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Valom is to release a 1/144th Handley Page Hampden B.Mk.I kit - ref. 14431. Source: http://www.valom.net/?page_id=1137 Box art V.P.

On the evening of 27 April 1942, 31 Halifax bombers from 10, 35 and 76sqn flew from Scotland together with two Lancasters squadrons to bomb Tirpitz in the Fættenfjord, east of Trondheim, Norway. In the low level attack (200ft) Halifax TL-S (Sugar) (W1048) of 35th sqn, on her first operational mission, was hit in the starboard wing and outer starboard engine by heavy flak and caught fire. Pilot Don MacIntyre quickly decided they wouldn't make it to safety in Sweden and found a frozen lake nearby and bellied her down on the late spring icy surface. All crew members survived the landing, but one man broke his ankle and had to be left behind. We was picked up by the germans, hospitalized and later sent to Germany. The rest fled over to Sweden aided by local resistance helpers. S(Sugar) herself mangaged to evade the germans too. Twelve hours on rotten late spring ice, she finally decided it was enough and broke through the ice and disappeared for almost 40 years in the murky lake water. By the summer of 1973 S (Sugar) resting place had been relocated and she was salvaged by a team of british and norwegian divers and taken to Britain. Today she is displayed at RAF Hendon museum, preserved but not restored. As a boy I spent the summers with my grandparents and that summer of 73 we went there almost every day on our bicycles , watching the salvaging. I've never been to Hendon to see her again but perhaps it's about time for that…. Anyway, here is my depiction of the incident and how I guess it must have looked. (Edit: corrected fin flashes and type A1 roundel)

Don't really know how to start the thread, got lucky and got this kit for Christmas. I've finished the cockpit and I'm really quite proud, interested in what your opinions will be. @Adam Poultney, here's your tag. Rear console Martin baker Mk.3 seats finished Cockpit finished

Another (and probably the last) of my Handley Page images (promise ) This time I've chosen a refueling and pit stop scene in Samakh, enroute to the far East. The passengers are waiting in the sun to embark, when the refueling is done. On the 'nose tip' of Hanno you can just spot the airport buildings, reflecting in the aluminium skin. The image is a true mixture of techniques, but all digital. The planemodel, the fuel wagons, the cargo trolley under the starbord wing root and grass plain is all 3D models the persons are painted or cutout photos, and the cars as well..

Just a placeholder for now but once I've progressed my builds in another two GBs a bit further I'm going to start on this - the Handley Page Dart Herald. I have a Novo boxing of this kit with BIA decals, which I won't be using. This will (probably) be Air UK, using decals intended for an F-27 (if they fit ok - if not I have BIA decals as a back-up). This is a bit of nostalgia for me as I remember a couple of flights in Air UK Heralds 38 or 39 years ago. When I was growing up we used to fly from Manchester to the Isle of Man two or three times a year to see my grandparents - until about 1980 this was with BA on Viscounts, when BA pulled out they were replaced by Air UK, initially with Heralds but pretty soon after with Friendships. Heralds can't have lasted long on the route as I only flew one return trip on them - no idea which particular airframes but one of them was still in BIA colours and the other was in full Air UK colours. As a 7- or 8-year old I loved watching the undercarriage retract! So this is one I've been wanting to build for a while.

MikroMir is to release a 1/144th Handley Page Victor B.1 - ref. 144027 Source: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235001063-handley-page-victor-b1-1144/ To put alongside the Great Wall Hobby (GWH) and Pit Road Victor B.2/K.2 http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234964961-1144-victor-b2-gwh-kit-l1004/ 3D renders V.P.

Copper State Models is to release a 1/48th Handley Page 0/400 resin kit - ref. K1025 Source: https://www.facebook.com/copperstatemodels/posts/1930869423868474 V.P.

