stever219 Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 I built two of these when they were new and I don’t recall those gaps being as bad as that. I was able to work some Milliput in with a wet finger (innuendo for @CedB if he’s reading this) and a light rub down with worn wet n dry afterwards to put a smile on my face and job done. I’ve got another two of the original (horrible Palitoy box “art”) version in the loft but the new kit can’t arrive soon enough. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Nice work Al! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 Thanks for the observations and tips, gents. Sadly, this was in the airing cupboard while the putty was drying and somehow took a dive from about 6 1/2 ft up 😖 It has survived intact but the noseweight has come unstuck and is rattling around inside the fuselage. I'm going to have to cut the nose off to get it secured again. More work! Stay tuned... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 It’s a challenging kit...! Looks like you’re beating it into submission. I had a similar problem with the nose weight on mine becoming dislodged, but was able to re-attach it via the crew entrance hole and epoxy it onto the top of the nose bay. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Nice work on this. I often find myself building an old kit just before the new one comes out! With all the improvements it looks like it might be hard to tell the difference between yours and the new one... Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 3 hours ago, AdrianMF said: Nice work on this. I often find myself building an old kit just before the new one comes out! With all the improvements it looks like it might be hard to tell the difference between yours and the new one... Thanks Adrian, and let's hope not! 4 hours ago, Back in the Saddle said: I had a similar problem with the nose weight on mine becoming dislodged, but was able to re-attach it via the crew entrance hole and epoxy it onto the top of the nose bay. Thanks Matt. Would have been a great idea, except I already boxed in the area with my added detailing 😫 Cheers again, gents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Alan P said: I already boxed Can you drill a smallish hole and introduce some white glue/epoxy/superglue? Might be less disruptive than sawing the nose off....? Something that doesn't require air exposure to dry it (may rule out superglue and white glue) and that doesn't dissolve plastic (rules out poly cement and a lot of fillers). Worms of Milliput?? [edit] if it's a well-sealed compartment then you could just fill it with sand or something to stop it moving around, then seal it up again.. Plaster of paris? Sorry, fixing people's problems is always more interesting to me than things I gotta do for myself... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 7 hours ago, AdrianMF said: Sorry, fixing people's problems is always more interesting to me than things I gotta do for myself... Always the way! Thanks for the tip, I'll try the keyhole surgery rather than the amputation 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted February 9, 2020 Author Share Posted February 9, 2020 Sadly to report @AdrianMF I went for the amputation! Only way to get to the lead weight to secure it properly...I took a photo but my battery died an instant later and it didn't record it. All is now well and the nose job completed! Good news is I've finally battered the ugly seams into submission: Given that the airframe is made up of smooth curves all over, this kit isn't the most helpful! These seams are the worst. The trench-like dimensions make them very hard to putty and sand. Add to the fact that the boundary splitter is way too big (both too thick and too deep) anyway, and you're looking at something that needs serious help! The solution is just to fascia over them with thin plastic card - I decided not to reduce the size in case I damaged the fuselage and I can't face more puttying and sanding at this point... These can be smoothed out using PPP so no need for sanding I've never looked forward to getting paint on a model so much before, The last time I had to fight a kit this hard was the AMT B-52 (still unfinished!) and that included loads of remodelling and kitbashing to backdate it to the 1962 version. Airfix don't have to raise their game too much for the new tool Vulcan to be outstanding by comparison Sorry, too much moaning - at least it's looking nicer now: Cheers, Alan 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrywilliams Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 Very nice Alan! Please let me know if you need any reference shots, I live right next door to 824 and it wouldnt be a problem 👍 Harry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 8, 2020 Author Share Posted March 8, 2020 On 3/1/2020 at 11:49 PM, Harrywilliams said: Very nice Alan! Please let me know if you need any reference shots, I live right next door to 824 and it wouldnt be a problem 👍 Harry Thanks Harry, would be a great help if you have any views of the tail, underside around the engines, and the tail bullet fairing 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 14, 2020 Author Share Posted March 14, 2020 Mustang GB is over, so back to this... Usual quality parts for this kit! You've got to look carefully to make sure you can tell parts from flash! Looks better after a cleanup! The good news is that the mounting lugs for the parts are nice and even so both sides fit symmetrically and eliminate one of the big headaches of a multi-wheeled aircraft kit - trying to get everything to contact the ground equally. Now on to the 18 wheels... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 18, 2020 Author Share Posted March 18, 2020 Finally close to starting the paintwork on this beast: A healthy dose of Mr Surfacer 500 and that smooth delta shape emerges from the mess of putty and yawning gaps Slight problem with the aft bomb doors but should be easy to fix. The intakes have been nothing but trouble, a major slog to try to remedy. This is the best I can do, I'll have to move on. Would you believe I cut the whole nose off and re-attached it? Happy with that repair job! The aft section is finally blended in, it's been another joyless slog to get rid of all the seams but it's there at last. This is not a kit for the faint-hearted, especially if you're trying to replicate the smooth, blended curves of the original. The new Airfix kit can't come quickly enough! Cheers, Alan 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonC Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 Nice work. The primer certainly brings it all together! J. