Paul Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Just spotted the A Model Brabazon at Hannants. Looks great, but £350! Anyone feeling rich enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FZ6 Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Just spotted the A Model Brabazon at Hannants.Looks great, but £350! Anyone feeling rich enough? I saw that too. It looks an amazing kit but a bit more than I can afford to pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Callahan Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 (edited) Personally I'd get the Spruce Goose first, but it's even pricier than the Brabazon! Edited June 12, 2011 by Kevin Callahan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 You could always try the Amodel shop in the Ukraine...... http://amarket.pl.ua/index.php?categoryID=86 There's no price on the Brabazon yet - but the Spruce Goose is listed as $299.00 - which converts to £184.00. You'd have to add on post and packing of course - but it would still work out cheaper. I'm not vouching for the website - I've never used them - so caveat emptor !!! Linden Hill in the US will also probably be stocking in - but don't hold me to that !! The 'Armory' website in the Ukraine (which I have had good service from) - has the Spruce Goose listed as 217 Euros - with free shipping. The Brabazon isn't shown yet - but I expect they will be getting it. Ken Just spotted the A Model Brabazon at Hannants.Looks great, but £350! Anyone feeling rich enough? Have you seen my post ?? http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...20&start=20 (post #31) Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Just a couple of photos of my finished Amodel Brabazon....... It's so big - it's difficult to photograph !! :woot.gif: The working contraprops do - but they run a bit rough !! Model courtesy of :- http://modelizm.pl.ua/ Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Wow! I want one now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Lovely job: beautiful metal finish. Now what are you going to do with it - build an extension to the house? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsty Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 You'd have to add on post and packing of course - but it would still work out cheaper.Ken Don't forget, there will also be 20% VAT on top of all that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twozednine Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Don't forget, there will also be 20% VAT on top of all that too. Hello Chaps,I am new here,and have no idea how to post pictures,but I have just built 99% of the A Model Brabazon,for any of you not Professional Modellers,so like me an AMATEUR,I can give you some idea what is entailed!!!!!! First mine came as a present from my Kids,via Bucharest and at a negotiated price in Euros,substantially cheaper than Hannants,but I now see they are advertised in Czech and Ukraine around £150 plus postage,and maybe Vat!? Ok then the down points:1)It has no seperate control surfaces,or flaps 2)The Fuselage is hollow and in a Glass Fibre,with Widow recesses which are NOT predrilled out!!The kit suggests you Superglue the windows into the recesses.If anyone has tried superglueing widow glass they will know it is very much a No no,as it completely ruins the glass and has a tendency to create a mist inside whatever air space is left!!The professional as shown above,has not even used the glass supplied ,but seems to have painted them dark into the recesses,which I will probably have to do,as so far only one piece actually has fitted into the recess slot,and all the rest have required gentle filing to make fit!This leads me to this: 3)All the sprues have thick spiggots,which require VERY sharp blade/scissors to remove!However the tail that is always left also protrudes into the edge or slot,on the piece that you want to fit.This would normally be filed away,but if you do that with this kit,you just get a frayed tail which is now bent as well!This needs a VERY Very sharp to remove-so far I have blunted 2 Humbrol Model Knife Blades,and have invested in Surgical Scalpel blades by Swann- Morton(No 11)which seem to do the trick,without cutting your fingers off.Even the plastic glass requires the same treatment.I have made the Mach2 Valiants and converted one to a Mk2,but this Kit causes just about the same amount of strife.Very few parts actually fit without some reshaping!!!!! 