1/32nd scale Halifax: *project complete*

[colt6]

Sir, I'm speechles!! thats the king class!! Here you show us REAL model building!!

 

Thanks!!

 

Arno

[Wingco57]

Arno,

He is just enjoying himself. And very persistent too. A great example to us all.

What Tom is teaching us ( being a teacher himself) is to just try it and go with it.

Learning a lot along the way. I like it.

Cees

[ThomasProbert]

Arno,

He is just enjoying himself. And very persistent too. A great example to us all.

What Tom is teaching us ( being a teacher himself) is to just try it and go with it.

Learning a lot along the way. I like it.

Cees

 

Exactly my philosophy Cees. It's far too easy to get bogged down trying to reproduce a scale aircraft in finite detail, and getting hung up on having every single detail exact and correct - nothing would ever get finished. My models will never win prizes for accuracy, but I get so much enjoyment tackling and overcoming the obstacles that they send my way I really couldn't care less 

 

Anyway, I've put the turret making on hold for the time being as I've no clear plastic for the vac-forming machine at the moment, so I've done a bit more to the main bomb-bay. 

 

I was contemplating scratch-building and adding long-range fuel tanks to the main bay as Coastal Command Halifaxes used these for their long over water patrols, whilst carrying ordnance in the wing cells (picture used for illustrative purposes only):

 

 

However, having spent a long time building the bomb-bay structure I felt it would be a shame to hide it all (as I did with my B-29 build!) so thought I'd add some more detail and have the main bomb-bay empty. 

 

I started off by adding some pipework and the like from lead wire and guitar strings, and built them up slowly over a couple of evenings. It's not particularly tricky to add this type of detailing, but it's very time consuming:

 

 

 

 

Most of the detail is centred around the main spar area of the bay roof, where the majority of the hydraulic and fuel systems ran on the real aircraft. 

 

I then scratch-built the racks for the bombs/depth charges. I had to make 9 in total from plastic card, as I've decided to have 6 in the main bay and a further three in the starboard wing cell:

 

 

These were then test-fitted to ensure they sat correctly and looked ok:

 

 

The the additional components were then painted matt black and given a dry-brush of dark grey to bring out the details, and some final wiring was added to the racks to 'plumb them in':

 

 

I think the overall effect looks reasonably good - the whole area is 'busy' enough and looks like a fairly accurate representation of the real thing. I've still got a couple of smaller details to add which I've since found in my references, but it's very nearly there:

 

 

 

The wing cells will now get the same treatment, before the doors are added which will limit further access.

 

Until next time...

 

Tom

[Wingco57]

Bombbays looking great Tom. Just shows the cluttered structure very well.

Cees

[pfuf]

Fantastic build great the bomb bay looks wonderfull.

 

Johan

[ThomasProbert]

Not a huge amount of progress over the last week, but I have attached the bomb-doors for the main bays.

 

The Halifax had a quite complex set of doors - the upper sections folded outwards to allow the lower sections to rotate up and into the bays. This meant the doors protruded far less into the airflow (when compared to the Lancaster for example) and thus reduced drag when the doors opened.

 

All I had to do was cut the kit's doors to the correct size, and scratch-build the retraction and rotation mechanisms. When they were painted and weathered slightly, it was just a case of adding them to the bomb bay. I also added a final few details to the bay itself, and now can say this area is complete:

 

 

 

 

Onwards and upwards!

 

Tom

[James H]

This is just gorgeous. I seriously envy those can can do vac form like this. Got to be one of my favourite builds, ever.

[ThomasProbert]

I've been a little busy with end of term school reports of late so have not had nearly enough time as I'd like at the modelling bench. However, I have been able to make the transparency for the rear turret.

 

This was done by crash-moulding using the Milliput master I'd made earlier:

 

 

It took quite a few attempts with various thicknesses of plastic before I was satisfied:

 

 

Once I was happy with a casting, I put the turret 'in situ' and started adding a few details such as the gun elevation mounts, a few archer rivets and then masked the clear areas. The mounts do protrude a little too far to be honest, but various attempts at getting them mounted in apertures cut in the glazing ended in complete disaster so I took the easy option:

 

 

 

The whole thing was then sprayed and unmasked:

 

 

 

Not 100% accurate, but it's the best I can do. Again, considering it's all been made from scratch it'll have to pass!

