197 replies to this topic

[general melchett]

Well, whilst waiting for the paint to dry on a few other builds including the F111K, TSR2 and Vulcan B1A I decided to have a forage around the one of my new Valiants...well that led from one thing to another and I couldn't resist starting one as a 'quick' fix build, adding less detail than normal..( mostly rear cockpit as my door will be closed) and just seeing how well this one goes together. Being a staunch member of the Bomber Command SIG I and a being a great fan of the real thing I just have to have several of these in the collection as whilst we have many Victors and Vulcans, Valiants are a bit thin on the ground! ( sorry Geoff not including your superb Contrail vacs!). I attempted to heavily convert the Mach 2 thing earlier into WB210, the prototype but all that's a bit redundant now with this release. So far I can't find a great deal wrong with this kit, and consider it to be one of the best kits Airfix have released for many years. I won't bore you with details as others will no doubt review the thing soon. This one will hopefully be finding its way into a future copy of MIS.


Mikes doing a sterling job on his one and seeing as I just opened the box yesterday work's been a little slow but to get the ball rolling I 've started the cockpit and main undercarriage units adding hydraulic lines and pipes in the bays which are missing from the kit. One glaring error though are the main gear doors which should have two big saucer shaped indentations to accept the main wheels which is totally missing on the kit!!, why when the smaller doors have all the correct detail I don't really understand, but it's easily fixed with some card and a punch set,

So let battle commence,

Cheers all and thanks for looking, (hopefully this one will be a faster build as I have a bit of time off to get on with it, (as well as all the others of course.....................short attention span I'm afraid !),

Melchie...


I'll be using many references for this one, including the original Pilots Notes, Warpaint book, my own collection and of course the brilliant Aerofax issue by Eric morgan,

Also Chris (stringbag) and Dean (flyer) were kind enough to take lots of lovely detail shots of the beast at Cosford for me recently so no excuse to miss bits out!!,














The cockpit in raw form, the basic shape is right but lots of extra panels are needed, so out with the plasticard and instrument panel decals!,That awful green really does exist but will be mercifully toned down once weathering has begun...( I know i said i wouldn't detail the back seaters staion but the basics will surfice..
Not quite sure what the green dial is all about...it'll have to go!!







The real thing........quite busy !!...





Fuselage sides will need lots of consoles and plumbing...this is where the pilots notes booklet comes into its own..













Main undercarriage bays with extra plumbing, a few more systems will be added and some toned down weathering to follow,





Main legs with brake lines,





And the whole ensemble.....nice touch having the wheel hubs seperate from the tyres, nice one Airfix!!







Lots of mould sink marks on fuselage inside and intakes, all sorted with a bit of filler and elbow grease.





Smaller doors are nicely detailed...






But for some reason the mains are way off...detail bloke must have had a day off!!!





Here's the real thing, showing concave sections and no ribbing!!, nice of them to take it off the aircraft specially for us!!,





Plenty more to come,

cheers,

Melchie..

Edited by general melchett, 12 August 2011 - 02:00 PM.

[martin hale]

This one looks very interesting Melchie. I will be collecting mine tomorrow all being well so I will be watching to see how you get on with this one.

Martin

PS: Can you guess what this refers to? ........No, it doesn' refer to this build!

[general melchett]

Ha...thanks Martin, yes I know...been reminded several times by several people not least the 'alternate RAF' mob at the R&D SIG...it's on it's way, mind you in all fairness so is the Second Coming !. I'll be posting next week once I've finally sorted out the intakes and vac canopy issues, so keep watching the skies, and all that,...........(I'll have Paul and Richard of the' Lancaster hit squad' after me soon too!! ).


Melchie .....................the infinitly protracted

Edited by general melchett, 07 July 2011 - 07:32 PM.

[Duncan B]

Looks like a great kit, looking forward to seeing a few of these being built.

[jimbuna]

This looks like it's gonna be something special....watching avidly.

[Smiffy]

Just got a Valiant myself today, so I'll be watching this and taking notes.

[keefr22]

Are those tyres rubber Andy, or have you painted them? (hope it's the latter!!)

K

[shark 64]

Thats one cool project. Nice start.

Oliver

[andy hood]

Very nice work so far, will be watching with interest, i started on my kit on wed

[Tim T]

This is going to be another stunner. Always good to see a Melchie build in action.

[general melchett]

Thanks fellas, I'm just personally over the moon that Airfix have done a good job on such a much wanted kit, (no dodgy fuselage shapes and trench lines!). One great feature being that any version of the Valiant can be built, the only exception at the moment is the B(PR)1 as though the clear insert transparency is included the modified bomb bay doors aren't, I'm assuming that that'll be a future release.

