Avro Anson Mk.1 - Plastic by Airfix in 1/48 Scale - Build by Smithy

[Smithy]

Dakkadakkadakkadakka!



Oh what a picture!

A couple of months ago, on finishing a ten month long (long for me) wooden ship project, I was sick and tired of modelling. It seemed to me then that I'd never want to re-enter the miniature world. Well, it turns out that I needed three things to pull me back in. First, i needed to take a good long rest until the last project started looking good even to its most bitter critic - myself. Second, I needed a short term project, no more than a month's worth, with no pressure to do anything exceptional. It was to be "just for fun".

Third was that inspiring painting on the box of the new Airfix Anson Mk.1.

It depicts an event of the 1st June 1940. While on patrol over the evacuation beaches of Dunkirk the three man crew of this obsolescent aircraft from 1935, engaged and SHOT DOWN two Bf109Es and damaged a third. I bet any surviving bad guys all claimed to have been hit by a Spitfire! It was a combat with a happy ending and well worth commemorating in plastic 85 years later, wouldn't you say? I'll aim to be finished by June 1st at the very, very latest.



This is a crackerjack kit. Airfix have long been associated with the cheaper, 'toy-like' end of the model kit market but in recent years they have improved their standards of fit, detail and complexity time after time. While this is not yet quite comparable to the wonderful engineering of Tamiya, nor is it anywhere near Japanese prices. For me it's very affordable and straight out of the box should produce a very acceptable model.



I've already started.

My first step in a plastic build is to cruise through the instruction manual cleaning up parts and making as many sub-assemblies as possible before painting. This trayful represents an evening's work and everything here will be receiving its sprayed base coat of interior green before further detail painting with a brush. The idea is to be efficient with my use of the airbrush and use it the minimum number of times. It takes a few minutes to set up and tear down my spray bay and I don't want to be repeating that tedious process over and over, even though I really enjoy the actual spraying.



The cockpit framing is going to look amazing but at this point it's going to prevent me making much progress on sub-assemblies as it will restrict access for the paintbrush. That's not always the case and on many aircraft kits I'd be building in a lot more before painting.

Yes, I know the roof looks a mess. It will be in the shadows and very hard to see so I'm no more bothered about the ejector pin marks than the good people at Airfix were. It's good enough.



These are two side frames of the port wheel well. The one on the left is pretty good considering that it will be very difficult to see in situ. The whole assembly will be sprayed silver and then shaded with an oily wash and the moulded lightening holes will look fine. I still couldn't resist drilling them out though - just for fun.

Notice that there's a little burring and the holes look generally ragged.



They still look bad at this magnification, don't they? Believe me, most of that is invisible to the Mk.1A eyeball now that it's been treated (left) to a swift swipe with Tamiya Extra Thin cement, dried with a breath. Ideally, I'd use the gentler, quick setting one but I had none so the usual stuff did the job.



It fitted together perfectly and has made a strong framework for attaching the undercarriage to the wing spars, just like the real thing.

That's how far I've got in two sessions. There's no rush to finish because compared to our usual models, there's so little of it. It is possible to over complicate things like this if you wish, but I'll be keeping things fairly simple on this one. Apart from the painting. I like fancy paintwork and I have a few ideas to try out.

It's been years since I enjoyed myself this much with plastic. I hope you enjoy reading about it too.

I''ll see you again when there's something worth the seeing.

 

[Namabiiru]

It’s inevitable! Nobody escapes! I had a feeling you’d be back, and I’m glad to see you at it again.

 

[Smithy]

It’s inevitable! Nobody escapes! I had a feeling you’d be back, and I’m glad to see you at it again.

If there's one thing about me on which you can depend, it's my inconsistency. I have presidential changes of mind and the emotional self control of a two year old. Shrug, I yam what I yam an dats all dat I am.

 

[Smithy]

All sub-assemblies which could be constructed before paint were completed yesterday. This is a simple process and reminds me of the way I used to build kits as a kid, except then I’d build everything before any painting happened.

Today I sprayed almost all of the interior details, undercarriages and engines either dull aluminium or cockpit green. I used Tamiya paint with their lacquer thinner straight onto the plastic. It will definitely stick well and act as primer for the brush painting which is coming up next.

