Fonderie Miniatures 1/48th scale Halifax

Fonderie Miniatures' master piece. We waited years for an Injection Moulded 1/48th scale Halifax and here it is. It is sad that it is in a limited-run style and not from Hasegawa or Tamiya. In 2006 we saw Trumpeter's Wellington and MPM's He-177 so it was a good year for fans of 1/48th scale multi-engined World War Two Bombers. (You can include the Trumpeter FW-200 in that category too.). I purchased my copy from an EBay seller. The panel lines are recessed but slightly crude in places. It is a little like an old Airfix kit but, little doubt, with a bit of work there is the makings of a fantastic model in this box.

Unlike the Trumpeter and MPM kits this Halifax appears to have been completely ignored by the aftermarket crowd. There are no Eduard photoetch sets, no Aires resin. Why? One reason is that it is French and limited run. The second reason is that it does include its own resin, white metal and photoetch. Never fear, despite the limited collectibles in the market, there are enough products for Tamiya's Lancaster and Trumpeter's Wellington that can be borrowed for this Project.

In English "Fonderie Miniatures" means 'model foundry'.

Kit Photos

A quick glance in the box. This open ended sandwich bag is the bag it comes in from the Manufacturer.	FM supply lots of vacformed canopies and clear window sections. Everything has a spare. Good thinking but they are very thin and dented.	First sprue showing inside wing and fuselage left side.	Same sprue showing externals.

The second sprue showing similar components including the right-hand side of the fuselage.	Same sprue showing internals. There is no moulded-in detail inside the cockpit.	The remaining wing sections with no sprue gates but plenty of flash.	Third sprue includes the cockpit internals. A little crude but a good starting point.

The same sprue from the other side showing the details of the bomb bay roof.	There is also a sprue of clear parts for small flat windows.	Two identical sprues for engine nacelles, wheels, undercarriage and bomb bay doors.	Same thing reversed.

Four identical sprues for the propeller and engine cowlings.	Internals of the tail section sprue.	External of the tails section sprue.	A bag of white metal bits.

White metal parts include undercarriage, guns, seats and various cockpit parts. There is a fret of photoetch parts but not many. These include seatbelts for white metal seats.	Resin components include tails wheel bay, engine air intakes, cockpit parts, exhausts. Also shown are the vacformed turrets. These are very thin and all dented, but you get two spares.	The engines are all resin and has each section moulded separately. Each cylinder is separate.	Note one, not two, not three but four decal sheets! As there are no aftermarket decals then this is all the choice you get...

The instruction sheet. This is a little crude as you would expect.	Construction of the cockpit from white metal and resin.	Construction of the bomb bay and fuselage halves.	Construction of the undercarriage, wheel wells & engine nacelles.

Construction of wings, engines and tail section.	Construction of transparencies, wings-to-fuselage & bombs.	Decal placement.	Camouflage and markings.

Aftermarket Extras

Fonderie Miniatures' pattern maker, Jaques Niot built the model for Scale Aircraft Modeller International February 2006.	Jaques gives extra details about how to build the kit he designed. His engineering is excellent and the tips he supplies are essential for this kit.	Jaques instructions may seem a little vague but these pictures say a thousand words. Nice job.	Although you do need this article in order to build this model I reckon that many modellers will want to improve on the finishing.

Jacques builds a great model but his paintwork finishing looks a little bright and un-weathered.	More of those great pictures.	Jacque's finished model.

Decals

Sadly none.

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Fonderie Miniatures 1/48th scale Halifax

Kit Photos

Aftermarket Extras

Decals