HELP!!!! What have I done? Contrail 1/48 Vildebeest!!!

[mhaselden]

In a fit of brainless consumerism, I managed to score a Contrail 1/48 Vildebeest on a well-known internet auction site.  Now that the post-purchase endorphins have subsided, I've come to the stark realization that the last vacform I worked on was the 1/48 Aeroclub Gnat over 25 years ago.  To say the least, I'm nervous that I've bitten off more than I can chew with the Contrail Vildebeest.

 

So...any words of comfort for me?  Or mockage?  I probably deserve mockage for putting myself in this situation (although I draw the line at ritual humiliation)!

[brewerjerry]

Hi

   Go for the challenge  

 

    I recently got a cheap 1:72 warwick, not as challenging as yours

 

  but enjoy your retro modelling 

 

   cheers

     jerru

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Im not a brave enough soul to even consider looking at a Vacuform kit,  let alone buy or build one. So on that note you're a better model builder than i sir. 

[mhaselden]

13 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Im not a brave enough soul to even consider looking at a Vacuform kit,  let alone buy or build one. So on that note you're a better model builder than i sir. 

 

If modelling skill was expressed as a ratio of the number of words spoken/written about it divided by the number of kits actually completed, I'd be a world-class modeller.  Still, now that Airfix has announced a new 1/48 Blenheim, I can use the 2 CA kits in my stash as a warm-up for the Vildebeest.

[corsaircorp]

What humiliation ???

So there is a 1/48 wildebeest !!

Must have one, There will be comforting words.

I started my first vac form, and will follow you when you start the Beest !

so come on, it will be great !

Now, I'll try to have one for my far east collection !

Congratulation, wait to see startin' it

Sincerely.

CC

 

[JWM]

Do not worry - making vacu kit is a nice play. Perhaps 1/48 is Vildebeest is like a Vickers Valentia in 1/72 - so rather complex vacu, or even as complex as possible - but take the challange! I am still looking for Contrail Valentia, by the way...

Cheers

J-W

[Lawzer]

1 hour ago, mhaselden said:

In a fit of brainless consumerism, I managed to score a Contrail 1/48 Vildebeest on a well-known internet auction site.  Now that the post-purchase endorphins have subsided, I've come to the stark realization that the last vacform I worked on was the 1/48 Aeroclub Gnat over 25 years ago.  To say the least, I'm nervous that I've bitten off more than I can chew with the Contrail Vildebeest.

 

So...any words of comfort for me?  Or mockage?  I probably deserve mockage for putting myself in this situation (although I draw the line at ritual humiliation)!

Keep the faith fella!!!!!!

 

[Mike]

There there, brave soldier

 

Vacforms are ace... I wish there were more new ones about that catered to subjects I liked, as I really used to enjoy hacking the parts out of the sheets when I first started back in the hobby. It's ages since I've done a vac too, but with modelling time a bit limited of late, I don't know when I'll get chance to indulge again

[Sabrejet]

Funnily enough I was looking on a well-known kit retail website just the other day to see if any recent vacforms had been released (sadly fruitless). I do wish more people would give them a go because they really can be very rewarding. 

[mhaselden]

50 minutes ago, corsaircorp said:

What humiliation ???

So there is a 1/48 wildebeest !!

Must have one, There will be comforting words.

I started my first vac form, and will follow you when you start the Beest !

so come on, it will be great !

Now, I'll try to have one for my far east collection !

Congratulation, wait to see startin' it

Sincerely.

CC

 

 

Thanks CC.  When Azur FFROM released the 1/72 'Beest a few years ago, I got all hopeful that they or someone else (Special Hobby perhaps) might upscale to 1/48, but to no avail.  The Contrail vac cost me less than the second-hand price for 1/72 Azur kits and, since 1/48 is "my" scale, it seemed churlish not to buy it.  I'm just nervous about all the new skills I'll have to develop.  I've never made a spar for a kit (how does one ensure it lines up correctly?) and always struggled with making snug-fitting bulkheads, despite owning a profile gauge.  Really hope I don't make a hash of it. 

Edited October 13, 2017 by mhaselden

[Old Man]

Great plane to have a model of, Sir!

 

Break a leg!

[corsaircorp]

9 minutes ago, mhaselden said:

 

Thanks CC.  When Azur FFROM released the 1/72 'Beest a few years ago, I got all hopeful that they or someone else (Special Hobby perhaps) might upscale to 1/48, but to no avail.  The Contrail vac cost me less than the second-hand price for 1/72 Azur kits and, since 1/48 is "my" scale, it seemed churlish not to buy it.  I'm just nervous about all the new skills I'll have to develop.  I've never made a spar for a kit (how does one ensure it lines up correctly?) and always struggled with making snug-fitting bulkheads, despite owning a profile gauge.  Really hope I don't make a hash of it. 

I clearly understand, I started the Vac wing 48 Ryan FR-1 fireball !

Lots of scratch, this is my first, did'nt choose the easiest !

There will be lot of guys to help you here on BM !

Don't you worry !

Sincerely.

CC

[JWM]

On current GB floatplanes/amphibias/flying boats there is five or six vac forms in build (including two by myself) . Good to look at...