Victor K.2/SR.2 Update Sets (for Airfix A12009) 1:72 Eduard Released after the original B.2 kit, the K.2/SR.2 edition gives the modeller easy access to build the later tankers, and the strategic reconnaissance variant in addition. Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail in the usual modular manner. Get what you want for the areas you want to be more of a focal point. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Interior (73645) Starting with adding a full set of crew seatbelts, this set consists of two nickel-plated and pre-painted frets, with all the instrument panels replaced with laminated panels with painted details, in the more modern pale grey. The seats also get ejection handles, headbox details and rear structural frame, throttle quadrants for the pilots, additional instruments where they are missed from the kit, and detail skins to the footwell at the crew exit. The sidewalls are also detailed with additional instruments for good measure. Zoom! Set (SS645) This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above. Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements. Exterior (72678) A large brass fret contains a full set of detail skins for the three gear bays and their bay doors, plus wiring looms to detail them further, and various additions to the gear legs themselves. This will require a portion of the moulded-in detail being removed beforehand, but this is fairly minor work and shouldn’t take too much effort. The final parts are some replacement/additional antennae and panels on the exterior of the airframe, plus two boomerang-shaped splitter-plates that fit between part H36, H37 and the wingroot. K.2/SR.2 Airbrakes (72679) Supplied on a single brass sheet, this set provides skins for the majority of the air brake surfaces, adding rivet and panel detail, as well as lightening holes in abundance. A little detail needs removing before construction, and the Y-shaped part of the actuator ram is removed and replaced by a folded-up hollow piece with a substantial improvement in detail. The air brakes themselves are also skinned, again increasing the level of detail immensely. If you're planning on displaying your model with the air brakes open, then this is the ideal set for you. Masks K.2 (CX529) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy and wingtip lights. In addition you get a set of hub/tyre masks for all the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Masks SR.2 (CX530) Broadly similar to the set above for the K.2, but with additional panels for the reconnaissance pack. Review sample courtesy of

I have bought the 1/72 Valom kit of the Handley Page Harrow MkII. It includes decals for a Harrow MkII of 37 Squadron, K7006, in early 1939 and a Harrow MkII of 24 Maintenance Unit, K7028 in 1940. The aircraft from 37 Squadron, K7006, appears to be in standard bomber camouflage - dark green, dark earth uppersurface and black undersurface. However the aircraft from 24 Maintenance Unit appears in drak green and dark earth uppersurface and all yellow undersurface (with the yellow running up to a quite high line on the fuselage). Its K7028 that intrigues me. The yellow would suggest some prototype or training role aircraft. Does anyone have any info on K7028 - perhaps in an Air Britain book on RAF serials. I have very little material on the Harrow - just an entry in the Putnam/Barnes Book together with whatever else I can dig up on the internet. My inclination is to model the aircraft of 37 Squadron, K7006, as I feel very comfortable with the background history. But if I could get some info which explains the yellow undersurface for K7028 that might make a more attractive finish. I have attached a link to the Hannants site which shows K7006 and K7028. https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/VAL72118

Victor B.Mk.2(BS) Air Brakes (72644 for Airfix) 1:72 Eduard Airfix pleased a lot of modellers when they released their new tooling of this awesome Cold War warrior, and we reviewed the majority of the sets from Eduard here. We missed the Air Brakes when a few items got mislaid, so here they are now. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Supplied on a single brass sheet, this set provides skins for the majority of the air brake surfaces, adding rivet and panel detail, as well as lightening holes in abundance. A little detail needs removing before construction, and the Y-shaped part of the actuator ram is removed and replaced by a folded-up hollow piece with a substantial improvement in detail. The air brakes themselves are also skinned, again increasing the level of detail immensely. If you're planning on displaying your model with the air brakes open, then this is the ideal set for you. Back in stock at Eduard within the next week Review sample courtesy of

S&M new resin kit - ref. SMK72-35 - Handley Page Hastings C.1/C.2 Sources: http://sandmmodels.co.uk/product/hp-hastings-c1c2/ http://sandmmodels.co.uk/misc-news/hot-news/ V.P.

