Jump to content

Contrail 1/72 Vickers Vildebeest vacform - Finished!


Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, Patrik said:

Hi Jon,

I hope I am not too late. Since you are doing a Mk. III, please be aware of the actual rear gun arrangement. It is wrong in most scale drawings, including the drawings in the kit. Have a look here for more.

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234997638-vildebeest-mk-iv-–-special-hobby-172-restored-links/&tab=comments#comment-2267407

 

The cabinet scraper (though kidney scarper sounds like far cooler instrument🙂) is a marvelous tool indeed. Razor thin trailing edges in a minute (or so).

Patrik

Not too late, Patrik, and thanks for the pointer. I haven’t got that far yet, so I’ll have a good look through the link. I’ll also be looking closely at as many photos as I can find.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Courageous said:

Coming along nicely Jon, good attention to detail.:yes:

Sorry for a little thread drift, @Patrik, can you tell if the same gun mount was fitted to the Fairey Seafox?

 

Stuart

 

Positive, Stuart. I posted a picture in your Seafox(es) thread.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, this is still looking really rough...

 

I sanded off the wart-like gun blister, which left a hole that I squared off and filled with a plastic card blank. I then cut a slot to remove the gun trough and cemented in a piece of plastic tube. Once dry, this was sanded flush to create a nice smooth new gun trough...

 

...which, I then noticed, was about 5mm too low.  After muttered curses about vacforms I cemented a piece of rod into the nice smooth new gun trough and cut a new slot for another piece of tube in a more accurate location:

 

20190423_205541

 

I had previously filled all the kit panel lines with stretched sprue and smears of filler then, once everything had cured, I sanded the fuselage smooth. I then drew the majority of the panel lines in pencil and then used a needle to scribe them - a task that I really don't enjoy and am not very good at. The sanding has left the fuselage sidewalls quite thin, so I have to be careful.

 

The cockpit and gunner's compartment haven't yet been cut out so the parts retain maximum rigidity. I have a bit of external detailing to add, as well as rubbing the gun barrel trough shenanigans smooth, then it will be time to work out what to put on the inside.

 

But it does look really rough!

 

Jon

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There. That's a bit better:

 

20190424_203225

 

I've spent a satisfactory couple of hours today replacing a speedometer cable and speedo backlight in a Citroën 2CV (yup, that's pretty random), so I haven't made much progress on the Vildebeest. I've decided to press on with the interior and leave the exterior details until after the fuselage halves are joined. So, now to work out what a Vildebest interior looked like!

Jon

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning's efforts, while trying to summon up enthusiasm to go for a training run (10k race in 3 weeks) in the rain:

 

20190425_114436

 

Plenty more to do, but the rain has stopped - for now - and my conscience is winning. Aren't days off great?*

Jon

 

(*If I ignore the list of domestic jobs.)

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A little (but only a little) more progress made on the Vildebeest.  I've opened up the gunner's position following the top tips in Patrik's link above, and I have added some more interior detail. I haven't done much in the gunner's compartment yet, but I decided to give it all a blast of grey primer just to see it from a different perspective:

 

20190429_205828

 

The aiming hatch area under the pilot's seat isn't entirely accurate, but it will be hidden quite deeply so it will do for me.  Adding the frames to the fuselage halves is quite straightforward, though it will mean that the various lateral crossframe pieces, which I haven't yet added except for the cockpit seat mount, will be awkward to fit convincingly when I join the two halves. They will be quite visible through the crew openings. The original, of course, was put together using a box frame around which the exterior was constructed.

 

The curved-back vacform seats would look okay in the cabin of an Anson but bear absolutely no resemblance to the genuine Vildebeest pilot's seat. The white metal seats are slabby squared-off things, unlike either the vacform seats or the original item, and are quite roughly cast, so I decided to scratchbuild the pilot's seat using online photos from a New Zealand restoration project:

 

20190429_205804

 

The scratchbuilt pilot's instrument panel is still a work-in-progress, but the basic layout is there.

 

There are a few bits still to add in the cockpit, such as the rudder pedals, and then it will be on to the gunner's compartment.