The aluminium paint is so opaque that it’s unaffected by the grey plastic substrate but the green is somewhat darkened. This is a good thing as the darker green will be the shadow shade in contrast to the highlights I’ll dry-brush onto the green next session.

There are a lot of parts in different colours too, which will add life to the large crew compartment.

With the aluminium areas, I’ll work light into shade by applying dark washes which I think give a convincing oily finish to the mechanical parts.

Note that the undercarriage and engine bays were painted with tough aluminium paint and that some parts of the gear and engines were exposed metal. Even without additional detailing (wiring and pipe work etc) the different colours will add visual interest.

I’m enjoying this familiar process which shows results quickly and easily. It’s very different to a wooden boat model; neither better nor worse, just different. A simple short term project is all I can deal with at the moment, so I will keep the wooden models to one side until I’m in the mood for something bigger. Sometimes one enjoys a banquet, sometimes a sandwich is enough.

 

[Smithy]

I think it's clear to see that I'm not working on this model every day. In fact, last night was the first time since last Tuesday's update.



I passed the evening brush painting details and applying a few decals where they were most needed.

It's been three years I think, since the last time I completed a plastic kit and I was appalled by the decline in my skills and knowledge since then. I really struggled with sequencing the painting operations and I'm sure I knew a lot more ways to make a great big cockpit like this more interesting back then. When my mum was in her nineties, she used to say "use it or lose it" referring to keeping fit and mobile every day because our bodies deteriorate so quickly in old age. Of course, the brain is just another piece of the body and it seems that thinking skill goes away as fast as walking does.

With some effort I did recall many of the techniques that I'd developed through decades of modelling, but then found that executing them is now quite difficult. I haven't used the micro-fine motor skills needed to paint and even handle this small detail and I'm understandably rusty at the 'muscle-memory' level. It's all very understandable, and shouldn't be at all surprising, but the RATE of the decay is the horrifying thing.

However, it's not all bad news. Time was when plastic kits seemed boring to me because I was as good at making them as I was ever going to get. Now that I'm 'bad' at the hobby, I find a new challenge in the old game. And looking ahead, by the time I have built a few of these I'll once again have no idea how to build a wooden boat model. Do you recall that film, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? Actually, if you are my age or older, you probably don't.

 

[Smithy]

Perhaps I AM working on this model every day? Every day this weekend at least.



Today I spent two hours fitting many of the cockpit parts that I detail painted yesterday. I wanted to get that fuselage framework assembled as I suspected that it might be a bit tricky. There was no need to worry because putting it together was an absolute delight. Everything fitted perfectly. Well done Airfix, well done!

With decal material cut from the kit sheet I added some papers on the radio operator's and navigator's desks (the red-backed folder decal came from a different kit - Warhammer!). And that's all the creative extras I've managed this time. Fortunately the design of the kit is sufficiently complicated that the cockpit is probably going to look more than ok despite my humble efforts. I hope that the clumsy paint will be hidden behind Airfix's brilliant engineering. Now there's three words that I never expected to write in the same sentence.

 

[RussF]

It's good to have you back Smithy, I've missed your eloquent prose. Your model looks quite good!

 

[Smithy]

Your model looks quite good!

I certainly does, small thanks to me. The thing is falling together like two drunks on their way home from the boozer! It’s the best engineered Airfix kit I’ve ever seen, no question.

It’s one of my favourite aircraft and building it here on Ships of Scale seems quite appropriate given its name and function.

 

[Smithy]

I'm enjoying this quick build so much that I can't leave it alone. Big smiles!



The engines, within the shadowy recesses of the Brussels sprouts cowlings have come out well. All it took was silver paint sprayed on, then a dark dirty wash with enamel paint, well thinned and finally some touches of almost black on a paintbrush. I may not be as good at this as I used to be but I'm getting most of the effect with the minimum effort.

The cowlings were a bit tricky and as you see, didn't line up exactly. With hindsight this was caused by me neglecting to clean the mould parting lines from the exhausts. The design of the kit doesn't allow room for sloppy work like that. Later I even encountered a part that wouldn't fit because I had put the paint on too thick with my airbrush. Fine tolerances indeed.



