1:72 Handley Page Hampden - Wheels Set (for Airfix Kits)

Wheels for an older mold

The Airfix kit of the Hampden is among the long-standing fixtures of the range, and it shows what period the mold comes from. Wheels tend to be the weakest point of such kits: the tread is suggested by a shallow groove, the disc merges into a smooth surface and the parting line runs exactly around the circumference of the tire, so it has to be laboriously sanded away. Replacing them with a casting is the simplest way to move a model a class higher.

The bomber of the first raids

The Hampden was in service from the autumn of 1938 and was among the machines that bore the weight of the first actions of British bomber aviation. In August 1940 it took part in one of the first raids on Berlin. Its weak point was the defensive armament, which consisted only of movable machine guns in cramped positions, and that is why it soon disappeared from daylight attacks. It left the bomber squadrons in the autumn of 1942.

Working with the part

The procedure does not differ from other resin wheels: separate it from the block, sand the pad down, drill the hub through and fit it on a wire pin. It pays to try dry beforehand whether the height of the landing gear legs is right after the change. For paint, a dark tire shade, a metal or light gray disc and a fine coat of dust according to the airfield your machine took off from are enough.

A small thing to finish with. A tire mark on the surface can be suggested with a thin coat of pigment, but it only makes sense on a model built on a base. In a display case without a base you can happily spare yourself that work and rather fine-tune a clean transition between the rubber and the disc.