tomprobert

Many thanks, James - I actually made a start last night using Milliput White. All a bit rough and ready at the moment but some sanding and polishing will hopefully yield something acceptable eventually…

Indeed. There are on Merlin variant as I built the wings for that a few years ago, but no sign on this version…

Some more progress on the Sanger Halifax to update you on. Not as much as I would like, I hasten to add, as work has been manic of late and I've not had as much time at the bench as I would have liked, but I imagine many of us are in the same boat when it comes to our hobbies... Anyway, I've been working on the inboard nacelles of late as these are some of the trickiest parts of a build such as this. Here's what you get in the box - or more accurately bag: As you can see, the parts are fairly basic, but thankfully I have now have a spare set of the Fonderie kit's power eggs and cowls, which will be an improvement over the rather crude Sanger offerings. So, with the parts removed from the backing sheet, I have cut off the engine itself, as well as the oil coolers (which are not the most accurate in terms of shape) as well as the carb intakes which will also need some serious remedial work: I next removed the u/c doors (storing them safely for later) and made the firewall and forward bulkhead where the new Fonderie front sections will be hung: The nacelles were then glued to the wings, ensuring the angle of attack was correct (careful consulting of plans is vital here!) and making sure both sides were identical: But... there's a problem... As you can see, the join to the wing is rather... erm... poor. The upper faring is completely missing on the inboard engines, so this is going to have to be remedied, I think, with my trusty Milliput. I've scoured the kits parts over and over, and there's no sign of any upper fairings - the engine parts themselves are molded without them. The good news is I've checked the outboard motors and there is a faring of sorts, but in the meantime I'm going to have to go some serious work to get these passable. Anyway, onwards and upwards. More when there's more... Tom

Here is a completed 1/72 A330 tanker - built by dad earlier this year here

Apologies - I didn’t see the link to the KitsWorld decals… 🙃

I think your main issue will be the nose cone and needle props, although the latter can be easily achieved with some careful sanding. If the HK F kit comes with an E-nose glazing, you're in business, if not, you may struggle a little. I'd have to do some digging to see if CC operated F-models, but I think it was mainly Cs and Es...

They’re blue formation lights - there are two on the upper surfaces of the stabilisers as well. This is really looking the part, Neil - the olive drab hue is perfect - not easy on a war-weary Fort.

This is progressing really nicely!

Hi Neil, that’s very kind but I think Cees has come to the rescue! And yes, I like the idea of a Free French one - something a little different and hopefully a tribute to the French squadrons. I’m not totally committed yet, as I also have decals for an interesting Far East 100 Group Halifax, so time will tell… I can assure you it doesn’t always work that way, but some careful forethought, measuring and cutting of plastic card seems to have done the trick!

Ha ha, thanks, Mark - they're not overly hard but you do need to build up a bit of experience with them. I've always got a vac on the go as I love them, but I get why they're not everyone's cop of tea!

Cheers, Andrew. Yes - I also frequent there from time to time and there are lot of techniques that are transferrable indeed. Thanks, James - the plastic is quite thin so have erred on the side of caution with this one. It's solid as a rock now so all being well, it'll hold up well over time.

More progress with the Halifax - I’m on a roll! Making models of this nature requires a lot of preparation before you can get on to the main construction. Having the wings and fuselage straight and true is a must and with the more basic nature of vacs, things can go awry very quickly if not careful as all this has to be home made. I need to be sure everything is perfectly aligned before I can get the geometry of the engine nacelles correct, so before I go any further with the wings I wanted to get the fuselage dead straight and the wings spars made. So… The fuselage interior has had much reinforcement with Evergreen square stock - all carefully checked against the plans. I also made the two main spars from 1.5mm sheet styrene and test fitted these into the fuselage: I’ve also made the rear wheel well and added some stiffners to the rear fuselage where the tail will eventually go: The fuselage halves then sandwich the spars, which protrude into the inner wing sections: …and lock the wings nicely in place as they slide against the previously made inner wing spars: The wings now simply slide on: …giving me perfectly straight and aligned wings: I’m well ‘appy with that! I’ve got new supplies of Evergreen to start detailing the fuselage interior, but I hate doing jobs such as that so may well continue with the wings and start thinking about the nacelles. I’ll see where the mood takes me… That’s it for now! Tom

HK, being a very recent kit, is overall the better package. Modern tooling means recessed surface detail, and although not strictly accurate, it certainly looks the part. It’s also more accurate shape-wise than the much older Tamiya offering, which suffers from very basic engine nacelles which aren’t all that well shaped and missing their radiator shutters, etc. The Tamiya kit also has the wireless op’s window too far forward, and all surface detail is raised - which in fairness is a more accurate representation of the real thing, however. But… I’m currently building the Tamiya kit and thoroughly enjoying it. With the new HK kit on the market, you can pick the Tamiya kit up quite cheaply - I paid a mere £35 on a well known auction site. Granted it’s a product of its time and is not up to modern standards, but it still makes into an impressive model. However, if you want a modern, well fitting kit that is accurate, it might cost you more but the HK kit wins!

Some good progress on the wings this week… With a good 24hrs for the glue to dry (I use good old fashioned poly cement to ensure a really good bond between the plastic) I sanded the joints smooth and neatened things up with some white Milliput. With this, too, sanded I then boxed in the wheel bays and wing bomb cells with 0.5mm plastic card. This also gives the wing even more strength where it’ll mate with the spars which will run through the fuselage. Top sides: Wing bomb cells and u/c bays: And the full lower side of the wings: All coming together well. Next up will be adding a bit of detail to the bays whilst they’re easily accessible and get the main spars sorted and how they’ll run through the fuselage. More when there’s more… Tom

You are a gentleman and a scholar, Cees - many thanks!