1/72 Airfix Vulcan - FINISHED

[Mark4700]

This is my first build on the site, so it's in at the deep end with the Airfix Vulcan.

I'm about 18 months into my rekindled hobby (after a break of about 20 years). I have recently invested in an airbrush and this will be my third airbrushed model. I am also going to re scribe the kit (only the second kit I've attempted this on). Other than that it's going to be pretty much standard kit.

I've got a VIP tour of the real aircraft booked for mid April, so intend to take lots of photo's to assist with the build. This is going to be my big build for the year, taking my time, dipping in and out of it, so please don't expect rapid progress.

I've made a start by washing all the parts and taking the wings and fuselage off the sprue's. As I'm re scribing, I though this would be more easily done as the first job. There's lots to do on the wings and it seems easier lying them flat on the desk.

As a point of interest, this is my workspace.

And this is the work I've done so far with the scribing, and removing some flash from around the edges. I've started on the wing on the right.

I know there's been some epic Vulcan builds on here, I'm just hoping that mine doesn't let the standard drop too far.

Edited August 14, 2017 by Mark4700

[Martian]

You have made a good start with that scribing.

Martin

[Devilfish]

I recently did the same. Not finished yet....But rescribed and it looks a whole lot better.

I'm not sure if you know or not, but my advice is to attach the wing halves (top and bottom) to the fuselage halves prior to joining. This will all but eliminate the dreaded wing/fuselage gap.

I did the Vulcan VIP tour a couple of years ago. Well worth it. Enjoy.

[phildagreek]

Looks good so far.

Slow & steady wins the race.

[Mark4700]

I'm not sure if you know or not, but my advice is to attach the wing halves (top and bottom) to the fuselage halves prior to joining. This will all but eliminate the dreaded wing/fuselage gap.

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely try that. Had to do a similar thing with a TSR2 last year

[Darth Vader]

Yes do what Devilfish says and enjoy , it's a great kit when finished.

What scheme are you doing ?

[Mark4700]

I'm doing it as XH558 last year in her final flying year. If that goes to plan I'll do another in a late 70's scheme.

[Mark4700]

Another 2 hours on the project today scribing and sanding. This is going to take some time, just hope it's worth it.

[Mark4700]

Work continues on the wings, scribing and sanding. Finished sanding and scribing one side. I've also reduced the thickness of the flaps as I read on another thread that they look a bit too thick, and looking I agreed. I've also discovered that there are some elements on the underside of the wing that shouldn't be there on XH558, so a bit of research to be done there. Despite stating that this was to me a more or less out of the box I've gone and ordered some replacement resin tailpipes.

Here's a comparison of the wings.

 

Edited August 14, 2017 by Mark4700

[PhantomBigStu]

Excellent work, wish mine was going as well as yours is

[Mark4700]

Question. I've noticed that on the decal plan, and on some other builds, the upper wing surfaces are scribed to match the undersides.

Opinions please on whether to leave as per the kit, or scribe upper surfaces to match lower?

[Darth Vader]

I scribe mine to match the bottom or else there is a large expanse of nothing.http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234995692-airfix-vulcan-617-sqdn/

[Mark4700]

I've been able to apply a couple of hours yesterday and today to the tin triangle. At last the undersides of the wings are more or less finished and I'm pleased with the results, hope they'll look good painted.

The tail is also finished. I've gone in much heavier on the rudder and also carved out the intakes to the front.

The fuselage is also 80% there and again I've carved out the intakes as can be seen in the close up pictures.

 

 

Although you can't quite see it in the photo's I've also taken the tip of the nose as XH558 doesn't have this and I'm building her as she is now. Any tips in this area would be greatly appreciated.

Finally my resin 202 jet pipes have arrived, and I think you'll agree they look very nice indeed.

Hoping to get a bit more done over the next couple of days, though nothing seems to be happening very quickly with this build. Patience is the name of the game I think.

