Vickers Wellesley Mk. I LRDU - Valom 1/72

[dogsbody]

A bit late on this one, but I've been away for awhile. Looks like Valom's got the engine PE instructions butt-end to. The two PE bits form  triangle struts that are the exhaust collector ring supports.

 

 

 

 

 

Chris

 

Edited October 19, 2018 by dogsbody

[The Spadgent]

Excellent progress Mr B. Keep it at a pace. I’m enjoying the new relaxed Ced. I don’t miss entire builds while I’m busy with other none modelling things. ☺️

Edited October 20, 2018 by The Spadgent

[Martian]

Pavla do a canopy for the Matchbox kit which, seeing as you want the canopy open, should fit the bill.

 

Martian 👽

[Putty Animal]

My very expensive copy of the Warpaint monograph on the Wellesley arrived today.  Thanks entirely to this lovely build. 

[Martian]

If I wasn't banned, I would have been up in the loft extracting my kit from the stash.

 

Martian 👽 (Falling through ceilings since 2018)

[CedB]

On 18/10/2018 at 12:12, Courageous said:

'cos he's got a fat a**e.

Looks like you've got a batch of new recruits, I need to source myself some of them for all era's.

 

Plunge molding a sliding canopy, gotta watch this.

 

Stuart

Oi! Oh, the pilot figure, I'll let you off  Some smaller bottomed figures will be painted...

On 18/10/2018 at 13:24, giemme said:

Absolutely yes!  

 

Ciao

On 18/10/2018 at 13:30, keefr22 said:

I'm with Giorgio!

 

K

On 18/10/2018 at 15:40, perdu said:

And what do you think I think?

 

Haven't you done it yet?

 

Dohhhh....

OK, I'll try some plunging... gulp  

 

On 18/10/2018 at 13:34, amblypygid said:

The Sqn Ldr Kellett of 303 Squadron fame?

 

 

Pavla do a vac-form canopy for the Matchbox kit; could that be useful as a back-up?

Thanks Chris - I'm not sure if it's the same Kellett but seems likely?

 

On 18/10/2018 at 19:28, dogsbody said:

A bit late on this one, but I've been away for awhile. Looks like Valom's got the engine PE instructions butt-end to. The two PE bits form  triangle struts that are the exhaust collector ring supports.

 

[snip photos]

Chris

 

Thanks Chris - great shots  Looks like the instructions are off then.

On 18/10/2018 at 21:32, The Spadgent said:

Excellent progress Mr B. Keep it at a pace. I’m enjoying the new relaxed Ced. I don’t miss entire builds while I’m busy with other none modelling things. ☺️

Thanks Johnny. Life is getting in the way a bit - haircuts, lunches, quiz nights, eye checks... and painting pilots. Oh, and a ride along with the local Police (see below).

On 18/10/2018 at 23:10, Martian Hale said:

Pavla do a canopy for the Matchbox kit which, seeing as you want the canopy open, should fit the bill.

 

Martian 👽

Thanks Martian - I'll try the plunging and hold that in reserve  

On 19/10/2018 at 11:13, Putty Animal said:

My very expensive copy of the Warpaint monograph on the Wellesley arrived today.  Thanks entirely to this lovely build. 

I'll take any credit I can get!  

On 19/10/2018 at 23:02, Martian Hale said:

If I wasn't banned, I would have been up in the loft extracting my kit from the stash.

 

Martian 👽 (Falling through ceilings since 2018)

Watch our Martian - we don't want any more accidents!   

 

 

Just back from a 'ride along' with the boys people in blue tonight courtesy of our local constabulary's PR exercises. I had a choice of shifts (0700-1600, 1700-0300 or 2200-0700 - brutal eh?) so, in order to get the best view of 'modern policing' I went for the Saturday night 1700-0300 shift. PC Coles had been emailing me to arrange the trip but I hadn't expected this:

 

Flickr

 

I know! Fancy having to wear a high-vis jacket! Poppy and her partner Mich(elle) took me into the briefing and then we were off trying to track down a local baddy. Driving along a local road they noticed a BMW coming towards us and going a bit too fast and the driver (a young girl) wasn't wearing her seat belt. She saw us stop and reverse and was off -the chase was on just like Police Interceptors! After a brief chase we saw her down a side road having turned off her lights. But she had her foot on the brake and the brake lights were on. Duh. Unaccompanied learner driver, dubious insurance, the girlfriend of a local drug dealer. Car seized. Exciting. I bottled out after the meal break and got home about 1230. Lightweight.

 

Hopefully I'll get a good night's sleep and get some modelling done in the morning.

Night all

[Andwil]

Now she could put me under close arrest any time!

 

AW

[Biggles87]

Looking forward to the model of police car and lady driver. What scale will it be?

 

John

 

PS were you wearing your Spitfire boots?

[Spookytooth]

Oh well, next job then Ced.

 

 

Simon.

