Mach 2 1/72 Viscount converted to an 800 series

[wallyinoz]

Convered using Hamilton Hobbies fuselage plug. I just couldn't find the love for this one I cut a lot of corners finishing it. I know it's a Viscount but there is just something about this model that either does not seem right or just doesn't "do" it for me.
The only thing I am happy with is the decal design..I found this a really attractive scheme.. I enjoyed that. (thinking of doing a B707 in this scheme now)

anyhoos, I am calling it done

[Horatio Gruntfuttock]

Another stunner Wal, you really do a great job on these civil aeroplanes. Well done.

[Jessica]

1 hour ago, wallyinoz said:

I know it's a Viscount but there is just something about this model that either does not seem right or just doesn't "do" it for me.



 

I think it's the engine nacelles. I know that the -800's nacelles were bulged, but those have a neck on them like they're peanut shells. The bulge is much more subtle in 1/1 scale. Your finishing looks excellent, and it's a pity there wasn't a better model underneath it.

[wallyinoz]

57 minutes ago, Jessica said:

I think it's the engine nacelles. I know that the -800's nacelles were bulged, but those have a neck on them like they're peanut shells. The bulge is much more subtle in 1/1 scale. Your finishing looks excellent, and it's a pity there wasn't a better model underneath it.

 

Peanut shells!     Yes! and just like in nature each one is subtly different..I found the engineering of the wing to nacelle fairing and nacelle fairing to the the engine very in-exact when I had all the engines on the first time they looked like a test cricket wicket keepers hands.. bent and broken fingers going in all directions! had to break them off and do a lot of filing and filling to get everything aligned

[ROBOT]

Wally,

you Keep building the planes that I can only dream about ! Vacform Britannias, Viscounts, all I ever wanted in my cabinet !  Your builds are just lovely executed, and the liveries suit them very very well! Another stunning plane to add to your collection of builds and my collection of reference builds

Tell me. how did the mach 2 kit go together ?

Thanks for sharing your wonderful builds with us,

Olli

[wallyinoz]

23 minutes ago, ROBOT said:

Wally,

you Keep building the planes that I can only dream about ! Vacform Britannias, Viscounts, all I ever wanted in my cabinet !  Your builds are just lovely executed, and the liveries suit them very very well! Another stunning plane to add to your collection of builds and my collection of reference builds

Tell me. how did the mach 2 kit go together ?

Thanks for sharing your wonderful builds with us,

Olli

Hello again Olli, thanks for your kind words

 

building the Viscount takes care, you cannot assume that parts cemented in a position of "best fit" are going to result in a correctly aligned components, the engines here are a case in point, the fit is not terribly good, lots of filler is required gluing the parts on to the wing "square" will NOT result in the engines being correctly aligned fore and aft or up and down.

the fuselage halves go together pretty well BUT the forward fuselage half shapes are not symmetrical, when viewed from above it looks like the nose bends around a little to the right (it doesnt it just looks that way because one half is about 1 mm fatter than the other) I thought at first that this was because I made a mistake aligning the fuselage extension plug but my centre lines are spot on left right and up down because I jigged all the pieces when gluing them together.

The cabin windows are all different shapes and alignment I filled the buggers and decaled them, this looks better (to me) and is much easier to align emergency exit markings etc.

undercarriage and doors are clunky, prop spinners need a lot of filling, prop blades need a lot of finishing.

The cockpit transparency is very deeply framed, and the frame shape / sizes are wrong far too thick so I filled the window "dents" flush with the incorrect framing and masked / painted a more correct  window layout. the kit decals have been reported by others as not being complete to properly finish the standard model, I did not like what was on offer anyway and made my own. wing to fuselage fit needs filler to get the blend right (I just could not be bothered, I painted all the components before putting them together and I didnt like the model enough to go through the tedium of masking filling sanding remasking painting

 

other than that the kit is perfect

[zebra]

Nice work Wal. I'm very fond of a Viscount - they took me to see my grandparents in the Isle of Man many times, including G-BFZL (with Manx Airlines) - and we could really do with a nice 1/72 Viscount 800 kit (and a 748, and a Herald, and a Friendship, and a 1-11, and so on...). I'd buy several.

[Gerrardandrews]

Lovely looking models, top draw, and a hard kit by the sound of it.

We do need 1/72, some are classics, and would make great models, come on Revell, time to make some money 💵😊

[michael301757]

Looks very nice and a classic livery, sure does it for me, great job.

