Matchbox 1/72 Handley Page Halifax Mk II Series 1A

[adey m]

May I present my working of an original 1980s three-colour Matchbox Halifax Mk 2 which I have represented as wearing the codes of 10 Squadron when based at RAF Melbourne, Yorkshire in 1943.

 

It has quite an extensive scratchbuilt interior and six crew figures.  I used the cupola from an old Airfix Halifax for the dorsal turret which I was surprised and pleased to find in my spares box. I removed the heavy framework moulding from the canopy by filing and fine emery paper and then polishing with T-Cut.

 

I made the main undercarriage retractable in a similar means to how the Airfix Halifax ones did.

 

I brush painted the model using Humbrol enamels. I had to hand paint the squadron code letters over the only ones I had which were in the earlier grey colour.

 

 

 

A Halifax Mk 2 Series 1A variant on which I based my model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you like it.

 

Adey m

Edited September 19, 2024 by adey m

[JWM]

Hmmm. I cannot see photos...Is it only me or anybody else too?

[elger]

I can see them when I open the links in new tabs

[5huggy]

looking good! 👍

[Drakendk]

Nice result on this oldish kit.

Good to see a build up Halifax while i wait for Revell to re-release their Halifax kit 🙂

 

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Wow!  This is fantastic!  I just saw two of these kits for sale, one at a hobby shop, the other at a show.  In the U.S., almost nobody builds anything like this.  I know the flight deck configuration is all wrong, but can be fixed with a vac-form replacement from Falcon and a whole lot of reshaping of the deck.  There is a corrective engine set from Aeroclub that I can get too.  Any other squawks?  Was it an otherwise enjoyable build?

[adey m]

1 hour ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Wow!  This is fantastic!  I just saw two of these kits for sale, one at a hobby shop, the other at a show.  In the U.S., almost nobody builds anything like this.  I know the flight deck configuration is all wrong, but can be fixed with a vac-form replacement from Falcon and a whole lot of reshaping of the deck.  There is a corrective engine set from Aeroclub that I can get too.  Any other squawks?  Was it an otherwise enjoyable build?

Thank you for your kind praise. There are issues that need attention, but the reason why I chose to build this old kit is because Matchbox got the overall shape correct, provided you make the Mk 2 and not the Mk 1 whose nose is too narrow and tapered. The cockpit windscreen and upper nose contour need attention. The kit's windscreen and upper nose contour are symmetrical, but on the real aircraft they were not symmetrical so I spent a bit of time sorting that, otherwise I am very happy with my model of my favourite Halifax version.

[FatFlyHalf]

2 hours ago, Drakendk said:

Nice result on this oldish kit.

Good to see a build up Halifax while i wait for Revell to re-release their Halifax kit 🙂

 

Are they going to correct it  ?

[TheyJammedKenny!]

52 minutes ago, FatFlyHalf said:

Are they going to correct it  ?

It's unlikely.  For that reason, if you make a Mark 2 version, you may be best to combine the nicely detailed turrets and fuselage from the Revell kit with the Matchbox wings and engines or aero club substitutes, perhaps combine them with after-market props and spinners.  Again, that's really a matter of choice.  

 

@adey m has given us a beautiful example of how the old Matchbox kit can be made to look right.

[kapam]

6 hours ago, elger said:

I can see them when I open the links in new tabs

Thanks @elger, that worked for me.

Very nice work @adey m!

I feel the Halifax should get more love from the kit makers these days, but the Lanc always seems to win that race.

[MarkoZG]

Photos are not visible

[Karearea]

Photos are visible here, for which I’m very grateful, it’s a beautiful model!

All your hard work really shines through, you’ve achieved a superb result. Did you have any photos of the extensive interior before it was closed up?

