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Halifax 1/72 aftermarket decals. Why so sparse ?


Matt Kaeck

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Hi.
When the long overdue lovely new Halifax from Revell came out, I was pretty certain the aftermarket guys would go to work on the subject. Sadly no,

X-tradecal has a few sets available but were there even prior to the Revell release. Most of them are for the Hercules equipped machine anyway and are useless untill Revell releases one (not sure they ever will). KitsWorld have one or two but that's it. Are there any plans and new decals in the pipeline ? I would love to see more alternatives. What are your views/interests in this ? I would like to know how you Britts feel about the Halifax. It is behind the Lancaster yes, but really that impopular making it permanently stand in the shadows ? I personally favour the Hali over the Lanc but love them both. But that's just me. Thanks Matt

Edited by Matt Kaeck
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Yes, the Halifax (and the Stirling) are that far behind the Lancaster in terms of general public fame and availability of worthwhile kits.

Nothing new in that, really. And I agree it would be nice to have a good new one of each.

In 1/72 alone, in the time since Airfix did their Halifax they have done three completely different Lancasters, plus we've seen two completely different Revell Lancasters, plus the Frog one, the Matchbox one and the Hasegawa one. Compare that with the Hali, of which there have only ever been three as far as I know: The ancient Airfix kit (probably still the most accurate), the Matchbox one that was later reboxed by Revell, and the newish Revell one, which might look lovely in the box but was badly botched in terms of basic accuracy.

As for the Stirling, just the one kit, the old Airfix one.

Edited by Work In Progress
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I prefer the Halifax to the Lanc (and the Hurricane over the Spit!) any day and agree that there could be more decals available, just look at all of the nose art that was carried by Halibags, especially the RCAF units within 6 Group.

Xtradecal did do a sheet for the Merlin engine Halifax (X72146) as well as the sheet for Hercules engine versions (X72133) but some of the options on the former require additional research as many of the airframe details/ mod standards are incorrectly portrayed. There is also a 6 Group Halibag with nose art on one of the Xtradecal bomber sheets (X72056) which also includes a pair of Lancs and Blenheim`s.

All the best

Tony O

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I can't help but agree, some of the 6 Group artwork is amazing, as are some of those from 4 Group. Over the years there have been a few decal sheets, some more accurate than others, and they do lean towards 6 Group and Mk III onwards. It is a shame that the Revell kit didn't spark more offerings it was a golden opportunity. But then again the Revell kit is a bit of a shame itself, so near yet...

Personally, I have a soft spot for the Halifax because of personal connections whilst appreciating the others too. But it is under-represented. There is scope for those that can and have the time to make their own markings, but the availability of more off the shelf offerings might go hand in hand with more interest.

But then again, there's probably more out there than there is for Hampdens, Manchesters and Whitleys (Xtradecal did do some for the Whitley didn't they?).

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I can only echo what has been said. Interest in the Lancaster does indeed massively overwhelm any interest in the other RAF bombers. Even in specialist niches like this forum. The Stirling more so -even the post above doesn't mention the lack of transfers for the Stirling! However, I think Dutch Decals did do some options on these types in their Kits At War(?) series, which wasn't that long ago. Even they didn't do a Manchester - but then how difficult is it to put together the markings for a Manchester nowadays?

One problem manufacturers have is that whereas one Lancaster looks much the same as another throughout the war, Halifaxes did vary a great deal in appearance. This makes them all the more interesting for modellers but all the more difficult for manufacturers. Matchbox and Revell should be thanked for attempting the task, even if the execution fell well short of the intention.

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The new Halifax from Revell, facelifted with the excellent "adjustment" resin pieces from Freightdog would put the bomber pretty much on paar with, or over any other RAF heavy in 1/72, except the new Airfix Lancaster

Are other known "basic" inaccuracies present, which would make people go with the Matchbox/Airfix kit instead ?

Italeri is releasing a brand new Stirling still this year b.t.w..

I hope this trend continues.

...

reg

Matt

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We want a new Airfix Halifax,......plus a Sea Fury, Avenger, Battle, Whitley, Beverley,..etc,..etc!! Seriously though, it would be great if Airfix followed up their excellent Lancs with a Halibag, especially a Hercules engine variant,.....we can but wish,

Cheers

Tony O

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Speaking of X-tradecals and their Halifax subjects... I am blown away when I see the Halifax with yellow/black stripes on the fins... It is so gorgeous.. Now this seems only to be present on Hercules Halifaxes.

Were no Merlin engined Halifaxes dressed up yellow/black in the rear ?

`There has to be tons of ref material, pictures in U.K´

Has anyone come accross colour profiles on the net with Halifaxes ? I might just have to hire Mr.Miracle Masks if I find a nice subject..

reg

Matt

p.s Was it finisihed debated whether the present Revell Halifax "could" be reissued in a satifactory manner with new Hercules engines, without having to tool new wings or not ?

Edited by Matt Kaeck
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Matt: The resin pieces from Freightdog do improve the look a lot, but do not address the key problem of the entire nacelle being too wide which distorts the parts. They don't change the spinners (too large), propellors (wrong shapes), or the shape of the fairings over the wing, or the ailerons (should be larger under the wing - cross kit Revell and Matchbox here to solve this one fairly easily). Then there are the wheels, and other lesser details on the Revell kit. However, the Matchbox is certainly no better, and the Revell fuselage, despite some errors, is far superior to the Matchbox and (with some adjustments) the Airfix. There was considerable discussion on this model when it first appeared, and I recommend looking back for the threads rather than attempting to precis them here.

There are detailed etched brass and resin parts available from White Ensign, in addition to the work by John Adams for Aeroclub, and the Falcon parts. However, we still lack the correct radiator intakes for a Mk.I.

