Nik W

Great work on the Bucc so far Ian, its looking great! I'm making my own Bucc at this point as well, Neomega cockpit and everything, but I do have one question... Why have you built up the sides of the cockpit? I'm just curious as I wasn't aware there was anything wrong with them, and as such hadn't done anything to the ones on my own Bucc. Keep up the good work though as this is looking great and along with the other Bucc getting built on the forums just now, this is serving as inspiration to keep mine going! Regards, Nik

This is looking really good so far, looking forward to seeing how it progresses. The early Soviet jets really are a fascinating subject I think! Looking forward to seeing more! Regards, Nik

Lovely looking Canberra! The Airfix kit is much maligned, but builds like this show that with a bit of effort a VERY nice model can be made from the kit! Thanks for sharing! Nik

Really can't wait to see how this one progresses, I bought the same set of Air-Craft decals with a view to doing just such a project of my own eventually! Regards, Nik

Absolutely fantastic Javelin! I've got this same conversion to do once I finally finish the T.3 that's been sitting on my bench for nearly a year now. Great job! Regards, Nik

Really nicely done! Didn't realise the Flightpath B.1 conversion set was still available, gives me the urge to build one myself now! Nik

Outstanding effort on this, brilliant looking model! Nik

Do it! It was a really refreshing change from building injection mounded kits, and honestly I've not looked back. You definitely won't regret it! Nik

I do happen to have a couple of Scimitars tucked away... Must admit they're looking awfully tempting right now! Nik

Thanks for all the kind comments guys, genuinely flattered at some of the feedback you've given, always quite encouraging to get positive feedback. Haha! There's another definition??? You mean what they taught me on day one of Observer 101 wasn't really true? Cheers David, the Dynavector kit more than holds its own against modern offerings! For those inclined to do so, I reckon the extra bits available for the Trumpeter kit (brass etch, wheel bays etc.) could be used to turn this into an absolute show-stopper, which I'm more than tempted to do with one of the other Dynavector Wyverns I've got tucked away. Its for those exact reasons you mentioned that I chose to go away from the norm in terms of markings. Nearly every Wyvern I've seen built up has the Suez stripes on it, so something a bit different and a touch less bright makes a nice change I'd say. Thanks Simon, you really are far too kind! I wouldn't say I'd mastered the art by any means - I'm nowhere near the leagues that the top vac builders like Tom Probert on here are, but with enough attempts I might get there one day! Cheers again folks! Nik

Cracking model! Something very rarely seen so it makes a really nice change! Thanks for sharing! Regards, Nik

Morning all! It's only taken approximately three years to get to this stage, but my Dynavector Wyvern is finally finished. This was my first venture into the world of Vacform kits, and Dynavector did not disappoint. I chose this as by all accounts it is one of the best kits to use as an introduction to vac kits. The fit of the parts is absolutely superb, and once the necessary surface prep was done in order to get parts to match up, this went together with far less hassle than a lot of the injection moulded kits I've built. My build is by no means perfect, in terms of improvements I could've removed the aircraft lights and replaced them with appropriately coloured clear plastic. I deliberately chose not to overly detail the undercarriage bays as this build was more about testing my ability to build a vacform not my ability to superdetail. I've also missed off the windscreen wiper as my attempt to scratchbuild one looked a bit too 'agricultural' for my liking, so some room for improvement there certainly. Lastly the decals from Berna were a bit of a nightmare, many of them are grossly oversized and they refused to conform to the model without masses of Mr Hobby Setter and Softer. In terms of lessons learned from the build, first and foremost is that Vacform kits are not hard! Picking a good brand such as Dynavector or Aeroclub helps no end, but they are no more difficult than many injection kits (stand fast Tamiya shake and bake kits...) so really ought to hold no fear for anyone! After all if I can manage it, I'm certain anyone can! As always, constructive criticism is more than welcome, without it I'll never improve. So without too much further ado... Kit: Dynavector 1/48 Westland Wyvern Decals: Berna Decals - Wyverns Extras: Compass Rose Resin - Cockpit Tub + Airscale Instrument Decals, CMK Wyvern wheels & Pavla Martin Baker Mk.2 Seat Paints: Xtracolor EDSG & Sky, Humbrol Roundel Red and various shades of Alclad (undercarriage and undercarriage bays) To all those that looked in on the build (as glacial as it was in terms of progress) thank you for all the words of encouragement! Now it's just a case of deciding what to tackle next... Scimitar? Swift? Thanks for looking in folks, Regards, Nik