 

I've also primed the props in preparation for final painting:

 

 

I'm currently working on a master for the mid-upper turret. This will then get the same treatment as the tail turret before I scratch build the turret interiors. 

 

Only another 80 or so reports to write and then I can back to this project in earnest...

 

Tom

[RalphSarc]

Amazing craftsmanship!!! I'm speechless!!!

I've totally enjoyed following your build!

[Steve Scanlon]

Agree with Ralph, quite stunning.

[Wingco57]

Tom,

Nothing wrong with that turret, it looks great.
Cees

[ThomasProbert]

Thanks for the kind words - much appreciated.

 

This weekend I've made the glazing for the mid-upper. From the MkII Series IA onwards, the Halifax was fitted with the Boulton Paul A Turret - a lot flatter in profile compared to the earlier C Turrets fitted to the MkIs. There was no mid upper supplied in the kit so once again it was a case of having to make my own...

 

I found an old bottle in the recycling a while back and noticed it looked similar in diameter to the A type turret in 1/32nd scale. When offered up to the plans it was indeed identical and thus was put to good use in making a master for the turret. Having a flat bottom, the bottle's profile was amended with Milliput, and then carefully sanded to shape following the Granger plans.

 

When correct, it was then used to crash-mould a turret through 1mm plastic card:

 

 

In the picture above, you can see (from L to R) the bottle/milliput mould, the turret itself and the left over clear plasticard which will be saved for when other small pieces are needed.

 

I then masked the clear areas, and added the gun elevation aperture outlines from thin Evergreen, as well as adding a few Archer rivets for a little additional detailing. The turret was then given a base coat of matt black, followed by RAF Dark Green... and it looks OK sitting in its lofty position on top of the fuselage:

 

 

 

Now these parts have been made, I will attempt to scratch-build the turret interiors... stay tuned!

 

Tom

[Wingco57]

Tom, that dorsal turret is spot on.

Very creative too.

Cees

[ThomasProbert]

Tom, that dorsal turret is spot on.

Very creative too.

Cees

 

Cheers Cees!

 

Not a huge amount of progress, but work has begun on the engine.

 

I've modified the Tamiya engine mounts slightly by adding a little more bracing to the lower sections which will eventually support the mountings for the radiator. They've been attached to my scratch-built firewall and after a few of smaller details were added I sprayed the whole structure natural metal:

 

 

 

The engine itself has also received some modification to backdate it from a Merlin 60 series engine to an earlier XX series - the Halifax I'm building was fitted with Merlin 22s. The supercharger had the second stage removed, and the intercooler above the supercharger was removed and replaced with some thick sprue, heated and bent to shape to replicate the feed from the manifolds. Finally, with more heat formed sprue, I re-created the carburetor intakes on the lower part of the engine to the type seen on the Halifax. Some fine mesh framed with Evergreen created the desired effect on the openings - on the real aircraft these slotted into the intakes on the nacelle to supply air for the engine to breathe:

 

 

A test-fit reveals everything fits as it should in the mountings:

 

 

 

 

And on the wing:

 

 

Still a heck of a lot of work to do, but now I've got the basics done I can add the finer details before some paint and then a whole lot of plumbing...

 

Tom

[airscale]

oh boy - Tom that is fantastic

 

having played around with a Tam Merlin myself as an AM addition to a kit, I am really keen to see how you go about this. The firewall looks superb, really superb 

 

..as does pretty much every thing else you touch..

 

Peter

[Wingco57]

Looking very very good Tom,

This is easily your best project to date.

Cheers

Cees

[ThomasProbert]

Progress has been made on the exposed engine...

 

Using the Tamiya Spit engine meant there were some modifications needed to the cooling system - the Spitfire's radiators are under the wing whereas the Halifax has it below the engine. Therefore, I had to scratch-build the radiator itself, and then modify the pipework which was done with some Tamiya parts as well as thin sprue. These were attached to the header tank, which in turn is attached to the engine itself.

 

Here's the home-made radiator and coolant pipework:

 

 

Lots of test-fitting was required to ensure everything fitted as it should:

 

 

 

I then added some plumbing and some of AK's engine oil to give the whole thing a bit of wear and tear. Exposed exhaust stacks were also added - these were much-modified Mosquito stacks as I've decided to leave the flame-dampeners off to reveal more detail in the engine compartment:

 

 

A test-fit of the fully-feathered propeller:

 

 

And a final few shots to show the engine in-situ:

 

 

 

 

 

All that's left to do in this area now is make the framework that supports the cowling covers... 