Edited August 14, 2017 by Mark4700

[woody37]

Looking great

[fatalbert]

Loving your build,can I ask you about your scribing,Do you rub down the raised lines and then scribe,or do you scribe down the centre of the raised lines.cheers......Neil

[Mark4700]

Loving your build,can I ask you about your scribing,Do you rub down the raised lines and then scribe,or do you scribe down the centre of the raised lines.cheers......Neil

Thanks for your comments Neil. I lightly sand before I scribe, so that you can still see the detail, and scribe right over them. Then sand again afterwards and go over the freshly scribed lines with a toothpick to clean them up. For all the straight lines I've used a Tamiya scribing knife against a section from a feeler gauge.

[PhantomBigStu]

Good luck with exhausts, that's where I went wrong

[fatalbert]

Thanks for your comments Neil. I lightly sand before I scribe, so that you can still see the detail, and scribe right over them. Then sand again afterwards and go over the freshly scribed lines with a toothpick to clean them up. For all the straight lines I've used a Tamiya scribing knife against a section from a feeler gauge.

Thanks Mark,I have a few vulcans in the stash and seeing your scribing makes me want to do the same with mine.

Edited February 19, 2016 by fatalbert

[CurrantBunbury]

Looking good. There's a lot of work in that already.

I built one of these last year before I'd heard the advice given above regarding the wings, which would have saved a lot of frustration! I'm also not going to criticise your acquisition of the resin pipes - the kit ones are truly awful. This is not the most straightforward of builds, but it really does reward the effort. I love mine and hope you feel the same way about yours when it's finished.

[Mark4700]

Help needed. I intended to display this model with raised undercarriage in a steep climb. I was going to achieve this by inserting four clear plastic rods up the exhausts and set the other end in a block of wood. However, now I've gone down the route of resin exhausts which aren't drilled though I have a dilemma. Has anyone tried drilling through resin n this way, and if done will they be strong enough?

Anyone with any thoughts or experience please share.

[Mark4700]

I've got bored with scribing and sanding and scribing and sanding. Needed a new direction for a while so I've decided to tackle the intakes.

So far I've took the flashing off and that's about it. I'm going to sand them and get as good a fit as I can before gluing them and filling and sanding them some more. I know I could have gone out and bought an after market set, but I love a challenge.

 

Edited August 14, 2017 by Mark4700

[Mark4700]

I've also made a start on the tail section. This was not a good fit and had to be clamped. Not a good sign for the build as this is the first bit of actual gluing I've done. There's still a gap to sort out on upper and lower joints.

There's some warping of the plastic on the large hump on top of the tail which will need filling. Then there's more scribing to do.

 

Edited August 14, 2017 by Mark4700

[CurrantBunbury]

You've reminded me of a problem I had with the tail section when I built mine, so I thought I'd share the thread in case there's anything you find useful:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234988253-vulcan-tail-problems/?hl=%2Bvulcan+%2Btail+%2Bproblems

I'm a less experienced and less skilled modeller than you, but I think all information is worth having.

Those intakes are a challenge, but a satisfying one:

The centre bits should be a good deal thinner than that - that was as far as I could bring myself to go - but it does show up the difference a bit of filling and sanding will make.

[Mark4700]

I'm a less experienced and less skilled modeller than you, but I think all information is worth having.

You flatter me too much. I look at the posts on this site and just hope I can get close to some of the finishes, and on lots of occasions I am amazed by the talents on show. Your intakes are superbly done, something for me to aim for. Thanks for your comments and sharing the thread. Very useful.

[Mark4700]

Managed a couple of hours today. I've thinned the splitter pates down and managed to make the small intakes on the inside of them.

You can see how thick the original ones were in this comparison.

And this one from the outside.

As I said, I've also managed to fit in the air intake that isn't on the kit. The first picture shows the updated and the second the original. hope you can make out the new intake hole.

The splitters are still a bit oversized so they will need cutting back slightly.

Edited August 14, 2017 by Mark4700