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Hawker Horsley, Vacform Tutorial


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Special thanks to @general melchett for standing in for me during my enforced absence as I was worried that people who had started vacforms on the back of this thread might think I had given up on the thread.

 

Well, Dell finally got the parts to my computer engineer but not, as you will have gathered very speedily. As this machine is about three weeks over the end of it's one year guarantee, you will not be surprised to learn that Dell customer services will be joining the staff of the Cirius Cybernetics Corporation in being put up against a wall and shot when the revolution comes.

 

I will be getting another installment up later today.

 

Martian 👽

 

 

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Right, back on the job, the next step was to continue to add stiffening bulkheads tot eh fuselage. As always, the better the fit of these is, the stronger your model will be. I tend to judge this by continually dry fitting the fuselage halves together and pressing them together to see if there is any flex left in the assembly. When there is not, you have the fuselage sufficiently strong. This goes for models with wings and tail surfaces that require ribs and spars.

 

I have to detail the cockpits next and although each of you will have your own methods and tastes in interior details and I do not wish to teach my Granny to suck eggs. I will post pictures of what I do for the sake of completeness.

 

One tip I will pass on is that to get a 100% accurate fit of an instrument panel, I cut a notch in the fuselage where it needs to be located with a razor saw and then clean the cut out with my scalpel. I then drop a slice of plastic card into the cut and cement this into place on one fuselage half. When this is set, I dry fit the the other half and tape the two together. This done I trim and sand the card showing on the exterior of the fuselage until it is completely flush. The result? One perfectly fitting IP that also adds strength to the completed fuselage.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Martian 👽

 

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3 hours ago, LorenSharp said:

Welcome back Martian.I will have to say it has been strangely quiet during your absence. The silence was athunderous.

I am sure that with help from the Usual Suspects, we will soon put that right!

 

Martian 👽

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3 hours ago, Martian said:

One tip I will pass on is that to get a 100% accurate fit of an instrument panel, I cut a notch in the fuselage where it needs to be located with a razor saw and then clean the cut out with my scalpel. I then drop a slice of plastic card into the cut and cement this into place on one fuselage half

Blimey Martian, why haven't I ever thought of that? Pure genius. By happy coincidence the instrument panel is my next job on my Gurnard (not content with 'just' building a vacform, I decided to try creating one), so I'll give this a try!

 

Jon

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16 minutes ago, Jonners said:

Blimey Martian, why haven't I ever thought of that?

Probably because I have a brain the size of a planet.

 

Martian the Modest 👽

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  • 3 weeks later...

It has been a while since I got to do some more on this but recently I have not had enough time to do all I want to. Mostly down to a severe shortage of MVS Coxswains who are available or willing to do patrols in the current environment. As of this evening when injury and sickness are taken into account, the Head of Unit has me to chose from. This means that I will be out all  weekend and will probably be spending my down time dead to the world again. Still, if you sign up to the responsibility, you can't complain when your number is called. I just wish there were a few more numbers in the hat!

 

Anyhow and more to the point, I have got most of the cockpits scratch built. There was a nasty moment or three when I realised that some of the detail parts that I had looked out for the build, including some gifted to the thread by John Aero had gone walk about. Yes, you've guessed it, I committed that cardinal sin of putting them in a "safe place" so I wouldn't lose them! Plonker! :doh: Fortunately they were eventually located along with the flying surfaces that had also been subjected to the same careful treatment.

 

One thing you may come across on some of the older vacforms out there is that panel lines may be more like shallow U shaped trenches and much of my time has been spent eradicating these and starting to replace them. While this has been going quite well, It has exposed one or two areas there the kit plastic is on the thin side and has worn away with the work being undertaken. It is no big deal if this happens. In this case I just backed the worn through area with a scrap of plastic card and applied a coat or two of CA to both sides and sanded it all back smooth on the exterior. It takes but a few minutes. I still have to do the fabric covered parts of the fuselage and will do this in a very similar manner to the flying surfaces. At least I will when my order of .10 thou' plastic rod arrives from Slaters.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Martian 👽

 

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8 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Excellent progress Martian, the tip for the IP is fantastic, I had never thought of anything like that before, brilliant thanks.

Chris

Thanks Chris.

 

Martian 👽

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Hi Martian

Please can I ask what is likely a stupid question re this subject.  I have been looking at Vacform kits and searching for a suitable Vacform beginners kit.  I was thinking of something like a Rareplanes DH Dove/Devon !!!  I have located what I think would be a fairly simple kit a Percival Prentice and what is putting me off is the yellowed canopy glazing.  Now I realize that there are replacements for some but doubt this will have replacement canopies available, is there any cure for the yellowing?  Or is it a case of replacing.  I would like to try making one and the local aeronautical museum near me has one so would be able to look around when they reopen perhaps.

