Heritage Aviation 1/32 Avro Vulcan

[SJPONeill]

@ Robert...makes great sense...I already have all the correct fuselage formers cut out from my last crack at this pig, from the SMI plans, and could use those to correct the error completely - but if I go down that path I might as well just build it from scratch. The solution you have detailed above is one of the options I dallied with on Thursday night but having consulted with DV on Britmodeller, I'm going to have another crack at using filler to bring the indented area out to where it needs to be - it won't be totally accurate but will certainly give the feel of the actual wing/fuselage junction...true accuracy will come at a later date when i will probably build a B.2 based on the SMI plans. At the moment, I just want to build this thing - I've tried to unload it but the market here is too small and it would cost too much to send offshore AND let's just say that it's domestic profile is such that I can't afford to simply leave it as a hangar queen...

@rmks2000...funny you should mention that...I have sent the SMI plans to Chris Gutzmer and IU think he is keeping an eye out for any designer who wants to have a crack at her...I also have the SAMI Victor plans if any one was keen on building another V Bomber...

[cgutzmer]

one can always hope! Its a tough project thats for sure.....
Chris

[rbeach84]

Originally Posted by cgutzmer

one can always hope! Its a tough project thats for sure.....
Chris

I wish! Numb-nuts that I am, I had a chance to purchase one in California but balked at the kit's price. If I had only known!

Perhaps someone will design one in paper to go with Ken's XB-70 I purchased... back to the BETA build!

Tally-ho!

[SJPONeill]

Fly Model have a Vulcan B.2 in 1/33 - heard that it may be an 'interesting' build though...meanwhile back at Hacienda Chez Moi, the sanding, sanding, sanding continues...to get the fuselage spine closer to an approximation of the real thing...

[shrike]

It's not that bad, just big.
If I had it to do over again, I'd try to improve the intakes a bit, but for what it is, it's pretty good.

[SJPONeill]

Wouldn't you know it?? Took an update pic...just in time for the camera batteries to die!!! Have spent most of the my modelling item this week shaping and sanding the fuselage spine to a 'three foot' representation of the original - to make it accurate would essentially involve building a new fuselage section from scratch and I want to save that effort for something else...

Now that winter is settling in I had to spray foam some insulation in around one of the window in the lounge and used the remainder to fill both halves of the Vulcan fuselage. This will make it much more sturdier as I continue to work on it and it will be easy enough to hollow the foam out of the cockpit and bomb bay areas when I get to that point...

Am off to the big city tomorrow for re-enlistment med checks and will get some more batteries (and some more foam - think I will need it) and will have some more picture sup over the weekend...

[SJPONeill]

Here's the fuselage upper and lower halves foamed - i always forget just how much this stuff expands!!

and after trimming off the excess with the latest addition to the modelling tool box...

It's started to snow and this Vulcan is in the garage - I'm too woosy tonight to go outside to the garage to take an update pic of the refilled and sanded fuselage/wing shoulder area...will do that tomorrow when it is (hopefully) warmer...

[NYC Irishman]

Vac form takes a level of skill that is beyone me...Well done and best of luck on your beauty

John John

[rmks2000]

Man that fuselage is long!

[SJPONeill]

Originally Posted by NYC Irishman

Vac form takes a level of skill that is beyone me...Well done and best of luck on your beauty

John John

So says the guy designing a 1/72 Yamato...? :p Skills are relative, I reckon...I'm more comfortable with vac models and can almost work on them in my sleep whereas with paper models I have to be on the ball and thinking the whole time...and as for computer-based design...that's just teh Twilight Zone for me!!

I spent all last week in civilisation and still forgot to get another tube of plastic filler for the finer gap filling around the spine - I was even in a Toyworld for an hour or so killing time before I could pick up the dogs from their motels...!! I conducted a small experiment in the lab dissolving small bits of scrap plastic in Tamiya glue as a DIY filler - this seems to have worked OK but is rather stringy and needs to cure overnight. It does fill fine gaps very well and sands OK too which were the key 'must-haves' for the experiment. Still, I am planning on being back in town for another chat with Hawkeye UAV on Thursday and will get some more real filler then...

In the meantime, I have filled all the remaining gaps from the surgery around the spine and just need to finish off the final sanding before checking it under a revealing layer of spray primer...

The upper fuselage half has been a lot easier to handle since being foam and is much much easier to sand now that there is some even support underneath the surface...certainly on a model this size, the foaming option is a far better one than adding an internal structure of formers that would still allow some degree of flex in the surface...I'm not sure it is just my Vulcan or others are the same but there are a lot of small blemishes in the surface that need to be sanded smooth, especially considering the proposed silver finish...

I spent a good chunk of last night wading through my RAF Review collection for any article (preferably illustrated) on the B.1 - out of a stack about 18 inches high I found precisely 2 articles, one of which was incomplete and unillustrated, but the other had this beautiful shot of Rory Falk rolling XA890 before they started doing all sorts of horrible things to the Vulcan wings...