Kit: No. A10102
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Airfix, from Hornby America,
www.airfix-usa.comPrice: $54
Comments: Injection molded, 153 parts, decals
Pros: Overdue subject; posable control surfaces; good detail
Cons: Confusing numbering and codes for part numbers, decals, and paint colors; poor-fitting canopy; pixillated decals
Issue Published: October 2008
Adding night-intruder capabilities to the Canberra line, the B(I).8 featured a new fighter-style canopy offset to the port side, and a nose position for a navigator/bombardier.
Airfix's Canberra is molded in light gray plastic with individually bagged sprues. Panel lines are engraved but sparse, and fairly wide and deep by today's standards. I was surprised by the thickness of the fuselage halves! The alignment pins on the fuselage were some of the biggest I have ever seen on a plastic model. Ejection-pin marks are minimal and mostly hidden. Some parts do have large attachment points that make removal tricky.
The cockpit has a complete interior for pilot and navigator; the pilot's side console is OK, but the instrument panel is a disappointment. The navigator's station was a little better, with a front panel, radio, and other boxes, but it's not very visible - British cockpits of this era were painted black. Seat detail was a little soft, and the seat belts were molded on.
The kit includes three nicely done crew figures, even though only two would be used for this kit. The wheel wells were OK.
The Canberra can be built with posable control surfaces and bomb bay doors open or closed. Flight crew access was through a small door on the right side, which can be posed open. The kit includes various underwing stores, including a Boulton-Paul gun pack. Decals denote British, New Zealand, and South African air forces.
The construction sequence was straightforward, but I found Airfix's instructions hard to read. Part numbers had a circle around them, decals were enclosed in a rectangle. Painting callouts are for Humbrol paints, but there's no color reference or cross reference to other brands. (However, I found what I needed on the Internet.)
In the cockpit, I painted everything Model Master engine gray, then dry-brushed details (even though most of them would not be seen after the fuselage was closed). Deviating from the instructions, I did not install the control stick (Part 8f), using the kit-supplied control wheel instead. Seating the completed cockpit in the fuselage halves was troublesome; the upper cockpit fuselage insert did not fit well, having a contour different from the fuselage. I glued the front and back ends first; then, after the glue set, I did the sides, clamped everything, and set it aside to dry overnight. Even after all that, I had to use filler on all four seams to hide the join.
Airfix recommends 100 grams of counterweight in the nose to keep the plane on its gear. I was not able to get that much weight in mine and ended up adding lead sinkers through the crew access door.
Minor fit issues with the separate engine intake and exhaust assemblies required filling and sanding. But the main wings and tail surfaces fit perfectly.
When it came to installing the main wheels on the landing gear struts, there were no holes in the wheels for axles. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal. But because this model was so heavy, I had to drill holes in the wheels for a secure mount.
I used Model Master British dark sea gray and dark green for my upper colors; for the lower silver surface, I decanted Tamiya silver spray paint and airbrushed it. After a nice gloss coat of Pledge Future floor polish, I gave the Canberra a sludge wash and prepared for decals.
The decals were a bit of a headache. Blue and red on the roundels was too light. Upon further inspection, they appear to have been printed by lithography; if you look at the decals closely, you can see small dots. Some but not all of the yellow stencils had a white backing; those without disappeared on the model. (I ended up leaving all of them off.) The decals tended to stick where they landed, were prone to tearing when I tried to move them, and silvered despite being applied to a gloss coat. After the decals dried, I coated with Model Master clear flat.
For some reason, the inside of the wingtip lights were slightly curved while the attachment point had a squared-off corner. After some cautious sanding, I was able to get both lenses to fit.
I spent about 30 hours building the Canberra, and it looks good in my collection. I would recommend it to builders who have a little experience. If I were to build another, I would search for aftermarket decals.
Still, I'm looking forward to the B-57 version - and it's good to have Airfix back.