The Royal Air Force’s heavy hitter in World War II, the Avro Lancaster is known for raids against the MAN factory in Augsburg, the Dambuster strikes, and the sinking of the Tirpitz as well as countless bomb runs over Axis occupied territory. Capable of carrying up to 14,000 pounds of bombs normally, the versatile airframe was adapted to carry 12,000-pound Tallboy and 22,000-pound Grand Slam bombs.
Molded in gray plastic, HK Models’ new 1/48 scale shows beautiful surface detail including recessed panel lines and rivets. No flash is present, and no ejector-pin marks show up in areas that will be visible on the finished model. Parts such as the prop blades and wing trailing edges are scale thin.
Most airframe parts join along panel lines and the alignment pins, although small, are right on the money. Some parts fit so well I heard a click as I put them together.
I followed the assembly sequence as presented in the 24-page instruction manual as presented without problems. The 42 steps are illustrated with photo-grade illustrations and very detailed; with my old eyes, I needed a magnifying glass to get everything I needed out of them I used a magnifier.
The outstanding interior detail includes frame, longeron, and stringers molded inside the fuselage halves, positions for the navigator and radio operator, and even a crew rest bunk. Most of this will be all but invisible on the finished model.
The fuselage halves sandwich the interior with positive locators for the floor and fit together nearly perfectly. I needed just a little filler on the upper fuselage.
The flight deck greenhouse is extensive, and I spent several hours masking it and the turrets with tape and Bare-Metal Foil. I painted these clear parts off the model and fitted them at the end of the build without filing or filling.
The kit includes two marking options, one from 1942, the other from 1944. I built the latter, which had most of the fuselage side windows painted over and omitted the barrage-balloon cable cutters (part Nos. J21 and J22).
I drilled out the muzzles of the guns with #55 to improve their appearance.
Ordnance provided for the bomb bay includes one 4,000-pound Cookie and six 500-pound bombs; I painted them olive drab with yellow stripes.
The engines presented the only problems I encountered. No mounts are provided, and each engine is held in place by a single center pin on the rear bulkhead and in front via glycol header tank (part No. M11). The valve covers (part Nos. M7 and M8 are too tall and interfere with the fit of the nacelle covers. After I filed the covers, the nacelles fit the wings perfectly. Alternatively, you could omit the covers as they won’t be visible inside the closed cowls. Good engineering helped the props and spinners go together easily.
I built the flaps down and was pleasantly surprised at how well the parts fit with little fidgeting.
The landing gear looked complicated and flimsy. Test-fitting showed everything fit together well. Once assembled, the legs are sturdy enough to support the model – if you don’t land it hard!
In Step 22, the frame for the nose turret (Part No. I54) is shown in place, but don’t attach it until the turret is installed. I taped it in place for painting.
Leaving the wings and fuselage separate to make painting easier, I airbrushed the model with Testors enamels. The wings join the fuselage with tabs and slots and are designed to be removed for transport. They fit so well no gaps are visible. Nice work, HK!
I spent 65 enjoyable hours building and painting this terrific kit with amazing detail and outstanding engineering. I recommend it for modelers with some experience because of fiddly parts and complicated decals.