Morning all! After a slight break of a little longer than planned I can finally call this one finished! It's taken a lot longer than I'd originally hoped, but I'm pleased with how it turned out in the end! I've learned a lot of lessons from this build, but its safe to say that vacforms no longer hold the fear for me they once did, and the small but growing pile of vacs in my stash is only going to increase as this has been one of the most pleasurable models I've built since my return to the hobby a few years back now. To those that have looked in on this build, thank you for your kind words of encouragement! More pics to follow in RFI shortly. Cheers, Nik

You've done a great job with what is a pretty rough and ready kit! I've often looked at building one and decided against it, but seeing the great job you've done makes me think twice. Regards, Nik

Small update for this evening. Progress slowed down a little bit due to some career courses in Portsmouth and SWMBO not being entirely happy with me airbrushing at the kitchen worktop while I wait on the desk arriving at my new flat. The only positive to the desk situation is I've got permission (kind of...) to turn the spare room into a modelling room/man cave. So its not all bad news! Anyway, bit more progress on the decals, all of which are now on. The stencils are a combination of the Berna Decals sheet and the Dynavector decals themselves. Both types have thick carrier film which didn't respond too well to my usual Micro Set & Sol combination, so I ordered some Mr Mark Softer and Setter which are a bit stronger and seem to have done the job rather well. Unfortunately the underwing serials are a bit oversized, this appears to be a common theme with the Berna Decals sheet, but since it'll only really be me that has to look at it and its on the underside anyway, I think I can live with it. The most pleasing aspect of decalling was that the Dynavector decals which looked like they had silvered badly when they were first applied have blended in perfectly under another coat of gloss and then a matt coat, which bodes well for using the decals supplied in the other Dynavector vacs I've got stashed away (Scimitars, more Wyverns and a Sea Hornet). The last picture above shows it as it stands at close of play today. In between the final gloss coat to seal the decals and the matt coat, I gave it a panel line wash with some thinned black and raw umber oil paints, to bring out a little more of the detail. I know this isn't always to everyone's tastes, but as I've said its only going to be me that ever really looks at it and I'm happy with it! Canopy was unmasked and after a quick buff with some micromesh to remove a little bit of paint seepage and a brush over with some Alclad Aqua Gloss it looks lovely and clear! Next on the hit list will be painting on the black non slip area on the port wing which I forgot to do previously, and then the small details such as undercarriage doors and drop tanks and hopefully unless I spot anything else too glaring that I've missed I should hopefully be able to get this one finally finished! Thanks for looking folks! Nik

Great looking build, very nice to see an RAF example - something not often seen built up! Nik

Morning all! Time for another quick update on progress with the Wyvern. First time I've used Alcad's Aqua Gloss as a prep coat for decals and I must admit I'm quite impressed with it. It went down nice and evenly and has provided a good glossy base to lay the decals on. I even tested it on a spare Canberra canopy I had lying around as a Klear substitute and it appears to have done its job rather nicely on that as well, so on whatever I get round to building next (or potentially finishing something from the Shelf of Doom) I think that will be getting a thorough test on any clear parts. Fairly early in the decalling process I hit a small snag. I've used the Berna Decals Wyvern sheet, which seems to be somewhat inaccurate on sizing for some items on it. In the picture below, the 827 NAS crest on the tail looks far too big. The only reference material I had available to me (aside from a search of the t'interweb for images) was this rather handy little book I 'borrowed' from my Dad at the start of this build. It has several profiles contained within, one of which shows an 827 aircraft, but with a significantly smaller crest. Is anybody aware of any significant issues relating to the overall accuracy of this sheet from Berna Decals? I haven't been able to track down any reviews of the sheet in question which could verify the authenticity of the sizing of that crest. But the Wyvern book I have and an image search don't seem to show any aircraft ever having carried squadron crests quite that large. Moving on, I removed the offending decal with some heavy duty amounts of Micro Sol and now with the Wyvern looks something like this; The stencils on the fuselage are a mixture of the Dynavector Decals, which appear to have silvered badly in this image but under a further coat of gloss I'm confident that the carrier film issues will be resolved, and the stencilling provided on the Berna Decals sheet. Neither of which have responded terribly well to my trusty bottles of Micro Set & Sol unfortunately. So I may have to look at getting something a bit stronger to bring them down to conform with the detailing underneath them. So that's it for another update, still not entirely finished decalling and a few bits and pieces still to sort out such as the drop tanks, undercarriage doors and propellors, but I think I can fairly confidently say this is on the home straight now. Sadly no more updates for a couple of weeks as I'm off to Portsmouth for a couple of courses, but hopefully once those are done I should finally be able to get this finished up and something else onto the bench! Thanks for stopping by folks! Nik

