The kit has the same beautifully-petite surface detail one expects in an H-K Models kit. The three gun turrets are models in their own right. Full Merlin XX engines are provided, which will provide a good basis for any modeler wishing to construct a diorama of a Lancaster undergoing maintenance.

What a neat build and article. The Lancaster really was the brain child of people who could make lemon aide from a lemon. The Manchester had some good designs like the fuselage and the Brits realized that by adding those extra Merlin's and by manufacturing the fuselage in sections for ease of maintenance and rebuild they came up with a winner. The Manchester/Lancaster had a bigger bomb bay than the B-24 and B-17 and could carry more bombs. Had the Germans taken their Heinkel He 177 and add two more engines out board of the originals and dropped the complex transmissions used in the original design they too would have had their own Lancaster. But, that idea came too late in the war. This time around, Tamiya has moulded the B. Mk.I/III and Grand Slam Lancaster kits in their customary medium grey coloured plastic. I am sure that the quality of the plastic is the same as it ever was, but the parts look even better in grey. This time around, the kits include both paddle and needle blade propeller assemblies, and the two styles of clear nose dome. Engine nacelles without exhaust covers and the late type rear gun turret equipped the 12.7mm twin guns can be reproduced.

Build review guide Pt. I: Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat ProfiPACK from Eduard in 1/48th scale

parts in grey plastic (kit no. 61112); 51 parts in clear; decals for three (Dambuster) or four (B.Mk.I/III) options.

For anyone wanting to learn more of the operational history of the Lancaster and its crews in the war they fought, I cannot recommend too highly Max Hastings' "Bomber Command," one of the best-written and most informative history books it has ever been my pleasure to read and re-read. It is now out of print, but available on-line. The five crew figures from the 1975 release are included in both new kits, and all the other original features are present too – bomb bay with separate doors and bombs, alternate turret armament and two basic Merlin engines. Apart from the decals, the main difference between the two kits is the bomb bay. While the B.Mk.I/III includes the standard bomb bay with conventional and Cookie bombs, the Dambusters boxing provides two sprues - one with the Grand Slam bomb and bay, and the second with the Dambuster parts. I returned to modelling around 1987 or 1988, a few years after I was married. The closest model shop at the time was actually inside a department store – Grace Bros at Roselands for any Sydney locals who might recall the place. This was a cosy plastic haven with rare imported kits and books, aftermarket decals and resin accessories - very unusual in an otherwise typically homogenised chain retail emporium. Surface detail comprises fine raised panel lines and rivets representing the overlapping panels of the full-sized beast.

Of the 7,000 Lancasters built, there were only 36 that survived more than 100 operations. The average life of a Lancaster was 25 missions. Interestingly, not one of the "ton up" Lancasters ever carried H2S - coincidence?

However, instead of taking pride of place in a museum due to her record, EE136 was deemed surplus to requirements by the RAF. Following the war, she was used as a training tool at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire but she fell out of favor and in 1954 was set on fire during a routine RAF fire fighting drill at Sutton on Hull station in Yorkshire which closed in 1961. What a great kit TC, another spring board to fall down a rabbit hole of history and understanding of World War II and the "Greatest Generation." A number of other sprues moulded in 2009 provide new nacelle fronts with recessed panel detail and unshrouded exhausts, bulged and flattened main wheels with smooth tyres, and parts for the late rear turret with two .50 cal machine guns. H-K Models first released a Lancaster kit in 1/32 in 2018. This 1/48 kit was released this year, 2021. It is a “scaledown” of the larger kit, in the same way the 1/48 B-17G is a scaledown of their 1/32 B-17G. The kit is not as complex as the larger kit, but it is the most detailed 1/48 Lancaster, with the best production quality. I used the kit decals for the national markings and stencils, and the Xtradecal Sheet X48074 “Ton Up Lancs” to do EE136 as she looked at the end of her career with 9 Squadron in November 1944.Tamiya released limited edition versions of the Lancaster in 2009 that included electric motors to spin the propellers, and also canopy and turret parts with pre-painted frames. For these releases, the electric motors are gone but Tamiya has supplied both the painted and unpainted versions of the clear parts in each kit – a nice touch.