1/72 Frog Canberra T Mk.4

Gallery Article by Dirk Schenk on Aug 8 2016

 

      

The South African Air Force had a number of T Mk.4 trainers in their Canberra fleet. Like the bombers, the trainers (numbers 457 to 459) were operated by 12 Squadron. At some point, a second-hand B Mk.2 nose was acquired from the Rhodesian Air Force and T Mk.4 trainer 457 was converted to a bomber. The T Mk.4 trainer had an oval canopy with side-by-side seating similar to the Mk.2 bomber as opposed to the off-set fighter style canopy of the B(I)12. 

This model is a B Mk.2 from Frog (F.323) modified to T Mk.4 configuration and depicts Canberra number 458 in photo reconnaissance configuration. The plane represents one from the early 1980s when the Cans had lost the castles, flash and squadron markings. Pretty bland! As with my B(I)12 from an earlier article, I struggled to get the faded PRU Blue effect but managed eventually. I attach a photo showing the two planes together. 

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The model required a lot of work to become presentable. Hardly anything fit and patience with a lot of fit, file and fill was the order of the day. The following modifications were made:

  • 1. A camera pack replaced the bomb bay (scavenged from the Airfix Pr.9 model)

  • 2. I drilled out the engine nacelles and added some scratch built engine detail

  • 3. The cockpit was changed from single seat to twin seat configuration using bits from the spares box

  • 4. Various antennae were added

The end result is not too bad and choosing the right lighting and angles for the photos hides most of the problem areas. 

As always, I used Tamiya paints. A matt coat was added as a final layer. Who knows, once I recovered from the Frog shock, I may attempt to build the modified T Mk.4 with the B Mk.2 front end … if I can find another model of this great looking plane.

Dirk Schenk

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Photos and text © by Dirk Schenk