Author Topic: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale  (Read 3638 times)

Offline Brian da Basher

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The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« on: December 30, 2017, 11:16:57 PM »
The 1960's were a golden age for long-distance air travel.



In 1964 Britannia Airways took to the skies flying the eponymous Bristol Britannia.





All was well as the inaugural flight from London to Newark, New Jersey pushed off from the gate at 3:17 PM local time on December 29, 1964.



However, un-noticed until it was too late, trouble was brewing with the in-flight meal.



By the time the aircraft was almost across the Atlantic, the entire flight crew and most of the passengers had become violently ill. Extreme measures had to be taken.



The only stewardess who wasn't sick scoured the passengers hoping to find someone who could land the plane.



As luck would have it, an Air Force veteran who served in the war was aboard. As he was a religious Pescitarian albeit with a drinking problem, he skipped supper. Immediately grasping the severity of the situation, he took a seat on the flight deck.



Guided by Newark Air Traffic Control, the novice airline pilot put the Britannia into a slow, shallow descent, headed for a landing vector.



The Britannia Airways Britannia performed flawlessly despite the clammy hands on the control column.



However flying a fighter plane is a lot different than bringing a modern turbo-prop airliner to a safe landing in the heavy weather New Jersey is known for.



Sleet and high winds lashed the airliner mercilessly but the brave soul in the cockpit pressed on.



Heeding his long dormant instincts at the critical moment, he maneuvered to obtain just the right attitude to hit the tarmac flawlessly.



The airliner made a perfect three-point landing and it was nothing short of a miracle that there were no injuries on board that couldn't be cured by the Pink Stuff®.



This would turn out to be the big news of late 1964 and the man who stepped up to the challenge was lauded as a hero on both sides of the Atlantic.



Unfortunately, within a few years the sleek Britannia Airways Britannias would be replaced by more modern jetliners and this once-iconic aircraft is all but forgotten today despite its brief moment of glory.



Brian da Basher

« Last Edit: December 31, 2017, 12:43:08 AM by Brian da Basher »

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2017, 11:55:26 PM »
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
« Last Edit: December 31, 2017, 02:23:13 AM by Brian da Basher »

Offline kitnut617

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2017, 12:42:04 AM »
Wow! you've done a terrific job with that kit Brian, fantastic story again too.

Offline Tophe

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2017, 01:58:43 AM »
congratulations! :smiley:

Offline The Big Gimper

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2017, 04:44:40 AM »
This Brian is a brilliant build of a brainy British brainchild brimming with a beaming backstory of blowfish, barracudas!

Bravo!
Work in progress ::

I am giving up listing them. They all end up on the shelf of procrastination anyways.

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Offline finsrin

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2017, 06:09:16 PM »
You captured classiness of late prop-liner era well.  Classiness similar to last of the biplanes.
Excellent research on fish incident.  If airliner was an early jet there might not have been such a happy ending.

Offline FAAMAN

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #6 on: January 01, 2018, 07:00:12 AM »
That is special, well done mate  8) 8)
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Offline elmayerle

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #7 on: January 01, 2018, 11:15:16 AM »
Beautiful  build and backstory.

Offline pigflyer

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #8 on: January 01, 2018, 08:28:40 PM »
"The cockpit windows were taken from a Minicraft 707. I was not feeling confident in my ability to paint them by hand."

If I had your talent Sir Brian, I would fear no kit nor finish.  The finished item is a real beauty, and the back story, well, it is worthy of a film!

 :icon_alabanza:
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Offline Frank3k

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #9 on: January 02, 2018, 02:27:56 AM »
This one looks great! Decals and painting are superb! I looked up IM and all I could find was this on ScaleMates: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/1007500-im-12-bristol-britannia
They say it's in the crowd pleasing 1/166 scale and the original plastic dates to the 1950s and was made by Lincoln International.

Offline kitnut617

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2018, 02:38:53 AM »
All the International Modeling kits were ex-Lincoln kits except the Constellation which was ex-Hawk. There were 18 models in all different scales, none of which were the same as any other.

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #11 on: January 04, 2018, 09:41:56 AM »
x
« Last Edit: September 16, 2019, 08:35:48 AM by mundster »

Offline b29r

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #12 on: February 02, 2018, 10:33:45 PM »
Very entertaining Brian, a great build and a fun backstory.  This is why I never eat fish  :smiley: 

Despite being an old dog and from the USA, I have never heard of these kits.  Very neatly engineered for their time, I am impressed.  It would be fun to see the entire range built up here.  Great job!

Best regards,
Kem

Offline ysi_maniac

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #13 on: February 03, 2018, 01:49:46 PM »
These spartane kits are perfect for whiffery. Perfect job, Brian. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

Offline Spey Phantom

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Re: The Britannia Britannia - A Fishy Tale in 1/150 Scale
« Reply #14 on: February 03, 2018, 03:19:17 PM »
looks great  :smiley:

does it come with the "Jesus Christ-switch"?  ;D
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