Handley Page Victor B.Mk.2(BS)

[CedB]

Well persevered Shellie - looking good  

[Martian]

6 hours ago, Shelliecool said:

Coming along nicely now, every piece tou attach the build gets larger, it hardly fits in the cupboard now! 

This is precisely the problem that has been exercising the Martian's little green cells ever since you bewitched me into buying another Victor kit the other day. When the kit arrived, I tried to explain to Mrs Martian that I had no choice in buying the kit as your build had put some sort of hex on me. Judging from the fact that she told me to stop talking b*%%£"*s, I don't think she believed me!

 

Martian the Bruised 👽

[JohnT]

Nice work and enjoying the read 

 

On the matter of the tail  - you don’t have a 1/72 Folland Gnat to hand by any chance?  I read that the span of the Victor tail was greater than the wing span of the Gnat but not seen it side by side. Mind you my arms are about as wide as the Gnat. Very aptly named. I gather you could go fuel critical just taxying out to the runway for take off

[Adam Poultney]

I can be of help there, a Gnat with my Victors

[wavodavo]

1 hour ago, Shelliecool said:

Over the weekend I have been working on the tail of the aircraft. This in itself is really distinctive, and the components go together really well, until it came to fitting it to the aircraft! To say this was a comete nightmare would be an understatement. Firstly it wouldnt fit without gaps, everywhere. Secondly, it wouldnt fit on straight. Before I lost my temper with the whole thing (and threw it across the room), I decided to sand the fuselage section down and try fitting it again. A lot of sanding later, I had it in place and level, thank goodness!

Yep, I've got the same problem.

[Paulaero]

4 hours ago, Adam Poultney said:

I can be of help there, a Gnat with my Victors

Adam, that looks like it could be something from a Gerry Anderson Production.

 

Perhaps you could finish the Gnat to compliment the Victor , mounted on it tail....

 

Just thinking ???

 

Paul. 

[JohnT]

So it’s true, the Gnat is smaller!

[Adam Poultney]

Just now, JohnT said:

So it’s true, the Gnat is smaller!

Significantly yes 

[SAT69]

I'm working on my Victor now. Looking at the instructions and noting at what stage of instruction the instrument panel is supposed to be installed, I have to wonder if it can be installed earlier. Looks like it will be a tight fit if the instruction sequence is followed. Anyone have experience with this?

[Adam Poultney]

1 minute ago, SAT69 said:

I'm working on my Victor now. Looking at the instructions and noting at what stage of instruction the instrument panel is supposed to be installed, I have to wonder if it can be installed earlier. Looks like it will be a tight fit if the instruction sequence is followed. Anyone have experience with this?

Yeah- install it as it says. Hold the model upsidedown to do it, it will be easier. 

 

 

[SAT69]

Many thanks!

[JohnT]

47 minutes ago, Adam Poultney said:

Yeah- install it as it says. Hold the model upsidedown to do it, it will be easier. 

 

 

Adam and Michelle

 

given you have built one or more can I ask you both about the cockpit?

 

I have 2 in the stash for a rainy day. I am guessing you can’t see much inside the cockpit once it’s buttoned up. Any point in splashing on cockpit aftermarket other than “I know it’s inside there” factor? 

[Adam Poultney]

12 minutes ago, JohnT said:

Adam and Michelle

 

given you have built one or more can I ask you both about the cockpit?

 

I have 2 in the stash for a rainy day. I am guessing you can’t see much inside the cockpit once it’s buttoned up. Any point in splashing on cockpit aftermarket other than “I know it’s inside there” factor? 

You can see a surprising amount

 

[Martian]

44 minutes ago, Adam Poultney said:

You can see a surprising amount

 

You just cost me more money you evil child! Take a thousand lines: "I must not put temptation in front of vulnerable aliens."

 

Martian 👽

[Adam Poultney]

1 hour ago, Martian Hale said:

You just cost me more money you evil child! Take a thousand lines: "I must not put temptation in front of vulnerable aliens."

 

Martian 👽

hehe I am very evil

[Shelliecool]

9 hours ago, JohnT said:

Adam and Michelle

 

given you have built one or more can I ask you both about the cockpit?

 

I have 2 in the stash for a rainy day. I am guessing you can’t see much inside the cockpit once it’s buttoned up. Any point in splashing on cockpit aftermarket other than “I know it’s inside there” factor? 

As Adam has shown you, you can seeore inside than you would think, so I'd go ahead and buy one. 

M

[JohnT]

10 hours ago, Adam Poultney said:

You can see a surprising amount

 

 

1 hour ago, Shelliecool said:

As Adam has shown you, you can seeore inside than you would think, so I'd go ahead and buy one. 

