tip of my pick & place tool while I'm scraping away the paint where the part needs to go. Always a bit scary to employ the scalpel on a finished model surface...
![Album image #50 Album image #50](/albums/img/5/6/1/1176561-10003-32-720.jpg)
The underside is nearing completion. All of the landing gear parts including the wheels are in place.
![Album image #51 Album image #51](/albums/img/5/6/2/1176562-10003-63-720.jpg)
And...it's a tailsitter! Despite the weight that has been put in as you can see in photo 6. Well, nothing to do about that anymore. I could still add some weight to the nose cone, but I doubt it would suffize. And the nose mustn't be too heavy as I'll display it hinged in an open position.
![Album image #52 Album image #52](/albums/img/4/9/9/1184499-10003-28-720.jpg)
There's always something left to do: when I had the nose attached I noted that a quite prominent hinged bar was still missing. So I built one from parts from the spares box.
![Album image #53 Album image #53](/albums/img/5/0/0/1184500-10003-16-720.jpg)
Eduard's PE fret offers static dischargers that I happily fell back on. The number of dischargers seems to have grown during the operating time of the Canberra. My 80's bird seems to have had less than the PR.9s in Hemp camouflage.
![Album image #54 Album image #54](/albums/img/2/8/4/1187284-10003-87-720.jpg)
It is done! Now I'll turn to the display base.
![Album image #55 Album image #55](/albums/img/2/8/5/1187285-10003-87-720.jpg)
The ladder is a 3D-printed item from ebay UK, look for seller jscotterill.
![Album image #56 Album image #56](/albums/img/2/8/6/1187286-10003-33-720.jpg)
![Album image #57 Album image #57](/albums/img/2/8/7/1187287-10003-71-720.jpg)
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![Album image #59 Album image #59](/albums/img/3/7/4/1535374-10003-90-720.jpg)
An important note for the navigator!
![Album image #60 Album image #60](/albums/img/9/5/3/1187953-10003-51-720.jpg)
As my Canberra is a tailsitter I thought of a way to keep the model on all three legs on the display base: I bent a piece of brass wire into a hook. This grips around the nose gear from above and thus keeps the Canberra in balance.
![Album image #61 Album image #61](/albums/img/9/5/4/1187954-10003-31-720.jpg)
I bought a set of PJ production figures (721119 RAF pilots standing 90's) to give a reference and hint to the size of the Canberra jet. I'm not sure though if the figures are wearing the correct suits and gear for a PR.9 ride. Perhaps they are only walking by to another aircraft or the officers' mess...
![Album image #62 Album image #62](/albums/img/9/5/5/1187955-10003-10-720.jpg)
The passers-by are painted and the matching frame was added. The only thing still missing is a metal name plate which should arrive in the next few days.
Comments
82 26 September 2021, 19:01
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I'm also in. Your previous works look amazing btw, just ran into them a moment ago.
28 September 2021, 19:05
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Thanks guys! Progress is slow but steady so far. The navigator's cockpit took quite some time as I first needed to sort out what I wanted to show and where I could get the parts from - the kit, Eduard's PE set and some scratch built.
10 October 2021, 12:20
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Abendschule für Modellbauer , die noch etwas lernen wollen , nehme gerne Platz 😉
10 October 2021, 19:20
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Thanks a lot for your comments! Both cockpits (pilot and navigator) have now been glued in one of the fuselage halves. I am still not sure if I should glue the clear part for the camera windows into one half of the fuselage already now, or if it is better to put it into the complete fuselage later.
16 October 2021, 16:00
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A lot of effort invested into the cockpits, looking great ! Checkin' in on this one…
17 October 2021, 21:24
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Great tips and I love the narration to the pictures! It looks like another beautiful build.
18 October 2021, 10:16
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The thing with the stretched sprue worked ok, not perfect. I still had to fill a few tiny holes. I'll try to make my own "liquid plastic" as to Thomas Kolb's instructions. One question for Thomas: did you use a new full bottle of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement and put the sprue bits in it - or did you use a bottle with only a bit of cement left?
