KIT COMMENT
FROG LANCASTER
MODELDECALS LATEST SHEETS

DURING the last few years that the Aviation News Sales Centre and its predecessors have been visiting air shows up and down the country there can be no doubt that the most popular item to have on sale next to the Spitfire, Concorde or Red Arrows, is the Lancaster. This is possibly a trend peculiar to the British market but we would have thought that there might have been more. Lancaster models available in the same way that the Spitfire (in certain Marks) has been perpetuated in model form. It was therefore with interest that we awaited the release of the Frog Lancaster announced at the Trade Fairs earlier this year.

At first sight the box art is interesting as it depitcts a Lancaster taking off in almost the same position as that on the box of the Airfix model of the same aircraft. Look closely however and you will see that the Airfix one is landing! This must be very confusing to the sales staff in certain shops where the enthusiast is not catered for but on first impressions we found this comparison immediate and wondered why it had been made so obvious.

This is but a minor point and one that should not disuade the keen modeller from adding the kit to his collection. Generally speaking the model is an excellent one. All the refinements that we have come to expect from kits since the advent of the first 1:72nd scale Lancaster from Airfix have been made and things such as surface detail, cockpit interior and undercarriage are well designed and considered.

There are however two major faults in this model. The first is fairly obvious in that a passing glance at the transparencies will reveal that the mid-upper turret is completely the wrong shape. The second upsetting point is that the outboard engines are set too low on the centre line of the wing and although not immediately noticeable can instantly be seen to be wrong when comparing the model with a photograph or even the camouflage views of the Lancaster on the box art.

These two important factors naturally tend to flavour any review of the model as a whole but we repeat that Frog's Lancaster is a good one and should not be cast aside for these reasons.

We welcome, for instance the fact that the aircraft produced, although a B.Mk.I, has the bulged bomb bay and contains an excellent replica of the 12,0001b block-busting bomb complete with accurate cradle and bomb bay interior. The cockpit is well designed, has sufficient added to show the main shapes of the various crew positions and there's even a bomb sight included in the nose position.

The construction of the model was fairly straightforward. It is more difficult than its Airfix predecessor but this is only to be expected as there are many more parts involved and the interior detail has all to be constructed before the fuselage halves can be joined.

An innovation not previous seen on a Frog kit is the inclusion of a small 'main spar' which fits through the fuselage and projects several inches on each side. This is a good idea and will considerably help the packing away of the model for storage. With the normal 'tab and slot' fixing combined with the 'main spar' the wing sits nicely in position without having to be glued and can be easily removed when required as will be seen later.

As far as the mid-upper turret is concerned we almost threw this away and started again as it is so totally wrong. The entire shape of the Lancaster's top gun position has been missed although the fuselage surrounding it is the right shape and need not be modified.

There is no other turret available from another model to replace the wrongly shaped one and even the Airfix Lancaster's mid-upper is not correct so the solution for .those who demand absolute accuracy is to mould your own. This is not an easy job as it will have to be done in two halves to get the complicated shape right. What a pity that an essential detail like this had to be overlooked and although there may be a perfectly good explanation it does not satisfy the modeller whose standards are high.

Similarly fairly drastic surgery has to be done on the outer engines. These have been positioned too low on the wing centre line and mean that the undersurface has to be cut out before assembly and the engine nacelle let in. Large amounts of body putty will have to be used to complete the work as the upper surface of the engine moulds itself into the top of the wing as correctly shown on the Airfix model. Possibly a combination of Airfix and Frog parts might overcome the problem but to do this would mean using the Airfix inner engines and the undercarriage as well. There seems to be no easy way out of this problem though when viewed casually the nacelles of the Frog Lancaster do not seem incorrect It is only when detailed study is made to check accuracy that things like this are found.

The turret interiors, to return to this subject, are good and the scale of the .303 machine guns therein correct. One small point worth noting is that the rear turret needs a little modification as the centre perspex between the guns is missing but can be easily remedied. A small piece from an Airfix stand can be used to correct this ommision.

Decals on the Frog Lancaster, like all others in their range, are superb. This is where the kit really scores as they are accurate and give two alternative schemes and a lot of detail. Lancaster B.Mk.Is from Nos. 617 and 9 Sqdns, as they appeared in 1945, are featured, the former being NG494 KC.B and the latter LM220 WS:Y Included are the correct manner in which the code letters were repeated on the upper and lower surfaces of the tailplane. all wing-walk lines and the dinghy pack marker. The No.9 Sqdn. aircraft was that flown by Flt Lt W. D. Tweddle DFC and has an impressive bomb tally and some nose art just below the cockpit to add to the attraction of this model. Painting the kit should present no problems. The use of an airbrush to provide the smooth matt black of the undersides is however advised and this should be masked before the upper surface green and brown is applied. The use of having the wings removeable at this stage cannot be overemphasised as to get the straight line between the black and the camouflaged is very difficult to do if the wings are glued in place.

