Jump to content

Halifax B Mk. I/II/GRII - Revell 1/72


Recommended Posts

I'm out of likes again Ced. 

The 'burglar signs on the sash windows' is the sort of thing I've done in the past, without the useful moment of realisation :(.

 

Sash windows; ropes, weights and sometimes mouldy frames. Not to mention sometimes being clarted in around 150 years worth of layers of paint. Once they are refurbished they look superb.

 

I was always a little sad to see houses that once had sash windows, have them replaced with plastic 'modern' windows. I'm a little old fashioned and traditionalist about vernacular architecture.

 

Just to put my 5p in with regard to the wheels; I think it was originally Giorgio's suggestion; but you could also squidge in a bit of blue or white tak behind them too, to lessen the possibility of them coming adrift.

 

I'm still getting a lot of enjoyment from the bizarre shape of those exhausts :D.

 

Best regards

TonyT

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Could you glue a bit of sprue at the rear of the wheel and the door part? By where the clip is it the photo. I used 1/24 angled Airfix sprue bits during my Bf109 build to stop accidentally pushing bits in and strengthening joins. I guess you could use regular sprue bits though. Just a thought.:giles: great work btw

 

Johnny.

1 hour ago, bbudde said:

As above  A small sprue cylinder behind the wheel and two strips aside , if possible would also be my idea. Cheers

 

Thanks Johnny (especially as you're on holiday, what dedication!) and Benedikt - good ideas. I've since dribbled some CA gel down the sides of the wheels, my main concern being that anything else would 'close the gap' and spoil the look. Now I've turned them over I don't think it'll be a problem:

 

35790637540_2859dc0124_z.jpg

 

 

Thanks Alex - yes, it's good to see PC back :) 

 

2 hours ago, Leonl said:

Nice work Ced. A very pleasant catch up read!

 

Is it me or have you slowed your build rate down in retirement?? Just saying...

 

Thanks Leon - yes, I have slowed down. Temporarily, maybe. I promised myself I'd do nothing for two weeks or until I got bored, neither of which has happened yet... but still trying! :) 

 

1 hour ago, TonyTiger66 said:

I'm out of likes again Ced. 

The 'burglar signs on the sash windows' is the sort of thing I've done in the past, without the useful moment of realisation :(.

 

Sash windows; ropes, weights and sometimes mouldy frames. Not to mention sometimes being clarted in around 150 years worth of layers of paint. Once they are refurbished they look superb.

 

I was always a little sad to see houses that once had sash windows, have them replaced with plastic 'modern' windows. I'm a little old fashioned and traditionalist about vernacular architecture.

 

Just to put my 5p in with regard to the wheels; I think it was originally Giorgio's suggestion; but you could also squidge in a bit of blue or white tak behind them too, to lessen the possibility of them coming adrift.

 

I'm still getting a lot of enjoyment from the bizarre shape of those exhausts :D.

 

Best regards

TonyT

 

Thanks TT. When living in my mates house in Beaufort East (big Georgian houses) he took out each window and refurbished them. Easy(ish) actually and something I may do. There are lots of videos on YouTube and I may think about double glazed replacement glass and brush insulation. One day.

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Milliput. Sausages and twists:

 

36183231275_b1eced1014_n.jpg 36050515941_0a390708ff_n.jpg

 

 

One of the benefits of using this method, apart from the ease of mixing, is that you can see if you've cut off too much of one part and, if so, even up the sausage and stick the excess back in the packet.

(I'm not sure why but I feel a fnaar fnaar is required here!)

 

Still mixed too much of course:

 

35379408043_d7afee77d6_z.jpg

 

Even though, while filling the gaps in the nacelles where the intakes aren't, I must have pushed half a ton of the stuff inside before it stuck. Sometimes I get on really well with this stuff and sometimes it drives me a bit potty. I think it's because I'm not waiting long enough between the 'sticky' and 'mouldable' phases of the curing. Maybe.

 

36051107331_f171d1a81a_z.jpg

 

 

Still not perfect but I'll let it dry overnight and sand tomorrow.

 

As if that wasn't frustrating enough, I pushed in one of the windows while trying to fill it:

 

35379418093_5aba7d4fe1_z.jpg

 

"Oh lummy, what a whoopsie" I said, or words to that effect.

Any bright ideas to fill the window gap chaps?

