H.P. Halifax B.MkIII Dedication.

[ccheese]

Was wondering because Wojtek had a set of plans/drawings for his FW-190, and was building the model according to the plans. I recall him extending the fuselage something like one mm (or so) because the model just wasn't right. Such attention to detail actually baffles me.

Charles

 

[A4K]

I think he may have been using Kagero (or similar) plans Charles, available in book form with profiles and decals. Have received one such book fom him myself! (Fw 190D)

 

[Gnomey]

Coming along nicely Terry!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Hugh.
Yes, there are still many various plans available in such publications as Kagero, and most others on specific aircraft types, and many modelling magazines will publish plans as part of a feature on a particular aircraft. Many of these are traces of original plans drawn many years ago, with most of the British ones at least being thje basis for the MAP plans service items.
Nothing much to show at the moment - working on the engine nacelles and will post pics when done.

 

[A4K]

Looking forward Terry!

 

[dirkpitt289]

Was wondering because Wojtek had a set of plans/drawings for his FW-190, and was building the model according to the plans. I recall him extending the fuselage something like one mm (or so) because the model just wasn't right. Such attention to detail actually baffles me.

Charles

I remember that build as well

 

[Airframes]

The model is now starting to look like a Halifax, although I might have to do some more rather awkward cutting, which I wasn't expecting. I've received the 'Squadron' vac-form canopy set and, looking at the fitting instructions, it requires the fuselage to be cut in front of, and at one side of, the cockpit. Whether this can be done successfully, without damaging the interior, I don't know - I might have to attempt to cut the canopy to match the cockpit opening, which will make fitting tricky.
No doubt I'll find out once I remove the canopy from the mould sheet.
Anyway, back to the build.
The engine nacelles have been cleaned up, modified where required, and fitted to the wings, and the tail planes, fins and rudders have been attended to and fitted also.
PIC 1. The interiors of the inner nacelles have been painted matt black, and the main part of the undercarriage fitted, and also painted, although detail painting will be done later. These will be folded back into the wheel bays, then masked, ready for painting the model. The joint seams have been sanded, and the raised line of the flaps, in the rear of each nacelle, has been sanded off and engraved. What appears to be a black joint line is paint from the interior.
PIC 2. Inner nacelles were cemented in place, then tightly taped, to hold the parts in place against the upper, forward part of the nacelle. A very small amount of filler will be required along one joint and, in this instance, this can probably be accomplished by using a bead of PVA, run into the joint from the tip of a cocktail stick.
PIC 3. Again, test fitting provides benefits! The outer nacelle joint with the wing aerofoil was less than perfect when tested. So, the curve of the nacelle was filed back until it fit snugly, then the part was cemented in place, having first sanded the joint of the two nacelle halves, to ensure a smooth, continuous curve.
PIC 4. With all joints sanded, all four engine nacelles are now in place.
PIC 5. The carb intakes as moulded were rather 'rounded' at the front end, and the openings were far too small (some were completely 'solid', being blocked with thick flash). The intakes were filed and sanded back, to present a flatter front aspect, then the openings were reamed and filed until they resembled the real thing, as close as is possible without going too far and destroying the front of the parts. They have yet to be cleaned and polished in this shot, and note how rough the inner joint faces are - some of the 'proper' joints were also like this, a sign of the age of the moulds. With a kit from moulds of this era (bear in mind the original moulds are from the early 1960s, not the year this particular kit was issued, in 1991) , it is necessary to check and double check every joint face, the insides of surfaces which will meet when joined, the edges of small parts, and in fact, virtually every part of the kit, as warping, excessive flash, mis-aligned locating pins and malformed parts etc can prevent, or hamper, clean and trouble free construction - test fit, test fit, and test fit again!
PICS 6 and 7. The main section of the undercarriage legs are hinged, and will be folded into the nacelles during painting. Here, they have just been given an overall coat of matt black, and detail painting, and the addition of brake lines and the rear struts, will be done once the model has been painted. They are fairly good representations of the massive Messier units, when compared to the real thing, as shown on the Halifax at Elvington.
PIC 8. With the nacelles in place, the tail units could now be fitted, and more cleaning and preparation was required here. Apart from sanding down the rivets and removing some flash, some rather large ejector pin marks needed to be removed from the inside of the elevator parts, as they prevented the two halves from being joined. This one has already been partly shaved off with the scalpel, and is about to be filed down. Once again, test-fitting is critical, and the tail-planes, rudders, elevators and fins were all checked for fit and adjusted as required, before committing glue to plastic.
PIC 9. With all clean-up and corrections complete, the tail units were assembled and fitted to the fuselage, checking that they were 'square'. A small amount of filler will be required along the tail-plane to fuselage joint, and again, PVA will probably be sufficient here. Note the small notches cut into the leading edge of each fin, near the top. These are where the antenna wires will be attached later.
PIC 10. How the model looks to date, with the distinctive Halifax shape now evident. Once everything has fully set, those few joints and sink marks needing filler will be attended to, and some holes drilled for the trailing aerial fairlead, antenna wire mounting points, and the tail-mounted 'Monica' antenna, before moving on to work on the engines.
PICS 11 and 12. The front of the engines are a reasonable rendition of the Bristol Hercules radial, and a little scratch-built detail and some careful painting should be adequate to achieve an acceptable appearance.
The rear of the engine cowlings are a different story! Some work will be needed here, in order to 'thin down' the edges of the cowling gills, and try to create a more realistic appearance. That's the next job!
Thanks again for your your continued interest, and I hope to post another up-date sometime over the weekend.

 

[Lucky13]

Looks dogs sphericals old boy!

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

If dog sphericals is superb, I'm with Jan.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Jan and Aaron - much appreciated.

 

[Wayne Little]

Awesome terry, doing great mate!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks very much Wayne. Hoping to get a bit more done later today, all being well. Have to figure out a way of tackling the vac-form canopy though, as cutting the fuselage at this stage is not good plan!
Total build time to date is now exactly 60 hours, but things should progress a little quicker now - he said hopefully !

 

[Lucky13]

Well, as everybody already knows, Terry's build looks by far better in real life, as the pics don't do them justice! Carry on old boot!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks awfully old chap, very kind of you to say so, what !

 

[ccheese]

Why does that last pic look like a B-24 ???? Are the Hali and the Lib that close in resemblance ? Regardless... good job, Mate...

Charles

 

[Airframes]

Thanks very much Charles. There is a resemblance, probably due to the long, mid wing, and rectangular twin fins. Me and my mate Mick were looking at it yesterday, and we both, unprompted, said it also resembled the Shackleton MR2 and MR 3.
Not got much more done today, and have to go out now to take the display base material to a friend's to have the wood edge trim measured and fitted. Hopefully get some more done late tomorrow afternoon.

 

[rochie]

well done Terry, looks amazing and with Charles it bears more than a passing resemblance to a B-24 as it sits now !

 

[Crimea_River]

I like what I see so far Terry. Doing great once again.

 

[Wayne Little]

The hours really mount up don't they!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks very much chaps, glad you all approve.
Yes Wayne, the hours certainly clock up. I was quite surprised when I checked my build log though, as the average model normally takes around 60 to 80 hours to complete, and this one is only just half way there! Of course, I have to allow for my knackered hands - if still fully functional, I reckon the time would have been reduced a bit, but not much - maybe a 50 hour total so far.