BLAKE'S 7
Restoring The London
Part 2
Refitting of detailing along the container sections of the hull. The side detail is the footpad from the iconic AIRFIX Girder Bridge Kit so widely used in Gerry Anderson series such as THUNDERBIRDS
Detailing is refitted to the front section
Docking ring and hatch restored.
Travelling crane rebuild using matching adapted kit parts from the Airfix Girder Bridge (Now Dapol) and the Tamiya M41 tank kit exactly matching the original badly damaged parts.
Stripping back the underside in preparation for refitting the detail panels.
Top crew cabin is rebuilt and fitted - new roof and rear panels required as badly damaged previously. The majority of the detailing is refitted, although a couple of unidentified kit parts have yet to be identified and sourced.
Tower top details remade and test fitted.
Underside detailing underway - where possible some reused sections, some remade.
The 'chin' section is a rebuild as none of the original panels survived, having been replaced with styrene at some point during the past 40 years! This section is now acrylic as originally built and with the front rocket exhaust hole reinstated.
Underside detailing now completed. landing gear remade using the correct kit and Triang Hornby model rail components.
One concession to modern technology on this project is the replacement of the Halfords aluminium mesh walkways which had been originally been applied by the BBC using carpet tape!
This detailing looked clumsy and overscale and has been replaced with laser cute acrylic detailing drawn up on Coreldraw.
The original mesh pattern has been copied but reduced in scale somewhat to match the model scale a little more closely while retaining the feel of the original detailing.
Ready for primer!
The LONDON back in primer for the first time in 41 years!
Constructing a new tower section in brass, laser cut jigs to aid construction.
With the addition of the crane support tower and top detailing - reconstruction work on the model is complete. Next step - painting the model.
Preparing the model for main paint stage.
Paint stand fitted to undercarriage holes.
Masking the upper cabin for painting the anti glare panel and selected panels.
Applying recreations of the original LONDON decals.
Weathering underway...
Weathering the underside.
The completed restoration
Image courtesy of Mark Dunlop Photography
Image courtesy of Mark Dunlop Photography
The restoration completed. Image courtesy of Mark Dunlop Photography
July 2018