24 October 2021, 16:17
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Ambitious! I will follow with interest and pleasure, of course!
24 October 2021, 17:10
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Bernd, I use a brand new bottle and drop in small pieces of sprue. It takes about a week before the 'witches brew' is fully usable, but after that, it is by far the best filler material I have ever tried. The only downside is that it takes quite some time to dry. Sanding is fine after 24 hours, but if you need to rescribe in the new surface, you should wait at least a couple of days.
24 October 2021, 21:32
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Looking great so far. I'm building this kit currently too, though all the pics are in my Instagram
13 November 2021, 11:29
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Thanks you, Robert, Thomas and Sparky!
@Thomas: I'll try that! I have already bought a new bottle of Tamiya extra thin cement at my LHS. How big were the bits of sprue? Like 5 mms? Or do they need to be smaller?
@Sparky: I found your insta account. You're already far ahead of my build. I still need to attach the wings - and I can also already see this will not be an easy task.
13 November 2021, 13:13
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Bernd, I just cut them up in small pieces, like 5-10 mm or so, thinking that smaller pieces will dissolve more quickly. It takes a few days for everything to turn to a gray goo, just give the bottle a shake now and then. Just don't apply too thick layers , or it will create a crust and the deeper layers will then take weeks to solidify.
13 November 2021, 18:13
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I've used some dissolved plastic on the jet exhaust tubes and it worked fine! Thanks again for the hint, Thomas!
By the way, does anyone know a good sanding product to sand round parts like tubes from the inside? I know the Albion Alloys sanding needles but I'm not really happy with them - I'm explaining why in the caption of the latest photo.
20 November 2021, 20:06
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Bernd, I am glad to have provided a useful tip! Regarding the sanding needles, my experiences exactly - not recommended at all. I have resorted to use slices of sanding paper wrapped around a cocktail stick. It is not very convenient but does the trick.
20 November 2021, 20:41
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Yes, I've also helped myself with some sanding paper and toothpicks. But I really wish there was a round grinding tool - preferably one where the diameter can be adjusted.
20 November 2021, 21:16
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Thanks, Oleg, Cuajete, Oliver and Thomas!
The wings needed more time than anticipated. I completed them including the engine nacelles before they were glued to the fuselage. Now I'm waiting for the putty to dry in order to sand the wings-fuselage joints.
I already start looking forward to build a more "shake-n-bake" kit after this one 😄
With the wings on it starts to become clear how big the model will be in the end. The Canberra was no little jet for sure.
18 December 2021, 14:16
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I know the feeling ... those level 1 Airfix kits are great to restore sanity. But just keep soldering on, the end result will be worth it! It's a big bird for sure.
18 December 2021, 14:58
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Good progress, Bernd.
And thanks for your advise with the putty and thin plastic cement 👍
18 December 2021, 19:27
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Thanks Cuajete, glad to be of help!
@Thomas: The next project has already been decided: it will be Bandai's Y-Wing. A Christmas present for my brother - even though it won't be finished until after Christmas. Last year (actually it was at the beginning of 2021) I've already built Bandai's B-Wing which was a treat! Just painting and glueing.
19 December 2021, 17:34
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Bernd, this is how all kits should be. Especially for those of us who have a lot to do 😄
19 December 2021, 18:42
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Thanks a lot Rui and Bernd!
My build is slowly coming together. Again and again I am slowed down by necessary changes in details as I want to build a "middle"-PR.9 1979 whereas the Xtrakit is originally meant to be the latest Canberra PR.9 version. I already know that I probably won't pick up/notice all the necessary changes.
27 December 2021, 14:38
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Thanks again Cuajete!
The cockpit area is now more or less finished. Next I'll glue the windscreen in place.
