Dad Paul B Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 I know that another modeller posted on this one a few months ago (very useful for me) but I wanted toshare this beautiful kit.The Valiant is the least known of the V_Bombers, mainly due to its forced retirement in January 1965 due to metal fatigue in the main wing spars across the fleet. Still it has several claims to fame. Of the V-Bombers it was the first to enter service and be used in anger (Operation Musketeer - The Suez Crisis of 1956). It was also the only British aircraft to ever drop a nuclear or thermonuclear weapon (Operation Buffalo 1956 - Blue Danube at Maralinga and Operation Grapple, Grapple X, Y and Z Hydrogen Bomb tests at Christmas and Malden Islands in the Pacific).This is a big model and was very well engineered with options for open bomb bay and choice of conventional or nuclear armament. It starts with the cockpit with its 5 crew stations (no figures provided so, wishing to model it in flight I added crew by PJ Productions (Pilot and Co-Pilot) and spares for the rear crew. The only missing feature in the crew compartment is access to the bomb aimer's blister under the nose. A little unfortunate as this removes a view into the rear compartment making the detailing almost impossible to see through the tiny portholes. Still, this it what mine looked like./media/tinymce_upload/5d55ace04d33de434d721d4fcfe3e331.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/f10cf05dac5d94a49125eae1a1094746.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/14a345fc7b4f49c94f97f22d745a1c39.JPGThis sub assembly went into the fuselage without issue and was covered with a panel hiding the rear crew. Other internals went in well and the bomb bay was nicely detailed (watch out as the rear bay door should go in before closing the fuselage and I missed this stage in the instructions. Still cutting away the locating lug allowed it to be fitted easily. The bomb bay doors are well captured - they slide into the bay rather than hinge outwards which gives a very clean line.I chose tofinish mine in Flash White operational colouring with the various glare shields and radar coverings in their respective colours but with the solid colour roundels and black serials of the late 1950s rather than the low density roundels and blue serials introduced in the early 60s. This meant a mix of Options A and B. The underwing fuel tanks were available from early 1958 so I have chosen my model torepresent Squadron Leader Arthur Steele's aircraft from 1958 after it had been converted back from Operation Grapple Configuration. Steele led 'A' Flight of 49 Squadron at Wittering from it reforming on Valiants until moving to a Staff Appointment at Bomber Command (he retired as an Air Commodore). This makes for a very nice looking model with enough features to break up the white./media/tinymce_upload/3b45320c265245e5e97986272b5c6923.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/c84af692643d3711c7dc775040f33677.JPGFor the weapon load I chose the 'Blue Danube' fission bomb which was available from 1955 until it was retired in 1961 (so strictly not an option for the 1963/4 Marham options B and C). It could also represent the 'Violet Club' 'Interim Megaton weapon' which was a 400 kiloton fission bomb, the warhead was incorporated ito the Yellow Sun Mk.1. bomb from 1958 but a handful were made in 1958 and could have been released to Bomber Command in extremis.The Marham based aircraft from 1961-4 would have been armed with US built B28s under Project E and others would have had Yellow Sun Mk.2 by then so these options aren't perfectly covered. The actuating rods for the bomb bay doors were nicely represented./media/tinymce_upload/66d08476ef108fb015ece1a277ffaf33.JPGAs you can see there are a huge number of stencils, especially on the underside which take a long time to place but look delightful and show a real attention to detail on the part of the designers. The glazed sections benefit from using the Eduard paint masks which give very clean edges and fit the triple side windows nicely (it is a pity you can't see up into the crew compartment from the blister). I waas plesed to note that the pilots at least are clearly visible/media/tinymce_upload/645359724b3eeebe8e464ba881f9f3c0.JPGThough I realised too late I had forgotted to paint their oxygen masks and hoses. Oh well. The extended range tanks are nice but I made a mistake in fixing them before painting (I was confident of getting them painted nicely due to their size and an absence of decal detail which would be cut through. This led to some awkward spraying (gloss white can) and some unevenness. I also triedpreshading the panel lines which mixed results - some sections got obscured while others have the shading showing too wide. Under white I think I will stick to lines only and not try and vary the colour across the panel edge.I loved the final result of this build (it was a christmas present and took 3 months to complete) I don't think any filler was needed and minimal shaving to get things to go together (the upper wing was a tight fit but otherwise it went together well. There are some nice options (21 thousand pounders will look impressive and would go well with the Silver of the prototype