Global Scale Modeller

The second half of the Stirling + Horsa build is about to commence - the Short Stirling Mk IV glider tug.

First - the types history:
The Stirling was designed during the late 1930s by Short Brothers to conform with the requirements laid out in the Air Ministry Specification B.12/36. Prior to this, the RAF had been primarily interested in developing increasingly capable twin-engined bombers such as the Hampden, Whitley & Blenheim, but had been persuaded to investigate a prospective four-engined bomber as a result of promising foreign developments in the field. Out of the submissions made to the specification, Supermarine proposed the Type 317, which was viewed as the favourite, whereas Short's submission, named the S.29, was selected as an alternative. When the preferred Type 317 had to be abandoned, the S.29, which later received the name Stirling, proceeded to production. The Stirling was the only RAF bomber in WW II to be designed from the outset with 4 engines as both the Halifax and Lancaster evolved from twin engine designs. The top speed of the design was between 250 to 270 mph carrying a 14,0000lb bomb load (although substantial the internal design of the bomb bay that was divided into cells meant the biggest bomb it could carry was a2,000lb one). Operational ceiling was 19,400 feet and the operational range with a full bomb load was 590 miles.
Crew consisted of 7 men - 2 pilots, navigator/bomb aimer, wireless operator/front gunner, flight engineer, rear gunner, mid-upper gunner.

The Stirling entered squadron service early in 1941 and was the first of the RAF's 4 engined "Heavies". During its use as a bomber, pilots praised the type for its ability to out-turn enemy night fighters and its favourable handling characteristics, whereas the altitude ceiling was often a subject of criticism. The Stirling had a relatively brief operational career as a bomber before being relegated to second-line duties from late 1943, due to the increasing availability of the more capable Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster, which took over the strategic bombing of Germany. Decisions by the Air Ministry on certain performance requirements (most significantly to restrict the wingspan of the aircraft to 100 feet or 30 metres to fit in the then standard RAF hangar) had played a role in limiting the Stirling's performance; the 100 ft limit also affected earlier models of the Halifax (MkI and MkII) but the designers of the Lancaster ignored this. A particular quirk of the Stirling Luftwaffe pilots were quick to exploit was that the hydraulic recuperators for the rear turret were located immediately behind the centre of the Roundel painted on the Fuselage

During its later service, the Stirling was used for mining German ports; new and converted aircraft also flew as glider tugs and supply aircraft during the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944–1945. Also for paratroop drops and SOE operations. In the aftermath of World War II, the type was rapidly withdrawn from RAF service, having been replaced in the transport role by the Avro York, a derivative of the Lancaster that had previously displaced it from the bomber role. The last users of the Stirling was the Egyptian airforce who finally retired it in 1951.
Sadly no intact Stirlings are in preservation although sections of two that crashed during WW II exist in musueums in France and the Netherlands. Two other relatively intact crashed aircraft have been located of the coast of the UK and in a lake in Holland, regrettably both are considered unrecoverable due to cost.

The Kit
This is the Italeri release of the Stirling Mk IV. This mark was purpose designed as a glider tug/paratroop carrier whilst retaining the ability to carry a bomb load. At first glance it looks very nicely detailed but the crunch will be when the build commences.

The instructions.
A nice booklet that include interim paint directions for the interior and what looks like cad generated images of completed assemblies so there is no confusion about what goes where. This is a very nice touch given the complexities of some of the sub-ssemblies.
















The Sprues
A


B


C


D x 2


Transparencies


Photoetch and Netting




The build!!
Watch this space....

Have fun building this Overlord duo!

The kit looks really nice. Is it a in house Italeri kit or a rebadge kit ?

digger303 wrote: Mon Feb 20, 2023 11:57 pm The kit looks really nice. Is it a in house Italeri kit or a rebadge kit ?

As far as I can tell its Italeri's own - box says "all new mouldings" and the lack of positive locations for minor parts seems to bear this out.

The build started tonight. In the begining there was a cockpit (or parts thereof)... Some of which was PE..... The end result of a couple of hours work - doesnt look much but from small beginnings big Stirlings do grow...




