1:48 Avro Lancaster B.I

The machine with a nickname about growing younger

The subject of this sheet is a Lancaster B.I marked LM220 and with the letter Y, which flew with No. 9 Squadron RAF from the station of Bardney in 1944. The nickname painted on the nose poked fun at the way crews aged faster than their aircraft, and it belongs to the rougher humor that held on in Bomber Command throughout the war. It is exactly this layer of personal decoration that turns a model into a particular aircraft with a name rather than a mere sample of a type.

The crew of seven had a pilot, a navigator, a wireless operator, a bombardier, a flight engineer and two gunners aboard. Bundles of incendiaries as well as heavy blast bombs fitted into a bomb bay over nine meters long, and it was that generous bomb bay that made the Lancaster the carrier which as the only British type could lift even the heaviest bombs of the end of the war. Four Merlin V12 engines provided the power.

Mk.I and Mk.III machines ordinarily mixed within one squadron and the technicians moved components between them according to what was at hand. Photographs from Bardney show machines with mixed turret armament and with panels repaired in various ways, so with this subject a builder has a free hand in how far to let the aircraft look worn. Chipped paint around the entry door and traces of exhaust gas behind the engines belong to what makes a model believable more than a perfect shine does.

Building recommendation

On this type the fuselage codes are large and their edges reach across several panels, so settle them in parts and keep checking whether the letters hold the vertical. The water should be lukewarm, not hot. After transferring, let the model lie undisturbed for at least an hour, until the glue under the film has dried, and only then turn it over. The set holds exclusively decals; the plastic model is sold separately.