M

Thanks Folks, I would have been closing up and then regretting it. Much appreciated 

[Shelliecool]

Since my last post I have fitted the instrument panel, which was even more difficult than you guys pointed out!!!! I tried tweezers, cocktail sticks and blutak to hold it in place to no avail. Eventually, with the build upside down I managed to get it stuck in place. I then masked up the glass and fitted that. With everything built before painting, I did some extra sanding and filling, of gaps and seams, and generally cleaning her up ready for paint. Then the time came to spray some primer. I had already purchased some Vallejo white primer, which i mixed in a ratio of 5:1 with thinner, and began to spray a light coat. 

The paint went on well and I was actually pleased, until i discovered that one of the seams had split a little. With a heavy heart I left it to dry. Today, I have been sanding it back, carefully watching the rest of the paint work. Then I glued  it back together, filled the seam with Mr. Surfacer 1000 amd eventually sanded it back down. 

Then, when I was happy with the seam, I gave the area a coat of primer. Feeling a little happier now. 

[CedB]

Nice work Shellie and good recovery on the split seam; I hate it when that happens  

[NoSG0]

Lovely work.  Looking forward to the next update.

[SAT69]

Your work looks very good. I'm enjoying watching this build.

[Adam Poultney]

On 26/04/2020 at 21:19, Shelliecool said:

Ah yes a seam appearing there is a problem I came across. Watch out for one appearing just rear of the bomb bay, that's another place they like to appear

[Martian]

6 hours ago, Adam Poultney said:

Ah yes a seam appearing there is a problem I came across. Watch out for one appearing just rear of the bomb bay, that's another place they like to appear

Thanks for highlighting that one Adam. Are there any other heads ups that we should be aware of? Thanks to Michelle, I have, over the last few weeks added three books, two decal sheets, two etched frets, some Master pitot tubes and a set of Eduard Brassin wheels to the kit. Clearly there is pressure on me to get the best result I can from this kit.

 

Broke of Mars 👽

[Adam Poultney]

5 hours ago, Martian said:

Thanks for highlighting that one Adam. Are there any other heads ups that we should be aware of? Thanks to Michelle, I have, over the last few weeks added three books, two decal sheets, two etched frets, some Master pitot tubes and a set of Eduard Brassin wheels to the kit. Clearly there is pressure on me to get the best result I can from this kit.

 

Broke of Mars 👽

Well I look forward to seeing your build!

 

Based on building the blue steel version and backdating one to the original B.Mk.2:

 

.The blue steel one is missing a small intake on the left wing root. This was removed on K2s and given that all four surviving Mk2 Victors are K2s this is easy to overlook.

.Kit roundels are a bit too small (don't know about the ones in the K2 kit but I'm probably going to end up building one sooner or later so I guess I'll find out then)

.I think the fin flash is the wrong size as well, but I haven't measured it. 

.Blue steel bomb bay is about a millimetre too short to fit

 Incorrect instructions for raised flaps (I think this applies to the K2/SR2 kit as well)

Wings don't sit in the fuselage correctly and need sanding on the surfaces below where they attach to eliminate a step. Test fit this.... A lot.

.Tail parts are pain to get on, do this as soon before the wings so the model is easier to handle (you'll want it upsidedown to see what you're doing). Dry fit this until you figure out how it goes on best.

. The instrument panel goes on best when the model is held upsidedown. Gravity just doesn't cooperate if you don't do this, likes to pull the part away from where it's supposed to be.

. If you want the flaps extended (they were rarely parked like this), just leave them off until after painting.... Don't be impatient like me

. Four main places to watch for seams appearing: just in front and behind of the bomb bay, just in front of the nose wheel well and directly outboard of each intake

. Sink marks on the blue steel missile's forward fins (both my kits had this) 

. When I build another I will definitely want metal pitots- worth it as the kit ones are well.... very easy to damage 

 

. They get very dusty very quickly so don't paint them white unless you either want to dust them all the time or can put them behind glass (backdate to a very early one with less aerials to break). Need to dust mine again tomorrow..... My camouflaged Victor B1 looks far less dusty (but it is half the size)

Edited April 29, 2020 by Adam Poultney

[Shelliecool]

Since my last post I have been carefully building up the coats of white primer...... This took a while as I tried to spray as lightly as possible. Once happy with the coverage, I began thinking about pre-shading. Before committing to one colour for the preshade, I did a test to see which shade covered the best with the Vallejo white. Eventually I decided on medium grey toned down with white, and set to work. 

 

It took a very long time, but as a fan of pre-shading my builds I'm happy with my results. Bring on the top coats.