[Meatbox8]

It definitely seems to be the nacelles that look a little odd to my untrained eye.  Otherwise a really stunning model of the quality I can only dream of. 

[wallyinoz]

hi guys thanks for your kind comments, on another website someone posted a picture of this same airframe in manx service.. when I saw it I kicked mysyself as I thought it a really nice scheme but I am blowed if I am gonna build another one of these.. then I had a thought.. the manx scheme cheatline arrangement was exactly the same as BMA so I had a 5 minute play with my BMA decal design:

 

I could strip the BMA decals and manx-ify the model! with no painting required!  will I or won't I?

 

 

 

mmm

[kapam]

A fine-looking model!  Great work!

 

[zebra]

19 hours ago, wallyinoz said:

hi guys thanks for your kind comments, on another website someone posted a picture of this same airframe in manx service.. when I saw it I kicked mysyself as I thought it a really nice scheme but I am blowed if I am gonna build another one of these.. then I had a thought.. the manx scheme cheatline arrangement was exactly the same as BMA so I had a 5 minute play with my BMA decal design:

 

I could strip the BMA decals and manx-ify the model! with no painting required!  will I or won't I?

 

 

 

mmm

 

I'd love to see that. I think the dark green needs to be darker though. Many years ago I tried painting a Welsh Models Shorts 360 in Manx colours - it didn't come out all that well, but I remember the dark green was a good match. Pretty sure it was Humbrol no. 3 Brunswick Green (and here's one of those funny little coincidences - my grandparents lived on Brunswick Road in Douglas). I'm really going to have to start buying up kits for the Manx fleet.

[Ivor Ramsden]

I'm rather late seeing this thread!   The dark green in the Manx scheme is Deep Brunswick Green. The pale green varied quite a lot from one aircraft to another. Somewhere I've got the paint codes from an original Manx Airlines paint scheme diagram but they are manufacturer's codes rather than standard names, so not much help.

 

I repainted a full-size Bandeirante in the early Manx colour scheme a few years back. I did it outside during a wet and windy Manx summer. It was much the same as painting a model apart from using about 3 miles of masking tape and every old newspaper from the local area. I don't think I'll do it again; 1/72 is much easier.

 

Wally, your ace Viscount build has spurred me on to dust off a Mach2 Viscount that's in the loft.

[cngaero]

Wally, your models are always a joy to behold, and this is no exception. Maybe it is the attractive BMA scheme, maybe it's because it's such an iconic aircraft, but most of all it's because this is another masterclass in aircraft finishing.

As you said that BMA scheme is nice, but I have to agree that the Manx scheme is very appealing............Or what about a Viscount in Aer Lingus livery.

Go on, you know you want to do two more!!!!

Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[vh-bob]

You have done a great job on this despite the quality of the basic kit. I have a Carvair stalled at a late stage due to Problems with the Mach II DC-4 kit it is based on. I should have saved up the $100.00 and bought the Revell one.

 

 

  Well done,   Trev.

 

[Widow 65]

My favourite livery for a Viscount, takes me back to when I first saw it "in the flesh", igniting my interest in all things that fly, but not naturally!

 

[Head in the clouds.]

Beautiful and a joy to behold. I think Jessica hit it on the head as I am no Viscount expert but I was drawn to the nacelles for some reason but let me say it does not detract from what is a first class build.

[Colin1967]

This is a lovely build and finish for me, your builds are an inspiration and encouragement to us all, more please !  And thanks for sharing.  Please don't get downhearted about this build I would love this is my collection.  Regards Colin.

[ianwau]

I know this is very late in the thread. I have started one of these Mach 2 Viscounts.  And bizarre as it may sound.  I am convinced the wings are mastered "upside down"? Somehow in the mastering process - someone has moulded the undercarriage recesses in the TOP of the wing?    Obviously you would build the model with U/C pointing to the ground  - but the result for this kit is that the top of the wing appears flat and un-aerodynamic??  Surface details are beautifully engraved - but to compound the error, top surface is engraved on the bottom and bottom surface is engraved on top? I know it sounds ridiculous, but for anyone with one of these in their stash - check it out? Just look at the cross-section at the wing root and see what you think??

 

Can post pics if you think I am crazy....

 

I THINK this might be the unspottable thing that @Wallyinoz is spotting?

 

I love Mach 2 kits - they're such offbeat subjects, and just a tad demanding in the basic construction department.

 

Helluva job to fix. New scratchbuilt wings - with wheel wells and engine nacelles transplanted from originals ???

