1:48 Handley-Page Halifax Mk.V Series 1

Retribution written over the Ruhr

The Halifax B Mk.V with the serial number DK186 and the code ZL-L belongs among the well-documented machines of the RAF. On the fuselage it carried a winged lion clutching a bomb in its paws, a design taken from the logo of the film company M.G.M., and a name expressing retribution for the raids on the British capital. When the unit had so-called adopted the aircraft, the squadron artist Sergeant E. A. Johnson added the name of a film actress on the side in chalk, which was later repainted on a white field as Lana.

The combat career of the machine is documented day by day. It flew its first operation on the night of 29/30 May 1943, when 63 aircraft attacked Wuppertal, and the squadron commander Wing Commander D. H. Burnside sat in the cockpit at the time. The Halifax completed 26 operations, the last on the night of 25/26 November 1943 against Frankfurt. It then served with training units, ran into a ditch while taxiing in April 1944 and was scrapped without living to see the end of the war. Beside it the sheet also covers the machine DK228 with the code ZL-Y and the name Yehudi.

Finish and application

A night bomber has matte black sides and underside, and that is the most demanding surface for goods of this kind there is. Polish the area under the markings with gloss clear to a mirror smoothness, therefore, otherwise the outline of the carrier layer will stay noticeable even once dry. Seat the drawing of the lion with plenty of water, blot off the excess and leave the thing alone until the next day. A final matting of the whole fuselage then evens out the difference between the printing and the finish completely.