[bbudde]

Why did I thought about this, when I saw you as a cop :

 

[TheBaron]

I'm not around for a few days and return to find DI Ced re-enacting 'Hot Fuzz'! 🚔

Dear Lord but that lassie looks too young to be in harm's way.

They ain't paid enough for what they have to do.

 

Sorry to hear of the frustrations of the Wellesley but you will - as always - prevail mon ami.

 

 

[Martian]

21 hours ago, CedB said:

 PC Coles had been emailing me to arrange the trip but I hadn't expected this:

 

 

You jammy bugger! how on earth did you land that gig? 

 

Jealous of Mars 👽

[hendie]

21 hours ago, CedB said:

Just back from a 'ride along' with the boys people in blue tonight courtesy of our local constabulary's PR exercises.

 

PR exercise was it?   And you're sticking with that are you?

 

The way things are going around here, if I disappear for another couple of days I'm going to come back to find you've been elected to parliament

 

 

[CedB]

On 21/10/2018 at 02:34, Andwil said:

Now she could put me under close arrest any time!

 

AW

Now then AW, that's the sort of talk that can get you arrested nowadays! I'm not the most p.c. of people to be honest and when Poppy told me that 'they' are considering adding Ginger to the hate crime list I was not surprised...   

On 21/10/2018 at 06:28, Biggles87 said:

Looking forward to the model of police car and lady driver. What scale will it be?

 

John

 

PS were you wearing your Spitfire boots?

That would  make the mind boggle  

Yes they are the same 'Spitfire' footwear (well spotted) but they're just shoes - my go to pair when 'sensible footwear' is required. Imagine scratching your brogues during such adventures! Unthinkable!  

On 21/10/2018 at 11:09, Spookytooth said:

Oh well, next job then Ced.

 

[Sweeney video nicked]

 

Simon.

Thanks Simon  Not for me, too old and grumpy. Unless, of course, they're looking for good citizens to start a new 'taser the toe rag' squad…

19 hours ago, bbudde said:

Why did I thought about this, when I saw you as a cop :

[snip video]

Cripes Ben, I'm flattered!  I did used to see myself as a bit of a Mel Gibson; in his earlier films, of course. Pre-Brave Heart. Like me, he's gone downhill since then IMHO.

15 hours ago, TheBaron said:

I'm not around for a few days and return to find DI Ced re-enacting 'Hot Fuzz'! 🚔

Dear Lord but that lassie looks too young to be in harm's way.

They ain't paid enough for what they have to do.

 

Sorry to hear of the frustrations of the Wellesley but you will - as always - prevail mon ami.

 

Thanks Tony  26 she is - yes, the Police are looking younger by the day. 

They do get a lot of stick nowadays and my ride along confirmed what I suspected from the TV documentaries - they spend a lot of their time compensating for 'holes' in other services.

Such is modern society I guess (but I still think the taser squad is a good idea…)

Wellesley progress has been made (see below)

13 hours ago, Martian Hale said:

You jammy bugger! how on earth did you land that gig? 

 

Jealous of Mars 👽

 Apply! Avon and Somerset do a 'ride along scheme' but I couldn't find one on the Devon and Cornwall site; perhaps if you ask nicely?

12 hours ago, hendie said:

 

PR exercise was it?   And you're sticking with that are you?

 

The way things are going around here, if I disappear for another couple of days I'm going to come back to find you've been elected to parliament

 

 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it… officer  Parliament? Nah. Although as Douglas Adams says the last person to put in power is someone who wants to do it.

 

 

Right, I've been away from the bench for far too long, time to plunge into some moulding - gulp.

I've re-read Trevor's advice and Bill's here and here; thanks again guys. I think I'm ready. Dangerous.

 

The kit part is too small so should be a good 'buck'. It's also quite stiff (fnaar!) so I reckon BluTak will be good enough for the packing:

 

 

Flickr

 

Made sure that the 'tak didn't spread out past the edges.

Tools at the ready:

 

 

That's an old 'paint remover' heat gun. You can tell it's old 'cos it smells dusty when turned on AND it says 'Made in England' on the box.

 

For newbies to this I'll explain what happened and experienced plungers can comment.

The gun is quite hot (1kw) so I waved it about - you can see the plastic deforming if you leave it in one place too long.

What I was told to look for was the plastic 'drooping'. I'm used to that, but the first time I didn't let it droop enough AND I didn't pull the plastic together under the buck so although this looked OK:

 

 

… when I trimmed it out roughly with scissors the bottom was crinkly (used to that too, snurf snurf):

 

 

 

Second attempt.

This time I applied more heat and could see the plastic trying to flatten itself and getting very droopy. I pulled it down AND in at the bottom:

 

 

Roughly cut out with the scissors you can see the bottom frames are OK this time:

 

 

Using a new #10a I trimmed around the kit part, very carefully. Happy with this:

 

 

Of course the proof of the pudding:

 

 

 

Happy with that. I'll have to think about the framing, but I'm much more confident now that I can plunge mould canopies.