There is a decal to go on the instrument panel moulding together with another PE piece to go over it. And there are PE seatbelts for the pilots seat built - and the one to be built, as well as the flight engineers and - I think - radio operators seats in the back.

digger303 wrote: Mon Feb 20, 2023 11:57 pm The kit looks really nice. Is it a in house Italeri kit or a rebadge kit ?

According to ScaleMates its a new tool from 2014.

Wow Neil, putting that level of detail in a 1/72 is great! Keep it up fella.....

Nice start. Looks good for 1/72 with that cockpit PE.

Ugly old duck though!

1/72 PE .....your going to go blind
More power to you though

digger303 wrote: Wed Feb 22, 2023 10:00 am 1/72 PE .....your going to go blind
More power to you though

Too late Digger - without the bins on I'm almost as blind as a bat!

As of tonight the flight deck is more or less done:






And work has now started on the navigator/flight engineer/radio operators stations:

Cracked on today. The front fuselage interior is now completed (warning - lots of photos):
Phase 1








Phase 2






Phase 3




So it was a bit of a downer to find when the fuselage is all buttoned up this is all you can see of all that interior.....






Shame isn't it.....
Anyways - onwards but not necessarily upwards - the next step was the sides of actual fuselages. One side only needed the glazing put it and the access door whereas the other side holds the flight engineers panel at the front - and quite a bit at the back.






I leave to the readers imagination how much of this is visible once the fuselages are joined....
Everything now is drying overnight. The access door had two big eject marks on its exterior face - these have been filled and are also drying overnight.

Your interior is really good, all the details are so nice and highlighted, good job!

ForeverPlasticKits wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2023 5:32 pm Your interior is really good, all the details are so nice and highlighted, good job!

Many thanks. At least I know its in there.

After the incident with the #2 airbrush today it was a case of sub-assemblies only and breaking out the hairy sticks......

Fuselage interiors are completed now:


And the fuselage halves are joined:


I accidentally held it by the nose and one of the blister windows promptly popped in.... ,
Luckily it was accessible from the cockpit so it was pushed back and TET appplied. To be on the safe side I 've run the TET around the external edges too - belt & braces...

Good progress, nice interior work, I hope as much as possible can be seen once the fuselage is buttoned up

Work progresses on the Stirling - almost at the point where it all stops whilst waiting for paint.


Fuselage seams are done, hatches are in and the towing apparatus is on.


Wing bomb cell doors are on:


Next phase is assembling the main undercarriage into the lower wings, then assembling the wings. Then I need to wait for a paint delivery.....

(The more eagle-eyed amongst you might also note some 17 x 122mm Ammo crates in the background.....)

1/72 and it takes up the whole mat even unassembled.

Carrying on with the Stirling tonight - main undercarriage assemblies are completed.


Upper and lower wings are joined, vertical stailiser and rudder are on the fuselage, together with horizontal stabilisers and elevators. Engines are only dry fitted to the wings - bevauae initially the wouldn't fit. Turned out the plugs on the wings are actually tapered whilst the holes in the engines aren't!! So - some VERY careful surgery later - the engines are dry-fitted to the wings.


Overhead controls are now in the main canopy.


And work has started on the single gun turret - the rear one.


I might have dropped a clanger here though. I assumed, like all kits, the turret clear section would be slotted, especially as the instruction show the "free to rotate". However a quick glance before having to break for dinner seems to show the turrets clear sectiononly has a fixed opening that needs the guns horizontal. So that may mean using CA debonder tomorrow to realign things......

It all looks amazingly good and the engines seem to be a really good fit.

Properly moving along now. Great stuff. Still an ugly duck though!

Carrying with the Stirling for the simple reason I've run out of space to do otherwise....
Wings went on today - an excellent fit! Until the root fairings go on I can see no need for filler. Got some minor work on the base of the rudder but thats it.




However, to make up for this Italeri desided to mould the intakes in 3 pieces and the final assembly left much to be desired as can be seen....


Moving swiftly on..... The rear turret is complete and yes, I had to reset the guns to get the clear section to fit..... Which reminds me - in their infinite wisdom Italeri moulded the frame lines for the canopy, turret and nose glazing on the INSIDE on the parts. Words fail me on this!!!