[kev67]

Probably easier to build the Airways vacform 800 Viscount lol

 

[Gimme Shelter]

well I think this is a great build - such a shame they don't grace our skies any longer - you have produced a smashing build me thinks

[wallyinoz]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the kind words, I will be building another soon methinks..this time using an Aircraft in Miniature resin conversion set which includes correctly shaped engine nacelles. A Manxman coming up or maybe a RAAF example

[AGW]

I vote RAAF example this time....

 

AGW

[raafbloke]

G'day Wally, AGW and all,

                                          The voting for this is probably long over. However, I'd like to put out a desperate call for help for any 800 series conversion set for a 1/72 Vickers Viscount, if such a thing exists. For the past couple of years a small group of other ex-RAAF mates and I have worked on a multiple build to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the RAAF, in 1921. My mates did a sterling job and as well as modelling, I got stuck with the procurement as, for a time, I was in logistics in the RAAF.

Well, this is 2022 and I must say it all went well but for a few big holes in our collection of significant aircraft that stood out over the 100 years of our service.

Although the RAAF only had two 800 series Viscounts; one was an 816 model, the other an 836 model; both were used in our No. 34 VIP Sqn, quickly becoming popular with the PM and other politicians plus Governors General etc. Both had a unique small porthole window on the port side, aft of the rear loading door that gave users natural light and a good view from the aircraft's toilet!

The two used Viscounts were sourced from private US corporations. One was built in 1960, the other in 1961. The Australian government paid £2.1 million pounds (1960s £s) for both aircraft which, after a costly interior refit, went into full time service with 34 Sqn in 1964. Both had low air miles prior to purchase and it was considered a good buy at the time.

They were the 'stretched' variant with the higher number of main windows. I could be wrong but I seem to recall the maintenance types saying the 800s had longer wings. Perhaps, Wally, that's why your excellent model didn't look completely 'right' to you.

Murphy's Law was in full application when I, just this week, found an available Mach 2 kit of the 1/72 Viscount 700 series, after our anniversary build was over. I liked the Viscounts when I flew on them, domestically so, I decided to do the conversion build, if I can. Before I spend an arm and a leg in 'hard earned' pension money, I would like some of you good chaps to let me know if it is actually worth the bother of doing a conversion to the 800 series. It would be great if there were wing extensions but I reckon that’s hoping for too much. A fuselage extension with the extra windows would be great. I’m really bad a scratch building so, I’m hoping there is some kind of conversion set out there.

Our other big hole in our multiple build was an example of our DHC Mk 4 Caribou. There is a kit from the US, I think, that has the Mk 7 US Army Caribou with the little, ‘pimple’ radome up front. I’m told if one just leaves this off, you have the right nose shape for a Mk 4.

I don’t know if you chaps are aware of this but the US Postal Service, thanks to Mr Trump, is in melt down. Their postal charges have more than tripled in the last year or so. I used to get old kits from a mate in the States who runs OldModelKits. To give you an example of the price hikes, I asked him for a postage quote on an old 1/72 Aussie Boomerang WW2 fighter, which was a small fighter in reality and it comes in a really small box. The kit was around USD $13.50 but the shipping charge was a whopping USD $78 and change! (About 57 UK pounds, I think.)

So, if any of you know where I might get a 1/72 plastic DHC Mk 7 or 4 Caribou kit I’ll be extremely grateful and I’ll send you a ‘modest’ finder’s fee to buy a few pints etc. Same with the Viscount conversion set if you can point me towards anyone who has them in stock in the UK, the American based kits are just impossible on my model budget.

I’m in the process of putting the rest of my extensive stash onto the ScaleMates web site so, if any of you are after a hard to get kit, drop me a line and we could do a swap on one of my kits for the Caribou and/or the Viscount requirements. I’ve got around 35 kits on there at the moment but there will be more as soon as I can get ‘round to it.

I’m waffling on way to long... apologies for that. And, every time I’ve posted here, I’ve been asking for something. Any of you are more than welcome to get in touch with me and if I can help you with anything, I’d be pleased to do so. I’ve been a military historian for many years now, specialising in WW2 aircraft, Aussie Generals, other Staff Officers etc. and Allied air forces. I have a bit of time on my hands every week and I love doing historical research on any wartime topic. So, ask me if you need a hand. I get a lot of emails every day but I’ll get back to you ASAP. My ‘work’ email is: [email protected]

Cheers, and all the best for now. Take care in this crazy world and I hope to be in touch again soon. Bill