VV's Air Police Sunderland **Finished**

[Babanango]

This really is quite the monster, and I can relate to wondering if there will be space for it. It's going to look brilliant in yellow.

[Arghir Alin]

All closed up. This is a big ship!



And now, as it is almost midnight, I am going to get some shuteye!

Come si fa a non avere un carattere affascinante molto aperto bravo

Inviato dal mio INE-LX1 utilizzando Tapatalk

[VickersVandal]

Yeah nah.

[Xenol1997]

Looking good! Some great detailing in the cockpit.

[VickersVandal]

Thanks, Xen

Once the canopy and porthole windows are on, pretty much all of it will be invisible anyway I'm sure


I have barely been home since Christmas time but now I'm back I'm chugging along again. The underside of the hull and floats have been painted and I masked off and painted the black anti-glare panel in front of the cockpit that is depicted in the illustrations.

The yellow spray I used is too glossy and the whole thing looks far too shiny and clean. I have started to dirty it up a little using weathering pastels, starting with a light mud colour. It adds weathering, accentuates the panel lines and dulls the whole paintjob down to a more realistic level (as well as correcting the yellow colour to be closer to RAF trainer yellow). I am trying to keep it subtle and not go overboard. The photos below show the fuselage without weathering, then with.

[kylie_koyote]

Wow that’s fantastic!

[VickersVandal]

Thanks, KK

The whole aircraft has been weathered the same way (no small task... ) and the decals applied. Props are painted too and we're on the home stretch. My phone camera isn't sensitive enough to show the weathering since, as mentioned, I kept it subtle.



I had planned to do the canopy framing using thin strips of decal film sprayed with the yellow used for the body but unfortunately the paint chips off the film when I try to cut it into strips

The canopy is now done, and I probably need about two weeks of corrective work on my neck as a result....

[Foolscap]

That looks fiddly...wishing you, and your neck muscles, well.
It’s looking great:-)

[VickersVandal]

I am an idiot!
That large section in the top of the canopy is supposed to be painted, not masked off!
The canopy and turrets came up well, though now I need to re-mask and spray the canopy to get that part right. Fortunately the masking is extremely simple but I'm worried that it could pull off the paint that I have so carefully put on so far...



I was struck, though, by how good the whole thing looks from below with the contrast between the black underside and the yellow.

[VickersVandal]

Finished!

Here are some preliminary pictures while the port holes on the starboard side dry. I will get organised to take some better shots soon.

[Frecks]

That is absolutely brilliant VV. So much detail and a lovely finish to the paintwork.

[kylie_koyote]

That's fantastic! I'm very impressed.

[Wanderer]

Yes, a most attractive bird. Simple colour schemes are often the most effective at scale.

[VickersVandal]

Thanks everyone

I'me definitely happy with how it turned out. I'm glad I kept the panel highlighting and exhaust staining subtle - it would have been very easy to go overboard.

Here are some better pictures.
















(Image: biggles.info)

[VickersVandal]

And juuuuuust squeezing onto the shelf, it joins the Auster, Proctor, Wellington and Tarpon:



I had to remove the shelf above entirely to get it into the cabinet, then put it back once the model was positioned - you can see that the tail actually sticks up above shelf level at the back.

[Frecks]

It is certainly rather large . The photos are superb and show it off to its best advantage. I think you are going to need more shelf space before you build any more

[kylie_koyote]

Wow! VV, you've outdone yourself this time! It's marvelous.

[VickersVandal]

Thanks Frecks, KK.

There's still a lot of space for WW1 and interwar models but it is admittedly getting a little tight on the Air Police shelf....though I reckon I can still squeeze a couple more in
I've actually rearranged it now so the Sunderland has swapped places with the Wellington.

[Frecks]

I love the little cars on the shelves as well. Which of the cars in the books do they represent?

[Foolscap]

Your painstaking work really paid off, the model is wonderful:-)
I love the whole display.

[266]

Beautiful to behold...

[VickersVandal]

Thanks foolscap, 266

I love the little cars on the shelves as well. Which of the cars in the books do they represent?

They are all Oxford diecast 1/72 models. Next to Stella's white Falcon there is a Bentley "blower" 3.5L which would surely have to be what Johns had in mind for Biggles' Bentley in the interwar books. Ive been waiting for over a devade for someone to make that in 1/72 and finally Oxford did - I bought it not long ago. On the Air Police shelf is a 1951 Wolsely 6/80 police car, which Gaskin (and possibly Biggles' team) would have no doubt used. The rest are whatever 1920s-40s Oxfords I could find that seemed to fit in with the general vibe, including a 1930s taxi.

[VickersVandal]

I just realised the Bentley isn't in the photo - I must have forgotten to return it after rearranging to fit the Sundy.

Anyway, it's this one:

[Frecks]

I love that model VV. Oxford seem to have brought out a lot of new models recently. Mr. Frecks loves them although they do not have the right scale for his diorama - he seems to have bought quite a few anyway. I think he might be starting another collection