It is late Saturday morning. Marie is at the Quilting Guild's Christmas brunch and quilting bee so I am on puppy duty.
Not much modelling done the last two weeks. Marie was in Calgary last week to visit her mother, and take her mom to some medical appointments. That left me on full time puppy duty. I had forgot how much work puppies can be. Ember is a busy little puppy, chewing everything, and constantly in motion. If you don't keep her attention, she finds ways to keep herself busy. That typically means chewing something she isn't supposed to . Her current chewing go-tos are my Sorels, a cardboard box, Riley's food dish, the other dogs, and the dining room furniture.
Her schedule is slowly becoming more regular. She's up about 6 am, and bedtime is about 10 pm. She tends to go for about 2 hours before she needs a nap. Naps last about an hour, but are highly variable, so I haven't wanted to leave her for risk she wakes up unexpectedly and pees in her kennel. House training is making progress, and we have started to learn her signs that she needs out. She knows "come" and is learning "sit". We bought her a harness this week and have started getting her used to wearing it.
The other dogs have come to accept that she is staying. Riley and Luna willingly play with her, and enjoy chasing her. Riley is really good with her, and will slow down so Ember can catch him.
The weather has been really cold the last two weeks, dropping down to -30 several nights. Windchills have been really high, so we have had to suspend dog walks several times as it was just too cold. We haven't had a lot of snow yet, but the forecast suggests that may change Sunday with 5cm expected. It was warm enough yesterday that I did my first bike ride in three weeks.
Baseboard painting was on hold last week because of puppy sitting, but this week I finished the area around the main closet, basement door, and the stairs. The kitchen and dining rooms are now the last areas to do on the main floor, and will have to wait until the Christmas decorations are down. As I have been painting the baseboard it has become increasingly clear that I am going to have to do some wall repairs and touch ups.
The kids are in the fall term home stretch. Daniel and Nicholas have both completed their fall term Capstone projects. Initial feedback from the profs was very positive. Both are now into final exams. Christine turned in her major project a week ago, and is now working on her final fall term project. Christine comes home on the 18th, while we will pick Daniel up in Edmonton on the 20th, and Nicholas in Calgary on the 22nd. I am really looking forward to having them home for Christmas.
Christine learned last week that she has been nominated to represent her school in an Ontario wide design competition. The competition is large, encompassing 10 Ontario design schools, and is considered very prestigious. First prize is a $2000 scholarship. Entry submission is late February, so she will have the Christmas holidays to work on it. We are very proud of her!
Daniel also received a significant recognition this week. This fall, he began supporting one of his professors as a research assistance. It is a paying position, and as Daniel says, it looks good on a resume. He just shared with us that he received the Dean's Research Award for his work on Porosity Engineering of Hierarchical Hollow Carbon Sphere for LI-S Batteries. This is cutting edge battery research and could be the next big thing in battery technology. I am amazed at all the things he is doing, and doing well, and am immensely proud of his achievement.
Lancaster
After sitting for a week, it was time to get back to the Lancaster. With the 3D decals in place, it was time to finish painting and weathering the interior. First a dark acrylic wash was used to highlight the fuselage details. Black was used for the interior green areas, and grey for the black areas. The cockpit was then lightly weathered by dry brushing a medium grey over the edges of the seat, table and instruments. A bit of sponge was used to add scratches and wear to the floor areas. Kitsworld seatbelts were added using white glue. As I've come to expect from Kitsworld, there were no instructions on where to place the various pieces. A combination of pictures and "winging it" got something that looks right into place.
Gluing the fuselage halves together was complicated by warpage of the fuselage floor/bombay floor and the fuselage halves. The bombay was glued into the starboard half and allowed to set, using clamps and the fuselage to force it to straighten out. This also helped reduce the fuselage warp everywhere but under the nose. When it came time to glue the fuselage halves together it was necessary to use clamps to hold the nose tight until the glue set. The resulting fuselage joints were generally tight but still needed a lot of filler to get smooth seams.
The kit included three turret blanking plates, all apparently intended for the bottom turret. One was a turret base plate, and one was to blank the turret opening if the turret wasn't installed. The instructions don't mention the third blanking plate. All three were too small to fill the old top turret hole, so a piece of styrene was inserted into the opening, the third blanking page was glued into the opening, and copious amounts of filler was applied to fill in the gaps. After lots of sanding the old turret location was closed up. Extended sanding of the top turret area couldn't achieve a smooth joint, and it soon became apparent that the styrene insert was too thin, and flexing when sanded. A effort was made to strengthen the joint by flooding it with extra thin CA, but it wasn't sufficient to stop the flexing. Four holes were then drilled around the joint circumference and extra thick CA used as plugs. This worked but took a lot more sanding and filler to achieve a smooth joint. Panel lines damaged by the sanding were then restored using a scriber.
