Wonwings Diary-a blog with a difference.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Bring on the bombers-The Handley Page Halifax.

Handley Page Halifax.





















The old Airfix kit of the Handley Page Halifax is shown here,once again saved from the trash bin and in poor shape,mashed in fact,a complete strip down and soak in brake fluid just like the Lancaster but the undercarriage was intact this time.Note the very prominant H2S scanner under the fuselage nicely modelled by Airfix.

The colour scheme is only temporary as she will be re-painted as G-AGXA the machine which G.N.Wikner flew 15 members of his family from the UK to Australia in 1946,there he set up the 'Halifax Holiday camp' which is still there to this day,Wikner was in the ATA ( Air Transport Auxiliary ) and also a famous aircraft designer besides being an extraordinary pilot.

The RDM2 Black,is spray on rattle can blackboard paint from the local hardware shop which looks just like the anti glare black finish used on WW2 bomber aircraft,the camouflage is Tamiya Matt,the whole lot was given a coat of Johnsons to pull everything together.

As you can see my pilots are used to flying with disabled engines ! the celluloid discs solve the broken propeller situation and are ideal for the photography.

The few lumps and bumps were just like the real aircraft,whilst the aircraft were kept serviceable they sometimes looked a little battle worn and tired,I have done my best to save her and she has been added to the collection now the pictures have been taken.

Like all of the others I very much enjoyed rebuilding her.

[Guest]

I am particularly fond of the Halifax, for obvious reasons, and I always liked the Airfix kit. I can't remember the last time I made a 1/72nd bomber but I always enjoyed them. I can certainly remember doing the Airfix Halifax, Short Stirling, Lancaster, Flying Fortress etc but funnily enough I never got around to doing the Short Sunderland and always fancied it.

There are just too many things I want to do but not enough time to do them. I have a couple of shots of the Halifax at the Yorkshire Air Museum, I'll root them out for you.

[wonwinglo]

Yes please do Richard,did you know that the YAM Halifax is a mongrel ? the wings are from a Handley Page Hastings,the engines and nacelles from a Nord Noratlas,only the fuselage is authentic,I think that was used as a telecomunications rig at Radlett and that is why it survived,but having said that at least it represents a living example of a famous bomber,there is a splendid restoration taking shape in Canada as well.

Have never been to the Yorkshire Air Museum,is it good ?

Time is our worst enemy,if only we could conquer it ?

[Guest]

Barry,

Just a couple of shots of the Halifax and a couple of a Mossy that is being built privately over many many years by a guy from pieces he has collected.

Apparently he started the project at home then moved to the museum when it got too big for the garage! There are photo's of the build in it's early stages in the 70's.

A lifetime project and I don't know if it is intended that it will eventually fly but I would be very surprised if a project such as this would ever be classified as airworthy by the CAA. Very interesting though and a couple of close shots of a Merlin for anyone modelling one.

As for worth it, they don't have a vast number of resources or aircraft but they obviously try very hard to make the most of what they have. I went when it was very quiet and had the place to myself and thoroughly enjoyed it. The best part was the Barnes Wallace room which was fascinating. A lot of the exhibits have seen better days and the ones outside are looking a bit tired and the plastic spitfire was a bit dissapointing but, all in all, I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in aircraft.

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[wonwinglo]

Thanks Richard,this is the first time that I have seen any pictures of the interior of the hangar at Elvington,the Mossie and Halifax are ambitious projects and certainly take up a lot of space,but this is really the only way to keep exhibits inside and not outside to the destructive elements.

A great pity that such places are not really suitable for photography and very cramped to get a decent angle,but your pictures show me the general layout.

Yes the Mosquito was made from bits salvaged from around the world,some came from various digs and collectors of Mossie memorabilia.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-On silver wings-The Bristol Bulldog.

Bristol Bulldog.

