Halifax B Mk. I/II/GRII - Revell 1/72

[AlexN]

53 minutes ago, celt said:

Keith is right,I have nearly lost an eye while cutting etch metal,super glued my fingers to the model mat and too many more cuts,scrapes and poisoning to mention.

 

Hey Celt, we must be related!

 

Apologies for the page-flip, Ced. 

 

Alex.  <-- not related(!)

[chaddy]

On 6/12/2017 at 1:04 PM, TonyTiger66 said:

 

That's an interesting read .

 

OOB? It says the mid upper turret had been removed..

 

TT

That book ‘A Shaky Do’ is an interesting read, and a book I have in my collection. Highly recommended!

 

It’s also interesting due to the fact that, in he extract linked to above (the Plzen raid), the bomb aimer on board JB910 that night was my wife’s cousin, Jack Hulley. The pilot was an Australian, Bill Virgo.

 

At the time of the Plzen raid (April 1943), JB910  had no MU turret fitted. The MU gunner was acting as an observer of ‘below and behind’ by virtue of looking through a retro-fitted perspex blister mounted approx 6 feet behind the crew access door and on the underside of the fuselage. 

 

The picture published elsewhere in this WIP shows JB910 with the lower profile MU turret fitted. The crew is that of S/L Baird and crew. Baird was posted out of 10 Sqn in Late May 1943, so that pic can be fairly accurately dated as May 1943. Probably taken to mark his posting.

 

Cheers.

[CedB]

On 21/07/2017 at 15:24, Biggles87 said:

Coming along splendidly now Ced, but just remember, " You never gets nowhere when you're too 'asty "

 

Have a nice weekend, although it doesn't matter when you're retired does it?

 

John

 

Thanks John  "... it doesn't matter when you're retired..." is almost exactly what the Landlord said on Friday night when I was deciding whether to go home or not after a very pleasant evening with the locals. Just before he poured me another pint. Suffice it to say it wasn't the last and I got home, er, a little late and yesterday was a write off...

I did have a nice discussion (at least that's how I remember it) with the Landlady's kids and their friends, now in their early twenties (I would guess). Very articulate and passionate about 'the world as it should be' but, sadly, not that open to old blokes disagreeing with them. Ah, I remember those days! Someone told me "In your twenties you want to change the world, in your thirties you want to change 'the system' and in your forties you want to change your life". Wise words which, sadly, run out just when you probably need them. Perhaps I should start a thread in chat...

 

Thanks Simon , Giorgio, celt and Finn (nice pictures)  

 

15 hours ago, chaddy said:

One thing that strikes me is that the forward port side lower window does not, apparently, exist on JB910 (and neither on the starboard side I think). Also the upper forward window appears smaller on the actual aircraft than on the kit.

 

Cheers, keep up the good work.

 

Thanks Chaddy - yes, the windows are different and 'we'd decided' to not bother earlier, but now I have the correct nose I may rethink. Bill had suggested masking (or rather not) the smaller ones which would be easy. I might rethink (except moving the one on the starboard side)

 

14 hours ago, HP42 said:

Love those little saw blades for the resin, must invest in some! 

13 hours ago, Whofan said:

Ced,

 

I saw those (you saw what I did there?) - especially the little curvy one - so I will second HP 42 ans say I'd like some too. Now the question is ....... (and excepting you have mentioned this in the thread) - where did you get them from?

 

The mighty H, or some other emporium?

 

Thanks Phil (interesting story) and John  I really like the RB Productions ones:

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

but they're quite fragile and they kink if you're not careful, although they can be straightened with pliers. I bought mine from the manufacturer but be warned - visiting the site can damage your wallet! They do micro (fine 56tpi), nano (very fine 76tpi) and pico (extremely fine 120tpi) versions and I've just noticed they also do a 'contour saw set' that "are very rigid and sturdy and were thoroughy tested for efficiency - they will not buckle easily during use". Obviously I've ordered some. Oh, and to 'save postage' I've also ordered one of their little PE folding tools. I've been looking for a cheaper (but efficient) folding tool and this seems to fit the bill. Told you it was a dangerous site. Have a look at their scribers too - they're great!

