Back in the Saddle

One of the most impressive ‘what ifs’ I’ve seen - it’s looks fantastic and entirely plausible! Great work Neil👍

Hi Chris. Happy to help out, if I can. It sounds like a problem I should be able to solve! Send me a PM so we can exchange contact details and I’ll see what I can do.👍 @Skodadriver, thanks for the tag, I wouldn’t have seen this otherwise.

Thanks Cliff! Talking of filler, I've build the engine pods for the VC10 and they will need some too.. Here are both models, with filler lavishly slavered over the many blemishes: Another sanding session beckons but each one is improving things noticeably.

It was worth the effort and looks stunning in that livery, but since reading your account of the build I've decided to sell the one that is in my stash! Life's too short and I have the Zvezda kit waiting to be built too - I'll concentrate on that one instead...😉

Time to get kit #3 underway...! I'm not planning own posting too much about it, as I've covered most of this already on my previous builds. An hour on the bench was enough to construct the wheel bays and cockpit due to be inserted into the fuselage, and also the engine cores ready for painting: I then buttoned the fuselage up: A friend of mine had emailed me with a copy of the 'Avignon' artwork, which was invaluable for extrapolating the areas that needed to be designed - the A380 fin is a different shape from the 737, which was the only aircraft to feature this design. With the original artwork, I can fill in the gaps, something I touched upon earlier in this thread: Time for some more Photoshopping!

I think we have a consensus!

That is an excellent model, very nicely finished.👍

I’m very easygoing about these sorts of things! I guess if the background and all the other aspects of a diorama takes up 75% of the build, that would be acceptable under ‘standard’ BM GB rules? What do others think? Happy to canvas opinions!

I think it looks very plausible! Great work on putting it together 👍

Excellent! Like others, I’m tempted to get mine out from the stash and make a start - need to finish the Vulcan first though…

Yep, it didn't go entirely to plan but was a useful learning curve... Hopefully better results next time! Back to the engine build and a look at the components for the engine cores: These soon went together and are pictured with the constructed fans and tailplane from my previous update: The fans go inside the front engine inlets (on the right of the picture), then all these sub-assemblies are glued into the cowlings. It looks like a great way to put the engine together, as different sections can be painted before construction, reducing the amount of masking required.👍 The wings were essentially built, but needed the flap track fairings and curvy wingtips to be added. Here are the relevant bits: Which were soon added to the main section: It is going together like a dream so far!

A quick look at the refurbishment project now and specifically the engines. These were detached from the model and this their current state: A good rub down is required then repainting - nothing more ambitious is planned, as that should rejuvenate them nicely.👍 I also did a bit more work on Photoshop to design the tailfin decals, which are now close to completion. The unused 'Heraldry' design by Timothy Noad is on the left; 'Grand Union' is on the right : These won't be needed for a while but I'm hopeful that progress will be swift once the painting begins, so best to get them ready! Talking of which, my next job will involve some paint, the new tailplanes and the engines...🙂

Or maybe on Monday, if the weekend is busy! 😁 The casting was suitably successful! 👍 The tailplanes are crisp and detailed, but both had a trapped air bubble on the trailing edge in the same place - I'm not sure why the air became trapped here but I'm hoping some filler will soon fix that! I think the resin may have 'subsided' during the curing process, as when I poured the resin the attachment tabs were present rather than being a hollow section. The engine fan blades are actually better than I expected (but I had low expectations!). Unfortunately they are still not very good... The original part was from the Revell kit which was not a good starting point - the quality of that piece was poor, with distorted and damaged blades. The casting itself was very delicate, but I think it looks reasonable in the circumstances. Here are all the pieces: Fortunately @Turbofan has come to the rescue again, with another offer of some Zvezda engine parts from his scrapbox - thanks Ian! I will use his blades on my 747-8 build instead of trying to mold replacement fans. The tailplanes need a coat of primer to show any blemishes, but I'm confident I have some usable parts. The whole process of making a silicon mold and casting a resin replacement was an interesting diversion and one I would happily do again - providing the shape is simple. Molding fan blades may have been a bit ambitious...!

I mentioned the mod to the fuselage to remove the refuelling station, so thought it was worth a quick look at the wings to see what is needed here. Not much - just a couple of slots to fill and a couple of components to discard: I've also attached the engine nacelles to the 1-11, which has thrown up a few problems. The rear air-stairs need rescribing, the engine pylons are missing quite a bit of material and the cargo door fit needs looking at (all issues marked with a cyan dot!): Time for some more filler and 240 grit!

My bad - it was the Revell kit I tried to make. The Tamiya version looks far better!