4)The Fuselage and wings fit OK,but the slots for the minispars need opening out-Be careful as one touch of the drill shatters the glassfibre,unless you have a slow speed-I had to use 3 different drill sizes to achieve the aim without shattering it further!!.In fact I was going to open out ALL the window recesses,as I would do on a Vacform and use Krystall Kleer,but having had a problem in the simple task of drilling out a spar slot,put me off.The Tailplanes requires splitting from each other and mating up to their position slots,to check the fit.Again a lot of filing and sanding is needed to make a clean fit.Magna Resins are much more user friendly than this kit!!!! 5)Having dry assembled the Fuselage Wings and Tailplane,I looked at the Engine bays!There was a whole Sprue of Engine Baffles missing,the same as the Professional above found-No problem as one set was there so I made the others from Plastic card.The kit gives the option of having the inspection covers open to reveal each Centaurus and its propshaft,but I reckoned as you can looked through the intakes,therewas no point,so I fitted each cover-Or tried to!!!!Again only one fitted the slot and every other needed reshaping in some manner.The Kit had nice intake shrouds and covers if required,but I left the covers off to be able to look into the intakes to see the engines and shafts(No gearboxes as covered by propshaft outerpanels).This then leads you onto the Undercarriage Bay-WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I note from our Professional above,he did not attempt this without drawings/instructions. 6)The Undercarriage took me about a day to figure out the Geometry of the Rams,Trunnions,Actuating rods,Main U/CLegs.Unfortunately you only get drawings of the assembly,not a nice layout of it actually fitted.It is very difficult to see where and how it all goes together.Finally I got it sorted by dry fitting one side of it with Blue Tack,and seeing just what angles were required.I put both sides together with the Nose Assembly(Which went much better and obvious where each part went).So it was now on all 3 points with the wings/tail now attached. 7)Well that was how I left it when I retired after a swift recovery by a Horse's Kneck(Brandy/Ginger for those not of the "Grey Funnel Line").The following morning the lot had collapsed!!!!Of course there was NO support underneath the Main Undercarriage leg except at the four small points that lifted it into position-You cant position it dead onto the floor of its Undercarriage Box,as the Wheels then would be far too low,and a Hydraulic Link arm runs immediately underneath it anyway to mate up with its junction point on the top or bottom as fitted of the main leg.Luckily I had only dry placed the boxes into the large slots under the wing,so I could ease them ou and attempt a disassembly and start again.You need a Shockabsorber pad under the Main legs to give support to the weight on wheels,as this is a very large beast,and getting progressively tiresome.I used again Blue Tack and made out of card a seperate small box to go around the base of the main legs filed with blue tack to give the correct geometry for the aircraft on the ground,having put all the finnicky little bits of the assembly back together.It worked ,so I then fixed it Proper with superglue -It was not going to colapse again.I have had to pick the monster up and move it so often for extra sanding and filing,that the Undercarriage has been put to a lot of loads sideways and other,but has shown no signs of mortal injury,so success has been achieved.I would like to know how our Professional friend above secured his from possible collapse,or did I just build it incorrectly!!????Mine looks good now and coincides with a sectional drawing I found I had in a very old Aviation book from the 50s!!!! 8)I note from the photos above that the Cockpit has been filled around the edges and a super job he has made of the join with the fuselage of the cockpit assembly which is seperate.Again this has to be treated like a Resin Kit,and loads of Glass fibre to be removed as the recess given does by no means fit the front end as offered to it,by trimming here and there one is achieved and has to be filled,as the gap line can not be hidden otherwise.We come to the Canopy which I found to be too wide and nearly falls over each side.However it is also too long or deep,so can have several thou trimed off it ,and when done to match the position on the fuselage,removes the problem of the sides being too wide as it brings it all further back and now takes the line of the fuselage,but leaves a gap at the very front which needs filling again.The fit is not good enough to not require filling all around the canopy as looks to have been done in the photos shown above.This I have tried not to do as Filler onto the glass is nigh impossible to get off,but I am now going to try this to remove an otherwise horrible line between the canopy edge and fuselage edge.The glass does not like being filed as it too tends to just fray and is very hard to use a blade on,so I had a lot of trouble getting a good fit,hence having to use filler to remove the join line.Otherwise my version looks very similar to the one already shown here,but it has taken me several weeks to achieve,and it does not give you any confidence that the end product will be a stunning success.????? 