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Revell 1/72 Halifax


Stressy

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If you mean the Merlin variant, then the front of the engines is too large and this goes back into the nacelle.  Aeroclub do injected/resin replacement parts, and Freightdog(?) do replacement fronts that don't entirely fix it but do make an impressive difference.   New props and spinners are also needed.  Other faults include too-small main wheels, the ailerons having too little chord on the upper surface, and the tailwheel.  Some replacement parts were also available from White Ensign.

 

The fuselage is much superior - although the bomb-bay doors are moulded half shut preventing the full 3-across mounting of the bombs.  This is fixable.  There are a lot of niggly little things that could have been better - for example the flight engineer didn't have a seat.  You do however get spare turret transparencies and guns??

 

The Hercules variant is far superior as far as the engines go, but has the same other wing issues.  It also includes the Tempsford nose and Mk.V undercarriage that should be in the Merlin boxing.

Edited by Graham Boak
Aeroclub were not vacform as originally said. Thanks Mr T.
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2 hours ago, modelldoc said:

This is the Merlin version, a little bit different from the box, but used all parts there:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21603181@N08/15634030096/in/photolist-qNdNCy-pPwut3-9tFaxH

 

modelldoc 

 

Is this the Revell repop of the Matchbox kit?

 

 

 

Chris

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I've been preparing to build this for years but I don't have much data yet. I have some pictures from the museum of the plane on bely during dismantling. but I have no rights to publish.

Here is one article in my language maybe it will help google translate.

https://www.sierra5.net/novice-novo/novice/item/2544-na-pobrezju-so-se-spomnili-letalcev-raf-a-ki-so-pomagali-slovencem

 

 

It happened on November 6, 1944, H.P. HALIFAX, sn: EB 188, R from 148 SD sq.

I have one photo from the internet source I forgot in the front is Partizan on horseback unhappy Halifax EB 188 / R after emergency landing

halifax-nazarje.jpg

 

T.p

 

P.k

Edited by politicni komisar
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My source for the Halifax GR-V was Wings Palette:

 

http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/b/560/9/1#21

 

Halifax B.Mk.II Series IA

Unit: 1586 Special Duty Flight, RAF
Serial: GR-V (JP180)
Crew: F/O Jan Dziedzic, F/S Henryk Golegiowsli, F/O Antoni Blazewski, P/O Stanislaw Kelybor, F/S Jerzy Koper, F/S Stefan Kulach, Sgt.Jozef Zubrzycki, F/O Stefan Czekolski. Campo Casale, April 1944. LAPG-built aircraft.

 

modelldoc

 

 

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The profile shows the revised nose, some of which may well have been added to Specials but is more commonly seen with the later cowlings and radiators of the Series 1a with its Merlin 22s.  I strongly suspect that JP180 was indeed a Series 1a  (my unfinished JP233 is just that) and so been drawn with incorrect cowlings and exhausts.  A quick check has JP180 in an earlier batch, ending with JP205, but a photo of JP205 shows it as a Series 1a, and other photos of SOE aircraft at this time do show the majority are of this later variant.  There is room for some doubt in this period, unless some more photos exist showing serials before JP180 in the later fit.  But I'd be very much inclined to put the later engines and exhausts on.

 

Interestingly the photo of EB188 show 4-blade props (often used outboard at least) with the final exhausts normally only seen on the Series 1a  Although a much earlier aircraft, I had thought that the Gallay radiators of these Merlin XX aircraft were circular, whereas these look more like the Morris block ones of the Series 1a - but I can't confirm that at the moment.  However it does seem as though this aircraft was pretty fully upgraded.  SOE do seem to have been first in the line for anything that would improve the payload-range, and this is fairly clearly just that.

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Just to clarify a comment made earlier on. Aeroclub did produce a correction kit for the Revell Merlin powered Halifax (in fact two kits to cater for the Morris and Galley radiators). But they were not vacforms, but injection moulded with a bit of resin and white metal. There might still be a few around on auction or trader sites, although I haven't seen one for a while. 

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On 24/10/2020 at 20:38, dogsbody said:

Didn't AML do a correction set, too? Something similar to Freightdog's, I think.

 

 

 

Chris

Yes they did. There were/are two sets one only resin engine fronts + spinners +props and one with decals

Correction:

from what i gather they were several:

AMLA72040 Handley-Page Halifax B Mk II Correction Set

https://www.valiant-wings.co.uk/handley-page-halifax-b-mk-ii-correction-set-1227-p.asp

 

AMLA72041 H.P. Halifax Gallay Radiators & Propellers

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/aml-amla72041-hp-halifax-gallay-radiators-and-propellers--1093242

https://www.aviationmegastore.com/?shopid=LH105b05ff746bad0306de1c0c35&action=prodinfo&parent_id=226&art=130615

 

AMLA72043 Handley-Page Halifax B Mk.V decals with Morris Block radiators and corrected propellers (AMLA72044) with tool with resin wheels a Mk.V decal sheet + PE parts (designed to be used with Revell kits)[Handley-Page Halifax Mk.I/Mk.II]

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AMLA72043?result-token=1tXan

 

AMLA72044 Handley-Page Halifax B Mk.I/Mk.II/Mk.V Morris Block radiators and corrected propellers with tool (designed to be used with Revell kits)

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AMLA72044?result-token=1tXan

Edited by TISO
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23 hours ago, Mr T said:

Just to clarify a comment made earlier on. Aeroclub did produce a correction kit for the Revell Merlin powered Halifax (in fact two kits to cater for the Morris and Galley radiators). But they were not vacforms, but injection moulded with a bit of resin and white metal. There might still be a few around on auction or trader sites, although I haven't seen one for a while. 

