Heather Kay

I promised myself that much of this weekend would be dedicated to plastic bothering. Huh. The elephant in the room on this build has been "adjustments" required to some substantial resin castings. I have attempted to clarify the problem, which you probably already know about if you’ve been following this thread. Exhibit A: starboard outer wing casting. I hope the jury can see, m'lud, the upper and lower surfaces are basically flat. Exhibit B: port outer wing casting. A bit bent. Well, actually, it’s not bent at all. The lower surface is pretty near straight. To my mind, that means the mould bulged outwards causing the upper surface to expand. No amount of heat and gentle pressure would overcome that. So… … it looks like the area I’ve marked with a soft pencil will need attention from abrasives of various kinds. I'm not really in the mood for that today. I just want to be inhaling solvent cement fumes and gluing plastic together. Dare I cast my eyes elsewhere and open another box? (Don’t mention Masters. That problem will have its moment. I’m thinking of some other little projects that might satiate my craving without taxing my braincell too much.)

The substitute Master kit arrived today. A quick inspection appears to show the vac form parts are not seriously damaged. It seriously looks like my Master will get finished before the end of the year.

Yes. We (client and I) have agreed to engage a professional for that. I could manage the teak effects, but couldn’t do the primrose lining.

You certainly may! They’re going under 16 Great Eastern coaches, which will be finished in early LNER teak livery. They are destined for a P4 4mm scale layout in Shropshire.

These beggars have been keeping me busy. I’d built the 32 basic frames some time ago from excellent little PE nickel-silver kits. The bit that had been really scaring me was installing the cosmetic spring and axlebox detail. I’d commissioned a 3D design and print for those as the trade couldn’t provide the correct parts. It’s been a lot easier to put together than I feared. Once I got stuck in, yes, it was utterly tedious and boring and repetitive and drove me nuts, but with decent podcasts and a playlist of favourite tunes loud on the hifi, it’s only taken a few days all told. I need to work out how to paint the things without gumming up the springing. Perhaps a bit more time on the Shelf Of Doom while I work it out. I shall treat myself to a weekend of plastic bothering as a reward.

Thanks Adrian! Mr H has up days and down days. He’s no spring chicken, and I think we both know he’s not going to get better. It’ll be the stubborn genes from his family that’ll keep him b*ggering on until the bitter end.

Yes, I saw that. Fascinating, in many ways. The Farnborough set-up was defined as "friction free" and used the aircraft itself to power the trolleys along the track. The Harwell system apparently used compressed air to drive the aircraft along the track without trolleys. In all my reference material, no mention of this latter system is mentioned, so I presume it was effectively "lost" when it was infilled and built over. Here's a link to the Museum Of London Archaeology page on the excavation. https://www.mola.org.uk/discoveries/news/excavations-harwell-investigate-experimental-ww2-catapult

You can make out the stowed arrestor hook under the Manchester in the photo I posted. All this stuff I find an interesting side alley, not often explored.

Much appreciated, Adrian. If I hadn’t found another kit - and I am assuming the vacs in the box are intact - creating a buck and learning how to vacuum form things properly would have been the way forward.

Indeed. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to sell on the rest of the kit with the MkIa canopy. What am I saying? It’s a bit of niche model at best. It’s going to live in my stash until I fall off my perch.

The Micawber Principle: something will turn up. Idly perusing the KingKit web site, as you do, I spied a pre-owned Pavla Miles Master kit. I don’t need another Miles Master, but I do need a new canopy vacform. It’s a rather expensive way of getting a new canopy, but what can a girl do? I added a Matchbox Wellesley to the order to make it worth the postage.

Could you disguise it as a Christmas tree?

Hello again. It’s been rather too long since the last update. All the excuses, you know them. I managed an hour or so this evening to try and kick start the mojo. More on that later. Before that, I have been remiss in the history department. Let’s put that right. They did what? A look at the assisted launch systems for heavy bombers. The inter-war period saw little advance in RAF airfield design. Despite government coffers pouring cash into the designs of new aircraft, and some glorious new architecture for technical sites and hangars, the typical RAF airfield remained essentially a large, grassed flat area. I have a theory this was a proper hangover from the days of biplanes. Until the new designs of monoplane came into service, aircraft were small and fairly light in weight. Being able to taxi and take off into a headwind was always an advantage. Even if a site had a generally prevailing wind direction, the ability to take off or land in any direction on a grass field would be deemed useful. Despite what you might think, an RAF grass field was generally remodelled so the centre was slightly higher than the periphery, and was properly drained. As heavier aircraft were becoming the norm, though, the Air Ministry started to show concern that grass airfields might cause problems, especially in winter when the ground might become waterlogged despite drainage. To that end, they equipped an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley with a steel beam across the undercarriage to simulate the fully-loaded weight, and undertook taxi trials on a waterlogged airfield. It turned out a heavier aircraft wouldn’t suffer unduly from such conditions, and so grass fields continued to remain the standard. When issuing the specification for what would become the Avro Manchester, some further thought was given to helping an aircraft laden with a full bomb load and fuel to take off in a reasonable distance. The Manchester was stressed for a catapult launch system, though the official requirement was dropped in 1938. Nevertheless, the prototype Manchester L7246, was shipped off to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough in August 1940 for trials using a “frictionless take-off” system. (I found this by an interweb search. I can’t find any attribution, but I suspect it may well be public domain by now. Posted for educational purposes.) An experimental 4,400ft (1,341m) long track was laid, with a gauge of 22ft (6.93m) matching the undercarriage track of the Manchester. The main wheels of the aircraft rested on simple bogies that ran along the track, while the aircraft was mounted tail-up in a flying attitude. The plan was for the aircraft to accelerate under its own power until sufficient speed was reached for the elevators to become effective. The tail support was then released and the aircraft held tail-up until flying speed was reached, when the pilot would depress the tail and the main wheels would be lifted from the bogies. The trolley setup would then be hauled back to the start by a tractor. Demonstration take-offs were made by a Heyford in July 1941 at 12,000lb (5,448kg), and then by the Manchester at 38,000lb (17,252kg). The trolley was arranged so the aircraft could be mounted at an angle to the track to allow lift-off into the wind at flying speed. Thought was given to mounting the aircraft with undercarriage retracted so slightly higher all-up weights could be used, and also adding rocket boosters to the bogies. The project was, however, abandoned soon after the Manchester demonstration take-off. Loading an aircraft on the trolley system was not trivial. Getting a typical squadron into the air for a mission using such a system would have been complex and time-consuming. Imagine having several trolley systems installed on every bomber airfield to allow multiple launches – well, the mind boggles. In the end, during wartime, it was simply more expedient to take the required land and build permanent hard runways to facilitate longer take-off runs. As Bomber Command was undertaking more heavy bomber night operations, a further problem arose of landing incidents in the dark. The RAE developed an arresting gear, similar to that used on Royal Navy aircraft carriers, capable of arresting a 60,000lb (27,240kg) aircraft from 70mph (113kph). The Manchester, together with a Stirling, Halifax and Lancaster, was fitted with an arrestor hook for trials. The gear was actually installed at 20 Bomber Command airfields. The added weight of the arrestor gear meant it was never installed on operational aircraft. The things they dreamed up, eh? The Manchester has been retrieved from the Shelf of Doom. As you can see, I’ve slapped some Humbrol acrylic about as a witness coat to see how awful the fuselage seams had turned out. Not all that bad, actually, so I’ve spent a while this evening just reinstating various panel lines. This is a view of the resin port outer wing. You can sort of make out a slight twist to the casting. I am slowly plucking up the courage to attempt correction. I think that will involve a hairdryer. I don’t trust myself with boiling water… Domestic life and the day job are my main priorities at the moment, so progress on the Manc may be a bit slow. I’m sure you’ll understand.

