alt-92 Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Part of the Battle of Britain GB for this year: Valom's 1/72 HP Hampden B. Mk.I. On 12 August 1940 eleven Hampdens, six from No. 49 Squadron, five from No. 83 Squadron, were detailed to destroy the aqueduct carrying the canal over the river Ems, north of Münster. Flt Lt. Roderick Learoyd of 49 Squadron was detailed as pilot of Hampden P4403, "EA-M", and his crew comprised Pilot Officer John Lewis (Observer), Sergeant Walter Ellis (wireless operator-gunner) and Leading Aircraftman William Rich (ventral gunner). Of the other four Hampdens that made the attack that night, two were destroyed and two more were badly hit. Last in line, Flt Lt Learoyd was awarded the very first Victoria Cross for Bomber Command for taking his Hampden down to 150 feet and pushing through the hail of AA, sustaining hydraulic system damage, inoperable flaps, a wrecked undercarriage, and wing damage, before dropping his bombs and then nursing his aircraft back to England, where he circled his aircraft until daylight, as he felt it too risky to attempt a night landing. the WIP thread with the background information regarding this raid can be read here: Extras: AZ Models transparencies and mask set, Yahu instrument panel & lots of Evergreen strips Paints: Topsides Dark Earth Vallejo 71.323 and 71.029 (the old DE), Tamiya XF-81 Dark Green, Bottom Vallejo 71.057 Black & Tamiya XF-85 Tire Black (for the blueish tint) Interior: Vallejo 71.126 IDF/AF green Decals: Kit for generic markings. Codes, serial & nose art gifted from the Airfix Hampden by @PeterB Now, where does the Evergreen come in you wonder? Well, you can barely see it in the completed kit but... 57 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith in the uk Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Ohhh , now that s very nice , lovely looking Hampden , did you have any problems with the clear parts fitting ? as i seem to recall there were issues when the kit was first released. 😬 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmerboy Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Oh l like that, super build and finish, quality modelling! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted November 5, 2020 Author Share Posted November 5, 2020 3 minutes ago, keith in the uk said: did you have any problems with the clear parts fitting ? as i seem to recall there were issues when the kit was first released. That's why I used the AZ glasswork 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigbeale Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Superb result. Very well done! 👏👏👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith in the uk Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Arrr , that explains lot. 😬 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangor Lad Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 Great build. I want to add a Hampden to my collection. Not sure if I have the patience to upgrade the Airfix kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 What a beautiful build! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 Wow! Nicely done! Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff G Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 Great work, like the history with it. What a skinny fuselage! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 That came out very nicely. Well done. 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swralph Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 Lovely modelling.😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 That is a beauty.👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 Beautifully done, and extra points to you for building a Valom kit! Those landing gear struts and retraction units look extremely fiddly and vulnerable to breakage. Outstanding work on getting them aligned! Interior detail is a nice touch, too. Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted November 6, 2020 Author Share Posted November 6, 2020 6 minutes ago, TheyJammedKenny! said: Beautifully done, and extra points to you for building a Valom kit! Those landing gear struts and retraction units look extremely fiddly and vulnerable to breakage. Outstanding work on getting them aligned! Interior detail is a nice touch, too. Alex They're very fiddly and thin indeed. The trick is to add a crossmember on the nacelle ceiling/floor just behind the small divots where they're supposed to go and drill out the inboard holes. The upper inboard wing parts are horizontal, and the gear should be perpendicular to that so drilling those holes also helps with the vertical alignment. 18 hours ago, Bangor Lad said: Great build. I want to add a Hampden to my collection. Not sure if I have the patience to upgrade the Airfix kit. As limited-run kits go, this one is perfectly manageable with love and attention. Just make sure you get one where the AZ models clear parts are in the box (SabreKits are now selling the last AZ released ones). 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomkil Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 Cracking job and all the better for the backstory. C'mon Airfix, it's about time you let us have a new mould! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 This looks lovely, great job. I have one of these in the stash along with the transparencies so am pleased to see a decent build of one and have bookmarked your thread to look at when I come to build it. Great work and great back round too. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted September 24, 2023 Share Posted September 24, 2023 Having wrestled the original Valom kit into a sort of submission, I concur with all your advice. I suppose those AZ bits are pretty unobtainable now, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted September 25, 2023 Share Posted September 25, 2023 Extremely nice “flying suitcase”! A very clean and tidy build. Well done! 👏👏👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Oddy Posted September 25, 2023 Share Posted September 25, 2023 A real quality build of a Hampden, well done on such a great build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted September 25, 2023 Share Posted September 25, 2023 Very much enjoyed reading the history of the craft. Your build does them honor. I never really realized just how narrow the Hampden fuselage was until your headshot of the kit build. Just a great build and finish of a difficult kit to build. Valom kits always have their ups and downs, (mostly downs when I build them). Thanks for sharing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(510x640)-Copy(95x120).thumb.jpg.33073138e01aa81779639a845926753e.jpg)
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now