[gaputz]

I'll add to the list of those who can't see the photos

[kev67]

Regarding your images have you tried postimages.org, 

https://postimages.org/

 

[TeaWeasel]

Pics broken but the one I can see looks excellent, lovely clean finish. 👍

[georgeusa]

A really well done Halifax from the very old Matchbox kit.  It is always good to see a clean build and finish.  I liken the Halifax to the same status the B-24 had with the B-17, impressive when you look at the achievements, but still overshadowed by its workmate.  I especially liked the one photo with the ground crew as it gave a perspective of just how big the actual plane was.  Just an overall well done and finished kit.  Thanks for sharing.

[adey m]

17 hours ago, Karearea said:

Photos are visible here, for which I’m very grateful, it’s a beautiful model!

All your hard work really shines through, you’ve achieved a superb result. Did you have any photos of the extensive interior before it was closed up?

Thank you for your kind comment. My Halifax Mk2 is a conversion of my previous Matchbox Mk1 which I built back in 2020. I did not like the inaccurate shape of the Mk1 nose so decided to take a gamble, cut the old nose off and graft the Mk2 nose on. It was hard work but I now have the Halifax mark I should have built in the first place.

 

I did take some photos of the interior of the Mk1 during construction, most of it is still in my Mk2, just the nose is different and it now has a Boulton and Paul upper turret installed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rear fuselage and rear gunners rest seat and tail wheel mounting

 

 

Rear flight deck bulkhead with engineers panel and door to fuselage, wireless equipment and pilots cockpit

 

 

Detail of my corrected canopy windscreen

 

Hope this is of interest to you.

 

 

[Graham Boak]

Certainly a great improvement, though I think it is still lacking the nose asymmetry.  Maybe I just can't see it from that angle.  When I did mine as a Mk.I I cut the front off and raised it appropriately, which allowed me to build up one side with filler to produce an approximation.  I think the triangular fins would have gone by then but there were oddities.  I recall a set of drawings in an old Airfix magazine with a set of aircraft  from Middleton St. George and its satellite Croft.  Although they were of the same time there were no two identical.

 

 

[kapam]

Hi @gaputz, try opening the pics in new tabs as recommended by @elger.

That worked for me.

[veg]

Fantastic build and it looks right to me, it also shows just how claustrophobic these bombers were.

[adey m]

1 hour ago, Graham Boak said:

Certainly a great improvement, though I think it is still lacking the nose asymmetry.  Maybe I just can't see it from that angle.  When I did mine as a Mk.I I cut the front off and raised it appropriately, which allowed me to build up one side with filler to produce an approximation.  I think the triangular fins would have gone by then but there were oddities.  I recall a set of drawings in an old Airfix magazine with a set of aircraft  from Middleton St. George and its satellite Croft.  Although they were of the same time there were no two identical.

 

 

Yes Graham, there were many variants and variations of the Halifax, some Mk 2s had an aerial mast above the cockpit and some did not, like mine. The Mk 5 was the Merlin-engined version with square fins, this version also had different main undercarriage to the other versions.

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Thanks for the wonderful in-progress shots, which show all your hard work on the inside.  I was under the impression Matchbox provided two noses!!!  Where did you get the Mk. II variant nose?  From the Airfix kit?

[adey m]

6 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Thanks for the wonderful in-progress shots, which show all your hard work on the inside.  I was under the impression Matchbox provided two noses!!!  Where did you get the Mk. II variant nose?  From the Airfix kit?

You are correct, Matchbox do provide both noses in the kit, luckily I kept the Mk 2 nose and perspex in my spares so was able to use those, unfortunately though I could not use the original join location as it goes through the cockpit so I had to carry out some precision surgery further forward. Then I had to make a hole in top of the fuselage for the turret to drop into.

[Graham Boak]

9 hours ago, adey m said:

Yes Graham, there were many variants and variations of the Halifax, some Mk 2s had an aerial mast above the cockpit and some did not, like mine. The Mk 5 was the Merlin-engined version with square fins, this version also had different main undercarriage to the other versions.

 

[Graham Boak]

The Mk.V only differed from the Mk.II by the undercarriage (and hence maximum take-off loads). The rectangular fins  were later in-service modifications of both.