Next phase is the various fiddly bits - aerial masts etc. then paint!! Which is going to have to.be a hairy stick job as both airbrushes are still VOR....

So - an interesting day - not always in the good sense.
Started out with the 4 large air intakes that sit on top of the engines. Readers may recall that Italeri, in their infinite wisdom, opted to mould these in 3 pieces, none of which were a particularly good fit. An hour or so's work with the sanding sticks got them presentable. However - on trying to fit them it became obvious they wouldn 't fit. The tag thats arrowed in the photo below needed to be cut off and the remainder shaped to fit. I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and guess that the wings for their Mk1 version had slots in the housings for these tabs......


Once they were off the intakes fitted nicely. The Stirling was then flipped over and the rest of the undercarriage components - i.e. doors - were added together with the ailerons and wing root fillets.


The way the undercarriage is constructed on this one is a complex affair compared to the Airfix version. Very strong once its all together though.


Which made it paint time - and I ran out of XF1 after doing the wings, tailplane, belly & rudder.....


Typical.....
Also finished off the rear turret. As much as I hate PE I have to admit it really does add to things!!

Feeling a bit dumb today (OK - more so than usual...)
Was putting the Stirling to one side whilst waiting for the XF1 to be delivered - when it dawned on me I had the bits to recommission one of the airbrushes. Doh!!!

So - after replacing the airbrush nozzle and giving the brush a clean - just in case - I loaded the cup with the underside black from the Hataka Bomber Command set and set to work. First though all the glazing on the Stirling was given a coat of Maskol.
Then the black was applied....




Tomorrow the black gets a coat of gloss varnish to protect it and then, when that is dry, masking can be reset and the upper works given the green/dark earth cammo scheme.

RangerNeil wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 9:16 pm Feeling a bit dumb today (OK - more so than usual...)
Was putting the Stirling to one side whilst waiting for the XF1 to be delivered - when it dawned on me I had the bits to recommission one of the airbrushes. Doh!!!

So - after replacing the airbrush nozzle and giving the brush a clean - just in case - I loaded the cup with the underside black from the Hataka Bomber Command set and set to work. First though all the glazing on the Stirling was given a coat of Maskol.
Then the black was applied....




Tomorrow the black gets a coat of gloss varnish to protect it and then, when that is dry, masking can be reset and the upper works given the green/dark earth cammo scheme.

At least your smart enough to have spares on hand . I have 3 AB's and no spares for them.

digger303 wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 10:09 pm

RangerNeil wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 9:16 pm Feeling a bit dumb today (OK - more so than usual...)
Was putting the Stirling to one side whilst waiting for the XF1 to be delivered - when it dawned on me I had the bits to recommission one of the airbrushes. Doh!!!

So - after replacing the airbrush nozzle and giving the brush a clean - just in case - I loaded the cup with the underside black from the Hataka Bomber Command set and set to work. First though all the glazing on the Stirling was given a coat of Maskol.
Then the black was applied....




Tomorrow the black gets a coat of gloss varnish to protect it and then, when that is dry, masking can be reset and the upper works given the green/dark earth cammo scheme.

At least your smart enough to have spares on hand . I have 3 AB's and no spares for them.

Not that smart Digger - first one went but I knew the make so.I ordered a spare. Second one is make unkown so I'm trying to find out if they are a generic fitting.

On the Horsa itself - the upper wing/fuselage surfaces are now done and drying overnight ready for a coat of gloss tomorrow ready for decals. Murphys law asserted itself though, the last piece of masking tape that came off after the upper surfaces were done took a patch of black off the side of the fuselage.



There was also a bit of bleed through on the line of the masking tape. Nothing major as can be seen here:


So - out came the black from the Hataka set and a very fine brush that tidied things up very nicely...




This thing is almost as big as the Stirling that towed it!!

RangerNeil wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2023 9:26 pm

digger303 wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 10:09 pm

RangerNeil wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 9:16 pm Feeling a bit dumb today (OK - more so than usual...)
Was putting the Stirling to one side whilst waiting for the XF1 to be delivered - when it dawned on me I had the bits to recommission one of the airbrushes. Doh!!!