T1 XX492 at Newark Air Museum, pic thanks to Martin. T1 XX496 at the RAF Museum Cosford, pics thanks to Martin. T1 XX499 at the Brooklands Museum, pics thanks to Frank.

Afternoon all, Here is the belated write-up and RFI of Airfix's Handley Page Victor B2 in 1:72 scale. (WIP here for anyone interested) So let's get started! Vigilant Victor Kit: -Airfix 1:72 Handley Page Victor B.Mk.2[BS] Paints: -Vallejo "Model Air" paints Weathering: -AK Interactive washes and UMP dark dirt wash The Build: As you can see from the WIP (linked above), the build followed the standard procedure of constructing the cockpit and any fuselage internals such as the airbrakes and nose gear bay, this was followed by the joining of the fuselage halves. It should be noted that a lot of filler was used to try and close the various gaps but having said that, Airfix have used a somewhat ingenious construction technique of using a flat "plate" that slotted into place of a built-in recess along the top of the fuselage to mitigate any potential seam issues. Following on from that were the wings, tail and main gear bays. Again, the construction of the spars, bays and intakes were noteworthy and added a lot of structural integrity to the wings when fully assembled- the intakes utilised a "drop in" method for the intake vanes where slots had been cut into the upper and lower intake halves and the vanes were simply slotted in (no more worrying about removing intake seams, I hear you cry! Huzzah!). Finally the Blue Steel fairing, antennae, aerials, gear, crew door and other such details were added; with all but the Blue Steel door being added after the main paintwork had been completed. Talking of painting, I always seem to have a devil of a job trying to paint white (dust tends to stick to the painted surface with almost reckless abandon!) but I persisted with painting, sanding, painting, sanding until I was satisfied. The venerable Blu-Tack sausages came in handy- as did many, many feet of cheap masking tape (imagine the expense of using Tamiya tape for all of the underside and the demarcation lines!)- when it came to painting the camo. Gloss coats were quickly followed by the exceptional decals (which I think were printed by Cartograf) and then I moved onto weathering. I had a dabble with streaking some AK washes down from the cockpit windows and some of the fittings lining the radar fairing, furthermore the exhaust streaking on the underside of the wings was done by several light spraying passes of diluted Vallejo paint -Edit: a UMP dark dirt wash was used on the panel lines and rivets. Cue the pictures! : (Centre console decal stolen from a Revell Victor K2 ) Conclusion: All in all it has been a great kit to work on (except for painting the white underside! ); the decals were a dream, the surface detailing was top-notch and the Blue Steel is by far the most comprehensively detailed and decaled piece of kit ordnance that I have ever had the pleasure to build. Thanks for having a look! Kind regards, Sam

An extensive review of the new Airfix HP Victior B.2(BS) has been published on the IPMS Nederland website. Check out our English language report at: http://www.ipms.nl/artikelen/recensies/vliegtuigen-militair/2474-airfix-hp-victor-engels.html We have also made a comparison with that good old Matchbox kit. Merry Christmas from IPMS Nederland! Meindert de Vreeze

