FONDERIE MINITURES 1/48 HAMPDEN, **more pics **

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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FOR ANY ONE THAT INTENDS TO BUILD THE HAMPDEN…

hi all,
since we last talked about this poo this is what i’ve done and its doing my head in !, there are no parts which fit nice, i’m begining to think that these frenchies have never built it up

when you try and scrape the plastic it flakes up ! or make a line in the plastic it lifts up .
well here goes…


wheel wells made up, nothing fits very poor,trimming/trying parts all the time for fit, took one hour to make these up


the resin engines have a resin mounting piece which should have fitted into the grey piece, but didn’t so i had to trim down the resin on the back of the engine mounting


when i built the engine nacelles up i found out that the resin engines would NOT go in when i tried to put them in so i had to trim the tops off the engines to fit in, the nacelles are thick/thin inside and looks like mashed potatoes LOL


the inside does not fit either,there is a box section which looks like the spar, this has to be trimmed down it is too wide to fit the sides on.


not glued in yet,there are no points to where and fit this part all all


i think there are some fit problems, just look at the quality of the moulding


no wonder the french eats frogs legs.


what can i say


i’m speechless the wheel doors are made up of two parts - outer skin and the frame work, guess what straight frame, curved skin did it fit, i even had to trim bits away from the wing hinges so the frame would fit on !


the rear wings are made up of two parts to each piece and are too thick and don’t align up with the fuselage.


lets look on the bright side the props look ok, but if you want to make the model with out the spinners on there is no cover ! so you would have to make your own.


see what i mean about the glazing, looks like frosted glass


maybe its to hide the crap interior

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Hmmmmm… make me glad I am not into that aircraft.

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some more…

well i’m at it again this time i’m winning ! i’ve got all the undercarriage together and there was fit problems there too, the leg supports aren’t long enough to reach the piece which it should sit on so i had too extend them , just about sorted all the side windows as well, i should have the two halves together by wedsday.


sprayed them halfords silver from a rattle can, tis’ quicker


undercarraige was a guess where to fit item :roll: no marks as were to put it !,


both legs in situ’, i hope they are level when the wings are put on the fuselage !


i’ll tell you something if they spent as much time on their resin/metal parts it would be a very good model, the engine is stuck onto a round resin piece which is then supposed to fit into a hole on the grey plastic but it doesn’t more test fitting.holes had to be drilled out for the props.


wings together now was easier to put together than i thought a bit slidy when i assembled them seeing as there are no locating holes.


i’ve removed then wedges of plastic on the end of the wings didn’t fit into fuselage very good


test fitting prop, attaching the spinner to the prop isn’t the best i’ve seen !


i had to drill a hole through the forks and wheel, then pushed a needle through i will be cutting it down to size later. [ would have liked a resin wheel to match front ]


i fitted the nacelles together and the inside of the nacelle rims where like the sea !, i made them both perfectly round by using a big marker pen with ‘wet n dry paper’ wrapped around it, then spinning it around to get it level all the way round.


interior put together and painted, on the instruction sheet it tell you to build this side you see above, then glue the other sides to the left hand side of the fuselage, this is stupid, i have glued the entire lot together as below…


it was very narrow in a hampden !


different view of interior some parts are white metal.


started to make up the two bombs, these are made up of 7 pieces per bomb

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and some MORE !!!

i’ve been putting all the side windows in on the front what a pain that is
on the instruction sheet it shows you to put the windows in like a box shape which has edges to it these the butts up to the window frames, well this is no good either they stick out like a wart so i’ve had to trim them down and put them in one at a time !, i have used that new ‘serious glue’ by bostick it like a kind of sticky silacone sealant.

been fillering all the sink marks all over the wings and cutting out the vac’form clear parts


looks a mess don’t it !


cockpit finally finished.


props done and dusted


rear tail wheel support filled down and painted, cleaned up the guns and also painted them in.


added some landing lights into the wing, these where just old bits of sprue cut down to size to look like lights

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It looks like you are going to need a couple pounds of putty to build that kit. [sigh]

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not long now, LOL.

well i’ve got the two halves together, it was a bit tight at the front to close the gap up with the interior put in, i’ve put the windows in and guess what nothing fits except the small square window which is at the back of the pilots sliding window.

i’m doing my hampden with the front canopy opened [ slid back ], this way it is a bit easier to put the front cockpit window in to position, the front nose was also too big, this kit is really pushing me to the limit i had to put it down as i nearly threw it at the wall took 3 hours to fit two bits of plastic.

i’ve also been trying to get the wings to sit level to the fuselage, there are steps in the wings, which is stopping it from butting up level.


putting in the cockpit is a hit/miss as there are no way of accurately other than eye sight.


glued all the rear section in one go, all the front i glued one section at a time


what makes you think this hole was a bit TOO BIG, out with the filler


the two round sky lights are AIRFIX LANCASTER ESCAPE HATCH’S, a bit bigger than the original holes but look better than trying to put a clear piece of asatate in.


front canopy on, you get two i ruined the first one with super glue !!


rear tail planes are a hit and miss also being no marks to go by on the plane,

*** i think there should have been a 1/48 scale plan of this hampden !, same goes for their halifax ***


engine fairings on these where slightly ovel so when i put them on to the wings i pressed hard in the opposite way to the oval part and stuck them on the wings QUICKLY.

thanks for viewing , any comments like why the hell are you torturing yourself are acceptable. …ian

