Jump to content

Fokker F.II - Classic Plane 1/72 Vacuum-formed.


Recommended Posts

The mysterious but fascinating realm of vacuum-formed kits (abbreviatedly called "vacuformed" or "vacs") provides us, off the beaten path modelers, with subjects that tend not to be favored by their injected or resin geographical neighbors.

I am fond of them, and through the years I have built a somewhat large number.

As with other media, quality varies, and you have samples of all levels in the trade.

The subject that today occupies our attention is from Classic Plane, somewhat down in the quality spectrum (examples of good quality are, to mention just two, the late Gordon Stevens' Rare Planes range and Khee-Kha Art Products from Alaska).

Here are some of the vacs I have built:

26193020378_cd15bd0a1f_b.jpg

 

40066319101_ed68416d31_b.jpg

 

39167566265_e3f2fe4330_b.jpg

 

40066319281_a725539e2c_b.jpg

 

40066319451_b71ca5fcd9_b.jpg

 

26193020798_e4b5bbfc44_b.jpg

 

39167715235_84a7a1ab13_b.jpg

 

39167715285_3ac3f16b01_b.jpg

 

 

This kit is a rendition of a much beloved plane that had a very important role in aviation history, providing early passenger transport and starting a family of well-known designs, the Fokker F.II.

To call this kit simple would be an understatement. There are no resin or metal parts that many times accompany the molded styrene sheet, nor decals and somewhat succinct instructions.  The detail parts, provided in the sheet, are better discarded, since their worth is highly questionable to say the least.

This nice Fokker was gifted to me by fellow modeler Luis Santos, the friend that long ago also gifted his vac kit rendition of an Argentinian plane, the Bombi (that in spite its name ended up as a cropduster). Thanks to Luis for his kindness.

 

Work begins patching things up a bit, since this kit has seen some years of handling, and some areas were a bit squashed and had cracked. Nothing that a piece of styrene won't cure.

Next, replacement accessories need to be found, not a problem for a scratchbuilder or a modeller of some vintage: props, wheels, cockpit items, engine and struts are needed. I have gathered -and many friends contributed to (thanks Armando Gil and Jim Schubert) a now sadly diminishing stock of aftermarket items, mainly from the -now apparently in stasis- Aercoclub range.

I can -and I many times do- carve my own laminated wood props, though.

The cabin interior (not provided with this kit) is easy to scratch, and the decals...well, depending on the complexity of your chosen marks, you may somehow scrounge them or cobble together from defunct kits, print them yourself, or commission them.

The struts will be coming from Strutz airfolied brass stock (thanks, Andrew Nickeas!).

Why, ask somke of my friends, I launch myself into fixing a somewhat not very enticing kit prospect instead of scratchbuilding the desired subject? well, firstly, to honor the gift, and secondly to redeem an object that otherwise will slowly drift into oblivion. And thirdly, needless to say, because of the challenge.

 

40064783171_0117c5e16c_b.jpg

 

28283182369_8467274a45_b.jpg

You get two half wheels. With like you could glue them together and get one whole wheel:

28283180679_e20f0722ac_b.jpg

Small bits better left for the erosion of eons....

39351879104_bf40b82638_b.jpg

The detail is there...somewhat:

39163891645_8b0ec81c24_b.jpg

Kit had surely went thorough some stressful situations:

28283180329_e1a45d2699_b.jpg

Parts come easily off (not a science):

39163892135_8ac24aa282_b.jpg

Cracked areas are reinforced internally:

28283179899_c7b269877d_b.jpg

 

28283179549_851336e726_b.jpg

All major parts out, the rest better leave it where it is:

39166125395_d3edcb9bfa_b.jpg

 

 

Edited by Moa
to correct typo
  • Like 15
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

You are a braver soul than me. I probably will never touch a vacuform kit. I know it would over stress me and put me off of building for awhile. 

Corsairfox:

Once you had undergone the Shaolin training and learned to control matter, you will be able to build vacs.

"There is no spoon"

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lovely!

 I've only built 2 vacs to date but have quite a large stash of them, and I love the challenge of getting them up to standard. They provide the basic material that an old Airfix kit did, and leave the rest to the modeller. Perfect!

Popcorn ordered.....

 

Ian

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have a lovely collection of finely built, rare aircraft.  It seems like the vacs tackle the rare ones, being the 'short-runs' of all short-run kits.  You are truly an artist on many levels.