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 This is looking great Alan, she must be a big old bird?!? How does it compare to, say, a 1/72 harrier or spitfire (standard unit?). When's the new one coming out? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Alan P said: The new Airfix kit can't come quickly enough! Too true! @SaminCam Due this autumn, although I suspect delivery dates might slip a bit, given the current situation... Great work on this beast Alan, I'm looking forward to seeing it finished too!👍 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 18, 2020 Author Share Posted March 18, 2020 On 3/18/2020 at 9:59 PM, JasonC said: Nice work. The primer certainly brings it all together! Thanks Jason! 👍 I live for the paintjob, I find actually building the things tedious 😁 On 3/18/2020 at 10:02 PM, SaminCam said: This is looking great Alan, she must be a big old bird?!? How does it compare to, say, a 1/72 harrier or spitfire (standard unit?). When's the new one coming out? Thanks Sam, I don't have many 1/72 models around to compare it with but the span measures about 20in. On 3/18/2020 at 10:12 PM, Back in the Saddle said: Great work on this beast Alan, I'm looking forward to seeing it finished too!👍 Thanks very much Matt, looking at your GB build along with an excellent example by @gazza l I'm hoping it'll stack up! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever219 Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 30 minutes ago, SaminCam said: This is looking great Alan, she must be a big old bird?!? How does it compare to, say, a 1/72 harrier or spitfire (standard unit?). When's the new one coming out? Span and length are roughly 31/3 Spitfire spans or length is 2.4 Harrier lengths and 4.5 Harrier spans, alternatively 201/2 inches wingtip to wingtip. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 25, 2020 Author Share Posted March 25, 2020 I might finally have this in a presentable state and looking forward to paint! The lumps and vents underneath going on - had to hollow out the ends and do some creative filing and sanding to get them to fit on the underside properly Cut the refuelling probe off before it got knocked off and lost. Spent some time reshaping and blending the receptacle to look more realistic. Continued the very tedious job of cleaning up every fragile part of flash, mould lines and warpage. This is probably the best they're going to look. Also hollowed out the end of the pipes. Only sixteen of these godawful terrible wheels to clean up... Lost one of the main gear doors so built another one out of plastic card and brass rod. Probably the most fun I've had with this build in ages... Also detailed up the visible main gear door interiors - they're just blank plastic faces with ejector pin marks otherwise. Good news though - got the first coat of primer on the structure, so let's have a look how much more prep work there's left to do... Alan 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 26, 2020 Author Share Posted March 26, 2020 At last, we have paint! Underside painted in a 75:25 mix of Light Gray and Insignia White. Wish I'd used a white primer base rather than the Mr Surfacer grey. Did some preshading with MRP Basalt Grey. I used MRP lacquer paint which goes on very thin so it took about 8ml of paint to cover the whole thing. Will be using Gunze Mr Color lacquer for the camouflage colours (you can just see the pots at the bottom). The kit underneath is my 'carrot' project to get me past the Vulcan 'stick'! Alan 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 27, 2020 Author Share Posted March 27, 2020 The end is in sight for this at last...can't honestly say I've enjoyed building this so I'll be glad to see the back of it! Sprayed all over Gunze Mr Color Medium Sea Grey, then used vinyl masks for the camouflage pattern. I pencilled the pattern using a template kindly provided by @Back in the Saddle and cut through the vinyl using a rotary cutting tool I picked up at Telford a couple of years ago. The trick is press hard enough to cut the vinyl but not so hard it scores the plastic beneath! Thank God that's over, bar a few touchups. Unfortunately the bottom caught some spilt paint from the process so that'll need correcting as well. Still, I'm very glad to have got the paint on. Next - gloss and decals! Alan 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmas Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 This is looking so good I'm almost tempted to buy another one while waiting for the new ones I have on pre-order from Arfix! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 4 hours ago, Timmas said: This is looking so good I'm almost tempted to buy another one while waiting for the new ones I have on pre-order from Arfix! Thanks but really, don't 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted April 1, 2020 Author Share Posted April 1, 2020 Added the additional painted sections, although these appear to have faded/been painted over since it arrived at Duxford. Genuinely filled with the highest admiration for those who have managed to achieve seamless intakes on this kit. I don't know if this was just a particularly duff kit after what @stever219 wrote earlier but this is the best I can manage. Maximum recommendation for the very nice Freightdog Olympus 201 nozzles, very smoothly cast resin: Funny how much it starts to look like a Vulcan when those cheek roundels are on. I used a mix of decals with Sqn badge and serial courtesy of @Darth Vader Next pics will be of the finished article because I'm losing the will to live! Alan 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulaero Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 That's a stunning job on this veteran kit, The moulds have obviously been hammered as I built an original boxing many years ago and think it made a massive difference. Nice to see a 200 as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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