Having spent several days making this model we feel that it can be given a high mark for keeping up to present day standards and has many additions over its previous rivals in 1:72nd scale. If doing the kit again though we would definitely see if there was a way in which the wings of the Airfix kit could be married to the fuselage of the Frog one and thus eliminate the outer engine problem. The matter of the mid-upper turret cannot be solved so easily although the use of the Airfix turret would be better in some respects if the individual neither has the time or ability to mould his own.

Readers will note that in the first edition of Model Mail on page 11 that we have been able to offer this kit at a greatly reduced price over the fult 1.65 which is the normal retail one.

Aviation News Vol 5 Num 12 14 - 28 November 1976

Model Enthusiast
A welcome Lanc

It is a long time since we have had a new 1/72nd scale kit of the Avro Lancaster and Frog's promise of a new release engendered keen anticipation among modellers. The Airfix kit was very good for its time and has enjoyed long and well-deserved popularity, but it has been overtaken by manufacturing developments, while the Revell kit suffered various inaccuracies. Frog's offering, if falling somewhat short of perfection, is nevertheless a worthwhile advance over its predecessors, providing a reasonably convincing miniature replica of this most famous of WW II heavies. The kit comprises 122 component parts moulded, apart from the transparencies, in that dark blue-grey plastic to which Frog adheres so doggedly. The external surface detailing is finely done but could well have been more extensive, and for some obscure reason, detailing has been completely omitted from the outer engine nacelles, although neat panel lines appear on the inner nacelles!

Presumably, this omission will be corrected in due course. An unfortunate error appears on the undersides of the engine nacelles where the bottom line of the radiator housing sweeps up too sharply to result in an intake that is both too shallow and too square, imparting a distinctly odd appearance. This calls for some delicate reshaping on the part of the fastidious modeller and there is no excuse for such an error as full-size examples of the Lancaster are readily available for inspection.

The canopy and other transparencies are very clear and fit well, but the slotted windows in the upper fuselage side have been omitted. Not all Lancasters had these windows, it is true, but most of them did and their omission restricts the modeller's choice of markings. The cockpit interior is good and the bomb doors open to reveal a nicely-shaped model of the 12,000-lb (5 433-kg) Tallboy bomb. Other operable features include rotating turrets with elevating guns, and hinged ailerons and elevators. The undercarriage is commendably accurate and detailed, and the kit includes quite a number of very small parts, such as the mass balances for the rudders and elevators. A very fine decal sheet accompanies the kit, this providing markings for Lancaster B Is operated by Nos 9 and 617 squadrons during 1945. The colours are right, the register is accurate and lots of items, such as walkway markings, are included for good measure. This is a kit with much to commend it, marred only by some errors and omissions which can hardly be the result of anything but carelessness. The UK retail price is £1-70 and in these inflationary days it represents good value.
F J Henderson

Air Enthusiast 1977-01 vol.12 no.01

Modelling world
James Goulding
Frog's Lancaster

Despite the fame of the Halifax and Lancaster heavy night bombers of WW2 there have only been three 1:72 scale kits of these impressive aeroplanes — two Lancasters and one Halifax, with Revell's Lancaster being marketed in two forms. Airfix's Lancaster and Halifax and the two versions of the Revell Lancaster were produced many years ago, certainly over 10, and only the Airfix Halifax kit is entirely satisfactory as an accurate model. Now Frog has added a new Lancaster kit, selecting the Tallboy-carrying version as the subject. In overall shape the new model is much more accurate than the earlier offerings and components such as wingtips and nacelles are much more convincing. The new kit is, however, disappointing in other ways, as I feel that any present-day kit of a long-established and well-known aeroplane should be capable of making up into a very accurate replica of the subject without recourse to the filing and fitting that we had to do in earlier years. It may be that my sample kit is at fault, but on assembly it was found that the outer nacelles canted upwards compared with the inner nacelles, which were correctly parallel with the fuselage. Considerable filing was necessary to bring the outer nacelles parallel with the inners.

There are several points which to me spoil an otherwise good model; I am critical of the turrets in particular, which are an important feature of the Lancaster. The mid-upper turret is too small and totally incorrect in shape. The turret in the kit is tall and cylindrical, with draw-angle taper, whereas it should be quite rounded and larger in diameter. Possibly this would have necessitated moulding the transparencies in two portions, but it should have been done to reproduce what is an important characteristic of the Lancaster. The front turret is quite a good shape, but the attachment of the gun mounting is rather delicate.

The moulding of the propeller blades and spinner as an integral unit has been poorly executed, with the blades very flat and thin at their joint with the spinner. As a result, every propeller in my sample kit had blades snapped off, with two blades on each propeller broken on three out of the four.

