With a late push I managed to finish this kit and make double figures for the year I completed it using Model Alliance decals depicting an Indian Air Force Canberra operating in the Congo in the 60s in support of the UN.





As you can see, despite a ton of screws in the fwd fuselage/bomb bay, its still a tail sitter!


The new tool Airfix Canberras are a real mixed bag.

Pros:

New packing is sturdy and stands out on the shelves of the LHS
3 decal options (RAF, RNZAF & SAAF) in 2 colour schemes (grey/green & silver)
Decals are excellent. Well printed, good colour density, **in register**, go on well. Although I mainly used Model Alliance decals for the Indian markings, I used the kits walkways and these fitted perfectly all the way round. Normally this is such a source of frustration with kits having a mixture of too short and too long.
Posable ailerons, elevators and flaps
Includes bombs, rocket pods, belly pack for guns, tip tanks and AS.30s (or they could be Martels :unsure: )
Decent wheel well detail

Cons:

PR.9 & B(I).8 have the same cockpit (they were different wrt the nav station). However, painted black and closed up, you really can't see a thing.
Rudder has same incorrect leading edge profile as their 1/48 kit
Fit is poor in some places, especially engine intakes/exhausts. Fit is terrible around the cockpit insert, and I never did get it properly blended into the fuselage.
Bomb bay doors do not fit in closed position. They touch in the middle but not at the front and back.
"detail" is very clunky and heavy in places, eg the stores which are very basic.
Panel lines are like a die-cast kit, especially on the fuselage. This is the worst for me & totally ruins the look. I ended up filling them all, as pictures of the silver Indian birds show them to be very smooth. I left the ones on the wings as they are not so bad, and I needed them for decal placement (and they have been toned down by several coats of primer & paint). You could probably get away with it on a camoflaged example, but on a silver finish? No chance.

All in all I won't be rushing to build my Airfix PR9. It may well be the best Canberra available in 1/72, but I find myself hoping that Revell do a B.2 in this scale....

One last shot with a friendly Mig-21


All comments, advice, questions etc welcomed.

Very nice work, Neil, and great to see it in Indian markings for a welcome change. The kit hasn't shown up in my part of the world yet, but I've seen numerous finished examples on the internet...all spoiled by the ridiculous panel lines, so you're very wise to have filled them. It is certainly what I will be doing when I eventually get my hands on it.

I've never built a Mig 21 before, so it's a surprise to see just how small an aircraft it is next to the Canberra!

Well done!

Best wishes,

Tim.

Great work Neil, and very helpful comments on the kit.

One question from me, how did you do the fine black lines on the wings, are they decals? If so, they must have been a trial to apply !!

Cheers, D

Thankyou gentlemen.

Damian - the panel lines are decals, included on the Airfix sheet. As I mentioned, they are all exactly the right length, so it wasn't too tedious (the MA sheet just has a series of black striped that need to be cut to length. No thanks! )