31 December 2021, 13:12
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Bei all dem Zubehör kommt es auf die 3 € auch nicht mehr an - richtige Entscheidung ! 👍
2 January 2022, 18:59
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Saturday afternoon was spent painting the first "real" colour. I chose Xtracrylix for the "RAF Light Aircraft Grey" as I thought they probably know what they are doing when it comes to RAF colours - being a Hannant's brand and all.
@Oliver: Ja, ich bereue die Entscheidung nicht! Das kleine Pitotrohr sieht wirklich gut aus.
8 January 2022, 20:08
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I log myself into this build too. And already two useful tricks learned. Thanx for sharing. Wish you good progress.
15 January 2022, 18:18
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Thanks, Michael! Of course, all the hints I'm giving here are not my own but read elsewhere on the internet or seen in some Youtube tutorial.
The main paint job is now done. Overall, I am quite satisfied. Even if the transitions from dark green to dark sea grey could be a little smoother.
16 January 2022, 20:26
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I've hit some kind of dead end for the moment 🙁 It occured to me that neither the Model Alliance sheet I'm using for XH175 nore the Xtrakit decal sheet offer the 70's/80's style stencils 🙁. Does anyone have a spare sheet of Revell's boxing of the ex-Matchbox Canberra PR.9 in 1/72nd scale? On that one there are the "old school" stencils I'm looking for.
23 January 2022, 09:59
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Fantastic work so far, Bernd, nevertheless. I am impressed with these painted details.
23 January 2022, 10:51
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Thanks, Robert!
In the end, I could have saved painting the tank nozzles. I was lucky and found a Revell Canberra online at a reasonable price. In parallel, I also discovered that there is a Canberra PR.9 decalsheet from Modeldecal (#85). Now I had enough stencils to proceed - including some for the tank nozzles. However, the latter decals are very thick and Mr. Mark Softer had little effect. Fortunately, my LHS had Mark Fit Super Strong in stock. This made it easier to tame the Modeldecal stencils.
And there are really lots of stencils! I guess this will take me another weekend!
5 February 2022, 22:03
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Thanks Guy and Cuajete! I've now added some washing and weathering. Nothing too heavy though as my reference photos show an aircraft that seems to be in very good shape. After all they couldn't allow to accumulate too much dirt as that would have slowed down the defenseless recce-jet!
13 February 2022, 12:01
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Thanks a lot, Mirko and Ekki!
The other day I almost had a nervous breakdown when I pulled off some masking tape and with it part of an underlying quite prominent stencil. I had applied the masking tape around the black escape hatch area of the navigator in order to spray a flat finish on it. Of course, I had protected all decals with a layer of Future - or so I thought. Well, nothing I could do anymore for that poor decal which is now a bit smaller than before.
A day later, while trying to add some small PE part to the windscreen, it fell into the cockpit and dissapreared into the fuselage, never to be seen again. Not sure if my neighbours heard me swearing afterwards or if the walls were thick enough.
In the "grand scheme" of things these are, of course, only very small setbacks.
19 February 2022, 17:18
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Keep calm and carry on, Bernd 😉 You're approaching the finish line in fantastic style here!
19 February 2022, 18:19
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Thanks for the encouragement! Talking about style: The "disruptive camouflage" only won by a whisker against the early all silver version of the PR.9 when I picked out the colour scheme before starting the build. And that was mainly because I already had a decal sheet shelved for this version and not for the silver one. But in the end I liked the camouflaged scheme the more I worked on it.
19 February 2022, 21:23
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Almost there! 👍 Just looked up on my cupboard with an Airfix PR.9 staring at me and saying:"Build me in Chilean markings!" 🙂
19 February 2022, 21:26
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Not as cool choice as the hemp one, but still waaay nicer than a silver one ;p
Can't stand waiting to see it finished 👍
20 February 2022, 12:31
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Thanks Mirko and Łukasz! Yes, Mirko, the Chilean ones look very nice, too! Plus they come with an interesting history.
