MarkH206

That's really really good. Where did you get that giant hand ? - clearly an attempt to fool us into believing its not 1/72.

Hi Tim. Yes that was a bad night for 77 sqn with four planes lost (A, G, N and S). I don't suppose your research yielded any pics? Mark

Graham - thanks for the (very) detailed answer. Fantastic. I've ordered AML's Morris block radiators and taken a punt on their wheels (only main unfortunately). White Ensign now seems to exist in California and are selling the Halifax main and tail wheels but that means 8 dollars for the set plus 12 dollars postage and I cant find a UK distributor (yet) so AML it is. Here's White Ensign: https://www.whiteensignmodels.com/p/WEM+172+Handley+Page+Halifax+Undercarriage+Set+PRO+7202/5801/#.XJELfHd2u70

This is incredibly helpful - thanks to all. After taking a deep breath I have actually started cutting plastic - so only three months to go (with a following wind). I now realise I may have the wrong radiator/propeller set from AML - which states it is specifically for the Mk II and has Gallay radiators: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AMLA7241 AML also do one for the Mk V - with Morris Block radiators: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AMLA7244 Any advice? Also any thoughts on whether the AML main wheels are better than the kit ones? https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AMLA7239 Thanks Mark

Thanks chaps- that's great info. So I've now got LK730 as a Mk V (which I now understand to be broadly similar to the Mk II - maybe whoever compiled the ORB wasn't bothered by the differences). This means: - rectangular tail fins - Dowty undercarriage - the nose in the kit (please don't tell me I might need to find a different one!) - saxophone exhausts (?) I'm now confusing myself with turrets so there might be another daft question. Thanks again for the help. Mark

That's interesting - and slightly depressing at the same time. I had checked the squadron ORB for Jan '44 which shows LK730 as a Mk II. Would you say your ref is a better bet for the Mk than the ORB? Thanks for the suggestion for the book.

That's great - thanks to both Graham and Chris. Unfortunately I only have generic pics of 77 sqn Halifax's for roughly the right period so am using educated guesswork for my plane (LK730 KN - G) which was one of four lost on a mission to Magdeburg, Germany on 21st Jan '44. I think that means triangular fins and the noses look like that provided in the kit. This pic comes from the 77 Squadron Association and is captioned HR723 KN - M November 1943. Clear view of the exhaust - I'm tempted to use this as a basis

I'm building (well just scratching my head really) a 77 squadron Halifax Mk II from January '44 at RAF Elvington and have been trying to figure out the options in the Revell kit. I have a few period photos but they are not clear enough and I'm pretty ignorant on the Halifax in general so any help much appreciated. I've worked out some of the options from searching here (and elsewhere) but I have not been able to find out if these parts are suitable for my build: - what is part 123 in step 92; some sort of aerial ? - parts 152, 153 and 154 look like fuel dump pipes like on the Wimpy - were they phased in/out at some point? - exhausts! exhausts! My photos don't help at all. - what is part 124 behind the tail wheel (is that a winch?) - and part 125 at the rear behind the rear turret I've got an AML resin set of replacement radiators, spinners and props and the Revell (Eduard) p.e. set. thanks Mark

That is just wonderful. I love it and, others have said, great pictures too. Mark

I've realised that I didn't thank @Sydhuey for his help in my initial research on 18 squadron and the Bostons in Italy. That set me on the right track although I ended up following the David Raikes story. Hopefully Syd will appreciate that its an 18 squadron plane. Mark

I really really like this. The detail is excellent and it's a pleasure to look at those photos. Mark

That's really good. I particularly like the canopy and clear nose framing - very neat. Mark

I'd say that's a good result. I've just finished the MPM Boston Mk V a couple of days ago which has the same fit problems (and mine ended up a tail sitter as well!). The nose looks great which I really struggled with. Looks to me like you've done a rather splendid job on a challenging kit. Mark

Thanks a lot. To be honest I'm slightly overwhelmed by all these nice comments. The mug was a gift from my sister in law - and it's my favourite. I've just looked it up and realised I should've been a bit more grateful. This is it on amazon uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Royal-Force-Centenary-Emma-Bridgewater/dp/B07JPYP5T8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1551815739&sr=8-2&keywords=emma+bridgewater+raf+mug