Keef, Nah they not rubber!, you and your rubber/pvc thing eh! I sprayed them NATO black with a light dusting of panzer grey.They are just a push fit over the hubs and include nicely flattend and bulged shape. (Wish more manufacturers would think of this...saves a lot of time masking and handpainting!!).
One thing I didn't mention was the decal sets I'll be using. The kits ones are just fine with LOADS of stencils. and markings for an all white 'Grapple' machine XD823, XD857 of 49 sqdn, (white), WZ404 of 207, (camo) or the second prototype WB215 (silver).Think I'll be doing this one later with some scratchbuilt super sprites fitted.
I fancy something a bit different for this first one and so will probably do an early white B1 of either 7 sqdn or 199 sqdn ECM support machine.These were very clean not being fitted with IFR probes, plumbing and 'orrible great wing tanks. Decals for these coming from the 'Kits at war, Freightdog and Model alliance sets,
















I think an lot of folks will be building this kit over the coming months, the more the merrier. One thing though chaps..though it has recessed lines don't be tempted go too mad on the panel lines...the Valiants were generally very clean aircraft and never covered in a patchwork of dark lines, even when being scrapped!!!. The only areas that went this way were the undersides of the engine panels and the fuselage under the rear tail where there is a 45 degree panel line that was often removed for access to the Orange putter system. Horses for courses naturally but best to study photos,

Cheers,

Melchie.

Edited by general melchett, 09 July 2011 - 06:23 PM.

[Metallicus]

Awesome project!! Cant wait for more!!

Cheers
Brenden

[keefr22]

Keef, Nah they not rubber!, you and your rubber/pvc thing eh!

Phew, that's a relief, they'd have got so sweaty & sticky wrapped around those lovely wheel hubs otherwise...!!!

Glad Airfix hasn't jumped on the rubber/vinyl tyre bandwagon, had enough trouble with those bl**dy things cracking up on car models....

K

[Howard of Effingham]

hi-ho general!

one observation i'd make from dry fitting the wings yesterday evening is that they are a tight fit on the fuselage, and went
in with an audible clunk. there is a panel line close to the edge of the moulding on the fuselage halves where the wing goes
in and i think i'll sand away the panel line to make fitting the wings easier.

otherwise its excellent and the extra bits could come in useful for wiffy valiants!

trevor

[Robert]

Will be interesting to see how you fix the undercarriage doors.

Great work as usual General.

Robert

[Deanflyer]

I didn't think you'd be able to resist starting on one of these for long, Andy...I'll watch with interest. Nice to get a photo credit too for the gear door- all that time I spent on my back under the nose wheel well getting photos for you should pay dividends, eh?

Have fun,
Dean

[Honeybee]

Hi Melchie

I'll have Paul and Richard of the' Lancaster hit squad' after me soon too!!

Given that I know how quick and well you build it'll not be too soon, but it will definitely happen later. Good to see you're on with the Valiant, getting mine soon too and what with Richards 2 that'll be a Valiant QRA finished.
Regards
Paul

Edited by Honeybee, 08 July 2011 - 02:15 PM.

[general melchett]

Thanks chaps, Trev, I haven't tried fitting the wings yet, I'll take a good gander and see what can be done.
Robert, the main doors were canted inwards slightly to allow for the fitment of the wing tanks. The new doors shouldn't really be much of a problem, might even scratchbuild new ones...

Dean mate, yes I know, whilst toiling away with the F-111 and TSR builds couldn't help noticing the pile of 5 Valiants sitting in the corner of the room, crying out to be built...I caved in after about 20 minutes of getting them home Thanks again for the piccies, hope your back recovers soon!!

Paul, By the time we've finshed this lot we should have Valiants from every squadron, (plus a few more)...got some decals for the Bomber Command Development Unit that I was going to use for a Vulcan...but hey ho!!
What we need to do though is co ordinate all the builds so that no one replicates others builds!!.. which ones have you and Rich chosen?, as I say this one will either be XD826 of 7 squadron or WP213 of 199, both in high viz markings...


A bit more progress whilst dodging the thunderstorms in and out of the shed..

Cheers,

Melch...

[richellis]

Thanks, you will show me all the little jobs and fixes needed before I start mine!
Top job!
BTW, lots of pics in the walkaround section, and Ill get any more peeps need/ want doing!

[general melchett]

Cheers Rich, tis a good model though there are a few things to look out for, you really MUST remember to fit nose weight (22 g) to avoid a tail sitter, this is easy to forget and impossible to rectify once the fuselage is put together, also remember to fit all bomb bay braces if having the bay shut as they for rigidity and do your research before building as three different noses are provided for B1, B(K)1 and B(PR)1 so its best to check your timeframe., I'll do all three over time but this first will be a clean early B1 ECM jammer of 199 squadron which isn't marred by the ugly wing tanks and IFR gear..


Used a metal exhaust unit which happened to weight 25 g..........just to be sure!!




Managed to glue the fuselage together today whilst watching the F1 qualies...looking a bit more like a Valiant now...all that detail gone forever!!..ah well...


Melchett...