Cheers

J-W

[jimmaas]

Ah, glad to see all the words of encouragement.  Mockage would, at this point, seem somewhat churlish.  But the temptation....!

 

First rule, make the trailing edges thin.  Nothing ruins a vacuform more than blimpish trailing edges.

 

My approach to vacs was always to try to make the result look like an Otaki kit - nothing real fancy, just a straightforward workmanlike.piece.  

 

 

[k5054nz]

No mockage here, only envy. I'd love a copy of that kit! I know a guy who's restoring a Vincent (very similar) with his family and I'd love to build a model of it.

 

jimmaas' point about trailing edges is right, my first vac was a Rareplanes Supermarine 224 when I was 19 and that was my biggest error. It may mean more work but that work pays off.

 

Otherwise my tips are do your research and gather the detail bits you need, read a bit online about the tricks to sanding evenly, and please share your build with us!

[JWM]

2 hours ago, k5054nz said:

read a bit online about the tricks to sanding evenly

Sanding paper grid "600" on flat surface and water. I am doing this in bathroom, lying a piece of paper sanding surface on top on the rand of sink and moving the part, not paper.  it takes few minuts (up to 10)  for a single part like wing. Very helpful is cutting out elements with electric mini-saw (this time certainly not in bathroom  ) on some angle like 45 deg- to minimalize amount of material which you have to remove then. Mark edges with black marker around to know how deep you shoud go with sanding. An do not worry - just go ahead!

 

Cheers

J-W

[corsaircorp]

Hello Dears,

Here's another sanding trick,

Inspired by fellow BM'ers

Found in DiY shop, used for sanding wall and plasters, different grains from coarse to very fine.

can be used as a file and it's rigid !

I really enjoyed !

Sincerely.

CC

[Paul Thompson]

I love vacs. I've found John Adams approach the most effective - draw around the parts first so that when scored with a knife, then sprung from the backing sheet, you have a line to work to when sanding. I'd never cut out a part, but score and snap away the backing plastic. Then initial  ripping down the excess on a wing trailing edge, can be done safely enough by scraping with a knife, which is much faster than just sanding. Fine tune with a sanding block or stick until the black line from your pencil or marker just peels away, stopping to check and test fit against finished parts as you go. And if you overdo it, no disaster, just patch any gaps with plastic card/strip. This way gives much more control than the traditional sanding on a flat sheet. My personal preference anyway - there are many ways which suit other people, and the advice given by any given manufacturer has been known to change with time and experience anyway.

 

If you've not done one though, I'd get a cheapo practice piece first.  Even on Ebay you can still find Rareplane kits at a fair enough price (I wouldn't pay more than a fiver, unless it was something really rare that I really wanted - some stupid prices get asked these days).

 

Paul.

[mhaselden]

11 hours ago, jimmaas said:

Ah, glad to see all the words of encouragement.  Mockage would, at this point, seem somewhat churlish.  But the temptation....!

 

First rule, make the trailing edges thin.  Nothing ruins a vacuform more than blimpish trailing edges.

 

My approach to vacs was always to try to make the result look like an Otaki kit - nothing real fancy, just a straightforward workmanlike.piece.  

 

 

 

Thanks Jim.  Thin trailing edges are something I strive for on all my kits.  Many injection kits have trailing edges that would scale up to railway sleepers. 

 

 

10 hours ago, k5054nz said:

No mockage here, only envy. I'd love a copy of that kit! I know a guy who's restoring a Vincent (very similar) with his family and I'd love to build a model of it.

 

jimmaas' point about trailing edges is right, my first vac was a Rareplanes Supermarine 224 when I was 19 and that was my biggest error. It may mean more work but that work pays off.

 

Otherwise my tips are do your research and gather the detail bits you need, read a bit online about the tricks to sanding evenly, and please share your build with us!

 

Zac,

I've been hunting for this kit for a while but wasn't willing to pay the stupid prices they sometimes sell for.  Thankfully (or perhaps unfortunately) this time the bidding didn't exceed my limit.

 

I've seen some photos of the Vincent restoration.  It looks amazing and I certainly plan to use photos of that machine as a reference.  I know there are detail differences from the Vildebeest but, frankly, there aren't many good references for the 'Beest so I'll probably shoot for a close approximation using the Vincent as a basis.

 

 

 

8 hours ago, JWM said:

Sanding paper grid "600" on flat surface and water. I am doing this in bathroom, lying a piece of paper sanding surface on top on the rand of sink and moving the part, not paper.  it takes few minuts (up to 10)  for a single part like wing. Very helpful is cutting out elements with electric mini-saw (this time certainly not in bathroom  ) on some angle like 45 deg- to minimalize amount of material which you have to remove then. Mark edges with black marker around to know how deep you shoud go with sanding. An do not worry - just go ahead!

 

Cheers

J-W

 

7 hours ago, corsaircorp said:

Hello Dears,

Here's another sanding trick,

Inspired by fellow BM'ers

 

Found in DiY shop, used for sanding wall and plasters, different grains from coarse to very fine.

can be used as a file and it's rigid !

I really enjoyed !

Sincerely.