I found a very interesting decal on the sheet. It's the pilot's notes for the Anson. I stuck it to the co-pilot's seat because that's where I tend to toss my car manual when I've looked up the tyre pressures or whatever. The seat is matt painted and a small decal will often lift from a surface like that, then attach itself to the windows by static cling. I know a wa y to prevent this.



The merest touch of Titebond wood glue underneath the decal will secure it forever and the rougher the surface, the better the grip. I've done that with all of the interior decals.

[Edit: These large photos are very useful for quality control. There's no missing that the pilot's compass needs a decal!]



This seems to be the main electrical distribution panel. I painted this rather than using decals, just to find out whether I could. One of the big fuses (?) went a bit blobby but overall, I was very pleased. The 'serial numbers' on those relay boxes and that rotary switch made my day. I painted them with a splinter of wood rather than a paintbrush. The old tricks are floating up from the flooded basement of my memory.



The big event of the day was closing the fuselage. Well, the lower part of the fuselage, since the roof is dry fitted for the photo and there are a few more bits to go inside. The fit was excellent, at least as good as a Hasegawa kit. The red arrow points to a seam disguised as a panel line. You know that situation when you put two complex shapes together and then you can't tell where to put the glue?

The yellow arrow points to a seam which will need to be sanded into invisibility so there's enough cement in there to cause a little squeeze-out of dissolved plastic for me to work with later.



I couldn't resist posting a full frontal picture of the cabin for you. Can you see the potential for wiring up the instruments and radio gear with that WWII yellow cable, and all that space for kitbags, boxes of sandwiches, a crew? Maybe next time.



And here's the general layout so that you have an idea of the size and scale of the thing.

 

[Dean62]

You may be a little rusty, but you’re doing great work. Look forward to seeing it progress.

 

[Smithy]

You may be a little rusty, but you’re doing great work

You will have noticed how keen I am to praise the ladies and gents at Airfix and give them their due share of any credit. (I take all of any blame accruing.) It's great to see them working to this standard after so many years producing toys for the masses. A high quality kit makes it so much easier to shine a little through the rust. After my initial dismay at how clumsy I was, I might be regaining lost ground. Anyway, I'm very happy with the model so far.

 

[Bill-R]

Hello Smithy,

The Anson is one of my favorite aircraft. When I was flying R/C, I was planning on building a 1:8 scale Anson. The plans are made by Duncan Hudson in the UK.
You are doing a great job on your Anson. It is good to see that Airfix is producing a nice quality kit. I will be happily following along with your build.

Bill

 

[RussF]

You will have noticed how keen I am to praise the ladies and gents at Airfix and give them their due share of any credit. (I take all of any blame accruing.) It's great to see them working to this standard after so many years producing toys for the masses. A high quality kit makes it so much easier to shine a little through the rust. After my initial dismay at how clumsy I was, I might be regaining lost ground. Anyway, I'm very happy with the model so far.

Back in the '60s, before I was even 10, I got an Airfix model. I don't even remember what it was, but I do remember that it was "motorized"! It even had a little picture of the electric motor on the box cover. Tearing it open, 'cause that's what you do when you're young, I found hidden among the plastic sprues was a little plastic bag with parts for a motor. A housing, a rotor, some magnets, some tiny brushes and a coil of very small gauge copper wire to wind the rotor with.

That went well.

I'm glad to hear they have improved.

 

[Smithy]

Airfix

Did you know that they were the first. The first plastic kit was made by Airfix for the representatives of a tractor company to give to the children of their prospective farmer clients. At least, that's the (probably garbled) version that I think I remember reading about somewhere, somewhen.

 

[RussF]

Did you know that they were the first. The first plastic kit was made by Airfix for the representatives of a tractor company to give to the children of their prospective farmer clients. At least, that's the (probably garbled) version that I think I remember reading about somewhere, somewhen.

Your memory serves you well. They were founded in 1939 and made inflatable rubber toys. In 1947, they introduced injection molding and their first products were pocket combs. In 1949, they were contracted, as you remember, to produce Fergusen TE20 tractors for distribution to sales representatives. To increase sales and lower production costs, they started marketing them to Woolworth department stores in kit form. At least that's what this Wiki article states.

