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1/32nd scale vacform Halifax - COMPLETED


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Tom, are they the scale plans by A. Granger? I have a set in my Aerodata title, so if yours is not complete (or a different set), let me know.

 

Kev

 

Yes they are the Granger plans.

 

I have the complete set thank you - but if I get into difficulties I'll let you know!

 

Cheers,

 

Tom

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Tom,

You move quickly. Great job.

Your package will be posted tomorrow by the way.

Cheers

Cees

 

Well... being a teacher on summer holiday means there's not a lot else to do :)

 

I'll let you know when the parcel arrives... thanks again.

 

Tom

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Sent.

 

Let me know if there is anything you need regarding information.

 

Here's a topic on my full size Halifax cockpit, perhaps it will be useful to you for reference:

 

http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?89634-Halifax-Cockpit-Project

 

cheers

Cees

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I'm still working on the wings...

 

As this is such a large kit, they are moulded with the outer sections as separate parts, which will then need to be joined to the inner sections. This is actually advantageous, as it means you can set the dihedral yourself rather than having to correct any inaccuracies... e.g. Revell's 1/72nd Lancaster!

 

Once again I spent a few hours scribing on the surface detail:

 

IMG_1948.jpg

 

With parts this size, I find it easier to scribe them whilst still on the backing sheet. This way they flex a lot less and if you scribe when the wing parts are joined the pressure applied can split the seams. When the halves are together and sanded, it only means a few panel lines have to be redone on the leading edges.

 

Here are all four wing sections completed. Special care has to be taken on the trailing edges to ensure they are thin enough and in scale... the hardest part of vacform modelling I find:

 

IMG_1953.jpg

 

You can also see in the picture above that I've removed the flaps. More pictures than not show Halifax flaps dropped when they're parked, so that's what I've gone for. These will be scratch built and added later in the build.

 

Finally, a quick size comparison. Here is one of the outer wing sections with Revell's 1/72nd scale Halifax... she's a big girl:

 

IMG_1958.jpg

 

I'm now going to busy myself making the spar structure for these sections of the wings... banghead.gif

 

Tom

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Terrific work Tom!

 

IMG_1948.jpg

 

With parts this size, I find it easier to scribe them whilst still on the backing sheet.

 

What a great idea! I'll definitely have to remember that one. You simply have to leave off any panel lines that go around the leading edge, and remember to add them after the two halves are joined. Thanks for the tip!

 

Kev

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  • 5 weeks later...

I've been doing a little bit to this build here and there, and now there has been some progress I thought it was time for an update smile.png

 

I have been concentrating on the engines as I needed to decide whether to go for Rolls-Royce Merlin power plants seen on the Halifax MkI, II II(IA) and V, or the Bristol Hercules engines on the MkIII. The kit comes with Merlins, but I was seriously considering converting them to Hercules engines by modifying the nacelles and using 1/32nd Beaufighter engines as this would give me a wider choice of colour schemes, and even possibly do this model as 'Friday 13th'. Cees very kindly sent me a parcel containing some Hercules engines, but they won't go to waste as they will be modified and used on my 1/32nd Sunderland when I eventually get around to it - cheers Cees! :thumbsup:

 

As it transpires, the Merlin nacelle is very different to the Hercules version, so I have decided to stick with RR power and save myself a huge amount of extra work on a kit that requires considerable amounts already just to get the bl**dy thing together!

 

The most common question I get about building vacs (and the thing that I think puts people off the most) is the removal or the parts from the backing sheet. The next series of pictures show how I go about this, and show that it is actually very easy.

 

Step 1:

 

IMG_1881.jpg

 

With a very sharp blade, I score around the part...

 

Step 2:

 

IMG_1886.jpg

 

Once you've been around the part a couple of times, I carefully break it away from the backing sheet...

 

Step 3:

 

IMG_1893.jpg

 

I then tape the parts together for a test fit to see how much sanding is required. You can see the rough edges here and these must be removed...

 

Step 4:

 

IMG_1898.jpg

 

Sanding is now complete, and you can see that the fit is now as good as most injection moulded kits... providing you're careful during the sanding process of course!

 

The next job was remove the very crude exhausts and carburetor intakes on the engine sides, as these will be replaced with my own scratch-built parts later in the build. I lined and backed the exhaust apertures with thin card, and backed the whole left by the carb. intakes as these will be filled flush in preparation for new ones to be added. It looks very rough here but once filled and sanded they should come up ok:

 

IMG_1910.jpg

 

I then opened up the radiator intakes and scratch built the radiator fronts, using plastic card, and for the radiators themselves, thin mesh. As you can see, I've gone for the late type radiators which are very similar to those found on the Lancaster as I didn't fancy tackling the early and far more complex set-up seen on earlier Halifaxes:

 

IMG_1906.jpg

 

The engine interiors were then sprayed black. You can also just make out in this picture that I've added the rear part of the radiator shutter to the bottom of the nacelle:

 

IMG_1909.jpg

 

S1034030.jpg

 

And the nacelle halves could be joined in preparation for adding them to the wings.

 

(More to follow)

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Part Two.

 

The inner and outer wing sections were then joined, making sure the dihedral was correct by following the Granger plans.

 

The completed nacelles were then attached to the wing, with the fairings over the top of the wing added later. These were very difficult to get right - they were very oversized in the kit and needed considerable trimming and sanding to get a good fit. They're just about there now, but may well need some more re-shaping, which I will decided once I've got a coat of primer on.

 

As you can see, I've cut off the No2 engine at the firewall, as I plan to have this engine exposed and detailed:

 

IMG_2033.jpg

 

IMG_2036.jpg

 

IMG_2037.jpg

 

Here's the underside, and you can see I've also started detailing the undercarriage bays:

 

IMG_2039.jpg

 

IMG_2042.jpg

 

IMG_2044.jpg

 

This final picture shows the huge difference between the rectangular Merlin engine mounts and the circular Hercules engine and the amount of work that would have been required to mate the Hercules with the RR nacelle. Call me a wimp... but I didn't really fancy it!

 

IMG_2049.jpg

 

Now to do the same for the right wing...

 

Tom

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Guest Peterpools

Tom

Thanks so much for the tutorial and photos, as it shows how to remove the vac parts the right way. Nice start on the detailing and the amount of work that will required to complete the Halifax seems nearly insurmountable for the average modeler (such as myself).

Keep 'em coming

:popcorn: :popcorn:

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