Handley Page HP42/45, Contrail vacuformed 1/72

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Offending bits out:

 

 The little area behind the hatch is restored, and a new hatch made.
I may leave the hatch out, as during refurbishing or maintenance, to grant more visual access to the interior:

[Courageous]

Fantastic work Moa, you make it look so easy. 

 

Stuart

[Marklo]

Tis a big beastie and looks extremely challenging, but as ever lovely work going on.

 

BTW this is my Zepplin Stakken a good 1918 one, not the more modern monoplane you posted (I do very few of these lately). It's headed for 40 years old  and I've been eyeing tehe copy of Scale Model magazine with the build in it and  the dangerous side of my inner modeler is tempting me to open the box and just take a look........

Edited April 8, 2019 by Marklo

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

4 hours ago, Marklo said:

Tis a big beastie and looks extremely challenging, but as ever lovely work going on.

 

BTW this is my Zepplin Stakken a good 1918 one, not the more modern monoplane you posted (I do very few of these lately). It's headed for 40 years old  and I've been eyeing tehe copy of Scale Model magazine with the build in it and  the dangerous side of my inner modeler is tempting me to open the box and just take a look........

Hi Marklo

I neither build nor enjoy military planes (or stuff) of any kind, but the RVI was briefly used after the war to transport passengers, if I recall correctly with the same paint scheme that it used during service.

I have a folder on it (I can't access it at the moment).

I almost bought Roden's rendition, but its price finally deterred me (and the thought that I got plenty of kits)

 

 

 

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Next task is the wings. Their sheer size posits some discomfort at the time of sanding the trailing edges and truing the leading edges:

 

The top upper wing offers a dubious solution, the leading edge wraps around a bit:

 

You are supposed to do this (from the kit's instructions):

 

But the vacuum draw of this feature has created a thin and very fragile leading edge that came pre-craked on my sample:

 

Thus I will have to mend the leading edge from inside with some styrene rod, which also will confer some rigidity:

 

Bear in mind that if you want to cut free and use the slats deployed (I will) you have to deal with that avoiding the reinforcement there:

 

To true that leading edge is not an easy feat, given its fragility and flimsiness, and the difficulty to do it evenly on half-meter span wing. I call that "solutions that create problems that need more solutions", and I believe this is how problems procreate and disseminate:

 

Also bear in mind that the lower part of the wing has to coincide at the trailing edge, so I advice you use it to trace a line on the reverted leading edge as a guide to where to stop sanding or cutting it.
I am not particularly fond of the engineering solutions in this kit:

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

A rod is cut and bent to follow the dihedral, later to be glued against the leading edge:

 

 The slats are cut away (the area will have to be later dealt with, bridging the gap between leading edge and wing with a piece of curved styrene sheet to account for what is underneath the slat):

 

Since the kit does not provide patterns for the spar or wheel axle (in spite of mentioning that you should create them), a photocopy of the plan is used as a guide.
The instructions, now that I am paying more attention to them, are almost laughable and of course fuzzy and uncertain (the spar for the lower wing comes to mind), as it seems to be the tradition on kit-making, with very few and honorable exceptions:

[Courageous]

It's fascinating to watch you experiment and solve these kit issues.

 

Stuart

[Marklo]

Quote

I neither build nor enjoy military planes (or stuff) of any kind,

Which is a position that I would totally respect . I am a total pacifist and consider violence a failure of civilization/society, but I find military history and by extension militaria fascinating.  My only exclusion is that I try to avoid Luftwaffe schemes for Luftwaffe aircraft as my family isn't too keen on seeing the (ahem ) tail markings hence the captured Fw190 and the Spanish Civil war Stuka. There's a certain irony as I have Jewish ancestry and am OK in building them (but obviously not with the associated history) 

Edited April 9, 2019 by Marklo

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

To fabricate the lower part of the slats, a thin styrene sheet is carefully bent:

 

They are separated at the middle of the bend and glued to the slats. Once the glue has set, the excess will be trimmed, and the trailing edge thinned:

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

To fabricate the lower part of the slats, a thin styrene sheet is carefully bent:

 

They are separated at the middle of the bend and glued to the slats. Once the glue has set, the excess will be trimmed, and the trailing edge thinned:

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

A three-part spliced spar made of light plywood is fabricated:

 

Then superglued to the top upper wing:

 

The two lower wing halves are glued, and the slats (two spares) are ready to tidy-up:

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

The top wing is assembled, using epoxy on the top of the spar and normal plastic cement on the periphery. Care is needed here to avoid introducing warpage. Wing must be checked from front and back, and work out any deviations. Not easy with that span:

[Stevejj]

Having never built a vac- formed kit I am following with interest, now you have started the wings I can see that my personal skill levels 

would not be up to the job! I am looking forward to watching progress and am envious of your skills Moa. 