 

I have one vacuform in the stash, a Joystick Phonix A Austro-Hungarian seaplane.  I am looking forward to the experience.  Any tips for the first-time vac builder?

 

Thanks

Edited by John D.C. Masters
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, John D.C. Masters said:

Any tips for the first-time vac builder?

Hi John

Thanks, you are very kind, but I have seen more able modelers created true jewels.

I just have fun, and aim to a decent result.

You made me think a bit. I have posted complete step-by-step builds of several vacs somewhere else, but can't post the links here.

Even a brief list of suggestions or tips would be surely not a short one.

But I'll try to seat down today or tomorrow and put together a few bullet-points of hopefully useful advice. 

Cheers

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, John as it happens, I just found information on this very same site, here:

This link to another page in Britmodeller I posted before was marred. So I re-posted it to see if it works now.

It showed "no permission to see it", which is very strange.

 

I think this is a good start, but nothing, ever, replaces hands on experience.

If you love your vac kit, or it's irreplaceable, get a very simple "practice" one at low cost. I found many kits for 1 or 2 dollars in boxes at shows and hobby shops.

I use sometimes different approaches and solutions than the ones suggested in the pasted link, but each of us finds what one feels comfortable with eventually.

Hope this helps.

 

Edited by Moa
Re-posting a bad link to another Britmodeller page
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Meanwhile, more samples of kits I have built from vacs, and one I just got in the mail courtesy of a friend from Volkania, Sönke Schulz:

26193020928_7f0ea95c53_b.jpg

 

39167566505_11a45c8fd8_b.jpg

26193021068_b263829611_b.jpg

40066320621_10ca08b540_b.jpg

26193021268_54c32fe6db_b.jpg

39167566745_7f89a2ef60_b.jpg

 

This is a Broplan one, they are ok, let's say almost affluent middle-class:

26210745538_cf18211e77_b.jpg

 

26210746008_8cde192920_b.jpg

 

I have a soft spot (pun not intended) for these vacs. They have taught me a lot, and were my bridge to scratch-building.

One thing I can say with absolute certainty after building hundreds of kits of many types: vacs are not more difficult than any other media. But they require a somewhat different technique that you have to learn, in the same way that if you know how to cook a stew you may need to adapt your technique to cook a pie. And vacs are surely a part of our modeling universe, as oil paint is part of the art world. Yes, you could use acrylics, developed later, but both are valid, and oh that feeling :-)

Edited by Moa
to correct typos
  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice to see a build that starts from a vacuform and has got all the ingredients to become another treat as those you showed us!!!:clap:

I built a couple of Aeroclub vacform many years ago (a Fiat G91T and an AerMacchi MB339 and it was real fun!!!

I may consider another go sometimes...

For now I'll be watching you and learn the trade!!!;)

Ciao

Massimo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ciao, Massimo, Yasou, Christos, and woof! chocolate labs.

We continue:

Here an image of the parts you do not like to use, under any circumstances.

Their only mission is to provide the size for their replacements:

40054386632_7235123c80_b.jpg

 

The parts were given a modicum of sanding and truing.

I hate going to the gym, so I sand kits:

40054387782_f2c8b29760_b.jpg

 

Notice to the right that I have already started to rumage my supplies to get accessories:

25215089357_bc710df2f5_b.jpg

 

Obtain thin trailing edges, so your model doesn't look clunky, one of the commons pitfalls of vacs when not done quite properly:

25215088777_3ceab0ce75_b.jpg

 

This is how a part looks after some flat-sanding on the internal side:

40054387162_3a4f844cd6_b.jpg

 

Remove the pips caused by the suction during the fabrication process. Some will leave a pinhole, don't worry about it now:

25215089017_04622c8b45_b.jpg

 

Pinholes exposed by the removal of the pips. Good vac kits do not present this inconvenience, or not to this degree:

28306399589_5386a8f319_b.jpg

 

You may have noticed that I have chosen a vac quite low on the quality range, on purpose, to hopefully show how to deal with some shortcomings and boo-boos.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Notice in the photos above that Classic Plane provides the two radiators that Fokker F.IIs had, circular and "car" style (Grülich).

In the instructions they tell you -nonchalantly- that you could use the more rectangular one and fill the resulting disparity. Oh my.

That rectangularish radiator is mostly associated with a more rectilinear window arrangement.