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, CedB said:

Part-painted (lazy) wheels balanced on the doors and glued:

 

36133552366_93b10ef60e_z.jpg

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

There seems to be no other way of mounting these so I just hope I don't push one back in during handling (snurf titter).

Back of the radiator thingies sanded and general tidy-up around the nacelles:

 

36133558836_1a7cdbfa25_z.jpg

 

Masking mojo - use it or lose it! No masks for the Z nose so tape, cocktail stick and #6 blade. The frames on the main nose part are indistinct so I'm expecting to have to clean up later:

 

36007617552_ca1a5ebed8_z.jpg

 

I've also removed the mask on the lower windows and cut it down on the upper ones - we'll see what it looks like but I may dab some Milliput in there later.

 

36134065586_207650552b_z.jpg

 

Now that was done, a fun bit - I was able to position and glue 'Michael's Bomb Aimer':

 

35783832860_e7b960b7f4_z.jpg

 

Nice!

Ced,

 

Good to see an RAAF Dominion type on board!

 

Michael

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Michael - especially for donating the original figure :)

 

OK, encouraged by a couple of glasses of red I thought "I could get the window out with my new crocodile tweezers" so I did:

 

35797182270_9a185532e7_z.jpg

 

Then I thought "Oooh, I could sand that down and glue it in the gap" so I did:

 

36187267075_18bee57bbd_n.jpg 35797274890_7727488845_n.jpg

 

A quick session with a riffler file should sort that. In the morning.

  • Like 18
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, that was a great save! :worthy::clap:

 :worthy::clap: Which red wine exactly, please? I think I should add that to the list of modelling tools :winkgrin::D

 

Ciao

Edited by giemme
  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On cracking form with that window recovery there Ced! :thumbsup2:

 

Could I ask what a riffler file is and what particular uses it has?

 

It's not that I need another tool you understand...

 

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you given any though as to how to deal with the perspex observation blister on the underside of the fuselage yet Ced? It can be see in the pic, just any of the H2S dome.

 

Halifax_underside.

 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Simon - and I think it actually worked (see below) :)

Thanks Giorgio - very kind. I don't think it matters what sort of wine it is but Mrs B says it's called 'what was on offer' :D 

Thanks Tony - riffler files were recommended by Mr Fritag and Bill and they're little ones with bent ends... I bought my set from here. Riffle riffle :) 

Thanks Johnny :) 

Thanks chaddy - luckily JB910 is 'an early' and doesn't have the window or the bumpy bit. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :lalala:

 

The window fix worked - some gentle action with a small flat file, then a smaller one, then sanding and a final scribe:

 

36154953186_e1f0938266_z.jpg

 

Small files, not the six incher. No, naughty, I meant the second cut half round file, NOT that - I'm not cutting mine in half for anyone, fnaar fnaar!

 

Also tidied up the Milliput on the nacelles:

 

36195959265_5af16e09e7_z.jpg

 

I've glued the radiator flaps in a semi-open position now to make a feature of them. I've glued the bomb bay doors on, closed. I did use the six inch for this as a test (for me) and crikey, the way a few gentle strokes get rid of sprue nubs is impressive. If you're gentle there's no scratching either. Great tool, thanks Bill :) 

 

Tail and turrets. Nearly ready for some paint? I'll check the instructions to make sure the five thousand parts left on the sprues shouldn't go somewhere.

Oh, and props and spinners. 

  • Like 16
Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, CedB said:

I don't think it matters what sort of wine it is but Mrs B says it's called 'what was on offer' :D 

Oh no, no, no - you and I should have a word about this matter, away from Mrs B hearing range :winkgrin::whistle::D:D

 

Ciao

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

'Thanks chaddy - luckily JB910 is 'an early' and doesn't have the window or the bumpy bit. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :lalala:'

 

Unfortunately Ced the very fact that it is an 'early one' means that it does have the blister underneath. Apart from the fact I have an eyewitness account I also have the 'proof'.....:worms:

Edit: There is a well known pic of JB911 at Elvington in July 1943 that shows the same feature...and on the aircraft on the ground, so......

Halifax 77 Sqn

 

Edited by chaddy
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Leonl said:

 

Of course... you can use the foil as well!

 :rofl:Yes of course - although the Best one I've used so far came from champagne bottles ... :drunk::coolio:

 

 

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, giemme said:

 :rofl:Yes of course - although the Best one I've used so far came from champagne bottles ... :drunk::coolio:

 

 

 

Booze again G. how do you stay sober to build the models LOL

 

Simon.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Spookytooth said:

Booze again G. how do you stay sober to build the models LOL

 

Simon.

