Sub Killer EAC: 1/48th Classic Airframes Hudson

I first came across the Aviaeology "First Kill Hudsons" decals that had a few RCAF examples in it and then set about looking for a suitable kit. As it turned out, the 1/48th Classic Airframes Hudson was my best available starting place (as it was pretty much the only game in town).

Notable Kit Features:

• Parts provided to construct a Mk. III/IV/V/VI or PBO-1

• Short-run plastic kit with nicely detailed resin parts

• Cockpit features resin components

• Very finely engraved panel lines

Build Inspiration:

Featured in the Aviaeology "First Kill Hudsons" decal sheet (AOD48012) was one flown by S/L N.E. "Mollie" Small who served with RCAF 113 (BR) squadron, based at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. On 31 July 1942 flying Lockheed Hudson Mk. IIIA, (Serial No. BW625, coded LML) his crew was credited with the squadron's first sinking of a U-Boat (U754) southeast of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia.

Heads-Up Report:

• Flash clean-up of many parts with test fitting required throughout

• Challenging to piece together the various cockpit pieces

• No location assistance for where cockpit sits inside fuselage and getting it wrong will have consequences (Some sanding down required for fit in fuselage)

• Instructions will have you make the throttles from stretched sprue

• Small components in resin are quite fragile (I broke a few bits)

• Vague instructions on placement of parts

• No locater pins on parts join

• Seams all requiring filler & sanding

• No wheel well detail

• Components of tail had to be filed down in order to get them to fit together

• Wheels have no drilled out holes to fit on axels

• Separate nose glass fit to fuselage is problematic (prepare to sand and fill)

• Rear turret pieces have to be carefully fitted with no location assists (which is a pain at the end of everything else)

• Guns once seated on rack did not line up with turret glass slots

• Engines nacelles required sanding & smooth over with filler

• Lower intakes on nacelles were poor fit requiring styrene sheet to gap fill before putty filler and sanding

• Wing flap actuators all require some sanding and filling work to fit

• You will need to drill through the front nose glass to fit the guns (if required)

• The cabin windows fit from the outside (so I left them until post paint) Each required a bit of filing on all 4 edges but friction fit when done (did not lose one into the fuselage;)

  
  

Kit Additions / Modifications:

• Made seatbelts using cut strips of painted masking tape

• Added wheel well details

• Glued on short sections of styrene to the exterior fuselage to act as wing spars

Finishing:

I initially painted the underside with some old Tamiya (water-base) paint, but had that paint go rogue on me. (I suspect a previous thinning for use destabilized the paint). The paint seemed to spray on okay, however after it dried, I noticed the paint was like a temporary wash that would come off if you touched it. I wiped it down with some denim to clear the dust, ditched that old paint and laid down a new coat of Vallejo RAF Sky. Vallejo Dark Earth and Dark Green were used for the upper camouflage (The Hudson green was deemed to be a bit more "Dupont" in its tone, so this was adjusted accordingly) Light weathering was done to the paint tones during the spray process. I also add a few drops of Pledge floor finish to the mix as it tends to harden the Vallejo paint, which I have found to be a bit fragile.

The de-icer boots were painted on with AK Real Colours paint pen which I have found works great for such tasks and will do more with these in the future. The Eduard (old olive green) masks did not adhere well (as they are not flexible enough to round the curves and the adhesive tended to pull away at the edges), so some cleaning up of the paint on the glass was necessary post-paint. (Thankfully water base paints can be scraped off with a toothpick or similar soft device.) The cabin windows were fitted from the outside and all the final bits and pieces of antenna and landing gear were added at the end to finish this long build process off. As it happened I didn't have room to fit the main gear doors (which slot into the well on one side) so I am saying the crew removed these as part of servicing and haven't refitted them as yet.

The After-Build Report:

Unfortunately if you want a 1/48th scale Hudson in your collection, you are going to have to work a bit harder at getting one onto the display shelf. The 1/48th Classic Airframes Hudson will get you there in the end, with a pretty fine looking example, however there seemed to be more than a fair share of frustrations along the way. I am convinced that after having gone through all that, Airfix will most likely release a modern-tool 1/48th scale plastic injection version of the Hudson in 2026 or so ;)

Completed build #278 - May 2025 using the 1/48th scale Classic Airframes No. 449 kit.

Feel free to comment or ask any questions - Keep on building, gain experience, challenge yourself if you like, but try not to stress yourself out over the build - it is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby after all - Cheers