The Little World

I am currently looking with disfavour at the Airfix Handley Page Hampden model. It is upside down on the building jig with its legs in the air and it is not a pretty sight. This is not a Vargas pin-up girl…

This is the first occasion in a long while that I’ve encountered a scale model with working landing gear. The last time I dealt with this was in the 1950’s while building Monogram models of US Navy fighters or trainers. Monogram in those days featured lots of working parts and you could retract the landing gear as well as pose the ailerons and tail surfaces. I loved it then and thought that it was great value for money…but I am not so sure now.

Okay, I liked the movable flying surfaces of the Nakajima Kate and posed them in suitable state. LIkewise I don’t mind the separate ailerons and elevator of he Hampden as they can be posed into suitable positions. The gaps that let the parts move may be a little wide, but then this is a 60’s kit and the raised riveting is the part that takes the attention anyway.

But the business of putting the landing gear legs on pivots is not necessary – indeed it is darned inconvenient. I’m having to white glue the pivot point to keep the gear down. It’ll all disappear under the matte black of the paint job, but finer modelling standards would be compromised by this. I must also say that the gear positions and construction for the other British 2-motor kits of the Anson and Blenheim are also problematical – attachment points are pretty nonchalant.

Let’s face it – the only two positions that gear should be is full up on a display stand with gear doors shut or full down sitting on the tarmac with doors open. If you put a positive insert point and support block inside the nacelle with the gear at the correct angle you take away 90% of the bad gear jobs.

Refinements, like the tyres squashed under load  – as on the Blenheims – are wonderful and they can do this all they like – but get the gear legs into the proper position without asking us to superglue pinpoints and we will all be grateful.

Note: Yes, that is a wooden block painted green and no, I am not apologetic about it. Take it up with Airfix.