Lucky13
Forum Mascot
A pint to your health Sire!
H.P. Halifax B.MkIII Dedication.
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A4K
Brigadier General
Yep, with Jan!
Aaron Brooks Wolters
Brigadier General
Master II is doing some very fine work he is. This is looking to be very, very sharp.
- Thread starter
- #104
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks again chaps. Just about to start the surgery on the wings. Making a nice change from fighting with that Tornado kit !
fubar57
General
Very nice Terry. You've almost convinced me to do some scratch building on the Testors 1/48 P-47 interior....almost. 
Geo
Geo
- Thread starter
- #106
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks Geo, and go on, get it done!
The wing bomb bays are almost done, just got to finish the starboard side, do a bit of trimming here and there, then make the sets of doors, which will be fitted later.
Apart from a total load capacity of 10,000 pounds in the main, fuselage bomb bay, the Halifax also had bays in the inner wings, with a total capacity of 3,000 pounds.
These bays were divided into three 'cells' per side, with each 'cell' capable of carrying up to 500 pounds, giving a total disposable load of 13,000 pounds.
The kit has the panel lines for the bays moulded onto the lower wings, and these were scribed, then cut out with a razor saw, to open up one large aperture.
PIC 1. Shows a SBC of incendiaries being loaded into the outboard 'cell' on the port wing of a Halifax MkIII. Note the 'Erks' on top of the wing, operating hand winches, which attach via access hatches above each of the three 'cells'. The model will include this in the diorama.
PIC 2. First job, before attacking the bomb bays, was to inspect the wings prior to sanding down the rivets. This revealed a circle of 'slugs' on the underside of the starboard wing, presumably from contamination in, or damage to, the moulds. These were easily removed by careful filing and sanding, and the slight deformation at the wing tip and joint of the aileron was also corrected at this time. This is a good example of inspection and test-fitting paying dividends in the long run.
PIC 3. After scribing the outline of the bays, to act as a guide for the saw blade, the complete panel was removed with the aid of a razor saw.
PICS 4 and 5. The access panels for the winch attachment points on top of the wing, were first lightly impressed using a punch as a scriber, then scribed using the point from the dividers, clamped in a pin vice. One of the access hatches was then drilled out, and then thinned down on the inside, as this is where the model winch and winch cable will be attached later, the 'cable' running through the wing to the bomb trolley on the base below. The dinghy hatch was also engraved at this time.
PIC 6.The edge of the wing was used as a template to mark the aerofoil section onto a sheet of plastic card, allowing for the thickness of the kit plastic, and the end walls and bay dividers cut out, using a scalpel.
PIC 7. The first parts, front and rear walls, and one of the side walls, were test-fitted, then adjusted as required by filing or sanding, and then used to alter the remainder of the new parts where needed.
PIC 8. The front and rear walls of the bay were fitted first, with a strip of plastic acting as a locating lip, then the outer walls were glued in place to form a 'box', with the dividers then being added when the 'box' had set. The top half of the wing was test-fitted at each stage, to ensure clearance and fit.
PICS 9 and 10. When the assembly had set, the wing top was glued in place and clamped until set, then a piece of thin plastic card was cemented in place inside the bay, partly covering the open access hatch, to provide a base for the winch, and simulate the inside of the hatch on the upper surface. The bomb bay doors, which consist of two doors per cell, 'split' in the centre, will be made and fitted near the end of construction.
PIC 11. The wing tip was corrected, and notches cut in the leading edge for the navigation lamps. These will be made from pieces of clear sprue, filed and sanded to shape then polished.
Total build time to date, not including research and photography, has been 43 hours which, although fairly quick, shows that, as Wojtek would say, modelling isn't a race! Time taken on checking, test-fitting, measuring and cutting properly is essential when scratch-building, even at this fairly simple level, and well worth the effort if you want to end up with a good result in the finished model.
Thanks again for all your kind remarks, and I hope this continues to be of interest and help. I'll post another up-date soon, when the next stages are commenced.
The wing bomb bays are almost done, just got to finish the starboard side, do a bit of trimming here and there, then make the sets of doors, which will be fitted later.
Apart from a total load capacity of 10,000 pounds in the main, fuselage bomb bay, the Halifax also had bays in the inner wings, with a total capacity of 3,000 pounds.
These bays were divided into three 'cells' per side, with each 'cell' capable of carrying up to 500 pounds, giving a total disposable load of 13,000 pounds.
The kit has the panel lines for the bays moulded onto the lower wings, and these were scribed, then cut out with a razor saw, to open up one large aperture.
PIC 1. Shows a SBC of incendiaries being loaded into the outboard 'cell' on the port wing of a Halifax MkIII. Note the 'Erks' on top of the wing, operating hand winches, which attach via access hatches above each of the three 'cells'. The model will include this in the diorama.
PIC 2. First job, before attacking the bomb bays, was to inspect the wings prior to sanding down the rivets. This revealed a circle of 'slugs' on the underside of the starboard wing, presumably from contamination in, or damage to, the moulds. These were easily removed by careful filing and sanding, and the slight deformation at the wing tip and joint of the aileron was also corrected at this time. This is a good example of inspection and test-fitting paying dividends in the long run.