 

I bought the Tamiya saws;

 

 

from Wonderland Models as I thought they'd be stronger but, as you can see, they bend too. I think the RB nano- and contour sets will be a good combination; more when the latter arrives!

 

13 hours ago, keefr22 said:

Celt can keep you enthralled for hours with tales of personal damage that would make your toes curl Ced....oh sorry, forgot you can't curl your toes....

Anyway, returning to the Halibag, more great progress!

 

Keith

 

Thanks Keith - thankfully the toe is now bending a bit so I'm hoping to stop limping soon. Limp, story of my life (fnaar!)  

 

7 hours ago, AlexN said:

Hey Celt, we must be related!

 

Apologies for the page-flip, Ced. 

 

Alex.  <-- not related(!)

 

Thanks Alex - I'm never worried about page flips, someone had to do it! It does however remind me we're one page 18 and I should get on with it...  

 

14 minutes ago, chaddy said:

That book ‘A Shaky Do’ is an interesting read, and a book I have in my collection. Highly recommended!

 

It’s also interesting due to the fact that, in he extract linked to above (the Plzen raid), the bomb aimer on board JB910 that night was my wife’s cousin, Jack Hulley. The pilot was an Australian, Bill Virgo.

 

At the time of the Plzen raid (April 1943), JB910  had no MU turret fitted. The MU gunner was acting as an observer of ‘below and behind’ by virtue of looking through a retro-fitted perspex blister mounted approx 6 feet behind the crew access door and on the underside of the fuselage. 

 

The picture published elsewhere in this WIP shows JB910 with the lower profile MU turret fitted. The crew is that of S/L Baird and crew. Baird was posted out of 10 Sqn in Late May 1943, so that pic can be fairly accurately dated as May 1943. Probably taken to mark his posting.

 

Cheers.

 

Wow, thanks chaddy - what a story!  

I've just realised I could buy the eBook of 'At the Foot of our Stairs'... but that would just encourage me to change to JD314... focus Ced, focus...

 

Hopefully some modelling later.

[Biggles87]

Deleted

Edited July 23, 2017 by Biggles87

[amblypygid]

5 hours ago, CedB said:

I've also ordered one of their little PE folding tools. I've been looking for a cheaper (but efficient) folding tool and this seems to fit the bill.

 

I find it very useful, though as it's the only folding tool I own, I can't compare it to anything other than the combo of fingers and tweezers.

[HP42]

Thanks for the saw info Ced, that looks a good vendor....just perusing the site now...  now where did I leave my wallet? 

 

[AlexN]

Thanks, Ced .

 

Watch out for his large resin 1/32 Arado 234. A REAL wallet destroyer. I think he also might have contributed to MDC's Hawker Typhoon and Ki-61Hien 1/32 resin kits before the former's acquisition by Sovereign Hobbies.

 

The 'local' supplier, BNAModelWorld.com in Melbourne (which co. is cunningly situated next to a freight airport) is almost always out of stock, which annoyingly means getting things from the source - the main reason why I still haven't got his contour saw(s) and the nano and pico saws. The micro saws seem to work well, so I haven't been in a rush to pay the extra freight.

 

Great tools though, including the scriber and the natty rivetters (PE pounce wheels).

[CedB]

(Oooh, I wonder what John said and then deleted? Nothing rude I'm sure)

Thanks Chris - from the videos and reviews the Flip looks just the thing. I can't justify one of the metal block things to myself, too expensive for the little PE I do. But then, when I do have some, bending on the mat never seems 'crisp' enough. Hopefully this will sort that out  

Hi Phil - I do like my tools and the RB Productions chap (Radu) really seems to provide things that fill the gaps (excuse the pun) left by the larger suppliers. Great stuff.

Hi Alex - another recommendation for RB, thanks  

 

 

I had a bit of masking mojo this morning so took advantage:

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

 

That last shot shows why I think the masking set is essential. And also shows how thin some of the frames are. Gulp. Fingers crossed then. Sadly the masks don't cover (another pun, sorry) the Z nose so it was out with the tape:

 

 

That's where the mojo ran out.

 

Apologies to those who've been waiting patiently (or otherwise) to see how the radiator mods look. I'll have a look at them now.