but with markings from one of the Musketeer squadrons and option 1 glazing sections. The 1960s Marham aircraft will need some additions to carry an authentic bomb load which could be considered for future rereleases, though a Yellow Sun (an option for the upcoming Victor?) would be OK. Valiants were also used as Tankers so a Hose Drum Unit to fit in the Bomb Bay with an additional fuel tank would be a good option.Finally it now has pride of place in the 'Cold War Jets' section of my children's bedroom along with the Vulcan (current Airfix version but with the Blue Steel added for a later 1960s version) and an escorting Lightning F6 and Vampire T.11. Hopefully they will be joined by A Victor B2 in early 60s Flash White with a Yellow Sun to complete my V-Force tribute./media/tinymce_upload/ff283b6e42e1d0b373a46e464f112811.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/2040385414735e6efd18e379dfde1d27.JPGThanks for sharing my latest project.Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad Paul B Posted April 9, 2016 Author Share Posted April 9, 2016 I wanted to shere this with you all. My latest build was the Valiant. Difficult to find at the moment but there are still some out there. The crew compartment is nicely detailed but no figures are provided. I added pilots by PJ productions and rear crew from the spares box. The final results were very pleasing as shown below. They were even visible through the cockpit windows (Eduard paint maskes were very helpful here are the window shapes are quite complex and the 3 pane side windows are quite small. /media/tinymce_upload/0828910cfdc75207c3f32b65f265788c.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/067333a1222f9f7e2500f14bb8a5c2e1.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/21906e8a4e56f61e9628a61041480358.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew72 Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Very nicely done! I started mine over the weekend With some of the cockpit and interior bits getting painted. The British V Bombers had sleek graceful lines that are very appealing. Again, great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rael Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Wow, you really are a classic jet fan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad Paul B Posted April 11, 2016 Author Share Posted April 11, 2016 Thanks Rael - I grew up in the 70s and used to go to the Biggin Hill Air Show with the Cubs or my Dad so got to see a lot of the in service stuff. I particularly remember Lightnings and F104s and a Vampire (the last time I went was when the Invader crashed) but was building mostly WW2 back then (planes and later AFVs for wargaming). I later went into Modern wargaming so got to know most of the Late 70s/Early 80s NATO and Warsaw Pact kit. Particularly liked the Jaguar, Phantom, Buccaneer and Lynx.I have got back into building as a result of a work project on this period requiring a lot of kits. A very cost effective way of building a display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rael Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Cool, I remember going with Cubs to Biggin hill on camps! I'm also going to the airshow this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy-1216059 Posted July 11, 2021 Share Posted July 11, 2021 I know that another modeller posted on this one a few months ago (very useful for me) but I wanted toshare this beautiful kit.The Valiant is the least known of the V_Bombers, mainly due to its forced retirement in January 1965 due to metal fatigue in the main wing spars across the fleet. Still it has several claims to fame. Of the V-Bombers it was the first to enter service and be used in anger (Operation Musketeer - The Suez Crisis of 1956). It was also the only British aircraft to ever drop a nuclear or thermonuclear weapon (Operation Buffalo 1956 - Blue Danube at Maralinga and Operation Grapple, Grapple X, Y and Z Hydrogen Bomb tests at Christmas and Malden Islands in the Pacific).This is a big model and was very well engineered with options for open bomb bay and choice of conventional or nuclear armament. It starts with the cockpit with its 5 crew stations (no figures provided so, wishing to model it in flight I added crew by PJ Productions (Pilot and Co-Pilot) and spares for the rear crew. The only missing feature in the crew compartment is access to the bomb aimer's blister under the nose. A little unfortunate as this removes a view into the rear compartment making the detailing almost impossible to see through the tiny portholes. Still, this it what mine looked like./media/tinymce_upload/5d55ace04d33de434d721d4fcfe3e331.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/f10cf05dac5d94a49125eae1a1094746.