Surface engraving is excellent and cockpit equipment gives the correct appearance. The bomb doors open and the bomb bay roof is well detailed. Inside the bay is a 12,000lb Wallis Tallboy bomb of the type used to sink the Tirpitz. The bomb bay doors are of the bulged type to enclose the bomb, but on my sample the heavy retaining strap around the bomb prevented the doors from closing together. Lancasters with these special doors were in the minority and I feel that it would have been useful to modellers if a separate set of standard doors had been included for those wishing to choose a standard Lancaster subject. The fin shape is not quite accurate, being too narrow in the upper area, but it could be improved by adding plastic card on the leading and trailing edges and filing to the correct shape.

Markings are supplied for two Tallboy-carrying Lancasters — KC-B NG494 of 617 Sqn and WS-Y LM220 of 9 Sqn. The transfer sheet is superb, with very accurate colours and a mass of small details in addition to the main markings and code letters.

AIRCRAFT ILLUSTRATED 1976-12

Northrop P-61 Black Widow - 1/72 рисунок C.B.Maycock, 1/72,
"Aircraft of the fighting powers" Том.VI, издание 1945г

SCALE MODELLERS' MARKET PLACE
THIS MONTH'S NEW MODELS REVIEWED BY EXPERIENCED MODELLERS

AVRO LANCASTER BIII
Manufacturer: Airfix
Scale: 1:72nd
Price: £3.80

It is not until one realises that Airfix's original Lancaster was the first kit in their Series 3 range that one realises how old this model really is. Yet this ancient example of the mould-makers craft has stood the test of time against almost every form of competition, and although we all thought the turrets to be terrible, the wings too thick and the holes in the sides of the fuselage unnecessary it has been the basis of many a conversion. The props were always very useful, we cut off the engines and replaced them with radials using the left overs to make a Beaufighter Mk.II, we turned it into a York or Lancastrian and in some form or other that kit has lived on for something like 20 years.

The figures will obviously not be released but I know, for a fact, that this model has had much to do with turning Airfix into the multi-million pound organisation it is today. Now, the company have come up with a new model which will undoubtably take the place of its predecessor.

No kit is perfect but this one is almost as good as one can get within a tight budget and bearing in mind that it has jumped a couple of price ranges and is now selling at £3.80. On taking the components from the box one soon discovers why the price has gone up. There's so many more parts that it is obvious that here is a model that needs a lot of time and care to produce. Once finished, I can say that it is not a model for the beginner, like its predecessor, but for the more experienced. There are some tricky parts involved and I would hate to ask a ham-fisted child of ten to put them together.

In particular I would quote the fixing of the 0.303 machine guns in the rear turret and the fixing of the side blisters in the main canopy. Both of these items are difficult to do and without patience can be rather trying. Criticism could also be levelled at the sloppiness of the ailerons but a little cement in the right place soon fixes them in position.

Apart from these minor points the model was a pleasure to build. The turrets themselves are excellent. The right shape of mid-upper has been achieved and the machine guns no longer look like cut-down 20mm Hispanos.

One of the best things about the kit is the fantastic way in which the many parts fit so well together. Take the fuselage for example. Although one has to accommodate the cockpit interior, all the turrets and the bomb bay, careful application of cement once the two fuselage halves have been put together produces an almost perfect joint. This job does, however, have to be done carefully with an elastic band round the front half whilst carefully applying cement to the other. It takes time but is well worth the effort. Another area in which there's a marked improvement over the previous Lancaster kit is around the engine nacelles where these fit with the leading edge of the wing. Previously, a great deal of filling "and rubbing down was necessary here, but on this kit I found that only three out of the four engines needed a little filler at the joint line and this was because I am rather fussy about this sort of thing.

The model comes with two sets of decals. One of these is for a machine of No. 100 Sqdn, whilst the other is from No. 103 Sqdn. Both Lancasters achieved over 100 missions during World War 2. The markings are well done and there's even the stencil instructions on the blockbuster bomb that goes into the opening bomb bay. I would, however, like to ask Airfix if it is not possible to cut down on the extent of the decal carrier sheet that goes under each item. These are excessively large and can leave a nasty line if placed in position without some form of matting varnish being placed over them. I know that costs enter into this and that decal sheets in their thousands have to be produced at high speed and the chance of getting them out of register is therefore greater. However, some manufacturers seem to be able to do it, so why not Airfix?

The newest Airfix Lancaster is a worthy successor to their first. It will not sell as well, I am sure, as the rising cost of plastic and the fact that many of us have already produced the Beaufighter Us, Yorks and Lancastrians we want from the old model will be factors that must be considered, but if you want a good model to build and to take a while in its construction, then this is one which will not disappoint you.
Alan W. Hall

Scale Aircraft Modelling MAY 1980 VOLUME 2 NUMBER 8

SAM Vol.2 p374