 

Until the next update, 

 

Tom

[Wingco57]

Looking very nice Tom.

You can clearly see how the Merlin installation seems to be dwarfed by that massive firewall. After all the Halifax was designed with the Hercules in mind. The bureaucrats at the Air Ministry insisted that the Merlin be used. That's the reason for the less than ideal installation set up. If HP would have got his way the Hercules Halifax had been available in 1942. Ahh hindsight.

Cheers

Cees

[RalphSarc]

Simply incredible!!! I'm speechless every time you post!

[Wingco57]

Ralph, No you're not

Cees

[ThomasProbert]

Looking very nice Tom.

You can clearly see how the Merlin installation seems to be dwarfed by that massive firewall. After all the Halifax was designed with the Hercules in mind. The bureaucrats at the Air Ministry insisted that the Merlin be used. That's the reason for the less than ideal installation set up. If HP would have got his way the Hercules Halifax had been available in 1942. Ahh hindsight.

Cheers

Cees

Indeed, Cees.

 

The Merlin almost looks too small for the aircraft, but when you think they threw out well over 1,100HP and there were four of them it sounds more feasible.

 

And regarding the air ministry - things don't change. If you look at the debacle over the new aircraft carriers the Royal Navy are getting: first it was to be the vertical take off F-35, then the cat and trap version, and now it's back to the vertical take off version. To "um and ah", and consult 'experts' has cost the British taxpayer £300M... the incompetence is simply astounding! And don't get me started on Nimrod..!

 

More progress has been made on the Halifax - the engine is now finished and installed and she has four props now... pictures later all being well.

 

Simply incredible!!! I'm speechless every time you post!

 

Many thanks Ralph - but I promise you it's not as hard as it may look.

 

Tom

[ThomasProbert]

More to update you on today - the exposed engine has been finished and installed, as well as the four props being painted, weathered and installed on to the engine fronts.

 

Here's numbers 1 and 2 with the exposed Merlin:

 

 

And 3 and 4:

 

 

Considering I had no propellers whatsoever either in the kit (or available as aftermarket items) and I had to make them myself, I'm delighted with how they've come out!

 

Here's a few more shots to show how business-like she looks with the propellers installed - these four-bladed Halibags must have been quite a sight:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's now time to start thinking about turret interiors... it's all good fun!

 

Tom

[ThomasProbert]

More progress for you today - in fact I've managed to build a complete mid-upper interior in about 8 hours - oh when the wife's away...

 

Pictures of the turret interior where quite hard to come by, but with some low-detail cutaway drawings and some period pictures I have had a go... it's a mixture of fact and fiction, but you can't see a huge amount through the turret glass anyway, so as long as it's passable I'll be happy. Also, it seems the turret was up-graded and changed throughout it's service life, as I found no two pictures the same! 

 

First off I built the basic framework to support the guns from plastic card, and then added some Aires .303 guns, along with some items from the spares box such as parts of an unused F-14 radar that was modified to represent the gunsight, and unused F-18 radar part for the foot-rest, as well as other various bits and bobs I could modify...

 

 

 

As with any scratch-building, test fit, test fit, test fit:

 

 

 

Although it looked a little rough initially, under a coat of primer things start to improve:

 

 

A spray of matt black, some highlighting done with dark grey, and then ammunition added, along with the canvass strap seat for the gunner:

 

 

And then it's installed in the fuselage:

 

 

With the turret dome added right at the last:

 

 

Not bad for a day's work!

 

Now the rear turret will get the same treatment.

 

Until next time,

 

Tom

[Mikester]

Brilliant!

[ThomasProbert]

Despite managing to break my wrist since the last update, I've still been busy...

 

Thankfully, despite the cast I've still been able to get plenty done... in fact it's quite an advantage as the wife has been unable to leave me her usual list of chores... little does she know 

 

I've got the rear turret finished off now - there were plenty of piccies available on the web on the Canadian Halifax so I've been able to make a reasonable representation of the real thing. It was another case of plasticard, Evergreen and a bit of anything else I could lay my hands on to construct the interior:

 

 

 

And painted up and weathered lightly:

 

 

 

 

 

And finally installed in the tail:

 

 

I'm pleased with it considering I had nothing whatsoever to start with!

 

Part two to follow shortly...