144th Lancaster kit ?

[raafif]

Hi guys,
          I want to build several Lancasters in different schemes but at $58 per Airfix kit I'm thinking Crown/Minicraft/Academy's 1/144th scale kit may be a better route. Anyone know what the quality is like -- buildability, accuracy / detail, aftermarket decals ? (will have to get a few special ones made anyway).

Did a google but no finds.

[Andrew Gorman]

Eastern Express made the old Frog 1/96 kit in recent times, but the supply seems to have dried up.  I've really been having fun with 1/100 bombers- 1/144 just seems a little small until you get into modern airliner sizes.

[kitnut617]

Hi guys,
         I want to build several Lancasters in different schemes but at $58 per Airfix kit I'm thinking Crown/Minicraft/Academy's 1/144th scale kit may be a better route. Anyone know what the quality is like -- buildability, accuracy / detail, aftermarket decals ? (will have to get a few special ones made anyway).

Did a google but no finds.

The PAK-20 book I have says that the Crown kit was 1/144 but the Minicraft/Academy kit is 1/148 and is also a Lancaster II.  But the book has been known to be wrong on a few occassions   .  There's no reference to the Lanc in 1/144 in the Aircraft Manufacturers section for instance, but cross referencing between Crown and Academy shows that the Academy kit was from the Crown kit, which also has the scale at 1/148

[frank2056]

F-Toys makes a 1/144 pre-painted plastic Lancaster "kit". Here's a Google shopping search. They seem to be going or around $15.

[PR19_Kit]

That Crown/Minicraft kit isn't too bad, bu the canopy looks a bit screwed. The windscreen has far too much rake to look right, and I doiubt anyone does a vacform replacement.

[Cliffy B]

Only review/build I could find on the usual sites was this one:

http://www.arcair.com/Gal5/4601-4700/gal4654_Lancaster_Daisley/00.shtm

He claims it OOB with scratch built cockpit, not that you can tell from his photos...  I'm not an expert on Lancs so I'll let you guys dissect it from the limited photos.  I can say that the props look rather nice given Minicraft's "hit-or-miss" nature of castings in these little kits.  Whether or not they're accurate is another question entirely.

[Bill TGH]

hey hey... that's me 

It's an old kit, but I liked the challenge. If I were to do it again, I would go with this guy http://gregers.7.forumer.com/a/amodel-1144-avro-lancaster-bibiii_post7116.html


cheers
Bill TGH

[Cliffy B]

Interior detail, an open bomb WITH bombs, rubber tires, PE???!!!!  Where can we find this kit or is it OOP already?

Bill, no offense was meant.  I simply wanted to see more photos.  The model is well built and looks great and I'd love to see more photos, especially of the scratch built cockpit!!!  Sorry if I offended you.  That certainly wasn't my intention.

[Bill TGH]

absolutely no offense, my friend... I was just happy to see that article referenced at all. It been so long since I've built it, I wouldn't know where to look for the in-progress pics. I basically wanted to build VR-A as she is in the CWH Museum, a converted Mk.X . So it was a new central turret, moved a bit further ahead & strictly for giggles, as much stuff as I could jam into every open space. Its still sitting on the shelf ...

cheers
Bill TGH

[raafif]

thanks guys,
           some good stuff there.

Guess I'll get an Airfix kit to do the one I most want then 144th scale for the rest, total accuracy isn't essential for most, just to show the cam scheme & markings off.

[NARSES2]

Just remembered A-Model do 3. Not cheap but the reviews and builds in mags when they came out were excellent 

http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?product_category_id=102&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=7870&product_type_id=&code=&scale_id=957&keyword_search=Avro&setPerPage=25&save_search_name=&save_search=

[bluedonkey99]

The Amodel kits are pretyy nice and detail, including PE parts and rubber wheels!
As Narses post indicated there are 3x versions.

There is an interesting set of pictures from the orginal launch some time back on a Russian/Ukrainian website - lots of nice photos

http://modelizm.pl.ua/publ/13-1-0-309
http://modelizm.pl.ua/publ/10-1-0-252

The other option as also mentioned heres, and perhaps worth considering if your whiffing and hacking about abit are the 1/144 F-Toys Lancasters.
There cheaper not quite as refined however easier to work with they come ready painted and although some assembley is required. The best part though is they tend to be easy to take back to basics and make a nice kit.

here is what you can do with one of these Japanese Gashopn kits if you turn your hand to a bit of paint srtipping and repainting, its a me-262, but you get the idea!

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal7/6201-6300/gal6201-toys-Kaye-Masukawa/00.shtm
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal7/6201-6300/gal6202-toys-Kaye-Masukawa/00.shtm
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal7/6201-6300/gal6203-toys-Kaye-Masukawa/00.shtm
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal7/6201-6300/gal6204-toys-Kaye-Masukawa/00.shtm

BD99