'V'

It took me all afternoon to make up two outer inter plane struts. Not perfect, but better than the potential of thin vacformed plastic, where again they didn't promise the make up a good matching pair. At least the soldered brass will be strong. All other inter plane struts can be non-structural and plastic. The very crude black resin prop was I thought hopeless, however after some filing I believe that using the superglue & bicarb build-up may make it preferable to trying to make something from the vacformed prop !! Lots of sanding and scraping to go - Mmmm how about a 1/72 BAC 111 vacform ?? I think not !!!! 'V'

Don't expect regular updates !! Just for fun I've added a few ribs to cockpit sides, an instrument panel with a few holes that will have a few black instruments. My slowing will be the result of making the main interplane struts out of soldered brass aerofoil strip. The plastic will be so weak when pared down to the right width they will almost collapse under their own weight. I certainly wouldn't want to pick up by the wing !! Not only that, but the imprinted parts have too much gap variation between top & bottom. Stupidly I think I can do better ????? If this can sit on a table alongside average injection mould kit models I'll be quite pleased. As to making a usable airscrew from a vacformed part, it can be done, I managed it once. That was with careful use of greenstuff my favourite filler shame you can't get it now. 'V'

My last aircraft model build posted on here was 2021 !! It didn't turn out too bad. https://i.ibb.co/CvKt0qh/IMG-4383.jpg Geoff T.

I used to be an avid aircraft model maker - One day I couldn't face making another. I wandered off to Railway modelling. However with a few hundred kits sitting in the loft I think I should make some before I become history myself ! I came across an old, dare I say very old single sheet MH Vacform 'kit' of the Letov S-20. I had started by cutting out the wing parts, then abandoned. No guarantee that this will run the full distance as even I've forgotten & lost some of my abilities. For that I tend to blame age as I pass 82 in a few weeks, nothing quite works as it once did, particularly eyes and steady hands. The Letov S-20 was a 1920's biplane from Czechoslovakia. There were no plans, drawing, or picture. Luckily having once run the then IPMS(UK) Czech & Slovak SIG I do have a few books to refer to, but mostly flying blind !! Here we have :- All small parts embossed rather than moulded, they need cutting out and filing/sanding to shape Currently resting with one wing through the fuselage halves. No 3D printed parts here - modern modelling is nothing like the old days !! I can't say I'll win. 'V'

Hi Courageous, It's a Peco owned company "Ratio 436" Security Fencing. They're a railway accessories supplier. Not cheap and reputed not to be easy to work with. I obtained from one of my colleagues who couldn't get along with it although to be honest I didn't have trouble other than the end posts weren't quite strong enough, would have been better if I'd used 2 stuck together to take the end strain. Geoff T.

Thanks for the comments Maginot & Ray S. It was hovering in the might never get finished 'Fog' Today some sunshine when I was in the shed made the difference !! Geoff T.

O.K so I vanished in December. Now it's mid February !! The modelling stuff had to be banished from the kitchen, my usual work space. In addition my experience with nylon threads is that they expand when cold and damp, tightening back as they warm and loose some moisture. To make certain that the limited rigging I was going to do would stay tight the model, nylon thread and everything else has sat in my shed for nigh on eight weeks. Today I plucked up the courage to finish off. I decided to make it look pretty by photographing on a Diorama base made in 2017 for the Railway Clubs Diorama Competition. Perhaps I should have done a Ready for Inspection thread, but I don't think my photographs, let alone the model deserve that. In fact I still have to try that laminated wood effect on the rear of the prop. Not brilliant, but better than nothing ? However here it is probably as near to finished that it'll get. I seem to be unable to re-size my photos at the hosting provider, so they may cause me problems, I try to use 800x600, but here we get what I took them at !! On the airfield You can just see the glint off the rigging Best overall photo Again you can make out some rigging. Geoff T AKA 'V'

Hi Courageous, My wife likes her little cutting mat, that I borrow for any small jobs. I'll be honest I've pinched it !! Hi AdrianMF I always think we need to start two models, finishing one to find all the problems and then built the second one with that background knowledge. Back to the Ba-33. My plan for stretching nylon failed. My fishing type son said fishing nylon didn't shrink with heat and he was correct for invisible sewing nylon as well. It snapped almost before any stretch. Back to the drawing board. With the nylon already stuck into the top wing a little late for major changes. What I have found from railway modelling is that nylon (fishing line) shrinks when warn and dry, but stretches out when damp and cold. Here you see what happened to a small 'scenic' modelling test piece I did for one of our railway exhibitions. Tight when done, but so slack after a few weeks in my garden shed. So the model will sit in my shed for a few days - fingers crossed !! 'V'

