1:48 Avro Lancaster Mk.X

The last Lancasters from Ontario

The Mk.X form came about because the British lines could not keep up with demand. Production moved to Canada, where Lancasters were assembled in a factory complex near Toronto and finished examples were flown across the Atlantic. The recognition feature of these machines was serial numbers beginning with the letters KB and American instrumentation in the cockpit. They flew with Canadian squadrons assigned to No. 6 Group of Bomber Command.

Two machines from the sheet

The sheet in 1:48 scale carries the markings of two of them. The first is KB840 with the squadron pair WL and the individual letter N, which served with No. 434 Squadron. The second is KB872 with the code SE and likewise with the letter N, belonging to No. 431 Squadron, which bore a designation after a North American tribe and had it in its badge as well. The two aircraft therefore come from the same production stream and yet differ from each other at first glance.

What to watch on a kit

Canadian examples differed from British ones in small things: the shape of the dorsal gun position, a circular cutout in the nose on some series and sometimes the propeller blades too. Before applying the sheet, compare these details with a photograph of the chosen machine from the period, because kits tend to be molded to the British form.

Application

On a Lancaster the squadron letters are over two inches tall even in this scale, so lay them on a well dampened glossy area and adjust the position with a flat brush. The fuselage beneath them tends to be angled and the edge of the film likes to lift there; a second dose of decal softener will help, and after it the decal is left undisturbed for at least forty-five minutes.