ICM 1:48 HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I

[JayDee]

1:48 HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I
ICM
Catalogue # 48352
Available from Jadlam for £62.95

 

 

he Handley Page HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I was a British twin-engine medium bomber developed in the 1930s to meet the Royal Air Force’s requirement under Air Ministry Specification B.9/32 for a fast, modern bomber. Designed by Handley Page and first flown on 21 June 1936, the Hampden featured a distinctive slender fuselage and stressed-skin all-metal construction with two Bristol Pegasus radial engines. Its compact, streamlined shape earned it nicknames such as the “Flying Suitcase” or “Flying Tadpole” from crews, who also found its interior extremely cramped for the four-man team of pilot, navigator/bomb-aimer, wireless operator and gunner. Early production Hampden B.Mk.I’s were ordered in 1936 and began entering squadron service by late 1938 with units such as No. 49 Squadron RAF.

When the Second World War broke out in 1939, the Hampden was one of the main bombers in RAF Bomber Command’s arsenal and flew a wide range of missions in the early part of the air war over Europe. It participated in night bombing operations, including the first RAF raid on Berlin in 1940 and the massive 1,000-aircraft raid on Cologne in May 1942, and was used for leaflet drops, mine-laying over the North Sea and other strategic tasks. Despite respectable speed and manoeuvrability for its time, the Hampden’s defensive armament was initially too light to protect it effectively from enemy fighters, which eventually saw its role in daytime raids fade as losses mounted. By late 1942, Hampdens were being withdrawn from front-line Bomber Command duties.

After leaving the main bomber force, many Hampden B.Mk.I aircraft found a second life in Coastal Command, where they were adapted for torpedo-bomber and maritime reconnaissance roles through 1943. Modifications included deeper bomb bays to carry torpedoes and additional under-wing racks, enabling the type to serve in anti-shipping missions until the end of its operational career. A total of around 1,430 Hampden aircraft were built in the UK and Canada before production ceased in 1942, and although none remain in flying condition today, several examples survive in museums or under restoration, preserving the legacy of this early wartime workhorse.

 

The kit
As is standard with ICM kits, the Hampden is packaged into a rigid, corrugated box with a top opening flap, and a separate glossy lid that sits atop it. Inside the box, there are three resealable cellophane sleeves that contain a total of NINE medium grey styrene sprues, and a further TWO in clear styrene. The latter sprues are also wrapped in foam and separately bagged within the main sleeve too. A full colour 24-page instruction booklet and decal sheet are also included.

 

At the time of writing, there is also a follow-up Hampden release, but despite that, the parts breakdown will require all items on this sprue to be used in this build. The most obvious are those fuselage halves, showing what a narrow width aircraft this was, and must've been fairly cramped in comparison with contemporary aircraft of this type. Unusually for ICM, the whole external airframe is also riveted! The rivet detail is perfectly subtle and will look great with a little dirt and weather over it. Internally, the fuselage has a wealth if stringer and former detail that'll be hidden amongst the avionics you will install. The long inner floor is also here, and on there other side, it doubles for the bomb bay ceiling at the rearmost area. As this is a universal part between Hampden releases, you will need to drill out a series of holes for the munitions mounts. This is clearly seen in the manual. Also moulded here are the aft access hatch, open/closed bomb bay door options, radio equipment, and aileron wing mounts.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the first of two sprues that contain wing parts; starboard upper and port lower. Wings are moulded with separate ailerons and landing flaps of which you can see them here, typically provided as halves. The tail lower fin halves are moulded here too. 

 

 

 

 

 

The next sprue contains the other two wing halves. You will find more control surface parts here, as well as the rudders and internal wing reinforcing structures. 

 

 

 

 

Most of the cockpit elements are to be found on this sprue, as well as bulkheads and stabiliser upper/lower halves. 

 

 

 

 

 

There are TWO of these sprues included, containing many of those items duplicated around the airframe, such as engines, props, main gear bay doors, cowl sections, fins, main gear struts, and wheels. Detail is excellent throughout with some decals also supplied to supplement some of the finer cockpit detail parts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THREE of these sprues are included, but quite a few of the parts here will be relegated to your spares box. Bomb racks are moulded on this sprue, for use with this release.

 

 

 

 

 

Both of these sprues are crystal clear; something I can never clearly show in my photos. Some of these parts have options present too, depending on which machine you will opt to build. Framing lines are also sharp, meaning masking should be quite easy. Mask templates are included in the manual, but to be honest, I'd likely decide to use a set of pre-cut masks from Eduard etc. 

 

 

 

 

Decals
A single decal sheet is included that contains markings for FOUR machines. Printing is excellent, with the inking being thin with solid colour, minimal carrier film and perfect registration. 

Marking options are:

1. HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I L4032, the first production Hampden, Radlett, June 1938
2. HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I L4085, No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, Waddington, February 1939
3. HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I L4076, No. 50 Squadron, Waddington, September 1939
4. HP.52 Hampden B.Mk.I P1272, Torpedo Development Unit, December 1939

Instructions
The 24 page manual is printed in full colour, with clear line drawings for each step of construction. Plenty of clear annotation is supplied for specific details, and colour call-outs are supplied for ICM's own paint range. I've not tried those yet and it'd be quite interesting to see how they hold up against my regular brands. A colour page is supplied for each scheme, shown above. A parts maps is also included for each sprue. 

Conclusion
I've never built a Hampden in any scale or material before. It was always one of those types for which was only available either in vac or limited run styrene with crap metal castings with bad vac form canopies. Being able to buy one as a regular styrene kit with loads of in-the-box details was a dream come true, so you can imagine how it felt to know ICM was sending one out to me. Nothing in this kit disappoints, and it even has plenty of exterior rivet detail too, so need need for a few sessions with Rosie. I absolutely love this release, from the subject, to the engineering and amazing depth of detail. The schemes are excellent choices too, with that yellow belly one being really appealing to me. 

My sincere thanks to ICM for sending this sample for review on Large Scale Modeller. To buy, click the link at top of article.