9)Finally at the enormous price from Hannants I would rate this as being as difficult to achieve a good result,as a Mach 2 Valiant or DC4.I have luckily picked up several aborted attempts of these from Boot Fairs,and provided I rekon I can undo the wrongs that have been done and reassemble without having to have broken bits to try to mend,then a Boot Fair Brabazon would be the only way I would want to get another.I have made a Collection of Farnborough Aircraft in Resin/Vac/Injection for over 50 years of modelling,and this was my missing link.I talked to the Magna guy before he left for Spain,but he said in resin he could not justify a price that modellers would go for,so this Russian version is probably all that can be obtained.I even think it may be too big for a Vacform.I did a good example of a Vacform Britannia,and I thought that was nearly too big to get the wings to not pull the fuselage apart!!!It took many bulkheads and 3 cut down knitting needles to get a good strength into the wings/fuselage to hold it all together. This is remember only an Amateur's attempt at a very expensive and large model.It has to be thought of as not that easy,and will not just go together like a normal injection moulded kit as mass produced.Treat it as though it were a Mach 2 kit and you get somewhere close to what I found.I would like to know if others have embarked on this tiresome monster,and found it easier than I did???.I wait with baited breath to see how my canopy comes out after I have very carefully sanded the join.Good luck out there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev67 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Still reading, still reading, and no still reading and just about finished, no still reading.............. and finished, phew if you can manage a vacform I would not call yourself an amateur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seadog Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Nice! The word 'Behemoth' springs to mind - add a Spruce Goose to the works and start planning a home extension...or a small hangar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 (edited) I built the Amodel Brabazon photographed earlier - and I wouldn't class myself as 'Professional' Just an old git with years of modelling experience.... I'm sorry you're having so much trouble with it - it is not an easy build - but I didn't find it that bad - in fact I made it without a box top, instructions and decals. I agree about the windows - totally inadequate. On mine, I glued the clear parts into the recesses, sanded them flush and painted over them. I then made some black window decals and used those.... the windows are different sizes anyway... I haven't put up my build photos on my website - because I wrote an article for Scale Aviation Modeller - but it hasn't been punlished yet - so I don't want to pre-empt it. I too couldn't figure out the undercarriage legs/trunnions/struts etc - I eventually got a copy of the instructions and built it - but I still had to modify the undercarriage to get a strong join. I'll put some photos up to show what I did....... The model was on display at Telford - on the Civil Aviation 1/72 SIG stand...... Ken PS - I was interested to read, twozednine, that you also had a set of engine baffles missing!! I was given the kit as a bag or parts - so I just thought the one set was missing. I contacted the bloke in Kiev who had given me the kit - and he sent me another set - but maybe there is supposed to be only one set ???? If you only want to show off one set of engines - as I did - it isn't a problem - but I don't know if there should be two sets ??? Edited November 17, 2011 by Flankerman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Here you go, twozednine...... Here's what I did with the windows...... Loads of fettling & filling to get the clear cockpit section to blend in with the fuselage.... To strengthen the undercarriage mounting, I glued a rectangular section of thick plastic card across the front of the leg mounting parts. This was then superglued across the undercarriage bay - where it changes shape. It isn't very elegant - but it is hidden - and strong! ...... The undercarriage bays are wrong - as I found out after I had painted it !!! The rear of the bay is wedge-shaped - so I added sections of plastic card and made and new door - which attaches span-wise to the back of the leg. I hope this helps........ Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twozednine Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Still reading, still reading, and no still reading and just about finished, no still reading.............. and finished, phew if you can manage a vacform I would not call yourself an amateur Hello Kev,Yes I have now nearly finished it but await trying to sand off the filler around the cockpit,and I found Vacforms are much easier than this Brabazon.Are you the Modeller who was interested in an Avro 748 or Andover??If so I bought a bag of bits from the 21/2(Two and a half) Rock Ape Boss from RAF Benson,who had been in Tengah as Regiment Officer a few years before.He had part built it as an Andover CC2,but had decals for Queens Flight and a 46 Sqn Aircraft.The 46 Decals were wrecked so I built is as Queens Flight XS789.That was 25 + years ago when I lived close to Benson at Nettlebed,so I met these guys at the local pubs Farmer's Man,and 5 Bells as I remember. I have no idea of how to put photos on a website so cant show a photo of the Andover as I built it,and as there was no box I have no idea what kit it was or how he came by it.If you PM me I can Email you photos unless I find out how to do it on [email protected] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaVenom Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 (edited) Nice build up Flankerman......but why didn't they just do the whole kit in plastic. Would have been