Thanks guys for all the help  

 

P.s. make sure you don't heat up the bulldog clips. Just saying

[Biggles87]

That looks like a good idea Ced and one that I could use for the rear canopy of my forthcoming  TR IX if I can get some accurate dimensions. Now, how can I persuade  SWMBO that she need a heat gun?

 

John

[Spookytooth]

Nice work on the plunge moulding sir.

Another addition to the tool collection, or should I say look what I found!!!

 

Simon.

[giemme]

1 hour ago, CedB said:

P.s. make sure you don't heat up the bulldog clips. Just saying

I always use thermal gloves when doing plunge or vacuum molding  

Anyway: looks pretty good for a first time  , I just think you are using a too thick of a clear plastic. The kind of plastic is also very important, if you can get hold of some R-PET or G-PET you'll see it's much more controllable in terms of heating it.

 

As for the framing, I used alu tape for that kind of job.

 

Ciao

[TheBaron]

Plunged with aplomb. Nice one Ced!

[perdu]

Hmm

 

Take ten points

Extract er, hmm, er zero because lessons well learnt

 

Ten outa ten baby

 

Passed stage one, well done

 

 

Next framing off the moulded piece

Whilst still hot run thumbnail along the frame lines both sides

 

 

And also copy the procedure with plasticard that you can cut out to make a frame, as in my Sherpabuild

 

Another fun process to play with

 

 

[Martian]

2 hours ago, CedB said:

P.s. make sure you don't heat up the bulldog clips. Just saying

I wonder how Ced found that out! 

 

Martian 👽

[keefr22]

2 hours ago, CedB said:

P.s. make sure you don't heat up the bulldog clips. Just saying

 

I spent all afternoon yesterday plunge moulding replacement canopies for my CMR Buccaneer (the kit ones look like the crew had a 60 a day Woodbine habit!) and I'd forgotten about that. Until I did it once! Then got my gardening gloves and soaked them with cold water- the welding gauntlets were a bit bulky!

 

Must say you had better luck with the heat gun than I did, but I was using the missus' 'craft' one - it probably has less power than a proper one. Used the smallest ring on the gas hob and had instant success!

 

Your canopy looks very good!

 

Keith

[CedB]

3 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

That looks like a good idea Ced and one that I could use for the rear canopy of my forthcoming  TR IX if I can get some accurate dimensions. Now, how can I persuade  SWMBO that she need a heat gun?

 

John

Aha! Buy a hot paint stripper and she'll think you're going to do some DIY!  

2 hours ago, Spookytooth said:

Nice work on the plunge moulding sir.

Another addition to the tool collection, or should I say look what I found!!!

 

Simon.

Thanks Simon  

2 hours ago, giemme said:

I always use thermal gloves when doing plunge or vacuum molding  

Anyway: looks pretty good for a first time  , I just think you are using a too thick of a clear plastic. The kind of plastic is also very important, if you can get hold of some R-PET or G-PET you'll see it's much more controllable in terms of heating it.

 

As for the framing, I used alu tape for that kind of job.

 

Ciao

Thanks Giorgio - thin enough for this one but I'll look some out, along with the foil  

2 hours ago, TheBaron said:

Plunged with aplomb. Nice one Ced!

Thanks Tony  

2 hours ago, perdu said:

Hmm

 

Take ten points

Extract er, hmm, er zero because lessons well learnt

 

Ten outa ten baby

 

Passed stage one, well done

 

 

Next framing off the moulded piece

Whilst still hot run thumbnail along the frame lines both sides

 

 

And also copy the procedure with plasticard that you can cut out to make a frame, as in my Sherpabuild

[snip picture]

 

Another fun process to play with

 

 

Thanks Bill, especially for the step by step.  

1 hour ago, Martian Hale said:

I wonder how Ced found that out! 

 

Martian 👽

 Luckily it was just warm...

1 hour ago, keefr22 said:

 

I spent all afternoon yesterday plunge moulding replacement canopies for my CMR Buccaneer (the kit ones look like the crew had a 60 a day Woodbine habit!) and I'd forgotten about that. Until I did it once! Then got my gardening gloves and soaked them with cold water- the welding gauntlets were a bit bulky!

 

Must say you had better luck with the heat gun than I did, but I was using the missus' 'craft' one - it probably has less power than a proper one. Used the smallest ring on the gas hob and had instant success!

 

Your canopy looks very good!

 

Keith

Thanks Keith - see advice to john above?  

 

 

Primer on:

 

Flickr

 

Finally  

[giemme]

 Super smooth in her black primer!  

 

Ciao

[bbudde]

As above, yep.

[dogsbody]

That's a nice looking vise you've got there, Ced. I have something similar that I bought at a hardware store 20+ years ago. I epoxied a couple strips of some black rubber gasket material to the jaw plates so I can firmly grip styrene without damaging the plastic.

 

 

 

Chris