Airfix Hampden Issues and Fixes

[bluesteel]

Just to list a few for those who might really want to go to town on it. I'm catching up reading on the reviews at the moment, but there are a few obvious ones:

1. Needs a fixed nose gun on the port side

2. The rear upper gunner needs a metal defector under the gun barrel to stop him shooting his own fun and rudders off...

3. The transparencies are very thick and could do with replacing with the Falcon vacform replacements - although on my example, although being thick, they are quite clear.

4. If you are going to use vacform transparencies then more cockpit detailing will be the order of the day. But according to the Hampden Warpaint book, TB1s often didn't have bomb sights - presumably the torpedo aimer had a metal measure with ship lengths as per the Wellington 'Fishington', but the fishington had it attached just in front of the cockpit canopy rather than inside.

[PaulBradley]

2. The rear upper gunner needs a metal defector under the gun barrel to stop him shooting his own fun and rudders off...

Ah, so that answers the eternal question as to why Airfix pilots are always holding their crotches....

[Jagewa]

I read that the wing tips are not the right shape, but I havn't looked at them to see how...

[JohnRatzenberger]

I read that the wing tips are not the right shape, but I havn't looked at them to see how...

They are too rounded, they should be a bit squared off. I'll post a picture later.

[bluesteel]

Not really and issue as such, more of an enhancement fix.

I've noticed on many photos of airborne Hampdens the pilots often have their canopy slid back.



Now on the Airfix kit the glazing is the same diameter as the rear top fuselage width. So either the canopy will need to be widened by a couple of mm - not easy as there's no top central canopy frame or, and the approach I'm thinking of using - is to shave a mm of each of the top fuselage joins just behind the pilot. Then the tense task of razor sawing the canopy through.

Anyone else thinking of doing a canopy open version?

[JohnRatzenberger]

Open canopy - Yes, I am, but as I have the Falcon vac-canopies, it should be less of a problem ...

Then again, your picture is a staged photo-op on a cheerful bright sunny day .... not a strike across the North Sea in dead of winter ....

[JohnRatzenberger]

Two items.

First, wingtip shape, see below. Just square it off a bit at the tip and it'll be fine.



Next, the gunner station on a TB1.

I have been through every ref I have. Some chat about bomb bay door center section, some don't. Some chat about a 12in mod to something around the gunner station, some don't. Most pictures do not answer all questions.

What I found in Wm Green's Famous Bombers of WW2, Vol 2 was a small set of drawings that showed a shallower gunner station. I lew them up to 1/72, measured things, and came up with about 1/16 inch shallower gunner station. Now 1/16" is not 12in in 1/72, but 12in is too much. Doing the mod of the Airfix kit will not be easy as their glass, esp the side door/window is a bit oversize.



I intend to make a stab at it ....

[MerlinJones]

...Anyone else thinking of doing a canopy open version?

Yup...my solution would be to use a strip of Sellotape, adorned with very fine plastic strip framing, for the rear portion of the canopy.
Open or closed depends upon my inner detailing.

Regards,
Bruce

[JohnRatzenberger]

You do know that it's the bomb bay doors that are different in that area? The photos I included in the reference section (clickable links) are of a TB.1

No they are not different; that is a common misconception, propogated by numerous color profiles. The documentation is (relatively) clear on the gunner station modification to allow for some ground clearance of the torpedo ...

In the light of other pictures, and descriptions, of the bomb bay doors, I tend to agree with opthers that the restoration doors are not original or correct replicas.

But then I really wasn't there ....