Needless to say, research your project thoroughly before gluing anything.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The pinholes can either be filled with superglue, or blanked when they are in a row like in this case from behind with a styrene "stringer":

28307957639_1730ffc392_b.jpg

 

I added a spar to help with the wing shape, not trusting the mold:

26214608788_31f8c54f94_b.jpg

 

I made two ventilation holes to help the glue dry, in an area not visible when the model is assembled. The halves are taped together:

26214608968_68f33e2eed_b.jpg

 

Be sure that you got straight leading and trailing edges:

28307957569_db9476484b_b.jpg

 

The stab lower half is separated as indicated in the kit:

25216655877_b1bddc6c89_b.jpg

 

Pinholes filled with putty:

40056059482_e97aaeebf9_b.jpg

 

The stab parts are glued and taped:

28307957369_5e7f460d2c_b.jpg

 

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice progress!

My first vac was a Classic Planes Sopwith Tabloid, the second a Libramodels Donnet-Leveque seaplane. Both are on here, I'm looking forward to the next one!

 

Ian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the link Moa.  I have cut/pasted it to Pages and have it on my desktop as a reference.  Especially good advice on glues--as well as many possible pitfalls!  I'll have to get some thin brushable glue the next time I'm in Athens...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 02/03/2018 at 8:14 PM, limeypilot said:

I love the challenge of getting them up to standard. They provide the basic material that an old Airfix kit did, and leave the rest to the modeller.

My feelings precisely!

Following with great interest. (Perhaps your efforts will inspire me to tackle the old Rareplanes Gotha G.IV still mocking me from my stash....)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, thorfinn said:

(Perhaps your efforts will inspire me to tackle the old Rareplanes Gotha G.IV still mocking me from my stash....)

Go for it, Thorfinn!

 

We continue:

Once halves were glued, the surface is approached:

39203424225_c5a8f7ea3c_b.jpg

 

Since the quality of this one is not high, either you make the wing tip halves coincide or the rest. The chordwise panel lines will coincide at the trailing edge, but not at the leading edge. In any case all these way too prominent panel lines will be puttied, sanded and retraced anyway:

40069933612_131d92e6bc_b.jpg

 

Small surface blemishes better dealt with now:

39203424325_388748c969_b.jpg

 

39203424295_151b554f11_b.jpg

 

All parts that needed it (that is all parts) are slapped with some putty:

39203423995_510468f5a4_b.jpg

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Preparations continue:

Two spares bin seats, and a hand-made one, just to show you can do it if you need/want to:

39208437895_2f21d93163_b.jpg

 

A prop I made some time ago:

39208437695_466348535c_b.jpg

 

Bench passenger seats, beginnings of the cockpit frame:

40107767031_2b78227bce_b.jpg

 

New prop being carved, new radiator being made using a mesh cast by Matias Hagen from Argentina:

39395601874_82b954576a_b.jpg

 

New radiator in progress:

39395601784_827a79d0d2_b.jpg

 

A spares bin engine that will barely show in the model (only the rocker arm from the top) and pass as a BMW III:

26233519318_bbc96e997c_b.jpg

 

 

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great stuff! I've become a bit of a vac fan myself, completed, Sanger Bombay, Contrail Sparrow, Sanger Blackburn Iris and I have a Contrail Botha on the back burner. The challenge of making a decent model of an obscure subject is what fascinates me, can't think of anything worse than opening a box and finding all the bits there!:whistle: Still have a few in hand, Libra Bristol Fighter with different Radiator options may come out soon and a really obscure Bristol Racer (possibly the ugliest plane ever built)

Your doing a great job, look forward to more.

Almost forgot I've just bought a Sanger 1/48 Beaufort...I like to suffer!

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Stuart and Bristol Boy

So there is an active vac community out there!

 

The fabricated control wheel and assembled spares bin engine:

39409221284_e745558252_b.jpg

 

The parts so far. Some replace the kit's, some that are not provided with the kit:

25248656167_dac3cfdc24_b.jpg

 

At this point I have chosen exactly what Fokker F.II I am representing (PH-RSL, Rijksstudiedienst voor de Luchtvaart - Laboratorium Vliegtuig, a research plane), which is important, since props, radiators, wheels, windshields, window type, etc., varied between machines, even of the same type.

Once again, gather good references on your specific attempted model.

And remember that nothing replaces photos. Although they are a good help, and some times are right, I am extremely skeptic of drawings, descriptions, plans, and the like, since many times they have been proven wrong, and that also goes for my machine, of which I have found online some inaccurate assumptions.

 

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...