:-) I was just looking at the size of the beast and wondering how well it'd fit on the back of a bicycle...

But Mal's right - it's very unlikely I'll be up at Telford. Anyway, at the rate I've been going, I'll probably still be building the brute right up to the finishing date at the end of December...

All the best

Rowan

The horror of it all begins to sink in! :-)

Hi there

I've been tinkering with the Halifax - and nothing I've found so far is very good...

This is one of those kits where every single part needs cleaning-up, modifying or simply replacing - depending on the time-scale/accuracy you're working to. In a probably hopeless effort to get this done by Christmas, I'm using as many kit parts as will fit - yes its that bad...

After a massive sanding/thinning session, there was nothing left for it but to start tacking the inerior components in place. There was no point pre-painting, because everything would need more work. The interior structure on the sidewalls isn't particularly accurate compared with refs - but I used it both out of sheer "bloody-mindedness" and to illustrate any problems.

The first sign that all was not well was when I realised that, OOB, the instrument panel was hanging in the middle of nowhere and positioned halfway across a window. One look at the preserved Halifax at Hendon shows the correct position, relative to the window:



Getting the kit part into the right postion would mean moving it back and scrapping the kit cockpit floor, because the mount is in the wrong place:







If I thought the fuselage was fun, when I checked the wings, the problems really started! I was by now prepared for trouble, so I cut a circular template for the cowlings and looked at one wing... and thought "That's really not bad! Here's a chance for some quick progress to distract me from the cockpit!".



Then I checked the other wing... and it was completely different! The thing to say now is that the Halifax had a dead-straight centre section - no dihedral, no taper - and anything else rings alarm bells...

So what fun to find this using the same template:



It's not a case of over-sanding (my first thought too) - the sprue attachments are still untouched, so the wings are simply different!

Loving it? You bet!

All the best

Rowan

For the sake of preserving what's left of your sanity, you might want to ditch that foul fowl and pick up something that is actually buildable.....the Trumpeter Wellington comes to mind......

Frank

Cheers Frank

Don't worry - the Wellington review is basically written - it's just a question of finding the time to publish!

And yes - I take back anything I've said about them previously and I wish Trumpeter had done the Halifax! :-)

All the best

Rowan

That is turning into one very involved build there Rowan.
Nice work so far and it is very interesting to see how you tackle the many obstacles that pop up.

Good modeling and good luck
Wayne

Very interesting seeing how you work through this Rowan.
Good luck Sir,,thats all I can say really.
When all looks lost,,just remember Mal and shorts!!
Nige

You don't pick the easy ones do you .
That looks like one challenging build there Rowan, but just keep saying to yourself, " Mal eat shorts, Mal eat shorts", and you will have it built in no time :-) .
Good luck, i think you will need it .
Andy

Hi Rowan!

The F.M. Halifax seems to be a great piece of engineering! :-) It's funny to see how the French like to annoy the British by making a model kit of one of their most wanted bomber. That's a revenge for Trafalgar!

Jean-Luc

Wow!

This kit seems to be quite troublesome to assemble, and i was going to complain about the Tamiya Lancaster!

You will have your hands full to get this done in time! :-)

I´m looking forward to see it completed and i wish you good luck!

You have done well so far!

Greetings!

Stefan E

Hi Rowan

very enjoyable build so far .... for me sitting in my armchair and reading your progress reports .....

maybe you want to try the Condor correction instead ? ... better fit but little resemblance to the original :-) :-) :-) .. .and I have/want to finish that thing for the "Bombs away" campaign

BTW I think jean-Luc is right ... it is all about revenge .... I forgot: was this a review example ? .. I have read elsewhere those are better than the standard kits for sale (I forgot where, might be HS)

best wishes

Steffen

Hi Steffen

No - it's a shop-bought example. It's not unheard of for small manufacturers to make sure reviewers get "a nice one" when sending out samples, but it does rather distort the resulting impression of the kit. Luckily (depending on how you look at it), I always seem to get things "warts 'n all" - so I think my experiences give a pretty fair view of the standard product.

All the best

Rowan

Hi all

Time for an update. Work has prevented me from working on the Halibag for quite a while - which was making the Christmas deadline seem pretty optimistic (to say the least!), but then Fate took a hand and I spotted an ad in Aeroplane Monthly for this:



There were so many unresolved questions which my collection of references did nothing to solve - but when the CD arrived yesterday it was one of those moments when you don't know whether to laugh or cry! It's the most detailed single ref I've ever found for an aircraft - and, almost inevitably, proves that almost all the "detail" in the FM kit is either grossly simplified or just plain wrong!

So there are two alternatives; pretend I haven't seen the new reference, or just grind out all the work I've done with a motor tool and start again with a scratchbuilt interior! I'm sure you can already guess the option I've chosen :-).

So Mal's pants are officially safe! (Do I hear a collective sigh of relief? No, it wasn't a pretty prospect, was it! ). There is no way I'll build this before this Christmas - Christmas 2007, maybe...

Of course, there's the prospect of a Trumpeter Halifax before then! Suffice to say, this ref will be essential for anyone wanting to justice to that too. I'll get a full review together over the next few days. I've still only scraped the surface, but it's definitely a CD that should come with a health warning - there's almost too much info in it! :-)

All the best

Rowan

Howdy Rowan

I was following this build with quiet admiration, and am glad you stopped by to post an update.......I must say, the info you so labouriously provided for us on this build confinces me to stay away from this beastie. With any luck Trumpeter {or someone else} will come up with a nice 1/48th scale alternative.
I am curious where you got the CD, and how much it cost.
Also, if the same company produces other CD's for other aircraft......hopefully so.

Tread.