Victor B.2 Upgrade Sets 1:72 Eduard Since its announcement this kit was the source of much excitement, and now it is on general release it seems to be popular, with supplies selling out quickly. A good kit can always been improved however, which is where Eduard excel. They have released five new sets for the kit, and as always you can pick and choose which ones you want, or your budget dictates. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Eduard's resin sets arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. Interior Set (73578) Starting with adding a full set of crew seatbelts, this set consists of two nickel-plated and pre-painted frets, with all the instrument panels replaced with laminated panels with painted details. The seats also get ejection handles, headbox details and rear structural frame, throttle quadrants for the pilots, additional instruments where they are missed from the kit, and detail skins to the footwell at the crew exit. The sidewalls are also detailed with additional instruments for good measure. Zoom! Interior Set (SS578) Just the pre-painted and nickel-plated sheet (on the left above) is included in this budget set for those only concerned with the main instrument panel and the seats visible through the glazing. Exterior Set (72638) A large brass fret contains a full set of detail skins for the three gear bays and their bay doors, plus wiring looms to detail them further, and various additions to the gear legs themselves. This will require a portion of the moulded-in detail being removed beforehand, but this is fairly minor work and shouldn’t take too much effort. The final parts are some replacement/additional antennae and panels on the exterior of the airframe, plus a tail-cone insert that is inserted after removing the raised rim on the kit part. Resin Wheels(672143) Containing eighteen rein wheels (yes, 18!!!) plus a resin mudguard for the twin nose wheel, which once liberated from their casting block are a drop-in replacement for the rather detail-free and sink-mark prone kit items. The detail is superb, especially in comparison to what’s in the box, which seems to be a weak point of an otherwise godo kit. As well as the wheels you get a set of wheel masks to allow you to paint the hubs cleanly, and a small sheet of red decals that are applied to the rear of the mudguard part. Apologies for the stock picture, but I forgot to take a shot of the real thing before sending them to my colleague Paul for his build here. Masks (CX471) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition you get a set of hub/tyre masks for the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort if you didn’t already replace them with the set above. Review sample courtesy of

Handley Page Victor K2 Tanker XM231 "Lusty Lindy". Pictures mine taken at The Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington. Thanks to Andre Tempest and the Team which keep this aircraft alive for access to take some of the pictures.

Does anyone know the fuselage diameters for the Herald and the Andover/HS748? I just had one of those ideas for taking the rear fuselage off the Welsh Models Andover and putting it on the Welsh Models Herald, with no doubt some other modifications to the tail feathers. I know the Herald had a wider fuselage than the Friendship, and I suspect that the HS748's was also narrower, but would that be sufficient to be seen (or to make x-kitting unworkable) in 1/144? After all, the Herald was the favoured choice for the job on technical/operational grounds, but (as always) other features came into play. I suspect that my model shelf, like the RAF, is not going to get its military Herald, but I thought it worth at least posing the question.

Just before Valom release their Sparrow I have finally completed my vacform Contrail version. For anyone interested or who missed the WIP it is here To say it was a little stressful from time to time would be an understatement due largely to the incorrect nose and tail, both of which were ceremoniously removed and replaced..and the canopy is wrong too... etc. I am indebted to John Aero for replacement engines, props and nacelles. The prototype is the one below, but a few months earlier when it had full D Day stripes, look carefully and you can see they have been painted out on the wings.

HpH is reported working on a 1/32nd Handley Page H.P. O/400 resin kit. Source: http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=28641&p=844969 V.P.

XM715 Victor Tanker K.2 at Bruntingthorpe. aircraft is kept operational and fast taxis. Pics thanks to Martin.

Just finished this kit from Revell, all the mistakes are my own. Only a little problem with fitting the bomb bay doors, other than that great kit !

Handley Page Hastings T5, TG517 At Newark Museum, pics by Kev67

Handley Page Dart Herald. This is Herald 211, G-ASKK (s/n 161) at The City of Norwich Aviation Museum, pics mine.

Handley Page Victor K. Mk.2 Revell (ex Matchbox) 1:72 The Victor was probably most famous for it's introduction in to the RAF as part of the V Force in the strategic bomber role or more specifically to operate as a nuclear deterrent, however it's career as an in-flight refuelling aircraft is where it cemented it's place in RAF history with around 30 years service in this role. First flown at the end of 1952, the B.1 entered operational service with 10 & 15 squadrons in 1958. Whilst the B.1 was designed to operate at high level, the improved B.2 was primarily designed to deliver stand-off missiles from low level to avoid Soviet radar. This unfortunately was the undoing of the Victor in a bombing capacity. Operation at low level had led to fatigue cracks within the wing structure, so the B.2's were 'retired' by the end of 1968 with only 6 years in service. With an increased need for in-flight refuelling, the RAF sought to modify the B.2's and put them back in to service in this role. Apart from the obvious fitment of refuelling equipment, the wingspan was shortened to reduce wing bending stress which would alleviate the fatigue issues. In 1982, the Victor played it's role in several of the most famous missions in RAF history, known as Operation Black Buck, although it's part has been largely ignored by the media who instead preferred to focus on the Avro Vulcan that delivered the bombs. No less than 11 Victors were required to provide the complex refuelling pattern for the long return trip by a solitary Vulcan. Not only required to refuel the Vulcan, but they had to refuel each other with critical timing that was aggravated by the higher payload and subsequent fuel burn of the Vulcan as a result of the additional kit required for such a mission. The B.Mk.2 Victor was finally retired from its distinguished refuelling service in 1993 as it handed the reigns over to the VC-10's and Tristars. The kit Well, I'm guessing that many are already familiar with this kit as it has been around since the 1980's, firstly in the 3 colour plastic that Matchbox were famous for. This is the 3rd re-release by Revell. Packed in their usual end opening blue box which I'm not a fan on, not least due to the box tending to collapse in the stash, fortunately, the artwork makes up for this somewhat. Inside the box is a great decal sheet and 3 light grey plastic sprues. The moulding quality is typical Matchbox. Chunky detail parts and a mixture of fine raised panel lines and quite deep recessed lines in places. Flash is surprisingly sparse, however there are some prominent sink marks that will need dealing with. It really is showing it's age, but judging by the high prices on Ebay for Victor kits prior to this release, there clearly is still a demand from us wacky modellers as it's the only option currently on the market to produce a 1/72 Victor. Assembly starts with the cockpit interior. This is....well crude, with only the tub, seats and crew members included. We quickly move on to the flying surfaces and fuel tanks. The wings have been heavily criticised from my research. A recommended improvement is the Flightpath resign intakes to improve this quite prominent feature that is difficult to correct using scratch building skills. Another issue is the lack of washout along the wing which should reduce in incidence by about 13 degrees at the wing tip. This has knock on implications such as the alignment of the refuelling pods with the fuselage. This can be dealt with from what I've read. See this thread here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/34608-handley-page-victor/ As you will see from the photographs below, there are some pronounced sink marks that will need to be filled around the rear engine nacelles. Attention then moves to bringing the fuselage halves together. The surface is largely of raised detail with some quite deep recessed areas underneath, so a re-scribe may be a suitable option. The airbrake can be positioned open or closed which is a nice touch, but again, aftermarket PE with significantly improve this area if you open it as the plastic is all a bit vague and quite chunky. Next comes the undercarriage assembly. This is another area to be aware of. The kit sits tail heavy, so a good solution is to cut about 2mm out of the main wheel bogies to address this. The aircraft should sit with the fuselage level to the ground. The kit can be built with the gear up or down and the same too with the flaps, however in the effort to standardise the parts, there is a step on the flaps that shouldn't be there if you build them in the lowered position. There is a great tutorial by the late and great Ted Taylor HERE on how to tackle this. The remainder of the build tackles the various protruding parts that are included including an option for a boarding ladder and open access door. The decals As mentioned earlier, the decal sheet is a very fine copy indeed with beautifully fine and sharp stencilling, something of a contrast to the plastic! Cockpit instrument decals are included to enhance the rather plain kit offerings and the register looks spot to too. Two schemes are included: XH672 - 55 Sqn on deployment from RAF Marham during Operation 'Desert Storm' 1991 XL163 - 57 Sqn RAF Marham 1983 in the green/grey & white camouflage scheme Conclusion There is no doubt that this is a basic kit by 21st century standards, but at the moment, it is Hobsons choice if you want to build one so we can be thankful to Revell for making it available again. Fortunately, there is aftermarket out there to address some of the worst offending areas, and from builds I've seen, it's certainly possible to produce a gorgeous rendition of this historic yet futuristic icon of British aviation. Given that copies were previously going on Ebay for over £50, if you want one, now is a good time to add one to your stash as the price is under £25. Review sample courtesy of

Pics thanks to Rick, taken in 1993 at the press day for retirement.