1/96 LINDBERG Avro Vulcan B.Mk 1

[adey m]

It is amazing how a model can remind me of a certain time and place or event in my past, a tune playing on the radio or a programme on the television perhaps while I was building a certain model.

 

One of these is the 1/96 model Avro Vulcan.

 

It is the summer of 1969, I am 9 years old and each pupil in our village Primary School class is given an uncoloured line drawing of Sparky the Fire Dog to colour in to enter into a competition to promote a Fire Safety campaign.

 

 

I set to it with my set of colouring pencils and handed it in the next day to our teacher. A while later I was told that I was one of the winners of the competition.

 

I remember turning up at school one sunny, warm morning in my best clothes, and myself and the other winner then being collected by two RAF Officers in a RAF Ford Cortina from nearby RAF Bawdsey radar base where my dad worked and driven to Ipswich Fire Station where we were shown around the fire engines and had lunch with the firemen in their canteen.

Afterwards we were driven to RAF Wattisham which was home to BAC Lightnings at the time. We were shown around the RAF Fire and Crash trucks, I remember climbing up into a big six wheeler Thorneycroft Crash Truck and sitting on the engine housing. We then set off around the perimeter of the airfield to the fire dump at the far side while I held onto anything I could, I still remember the almost unbearable heat and noise in the crew cab from the engine. We got out and stood a safe distance from an old Javelin while the fire trucks drove off. They set fire to the Javelin and the flames and heat were incredible. Then the fire trucks appeared at speed and put the fire out with foam. We were then allowed to play in an intact silver and day-glo Bristol Sycamore helicopter which was probably destined for a similar fate to the poor Javelin.

 

We were driven back to the Crash section where I was given a very hot cup of tea in the crew rest room. While I sat there trying not to burn my mouth I was looking at a large collection of model aircraft which were mounted to one wall in the middle of which was a camouflaged Vulcan. It could have been either the FROG or Lindberg one, I do not remember now whether it had straight or kinked wings but I have never forgotten that Vulcan model on the wall of the Wattisham crash crew rest room.

 

Fast forward about twenty five years later and a fellow member of our model club gave me a Lindberg Vulcan from his collection as he was moving away.

 

 

Mine was exactly like this one. The model is based on a prototype Vulcan with the original straight wing leading edges.

 

 

Another version of the Lindberg kit

 

 

Another one

 

 

And another one

 

 

It has also been issued by Revell in the past

 

I took a few photos during the build with a 35 mm which I will share with you

 

 

Scratchbuilt cockpit with crew figures from my spares. I drilled out the cabin portholes and opened up the main entry hatch underneath.

 

 

Construction complete and now waiting to go into the paint shop. All the control surfaces in the kit are seperate and designed to move.

 

 

Here she was when newly completed. I modelled her as she appeared in a photograph in the 1956 edition of Observers Book Of Aircraft. Scratchbuilt crew entrance door and ladder. Sprayed with Halfords Aluminium over Halfords Grey primer. Brushpainted panelling and detail.

 

 

This is that photograph.

 

XA890 was later given the kinked wing of the production aircraft but she remained as a test and development aircraft.

 

However, I have decided to model her as if the Vulcan B.1s had not had their wings modified before entering operational service with the RAF.

 

I have a selection of photos of her depicted in operational service which I will post later.

 

bye for now, see you soon

 

 

Edited August 27, 2018 by adey m

[stevej60]

Beautifully done Adey love the back story too,you're right I find certain box top's or kit's  can take you right back to certain times growing

up,a Christmas present,Birthday or summer holiday,s

[KelT]

A great story. I was never fortunate enough to have models in my childhood and reading your story makes me a little envious. Nicely written and nicely built.

 

 

[adey m]

 

A publicity photo of a new Vulcan B.1 resplendent in the early silver painted scheme. This was the photograph that inspired me to finish mine in a silver scheme.

 

 

 

 

The B.1s had longer undercarriage legs than the B.2s hence the lanky appearance.

 

 

I have depicted what the aircraft may have looked like in service with the RAF Waddington Wing. She wears the RAF Waddington Badge on her tail.

 

 

 

 

Close up of the scratchbuilt crew entrance hatch. It is removeable and I also made a closed hatch.

 

 

1950s Dinky 10 Ton Pressure Refueller re-tired, glazed and repainted with Lindberg Vulcan in background.

 

 

 

Silver Valiant is a 1/144 Welsh Models vacuform kit. The refueller is an old 1950s Matchbox repainted and glazed. The white Valiant is a 1/144 Corgi diecast reworked by myself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That has been my Lindberg Avro Vulcan B.1 V-Bomber. Hope you liked it.

 

cheers, adey

 

 

 

 

Edited August 29, 2018 by adey m

[Unfinished project]

Superb as always Adey. Love the back story obviously very fond memories you have it’s funny how certain things trigger these memories and bring everything flooding back 👍👍

[Head in the clouds.]

Superb build Adey of what is I believe  a basic kit. It is always nice to have a cover story with a build, it gives it more purpose and provenance.

Your choice of colour is a pleasant change from the usual fare and a favourite of mine, now I feel the urge to have a look inside my Lindberg boxed Vulcan kit.

[MarkSH]

A lovely build and back story. You’re right about some models and modelling related stuff transporting you back to a particular time and place, a very evocative post, thanks.

[matti64]

Love it, fantastic builds and diorama, most evocative. the background storry was good to hear other than what to me would have been the traumatic imoliation of the Javellin. Seeing a Javellin was the high spot of my ATC camp visit to Sculthorpe to see the Victors which were operating from there while Marham Runway was being resurfaced.#

 

[Lord Riot]

Brilliant Vulcan, and the diorama set with Valiants!

[ColinChipmunkfan]

Great story again Adey and the model is really well finished.  The photos using multi scale aircraft are very effective. The only Javelin I ever saw on an RAF station was the red and white test machine which flew into Coltishall.

[CMSCHLOM]

That is awesome!  Lindberg was in Skokie, Illinois, not far from where I grew up in Park Ridge.  In Morton Grove, was the Monogram factory, a few miles away, then, the HAWK model factory, in Norridge, where my future wife lived right behind that factory.  Could you imagine going dumpster diving for all the kits that didn't pass QC!  Also Testors was in Rockford, a bit of a ways away.  

[RMCS]

Superb. I r ember diving under my table at school when the early warning sirens went off

[bentwaters81tfw]

Very nice job of a very basic kit. I built one years ago and camo'd it. It got scrapped.

Surprisingly there is another box of said kit a mere foot from my elbow. It is being 'reworked' into something a little more representative.  

[Pete in Lincs]

Another splendid build, pictures and story.

Thanks, Adey.

 

 

[Ray S]

Hello Adey, another excellent offering, and a wonderful story to go with it too!

 

Cheers my friend,

 

Ray

[Viking]

A great bit of nostalgia, and model!

 

Cheers

 

John

[cherry268]

Lovely models, thanks for posting them

[Mancunian airman]

Fine modelled example of the early Vulcan, great build and finish .

Ian

[jeaton01]

Thanks, Adey, very enjoyable read.

[At Sea]

Lovely back story, brilliant build.  I love breathing life into these old kits. 

[Uncle Pete]

Another belter, there, Adey.  Beautiful.  Smashing backstory, too.  When I was working cruise ships we all had to have a bit of fire training (just enough to make us REALLY dangerous) and when in a training session I climbed into a full smoke-diving rig I gained a sudden massive respect for firefighters over and above what I already had... Just standing still in it is exhausting, let alone performing physical labour.

[F-32]

You've made an absolutely magnificent job of that!