1/72 Handley Page Halifax B.III 'Friday the 13th' No.158 Sqn RAF, Lissett, UK

[Heinz]

I reckon I;ve got a few lying about Daniel, I'll have a look as well.

[109ROAMING]

Cheers Evan! athough not to worry , with the cost of international postage it'l be bloody rediculous

Il see how this stretched spure works out tomorrow ( if I get time inbetween work shifts)

I reckon I;ve got a few lying about Daniel, I'll have a look as well.

Cheers mate , don't worry tho if you can't find any - won't be a bad skill to try and learn abit

Can't really understand why Airfix didn't put bombs in originally

[kgambit]

For the bomb body, you could always use some solid Evergreen rod and sand it down to round off the nose. The tail assembly/fins is the tricky part. If the bombs have a circular tail ring, you could use some hollow evergreen tubing - if the bombs have fins, you could simply use plasticard.

I tried doing a google image search for RAF gp 250 lb pounds and came up empty although I did manage to find some shots of the 500 and 1000 pound bombs.

[A4K]

I'll have a look through my photos at home too...

Glad to hear you're going to try scratchbuilding them mate - maybe just do one of each and try casting them?

[109ROAMING]

For the bomb body, you could always use some solid Evergreen rod and sand it down to round off the nose. The tail assembly/fins is the tricky part. If the bombs have a circular tail ring, you could use some hollow evergreen tubing - if the bombs have fins, you could simply use plasticard.

I tried doing a google image search for RAF gp 250 lb pounds and came up empty although I did manage to find some shots of the 500 and 1000 pound bombs.

Thanks for advice mate , may give this one a crack if my other efforts come up empty ( 90% sure thats gonna happen)

Glad to hear you're going to try scratchbuilding them mate - maybe just do one of each and try casting them?

Now theres a fella with his head on straight! I've been thinking about casting some DB-601's using falcon's metal one as the 'former' , so this isn't too far off

See what tomorrow brings

[A4K]

I've been thinking of trying the same recently, so the idea was in my head already...

(Love your new siggy btw!)

[Airframes]

By 'whacking paint on', is that a NZ technical term for 'I carefully applied the first coat of black with the precision instrument known generally as an airbrush'?!
Doesn't really matter which black is used - it'll need a clear gloss coat for the decals, then an almost matt coat for the Green/Brown and semi-matt clear to finish the black, the latter being 'Smooth Night' and later a semi-gloss finish.
The bomb load would depend on target - 500lb and 1,000lb GP bombs , or Incidniaries, or a mix, 500lb and Incendiary.
( The 250lb was rarely, if ever, used on 'heavy' bombers, and rarely even on Medium bombers by this stage of the war - mainly fighter bombers such as the Spit/Hurricane, again rarely as the 500lb could be carried.)
The incediaries were packed in a framed, rectangular container, and were frequently a large part of the Hallibag's load. Easier to make, but if you need to make 500 or 1,000 lb bombs, a piece of sprue roughly the right size/diameter, sanded to shape will do it it. British bombs had a tail ring around the fins, and this can be made from thin plastic card quite easily - the wall thickness of tube, unless it's a drinking straw, is far too thick for scale appearance. In 1/72nd scale, you might find plastic drinking straws the right diameter, and they're ideal - just cut slices to make the rings.
I'd let you have the bombs off my Lanc, but I'm thinking of using them in a diorama - of a Halifax.
The reason there saren't any in the kit is that it originates from the late 1950's/ early 1960's, when things such as open bomb bays were very rare, and, in truth, injection moulding of plastic kits was still in its infancy.
Have you got any bombs left over from your Airfix Lanc?

[109ROAMING]

By 'whacking paint on', is that a NZ technical term for 'I carefully applied the first coat of black with the precision instrument known generally as an airbrush'?!

Its the term given when one needs a full 28ml bottle of humbrol thinners to do just that bit of painting

I'd have been super pissed had I paid the $4.80 for it

Gave me nothing but grief it did - I'm just gonna stick to the cheap stuff which funnily enough actually bloody works too!

The bomb load would depend on target - 500lb and 1,000lb GP bombs , or Incidniaries, or a mix, 500lb and Incendiary.
( The 250lb was rarely, if ever, used on 'heavy' bombers, and rarely even on Medium bombers by this stage of the war - mainly fighter bombers such as the Spit/Hurricane, again rarely as the 500lb could be carried.)

Knew you'd be able to tell me T! I figured 250's because of the size of the wing bays but if they all take a 500 pounder each awesome! How many 1000lb's could I squeeze in the main bay max do ya reckon?

I'd let you have the bombs off my Lanc, but I'm thinking of using them in a diorama - of a Halifax.

Have you got any bombs left over from your Airfix Lanc?

Sh!t no . I must have lost some because I only had the 1 cookie and about 6 500lb's - looked bloody empty!

I've been thinking of trying the same recently, so the idea was in my head already...

(Love your new siggy btw!)

Cheers mate , tis a RNZAF Corsair

[Airframes]

I'd need to check the load configuration charts, whcih i think i have somewhere, but again it would depend on target, bombing altitude and range. Full fuel tanks for a long trip, say Vienna for example, would mean a lighter load. The easiest way, in this case, for a 'general' display, would be to look at the total bomb load capacity for the Halifax III, subtract whatever you put in the wing bays, then load up the main bay accordingly. At a rough guess, I'd say 8 to 9 x 1,000 pounders max, or up to 15 x 500 pounders - that's just off the top of me noggin!

[A4K]

I've got the bombs from my Lanc going spare, and can probably give you some from the Stirling too... don't worry about postage, just tell me how many of each type you need.

[Vic Balshaw]

Looks like you cracked it Daniel, Terry as usual a mined of info and Even to the rescue, good on'ya all.

[lesofprimus]

Lookin good, cant wait to see how ur bombload comes out...

[109ROAMING]

Cheers guys

I've got the bombs from my Lanc going spare, and can probably give you some from the Stirling too... don't worry about postage, just tell me how many of each type you need.

Thanks mate! Il figure it out in the next few days

Looking at 12 * 500 pounders in each wing bay then , about another 6 in the main bay

[Airframes]

I think the majority would be in the main bay Daniel, with probably one in each cell of the wing bays. One of te pics earlier in your thread, showing the bomb bays, should give an idea. Off the top of my head, I'm not sure of the weight capacity of the wing bays, but the main fuselage bay is big and strong, like the Lanc, so the main load would be evenly distributed along its length, probably three to four abreast. So, probably 14 to 18 x 500lb in the main bay (or half in 1,000lb bombs), and 6 x500lb bombs in each wing (one per cell), giving a possible total of 15,000lb, probably nearer 12,000lb, made up of 30 or 24 x 500 pounders. I think I'd aim for the latter figure, or a bit less, if they're 500lb bombs you get.

[109ROAMING]

Il go with that Terry ,Thanks mate. I just went back and looked at that pic and realised as you said only one bomb in the wing bays

Also , in that pic there doesn't seem to be a 'wall' separating the front to back bays in the wing. Is it just the darkness of the photo or is there actually a wall there? Theres 2 sets of doors so I'm assuming theres some sort of seperation? ( Il have to remove it if not)
Drat I don't have those pics you sent me Terry on this computer