So - after replacing the airbrush nozzle and giving the brush a clean - just in case - I loaded the cup with the underside black from the Hataka Bomber Command set and set to work. First though all the glazing on the Stirling was given a coat of Maskol.
Then the black was applied....




Tomorrow the black gets a coat of gloss varnish to protect it and then, when that is dry, masking can be reset and the upper works given the green/dark earth cammo scheme.

At least your smart enough to have spares on hand . I have 3 AB's and no spares for them.

Not that smart Digger - first one went but I knew the make so.I ordered a spare. Second one is make unkown so I'm trying to find out if they are a generic fitting.

On the Horsa itself - the upper wing/fuselage surfaces are now done and drying overnight ready for a coat of gloss tomorrow ready for decals. Murphys law asserted itself though, the last piece of masking tape that came off after the upper surfaces were done took a patch of black off the side of the fuselage.



There was also a bit of bleed through on the line of the masking tape. Nothing major as can be seen here:


So - out came the black from the Hataka set and a very fine brush that tidied things up very nicely...




This thing is almost as big as the Stirling that towed it!!

You will notice a big difference in using a brand name AB it is worth the investment. I've got a Steenbeck which feels so smooth to use and 3 mr hobby proconboys. The way the paint sprays is so much better with these than the generics I've used. I'm going to sell my H&S when I get round to it. If you were in the same town I'd send both brands over for you to try.

With most other things in the final stages attention returned to the Stirling glider tug.
Started adding the cammo scheme on the wings - for those interested the paint is Hataka Blue line. The Dark Earth has had 2 coats all over by brush. The dark Green has had 2 coats on the tail planes and the wing nearest the camera, the wing furthest has had 1 coat. Usually I find the Dark Eath is hood after two but the Dark Green requires 3.

Looking at the front of the engine nacelles the brass looks too bright compared to contemporary photos, I am thinking a Copper colour might match the more subdued look in the photos. Anyone got any thoughts on this?

Once the wings are finished and allowed to dry I can remove the masking tape from the fuselage and reapply to below the black edge to do the upper fuselage, being able to hold the wings then if necessary.

Looking at historic pic's the brass rings are smaller. I think your colours are close to being right, just the ring needs to be reduced then they won't stand out so much.
Paint and build looks good.

digger303 wrote: Wed Mar 15, 2023 11:03 pm Looking at historic pic's the brass rings are smaller. I think your colours are close to being right, just the ring needs to be reduced then they won't stand out so much.
Paint and build looks good.

Cheers Digger. Unfortunately now the rings cannot be reduced - not least because theres a chunk of PE inside each one! The brass needs doing again so I might try darkening it by adding a dark brown or black to the mix and see how it goes.

All wing areas now have the 3 coats of paint so this can dry for 24 hours before I remove the masking tape from the upper fuselage and remask to do the upper surface cammo.

RangerNeil wrote: Wed Mar 15, 2023 11:14 pm

digger303 wrote: Wed Mar 15, 2023 11:03 pm Looking at historic pic's the brass rings are smaller. I think your colours are close to being right, just the ring needs to be reduced then they won't stand out so much.
Paint and build looks good.

Cheers Digger. Unfortunately now the rings cannot be reduced - not least because theres a chunk of PE inside each one! The brass needs doing again so I might try darkening it by adding a dark brown or black to the mix and see how it goes.

No I was thinking you could just paint the back edges green to make them smaller.
Not a easy thing though getting around the props and masking up.

Back on the Stirling today. First thing this morning the upper fuselage got a coat or three of Dark Earth then was set aside to dry.


Did some more on the MTB then set to building the 4 antenna for the nose. Theres one each side that comprises a VERY small plastic piece and a PE part. First one went together OK.


Second one - DISASTER!! The plastic part was literally a mm away from contacting the CA on the PE part and the s* dd#ng tweezers pinged the plastic part off behind me somewhere!! I heard it hit the floor and bounce - but can I find it?? Can I hell!! Going to get the vac out tomorrow and try the mesh over nozzle trick. If not - the question is do I try making a new one from plasticard? Or do I try contacting Italeri for a replacement....