 

Jon

Edited by Jonners
  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

More 'slowly-but-surely' bits 'n bobs done. Here's what the interior currently looks like:

 

20190504_224147

 

The scratchbuilt instrument panel isn't playing ball, as I managed to get clear varnish where I didn't want it. The heel supports for the pilot's feet are too high - I haven't put pedals in yet and they wouldn't be visible anyway - but it isn't obvious through the cockpit opening. The silver frame structure needs touching up after I added a second coat of light grey to the walls, but that won't take long, and the gunner's instrument panel needs a bit of work.  I'm sure that there is plenty more detail that I could add, but life's too short!

 

Closed up, the fuselage looks like this:

 

20190504_224236

 

The white plastic tube below the cockpit is intended to receive a metal rod that I will try to mount in each lower wing leading edge to help with strength and alignment, and will be cut and sanded flush once the fuselage halves are joined.

 

20190504_224300

 

The rear gun mounting stubs will have to be re-done, as one is quite out of alignment. Not a major issue.

 

Meanwhile, I've been using my shiny new cabinet scraper to help with those wing trailing edges. The lower wing has been glued and clamped in an effort to prevent any warping:

 

20190504_224116

 

It is in one piece with no dihedral. The Vildebeest lower wing wasn't a single-piece unit as each wing was joined separately to the fuselage, as far as I can tell, as there was a short level inboard section before the dihedral started a couple of feet out from the fuselage. Reproducing this will obviously necessitate some cutting, but I'll get a decent one-piece wing first before I start hacking if up.

 

The moulded ribs are pretty rubbish: wobbly, ovescale, different heights and thicknesses and they go out of alignment between top and bottom surfaces. I'll probably have to sand them off and re-do them in a more restrained manner; again, a solid one-piece wing will be the best starting point for this.

 

Philosophical question: why am I spending precious time fettling little bits of plastic to create something that will be seen by hardly anyone, and be of very little interest to most of the few that will see it? Hmmm...

 

Jon

  • Like 11
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Jonners said:

Philosophical question: why am I spending precious time fettling little bits of plastic to create something that will be seen by hardly anyone, and be of very little interest to most of the few that will see it? Hmmm...

You have gone mad like the rest of us.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Jonners said:

20190504_224300

 

For all who do Vildebeest from SH kit (including me)  you show how the gunner position of Mk III should looks like! 

Very nice build so far!

Cheers

J-W

 

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, JWM said:

For all who do Vildebeest from SH kit (including me)  you show how the gunner position of Mk III should looks like! 

Very nice build so far!

Cheers

J-W

 

 

Thanks, J-W, but credit should go to Patrik who showed me what it should look like via the link to his SH kit build thread! Mine is only 'sort-of' what it should look like, but it's close enough for me!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/5/2019 at 12:34 AM, Jonners said:

Philosophical question: why am I spending precious time fettling little bits of plastic to create something that will be seen by hardly anyone, and be of very little interest to most of the few that will see it? Hmmm...

 

Because it's a splendid hobby, you're doing something out of the ordinary, and you take justifiable pride in your work?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Very little time available for fettling plastic lately, unfortunately. As well as the usual domestic routine I've fitted electronic ignition to a Citroën 2CV, started to board a loft and practiced search procedures in Europe's biggest offshore windfarm. Variety, they say, is  the spice of life...

 

Anyway, I really wasn't happy with the Vildebeest cockpit footboards - the ones that will be scarcely visible - so I lowered them and added a rudder bar:

 

20190515_221628

 

The instrument panels for the pilot and gunner have been added. They aren't works of modelling art, but you will have to look very hard to see even part of the one in the cockpit, so they will suffice:

 

20190515_221650

 

So, that was as much as I was prepared to do for the interior. A few extra tabs were added to try to reinforce the fuselage join line, as the plastic is quite thin:

 

20190515_221717

 

The fuselage halves have now been joined and will be left to cure for a good while. The join under the fuselage seems quite vulnerable to splitting, as it's long and flat with quite thin plastic, so I'll have to take care with it:

 

20190515_222756

 

I think that should be enough tape to hold it together...