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well this is how far i’ve got…

i’m having hell of a time trying to put the wings on today, one was pointing up the other pointing down and they just keep falling off , so i had to make a frame to hold them as true as i could, the nose was a right pain to fit it was narrower in width on the sides so when i put up to the front there was a big step in it, i had to make a little frame on the inside so it forced it out, making it level.

i’ve also had to make replacement parts of some of the metal bits, mudguards for the wheels and the rear gun support.

when you drill a small hole in the clear parts the gun doesn’t go in due to the ‘sight’ on top of the barrel, so instead of making a BIG hole and ruining the look of the glass i removed the sights.


the white bits at the front are the start of the frame to hold nose


all clear parts free hand painted, dern’t use masking tape as it might pull clear parts off


where rear tail planes should go they are too narrow, so i put a piece of plasticard on both sides to make them level with wings.


at least the under carriage looks OK


i cocked up on the air intake pipes, i put the ones for the bottom on the top and the ones for the top on the bottom, so i had to rip them off and start again, no laughing please


i’ve done the wavy black cameo’ like this because on most early bombers/fighters where done like this and i thing it looks good


as always i brush paint the things !, i’m old fashoned


glossed the wings and put the decals on, also painted in the wing tip lights, silver then clear red/green and put the clear vac’ part in for the landing light.


looking good !!!, the rear mudguards to the back of the wheel are made from brass rod, the other metal parts in the kit where all bent and broken.
the holes are for the bomb racks.


some of the re-made parts in brass


i might just do a dropped flap here, seeing as this is the only part that can be moved up/down.


the wing decals are too big i had too cut them down they where too tall.


heres the frame to hold them true !,what shall i have to eat !

thanks again … ian

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Man, what a fun and challenging kit. You will certainly get hours of “enjoyment” from this build. When you think about the amount of time and effort put in to this project, what a bargain at the bargain FM prices. [swg][(-D][swg]

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Most FM kits I’ve seen are very expensive garbage & I don’t buy them. That said, looks like you’re turning this sows ear into a silk purse. I admire your skill & determination in finishing the build. Think I would have crushed it against a wall.

Regards, Rick

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Well done Ian[yeah]

It just goes to show that with some modeling skill and patience that these kits can be built! Bravo Ian, Bravo.

I can’t wait to see it finished[:D]

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Looks like the Hampden kit has many of the same shortcomings as the PV-1 that I built a few months back. I agree with your assessment completely. It took about 4 months of bad words and total frustration, but I finally beat the creature into submission, as you so very obviously have as well. Looking at the finished oriduct, I am probably proudest of it, given the blood (literally, long story) sweat and tears that went into it. I salute you for making a real pig into a showpiece, ian! [bow] [bow] [bow] Maybe we should start a “Fonderie Miniatures Survivors Club”?

Brian [C):-)]

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[#ditto]

Yep, real “shake the box” kits:

  1. Open box.
  2. Add adhesives, filler.
  3. Shake box thoroughly.
  4. Allow to cure and set.
  5. Carve away everything not resembling the aircraft in question.

I have two of these dogs. Waiting until I’m in a masochistic phase……[banghead]

And I think Ian is a braver man than I!

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it nearly has hit the wall rick, [censored], why on earth would YOU BUY TWO i feel for you when or if you start it triarius [:o)] [(-D]

[banghead] [tdn] [banghead] [%-)] [BH] [sigh]

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Note my location: “Somewhere beyond the edge of known space.” [alien][(-D]

Because I’m a stubborn cuss? [%-)]

Not that: I bought their P-63 Kingcobra because it was the only one I could find. It looked fine in the box. Then I bought their Mirage 5—which certainly fits the name: looks like a kit, but isn’t. Learned my lesson. For the F5, I may just use the Heller kit parts (its a rebox of the Heller Mirage III) and make the modifications myself. It could hardly be harder! If someone comes out with a decent kit of the Mirage 5, the FM kit may go on display in the opened box, with a big sign: CAVEAT EMPTOR!

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Ross, the 1/48 MPM P-63 is not too bad a build for a limited run kit. I built one this year in the P-38 GB. I hadn’t heard that FM had done a P-63. The only kit I have by them is the De.510, and though it looks buildable I won’t go back for more.

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I didn’t get over to the museum at Langley last weekend, after all, Ian. Is it going to help you at all now if I do, or have you sorted out your issues with the nose?

Cheers,

Bruce

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hi bruce,

i found a few pictures the other day of the front,don’t make a special journey for me, petrols dear !

i’ve just had to remove the nose as a bit of scrap went inside and i couldn’t get it out, gggrrrr.

thanks…ian

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I’m a stones throw from the Langley Museum. If you need some pics, let me know and It’ll be no problem. I might even have the ones you need.

Bruce if you make it over, give me a shout! we’ll see if we can hook up and smack some plastic[:P]

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hi drew, have you got any pic’s of the rear gun and gun supports ?, which looks like a funny ‘M’ shape.

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I’m a stones throw from the Langley Museum. If you need some pics, let me know and It’ll be no problem. I might even have the ones you need.

Bruce if you make it over, give me a shout! we’ll see if we can hook up and smack some plastic

You know, I’d rather smack my lips onto a glass of Tree Brewing product than smack plastic, but if you have a good LMS to browse, we could do that, too, Drew. I’ll PM when I’m ready to make the trip next :slight_smile: