1/32nd scale Halifax - finished

[Spookytooth]

All I can say is WOW, anybody who wants to build a vac form on that scale has got to mad or genius.

I think the latter with a bit of the first!!

Good luck mate, I look forward to seeing it built.

[Smiffy]

Very impressive stuff.

[Martian]

An absolutely bonkers build! Loving it!

Martin

[tomprobert]

I've completed the starboard wing now, with the outboard engine being added and various other details added to the nacelles such as the cowling fasteners etc. I've also made some slightly raised details from very thin plastic card such as the fuel filler caps and various removable panels, as well as the three winching holes on the upper wing situated above the bomb-cells on the inner sections of the wing:

There's still some work to do on the radiator intakes, I need to add the radiator shutters and I need to make the smaller carburetor intakes for each side of the nacelles, but this work will be done later on in the build when the wings are attached to the fuselage and the risk of damaging them is reduced a little.

Both wings are now looking a bit more Halifax-like:

I've also started some preliminary work on the wing bomb-cells, as I want to detail these whilst the wings are off as it's much easier to handle them before they are added to the fuselage.

I'll update you again when the bomb-cells are completed.

Tom

[Mozzy19]

Incredible work. Where do you store these things when they're finished? A hangar?

Sean

[tomprobert]

Incredible work. Where do you store these things when they're finished? A hangar?

Sean

Nope... but I wish I had one!

[Radleigh]

Brilliant work as ever Tom, are you bringing one of these beasts to SMW??

[tomprobert]

Brilliant work as ever Tom, are you bringing one of these beasts to SMW??

I may well bring this along as a WIP, but I'm afraid the big B-29 will be staying at home. It's simply too big to fit in my car without the seats down, and with the cost of fuel and me being south of London I try to fill the car with as many passengers as possible to share the diesel.

The B-29 will most definitely making the trip to Southern Expo at Hornchurch though as it's not far at all for me and thus fuel won't be an issue. Hopefully this project will also be well on the way to completion by then too, so I'll bring this as well.

[Spikelhund]

Very enjoyable watching this come together, keep up the really great work

Cheers...

[Radleigh]

Cool, hopefully make a few more shows so will pencil in SE, been a bit busy with work etc..

[woody37]

Loving this Tom

[IBranco]

Loving this build!

Edited September 24, 2013 by IBranco

[tomprobert]

Thank you for the kind words

There's more progress to report on this build, as I've done some preliminary work on the fuselage. A fellow member on another forum I visit sent me his fuselage that he didn't get around to finishing, upon which he had made a most impressive start (and in the meantime has saved me a great deal of work!)

I pieced the fuselage halves together after joining the sections (the previous owner had cut them into three separate pieces) and have done a little further cleaning up of the parts etc. I've also added interlocking tabs on each side of the fuselage to enhance the joins when it comes to gluing them together:

I've also had a play with the wings - they are just resting alongside the fuselage at the moment but give a taste of things to come - I must say ID Models have got the shape spot on to my eye and it looks every inch a Halifax to me:

I'm now going to continue with the interior - plastic card at the ready!

Tom

[kev67]

Very nice work

[woody37]

Nearly there now Tom !!!!!!

Well looking more like a Halifax now, great progress

[Mike]

Looks great so far Tom - I don't know where you find the time!

[tonyot]

Wow, this is looking great and I love the old Halibag!

Cheers

Tony O

[tomprobert]

I've made some more significant progress with the fuselage interior over the last week.

I've been concentrating on the interior structure of the flightdeck, engineer's compartment and nose, which includes the wireless operator and the navigator/bomb-aimer areas.

The thicker, vertical ribs were added first from Evergreen strip and bent to shape, and then each of the thinner stringers were carefully measured, cut, and added individually over a few sessions

Here is the starboard side with the basics of the heating duct as well as the steps down from the upper flight-deck level:

This is the port side with the compartment for the radio operator (rear) and the navigator's desk made from plastic card. The flightdeck itself will sit above this:

Both sides together:

There are still many more details to be added to these areas, but as the main structure was complete I wanted to get a coat of paint on to see how it looks. The colours are slightly off here due to fluorescent lighting but you get the general idea:

I've sprayed the rear part of the fuselage matt black as this won't be seen and therefore I just wanted it to look dark inside thought the little windows in the rear sections of the fuselage.

I'll now begin working on the interior bulkheads etc. and the flightdeck itself...

Until next time,

Tom

[Radleigh]

That is lovely work Tom, I don't expect anything else though!

[Royster]

This looks tremendous. Lovely work

[woody37]

It's looking more and more like a Halifax every post Tom, lovely progress

[Martian]

Exemplary standard of workmanship, absolutely beautiful

Martin

[Navy Bird]

Completely gobsmacking! My hat is off to you sir.

Cheers,

Bill

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Bloomin' marvellous; I have only just stumbled on this thread, and will be an avid follower. [Plus it makes me feel all the more pathetic for having stalled over some scratch-built engine bearers on my Barracuda!]

[tomprobert]

Many thanks for the kind words and interest

I've got the flight engineer's rear bulkhead completed this evening. I must confess it's not 100% accurate as the door isn't there on the real aircraft (well, I've done a fair bit of reading and it seems it was there on the very early aircraft but was quickly removed in service.) I didn't want to just leave a gaping hole where the walkway is and have to add shed loads of extra detail to the fuselage interior further back. Call me lazy, but...

The chap who gave me the model had made a start on the shape of the bulkhead so I knew the shape was right, and I then added the extra details to bring it to life, once again from Evergreen and plastic card, as well as some items from the spares box. I can't guarantee all details are correct as I couldn't find any pictures of a MkII Halifax in this area - all pictures I found on the net were of the MkIII but I presume they're similar.

Here's an 'under construction' picture before paint. The penny gives an idea of the size of the pieces required for a heavy bomber in 1/32nd scale:

And after paint and a little light weathering:

I made the dials themselves by drilling plastic card, backing it, spraying it black and then scratching the dial detail on with a needle. When I add a drop of PVA to their faces they'll pass just fine.

Here is the bulkhead in situ:

Total time to make this one piece was about 6 hours... but that's what building models such as this is all about!

I'm off to make more interior bulkheads now and if anyone is interested I'll show how I get (reasonably) accurate bulkheads in my next update.

Tom