 

The internal detail should look okay once the model is finished (!):

 

20190515_222732

 

Righto, back to more real-life fun and japes for a while. Lower wing next, I think.

 

Jon

 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎05‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 08:34, Jonners said:

Philosophical question: why am I spending precious time fettling little bits of plastic to create something that will be seen by hardly anyone, and be of very little interest to most of the few that will see it? Hmmm...

 

I've been thinking about that over the last week or two.  I tend to find that the process of making allows us to get to know a given subject more intimately than one might do from a pile of books and monographs on a shelf, or an internet browser full of favourites.  As an object in our hands we experience the thing differently and have a greater empathy for the subject compared to the written word or the third-person photographic view. 

 

The Vilbebeest is looking superb too.  You've already left its vacform origins well behind.  Looking forward to seeing more!  :)

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

Philosophical question: why am I spending precious time fettling little bits of plastic to create something that will be seen by hardly anyone, and be of very little interest to most of the few that will see it? Hmmm...

Because it amuses and occupies us and there is s certain satisfaction from knowing it's there and being able to model at that level (lovely work btw) I tend to vary from bare minimum that can be seen once the cockpit is button ed up to lavish (over) detailing as the mood takes me. But if I were being honest and totally sane and rational, I wouldn't put a whole lot more than a seat a stick and a control panel because generally you can't see the rest. 

 

Come to think of it if I were entirely sane and rational I might not enjoy making scale models of historic aircraft at all :) 

 

 

Edited by Marklo
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/4/2019 at 11:34 PM, Jonners said:

Philosophical question: why am I spending precious time fettling little bits of plastic to create something that will be seen by hardly anyone, and be of very little interest to most of the few that will see it? Hmmm...

Oh, what a question and very individual. Most of us model our subjects to a level we're happy with; some are super detailers with everything and others are straight OOB. From my own position, I capture the main features of the subject and stop there. If I have the cockpit open, I 'may' put a little more effort into it. On the flip side (underneath), I do the minimal, generally OOB because nobody ever sees it.

 

Stuart

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

More small steps squeezed into the gaps between Real Life...but it seems that they've only added distance to the journey!

 

First of all the pilot's seat and mounting frame came loose during the joining of the fuselage halves, probably as a result of me squeezing the halves together and the plastic flexing.  It's going to be fun trying to get them back in:

 

20190527_122736

 

Otherwise the fuselage is in thd midst of that fill-sand-check-repeat process. Then there's this to sort out:

 

20190527_122854

 

The two fuselage halves were of different lengths, with the discrepancy at the rear.  The shorter length is the more accurate, according to the kit plan, but getting the taper right might be tricky as the plastic is quite thin.

 

Next, the lower wing. I'm keeping it as a single piece for ease of working until I'm ready to mount it. It's been sanded smooth to remove the dodgy rib detail and the edges sanded to the right-looking profiles.  Once I'd cut out the ailerons, however, a few snags became obvious:

 

20190527_122716

 

First of all, the chord of the port aileron is about 1mm greater than that of the starboard, with the greater chord length being the best match for the plans. That would have been eadier to fix if I hadn't already enthusiastically sanded a curved profile into the leading edges of the ailerons...  In addition, I found that the outer, narrower section of the port aileron was about 1.5mm shorter than that of the starboard surface.  A quick trim and a small piece of plastic card should solve that one.

 

Finally, the horizontal tailplane.  The upper and lower halves were joined and sanded to remove the rib lines and to create a suitable profile and then compared with the plans, this time before cutting out the elevators! (See, I do learn...).  Sure enough, the vacform hinge lines are way off.  I've drawn the accurate line positions in pencil ready for careful cutting later. 

 

20190527_122652

 

The plans show a single-piece elevator with a very narrow join section under the fin, so careful handling will be necessary.

 

I'll need to check photos to look at hinge details etc, but there's plenty to keep me busy for now.

 

Jon

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's vacforms for you (and scratch builds too) even though it can be a pain,m it's what makes these so much more interesting/satisfying than regular kits.

 

Very impressed by the build so far btw.

  • Thanks 1
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...