What is a good kit of the Hampden?

[Matt Roberts]

I was just thinking about all of the differant subjects that I have built in nearly 40 years and I can think that I have never built a Hampden.

What would be a good airframe and maybe reference for it? With all of the new 72nds hitting the market over the last few years I'm unsure which may be a good kit. I'm thinking of one to go with my Italeri SM-79 torpedo bomber as one of my few 72nds

TIA and Happy Modeling

Matt

[The wooksta V2.0]

The Airfix one isn't bad with a little work, some new canopies and Aeroclub resin engines. The Valom kit is overpriced andmost modellers seem to agree that it's no real leap over the Airfix kit.

[Don McIntyre]

Agreed, the Airfix kit is probably your best bet. Although, for any dressing up you want to do, you'll be on your own. I can't think of any aftermarket for the Airfix kit (although I am willing to be corrected).

Edited August 30, 2010 by Don McIntyre

[Max Headroom]

I seem to recall that a Polish manufacturer reverse engineered the Airfix kit. All I can remember of it was that detail was engravwd rather than raised.

Trevor

[dylan the rabbit]

Agreed, the Airfix kit is probably your best bet. Although, for any dressing up you want to do, you'll be on your own. I can't think of any aftermarket for the Airfix kit (although I am willing to be corrected).

Airwaves do a nice etch set for it (got one myself for my Hampden - http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AEC72203), and you can replace the engines with Aeroclub Bristol Pegasus engines.

A nice little kit, and one of my favourites.

[Seahawk]

Airwaves do a nice etch set for it (got one myself for my Hampden - http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AEC72203), and you can replace the engines with Aeroclub Bristol Pegasus engines.

A nice little kit, and one of my favourites.

And Falcon Clearvax set 8 contains replacement canopies.

[Test Graham]

Bilek released the Airfix Hampden, along with a number of other Airfix kits. I hadn't heard that it had been retooled by anyone else.

[avro683]

I seem to remember that the Airfix kit is back in their catalogue. The only real issue I had with it is the separate bomb bay doors are WAY too thick, looking as if they were built out of concrete or wooden railway sleepers!

Tony

[Max Headroom]

I seem to recall so eons doing an in depth build in an IPMS UK mag in the 90's.

Trevor

[Work In Progress]

I built the Airfix kit in about 1974 or 1975 and liked it, though I was only a kid then. What I remember was some of the transparencies not fitting very well (the Falcon set will cure that), and that the cockpit interior benefits from a bit of dry-fitting and possibly some adjustment in width. Mine was a little bit wide for the inside of the fuselage, if I recall correctly.

I have it in a more recent release to do again and am looking forward to it.

[jenko]

What about the offering from VALOM ??

Dick

[Potato Pete]

Someone also does a wing tip correction set for the Airfix kit- Airwaves I think.....

[Old VG 33]

What about the offering from VALOM ??

Dick

Well, I'm currently building one.

So far it has ben easy (wings and tail) but the clear parts are too large for the fuselage so there will be some sport when I am there.

Patrick

[stevehnz]

I have the Airfix Hampden though I've yet to build it. I want to do one for 489(NZ) squadron which were TB1s. I picked up a Valom detail set from Modelimex which I hope to be able to adapt to the Airfix kit. It has the extended bomb bay doors & torpedo etc. As with most kits of that era I will sand off much of the raised detail, in 1/72, I don't think that its omission will be noticed.

Steve

[Test Graham]

Be careful! There was no such thing as "extended bombbay doors". Quite the contrary, the bombbay doors were left alone. What was done was to shorten the depth of the tail gunner's position, thus producing a visible step up behind the bombbay. A large heavy duty carrier was placed centrally in the bombbay, with the torpedo semi-exposed below the original bottom line. The outer bombbay door on each side closed normally, the inner door rested alongside the torpedo until after the torpedo was dropped, then closed normally. The gunner's position was raised because although the torpedo itself was much the same length as the bombbay, a conventional torpedo can only be dropped at low speeds. For faster attack speeds a Monoplane Air Tail was fitted to the rear of the torpedo, making it too long for the bombbay, and this sat below the gunner's position.

This is described in the Putnam Handley Page: I have a drawing of the test installation, and I have handled the reduced gunner's position from the Hampden currently being restored at Cosford. Common drawings showing the bombbay steepened to the rear, with the standard gunner's position, are wrong.

[Old VG 33]

Be careful! There was no such thing as "extended bombbay doors". Quite the contrary, the bombbay doors were left alone. What was done was to shorten the depth of the tail gunner's position, thus producing a visible step up behind the bombbay. A large heavy duty carrier was placed centrally in the bombbay, with the torpedo semi-exposed below the original bottom line. The outer bombbay door on each side closed normally, the inner door rested alongside the torpedo until after the torpedo was dropped, then closed normally. The gunner's position was raised because although the torpedo itself was much the same length as the bombbay, a conventional torpedo can only be dropped at low speeds. For faster attack speeds a Monoplane Air Tail was fitted to the rear of the torpedo, making it too long for the bombbay, and this sat below the gunner's position.

This is described in the Putnam Handley Page: I have a drawing of the test installation, and I have handled the reduced gunner's position from the Hampden currently being restored at Cosford. Common drawings showing the bombbay steepened to the rear, with the standard gunner's position, are wrong.

Very interesting.

As you are talking about the Putnam Handley Page book: Is there any picture of Hampden AT225 N) 1404 (Met) flight in this book or elsewhere?

Patrick

[Test Graham]

Sorry, don't have time to go looking just now - maybe later - but if this is the one in Coastal White then I don't think so. There is a photo on the cover of an old IPMS UK mag, and I believe in the Warpaint, but I'm not sure from memory which of these was the UK one(?) and which from the white ones at Pat Bay.