I'm proceeding slowly but steadily. This weekend I'm attaching air scoops and antennas as well as the landing gear and wheels. A few of the air scoops are missing in the kit and need to be scratch built.
26 February 2022, 21:53
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Der tailsitter ist wirklich ein Jammer trotz der Bleibirne 🙁 ! Ich hatte bei meiner modellversium.de/gal..dene-hersteller.html das gleiche Problem, das hilft nur noch eine transparente, wenig sichtbare Stütze unter dem Rumpf
27 February 2022, 09:02
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Oliver, in fact I'm considering fixing the nose landing gear with some kind of hook or pin to the display plate I'm currently preparing. I hope I'll finish everything in time for Lingen.
The nose has now been glued in the open position and all the small items like seats and antennas have been added. The model itself now only needs its canopy and the aerial wire.
13 March 2022, 20:40
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Finally the model is finished! I had some trouble adding the aerial antenna wire and the open canopy. But in the end everything worked out when I combined patience and curses.
I'll now work on the display base, in fact it's alreay quite advanced. So at the moment it looks like I will be in fact able to show the Canberra at the Lingen EME show next weekend!
19 March 2022, 20:11
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Amazing, wish I could go to Lingen to behold it 👍
(even though I prefer straight nose Canberras 😉
19 March 2022, 20:23
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Beautiful job Bernd, my dad flew in PR 7s and worked with the PR 9s in the 50s and 60s. I'd really like to find a PR 7 model one day. 👍
19 March 2022, 20:28
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Klasse Ding !!! Dann hüte auf der Fahrt nach Lingen das gute Stück bloß wie Deinen Aufapfel 😉
20 March 2022, 09:07
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Thanks a lot Łukasz, Guy, Cuaete and Oliver! I'm happy that I managed to finish the project in time for next week's model show in Lingen, Germany.
@Łukasz: The open nose definitely breaks up the sleek silhouette. But once I decided on it there was no way to omit this feature 😄
@Guy: A state-of-the-art model of a PR.7 would definitely be most welcome! By the way I'm right now reading "Canberra Boys" by Andrew Brookes where the author has collected stories and memories of Canberra crews of all marks. Perhaps you might also be interested in it,
@Oliver: Yes, I'll now construct a safe transport box for the model to get it to Lingen by train unharmed.
20 March 2022, 16:58
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I'm really impressed by your result, a great paintjob and great depth in detail !
20 March 2022, 20:41
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Thanks a lot, Cuajete, Hanno and Ekki!
Everything is now packed and ready for travel day to Lingen tomorrow! I'm very much looking forward to it after two years without any model shows.
24 March 2022, 18:07
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Good luck in Lingen, Bernd!
It will look great among other works of art 👍
24 March 2022, 19:00
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Very nice and clean build. 👍 Looking forward to keep an eye on it at EME.
24 March 2022, 19:33
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Back from Lingen where everything went well despite transporting my models by train! It was a very nice event and it was great to talk to so many people after two years without the show.
@Daniel Mysak: I just realized now that it was you with that excellent Swedish Canberra!
29 March 2022, 06:37
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Did the primer work ok? I've started spraying Vallejo primer on mine but where I've gone back and sanded a seam the primer is peeling off because the plastic is so shiny
10 November 2022, 20:45
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Sparky, this is a problem not so rarely seen with acrylic primers and the reason why I do not use them anymore. Solvent based primers are much less prone to this problem. Prepping the surface with Isopropyl alcohol might ameliorate it.
10 November 2022, 22:22
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As Michael suggested I wiped down the model with a cloth and alcohol. That worked for me and I didn't have any trouble with peeling off primer. On the other hand I sanded the primer only very carefully after the primer had time to fully cure. But I remember that I had to experiment quite a bit to find the best mix/dilution for the Vallejo primer. I used a large needle but had to pause and remove dried primer from the nozzle every few minutes. That made working with this acrylic primer quite time consuming.
11 November 2022, 22:45