Honey I shrunk the De Havilland Vampire T.11, 1/72 The Gentleman's scale.

[The Spadgent]

Hi Guys.

Welcome to my next build,

The De Havilland Vampire T.11 1/72 scale by Airfix.

I fell in love with this jet when I saw Phil Lewis building one a few moths back. 1/72 has never been my thing but I had so much fun building My FW 109 I got hooked. My last build was 1/48 and Im toying with the idea of going bigger next time but for now I'm going back to the gentleman's scale.

Any way without further waffle I will begin.

I hope (if you decide to come along for the ride) you enjoy this as much as I will.

Here is the obligatory box shot.

 

And here are the assorted sprues and decals.

 

It is a really nice looking kit, The mould is wonderful, I'm so loving Airfix right now. .

I and going to be doing this here scheme as it is different from Phil's and I'm a sucker for day glo.

 

Also the shiny silver will be a new one for me.

I start off by sticking the first few bits of cockpit together. Nice and easy.

The detail is really quite nice except from a few raised pin marks which I'll sand down but you'll never see it when the tubs in.

 

I wanted to get some nice belts to match some reference pics I found. Mmmmmm blue.

 

I decided to get some Eduard PE belts, Cheap as chips and they look really nice.

 

First up was shooting the seats black.

 

then the inside of the pit, I used a small amount of Vallejo steel to dry brush too.

 

And that's where we are. It's all going rather well at the moment. I'm mostly planning an out of the box build with only a few little additions. We will see.

Thanks for looking. Take care y'all and happy modelling.

Johnny boy.

Edited August 28, 2017 by The Spadgent

[Darby]

Watch out for the underwing to fuselage join. I had a big gap but it may have just been me. Nothing insurmountable though.

[The Spadgent]

Watch out for the underwing to fuselage join. I had a big gap but it may have just been me. Nothing insurmountable though.

Thanks Darby, any more hints you let me know.

Take care.

John.

[CedB]

Good start John, I'm in

[perdu]

Good going, you really got me, too

I remember being marched past lines of these when attending an RAF Station in the 'North' for our flight in a Chippy

Probably Driffield or Dishforth when they were withdrawn from service

My ATC sqn was at camp in Linton On Ouse with new fangled Jet Provosts we weren't to be allowed near

Too soon for Vamp memories Spadgent?

If so, sorry

[milktrip]

Nice work and a great kit. I had a lot of fun building mine. Something of note, on my kit the flaps on the wing were quite sunken so I had to apply filler.

Also, don't fit the undercarriage gearing until after everything else is in place. There are little tabs you can cut off for this I think. I followed the instructions and it becomes quite awkward. Also the tail boom fit is quite tight and may require some trimming.

Looking forward to more

[The Spadgent]

Good start John, I'm in

Glad you're in Ced, Hopefully I can keep this one light and entertaining. No drama. Hmmmmmm what can possibly go wrong?

Good going, you really got me, too

I remember being marched past lines of these when attending an RAF Station in the 'North' for our flight in a Chippy

Probably Driffield or Dishforth when they were withdrawn from service

My ATC sqn was at camp in Linton On Ouse with new fangled Jet Provosts we weren't to be allowed near

Too soon for Vamp memories Spadgent?

If so, sorry

You lucky so and so, I have never seen one in the flesh so to speak. Maybe one day and no, never to soon for Vamp memories.

Nice work and a great kit. I had a lot of fun building mine. Something of note, on my kit the flaps on the wing were quite sunken so I had to apply filler.

Also, don't fit the undercarriage gearing until after everything else is in place. There are little tabs you can cut off for this I think. I followed the instructions and it becomes quite awkward. Also the tail boom fit is quite tight and may require some trimming.

Looking forward to more

Thank you for the lovely coments and thanks for the tips, I'll look out for them thar pitfalls.

Edited June 27, 2016 by The Spadgent

[The Spadgent]

Spoiler

 

Thanks for watching guys it's great having you on board. I got a little bit more done.

The PE belts got added, I have found these things to be super fiddly for no apparent reason, but they do look nice.

 

These are a little too blue at the moment but I'll knock them back later with some washes.

Seems to be standard practice to add the emergency handles so out with the fuse wire.

 

All the other bits and bobs got a lick of paint and the IP decal added, It does look a bit cartoony as Phil pointed out but I'll wash over it and add a few drops of klear to make it ping a little.