Some more done, decals in place. Not exactly perfect, but I don't have any matching Czech style fonts. These are from Modeldecal RAF white letters with the 1's being cut from the upright legs of a 'N'. The only clear 'artwork' picture I've seen of Jan's aircraft has a squarer shaped head to the 'P'. The '1' should also have a hooked top that I might try to add from a trimmed shred of decal. I now need to experiment as I've used invisible sewing thread for the small amount of rigging I'm adding. The question to be answered will nylon thread shrink with a delicate application of heat as you can with stretched sprue ?? What I'll do if it doesn't ??? I have no idea, Until tested I can't fix any more. For any super detailer remember what you start with makes a huge difference, this is a Vacform. At least it has an instrument panel. At the start I said it was to see if I had any interest in making more aircraft models after a long lay-off, well I've quite enjoyed making this so fingers crossed. 'V'

Getting very close to the end. Rudimentary rigging threaded through to see if it was going to work. All components in place, next gloss varnishing before finishing decaling THEN and only then will attempts be made to suitably secure the top wing and tighten the single strand rigging. Adding the twin wires needed to be prepared for much earlier in the build and would need to be of a much finer thread, so fine I doubt that I'd be able to work with it. Will it be one more photo before RFI ????? Even when the model's not exactly top notch there is an additional satisfaction of creating something from as basic as a thin sheet of embossed parts. Now to open my gloss varnish !! 'V'

Hi Flankerman, Thanks for those photos, I can use them for painting as well. although the dark grey one I've seen in some photos would be interesting. The gold effect can probably be obtained by painting the inside with Humbrol enamel gloss varnish, the yellowing effect should work (Theory !). It looks like those small eyebrow windows are also gold tinted. TheJammedKenny MMmmm perhaps some time, but not immediately, The VC-10 has sat gathering dust in my loft for the last 8 years plus. It could probably do with a wash. Another windows trick I used once was to use thin, flat, but stiff clear plastic and flooded with superglue, building up until I could sand back to more or less match the fuselage single plane curvature. I've tried a few things, some work, otherwise I wouldn't be here now !! As to clear vacformed windows blister - No chance with this beast. I'm certain it came from my pen-friend in Kiev way back in the early '90's. 'V'

Hi TheyJammedKenny, Yes, exactly one of the reasons for looking at Mainstay. The cabin windows I believe are all flat, but I will have to look at that carefully when I start cutting out the voids. My VC-10 windows were individual flat pieces cut to match the openings, so I have done that before, but with many less and it was slow ! Just preparing the kit parts is laborious, and although I built a complete flight deck for the VC-10 this will have the absolute minimum, like a cabin floor and pilots seats, perhaps some central controls as they take up so much space between the pilots. This one is for me, because I like the airframe shapes, I doubt it'll ever go to an exhibition so no fancy work. 'V'

More trimming done and now all 7 components of the main fuselage cut out. I have no idea of how accurate the plans are, but the parts indicate the model will be somewhat narrower. It will be made as parts allow, the fin sweep angle doesn't agree and certainly the fin bullet is far to thin. I will build the fin bullet up as all the photographs I've seen none are like the kit part, but fin sweep will be as kit. This is a monster, big enough already to have had comments from her indoors. Funny never complaints about railway stuff laying around. It is taking a lot of space, here just the tailplane alongside the almost finished Czech Ba-33 model. The more I check against the plans the more I'm tempted to do as an AWACS A50. There is no provision for the twin tail cannon armament of the transport. Also should I ever take it out, it would look good with the NATO Boeing E3. 'V'

Hi TheyJammedKenny, I have used two mix car filler before, I don't remember it getting that hot, just warm. I will have to invest in some fillers, a heavy deep fill and a lighter fine fill. Anyway it's taken me an hour to extract a 1/3 main fuselage section from its scrap edging. Using a Stanley knife to the degree that I have slightly sore hands. Put the Vernier gauge on an undrawn edge and came up with 2.0 mm thick. I still don't know if I should go for the A50, IL-78, or IL-76. here it sits on the kitchen work top with the wings and radome to try to give an idea of how big this monster will be. I took a load of pictures of a IL-78 at Fairford, all pre digital cameras. I have a Boeing E3, that would look good alongside the A50, but then an IL-78 would sit well alongside my VC-10 K2. Yet a basic IL-76 is easier to make and when did you see one made up ? I wish I could make up my mind !!!!! In the meantime I have loads of rough trimming to do, even before the finer matching up to any adjoining parts. This will run for some time- A little faster than previously, those main wings were put together in the mid 1990's 'V'

Thanks for the comment & likes guys, Windscreen that went missing now in place and frame painted ! Can't loose it now. I have 9 more small bits to add now then decaling. I still fancy trying to get a laminated wood effect on the prop. It's now had a gloss finish and I'm hoping this will help trying to get a streaky effect from the final colour meant to represent dark wood strips. If you don't try you can never succeed. When I was doing my 14 years as a model making instructor with the ATC, almost 40 years ago, I'd always say :- First step is the hardest If you never try you can never succeed Success is built on your earlier failures. Next just could be another early Czech biplane vacform. 'V'