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In six or so decades of plastic modelling the Lancaster has not been as well catered for as it historic importance would suggest it should have been, even in the One True Scale of 1/72nd. Airfix’s first effort dates from 1958, followed by Revell in 1964. Both have serious accuracy and outline issues, and they are a best considered as collectables now. Revell was unusual in that it offered a Dambuster boxing as well. Frog was next in 1976 with a Tallboy carrying variant with bulged bomb-bay doors. It was generally fairly accurate, but failed to capture the engine cowling outlines correctly. It did however have perhaps the finest and most restrained surface detail of the 20th century Lancaster kits. Matchbox issued their kit in 1977, and despite being optimised for the younger modeller was generally well thought of, and was more accurate than the Frog kit. All of these pre-1980 releases were typical products of their time with the usual characteristics of their brands. I agree with RJP - Moore is a most reliable source. However the key date is June 1946. Paul Lucas has taken the matter further, published what he found in some edition (sorry) of Model Aircraft Monthly, and this scheme was adopted for post-war trials. As shown in the photo of one being dropped, the wartime scheme was standard, Moores's observations do not contradict this. Unless of course you can find documentary evidence otherwise, but I fear visits to the NA are not on for you - even were they open at the moment!
All glazing is nice and clear with quite fine framing. The main canopy looks good. All that is left in terms of standard Lancaster bits area some pitos, a DF loop and the like. Pleasingly, the wing panel lines are based on panel skins and not rivet lines, so the wings do not share the patchwork quilt appearance of its Japanese and German competitors. This advantage balances out some of the downside to having deeper and wider surface detail compared to the Hasegawa and Revel kits. I did notice that the panel lines on the wings look wider at first glance than they actually are. This is because the plastic surface has a minutely pebbled finish*, other than a very narrow smooth surface finish either side of the recessed panel lines. These smooth strips either side of the panel line stand out against the pebbled surface making the unpainted line appear wider. There have been no mainstream kits of the Lancaster Mk.II with its radial engines, nor of some of the later Lancaster versions. These, and models of Lancastrians, Manchesters, Lincolns and Yorks have remained in the realm of conversions or all-resin kits. Although outside this review’s scope, there is still only one 1/48-scale Lancaster by Tamiya (also with a dambuster boxing), which is also long in the tooth.
Ok, so what’s in the box?
Airfix has captured some key shapes better than their competitors, they have supplied plenty of nice interior detail, some of the best of which will hardly be seen in the wheel wells. Some parts are very finely moulded, and I like the plastic Airfix uses as it is nice to work with. The transparencies are very well done with delicate framing and very good clarity. The provision of a bomb-trolley for the Upkeep mine is a nice touch. Airfix has already announced that it will be offering a B Mk.1/III and a most welcome B Mk.II, the radial-engined option being a first for a mainstream 1/72nd kit. The kit also features parts for the late FN.82 rear turret with twin .50-cal machine guns (but no Rose turret option), narrow and paddle-blade propellers, shrouded and exposed exhausts, early and later style bomb-aimer’s blister, optional observation blisters in the sides of the main canopy, and optional H2S dome; so more releases are sure to follow including late and post-war versions no doubt. Well done Airfix! The Matchbox kit is little more than a curiosity at this point. It does have the bulged Bombay doors for a Talboy aircraft but the overall level of detail is poor and the wings have trench-like panel lines. Airfix has I think the best shaped paddle blade props, and possibly the best pointed type too, although this latter type appears to be a bit narrow in chord; in which case Hasegawa could have the edge. Sorry to be vague on this point, but I could not make a firm call. However, Revell definitely comes third in the prop stakes. Airfix have captured some key shapes better than their competitors, they have supplied plenty of nice interior detail, some of the best of which will hardly be seen in the wheel wells. Some parts are very finely moulded, and I like the plastic Airfix uses as it is nice to work with. The transparencies are very well done with delicate framing and very good clarity. The provision of a bomb-trolley for the Upkeep mine is a nice touch.
The Airfix brand offers a wide selection of models in diverse themes. The collection contains simple models and kits rich in qualified details. The range is aimed at both modeling enthusiasts and professional modellers. Here are some of them: The tail-planes have subtle differences in the angles of the leading a trailing edge. My images aligned with the fin mounting point and ensured the elevator hinge lines were parallel. It is apparent that Airfix overlooked giving the outboard edge of their elevators a chamfer to allow for rudder movement inboard (it is present on the real aircraft). Fortunately this is easy to fix with a simple cut. The tailfins and rudders are all very similar, with Airfix looking the best I think. Colours are described using generic or RAF names where applicable, with paint codes that correspond to the Humbrol range, although this does not appear to be stated anywhere. The main parts are on six light grey sprues with a single clear sprue. One of the grey sprues is dedicated to the Dambuster version. I expect that in the B.1/III boxing that this sprue is replaced by one with a more conventional payload. Note some Lancasters were fitted with the larger Lincoln vertical tails. This includes the BBMF aircraft. I think there might be resin aftermarket parts that cover this but no kit has them to my knowledge. Nothing serious - No parts map and minor errors and omissions in instructions; fuselage side windows too small and no chamfer on elevator outer edge (both easily fixed); exaggerated fabric effect on ailerons and decaled rather than 3-D instrument panels.There is variation in the shape of engine nacelles, with Airfix and Hasegawa being closer to each other and Revell with their own interpretation. In fact I wonder if Revell was just practicing for the horrible Merlin engines on their Halifax kit when tooling their Lancaster, as their Lancaster too has over-sized and misshapen radiator mouths (but nowhere near as gross as the Halifax’s!). On the market for 80 years now, the Airfix brand has been one of the leaders in modeling in Great Britain. It is none other than the oldest manufacturer of plastic model kits. The British company was founded in 1939 by Nicholas Kove,a Hungarian businessman. In the early days, Airfix only manufactured inflatable rubber toys. There is the Frog kit, now something of a rarity. The turrets are quite bad, but it does include a Talboy bomb, the only Lancaster kit to do so except for a limited edition of the Hasegawa kit (I think it’s called “Titpitz Raid” or something similar).
It was not until 1948 that the brand launched into injection molding. The first kit model is an agricultural tractor that is distributed to sales representatives of the Ferguson brand. The first model of miniature aircraft signed Airfix is created in 1953, a kit made of injected polystyrene. The Supermarine Spitfire Mk1 1/72 is the best-selling in the world. The airfix models have been a phenomenal success since the 60s. I think that Airfix has the best lines, and equal best internal detail. Surface detail is a bit heavier than its rivals, but this is balanced by there being less of it.
Summary
The kit gives the impression that it will build well with few hassles; but bear in mind the warning about errors and omissions that others have already found in the instructions. The kit is engineered in a slightly unusual way compared to most Lancaster kits because the wings must accept both in-line and radial engine options. Theses differ in the way the nacelles blend with the wing, and so Airfix has cutouts in the wing leading edges to allow for this. The other unusual aspect is the way the two wing spars, having been inserted through the fuselage, then have the wheel well interiors attached directly to them. This then requires that the wings be assembled around the wheel wells and onto the spars. All well and good, except that one of the benefits of building WW2 British heavies is that you can usually assemble the wings separately from the fuselage to aid dealing with seams and enable the wings and fuselage to be painted and decaled separately from each other. All is not lost however, as you can assemble the spars and wheel well structure as per the instructions, then simply cut through the spars adjacent to the wheel well to enable these to be assembled with the wings separately. More than enough spar will be left to slide the wings onto later after painting. The rearmost part of the fuselage adjacent to the elevators is catered for by an insert to allow for slight variances depending on the model of tail-turret fitted.
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