 

The tub got assembled apart from the IP which I will leave until I sort out the dust bath. I haven't seen a vamp cockpit yet that isn't caked in about 40 years of crud.

 

That, unfortunately my friends is it for tonight, Tis game of thrones night and it's going to be a good un. Take care and thanks for looking. Happy modelling guys. Next time on "honey I shrunk the Vamp" Dust bath from hell.

See ya later.

Johnny nut job.

Edited August 28, 2017 by The Spadgent

[bigbadbadge]

OOOooooohhhh this looks good, great work fella so far, I have one of these with some PE to do (Now packed away in anticipation of loft conversion work), so will watch with interest.

All the best
Chris

[CedB]

Great work John, especially on those emergency handles - nice.

Enjoy GoT; last one this year (boo) - I recorded the 2am showing and watched it at lunchtime. Heck!

[The Spadgent]

OOOooooohhhh this looks good, great work fella so far, I have one of these with some PE to do (Now packed away in anticipation of loft conversion work), so will watch with interest.

All the best

Chris

Thanks Chris. I do love twin tail birds, I have a P-38 to build too. This one is great, I'm so glad I climbed out of my Tamiya rut.

Good luck with the loft conversion. New man cave?

Take care,

John.

[The Spadgent]

Great work John, especially on those emergency handles - nice.

Enjoy GoT; last one this year (boo) - I recorded the 2am showing and watched it at lunchtime. Heck!

Thanks Ced. I'm really enjoying this build, the 1/72s seem to come together a lot quicker than their bigger sisters. I'm so looking forward and terrified of the silver paint work. Not to mention the Humbrol fluorescent pot that arrived today.

Just watched GOT . that was pretty awesome.

Btw I have only just noticed all the builds in your Sig are yours. I'm so checking them out. I think I spy silver.

All the best.

John.

[Tomoshenko]

Cracking start. Pit bits n bobs looking good. Have this kit in my stash too so will follow with interest (1/72 is the only way, resistance is futile). Don't be afraid of the silver or the orange, gentle application of well thinned coats no problem as per the yellow on your Meatbox.

[The Spadgent]

Cracking start. Pit bits n bobs looking good. Have this kit in my stash too so will follow with interest (1/72 is the only way, resistance is futile). Don't be afraid of the silver or the orange, gentle application of well thinned coats no problem as per the yellow on your Meatbox.

Thanks for the tips Tomo, and the lovely comments.

I'll keep that paint nice and thin.

John.

[Phil Lewis]

Hi Guys.

I fell in love with this jet when I saw Phil Lewis building one a few moths back.

I think it was a moth or 2

Cracking start to the build, John.

Following with interest

Phil

[amblypygid]

I picked up a pair of these last week at Home Bargains (or some such treasure trove of inexpensive marvels). Given how near Oakington is to my house, this scheme will be a must, and I like the look of the PE as well, may have to hunt that down. Great start, John!

[The Spadgent]

I think it was a moth or 2

Cracking start to the build, John.

Following with interest

Phil

Gotta love my fat fingers. Thanks Phil, I actually LoLed.

[Phil Lewis]

Gotta love my fat fingers. Thanks Phil, I actually LoLed.

Aww, and I was shooting for a guffaw

[The Spadgent]

Last night was modelling night. so I got more done on the Vamp.

The IP got andded, the pit and side walls got a Flory blast to make em look used and abused, It looked a little over the top so I knocked it back with a cotton bud. All looking rather spiffy.

 

I did a quick dry fit of the fuselage and everything seemed to go together ok.

 

 

I nearly forgot to add the nose weight (again), I didn't have any lead shot so I cut up some old lead flashing from my roof repair I had knocking around, Worked really well.

 

These vents got build and painted, why you have to paint the fan siver is beyond me.

 

Next up were the intakes. There is a slight gap but you won't see this once the wings are in place.

 

The top wing first, It fits super well but there is a slight gap, fixed by the use of Tamiya extra thin at a later date.

 

then the rear tail parts........ what's all this then??

 

The tail just wont fit flush, take it apart and there is the stupidest place for proud pin marks I've ever seen.

 

Nothing a good proffessional sanding stick wifes nail file won't fix. and then just add pegs and leave to simmer for ten minutes.

 

After that the tail came together rather well.

 

Seeing as I was on some kind of modelling mission the holes got drilled for the fuel tanks. They are fuel tanks right?

 

before the lower wings went on I was warned about fitting the landing gear. I figured this was due to being difficult to paint later on but the gear seems to be silver too so I made an executive decision and plopped them in place. I may regret this later on.