Best wishes 

Steve

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

The upper wing engine fairing halves are glued together. Being prepared you can see the "triangles" that lodge the rods that connect with the slats, pivoting and allowing for its movement:

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

On 4/10/2019 at 2:04 PM, Stevejj said:

Having never built a vac- formed kit I am following with interest, now you have started the wings I can see that my personal skill levels 

would not be up to the job! I am looking forward to watching progress and am envious of your skills Moa. 

Best wishes 

Steve

Hi Steve

Most vacuformed kits do not have the complexity (or size) of this one, and are much simpler, not requiring many of the tricks and fixes you see here.

They do require attention and care, and learn one thing or two, but any kit does, in any media.

Don't feel discouraged for what you see here, au contraire mon ami, if you felt curious looking at this, and never built a vac before, grab a very simple, inexpensive one (they are usually in boxes for a few bucks at model shows or hobby shops) and practice.

Vacs are the ugly ducklings of kits, but, like the proverbial ugly duckling, they can become a beautiful swam, with some patience and practice.

Cheers

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

I used to consider research superfluous, thinking -in my blissful naiveté- that kit manufacturers dutifully studied their subjects.

How deeply disappointed I became after a time, discovering that many of them actually almost never go beyond the very superfluous, not to mention trying to depict something accurately.
The bright side of this is that in committing to do some research for my modeling projects, I discovered a universe of history, engineering, wonderful anecdotes and the incontrovertible fact that many things that are considered true are Mickey Mouse fantasies, blatant generalizations, bogus assumptions and hand-me-down misconceptions.
Research has become for me entertaining, exciting and pleasurable, not a duty or a burden.
And speaking of which: on this photo I found two small auxiliary struts, that are seen in only some of the HP42/45, and not consistently on the same machines through time. Visible on this image is the only roof feature, a vent, instead of the truckload of tin cans and intakes, outlets and such normally seen in this area on HP42/45s.

Of note is that the circular porthole in the area of the ladies washroom appears partially covered in many planes, or later on time on the same plane, no doubt to preserve the ladies from the curiosity of...birds? stowaways hanging from the wing struts?, hum perhaps from indiscreet sights form the maintenance crew during pit stops...ah...an euphemism, in the case of one of the sides of this story.
Study your subject...and study it along its lifetime, things may change...

[pheonix]

12 minutes ago, Moa said:

the incontrovertible fact that many things that are considered true are Mickey Mouse fantasies, blatant generalizations, bogus assumptions and hand-me-down misconceptions.

....and not just in modelling. It is also true in many other areas of life, including academia, where group think and politics have a big influence on what people think or believe. Research is essential to anyone who wants to know the facts - and sometimes that takes quite a lot of time and effort to go to original sources. However it is worthwhile: but the researcher has then to be prepared to withstand the critics who believe what they have read in text books or been told by the "experts", (where x = unknown quantity, spurt = drip under pressure).

 

You do work at great speed Moa - what you have done in a few days would have taken me weeks! Wonderful attention to the finer detiails too, and of course, the skill to put the details in place.

 

P

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

The area behind the slats is filled with a "ribbed" piece of styrene:

 

Both areas now done, and waiting for later refining:

 

 

 Since the wing is now "closed", and the cement is still venting, holes are drilled where the engine gondolas will later be to help with evaporation of the solvent (in turn, when the engine gondolas are cemented, the vapor will vent towards inside the wing):

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

7 hours ago, pheonix said:

You do work at great speed Moa - what you have done in a few days would have taken me weeks!

Hi P

I think it is more that after many models and the associated problem-solving, tasks become much easier, and practical solutions present themselves or are remembered and applied.

I always say that the more you build the easier and faster it becomes, as in any other field of our lives, but many modelers are deterred by fear of messing up. The fact is, the more you mess up, the more you learn, and the less you mess up.

Doing is the only way of learning and becoming confident and resourceful, not so much talking about what may be done or how may be done, or buying more stuff, or start yet another kit leaving the half-way casualties behind unattended.