Photo 1 - Fuselage halves painted and weathered
Photos 2&3 - Cockpit details spring the 3D decals in place.
Photo 4 - Fuselage closed up. Seams needed a lot of filler.
Photo 5 - Old turret hole finally sealed up and the joint smoothed.
Anson
Puppy sitting isn't modelling friendly but gives a lot of time for research.
The moulding quality is very impressive. Take a look at the wing detail in the picture below. The panel lines are thin and sharp. You can also see how they captured the fabric over ribbing texture on the rear of the engine nacelle, and the oil canning effect of the plywood panels on the wing.
The kit depicts a Mk.I Anson. A Canadian built Mk.II Anson, like the one at the Calgary aviation museum, has a number of distinct features.
Smooth cowlings over different engines (Jacobs instead of Cheetahs)
A smooth plywood nose
A double rod vs single beam landing gear brace resulting from use of a hydraulic vs manual retraction mechanism
A blown bubble nose cone vs a fabricated metal nose worth a flat glass insert.
The kit doesn't mention them in the instructions, but it includes the smooth cowlings. Comparing pictures of the Calgary Anson to a test fit shows the smooth cowling looks spot on. The smooth cowling has no positive location on the nacelle, so it's a guess as to how it is supposed to fit. It also has a large indent on the bottom, suggesting a piece is supposed to be installed there. Mk.II Ansons have a large intake on the bottom of the cowl that doesn't appear in the kit's parts so these would have to be scratchbuilt.
Looking at Mk.II pictures shows that the Jacob's engine has a very different engine exhaust configuration, with a single, large exhaust on the engine underside. This would have to be scratchbuilt.
The kit nose is smooth but has visible rivets. Some filler should give the necessary smooth plywood effect. The kit also includes inserts to choose the nose machine gun tunnels.
The kit only includes the single piece landing gear brace. Photo 5 below shows the underside of the kit cowl and the landing gear bay. The slot for the single beam landing gear beam is clearly visible along the rear of the nacelle. The double rod style used on the Mk.II sits along the outside of each wheel, making them much wider. Photo of a Mk.II bottom shows the dual rod actually has two slots vs the single wide slot in the kit. You can see the dual rod configuration in this link. https://www.warplane.com/aircraft/collection/details.aspx?aircraftId=2. Converting to a dual rod style would require filling the existing opening, cutting two new openings in each nacelle, and boxing the new openings in. This would be a lot of work.
The kit includes roof inserts for both turret and smooth roof versions. Mk.II Ansons appear to preferentially have smooth roofs.
The kit only included the fabricated metal nose and nose window. I think it can be reshaped the represent a passable blown bubble nose window.
The kit includes the correct foldable copilot's seat, dual rudder pedals, and a second control column. The kit doesn't seem to have included the very rudimentary copilot's instrument panel, so this will have to be scratchbuilt.
After looking at the kit's parts, it is clear that it was designed with potential to model other versions. The parts list includes most of the bits to model a Canadian made Mk.II, but converting the landing gear would be a lot of work that I don't really want to take on right now. So back to the reseach.
Searching Google found this interesting picture at the Bomber Command Museum's website. https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/bcatpcalgary.html It shows a turretless Mk.I being assembled at No.10 Repair Depot, Calgary.
The RWR Walker website has a list of serial numbers for all RCAF aircraft. Searching for 6598, the serial number visible on the rear fuselage, gives the following.