PIC 3. After scribing the outline of the bays, to act as a guide for the saw blade, the complete panel was removed with the aid of a razor saw.
PICS 4 and 5. The access panels for the winch attachment points on top of the wing, were first lightly impressed using a punch as a scriber, then scribed using the point from the dividers, clamped in a pin vice. One of the access hatches was then drilled out, and then thinned down on the inside, as this is where the model winch and winch cable will be attached later, the 'cable' running through the wing to the bomb trolley on the base below. The dinghy hatch was also engraved at this time.
PIC 6.The edge of the wing was used as a template to mark the aerofoil section onto a sheet of plastic card, allowing for the thickness of the kit plastic, and the end walls and bay dividers cut out, using a scalpel.
PIC 7. The first parts, front and rear walls, and one of the side walls, were test-fitted, then adjusted as required by filing or sanding, and then used to alter the remainder of the new parts where needed.
PIC 8. The front and rear walls of the bay were fitted first, with a strip of plastic acting as a locating lip, then the outer walls were glued in place to form a 'box', with the dividers then being added when the 'box' had set. The top half of the wing was test-fitted at each stage, to ensure clearance and fit.
PICS 9 and 10. When the assembly had set, the wing top was glued in place and clamped until set, then a piece of thin plastic card was cemented in place inside the bay, partly covering the open access hatch, to provide a base for the winch, and simulate the inside of the hatch on the upper surface. The bomb bay doors, which consist of two doors per cell, 'split' in the centre, will be made and fitted near the end of construction.
PIC 11. The wing tip was corrected, and notches cut in the leading edge for the navigation lamps. These will be made from pieces of clear sprue, filed and sanded to shape then polished.
Total build time to date, not including research and photography, has been 43 hours which, although fairly quick, shows that, as Wojtek would say, modelling isn't a race! Time taken on checking, test-fitting, measuring and cutting properly is essential when scratch-building, even at this fairly simple level, and well worth the effort if you want to end up with a good result in the finished model.
Thanks again for all your kind remarks, and I hope this continues to be of interest and help. I'll post another up-date soon, when the next stages are commenced.
Attachments
- Thread starter
- #108
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks my friend. As far as I've been able to ascertain, the dividing walls had vertical frames on each side, along their length. When I add the bottom frames to each cell wall, I'll also fit some vertical frames, but keep it simple, as not much will be seen. All of the wing bays except one, maybe two, on the port side will have bombs in place, and the model will be fixed to the diorama base, so not much will be visible under the shadow of the wings.
Lucky13
Forum Mascot
Spiffing work I say old boy, carry on!
brucejscott
Staff Sergeant
Absolutely first class Terry!
- Thread starter
- #113
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks guys.Nothing more to show at the moment- too many domestic things to get sorted - might have something tomorrow.
Crimea_River
Marshal
Good work man!
very nicely done Dogsbody
A4K
Brigadier General
Good stuff Terry!
Excellent work Terry!
ccheese
Member In Perpetuity
Great work, Terry. Impressive, too...
Charles
Charles
- Thread starter
- #119
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks very much indeed chaps.
I've just got a lot of stuff sent to me by Mike , with photos of the fuselage and wing bomb bays, and schematics of the various bomb load combinations - extremely useful stuff! This will now allow me to add some detail which would otherwise have been missed, or guessed at, although restrictions of scale, and allowing for what will actually be seen, means that not all of this will be included.
And it seems I was not quite right when I mentioned that the Halifax bomb bay could not be configured for the 4,000 pound 'cookie', as the load-out diagrams confirm this could be carried, as could the 8,000 pound bomb. (I'll have to check my references, to see how I've misinterpreted this, and I guess I'm confusing 'stored' information with that concerning the Sterling.)
So, a little delay in posting further photos, as I can now build the bomb bays accordingly, and hope to be able to depict a typical mixed bomb load, once I've decided on which bombs to use from the 'spares box'.
Thanks for the continued interest and complements chaps, and I'll post another up-date as soon as I've got things sorted.
I've just got a lot of stuff sent to me by Mike , with photos of the fuselage and wing bomb bays, and schematics of the various bomb load combinations - extremely useful stuff! This will now allow me to add some detail which would otherwise have been missed, or guessed at, although restrictions of scale, and allowing for what will actually be seen, means that not all of this will be included.
And it seems I was not quite right when I mentioned that the Halifax bomb bay could not be configured for the 4,000 pound 'cookie', as the load-out diagrams confirm this could be carried, as could the 8,000 pound bomb. (I'll have to check my references, to see how I've misinterpreted this, and I guess I'm confusing 'stored' information with that concerning the Sterling.)
So, a little delay in posting further photos, as I can now build the bomb bays accordingly, and hope to be able to depict a typical mixed bomb load, once I've decided on which bombs to use from the 'spares box'.
Thanks for the continued interest and complements chaps, and I'll post another up-date as soon as I've got things sorted.
woljags
Staff Sergeant
nice job Terry,really taking shape now