CC

 

Thanks J-W and CC.  To be honest, I'm less worried about the cutting out and sanding than I am about the construction, getting the wings correctly aligned and making the whole thing (undercarriage, wings, interplane struts etc) strong and solid enough.  I know people often build wing spars into their vac kits but I've never done that, hence my trepidation.

 

 

 

5 hours ago, Paul Thompson said:

I love vacs. I've found John Adams approach the most effective - draw around the parts first so that when scored with a knife, then sprung from the backing sheet, you have a line to work to when sanding. I'd never cut out a part, but score and snap away the backing plastic. Then initial  ripping down the excess on a wing trailing edge, can be done safely enough by scraping with a knife, which is much faster than just sanding. Fine tune with a sanding block or stick until the black line from your pencil or marker just peels away, stopping to check and test fit against finished parts as you go. And if you overdo it, no disaster, just patch any gaps with plastic card/strip. This way gives much more control than the traditional sanding on a flat sheet. My personal preference anyway - there are many ways which suit other people, and the advice given by any given manufacturer has been known to change with time and experience anyway.

 

If you've not done one though, I'd get a cheapo practice piece first.  Even on Ebay you can still find Rareplane kits at a fair enough price (I wouldn't pay more than a fiver, unless it was something really rare that I really wanted - some stupid prices get asked these days).

 

Paul.

 

Hi Paul.  Thanks for the suggestion of using an old Rareplanes kit to try out first.  I think that's probably a good idea given the rarity of the 1/48 Vildebeest kit.  As noted previously, I really don't want to make a hash of it.

 

 

 

I appreciate all the positive support (except, perhaps, Mike's "brave soldier" comment ).  The kit should arrive early next week so I'll have better idea then of what I've let myself in for.

 

Cheers,
Mark

[JWM]

1 hour ago, mhaselden said:

I know people often build wing spars into their vac kits but I've never done that, hence my trepidation.

Spar is neccesary, I am affraid. Even in small fighter in 1/72.  If not visible it can be done even from wastes (for example frames left after injected model build)

Cheers

J-W

[mhaselden]

8 hours ago, JWM said:

Spar is neccesary, I am affraid. Even in small fighter in 1/72.  If not visible it can be done even from wastes (for example frames left after injected model build)

Cheers

J-W

 

Hi J-W,

 

Yeah...I know the theory of making a spar out of spare plastic.  What I'm unclear on is how to align the spar and the corresponding slot in the wing root to ensure everything lines up correctly from both the plan and front elevations.

 

The kit arrived this afternoon and first impressions are very favourable.  It's moulded in thick plastic which makes clean-up a chore but results in a more solid built-up model.  It includes some nice white metal parts for the engine, propeller and exhaust, which is really helpful, although I may try to find a resin engine.  There are some basic decals but the roundels are unusable due to bleed-through of the red on the Type B roundels, resulting in a dark ring where the red and blue colours meet. 

 

I have found one initial problem.  One of the wing halves is mis-shapen.  Instead of a nice convex camber, it has more of an S-curve when viewed end-on.  I'm guessing the kit was stored somewhere warm with pressure applied to that part of the box.  Hopefully, I can correct it using hot water after I separate the wing half from the backing material.

 

Cheers,
Mark

[JWM]

4 hours ago, mhaselden said:

I have found one initial problem.  One of the wing halves is mis-shapen.  Instead of a nice convex camber, it has more of an S-curve when viewed end-on.  I'm guessing the kit was stored somewhere warm with pressure applied to that part of the box.  Hopefully, I can correct it using hot water after I separate the wing half from the backing material.

Could you make photo how large is failure? I am affraid that would not be easy to corect it in hot water. Perhaps better would be copy part of wing in resin using silicon form. The wings of Vildebeest are rectangular, with constant chord so if you use silicon to make copy of some lenght of ribs and then replace the shrank area by this resin element. I think it will give much better result.

Cheers

J-W

[Maginot]

So... where is this Vildebeestie? Great choice of subject. I hope you managed to progress at least a little. I'm smitten by 30s RAF types and thought this appealingly ugly when I was a kid. I'd love to fashion one myself in 1/48. Is scratch built my only realistic option? Time and skills development will tell. Guess I'd better keep an eye peeled for a vacform, too. Cheers!

[MikeC]

Good luck to you - just dive in, get on with it, and (here's the important part) finish it.

 

This does us all a favour, because after you do finish it, someone will release an injection version.  I speak from some experience here, having built in years gone by the Contrail TSR2, Valiant and Lincoln, Formaplane Nimrod, and Rareplanes Meteor F8 among others.  Yes, looking at you Airfix, and where's that Lincoln?  😉

 

Joking aside, I will just say again, good luck, and enjoy.

Edited August 19, 2021 by MikeC

[Kjetil Åkra]

On 10/13/2017 at 7:18 PM, mhaselden said:

So...any words of comfort for me?  Or mockage?  I probably deserve mockage for putting myself in this situation (although I draw the line at ritual humiliation)!

Vildebeest, isn't that a biplane? And you bought a vaccumformed kit of it? You deserve mockage first. And then comfort. And then a medal if you actually build it! Build it!