SB2C Helldiver, Halinski 1:33

    It took quite some time, and I am glad to be back! Of course
    the site was never more then one click away, and I have always kept an eye on
    what others reported. Now it’s time again to get active again start something
    new by myself.
    Maybe some of you still remember my building reports of the
    Famo, the Morane Saulnier, the Messerschmitt E-4 and T1, the Dauntless, the
    Hind and finally the Gloster Sea Gladiator.
    By the time I had finished the Gladiator I had already
    ordered the Halinski SB2C-4 Helldiver (plus, by the way, the Mig 29A, copy nr.
    0245!) a must for the Halinski lovers
    and a great successor of the Dauntless (although it seems the pilots flying
    this plane were not that happy with it).
    So that’s the one I started some time ago. The building report by Andreask is a great help
    for me (thank you, Andreask for your hint on mounting parts 2d,e and f in an
    earlier stage than proposed in the instructions; it probably saved me a lot of
    trouble…).



    What might make this thread more interesting for some of you
    is the fact that I have chosen to build the version with folded wings. It is a
    choice that must be made from the start, because it means that some parts must
    undergo a ‘surgical operation’; some parts must be omitted or replaced by
    others, and finally a number of extra parts are also required. At the
    beginning, the instructions don’t even mention the version with folded wings,
    and it took me some time to find the first instructions explaining how to
    proceed in the case of folded wings. I add a picture showing this section.



    n.b.: some minor errors in the model have already been
    noticed by others. A serious mistake, however, has been made in wing ribs 4 L/R
    and 4c L/R (only needed for the folded wings version): these parts should not have slots, so don’t cut them out
    or ‘keep them “filled” and fix them when using the laser cut set.



    The first pictures show the top and bottom view of the
    center wing section with the outer wings in line with it. Take a good look and
    you will see that they are separated parts.



    In the next step details will be added inside the bomb bay in
    the middle of the wing frame.

    Welcome back from me too, JC.
    Great, to see another Helldiver - from your hands this time. I like your reports.
    Even if the Helldiver seemed to be a really nasty ship - the model is fantastic.
    One of the pilots sais: The trial to hit anthing with that crate is like the trial to hit the broad side of a barn with the broadside of another barn. In most cases you fail.
    I hope this is more or less translated properly.
    I´m always wondering how these planes could be sold, the P40, the Seamew and several others - from my point of view the C47 was one of the few usable constuctions after 35.
    Well, anyway, I´m looking forward to see a wonderful building report.


    Cheers


    Till

    Is das Kunst, oder kann das wech?

    Hello JC,


    I am glad about the fact that you have started the construction report from the build of Halinski's Helldiver.
    I find it it remarkable your choice to build the version of the airplane with folded wings - an interesting view of that model when it will be finished!
    I built that model in 2011, there was much fun with it, but in my opinion that kit belongs to the most difficult of them by Halinski at all.
    I wish you have much fun during building that challenging project.


    Cheers


    Alfred

    Not less then 34 single and dual wing ribs were needed to perform the next step. As others already said before: a time consuming operation...
    To show the effect of this, I temporarily fixed the two units to the center wing frame. Soon they will be partially covered. The upper side already shows the future shape of the front part of the wings; the bottom view clearly shows the space that has been reserved inside the frame for the landing gear when retracted:

    I fixed the two covered landing gear frames to the center wing fames. I think they look all right now that they are in place, but building them in the right way was far from being easy. Especially the tiny slots in the front side of the ribs that must be cut out to receive parts 3uL/R (fixing these parts correctly is essential for a good result) were a real challenge for me.


    Now I am ready for the next step: some serious surgery on the wing covers: since I have chosen the folded wing version, the center and outer wing sections will have to be separated.

    I made the 'final cut': the wing parts are now separated. I hope that I made my cuts properly and along the right lines, and that I have understood the instructions well: the four small hinge covers must also be cut out and will be replaced by parts 5m and n when fixing the outer (folded) wings.


    On this picture the slots at the front side of the outer wings have not been cut out yet; I will have to do so right away: it seems that the slots were 'coupled' with the landing gear: gear down means slots out. So for my plane in parked position with folded wings there is no other choice.

    Covering the center wing section was not successful: I started at the front side of the landing gear frame, more precisely the section around the hole for the machine gun. At the bottom side everything fitted perfectly, and the upper part also seemed alright during 'dry fitting', but as soon as the underside had dried it became a different story....the upper section did not even come close to where it should have been and I teared a part away while trying to make (impossible) corrections... Fortunately this model was only 'in statu nascendi', so I can put it aside without any problem. Just some bad luck - I keep smiling.Time for something new!


    p.s.: One more word about the slats (used for improved maneuverability, especially at low speeds): I checked the web for pictures of the Helldiver with folded wings; many of these pictures show Helldivers with folded wings and retracted slats, while on others they are clearly extended. It looks like the pilot could control them independently from the landing gear.


    I will be back soon!