These men knew moments you have never known, Nor ever will; we knew those moments too, And talked of them in whispers late at night; Such confidence was born of danger shared. We shared their targets, too; but we came back. From 'Let It Be Hushed' by David Raikes On the evening of 21st April 1945 RAF 18 Squadron based at Forli, in northern Italy, was tasked with attacking crossings on the river Po. Douglas Boston Mk V 'B' serial no. BZ590 with a crew of 4 didn't return. In the words of the RAF: "The aircraft took off from Forli aerodrome at 20:54 hours on 21.4.45. to attack the river crossing at Taglio Di Po, and then carry out an armed reconnaissance of the Po Valley. Since that time, nothing is known." It was assumed that BZ590 had been brought down by German anti-aircraft fire. Three of the crew were only 20 years old when they died - the pilot, Sergeant David Raikes, the navigator, Flight Sergeant David Perkins, and the wireless operator / gunner, Flight Sergeant Alexander Bostock. The crew's other gunner was 21 - Warrant Officer John Hunt, of the Royal Australian Air Force. The crew of BZ590 - from left: Sergeant David Raikes, Flight Sergeant David Perkins, Flight Sergeant Alexander Bostock and Warrant Officer John Hunt Looking at this picture it is hard to believe that the eldest is only 21. Then, sixty-six years later, the wreck of the plane was located by Italian archaeologists (Archeologi dell'Aria) following up on the recollections of someone about a crash on farmland. Following painstaking work by the archaeologists, the plane and her crew were formally identified. As a result, on 18th July 2013, a military ceremony was held at Padua War Cemetery. Organised by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force with the help of the British Embassy in Rome. Participating in the ceremony were serving representatives of both Air Forces, including members of the Queen’s Colour Squadron and of 18 Squadron, as well as Italian military and civilian representatives and, of course, relatives of the crew. At the graveside, David Raikes, nephew of Sergeant David Raikes, read his uncle's poem 'Let it be Hushed' and Ray Madge, the half-nephew of Warrant Officer John Hunt, played the last post. A lone piper played a lament at the crash site. The remains of the crew were laid to rest in a single coffin. The 'Po River Museum of the Second World War', in the small town of Felonica, has a room dedicated to BZ590 and her crew. There are belt buckles, badges and parts of the aircraft, including the front-landing gear. The link below to the museum has photos of the display and of the ceremony. Scroll down to the 7th set of images. The reference to Flying Officer Peter Long seems to be because he piloted BZ590 on 4th March '45 as shown by the page from his logbook. I assume he is the white haired gentleman in some of those pictures. Lots of great images further down the page too. . http://www.museofelonica.it/?page_id=77 David Raikes' poetry was published after the war by his family. His poem 'Let It Be Hushed', written shortly before his own death, deals with the loss of another crew (I assume also 18 squadron) who crashed into the sea. It starts: Let it be hushed, let the deep ocean close Upon these dead... and then: ... At first just overdue, Till minutes changed to hours, and still no news. One went to bed; but roused by later crews, Asked 'were they back yet?' And being answered 'No', Went back to sleep One's waking eyes sought out the empty beds, And 'Damn', you said, 'another kit to pack.' I never liked that part. You never knew What privacies your sorting might lay bare. I always tried to leave my kit arranged In decent tidiness. You never knew. I can't help wondering if he did tidy his kit before that last flight. On to the model which is the MPM 1:72 Douglas Boston Mk IV / V. When I started the build I knew nothing about David Raikes and my intention was to do an out of the box build. An 18 squadron Boston. A conversation with my wife's stepfather changed all that. He asked me if I had come across any of the WW2 poets he had on a list. One of the names he mentioned was David Raikes. Some research revealed he was an 18 squadron pilot. One of life's little coincidences. Having already decided on an 18 squadron scheme it seemed important that I do BZ590. This was a challenging build with plenty of fit problems, which others have mentioned, but I'm fairly happy with the end result and enjoyed almost all of it. Extras were Eduard p.e. and masks – both for the A20-G. I couldn't find them for the Boston IV / V so I was creative with the transparent nose area. For the first time, for weight, I used Liquid Gravity poured under the cockpit floor with some white glue mixed in water. That seemed easy and she was happily nose down. Result. Then at some point late in the build I put her down on her legs again and she was a tail sitter. Oh bother. You can just see the clear sprue support in some of the pics. However, the most frustrating part of the build was attaching the nose. MPM has this as three transparencies and the fit to the fuselage then had a noticeable step – at least the way I did it. I put a lot of work into dealing with that and had it to the point where the fit looked ok to the naked eye. And then the nose fell off. When I eventually returned to the desk some time later I simply reattached the nose as best I could. I couldn't face any more sanding, polishing . . . . so that's the one area I'm not happy with. From a distance on the shelf it'll look ok – at least if I'm not wearing my glasses. I need to rethink how I blend poorly fitting transparencies to the fuselage. Paints were Ultimate acrylic primer and Xtracrylics; Winsor and Newton oils and pastels for weathering. Decals partly from the kit and the spares box. I had lots of fun chasing those tiny serial numbers around before getting them (nearly) in position. Finding the story of this crew was a real bonus for me. So a thank-you to my wife's step-father. Anyway, here's some pics. All the best Mark