Ascoteer Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Having joined the Bomber Command SIG with my Wellington 1C at Telford (and having built a Lanc and a Halibag) I've decided to do a Whitley as a break to all the Hercules rescribing for my Albert builds. I picked the new Airfix kit up cheap at the Norwich Air Museum in the summer when we took the Cadets there from Summer Camp at RAF Marham (and where they were suitably impressed by Ma'am's knowledge of the Nimrod ). The aim is to do it OOB but with the addition of some Eduard PE (the 'Zoom' set). My plan is to do it as a 77 Sqn machine based at RAF Driffield - Bomber Command Whitleys seem to have all been with 4 Group in Yorkshire and Driffield was the first turning point on my first medium level x-country in the JP5A at BFTS. A has been noted on this forum it's a nice kit that fits together well but is made up of some odd sub-assemblys which then slot together. At first sight this method appears a tad strange but presents its logic as the build goes on. Anyway, this is where I'm up to: 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miggers Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Front seat for yer Uncle Miggers before all the other riff-raff come barging in and shove the furniture about. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Having this kit myself, I'll pull up a chair myself if you don't mind Debs. Martian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyverns4 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Bah, No Grimrods at El Adem with grass when I was there, just Vickies and the mighty Finns! Oh how things have changed since my day.... But a Whitley? Please consider me and (politely letting Miggers rush past). Christian, exiled to africa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 (edited) I'll just be sitting over there, by the bar of course Camp at Marham huh? Were you all bussed in and out daily or did they find room for the kiddets on camp? I don't suppose you were keen to drive home each night when you might have held, strategically one of those big leathern sofa chairs by the fire in the Garden Room Maybe even being told tales of wonderment about LightningTwo I spent about half hour with the Whitley remnants in Cov Air Museum so I feel a bit of affinity to the old bird Edited December 17, 2016 by perdu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Debs! Back at the bench, working the magic... missed you Ma'am. I'm in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Wasn't there a quote about the Whitley that it always flew in a nose down attitude even when climbing. I think I saw it in the ' Straight and level ' column in Flight many years ago. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascoteer Posted December 17, 2016 Author Share Posted December 17, 2016 4 hours ago, perdu said: Camp at Marham huh? Were you all bussed in and out daily or did they find room for the kiddets on camp? Marham was a 'Tented Camp' - the Cadets and Staff were accomodated in 12x12s. There is no accomodation available in the Mess for Staff apparently. Being too old for that sort of malarky (I flatly refuse to live in a tent!) the Padre and I were in the 'spillover' accomodation ie portacabins. 1 hour ago, Biggles87 said: Wasn't there a quote about the Whitley that it always flew in a nose down attitude even when climbing. I think I saw it in the ' Straight and level ' column in Flight many years ago. The original design lacked any trailing edge flaps owing to the fact that AW's Chief Designer John Lloyd was unfamiliar with them on large monoplanes. As a result, in order to compensate (ie shorten the take off and landing rolls), the wings were set at an incidence of 8.5 degrees. This meant that, when flying straight and level, the Whitley flew with a pronounced nose down attitude (which also rather increased drag and lowered performance). Recently I was at the Bomber Command Memorial at Lincoln and chatted with Jo Lancaster DFC. Jo had been an apprentice at AW before the war, and later a test pilot for them. He reckoned AW never managed to design a halfway decent aircraft! I too remember a photo' in the Roger Bacon 'Straight and Level' column in 'Flight' of a Whitley doing a beat up and looking as if it was about to imminently crash. The caption, IIRC, was along the lines of: "A bit late on the round-out Hoskins!" 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 I see there are still seats available, so I'll nab one for meself if that's ok with the rest of you...near to the bar will be perfect! Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 (edited) deleted Edited December 17, 2016 by Biggles87 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomoshenko Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 It's a nice start. I'll be up the bar with Bill. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 That'll be you and Ian thenTom Lager or something a tad tastier? Oh by the way, you do know you missed the revised club meet last weekend do you? and you Ian, I'll get the first one OK... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascoteer Posted December 17, 2016 Author Share Posted December 17, 2016 Mine's a large Bushmills please... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 no worries but don't let the racket from the bar distract you, we want you back on the Alberts soon ish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascoteer Posted December 17, 2016 Author Share Posted December 17, 2016 Forward fuselage closed up and joined to centre section. Nacelles fitted. I must confess I'm not that impressed with the way Airfix break down the sub assemblies - I needed a certain amout of filler in order to blend the nacelles in. I'm also not fully impresed with some of the moulding. I don't know whether Airfix have a problem with the injection pressure or the injection temperature but what should be nice crisp right angled-edges are just, well, not. Take a look at the rear fuselage section lower joint and you'll see what I mean: This is the sort of rubbish I'd expect from a 'shot' mould not a brand new kit! Methinks I'm going to have to get the 'soup' out. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Bit disappointing eh Debs? And that fuselage join... on a flat bottom... hate those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever219 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Debs there's a fix to make the nacelles fit better: there's a rib inside the top front of the wheel well that you need to trim down or remove to enable it to sit better against the part of the cowling moulded to the wing (guess how I found out). I've now built two of these and neither has had an underside join as bad as yours: I know from comments made about the Shackleton kit that some have been warped whilst others have not: a friend and I recently purchased new B-17Gs from the same delivery to our local retailer: his had warped wings, mine didn't. The kits had barely made it from shipping carton to shelves before we pounced on them so it can't have been down to his storage of them. Maybe yours was, unfortunately, a "Friday afternoon" or "Monday morning" kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Driffield (We pass it quite often on delivery runs up to those parts) a WW2 bomber and a quotation from the Stainless Steel Rat (HH was/is my favourite Sci Fi author) so I'll be hanging around to if it pleases your ma'am. It's a bit chilly nowadays so I'll be by the fireplace. Tea, no milk or sugar. Any biscuits? BTW, Marham, Portacabin, where was the skillet stowed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascoteer Posted December 17, 2016 Author Share Posted December 17, 2016 Welcome Pete and Steve. Custard cremes are over there... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Cheers Bill, a pint of finest ale would go down nicely. Adnams Broadside or Shephard Neame Spitfire are both good starting points....I'm downing a Lagunitas IPA in the bar in Hyannis as I write this...home on Tues for a decent pint or 3 over Crimble! Ian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 If I could find a decent excuse to get over to Southwold I'd stand a couple of pints of Adnams Bitter None of that stuff they have to weaken to get it in the post and more than thirty miles away from the brewery, Broadside or the like Just plain ADNAMS BITTER straight out of the barrel is even betterer but been a few years since I enjoyed that myself Mind you Downing a few in Hyannis could have its attractions too mmm 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascoteer Posted December 17, 2016 Author Share Posted December 17, 2016 Mmm Adnams... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 (edited) 10 minutes ago, perdu said: Downing a few in Hyannis could have its attractions too mmm It certainly does in the Summer.... Anything straight out if the barrel is better...I used to work at a pub in Prestwood, Bucks, which had up to 14 beers on tap at any one time. The only pumps were for Guinness, Beamish, and Murphys. Lager was NOT sold. The floor (and hence ones footwear) got very sticky with spilled beer but it was great fun and great beer...got pretty damn good at shove ha'penny too..... Ian Edited December 17, 2016 by limeypilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ascoteer Posted December 17, 2016 Author Share Posted December 17, 2016 The Polecat or the Chequers Tree Ian? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 The Kings Head, next one down from the Polecat...which was referred to by our good landlord as "The Shirtlifter's" for reasons I shall not go into here! Ian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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