I have established a "Bombs Away" album in My Gallery where the bulk of my pix will go.
Background:
The Stirling was the first of three British heavy bombers in WW2. It was not overly successful due to the Air Ministry specs. Limited to a 100' wing span so it would fit in a standard RAF hanger, it lacked high altitude performance making it more vulnerable to fighters and flak. Limited to a fuselage width that would fit in a standard packing crate, and a bad decision on the bomb-bay design, it could only carry 250 & 500-lb bombs. Once the Lancaster & Halifax came on line, the Stirling was relegated to second-line duties and finished the war, in the Mk.IV/V versions, as a glider tug, cargo plane, and parachute platform.
Modeling the Stirling:
Well, there is the Airfix kit and a 1/48 vacuform kit and that is it. There are no aftermarket parts or decal sets for the Airfix kit ...
The Kit:: A quick look.
Pros:
-- You get all the parts to make either the B.I or B.III
-- You get a bomb trailer & tractor
-- It is Airfix & scale is good
Cons:
-- Rivets & panels are inconsistent & I'll have to clean up
-- Appear to be some fit issues & that means I'll loose rivet/panel detail ...
-- Worst of all -- there are SINK HOLES, not sink marks, where the locator pins/holes are on the wings with the worst being on the upper flying surfaces !!!! Fixing these will be tough & will destroy detail around them ...
I had kit-parts pictures but a computer glitch is forcing me to work from an alternate for a while ...
I have some RAF airfield kits -- control tower, fuel trucks, etc -- that I'll probably do as part of this .... I like the Stirling, the gawky way it sits, etc ... I have another kit & may try to hack it into a MK.IV/V & find a 1/72 Airspeed Horsa to go with it ...
Looking forward to this ...
John,
who will leave the webcam to Carl ...