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Sorry Graham, I did mean to add the Blenheim and of course the Beaufighter,....I do like a good pair of Bristols,....fwaw!

If it helps at all myself and Woody ran a thread about the Revell Halibag (sorry I cannot find the thread) and here is my attempt at using the Revell fuselage with Airfix wings which was on it, Woody`s was much better!;

halifin2.jpg

halifin5.jpg

For what it is worth, here is the same kit with Freightdog`s resin engine set;

34-1.jpg

I did hear at the Revell stand at Telford a few years ago that Revell had commissioned the Polish company which designed their Merlin engine kit to do CAD drawings for a Hercules engine version too, but I cannot confirm the truth in this. If it is true lets hope that the Hercules engines and associated wings are not left until Friday afternoon like the Merlin parts!! Lovely fuselage,....pants wings,....that is my assessment of the Revell kit and there is much room for improvement!

I hope that this helps,

Tony O

Edited by tonyot
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No need for you to apologise Tony, I was only teasing Vicarage Vee about his list.

I received much the same message from the Revell stand: not quite a direct confirmation but a very strong hint about the missing "blocks" on the sprue. There are also missing numbers in the parts list. If the Merlin version sold well enough, then I think a Hercules one should be expected 2014 or 2015. That's judging from their other "second" releases of their big German subjects. If it didn't sell, then perhaps not, and your approach will remain the best - the Airfix aileron needs adjusting too. There are the better Hercules engines now available in Airfix's Lancaster B Mk.II, but what could you do with the rest of the model? (OK, Manchester conversion.)

There are a large number of colour profiles, and b&w phiotos/drawings, of the Halifax in a number of books - there are times to look beyond the internet!

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I always find it difficult to understand why all the Halifax kits have been done as specific versions when a little better research and mould breakdown for alternative sprues would allow all versions to be done from one basic wing and fuselage. If they had just left off the engine to wing fairings for a start with separate wing tips and nose and leave out any contentious panel lines for the modeller to add if he's knowledgeable or bothered enough. Separate nose, nacelle and tail sprues would see a lot of happy modellers.

John

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I know that the Revell team were given the best information by the chap who catalogued all of the Halifax production drawings which still exist and are in storage. The mess was the result of a CAD team who obviously didn't know the subject.

John

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Speaking of X-tradecals and their Halifax subjects... I am blown away when I see the Halifax with yellow/black stripes on the fins... It is so gorgeous.. Now this seems only to be present on Hercules Halifaxes.

Were no Merlin engined Halifaxes dressed up yellow/black in the rear ?

`There has to be tons of ref material, pictures in U.K´

Has anyone come accross colour profiles on the net with Halifaxes ? I might just have to hire Mr.Miracle Masks if I find a nice subject..

reg

Matt

p.s Was it finisihed debated whether the present Revell Halifax "could" be reissued in a satifactory manner with new Hercules engines, without having to tool new wings or not ?

Never mind Hercules engines. Some of us want the Tollerton nose that was seen on the pre-production sprue shots of the Revell kit.

If this doesn't appear, then I think it's about time for some after market parts. Many, many Haifaxes used this nose. To Ignore it is criminal!

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I agree with John that the best way to do a Halifax would be to have a common core, with the alternatives produced as separate kit issues. In fairness, this is a comparatively new approach for the model companies: we were perhaps lucky that Matchbox presented quite so many options. That does seem to be the way that Revell started approaching this kit, but I don't think that all the blame can be placed on the CAD team: there are signs of a change of heart within the Revell management. Perhaps this was when they realised just what a complex task they'd undertaken. or maybe the money just ran out.

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Now if Airfix could provide a general Halifax core and release it in different boxings with add on parts,..........that would be very nice,...hint, hint,...wink, wink!

In my view Revell ruined the chance of making a decent Hurricane Mk.II and Spitfire Mk.V too, which both have silly bloopers that simple research would overcome,.....but that is just my take on the kits.

Cheers

Tony O

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Going back to the original question there seem to be about 50 different aircraft of all marks that aftermarket decals have been available for. Some of these are obsolete but still appear on e-bay etc, and some are better than others (as an example both Skymodels and Esci sets have the colours of Friday The 13th's nose art wrong... which is pretty poor research really).

So some new sets would certainly be welcome.

There does seem to be a lot of interest in the Halifax (and Stirling, sorry Graham :winkgrin: ) on this forum, but for the wider public Bomber Command WAS the Lancaster and possibly the Mosquito. I suppose this isn't helped by the scarcity of complete airframes to see, let alone any flying examples, but now isn't the time to rake over those coals again.

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Hi Matt,

This is the thread Tony referred to about using the Revell kit, I did a Mk.II, Tony a Mk.II by using the Revell fuselage but Matchbox / Airfix wings.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234910638-matchbox-airfix-and-revell-halifax-lovechildren/

Agree with all comments above, would be great to see a new Stirling, Halifax, Blenheim, Beaufighter. As I'm doing the old airfix Blenheim at the moment, a new one should be due shortly afterwards !!!!!!

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I can only echo what has been said. Interest in the Lancaster does indeed massively overwhelm any interest in the other RAF bombers. Even in specialist niches like this forum. The Stirling more so -even the post above doesn't mention the lack of transfers for the Stirling! However, I think Dutch Decals did do some options on these types in their Kits At War(?) series, which wasn't that long ago. Even they didn't do a Manchester - but then how difficult is it to put together the markings for a Manchester nowadays?

Kits At War sheet # K7/3 had decals for Manchester L7316 U*EM of 207 Sqn.

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