Airfix Avro Lancaster B.III Special “Dambusters” 1:72

Approaching target area

A further coat of Future was applied to seal the decals, followed by a layer of matt varnish in preparation for weathering. Even though these aircraft were brand new and had never flown op’s before the Dams Raid, they were still extensively used for training flights at extremely low level. Therefore, I opted for a slightly grubby but not too worn final appearance. The first stage in achieving this was to apply a number of filters over the whole airframe in order to blend and add further depth to the finish as well as to impart a certain amount of grubbiness.

The filters themselves consisted, basically, of dirty white spirit. Three different shades were used; brown, grey and black. All were mixed in a small glass jar with lots of white spirit and small amounts of Winsor & Newton oil paint. The brown consisted of Burnt Umber and Raw Sienna, the grey was Payne’s Grey and Titanium White while the black was Ivory Black and Phthalo Blue. These were then liberally applied over the airframe, in multiple thin layers, concentrating certain tints in certain areas for the best look (in my eyes!). Once I had achieved the desired result, exhaust staining followed. I am fortunate enough to see the BBMF Lanc, PA747, on an almost daily basis and the exhaust stains are really quite prominent even after only a few flights. Therefore, I wasn’t too restrained in my application of this. I used highly thinned Vallejo Model Air 050 Light Grey for the basis of this, starting in a swirling pattern directly behind the exhaust shrouds and flowing it up and over the tops of the wings. This was applied in multiple light coats to slowly build it up.

Target run

At this point, final assembly commenced. All of the side windows had the Kristal Klear removed and replaced. The previously painted fins, wheels, u/c doors, props and flaps were fitted as per the instructions, together with the two turrets, nose blister transparency and the all important Upkeep weapon. Now she really does look the part, and for the final stage I used various ground pastel shades to add further dimension to the exhaust staining, as well as to impart some scuffing and slight wear to the upper wing walkways.

Lest we forget

I have built this kit of a truly wonderful aircraft as a personal tribute to the men who took part in Operation Chastise. From all that I have read recently, this raid achieved more than is initially apparent, although the many young men that did not return that night would never know this. In fact, many of them who flew that night would probably not realise the enormity of the raid in the grand scheme of things. I will not harp on about this here, but much has been written in various books and other publications if you are so inclined to have a look at them yourself.

Conclusion, Gallery and PDF…