Moving on - the upper fuselage now has the Green overlay on - 2 coats - and is drying overnight. Tomorrow it gets the 3rd coat before a coat of gloss clear coat ready for decals. Canopy frame painted and ready for cleaning up before fitting after decals and satin clearcoat.

Looking very nice with that sharp edged camo and the paint looks very smooth.

Over an hour spent with the vac this morning - and nary a sign of the missing Stirling part. Did find the missing antenna from the Whitley though so not a total waste.
So - out with the digital calipers, some nifty measuring of remaining part then plastic card thickness, another 45 mins of cutting, trimming and sanding and there was an almost identical piece:


Which is mine and which is the kits??


Thrse were added together with some other final bits and pieces and the Stirling is now ready for the gloss coat prior to decals. The end is in sight!!

Nice bit of fabrication and now so close.

First of the decals went on tonight - the invasion stripes.


After the Horsa I was expecting a simple job. Heh - guess what!
The Horsa wings were a one piece wrap-around that went on easily. The Stirlings were 2 piece. One on the wing, one on the aileron. The wing went on nicely but no matter what I did the aileron ones would not fit snugly... Going to have to trim them off once all is dry.




The fuselage ones had similar issues - they HAD to go in a certain place in a certain way because one half had the entry door and the other half had a cabin window. There was also a piece that went on the access door. Would have been nice if that was mentioned in the assembly instructions so it could have been applied before the door was fitted and the fuselage halves joinef






When aligned correctly both sides had a long blister along the rear upper edge and the only cure I could find was to slit the decal with a sharp knife alongthe length of the blister then pat it down so one part overlaps the other. Once dry tbey will get a dose of MicroSet to get them to conform to the wing surface details.
Not shown is the fuselage underside - over half the width has a part of the towing apparatus in the way. Only solution was to cut away the decal to fit around it. A mention in the instructions would have been enough to ensure that part was left off till after the decals were fitted.

Lastly the wheel chocks got a coat of yellow after being drilled to take the pull ropes.

All in all though the solutions you found are good.

95% of the decals are now in place. Theres about a dozen small stencils to go on the upper suraces of the wings and tail plane and it willl be ready for a satin topcoat.




I believe I know what the issue is/was with the aileron section of the invasion stripes - I think they should have been applied to the ailerons BEFORE they were fitted to the wings so that they could be folded around the leading edge of the aileron, not the trailing edge as i did it .

A modellers dream is not to mess up.....it's my aspiration to build a kit perfectly. Kind of doubt it will ever happen especially when manufacturers don't write a perfect set of instructions....maybe it's their dream

digger303 wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 5:49 am A modellers dream is not to mess up.....it's my aspiration to build a kit perfectly. Kind of doubt it will ever happen especially when manufacturers don't write a perfect set of instructions....maybe it's their dream

Either that or its manufacturers being sadistic!! This Italeri Stirling went together like a dream but decals were a nightmare. The Airfix Whitely was a bitch to assemble but the decals went on OK. Go figure.....

Anyways - back to the build - last of the decals went on today and are drying overnight. The ones that went on yesterday have had a 3rd coat of Microset - hopefully the last - so tomorrow the satin topcoat goes on and Friday should see the glazing going on.


Remember this is only 1/72 - this last batch of decals are almost invisible to the eye.

On the finishing straight now. Although it would have been better if I'd remembered to paint the main bomb bay doors as they could have been fitted today. Those are now done and drying overnight.
Meantime the canopy, nose glazing and astrodome hatch have had a coat of satin top coat and the crew access ladder painted red:


And last but not least Italeri supplied wheel chocks - which were duly painted bright yellow, drilled and had pullropes installed.....


So - tomorrow - the main bomb bay doors will be fitted then the Stirling flipped over and the under surfaces given their coat of satin top coat. That will leave the glazing to be fitted and the Maskol taken off the fuselage windows - oh and satin top coat to go onto the rear turret.....

Nearly done.

Bomb bay doors on, black touched up where needed.


Satin top coat on the underside and drying overnight.

Calling this one finished - photos are in the reveal thread.