first date: 24 April 1941 - Taken on strength at MacDonald Brothers Aircraft at Winnipeg, Manitoba
Ex RAF W2210. Winter conversion kit installed during assembly. To No. 4 Training Command on 23 June 1941, for use by No. 15 Service Flying Training School at Claresholm, Alberta. Category C14 damage at Claresholm aerodrome at 09:00 on 28 July 1941. Starboard main gear retracted while taxiing, due to "incorrect cockpit procedure". Category B damage 4 miles north-east of Claresholm at 08:45 on 3 January 1942, forced landing following engine failure. To McKenzie Service for crash repairs on 2 February 1942, with 199:15 logged time. To storage with No. 2 Training Command on 16 March 1942, issued from storage on 9 April 1943. To MacDonald Brothers for overhaul, 28 December 1943 to 10 February 1944. To No. 2 Training Command when completed, for use by No. 5 Bombing & Gunnery School at Dafoe, Saskatchewan. To No. 2 Air Command on 1 December 1944. Pending disposal from 2 February 1945. Stored at No. 3 Satellite Equipment Holding Unit at Swift Current, Saskatchewan, where it was noted with 3004:00 total time, 711:10 since overhaul.
last date: 8 October 1946 - Struck off, to War Assets Corporation for disposal
Yellow highlights shows two key items. The plane was assigned to No.4 Training Command, stationed in Claresholm. But the plane was taken on strength at MacDonald Brothers in Winnipeg. That doesn't seem to align with the photo caption showing it being assembled at No.10 RD in Calgary.
Of note is that the aircraft has the serial number repeated on the nose. This doesn't seem to have been a common practice, based on the photos I have seen, and perhaps is only used to support construction. Strangely, the rear serial number is clearly shown as 6598, but the nose serial number seems to show 6588. Here is what the RWR Walker site lists for 6588.
first date: 23 May 1941 - Taken on strength at No. 10 Repair Depot, Calgary
Ex RAF W2340. To No. 4 Training Command on 18 June 1941, for use by No. 15 Service Flying Training School at Claresholm, Alberta. To No. 2 Training Command on 10 February 1942. To workshop reserve at No. 8 Repair Depot, Winnipeg on 2 October 1942. To No. 3 Training Command on 24 October 1944. To Canada Car & Foundry on 2 February 1944, for overhaul. To Aeronautical Engineering Division after overhaul. To storage with No. 1 Training Command on 24 May 1944. To No. 1 Air Command on 15 January 1945, still in storage, pending disposal from that date. Stored at No. 6 Repair Depot, where it was noted with 1756:50 total time, 8:00 since overhaul.
last date: 27 April 1945 - Struck off, to War Assets Corporation for disposal
This aircraft saw a lot of use, serving in Alberta, Manitoba (No.2 Training Command), Ontario (No. 3 Training Command) and Quebec (No.1 Training Command). Most importantly, it was taken on strength at No. 10 RD in Calgary, which aligns with the Bomber Comnand picture.
Now to sort out the colours. It is hard to tell colours from a black and white photo, but there are some clues. The outer ring of the fuselage roundel will be yellow, and the rear serial numbers are also likely yellow. There also appears to be a yellow band along the top of the fuselage, immediately ahead of the tail. Upper surfaces appear to be in standard RAF green and RAF brown day fighter colours of the time. The nose fuselage serial number seems to match the rear serials, suggesting it is yellow as well. Underside colours of the time were either trainer yellow or sky grey. The picture seems to show the underside as lighter than the serial numbers. This may be how light is reflecting off the yellow serials, or it may indicate the underside is sky grey.
Examples of early RCAF Anson colours
Photo 1 - Yellow serial numbers, yellow upper fuselage patch, and yellow underside
Photo 2 - Brown and Green camouflage, with yellow on the upper fuselage and upper wings. Grey underside
Photo 3 - standard green/brown camouflage. Yellow patch visible on the wing. Grey underside.
So what have I learned after all that, other than grey or yellow undersides are possible? I am partial to the yellow and think that is the way I will proceed. So the new plan is to model a Mk.I, serial 6588, with yellow underside.
On to the model. Airfix is using a different plastic in this kit. It is harder, and more brittle than their previous kits. It also seems to "fuzz" when cleaning up parts with a file, leaving a small white edge that needs to be gentley scraped away. Details are finer and sharper than previous kits. Tolerances are tight, and care needs to be taken when cleaning up parts to avoid damaging details or affecting joints. Initial fit of parts had been very good.
Most of the cabin details are interior green so my plan is to build and paint subassemblies, then build into a completed assembly.
Photo 1 - Smooth cowling test fit
Photo 2 - Metal nose with rivets visible
Photo 3 - Smooth roof insert on right. Turret roof insert on left.
Photo 4 - Large indent on the bottom of the smooth cowling.
Photo 5 - The kit's single beam landing gear brace.
Photo 6 - Getting started on the interior
That's it for this week. Stay warm and safe everyone.
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