Wellington Mk.X

[cph64]

This is the Matchbox 1975 release of the Vickers Wellington Mk.X with the option to build a Mk.XIV of Coastal Command. A sign of the times is the fact that it is moulded in 3 colours of plastic, the internal detail is minimal although the external fabric effect is passable, and the painting instructions are on the back of the box. It is another of the 'pre-owned' kits I've bought recently and as such the wings have been glued together, most of the parts are off the sprue trees (let's hope they're all there when needed!), the windows are in place as is the cockpit floor and seats with some painting done in the area. Looking at my poor photo the seat on the left is for the Mk.XIV and needs adapting as the Mk.X, which I'm building, had a 'jockey seat' which folded down from the fuselage wall.

[zak]

I always found the Matchbox kits a nice build.

[chriswil42]

I always found the Matchbox kits a nice build.

Me too. They were always good fits with little flash.

[MSea]

Don't think I have ever made one

[cph64]

A dry fit of the wings showed it looked possible to fit these after painting which will make masking the fuselage easier. This is far better than some modern kits, not bad for a 47 year old kit.

[cph64]

With the 2nd seat cut back and the scratchbuilt bulkhead fitted the body was closed up remembering to insert the rear turret. The fuselage behind this had previously been painted matt black. The nose section was applied next along with it's turret and just a wipe of filler was needed on the join. Both turrets had had their frame work painted black but some photos show the front one with dark green so I'll check further. Prior to fitting the cockpit glazing and bomb aimer's window the fuselage joint was sanded carefully so as not to remove detail. A coat of primer will show up any further work needed.

[chriswil42]

Good progress Chris.

[Bigkev]

Nice attention to detail on the Turrets Chris.
Moving along at a steady place.
Bigkev

[cph64]

The canopy, turrets and windows were masked up with a combination of Tamiya tape and Maskol before the wings and tailplanes were temporarily attached with PVA, a good idea at the time but it created work later! Vallejo Air Dark Brown was then applied to all the upper surfaces. Once dry Blue Tack sausages were used to define the camouflage areas using Tamiya RAF Dark Green. The box back guide for the upper camouflage doesn't match up in the plan and side views so a little artisitic license was used. When dry the complete fuselage top was masked using tape and putty, with the wings and tailplanes being covered where necessary. These had been split away from the fuselage to make spraying the fuselage easier, but in doing so I had to address the dried PVA used earlier. Light coats of Tamiya NATO Black were then applied to all those plus the undercarriage doors. Some of the grey primer has been allowed to show through to add variation as photos of a/c with black undersurfaces show greyish areas at times. NATO Black has also been used, applied by brush, as a preliminary touch up.

[Bigkev]

I think Haddock uses Maskol as a temporary glue, have a word with him.
Bigkev

[cph64]

Once everything had cured the wings and tailplanes were attached using Revell Contacta glue followed by the wheel well doors and lastly the wheels. Klear was applied in preparation for the decals and this is where the fun started. They went on superbly for a 40 odd year old kit but once again Matchbox instructions don't tally up when checked against the box artwork, with only a few being slightly out of register.
I wanted to have a Wellington based in Yorkshire and one of the kit options is for NA-Y No.428 'Ghost' Squadron R.C.A.F. based at RAF Dalton. During the night of April 8th/9th 1943 this a/c had it's rear turret blown off and sustained damage to the rear fabric and control surfaces. The pilot Sgt. L.F. Williamson was awarded the C.G.M. for getting the plane home safely. As I thought there would be countless models of this I wanted to build another plane from the same Squadron. An internet search found NA-A HZ476 flown by none other than Sgt. PEPPER, I kid you not so I had to go with this. Sgt. William George Pepper and his crew of 2nd Pilot: Plt.Off. Roy Madge, Nav: Flt.Sgt. Frank Baker, Bomb Aimer: Flt.Sgt Norman Waters, WOp/Air Gnr: Sgt Kenneth Higgs and Air Gnr: Sgt, William Douglas were all K.I.A. whilst taking part on a raid on Dusseldorf on the night of 25th/26th May 1943 when they were shot down near Bree in Belgium. The model has the Squadron codes NA applied but not having a scale 11mm high brick red A or 3mm high Z,4 or 7 it is now on hold until I can source these. I just hope it doesn't turn into something like one of MSea's 3 year projects.

[MSea]

You could do a GREAT pcychodelic paint job for Sgt Pepper 

[chriswil42]

Looking very nice Chris.

[Bigkev]

Hi Chris,
looking nice, and I like the historical information too.
I might be able to help you out with the missing codes and letters.
Presume you need two of each.

[cph64]

Hi, yes I would need two of each and that would be very much appreciated, thanks.