[CedB]

AML resin. Well, the first look was disappointing:

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

It's the rear of the radiator moulding. That'll have to go. Removed with a chisel blade (still no blood!). Chosen tools today are CA gel (to act as a bit of a filler too) and activator.

 

 

Method: smear gel around the plastic. Rub activator on the resin. Offer up (why do we say that) resin to the plastic ensuring not to get gel on fingers and aiming for 'best fit':

 

 

I'm going to say they're a tad undersize. Here's one:

 

 

 

 

Some filler and/or six inch have round second cut action later.

Check references, no gaps. Anywhere. Rats.

I'm going to assume the resin is the correct profile. Stop me, quickly, if I'm wrong...

[keefr22]

26 minutes ago, CedB said:

I'm going to assume the resin is the correct profile.

 

I'd say it's 'correctish' Ced, I'm guessing they've made them as undersize as possible to mitigate for the obese Revell nacelles? If they did them to the completely correct profile you'd probably have to remove too much kit plastic to try & blend them in...That appears to be the case with the Freightdog improvement set I have anyway.

 

Keith

[TheBaron]

50 minutes ago, CedB said:

Offer up (why do we say that)

Due to the frequency with which prayer is invoked at such moments if my own experience is any guide Ced. 

 

That is a noticeable disagreement between AML and Revell on matters of size there isn't it? There's quite a 'shelf' of difference on the horizontal axis in particular...

 

 

[Biggles87]

It needs someone to make complete  nacelle replacements to get them really correct, but I suspect that the price  would be prtty high, probably more than the kit itself. It really is a pity that Revell got it so wrong as this is my preferred mark of Halibag, but I'm unlikely to buy one now.

The deleted post was about talking to the ' youf ' and getting annoyed about the general lack of knowledge/interest in anything that happened more than 5 years ago. It's a huge generalisation I know, but it does irritate me. Rant over, I bet you wish I hadn't bothered now.

 

Cheers

 

John

 

PS it looks like my days of listening to BBC radio Iplayer may be numbered, because you now have to sign in and apparently they have software which can detect if you are a ' foreigner ' using a VPN to steal their airwaves! 

 

Edited July 24, 2017 by Biggles87

[AlexN]

5 years ago? A year ago? Don't get me started, John.

 

The Beeb lawyers and accountants knocked the Oz version of the video Player on the head a few years ago - probably right after the deal that BBC Worldwide made with the devil Foxtel. That will end in tears for the Beeb, I'm convinced. Sadly.

 

Pity about those resin cowling fronts Ced - a real conundrum. Filler and scribing? Sanding down the ('orribly fick) plastic? I don't envy you either way. Urk. I can't fink of any other solution, but that's no surprise. Wiser heads are likely to come up with something useful, however: fingers crossed.

 

Cheers,

Alex.

[The Spadgent]

A VERY pleasurable 45 mins slow catch up in the sun with a lovely beer and my feet up. Man I'm getting old, loving every minute too.

wonderful work on the resin parts and the masking and the plastic and, and, and. Hopefully a few more lazy afternoons to sit and read the wonders that are BM and your particular bit of it Mr C.

"god speed John Glenn"  

 

 

Johnny holiday

Edited July 26, 2017 by The Spadgent

[TonyTiger66]

Great progress Ced .

Prop blades prepped, radiators in place, most of the masking done; it's getting there in a very subtle and covert way.

 

I wonder what the more resin aware people here would suggest, as a suitable filler for the resinous gaps?

 

I have a few resin kits and the instructions say 'don't use filler for plastic models, it won't work'. So what to use  ? 

 

Car body filller (P38) seems way too hard. Maybe the stuff I used to call 'Knifing Stopper' would work?

 

I haven't a clue what that's called here in Oz; I went into 'Supercheap Auto' (like Halfords but even more of a rip off, for even worse Chinese tat) and asked for 'Knifing Stopper'; I was advised by a comedic yoof that they "don't sell chainmail"  .

 

How I chortled.

 

Keep at it Ced; new frontiers. Getting there  

 

Best regards

TonyT

[Beard]

24 minutes ago, TonyTiger66 said:

 

I have a few resin kits and the instructions say 'don't use filler for plastic models, it won't work'. So what to use  ? 