I’m gutted I couldn’t get to see this display in person this year. I really don’t think the photos can do it justice. What a fantastic project, and congratulations on putting all together.

Ah, go on then. Sign me up. It’ll give me an excuse to dig out my collection of 1/76th whitemetal kits of 1950s lorries and get them built.

I think it was worth the effort, though. Well done!

Thanks all. Best Beloved and I appreciate all the good wishes. We hope to be able to make the trip in 2024. Meanwhile, I can concentrate on completing the Bomber Command collection. If Ffrom would just get a shift on and get their new Fairey Battle shipped…

Could it be a Leyland Martian? It seems to match most of the images I find when I searched for "Leyland Martian Recovery".

Oh my. My poor bank account!

Thanks Terry. Yes, I am aware of those two. I’ve got quite the stash of Langley lorry kits! While they both do spares and wheels, they don’t really do the military pattern stuff. They’re both more orientated towards Civvy Street. RTI has the later Leyland refuellers as kits, but I’m not sure the wheels are correct for the AEC military type.

Elsewhere, I’m working through building up British bombers for my collection. I didn’t realise the AEC O854 6x6 refueller was entering RAF use late in 1940. I thought that would look smarter in vignettes than just the towed bowsers. I re-acquired a copy of the old Airfix Refuelling Set. Yes, I know it's 1/76th scale. These things really don’t bother me. Anyway, knowing the kit version of the big AEC was a slightly later variant, I sought upgrade details to make a conversion. The Mick Bell Plans site has a couple of useful scale drawings, too. Matador Models has an upgrade set with the earlier style cab roof and sundry other details. I duly placed an order, by post with a crossed cheque, because Matador Models are resolutely old school. That was back in September, and I’m still waiting for the 35 days' delivery window to elapse. Having no email address or phone number to contact them, I can’t even verify my order arrived. If I don’t get something in the next couple of weeks, I guess I’ll have to send another letter. How old fashioned. Have you seen the price of stamps these days‽ With a lack of upgrade parts, so far, I’ve begun to consider contingencies. Back in the day, you could acquire various cast metal upgrade parts from various cottage industry companies. Most have, sadly, fallen by the wayside, occasionally passing on moulds and stock to other companies. I’m out of the loop with who does what these days, with only Milicast covering some of what I need. On their web site, I found an upgrade set for the Airfix Matador gun tractor kit. I’d need two sets to give enough wheels for the O854 - and of course it’s out of stock at present. Perhaps you know of suppliers of detail and upgrade parts for 1/76 and 1/72nd vehicles I’ve forgotten or missed? Please feel free to recommend them.

Ah, rats! Best Beloved's health is an ongoing concern here, and sadly he’s rather taken a bit of a downturn this week. After talking it through, we’ve taken the decision to not attend SMW. The travelling, plus two days at the show, would not have been sensible in his current state, and sadly I can’t leave him to fend for himself, and we don’t have anyone we can call on to step in at short notice. We were looking forward to it, too. I was looking forward to meeting you all again. Perhaps next year. At least we could cancel the hotel booking at no cost.

Having built the bomber version earlier this year, I wouldn’t sweat about it. Hardly any of the lattice outside of the cockpit area is visible once the fuselage goes together. Simple dry brushing will suffice.

I’m sure you’ll make it one day. Hold that thought!

I'd mentioned it only in passing, but I’m not trying to make a big thing of it as I am a guest exhibitor as part of the Wessex IPMS branch display. The stand will be in Hall 1, block 1G, grid H3. As a member of the Battle of Britain SIG, I’ll have some models on their stand as well, Hall 3. I am at the worrying about everything stage, but it’ll all turn out fine. It usually does. Looking forward to seeing you all there.