Handley Page Halifax B.I/B.II/GR.II by Revell

babak chalangi
built this kit before watch the bomb bay doors my friend

Kelly Wellington
Bombay doors, check.

I don't know if it makes any difference, but I'll be doing an 'on the tarmac' verstion, with bombay doors closed..

I'm surprised that they offered up a Coastal Command option, including the much smiplified nose.

babak chalangi
if memory serves correctly there were 3 versions in revells box i done the MKII Srs I with bombay doors open and it was pain in the a@@ cuz doors simply didnt fit there place !

kelly i'm looking forward to that Halifax .

Kelly Wellington
Yes, three versions. Two night bombers and the Coastal Command. I'm assuming I'll be obtaining some 'satin white'. But first, it's time to paint the pilot.

Kelly Wellington
The builder needs to be very careful removing the fine items from the sprues, the gun barrels in particular are very susceptible to unintended breakage.

babak chalangi
great progress so far looking forward to next steps

Kelly Wellington
Yes...soon will be the addition of the bomb bay doors. I can see that they look to be something of a challenge...

babak chalangi
good luck m8

Kelly Wellington
The landing gear is proving to be a huge headache. The hydraulic extension pieces are thin and fragile. I broke one attempting to snip it off. I reglued it in place on the sprue, but reverted to the Xacto for the removal from sprues. The pieces, aside from being thin, are attached to the spruces immediately next to the attachment point tabs....the excess sprue attachment plastic is a problem. AND, the molded them at two halves which need to be glued together....should have been a single piece. I'm not sure how to assemble this and retain my sanity.

babak chalangi
😄 i had the same problem with the landing gears i used 2 plastic sheets to make a harder and more stronger position for them then glued the gears on them so they couldnt be moved or braked . of course i had to paint the sheets so they dont give away there position when looked at

Kelly Wellington
I don't know how it happened, but I've got the gears all on and ready to be inserted into the engine nacelles. Really...It was like I sat down and fiddled and, by golly, pieces fit. I still don't trust the strength of those landing gear units.

*

We'll see....

Enough whining for today, though.

Duncan Cook
Looks good.
I remeber this it. I wnated to have it as I was a child.
But I never got it.
So I will watch you building it. 🙂

Bill Gilman
This is the old Matchbox kit, right? In many ways it is better than the new tool! Coastal Command markings sound very cool to me! 🙂

Kelly Wellington
Thanks for the encouragment...you can now see the landing gear prepped for props, cowls and wing attachment.

Coastal Command is basically white undersurfaces instead of black. They dispensed with the nose turret, too. It's a glass cone with a gun slot.

I'm not sure if it's the old Matchbox kit or not. Somebody asserted that this is not the _new_ Revell Halifax kit (presumably new molds?), but a reboxing.

Kelly Wellington
Oh...those hydraulic extenders are exhibiting some unusual curvature for such equipment....heh.

Bill Gilman
Using the amazing Scalemates database, I was able to check the origin of Revell 04394. It's the Matchbox kit, which is a good thing if you're fussy about your wing nacelles. 🙂

Duncan Cook
Bill, 10 years ago I wasn't even on registered on scalemates.😉

Kelly Wellington
Well...The engines, props and undercarriage are all attached now. I've some gap filling to do, but otherwise, I'm looking at masking and priming PDQ.

babak chalangi
looking good kelly

babak chalangi
how are u dealing with bomb bay doors ?

Kelly Wellington
First, closed, not open.

I assembled as directed, starting at the port side and working toward the starboard side. I got all four pieces glued into place before I realized that piece number three, the starboard bottom panel bowed upwards and in to the bomb bay.

*sigh*

After cogitating from some long while, I finally inserted the tip of a fine Xacto knife between the bottom panel and the side panel at the point of the apex of the bow of the bottom panel and levered it up into the position where I thought it should be. I then applied copious quanities of 'clear-part glue' to between the panels, while the Xacto knife remained in place, with its handle taped to the starboard wheel. After the clear glue (the kind for 'making' glass windows) dried, I untaped the Xacto handle and extracted the blade. I'll have to do a bit of sanding along that panel line on the bomb bay doors, but it doesn't look too bad at all and it no longer bows up into the bay itself.

I have a picture of the knife in place, but I haven't uploded it yet.

Kelly Wellington
Now uploaded. I've started sanding on the excess glue and it comes off just fine. I'm okay with the results, but I'm not a detail perfectionist.

Doug Craven
My grandfather flew one of these. He was a wing commander in the war. I would dearly love to find and build this kit for my dad. Good job.