Edit: Post Deleted - accidental post!

I'm a big fan of the Dynavector kits, they're brilliant as a means of a first venture into the world of vacform! The fit on the Wyvern has been better than some of the modern injection moulded kits I've built lately. That is a shame! Like Mike said above, all these old Dynavector kits need is a little bit of love to turn out a great looking kit!

Time for another update on the Wyvern. Still on leave so I've had this one in the paint shop since my last update. Probably a lot easier to simply let the pictures do the talking. The Extra Dark Sea Gray looked a little too dark for my tastes, so I lightened it with a few drops of Light Aircraft Gray for a small amount of post shading to give the aircraft a less pristine, worn appearance. Anti Glare panel masked up ready for a quick blast of black. Then finally after the big un-peeling of masking tape, I'm pretty darn pleased with how this is looking! That's it for this update, the Wyvern is currently sitting underneath an upturned box to keep the dust off having been given the first of two layers of Alclad Gloss Klear in preparation for decalling and weathering. Considering this was my first shot at a Vacform, I'm pleased with how this is panning out (long delay between updates aside...) and have to confess I've been well and truly bitten by the vac bug! Till next time folks! Nik

Lovely looking collection of Thunderchiefs! Had the good fortune to visit Spangdahlem AFB a few years back where they have one on display inside the fence, until I was stood next to the thing I'd no idea it was such and absolute monster of an aircraft! Great work! Nik

As far as thread resurrections go this has got to be up there with something even Lazarus would be proud of. This poor Wyvern has been sat on the Shelf of Doom since March 2013 and didn't so much stall as come to a crashing halt due to the slightly chaotic and nomadic nature of life in the Fleet Air Arm! But with a nice long break between flying courses I decided the time was right to get my finger out and make some progress on this brute of an aeroplane. I left off with the beast having been given its initial shot of primer to highlight any flaws and show where some rescribing would be required to restore detail after the build process. So after a quick going over with a scribing tool of some of the fine panel lines which had vanished under the primer, another coat of primer showed it was ready to start getting some paint on. A quick blast along the panel lines with some NATO Black for pre shading got me to this stage. Then there was nothing else to do but crack open a tin of Xtracolor Sky (BS210) to start filling in the gaps between the pre shading. I had a bit left over in the paint cup after the first pass of colour so decided to use what was left to quickly give the underside a first overall coat of sky. My initial thoughts are that this looks a good deal too green, so the plan is that I'll lighten this significantly with some post shading once it has fully dried (which could be days away using Xtracolor Enamels in all fairness) and eventually give it a flat coat to tone down the contrast in the shading. While the Sky has been drying I decided to get on with one of the elements of this build I've been looking forward to the least which is painting all 8 of the propellers. These were given an initial blast with some Tamiya White primer to act as a base coat for the yellow tips (painted with my trusty old tin of Humbrol 154 Insignia Yellow) before being masked and the blades sprayed black. At this point I decided that this will be an 827 NAS aircraft from HMS Eagle in 1955 so the spinner was also sprayed white in preparation for being sprayed red as shown above. So... That's where she stands as of today, hopefully it won't be a full two and a half years before my next update on this one... Who knows, I might even actually get round to finishing a model? That would be a novel idea! Until next time! Nik

Hello Mark, As Gary said above there aren't many photos showing the wing walkways on WD955. When I built mine I went for the white option as you can see below. Your best bet to determine what markings it wore (which I suspect is dependent upon which point in time you're trying to depict) is on the Canberra SIG website which is an absolute goldmine of info on the subject! http://ipmscanberrasig.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=15202041 Hope this is of some help! Nik