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I`ve bitten the bullet,...... 1/72nd Valom Albemarle S.T.Mk.V! **FINISHED**


tonyot

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Hiya Folks,

                I`ve been away for a while,...... and now I`m trying to get over a bit of modellers block with the Valom 1/72nd A.W. Albemarle,..... which has something of a reputation for being hard to build!! 

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As I`ve been warned that like other Valom kits, the glazing does not necessarily match the width of the fuselage,..... I decided to assemble the fuselage first and after lots of dry fitting, sanding and testing of the parts, including the fuselage halves and the interior parts,..... the basic interior, ie floors, bulkheads were inserted and the halves glued together. The tail was also assembled an fitted too. As you can see some filler was applied, including some to cover up the side cargo door which as far as I can tell was not used by the Airborne Forces variant that I wanted to represent; 

 

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I also assembled the wings and engine nacelles; 

 

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Then the wings were test fitted to the fuselage,....... quite a lot of filing and sanding was required to reach a suitable and hopefully matching dihedral! The cockpit canopy and nose glazing was also test fitted;

 

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It will probably end up being a tail sitter,....... but I have tried my best by filling the area under the cockpit floor and the wing nacelles and leading edges with lead fishing weights!! Next I shall fit the wings, sand the model and then clean it up and fit the rest of the interior,

Cheers for now,

                     Tony 

Edited by tonyot
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I struggled to get the undercarriage to fit as instructed.

And you are correct about it being a tail sitter - I resorted to fitting a support strut made from clear sprue and then offering the finished model to my local aircraft museum for display in such a way that the prop isn't all that noticeable.

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The Albemarle took part in the invasion of Sicily towing Waco and Horsa gliders from North Africa and also dropped paratroopers on D-Day, towed in Horsa gliders the next day and then towed Horsa and Waco (at least two!) gliders to Arnhem, before being replaced by the Halifax. Having been stationed at RAF Brize Norton I quite fancy finishing my model as one used operationally from the airfield,..... and here are a few reference photos of the real thing that might help;

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This view below shows the cargo doors replaced;

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Cheers,

           Tony

4 minutes ago, Aeronut said:

I struggled to get the undercarriage to fit as instructed.

And you are correct about it being a tail sitter - I resorted to fitting a support strut made from clear sprue and then offering the finished model to my local aircraft museum for display in such a way that the prop isn't all that noticeable.

Thanks for the heads up,..... well done for finishing yours,.... I`ll try my best!!

Edited by tonyot
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59 minutes ago, dogsbody said:

I know from seeing other finished kits and from looking at the one in my stash that the front of the engine cowling is too open. 

 

 

Chris

Cheers Chris,....... I have a standby mate, as I have thought the same,....... I have a spare set of Airfix Beaufighter Hercules engine nacelles. I`ll try the kit ones first,...... if I cannot reduce the opening then I`ll probably use them! They are my little `trump card'!

All the best

                  Tony

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Hi Tony, good to see you back in the saddle, I'm another with one of these in stock, it'll be good to see you reveal the pitfalls along the way, someone has to take it for the team occasionally eh? :D  You're making good progress so far, let's hope there is nothing too dire in your way.

Steve. 

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38 minutes ago, Grey Beema said:

I don't really know anything about the Albemarle but it looks good to my eye.  

It looks like the love child of a Blenheim and a B-25

 

AW

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I really enjoy watching your builds, always quit informative :) How did you manage with the canopy? Mine is a mess, it'll sit on one side or the other, but not both at the same time, maybe I should see if there is a replacement available that would fit? 

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@tonyot,

 

Good to have you back- and building! I'll sit quietly in the back and take notes, as I also have this kit and have always thought it was a handsome aircraft- if I could find the serial and a photo, I would be very tempted to do the Mk IV that had the Wright R-2600 engines...think I might have found a use for a pair of the engines, cowlings, and props from one of my several Italeri B-25C/D's! Anxious to see how the master of the hairy stick does the D-Day stripes!

Mike 

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19 hours ago, tonyot said:

Cheers Chris,....... I have a standby mate, as I have thought the same,....... I have a spare set of Airfix Beaufighter Hercules engine nacelles. I`ll try the kit ones first,...... if I cannot reduce the opening then I`ll probably use them! They are my little `trump card'!

All the best

                  Tony

 

That's what I was thinking too. Would you need to replace the whole cowling or just cut back the front and used the exhaust collectors from the Beau?

 

 

Chris

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22 hours ago, dogsbody said:

I know from seeing other finished kits and from looking at the one in my stash that the front of the engine cowling is too open. 

 

 

Chris

I have a "trick" used on more than one Halifax.  Get a piece of microstrip and coil it round an appropriate dowel, steam it to set it in a coil, then take it up to the cowling.  Cut a piece that will fit inside, them glue it to the inside with half of it sticking out.  When all has set you can file it down and  not only get a smaller intake but also an inner lip.

 

Not tried it on a Valom Albemarle.

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Just for something to do before supper, I went down to The Hole and looked at the Valom Albemarle kit and the Airfix Beaufighter kit.

 

I compared the outside diameter of the Valom cowling to the Airfix collector ring. Quite close.

 

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I then tried a Hasegawa ring. A bit bigger, but not too much.

 

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One thing I did notice is the non-circular, ovoid shape of the Valom bits.

 

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Chris

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Thanks for the welcome back folks,....... yeah I think that the thought of rigging that Albacore had something to do with my modellers block,...... but as usual I`ve had back trouble too,........  however I did managed to fit in a rather painful but fantastic holiday to Canada,..... where I saw the Trenton Halifax at last!!! 

As for the Valom Albemarle, well the canopies do not fit,......they were too wide for the fuselage,...... just like the Valom Hampden,...... so I sanded the mating edges and also the interior parts to make a better fit, hence why the full interior has not been added yet as there was a lot of trial and error.

The wings have been attached now and have been left to set for a few days.

For the turret I may try one of the turret glazings left over from the Airfix Defiant kit,......  and as I said I have a set of Airfix Beaufighter engine cowlings on standby if need be (thanks Bob!!)

I think that`s everything covered?

All the best

                 Tony

 

PS,.... I`VE BEEN USING VILLAGE PHOTOS TO DOWNLOAD MY PICS BUT I`VE JUST FOUND THAT i CANNOT GET INTO IT NOW,........ SO CAN ANYBODY ELSE SUGGEST ANOTHER  FREE SITE THAT I CAN USE? THEY ALL SEEM TO BE FALLING LIKE FLIES THESE DAYS.

  

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