 

Milliput. It's available in your neck of the woods: https://www.hobbytools.com.au/putties-fillers-or-epoxy-for-modelling/

[TonyTiger66]

8 minutes ago, Beard said:

 

Milliput. It's available in your neck of the woods: https://www.hobbytools.com.au/putties-fillers-or-epoxy-for-modelling/

 

Thanks Simon .

I should have realised; 'two part'.... like resin  .

 

I have some that may still be ok (bought around a year ago.

 

This could be the way to go for Ced here? Perhaps the merest whiff of Miliput for the gaps on the nacelles?

 

Best regards

TonyT

[Martian]

Keep at it Ced. I can already see that the replacement parts are going to make a massive improvement in the appearance of your model.

 

Martian

 

[bbudde]

Oh come on Ced . The resin parts should be the right diameter. . Just sand the plastic smooth and engrave the lost panel lines. These parts make such a difference. What  would you have done in the seventies with an Airfix one, when the wing won't fit into the fuselage or anything else?. Cheers

Edited July 24, 2017 by bbudde

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

On 7/22/2017 at 6:38 PM, HP42 said:

Interesting to see the Tollerton nose. Interestingly enough, the hangar in which these aircraft received their nose jobs was demolished earlier this year. The airfield is still active and I fly from there occasionally.

 

Tollerton had an indirect but vital role in the history of my family.  In early 1945 my Dad was an Observer on 810 Squadron, based in Machrahanish and working up with HMS Queen in preparation to go out to the Far East (though Hiroshima intervened).  He and his regular pilot were sent down to Fairey's Great Western Aerodrome (now Heathrow airport) to pick up a new Barracuda.  They got airborne well enough, but as they flew North the weather was getting worse and worse.  My Dad, born & raised in West Bridgford (a Nottingham suburb very close to Tollerton) had a wheeze - if they could get to Tollerton before it socked in, he would get an unexpected evening at home.

 

This they did, though he always said the last 10 minutes of flying was very dodgy.  The Pilot thus met Dad's sister, & was rather taken by what he saw.  After the war he returned & married her, thus becoming my Uncle Ted.  All thanks to English weather & Tollerton.  

 

Nice Hali-baggery, anyway, Ced!

Edited July 25, 2017 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[keefr22]

4 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

Maybe the stuff I used to call 'Knifing Stopper' would work?

 

That's what I call it too Tony! Halfrauds still sell it over here, made by Cataloy, who now call it knifing putty. I have used it on plastic kits, but I believe it's cellulose based so shouldn't be lathered on too heavily!

 

Keith

 

Edit - I've just read the description on Halfrauds website and apparently the Cataloy stuff is now acrylic based, so maybe not so dangerous to plastic, but I bet now nowhere near as good for it's intended purpose on car body repairs!

[TonyTiger66]

45 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

That's what I call it too Tony! Halfrauds still sell it over here, made by Cataloy, who now call it knifing putty. I have used it on plastic kits, but I believe it's cellulose based so shouldn't be lathered on too heavily!

 

Ah the good old days of blasting a few coats of 'celly' on, of a fine evening in the garage, compressor and DeVilbiss at full whack and a cassette player on the go in reserve.

 

The thinners was so ludicrously, wantonly, pleasurably inflammable.

 

40 foot white flames when poured on a bonfire 🔥 🔥  .

 

Where's all the joy gone in classic car restoration ?

 

Yours wistfully

TonyT

[AlexN]

Spooky.

 

I was waiting in a rather long lunchtime queue at the local bolts merchant's yesterday (they must have had staff off sick, so of course there was a run) for some long metric bolts for my new lathe mount, and the chap next to me was needing some 7/32 bolts that his company needed for restoring a 1921 Stirling (not the bomber ;).

 

There were only two of said size bolts in the entire car, but they were apparently crucial. I hope that they had them. Not so much classic car as veteran - or antique maybe.

 

Speaking od solvents, I use xylene (carefully) on a semi-regular basis for cleaning. It is especially good for removing gummy residues.

 

I second Keith's Milliput recommendation - even if you go down Benedikt's removal route.

 

Back in my box now.

