Scale Aviation Modeller International — November 2017

Hampden Mk.I

Az Model 1/72 Handley Page Hampden Mk.I by Michael Booth

MANUFACTURER: AZ MODEL

PRODUCT CODE: AZ 7548

SCALE: 1/72

TYPE: INJECTION-MOULDED

DECAL OPTIONS: 3

N

icknamed “The Flying

Suitcase”, due to its

cramped crew conditions,

the Hampden became, along with

the Whitley and Wellington, one

of the early twin-engine bombers

used by the RAF during the early

stages of the Second World War.

THE KIT

AZ Model provides two plastic

sprues, with beautiful surface

detail on almost every piece of

the kit. Panel lines and rivets are

all pre-scribed into the surface

of the model, making it easy to

apply a wash or other weathering

system. Smaller parts, however

(apart from the two engines and

tyres), seem to be very basic. Even

though a small sheet of photo-etch

brass and film are included, this

provides room for improvement.

The clear sprue is nice and

crisp allowing inside detail to be

seen and is a big improvement

over the original version of this

kit. However, the instructions

could be clearer, as they include

several small mistakes.

CONSTRUCTION

The first concern that I must

mention is that little detail is

given for the gunners’ positions.

In fact, the model is a little lacking

in the entire interior fuselage

of the aircraft, as only the seats

and harnesses are provided. The

cockpit, however, offers nice

detail in terms of controls, but

another concern is that these

parts seem to be very under or

over scale. One example is the

pilot’s control column – I had to

cut away the bottom of the control

yoke as otherwise the poor pilot

would have had it at eye level.

Once the interior parts were

installed, the two fuselages were

joined, needing a bit of sanding

here and there. The wings were

then assembled and attached to

the fuselage. Note that there are

quite large gaps in the wing that

will need your favourite filler.

The engines are next which,

surprisingly, proved quite a task.

In order for the two cowlings to

fit together, it turns out that the

nicely detailed engines need to

have the cylinder ends sanded

away! Once dry, the cowlings were

attached into place before I added

the elevator and stabilizers.

PAINTING AND DECALING

I started by painting the underside

black with Revell Aqua 08, followed

by topsides of Mr. Color 72 Dark

Earth, then Revell Aqua 68 Dark

Green. This was sealed in with two

coats of Humbrol Gloss Varnish.

The decals were next applied

using Decalfix. At this point, I

have to mention that the decals

conformed well to the gloss

finished surface of the model, with

no silvering at all. After being left

twenty-four hours to dry, another

coat of gloss varnish was applied.

Weathering consisted of Flory

Models Black and Pro-wash Grey,

before a final a coat of Tamiya XF-

86 Matt Varnish finished my model.

CONCLUSION

At first look, this kit seems to be

very simple; however, problems

are around the corner at nearly

every step. But with time and

patience, this produces a small

but good-looking addition to my

1/72 British Bombers collection.

I would like to thank AZ Model for

providing me with the review sample.

72 • NOVEMBER 2017 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

KIT REVIEWS

072-77-Reviews-1117.indd 72 16/10/2017 15:51