Jump to content

Revell Halifax Mk II - I'm stuck on which bits to use


Mark Harmsworth

Recommended Posts

Ah! I thought it was the photo posted above. my mistake! To help as an excuse, I was up early ( 06:15 ) to drive my daughter to work, so the ol' brain may not be quite up to it's usual slow pace.

 

 

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's the sheer variation that makes the Merlin Halifax so interesting as a modelling subject, and being an ex-Handley Page apprentice has no influence there.  Honest.  (I actually spent more years at Chadderton/Woodford than at Radlett, just.)  Unfortunately for Mark, the range of external modifications being introduced on five different production lines and in-service all peaked around winter 1944!   Despite this, I still think we can be very confident about the appearance of LK730, just not 100%.  95+.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Graham - thanks for the (very) detailed answer. Fantastic. 

 

I've ordered AML's Morris block radiators and taken a punt on their wheels (only main unfortunately).

 

White Ensign now seems to exist in California and are selling the Halifax main and tail wheels but that means 8 dollars for the set plus 12 dollars postage and I cant find a UK distributor (yet) so AML it is. Here's White Ensign:

https://www.whiteensignmodels.com/p/WEM+172+Handley+Page+Halifax+Undercarriage+Set+PRO+7202/5801/#.XJELfHd2u70

 

Edited by MarkH206
replaced * with 8 - me being daft
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

 

Re AML wheels:  I don't know because I haven't got them.  I do know that at least two companies were selling aftermarket wheels of the right size before AML, so there'd be little excuse for AML to pull the old trick of simply copying the kit wheels and selling them as in some way improved.  Assuming they would...but similar things have been done.  I don't think that the White Ensign wheels have been picked up by anyone, but maybe.  They also gave you a proper tailwheel - do AML?  Freightdog are still selling their mainwheels, and again I haven't bought their tyres but would trust them from experience with other offerings.

 

 

I do have the AML main wheels and they're very nice -a great improvement over the kit parts.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

MarkH206, for what it's worth, I researched another aircraft from 77 Squadron lost that night, LL190 coded KN-N. This aircraft was also a Mk5, with the square rudders, Dowty undercarriage etc. From what I can tell it must have been practically new. Best regards, Tim.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Tim Fennell said:

MarkH206, for what it's worth, I researched another aircraft from 77 Squadron lost that night, LL190 coded KN-N. This aircraft was also a Mk5, with the square rudders, Dowty undercarriage etc. From what I can tell it must have been practically new. Best regards, Tim.

 

Hi Tim. Yes that was a bad night for 77 sqn with four planes lost (A, G, N and S). I don't suppose your research yielded any pics?

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, MarkH206 said:

Hi Tim. Yes that was a bad night for 77 sqn with four planes lost (A, G, N and S). I don't suppose your research yielded any pics?

Mark

Mark, sadly not. Like you I had initially thought the aircraft was a Mk2. The only thing I am still not clear about is the configuration of the mid upper turret. I believe these Mk5s were only at the Squadron for a very short time, hence the lack of images. I did go into this quite deeply at the time, sorry I cannot be of more assistance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tim, as often happens with me, the choice of aircraft was not really planned. I seem to stumble across them. I had the Revell Halifax Mk I/II kit in the stash and a relative mentioned a Halifax pilot (no relative in case you were wondering) so that was that. A little bit of research and I end up with LK730. And then I got confused (turrets, undercarriage, tails, exhausts . . . ) - I probably still am - but just don't know it yet.

 

I should add that I am completely in awe of the experts that hang out here.

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Windows and aerials.

 

Revell supplies four windows for the nose area and it seems to me there's an unmentioned spare. But of course I don't really know if all those windows were there in the Mk V.  @Vicarage Vee mentions that the window above the triangular one is retained - which I think is the one that Revell has as the blister type (parts 203 and 204) but I think there may be an alternative flat window (parts 15 and 26) - although I may have that completely wrong.

 

Then there's the aerials around the nose: part 116 (pitot tube?), 118 (towel rail thingy) and two chunky aerials (parts 117) in the cheeks. 

 

thanks

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I think you are right about the windows, but it is so hard to be sure with the instructions.  To fully get to grips with them you do need to know quite a bit about Halifaxes as there are some howlers in there.  This means that they are a very poor effort for the non-aficionado to deal with. My copy has red pencil and notes all over it!

 

116 is the pitot

118 the towel-rail blind landing aerial (probably fitted)

117 is the Rebecca aerial... personally, never seen it on anything but late Mk IIIs and onwards.

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The blister was on early Halifaxes and a flat window seen later, if at all.  I entirely agree about the failures of the Revell instructions (and their detail parts!) which I put down to the confusion as described before.  It seems pretty clear that those writing the instructions simply didn't know enough about the aircraft.

 

By this stage the turret was fitted flush.  I don't remember why that raised fairing was there at all, possibly because of the reuse of actual Defiant turrets?  However, the photos showing them all are for considerably earlier production - 6 months?

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another annoying thing that the Revell kit misses is that there is a fairly large rectangular window on the underside of the nose immediately behind the nose cone and in front of the L shaped antenna. You can just make it out in the photo posted above, it's directly underneath where the diagonal row of bomb markings are.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, elger said:

Another annoying thing that the Revell kit misses is that there is a fairly large rectangular window on the underside of the nose immediately behind the nose cone and in front of the L shaped antenna. You can just make it out in the photo posted above, it's directly underneath where the diagonal row of bomb markings are.

Absolutely Elger, it's a feature missing from all of the 1/72 Halifax kits, and also missing from the Pavla nose that is supposed to correct the Matchbox kit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Horizontal tail question.

 

At step 45 the kit instructions would have you drill holes so that you can attach parts 89 - which look to me like actuators for the trim tabs (but I'm not too good at identifying these things). The pictures I've seen of the tail don't seem to support that. These aren't marked as optional in the instructions.

 

I'm thinking of excluding them - is that right?

thanks

Mark

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Part 89 looks to be the elevator trim tab control linkage. Revell have moulded this a bit larger than it needs to be. In real life, they were much smaller.

 

large_000000.jpg?_ga=2.33592547.33566493

 

large_000000.jpg?_ga=2.28808446.33566493

 

 

 

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Chris. You're right - I was looking for something much larger. I'll discard the kit parts and see if the spares box has anything more delicate. If not a piece of bent wire might work.

Mark

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/18/2019 at 1:57 PM, Graham Boak said:

Can go get it - Yes, that looks convincing and as these were withdrawn in February 1944 and the aircraft was built towards the end of 1943, I reckon that's very likely to be a close match  to LK730.  Playing devil's advocate, it still isn't proven 100% but ...  Note the lowered landing light under the wing.  Also note that this aircraft has the Merlin 22 engines with the smooth cowling.  So probably so too did LK730.  These are very much as good as production Merlin Halifaxes got.

 

I have only just picked up on what may be a key point here.

 

Assuming my Mk V had Merlin 22 engines does that mean I should be looking at four blade props rather than three? Both my AML sets (Gallay and Morris block radiators) have three blade prop replacements.

thanks

Mark 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No.  Three blade props were the production standard, and can be seen on LL218 (in Merrick p102).  Four blade props were introduced to reduce vibration and give a little more power, but often only on the outboard engines.    They are seen on OCU aircraft, which perhaps were seen as more in need of three-engine recovery, and a full set of four bladers were normal on the later Coastal Command aircraft.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...