AFAIK that is for ex Matchbox kit Revell rebox not new mould Revell kit

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No, it is for the new mould kit, I have one in front of me and the instructions talk about the new mould kit. I bought it off John himself when it first came out. I know he did some new engine fronts in resin for the Matchbox kit as it was weak in that area as I have done of those as well. 

Edited by Mr T
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The set for the new kit must have been amongst the last item John did before he retired. I must have bought mine from the 2012 Huddersfield exhibition, which was the last model show I went to for years as a result of illness. 

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I haven't seen the AMLA parts, although to be honest I probably have more than enough enough Halifax conversion sets already.  As they fit onto the kit nacelles they have the same problem as the Freightdog ones, in that the nacelles are too wide and too deep, so the new intakes look a little off.  However, like the Freightdog, they offer a vast improvement in the appearance.  But, very minor point, no Mk.I ever had Morris block radiators.

 

John did offer radiator intakes for the Mk.I (strictly Series 1 and 2) which were the same shape as his Mk.II ones but without the oil cooler "blip" at the bottom.  In my opinion this is a misunderstanding: the Mk.I intake appears to be deeper and the real change to the Mk.I series 3 and Mk.II was a shrinking of the outer lines not an addition to them.  This is not something that appears to have been realised in any text, so judge for yourself if you are planning a Mk.I.  Not many of them to choose from, of course.

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Your subject aircraft seen on its belly appears to be an A.Mk.V fitted with 4 bladed propellers and the later block style radiators if that helps? The squadron codes would be  `FS'. 

You can see some nice photos and mabe pic up some more info here;

https://www.facebook.com/pg/RAF-148-Squadron-Special-Duties-WW2-110405255682875/posts/

 

https://148rafsquadrontrusty.weebly.com/

Edited by tonyot
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The code was FS.R.  Source https://www.facebook.com/pg/BelaBrezaSlovenia/photos/?tab=album&album_id=386783581469921

 

The Mk.Vs were not normally used by SOE, probably because the reduced take-off weight had too severe an effect on the desired range.  Some however were, presumably when lighter payloads meant additional fuel tanks were carried (or just for shorter missions).  However this is indeed what EB188 was, although built as a bomber and then converted (maybe, certainly updated), and used for SOE work,  It was not originally built with the later radiators and 4-blade props.  Although the last was an easy and fairly common addition they seem to have been initially restricted to the outer engines on tired OCU aircraft, but were more common on very late production aircraft in the GR role - such as the JP range which also provided aircraft for SOE.  By this stage they were not wanted in Bomber Command.

 

I just found the above after being intrigued by Tony's suggestion of it being a Mk.V.   I must admit being surprised, but as I was thinking of it as BB that's more excusable.  It does show quite how desperate the supply situation was for the SOE units that such older refurbished airframes were being sent out to Italy - perhaps to stock-up after the heavy losses of the Warsaw operations?  (Maybe, but not in this case.)

 

Note: corrections and additions in italics.

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A bit more on EB188, for Air Britain.  It was part of a batch that predominantly went to equip 1664 and 1667 Heavy Conversion unit - although later ones in the batch were used to equip the RCAF units 427, 428 and 434 Sqs in Bomber Command.  However EB188 was allocated to the Middle East and went from 1575 Flight to 624 Sq, until it crashed taking off from Blida 20.9.43.  At this stage 624 was a bomber unit, though its aircraft were later used in Italy for supply dropping missions.  Halifaxes were so limited in number that considerable inter-operability occurred, though the FS codes are for 148 Sq - the SOE unit.  Nothing else said in Air Britain, so presumably there's no more  on the Aircraft Record Card in Kew.  A number of others of this batch went to 624, or SOE, including EB189.  None of them however were lost on 6.11.44.  EB189 seems to have survived operations until being struck off with most of the other Italian-based Halifaxes in April 1945.  The other losses can presumably be found in the other serial books.  But I haven't found them yet in The Halifax File - more to look at however.

 

Given that the surviving crew returned to the site, it seems unlikely that we have an error in the serial.  So the aircraft was indeed rebuilt, but in the Middle East, where such things were not so carefully recorded, or at least records not so carefully returned to the UK.  To avoid future confusion, I shall edit the above post to remove less successful imaginings!

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