so much better and easier to build. Edited December 2, 2011 by SeaVenom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul A H Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I think the moulds for a fully plastic version would have been expensive to manufacture. A Model probably would have made a big loss on that as I don't expect they've sold a great big pile of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Test Graham Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 You also need an injection machine large enough to cope. Not cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 (edited) I think the moulds for a fully plastic version would have been expensive to manufacture. A Model probably would have made a big loss on that as I don't expect they've sold a great big pile of these. My Brabazon was on display at Telford - loaned out to the Civil Aviation 1/72 SIG - who kindly offered to host it (I couldn't find an excuse to put it on our Soviet Aircraft SIG!!)........ A single copy of the Amodel kit was on sale on the Hannants stand - and I casually asked Neil how many they had sold - thinking, like you, that it must have been a bit of a turkey. Imagine my surprise when he told me that the kit on sale was from a second batch they had imported - the first batch of 34 had sold out !! So, someone is buying them ......... As for the fibreglas-resin parts - as others have said - they are much cheaper to produce than injection-moulded parts - and not as heavy or costly as resin. Amodel have done loads of these giants in their 'Amonster' series - I have built a few of them (M-50, Il-76, An-22, Il-38, Be-200 etc) and once you get used to the techniques involved, they are not so difficult to make. Each new release just gets better - the panel detail is more refined, the decals are good, the injection-moulded parts are crisp(ish) etc. And........... they are doing subjects no other manufacturer is willing to tackle. The high cost is down to the labour-intensive low-key cottage-industry methods used to produce them - plus the huge mark-up added on by the importers. Check out the Amarket site in Ukraine (and others) for more reasonable prices. Ken PS - I also have a pet gripe about the name of Amodel - how difficult can it be to get right ??? It is simply capital A - followed by the word 'model' in lower case. ........ seeemples !! Six letters only - yet it is amazing how many variations I have seen - AModel, A Model, A-Model A model, A-model PPS - Nothing personal intended..... Edited December 3, 2011 by Flankerman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev1n Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 (edited) if you have a big enough disposable income, then you will buy this, and other kits, coz you have the money; and there are enough people who do have a big enough disposable income to do just that. I have no idea of how to put photos on a website it's easy enough - open an account with photobucket, it's free to upload your pics to your account - they need to be on your pc, I guess you have them in the 'my pictures' folder when you p/b account is open, you will see an 'upload photos' button, it's green,click on it It will open a new page and you will see on the left a button marked 'my computer'....leave it as that in the middle a big green button marked 'select photos and videos', click on it. It opens a box and you then select 'my pictures' click on it, and it will open a big box and in there you will see a list of your folders, click on 'my pictures' It will open a list of al the pics in your my pictures folder, just click on each one to highlight them, then click on 'open' (bottom right of the box) and it will upload the pics to your p/b account. when they are all uploaded, moev the cursor (the little hand) onto a pic and you will see below each pic a list of options; click on the bottom one, marked 'img code' what should happen is that you will see the word 'copied' appear..... so go back to your post on britmodeller.....press 'ctrl' and 'v' at the same time on your keyboard.... and the code will appear.... then click on add reply and you should see your pic in your post here its not as hard as it sounds, its really getting familiar woith how things work, once you have it's easy... Edited December 5, 2011 by kev1n Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Aero Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 What the U/c looks like. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flankerman Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 What the U/c looks like.John John, Is that the prototype - or a proposed layout for the Proteus-engined production version ?? Is it an eight-wheeled bogie - or am I just being thick (as usual) ?? On a slight tangent - I had lots of trouble finding out about the exhaust arrangement. All the photos I could find had the undersides in shadow - so trying to ascertain where the 16 exhaust pipes emerged from the wing was a nightmare. They aren't supplied in the kit - (I suppose Amodel had the same problem?) - so I made them from short curved bits of sprue..... Ken PS - I've just spotted the words 'Brabazon II' on the drawing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now