Now my memory is off, the article mentions the introduction of a motor in 1972, so I was 13-14 then. Nevertheless, that motor never turned.

 

[Alan Smith]

The first plastic kit was made by Airfix for the representatives of a tractor company to give to the children of their prospective farmer clients. At least, that's the (probably garbled) version that I think I remember reading about somewhere, somewhen.

You are quite right. It was a Ferguson tractor kit, in a plastic bag with a construction diagram and a blurb extolling the Ferguson's wonders. I was given one in about 1950. I had no idea what to glue it together with and ended up using balsa cement. It didn't go well.

 

[Smithy]

I had no idea what to glue it together with and ended up using balsa cement.

I tried to build an Airfix B-17 with balsa glue one time. I’d have been better off just sniffing it.

 

[rtibbs]

Dakkadakkadakkadakka!
Been watching reruns of the movie The Battle of Britain have we.

 

[Smithy]

Dakkadakkadakkadakka!
Been watching reruns of the movie The Battle of Britain have we.

I knew someone would pick up the reference. The action in the photo took place during the timeline of the movie, which covered the Battle of France and Operation Dynamo too.

The Battle of Britain was a very interesting film which many of my generation took to be the truth of the matter. It was fairly close, though certain aspects are adjusted for dramatic purposes. I've been to Duxford and seen the gap where they blew up a real hangar. I was also lucky enough to take a family holiday in Spain in 1968. I was eleven and already an aviation freak. We flew into Malaga airport and lined up along a taxiway parallel to the runway was an entire squadron of 'Heinkel 111s' (the CASA equivalent of course) all dressed up in Luftwaffe colours. That five second glimpse is all I remember of the holiday, in fact it's all I remember of 1968.

 

[Smithy]

This morning's work has been a plodding session tidying up some seams. Although the fit of the kit is very good I have still managed some minot misalignments, maybe 0.1mm or less but they would still be visible and there's no denying that a visible seam, especially facing upwards and catching the light completely ruins the appearance of a model. What's the point of drilling out gun barrels and weathering the paintwork when you can't hide the fact that it's plastic, badly glued together.

I find that it takes just as long to clean up the seams on a well engineered kit as on a limited-run job that fits like a cheap suit ("It fits where it touches, Sir.") This is because filling a 2.0mm gap is quick and easy, it's sorting out the last 0.00001mm that takes the time.



This is underneath so slightly lower priority, but it's going to be sprayed silver dope which tends to show up the surface irregularities a lot. It's also got a nice fabric-over-stringer texture that I wanted to keep if possible. This is the scraper stage. I use scalpels with the cutting edges peened over like a cabinet scraper by drawing them over the back of another blade. You only need the tiniest hook for removing very thin shavings. Use the lightest pressure too and a blade with an appropriate curve.



Switching to sandpaper I used a shaped rubber eraser as a sanding block. That's 600 grit for stock removal then 1200 for smoothing and then nylon tights/pantyhose for polishing.



Where I managed to make some melted plastic extrude from the join there's no need for filler but I messed up here through lack of practice.



Superglue is a fast and effective filler for small divots like these. You have to be careful sanding it back because it's harder than the surrounding plastic making a solid sanding pad of some sort essential if you want to avoid an ocean wave effect.



I lost a lot of surface detail, notably three lines of rivets, so I put them back in with this tool from Trumpeter.



My rivets are finer than the kit ones but I don't think it will be too obvious under primer and paint.



Drat! More divots on the spine.



And after the treatment. I've lost some of the stringer detail but I'll accept that, grudgingly, in order to keep up momentum.



With the seams attended to, I popped inside and fitted a set of aftermarket lap straps. I believe that only the pilot was strapped in; the other two just held on tight!

I'm conflicted about aftermarket goodies. Sometimes I rail against them as de-skilling the hobby and providing an easy fix for the wealthy and other times I think that they can make a huge difference, as here, for little money and less time. Perhaps I only hate the stuff I can't afford, which is a deplorable attitude to take and I should be ashamed of myself.

[Oh these big pictures - I see so much that I could have improved. That rudder bar arrangement with all the clips and bearings might have been magnificent with some ally tape and careful painting.]