The title was inspired by the 'Aeroplane Monthly' articles ( later made into a book ) of pre-war R.A.F units that operated Gloster Gladiator's,Hawker Hart's,Hawker Fury's and the delightful Bristol Bulldog,called 'On Silver Wings' it showed the numerous wing and fuselage squadron markings carried by these biplanes,the period will probably be remembered as the most romantic period in R.A.F history,the squadrons were more like elite flying clubs ! and looking at the selection of aircraft that were flown it is understandable.

The Bulldog will probably be remembered by many as the aircraft which Douglas Bader lost his legs,whilst doing low flying he rolled one into the ground showing off to some civilian flying club pilots who just happened to pass a comment about these flash R.A.F brylcream boys !

The reality was that war was just around the corner and soon the little silver biplanes would all be obsolete and totally useless for the purposes of war,the Gladiator was in fact the very last of the biplane fighters of this same period,a throwback from World War one technology but with the claustrophobic hood that the pilots hated after graduating from the Gloster Gauntlet.

Those of you who have seen the film 'Reach for the Sky' which tells the life story of Douglas Bader will remember the scene where the Bulldog appears,this was in fact the aircraft owned by the Shuttleworth Trust,and rebuilt by the Bristol Aeroplane company in the fifties,sadly this was badly damaged later on after fiming took place and lay at Old Warden for many years until brought to life again as a static machine for display at Hendon, with the magic of Skysport Engineering from down the road at Rotary farm,Hatch,Bedford.











The model was built from the Merit 1=48th scale kit,this was later re-introduced by Impact products and was available for many years in its new form,it is probably still available ?

Rigging wires are nylon monofilament,silver dope is represented with good old Woolworths silver paint.

Just visualise it chasing a pre-war sports car down that road ! there was still the element of fun attached to flying in the thirties,that was if you could get away with it ! that was exactly what happened to Bader,his luck ran out.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Chesterton Windmill damaged.

CHESTERTON WINDMILL.



A unique sight as you travel from London to the Midlands, from the M40 motorway is the lovely windmill in the distance at Chesterton,built in the 1300's the shape of this mill is quite unique and the wood internal cogs are of exceptional construction and beefy design.

Sadly this week disaster struck as one of the sails broke at the hub and came crashing down to the ground,at the moment the exact cause is not known why the timber broke in the way it did,and investigations are underway ? my own theory is that a few years ago a freak storm wreakled havoc through that area and caused a lot of damage,it could possibly have weakened the structure of the sails ?

As a modelling subject windmills are just fascinating and so full of history,each one varies in some small way to make them individual,but for some reason they are under-modelled.

This one is just asking to be built as a model one day.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The Ford Trimotor or 'Tin Goose'

Ford Trimotor.

Nicknamed the 'Tin Goose' because of its corrugated alloy construction this is one of those famous machines that helped pave the way in air travel,this particular aeroplane was the only one of its kind operated by the R.A.F starting life as NC440K a factory model 5AT-170,after coming to the UK as G-ACAE on the outbreak of war she was impressed into the Royal Air Force taking up the serial X5000 in April 1940,one may ask what on earth they wanted with such a machine even back then ? well my research has shown that she was used in the Scottish Highlands on communications duties,as no colour scheme has ever come to light or phoographs of her in service colours,I had to make an educated guess at her markings,this is what I think she would have looked like way back in 1940,I do not think the scheme would have been far out ?





The model was built from the Airfix kit ,which in my opinion was one of the best mouldings for this type,Monogram did one much earlier than Airfix with skies and Arctic survey colours,she makes for a very interesting period subject and there is plenty of scope for markings,including one operated by the Olivetti typewriter company ! this one toured around as a flying typewriter showroom,so you got the clatter of typists and the clatter of those wonderful radial engines to contend with.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The Lockheed F-94C Starfire.

Lockheed F-94C Starfire.

Within six months of its formation,in the Autumn of 1947,the United States Air Force advised Lockheed of an urgent requirement for a two seat all-weather fighter.Successful use of the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star,and the T-33 trainer derived from it,led to the suggestion that a fighter could be based on the T-33 to meet the U.S.A.F request.The close relationship can be gauged by the fact that a modified F-80 served as the prototype for the T-33,and the same aircraft then became one of the two Lockheed YF-94 Starfire prototypes.It differed by having a fuselage lengthened to house fire control radar,and modified to accept the more powerful Alliison J33-A-33 Turbojet with an afterburning thrust of 6,000 lb.

The aircraft was flown a mere 12 months from the initiation of the idea during 1949,and despite the two protypes being beset with powerplant problems the advanced aircraft entered service in December of that year.So the U.S.A.F acquired its first turbojet all weather fighter quicker than would have been possible in any other way.

Production of this fine machine totalled 854 aircraft in three main versions,and these gave a decade of valuable service,serving first with the U.S Air Force in Korea,and remaining in service with the Air National Guard as lates as 1959.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The Lockheed F-94C Starfire-Take 2





Never realised that this aircraft was so popular with you all ? so as a bonus here is another view of her on approach.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The Avro Avian monoplane

Avro Avian Monoplane.

Only four Avro Avian Monoplanes were actually built,two of them I managed to trace,these are G-AAYV which had a Genet Major Radial engine for the 1930 Kings Cup race,this was eventually converted to a biplane.

She was sold to Mr.S.H.Beech who flew here from Meir airfield,Stoke on Trent,passing onto the London Transport Flying club at Broxbourne in 1936,eventually being written off in 1939.

The other British civil one was G-AAYW which belonged o Flight Lt.R.L.R.Attcherley at Market Drayton during June 12930,passing on to W.L.Handley at Elmdon in June 1940,the official records state scrapped during 1939-45 war,however there is a bit more to it than this,an ATC Squadron at Tamworh,Staffs were given the aircraft for instructional purposes,their gratitude was shown by eventually burning her,then pushing the wreck into a pond,the aircraft was replaced with a Bristol Bulldog.





This was one of two models made for the 50th Anniversary of the Air Training Corps by myself,the models were made from scrap balsa wood with the rib spacing represented with strips of Bond writing paper glued across the wings,the wheels are pre-war cloth antique dressmakers buttons with the centre filled in with milliput,the undercarriage units were made from bamboo stripped from one of those cheap £1 ( or dime store ) Chinese blinds,rigging wire is 22 swg piano wire,propeller was carved from scraps of Jelutong,panel lines were added with a 0.01 artists sketching pen,paint used was Tamiya acrylics with a coat of Johnsons over the top to give a nice realistic sheen.



Here is an old picture of the other model of the machine in civilian colours,the two models were both made over a two week period of activity in order to get them ready for the exhibition.

[Guest]

Barry,

I distinctly remember making the Starfire when I was very young. It was by a more unusual manufacturer that the standard Airfix or Frog fare and I am sure I was given it as a present by a relative.

[wonwinglo]

Richard,it was probably by Lincoln International if it was a larger scale,or Comet/Kleeware did a smaller one,the model above I believe is a much later Revell offering,the Lincoln one had no undercarriage and was very basic.

When you think of the period she was well ahead of her time.

Barry,I distinctly remember making the Starfire when I was very young. It was by a more unusual manufacturer that the standard Airfix or Frog fare and I am sure I was given it as a present by a relative.

[Guest]

Richard,it was probably by Lincoln International if it was a larger scale,or Comet/Kleeware did a smaller one,the model above I believe is a much later Revell offering,the Lincoln one had no undercarriage and was very basic.When you think of the period she was well ahead of her time.

That was what I thought when I saw your thread and I had no idea it was so old. When you think it was only a few short years ofter the 262's and Meteor's it was a long way ahead of it's time.

Maybe my kit was the Revell one, from what I remember it was similar in construction to yours.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The Gloster Javelin fighter.

Gloster Javelin.

The Gloster Javelin was designed for the R.A.F as an all weather fighter aircraft,its classic delta shape made for a tough machine,it had a few drawbacks firstly they took a rather long take off run,and the mechanics hated it for major maintenance,but it served its purpose at a time when the R.A.F was still learning quickly about large jet aircraft.





This model was built from the Hawk kit many years ago,Frog did a far better model of her which you can still see on occasions and there is also a Heller kit of this model if you can still find it ?