 

The whole lot got a liberal bonding with Tamiya extra thin and about a bazzillion pegs.

 

Once dry I came across another thing I was warned about. Lower wing gap.

 

having dealt with this on my last build of the Gloster Meteor. I employed the same tecnique of tape and a little force and glue. et, voilà.

 

Canopy time folks...... I really came a cropper last time with the Meteor by masking first and forgetting to paint the inner parts of the pit before fitting. I only did the same thing again here. So scalpel uner and off it popped. I then sanded the sides down and painted the rim and dahboard part. Do planes have a dashboard?

 

canopy added and looking good. I had the odd gap but I figured I'd fill them later on.

 

I masked this time one panel at a time, fresh blade at the ready.

 

 

 

you get the picture. I was getting tired by this time so decided to fill thet little gap with a small blob of milliput and then call it a night.

 

Yay! That's all for now, I'm off Caravaning over the weekend as its the wifes birthday, so unless anything happens tomorrow night it'll be a few days until the next update. Thanks for watching and all the support and pictures of moths.

Happy modelling guys and take care y'hear.

Johnny dinner time.

Edited August 28, 2017 by The Spadgent

[The Spadgent]

I picked up a pair of these last week at Home Bargains (or some such treasure trove of inexpensive marvels). Given how near Oakington is to my house, this scheme will be a must, and I like the look of the PE as well, may have to hunt that down. Great start, John!

It is a great kit. Here are the belts.

Eduard Photoetch 1:72 - Seatbelts RAF Q type - EDP73006 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00426X4CO/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_Lm.CxbSQ8BRWH

The price is bonkers I paid 3.99 for mine. You know what Amazon is like some times.

Thanks for the support.

Jont.

Edited June 29, 2016 by The Spadgent

[Phil Lewis]

Just for a moment I thought you were going for a 2 day speed build

Excellent progress John, I notice you've independently employed some of the same solutions to the minor pitfalls that I did, Tamiya extra thin, brute force, tamiya tape brace and masses of pegs. All so familiar

Looking really good.

Have a great weekend, hope the weather keeps off for you.

Looking forward to the rest

[The Spadgent]

Just for a moment I thought you were going for a 2 day speed build

Excellent progress John, I notice you've independently employed some of the same solutions to the minor pitfalls that I did, Tamiya extra thin, brute force, tamiya tape brace and masses of pegs. All so familiar

Looking really good.

Have a great weekend, hope the weather keeps off for you.

Looking forward to the rest

Thanks Phil. I know, I did have a bit of a trot on Tuesday. .

Yes I have had your build buzzing around in my head for ages, the main reason I'm making this one. I'm picking up on your positive vibes quite well it seems. oh and yes Sunny they said. All weekend they said. Well at least I won't be in a tent. well mostly.

Take care and good luck with those tanks.

Edited June 30, 2016 by The Spadgent

[The Spadgent]

Well it was Sunny and it was glorious hence the lack of plastic. All three birthdays done and dusted and tomorrow is modelling night so I'll get a bit of painting done and the landing gear sorted, but for now just a quick twenty minutes of prep. (Sneaky covert plastic is really quite dangerous, especially when Tamiya primer is involved)

Any hoo, the canopy got masked and shot with Tamiya black to colour the inner frame.

 

Then the fuel tanks and rear jet got a primer blast.

 

I do love airbrushing as paint dries so quickly. Which means primer on the main jet, those lines are georgeous.

 

Right all ready for tomorrow. Time to sneak down stairs and pretend nothing has happened.

Wish me luck.

Thanks for looking and happy modelling.

Johnny ninja.

Edited August 28, 2017 by The Spadgent

[Phil Lewis]

Coming on in leaps and bounds there John

Good luck with the old 'sneak down as if nothing happened' strategy, if you used Tamiya rattle can primer the other half already knows

Waiting with bated breath for the next instalment

[The Spadgent]

Last night was spent putting down the metal base coat. I wanted to do more but alas as painting goes I had to spray and top cost and let it dry. So here is the progress.

First off the nighttime shots.

 

 

 

And this morning in daylight.

 

 

 

The Vallejo metals are looking pretty good for my first silver plane. Schoolboy error though as I forgot to pre shade anything.

Never mind hopefully the weathering will be enough. Do you even pre-shade silver?

Any way. Thanks for looking.

Take care y'all.

John.

Edited August 28, 2017 by The Spadgent