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/14a345fc7b4f49c94f97f22d745a1c39.JPGThis sub assembly went into the fuselage without issue and was covered with a panel hiding the rear crew. Other internals went in well and the bomb bay was nicely detailed (watch out as the rear bay door should go in before closing the fuselage and I missed this stage in the instructions. Still cutting away the locating lug allowed it to be fitted easily. The bomb bay doors are well captured - they slide into the bay rather than hinge outwards which gives a very clean line.I chose tofinish mine in Flash White operational colouring with the various glare shields and radar coverings in their respective colours but with the solid colour roundels and black serials of the late 1950s rather than the low density roundels and blue serials introduced in the early 60s. This meant a mix of Options A and B. The underwing fuel tanks were available from early 1958 so I have chosen my model torepresent Squadron Leader Arthur Steele's aircraft from 1958 after it had been converted back from Operation Grapple Configuration. Steele led 'A' Flight of 49 Squadron at Wittering from it reforming on Valiants until moving to a Staff Appointment at Bomber Command (he retired as an Air Commodore). This makes for a very nice looking model with enough features to break up the white./media/tinymce_upload/3b45320c265245e5e97986272b5c6923.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/c84af692643d3711c7dc775040f33677.JPGFor the weapon load I chose the 'Blue Danube' fission bomb which was available from 1955 until it was retired in 1961 (so strictly not an option for the 1963/4 Marham options B and C). It could also represent the 'Violet Club' 'Interim Megaton weapon' which was a 400 kiloton fission bomb, the warhead was incorporated ito the Yellow Sun Mk.1. bomb from 1958 but a handful were made in 1958 and could have been released to Bomber Command in extremis.The Marham based aircraft from 1961-4 would have been armed with US built B28s under Project E and others would have had Yellow Sun Mk.2 by then so these options aren't perfectly covered. The actuating rods for the bomb bay doors were nicely represented./media/tinymce_upload/66d08476ef108fb015ece1a277ffaf33.JPGAs you can see there are a huge number of stencils, especially on the underside which take a long time to place but look delightful and show a real attention to detail on the part of the designers. The glazed sections benefit from using the Eduard paint masks which give very clean edges and fit the triple side windows nicely (it is a pity you can't see up into the crew compartment from the blister). I waas plesed to note that the pilots at least are clearly visible/media/tinymce_upload/645359724b3eeebe8e464ba881f9f3c0.JPGThough I realised too late I had forgotted to paint their oxygen masks and hoses. Oh well. The extended range tanks are nice but I made a mistake in fixing them before painting (I was confident of getting them painted nicely due to their size and an absence of decal detail which would be cut through. This led to some awkward spraying (gloss white can) and some unevenness. I also triedpreshading the panel lines which mixed results - some sections got obscured while others have the shading showing too wide. Under white I think I will stick to lines only and not try and vary the colour across the panel edge.I loved the final result of this build (it was a christmas present and took 3 months to complete) I don't think any filler was needed and minimal shaving to get things to go together (the upper wing was a tight fit but otherwise it went together well. There are some nice options (21 thousand pounders will look impressive and would go well with the Silver of the prototype but with markings from one of the Musketeer squadrons and option 1 glazing sections. The 1960s Marham aircraft will need some additions to carry an authentic bomb load which could be considered for future rereleases, though a Yellow Sun (an option for the upcoming Victor?) would be OK. Valiants were also used as Tankers so a Hose Drum Unit to fit in the Bomb Bay with an additional fuel tank would be a good option.Finally it now has pride of place in the 'Cold War Jets' section of my children's bedroom along with the Vulcan (current Airfix version but with the Blue Steel added for a later 1960s version) and an escorting Lightning F6 and Vampire T.11. Hopefully they will be joined by A Victor B2 in early 60s Flash White with a Yellow Sun to complete my V-Force tribute./media/tinymce_upload/ff283b6e42e1d0b373a46e464f112811.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/2040385414735e6efd18e379dfde1d27.JPGThanks for sharing my latest project.Paul Hi, Arthur Steele was my uncle. He never talked about his career and even though I have lots of info. The only thing I can link him to is grapple. I have only just found out tonight that he went back for grapple X. If anyone has any info on his career I would be very grateful I know much of his operations were covert. I cannot see the pictures you posted but from Arthur he would have been honoured by your dedication and passion. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARU5137 Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Information on Squadron Leader Arthur Steel.https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=I-iwBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA148&lpg=PA148&dq=ARTUR+STEEL+OF+WITTERING+RAF&source=bl&ots=0DCx6m7dUf&sig=ACfU3U1c051R2bb39RLr6ZwqdH8kbFsTww&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiErKjA7erxAhUZi1wKHTwJCM0Q6AEwFHoECC0QAg#v=onepage&q=ARTUR%20STEEL%20OF%20WITTERING%20RAF&f=falsehope this helps you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now