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1/32 Vacform Hawk


Murdo

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Hi all, having seen some truly fantastic vacform kits on this site I've decided to give one a try. I got it for nothing from a Britmodeller (John T) a couple of years ago so I've nothing to lose by not trying it... Apart from my pride and my marbles.

The obligatory "kit" picture:

IMG_2717_zps73acee90.jpg

Dunno what in the world I'm going to do with that! :banghead:

Ummm... Question no1: What do you glue a vacform kit together with? :frantic:

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I use a variety of glues- Mostly ones like Tamiya extra thin, which isn't too "Hot", but some areas (i.e., Thicker plastic....) allow for the use of hotter glues, like Ambroid pro-Weld. Tube glue is good when you need strength, and time to maneuver parts into position, and Super glue (CA) is good for areas that are thin, like trailing edges, where hot glues will melt and distort the plastic. As you have no doubt noticed, the vac plastic is a bit softer than IM plastic, so different glues and techniques are required. Also, draw around the parts with a felt-tip pen, placing the nib right at the intersection of part and backing sheet plastic, and draw around the entire part. When you remove the backing sheet, you will have a black line, with an area of white plastic below. Remove (sand) this plastic til you get to the edge of the black line, and STOP. Also, I personally don't do the sheet-glass thing anymore- various sanding blocks do the job faster, and with much more control than the old way. Hope this helps, and please post pics!

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Thanks guys, I'll start tomorrow night.

Wow Mark! Never thought I'd hear that! :yikes:

By the way, if it turns out well I also have this: 1/32 Lightning... And this looks truly Frightning! Talk about a blank canvas.

At least the Frightning has a canopy, the Hawk doesn't.

IMG_2720_zps7bf2e83d.jpg

Edited by Murdo
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Honestly I think the biggest hurdle with vac is over thinking things. You have to learn how to deal with strange plastic, scratch build, scribe and a dozen other things all at once if you're going to make this perfect. There are a few very simple thoughts I try and keep in mind.

If you count the same number of fingers before you start as after you have removed all the backing and not, say, nine and a half? Victory!

Removing the excess from the backing looks like a pain but, but. How many times have you cursed a tool maker for putting a split line in the worst possible location ever on an injected kit? Sanding a straight line is simpler than trying to clean up landing gear.

Build it like it's your first kit. Don't worry about panel lines, do a bird in flight so you aren't tempted to mess with the undercarriage, smoke the glass so you can't see the cockpit, cut out as many steps as you want and get the first model under your belt. You can always strip her back down and add detail later when you are more comfortable. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step grasshopper.

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Thanks guys.

I'm not particularly intimidated by it being a Vacform, I've just never built one before but it does seem to be Styrene so my normal glues should work if I use them carefully.

Scratchbuilding bits isn't too much of a worry. I'm currently scratching an interior and engines for a 1/35th WW1 Whippet tank (the Whippet with guts).

IMG_1532Large.jpg

IMG_1529Large.jpg

A few years ago I scratchbuilt a 1/35th Bloodhound Missile from Styrene, pencils, candles and bits from an old PC power supply. (The Wolf awaits the Bear).

Bloodhound033Medium.jpg

Bloodhound066Large.jpg

Bloodhound084Large.jpg

Here's some Hawk progress pics. It's a bit rough and ready at the moment:

IMG_2721.jpg

The tail is going to be a problem:

IMG_2724.jpg

Hmmm:

IMG_2723.jpg

And next to the lovely Revell Hawk for comparison:

IMG_2729.jpg

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This should be fun!

By the way, the Revell Hawk has stalled because I have lost the tail rudder! :doh:

I have a particularly rapacious Carpet Monster who somehow managed to completely "disappear" a 3" long, bright red lump of large plastic on a dark blue carpet. Now much as I hate the irritating, evil little beggar, I have to grudgingly admit that that is skill borne only by a dedicated professional!

:worthy:

Edited by Murdo
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It doesn't look like it on the pics but there is such a serious mismatch between the tail pieces that I'm actually tempted to just cut the whole thing off at fuselage level and rebuild from scratch.

There's no detail on the vacform so nothing really to lose really... Apart from time.

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Wow, fascinating project! I really admire you for tackling this in the face of the Revell kit now being available. And you're doing a terrific job! I've yet to build a vac kit, but have several in the stash, and I think I'll take TMC_Sherpa's advice when building my first one.

By the way, any idea whose vac kit it is? Tigger's (ex-I.D.)?

Kev

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Thanks Tigger, much appreciated!

Kev, dunno where the kit originated, sorry mate. :shrug:

An update:

Some work on the bang seats:

IMG_2762.jpg

IMG_2754.jpg

IMG_2750.jpg

They're about 20% done - still a long way to go.

It's so difficult to decently photograph white styrene.

:frantic::pipe::(

Edited by Murdo
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Thanks Lex77, I'll probably just scratch a new one, when I get round to it. :shrug:

A wee update, some more work on the seats. Getting there but still some work to do.

The rivets are from Archers Fine Transfers and are fantastic to work with. They're just like a normal decal. You select the pattern / size you want, cut to length and just apply like a normal decal. They might stray until you get a layer of Klear / varnish or primer over them and I can see I've lost three from one of the seats. No probs, they're good fun to work with.

I started riveting on Saturday afternoon and was thoroughly enjoying myself and was perfectly happy until I became vaguely aware that the Wife was screaming at me and slapping my face.

I came to and found that I'd riveted the bang seats... then the PC moniter... then half the panels on my car (1/1 scale Mondeo) and had now Tamiya taped my 8 year old daughter to a kitchen chair and was about to give her 1/35 scale ear studs. Rather absorbing little things these rivets. I suppose that makes me a true "Rivet Counter" now.

:evil_laugh:

Unfortunately the Wife has confiscated and banned the Archer rivets but my Brother in Law is going to get me some more and sneak them in to me. He's a fellow modeller and knows the score.

:thumbsup:

Anyway, on to the pics. It's very difficult to take close ups of white plastic as the flash floods it too much so I'll try and get some daylight pics tomorrow.

IMG_2765.jpg

IMG_2766.jpg

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Thanks very much Hawkkeeper, pics much appreciated! Do you have any of the oxygen bottle and fittings (at the back of the seats)? It's the one area I have nothing on.

Thanks Tom, praise from a master! :worthy:

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Thanks Hawkkeeper but it's okay. I found some bottle pics on T'internet so hopefully they'll do.

These pics you have on PB were excellent and showed a wee bit more detail than the ones I had so I've changed some side detail bits on the seats.

I'll try and post some more pics soon.

Edited by Murdo
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