P, what I can say but more "Ps": Persistence, patience, practice. No secrets, I have no more time than any other mortal*, have to work, cook, repair, do the shopping, take care of the plants, like all of us (well, not the Martian, he is a lazy bum that uses mind control telekinesis all the time, against the mandate of Mrs Martian).

Cheers

 

*My real advantage: I have no pets, and my sons are grown ups. And now that I live in this overpopulated place I have just the one hobby, this one, having basically given up my free-flight and radio-controlled modeling, impossible to practice here in any meaningful or really enjoyable way. **

 

** Oh, the prairies of my youth: a vast green space all to ourselves, no freaking insurance, no stupid city permits, no rules other than common sense, chivalry, good manners, no waiting in long lines to fly for 5 minutes... just a small bunch of modelers, our hand-made models (not ready-made, "ready-to-fly", bought crap), the breeze, the sun (or the fog, or the rain, more the better), the sandwiches, the soft and meaningful talk, the models up there in the sky, the laughter and the joy, the children playing with their little models... forever gone, I am afraid.

Sorry, got carried away for a moment there 😉

I was saying I have only one hobby now, and that also simplifies things and focuses the energy.

Cheers!

 

[Martian]

3 hours ago, Moa said:

P, what I can say but more "Ps": Persistence, patience, practice. No secrets, I have no more time than any other mortal*, have to work, cook, repair, do the shopping, take care of the plants, like all of us (well, not the Martian, he is a lazy bum that uses mind control telekinesis all the time, against the mandate of Mrs Martian).

You try being an alien on this wretched planet of yours. Have you ever tried to fix a Haunebu here? I mean, 33.9 million miles minimum to the nearest parts shop, more if only the Clangers have the bit I need in stock. I have to try and keep a certain @general melchett of this parish under control for the general good, Heaven knows what mess I going to have tidy up on my threads when I get back, having left him in charge. Shopping can involve a 67.8 million mile round trip for such essentials as Mars burgers, blue beans, Mars Old Scrotum ale and the ingredients for Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters. Then there's the hassle of being expected to come up with a different party frock for Telford each year. And while all this is going on I have to try and keep out of trouble with Mrs Martian (yes aliens have the same issues as you Earth husbands) I don't know how I cope, I really don't! 

 

Overworked of Mars 👽

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Having finished my current Milliput supply, I got out a spare I had in a drawer, from about two years ago, only to find that it was...

rock solid.

As we all know, this useful product carries a price tag that does not exactly make you smile, so not a good thing that the shelf life seems so short.

As usual, and before we cast aspersions, it must be said that nobody knows how long was this sitting at the hobby store before I got it, but can't be that long. I don't see cobwebs or tea stains on it.

Disappointed, and now having to cough more dollars for a replacement.

I hear Martians eat them like candy bars. No account for taste.

Sigh...

 

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

12 hours ago, Martian Hale said:

Have you ever tried to fix a Haunebu here?

That happens to you for trying to use despicable nazis' crap.  Until now I thought better of Martians.

 

 

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

15 minutes ago, Moa said:

Having finished my current Milliput supply, I got out a spare I had in a drawer, from about two years ago, only to find that it was...

rock solid.

As we all know, this useful product carries a price tag that does not exactly make you smile, so not a good thing that the shelf life seems so short.

As usual, and before we cast aspersions, it must be said that nobody knows how long was this sitting at the hobby store before I got it, but can't be that long. I don't see cobwebs or tea stains on it.

Disappointed, and now having to cough more dollars for a replacement.

I hear Martians eat them like candy bars. No account for taste.

Sigh...

 

And the hard cold truth from Milliput website:

 

Storage and Shelf Life

Milliput will have a storage life of approximately 2 years providing it is stored in cool, dry conditions. Place unused epoxy putty in polythene bags and re-seal. Storage at high temperatures or high humidity may reduce shelf life.

We know customers have softened Milliput by placing it in a microwave on defrost for a few seconds (although this is a practice we could not endorse).

 

[bigbadbadge]

On 4/7/2019 at 10:10 PM, Tomoshenko said:

Plausibility sir, and you're nailing it.Loving this build.

As Tomoshenko said, you certainly are nailing it, this is a cracker of a build.

Keep up the great work Moa.

All the best

Chris

[dogsbody]

To quote The Travelling Wilburys, put it in a cool dry place.

 

 

 

Chris