Part 3: The Build Completed

Having completed the major airframe assembly last time out, the first step this time was a primer coat, followed by some cleaning up of panel lines and some dabs of Mr. Surfacer at some minor seams. Next up was a black coat, to undercoat the nose section and canopy, and as pre-shading. I also elected to paint the undersides at this time. This might be at odds with the norm, but I figured that the topside colors are pretty dark, so the risk of bleed-through would be minimal if I applied the proper top coats. It should be noted here that the canopy should not be posed open on the B(I).8 - it was only ever removed for specific servicing, and was not used as crew entry, or to let fresh air in. It did not have a hinge mechanism and was lifted off as a whole. Airfix specifically note this in the instruction book and I've had this confirmed by John Adams of Aeroclub, who is something of an expert on the Canberra. I glued the canopy and windscreen in place and used Tamiya tape to mask off the clear panels.

Attention turned to the undercarriage. Airfix would have you paint the whole undercarriage, bays and all, in Aluminium. Referencing my Canberra library, I noticed that many early Canberras and the B(I).8, when in early service with black undersides, appear to have had their U/C bays and door inner faces painted black, presumably to minimize nighttime reflections. The legs and wheels appear to be aluminium. Later, when the RAF switched the B(I).8 to High Speed Silver undersurfaces, the U/C bays were apparently repainted. Export models appear to have been aluminium all along. I'd appreciate comments and additional information here. For now, I have painted the bays and door inners in black, the legs and wheels in aluminium.

Affixing the main gear led to the moment of truth - could this model avoid being a tailsitter?? Well, betchabygollywow, no. There was nothing for it but to stuff as much weight as I could into inconspicuous places in the nose. I had planned to leave the crew door open, but sadly I needed to glue it shut. So please learn from this lesson - when you think you've added enough nose weight to a Canberra, add a bit more for safety… Once the air had returned to its normal color - blue can be such a cold shade - I added the main gear struts and bay doors. The wheels themselves have good detail, including the fashionable flat spots and side bulges, but the transition from tire to wheel is a bit soft and careful masking and painting was required here. The nose U/C leg has some fine detail and includes separate mud guards for the wheels. It needed some minor sanding to ensure it would fit properly, but nothing too troublesome. With the old girl standing on her own 4 feet, it was time to paint the rest of the airframe. At this point, I should add a few words about my chosen colour scheme. The kit provides three options, the RAF one depicts B(I).8, XM277 of 16 Sqn, RAF Laarbruch, Germany, 1972. Camo is Dark Green/Dark Sea Grey over Aluminium. This one features a shark mouth that was carried by this squadron's machines for a couple of months in 1972 prior to their disbandment as the last offensive Canberra squadron. While an interesting choice, I was really hoping that Airfix would choose one of the early interdictor Canberras with Black undersides that was more typical of their active service. There are quite a few photos of these, and I decided to modify the kit option to depict WT341 of 16 Sqn. in the early 1960's. Masking off the Black undersurfaces, I used Xtracrylix Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green for the topsides camo pattern. This was followed by a coat of Future prior to decaling. I am pleased to report that, unlike the Nimrod, these decals are not covered by a continuous top film. However……the roundels exhibit the same graininess that the Nimrod's did, and the red is slightly off register to boot - this mainly affects the stenciling. I understand from a friend that a newer Airfix release, the Cessna O-1, has much better decals - I truly hope so, as these issues with the Airfix decals are becoming rather tiresome. I have enough trouble with them without the manufacturer throwing me a curve ball too! Luckily, I had some leftover stenciling decals from my Classic Airframes build, and I had bought some Model Alliance roundels and serial codes, just in case. Unfortunately, all is not well with the Model Alliance decals either - the '3' is the wrong style, and the white of the serials and roundels is not opaque enough to fully cover the colour transitions, its only really noticeable close up though. The squadron marking on the nose was home-made. Once decaling was complete, the model was given a coat of Xtracrylix Satin Varnish, which I feel gives a much better scale appearance than a gloss coat. I added a dark grey wash to the panel lines to add some depth to the paintwork and some light exhaust staining to the fuselage and engine cowlings - this from the cartridge starters - then it was just a question of getting the finishing touches done. First up were the wingtip light complexes. I am not quite sure of the proper configuration of the bulb and fixtures here, as I couldn't find a good close-up of the area. Each was trimmed to fit after which I drilled out a "bulb" in each and filled them with red and teal paint. A little superglue and a light sanding was needed to blend them in. The aerial fit did change over time, and it still isn't quite clear to me which ones I should or should not have fitted. I do know that the twin aerials on the fin were not fitted to the B(I).8 - they do not appear in any photos - so these should be omitted. The others are a bit of a conundrum, so I added them. I can always remove them later if necessary. The last little jobs were to add the nose pitot probe, and the ventral and dorsal warning beacons, which are tiny red rhinestones that I found at my local craft store. Similarly, I added a clear light at the base of the rudder, removing the solid lump of the kit and replacing it with a tiny clear, silver-backed rhinestone. And that's it. The Canberra has become a favourite of mine, and this new kit by Airfix impresses me. Aside from my self-inflicted issues with the cockpit assembly and cockpit insert, and the indifferent decals, this is an excellent kit; generally simple to build, with sufficient complexity for most but with plenty of scope for superdetailing by the experienced. There are some minor inaccuracies and omissions, but there's nothing here that would spoil the build and most will only be noticeable to the Canberra enthusiast. Airfix's policy of providing the builder with the basics has led to an impressive kit that offers good value and I heartily recommend it to all but the least experienced modeller. I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to Martyn Weaver of Hornby/Airfix for supplying the review sample and for his support of IPMS/USA. Airfix kits are available from the Airfix website and from all good hobby retailers.

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