This all began with a wonderful 1/150 scale IM Bristol Britannia our good friend kitnut sold me for a song along with a Connie and a couple of DC-6s. Granted, the
box card art isn't much to look at...
and the back is not very lively either.
According to the header card, this is only one of many molded marvels offered by this long-defunct maker.
The price certainly can't be beat!
And there are some very well-done instructions if one is so inclined...
The only model paints I have are acrylics, please don't tell the powers that be at IM.
For a kit that's probably older than I am the styrene was in very good shape.
The small parts were most considerately bagged separately.
Let me take them out for you so you can get a better look.
I'm stunned by how well the props held up over so much time and distance.
Unfortunately, the decals hadn't fared very well over the past half-century.
Not to worry, I found a work-around. Unfortunately, there was no such luck with those dimpled windows. Mr Tamiya's miracle putty to the rescue!
Then a bit of clampage...
Here's how it all looked before painting commenced. I was half tempted not to tempt fate and leave it like this.
Please note that at this stage, none of the parts were actually glued on. That's some impressive tolerances for such an old mold!
This kit surprised me with its outstanding engineering. The wings have inter-locking tabs so the dihedral is built in.
Undeterred by Fear of Fouling It All Up, I applied the first of a couple of coats of Model Masters Semi-Gloss White Primer acrylic to the fuselage with the old hairy stick.
That went well and I continued with some Polly Scale Silver on the wings & tail planes, Model Masters Steel on the cowlings and Primer Gray and Insignia Yellow on the props. Then I added the Britannia Airways cheatline decals swiped from an Airfix 737 and some spare window frames. The cockpit windows were taken from a Minicraft 707. I was not feeling confident in my ability to paint them by hand.
Then I screwed up my courage and painted the nose cone black. I was pleased with how it came out.
By swiping the title from that Airfix 737 decal sheet, I was able to make the stand somewhat presentable.
I had a whale of a time putting this all together which took me the better part of a week.
I'd like to thank kitnut for offering me the fruits of his small-scale collection.
I couldn't have done it without you my friend!
I hope you enjoyed the Britannia Britannia and reading a little more forgotten airliner history even if it does seem a bit fishy.
Brian da Basher