The Border Models 1/32 Lancaster BI/III

[BarryW]

A little about my approach to the build.

I have watched Nigel’s build on YouTube and after 18 months he still has not finished. Nigel is an excellent modeller whose attention to detail is second to none, but that means he does go down some rabbit holes in search of perfection.

I won’t be going down rabbit holes, while I like accuracy I will be balanced about it with the aim of enjoying the build first and foremost. I won’t therefore be tackling all the little issues Nigel found, some I will, but not to the point of risking the build becoming tiresome. That means I won’t be taking 18 months or more and hope to finish in three months or so.

This is going to be a fun build and I intend it to stay that way start to finish.

[Valeron]

Good luck Barry.

[adt70hk]

Good luck Barry!

[Steve Brodie]

As great as Nigel is, he does like rabbit holes, gets lot and forgets to finish what he started . Brill videos though

https://www.youtube.com/@NigelsModellingBench

[Jim R]

I like your approach Barry.

[BarryW]

I have completed my little ‘side build’ of the two Merlin’s, a Packard and a Rolls Royce

For those who dont know the B1 Lancaster had Rolls Royce Merlin’s while the BIII Lancaster had Packard built Merlin’s. Given this kit includes both Merlin’s it occurred to me that it would be nice to see how they compare specially as I will build the aircraft ‘buttoned up’.

Some initial thoughts on this model.

1/ I do like the Border plastic. It is soft, but not ‘Airfix soft’, it is a good quality plastic that is easy to sand and work with. It holds fine detail better than that horrible Airfix stuff that is prone to warping.
2/ The instructions are awful. No colour call-outs at all. There are just some colour photos of the interior and exterior, and that’s it. But worse than that they leave some ambiguity over how some smaller parts actually fit. You also cannot easily identify parts by comparing the part to the drawing, so be careful if, like me, you remove parts from the sprue in batches.

3/ As for the Merlin’s themselves. It is worth comparing them to the excellent Tamiya 1/32 Merlin’s in the Spitfire, Mustang and Mosquito. I have built eight of the Tamiya offerings and I would say that, marginally, the Border ones are slightly better detailed. That said, the Border Merlin’s are, I believe, slightly more under scale than the Tamiya. Remember that all internal details of models needs to be under scale because of the limitations of plastic in order for the external dimensions to be in scale. That even applies to 1/32 scale and is more pronounced in smaller scales.

Here are the two Merlin’s.


The Rolls Royce is on the left.

[Neil Merryweather]

that was a lucky break, discovering the ropey instructions so early on in the build on something that didn't matter too much!

[Guest]

That style of instructions is weird … They look really good, but as you try to follow them, it’s much harder than exploded-view drawings that show which parts go where. Here you essentially have a bunch of drawings showing the assembly steps in order, but it’s left to you to figure out which parts are actually added, and how. It puts me in mind of Lego instructions:

[ATTACH]498592[/ATTACH]

… with the difference that Lego’s are actually clearer

[Jim R]

The two engines look great. I agree the instructions are not as clear as they could be. I imagine you would have to remove parts well ahead of time to check that positioning an earlier part does not compromise fitting a later part.

[Gern]

So how many engines are included in the kit? Is it four of each or just a couple to enable you to show an engine with the panels off?

[Ian M]

Those would be good in a spot the difference contest. There is not that many obvious differences than the cylinder blocks...

[BarryW]

So how many engines are included in the kit? Is it four of each or just a couple to enable you to show an engine with the panels off?

Four with alternative parts for RR or Packard.

[adt70hk]

Those engines are nicely done Barry.

[BarryW]

I have managed an earlier start than expected, my lady decided to go for a swim in the sea (yes, the sea in December and has been doing so almost daily), she is mad, I know, but it leaves me free to get on the bench.

I have built up some of the cockpit sub-assemblies to the stage where I need to paint them.
I am not using aftermarket instrument panels, I am using the excellent kit one with supplied decals.


There are two seat options, one with moulded in seatbelts or one without on which you can use with seatbelts (supplied). Given how nicely the seatbelts are rendered I decided on the former and I do believe they will paint up well.

The floor section with various pipes and controls

The control column.


I will spray these soon, detail paint/decal and weather then and will post as I go along.

The fit is good and moulding quality superb so far.

[Jim R]

Lovely details. The seat is superb. Those moulded in belts are as good as adding separate ones.