[HP42]

1 hour ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

 

Tollerton had an indirect but vital role in the history of my family.  In early 1945 my Dad was an Observer on 810 Squadron, based in Machrahanish and working up with HMS Queen in preparation to go out to the Far East (though Hiroshima intervened).  He and his regular pilot were sent down to Fairey's Great Western Aerodrome (now Heathrow airport) to pick up a new Barracuda.  They got airborne well enough, but as they flew North the weather was getting worse and worse.  My Dad, born & raised in West Bridgford (a Nottingham suburb very close to Tollerton) had a wheeze - if they could get to Tollerton before it socked in, he would get an unexpected evening at home.

 

This they did, though he always said the last 10 minutes of flying was very dodgy.  The Pilot thus met Dad's sister, & was rather taken by what he saw.  After the war he returned & married her, thus becoming my Uncle Ted.  All thanks to English weather & Tollerton.  

 

 

What a nice story. I know W Bridgford very well, just up the road as you say. If you manage to get to Tollerton there's a stormingly good café called Chocs Away that does a stonking breakfast. The models in the cabinet there are from my place when I rebuilt my conservatory and they never went home. I tend them and do a few swaps from time to time over a bacon butty and tea.  

[CedB]

Thanks everyone - grind down the plastic and fill with Milliput; got it! I will start the surgery hopefully tomorrow.

 

12 hours ago, keefr22 said:

 

I'd say it's 'correctish' Ced, I'm guessing they've made them as undersize as possible to mitigate for the obese Revell nacelles? If they did them to the completely correct profile you'd probably have to remove too much kit plastic to try & blend them in...That appears to be the case with the Freightdog improvement set I have anyway.

 

Keith

 

Thanks Keith - Michael pointed me at Paul A H's model and it looks really good but still has a little gap with the Freightdog radiators (just visible in the third photo). If I can get close to that I'll be happy  

 

Thanks Tony (TheBaron), Alex, Johnny, Martian and Benedikt for the kind comments and support  

 

9 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

The deleted post was about talking to the ' youf ' and getting annoyed about the general lack of knowledge/interest in anything that happened more than 5 years ago. It's a huge generalisation I know, but it does irritate me. Rant over, I bet you wish I hadn't bothered now.

 

Cheers

 

John

 

PS it looks like my days of listening to BBC radio Iplayer may be numbered, because you now have to sign in and apparently they have software which can detect if you are a ' foreigner ' using a VPN to steal their airwaves! 

 

 

Thanks John - always happy to share a rant! I must admit though I was probably the same at their age... probably. I heard that the BBC sign in was to allow for tailored content and that they wouldn't be using it for licence checks. We shall see! I'll be cheesed off if I can't watch using a VPN when abroad.

 

Thanks TT, Simon for the Milliput suggestion - the way to go if there are big gaps  

 

2 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Tollerton had an indirect but vital role in the history of my family.  In early 1945 my Dad was an Observer on 810 Squadron, based in Machrahanish and working up with HMS Queen in preparation to go out to the Far East (though Hiroshima intervened).  He and his regular pilot were sent down to Fairey's Great Western Aerodrome (now Heathrow airport) to pick up a new Barracuda.  They got airborne well enough, but as they flew North the weather was getting worse and worse.  My Dad, born & raised in West Bridgford (a Nottingham suburb very close to Tollerton) had a wheeze - if they could get to Tollerton before it socked in, he would get an unexpected evening at home.

 

This they did, though he always said the last 10 minutes of flying was very dodgy.  The Pilot thus met Dad's sister, & was rather taken by what he saw.  After the war he returned & married her, thus becoming my Uncle Ted.  All thanks to English weather & Tollerton.  

 

Nice Hali-baggery, amyway, Ced!

 

Thanks Crisp - nice story; amazing how these things happen eh?

 

31 minutes ago, HP42 said:

 

What a nice story. I know W Bridgford very well, just up the road as you say. If you manage to get to Tollerton there's a stormingly good café called Chocs Away that does a stonking breakfast. The models in the cabinet there are from my place when I rebuilt my conservatory and they never went home. I tend them and do a few swaps from time to time over a bacon butty and tea.  

 

Tollerton and Chocs Away - I finally remembered I have this 'starred' in Google maps for a visit Phil. Now the nose is even more relevant