:D:D It may sound like I'm an addicted, but in fact with a single bottle you can go a long way, from  a modelling point of view .... :coolio:

 

Ciao

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A gentle, genial few minutes playing catchup, looking lovely Ced

 

A tad worried about the lateral thinking requirements though

 

Think about it, large wheel needs location firmly up in a ole wi' norralot behind it to give it grip

 

Simplicity looms

 

Cut one of said large wheels in half and glue a piece of plastic across the cut bit and glue plastic to side walls of nacelle, inside it

 

Job done AND  a new spare wheel in spares box, just in case...

 

😀

 

I am pleased to see you are beginning to be beguiled by the six inch, half round, second cut

 

I believe The Saviour would have been happy to extoll their virtues  during a talk on a mountain if they'd been introduced way back then..    

Edited by perdu
  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the that file link Ced! :thumbsup2:

 

41 minutes ago, perdu said:

I believe The Saviour would have been happy to extoll their virtues  during a talk on a mountain if they'd been introduced way back then..    

Would that be The Sermon on the Half-Round?

Bless you Brother Perdu for your missionary work amongst us poor heathens.

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, chaddy said:

'Thanks chaddy - luckily JB910 is 'an early' and doesn't have the window or the bumpy bit. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :lalala:'

 

Unfortunately Ced the very fact that it is an 'early one' means that it does have the blister underneath. Apart from the fact I have an eyewitness account I also have the 'proof'.....:worms:

Edit: There is a well known pic of JB911 at Elvington in July 1943 that shows the same feature...and on the aircraft on the ground, so......

Halifax 77 Sqn

 

Hi Chaddy,

 

That's intriguing.

 

Is it an observation blister or a perspex cover for a fuselage-mounted appendage?

 

From the photographs and drawings to hand here, this does not seem a standard fitting for srs1 or srs2 versions. It appears to be the exception more than the rule.

 

Whatever its function, I wondered whether it might be a surplus-to-requirement nose side observation blister put to some other use.

 

It appears to be absent on the Mk IIIs although at p.60 of my copy of Brian Rapier's 'Halifax at War', one of these blisters appears on a side view drawing of a Merlin-engined Halifax with D type rudders.

 

I do not know what it is although I wish I did,

 

Michael

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ced, you could have just rubbed it with a wet finger and the milliput would have adhered nicely to the gap and you would not have needed to sand. Any way, good to see this cracking along and looking so good!

 

Rob

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, Michael Enright said:

Hi Chaddy,

 

That's intriguing.

 

Is it an observation blister or a perspex cover for a fuselage-mounted appendage?

 

From the photographs and drawings to hand here, this does not seem a standard fitting for srs1 or srs2 versions. It appears to be the exception more than the rule.

 

Whatever its function, I wondered whether it might be a surplus-to-requirement nose side observation blister put to some other use.

 

It appears to be absent on the Mk IIIs although at p.60 of my copy of Brian Rapier's 'Halifax at War', one of these blisters appears on a side view drawing of a Merlin-engined Halifax with D type rudders.

 

I do not know what it is although I wish I did,

 

Michael

It's an observation blister. The original Merlin engined Halifax lacked poke and squadrons took all possible measures to reduce weight and generally 'clean up' the aircraft. One of these measures was the removal of the MU turret. At the same time they were aware of the problem of night fighter attacks from below and behind. You are correct to say that they utilised surplus side observation blisters for this purpose. Having removed the mid upper turret the surplus to requirements gunner spent his time lying on his belly keeping a lookout for enemy aircraft. That is the sole purpose of the blister. I had this confirmed by a F/E of 10 Sqn, who was on the squadron Feb 43 to Sept 43. There is even a Mod Number for it if I can find it in my records.

 

Of course later improvements to the performance of the MkIIs (from late spring early/  1943) allowed the installation of the lower profile MU turret, and the gunner returned to his original occupation. There is absolutely no doubt that JB910 had one such blister. There are a number of pics of 10 Sqn aircraft so equipped. There are also photographs showing MK11s with the new MU turret and the blister,  (see pic). The only thing Im not sure of is if the likes of JB910 and JB911 left the factory with them fitted and the MU turret removed.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...