1:144 Avro Vulcan Part 2

The late years of the type, from camouflage to tanking

The second half of the service of the British delta looked quite different from the first. Surface-to-air missiles drove the bombers down from high altitude, and so the whole fleet received a dark upper finish and learned to fly just above the terrain. The last chapter was the conversion of several machines into flying tankers, forced by a shortage of refueling aircraft after the distant South Atlantic campaign of 1982. In that form the type served for one more year before it retired.

Six from 1969 to 1983

The oldest option is an aircraft in the configuration for carrying a standoff missile from No. 44 Squadron at Scampton in January 1969. It is followed by an aircraft of the same base from No. 617 Squadron in the mid-1970s, a machine of No. 9 Squadron from Waddington in 1976 and an aircraft of No. 35 Squadron from September 1975. The two remaining options hold a special place: one captures a participant in the American bomber crew competition held in 1971 at a Florida base, the other the tanker version of No. 50 Squadron from Waddington in 1983.

What makes an interesting display case out of it

Anyone who builds both sheets side by side gets a picture of how a single type changed over twenty years: from a white high-altitude machine to a dark one pressed against the ground and finally to a flying tanker. In 1:144 scale such a trio takes up barely more room on a shelf than a single model in the more usual 1:48 scale.

Recommendations for the thin film

The elements have a carrier film that extends beyond the artwork, and in this scale that overhang is quite pronounced in relation to the size of a marking. Trim it with a sharp knife close to the edge of the print while the sheet is still dry. That way you spare yourself a glossy outline that would stand out on the dark camouflage finish even under a matte clear coat.