Sorry for the daft question

Thanks in advance

Chris

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11 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Hi Martian

Please can I ask what is likely a stupid question re this subject.  I have been looking at Vacform kits and searching for a suitable Vacform beginners kit.  I was thinking of something like a Rareplanes DH Dove/Devon !!!  I have located what I think would be a fairly simple kit a Percival Prentice and what is putting me off is the yellowed canopy glazing.  Now I realize that there are replacements for some but doubt this will have replacement canopies available, is there any cure for the yellowing?  Or is it a case of replacing.  I would like to try making one and the local aeronautical museum near me has one so would be able to look around when they reopen perhaps.

Sorry for the daft question

Thanks in advance

Chris

Chris, the material used by some manufacturers is prone to yellowing over the years and I am not aware of any remedial cure. As many of these manufacturers are not longer in business, getting a replacement part is going to be difficult, if not impossible. The only real solution is to use the kit canopy to make a buck and mould a replacement from it.. Before buying an old vacform kit, I always  try and get a look at what the canopy looks like. Most Ebay traders will reply to a question along these lines. @John Aero may well have some further thoughts on the matter.

 

Martian 👽

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Thanks Martian

I have looked at images of the real thing and looks like it could be built out of clear styrene and cut bent bits of old spare canopies etc so might be able get away with that as no experience in making a vac or plunge moulding.  Luckily the vendor has a photo which includes the canopy in the image so  I am able to see what sort of shape it's in . 

I suppose if it stays cheap enough I could get it anyway for the experience in putting a vac together and then when I get more time I can start mucking around with plunge and vacforming one day.  I need to get the experience as I have an Aeroclub Anson to do and don't want to cock it up.

Thanks for replying

All the best

Chris

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  • 1 month later...

I managed to find some time to do some more on this build today. I began work on building up the detail on the parts of the fuselage that were fabric covered. The method of building up the stringers is essentially the same as that used for the ribs on the flying surfaces. We are now at the stage where I am waiting for the glue to set before rubbing the stringers back. I will then paint another coat of liquid cement over them to seal things in.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Martian 👽

 

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7 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

I did wonder where this build had gone. Now I know. Nice to see her back in action.

My time is pretty much at a premiun at the moment due to factors beyond the modelling bench so I have tended to concentrate on something I can chill out with when I do get a bit of spare time but I shall keep on coming back to this build until it is done. After all, I promised didn't I?

 

Martian 👽

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Wow that's looking great.  Fantastic work. 

I have gone and purchased some Vacform kits Martian.   I am really looking for a DH90 Dragonfly but in the meantime I got a Rareplanes DH89, to practice on before I tackle the Vacform fuselage on my recent acquisition of the beautiful Aeroclub 48th Dh89.  I also have the Aeroclub Anson to do too.  In a real moment of madness I purchased a 72 Vickers Fb.26 Vampire OMG what was I thinking.   No turning back now!!!

Chris 

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2 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Wow that's looking great.  Fantastic work. 

I have gone and purchased some Vacform kits Martian.   I am really looking for a DH90 Dragonfly but in the meantime I got a Rareplanes DH89, to practice on before I tackle the Vacform fuselage on my recent acquisition of the beautiful Aeroclub 48th Dh89.  I also have the Aeroclub Anson to do too.  In a real moment of madness I purchased a 72 Vickers Fb.26 Vampire OMG what was I thinking.   No turning back now!!!

Chris 

What monster have I created here? I have visions of angry Britmodellers turning up at Martian Towrs, burning torches and pitchforks in hand, complaining that my advice was pants!

 

Apprehensive of Mars 👽

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1 hour ago, Martian said:

What monster have I created here? I have visions of angry Britmodellers turning up at Martian Towrs, burning torches and pitchforks in hand, complaining that my advice was pants!

 

Apprehensive of Mars 👽

Yes it's all your doing, you with your Martian mind control and Moa with his Jedi powers. I am done for !!!

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4 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Yes it's all your doing, you with your Martian mind control and Moa with his Jedi powers. I am done for !!!

O dear, how sad, never mind!

2 hours ago, europapete said:

pah, small fry. Wait until you get your hands on Contrails' Blackburn Perth or Iris. NOW we're talking vacforms! lololol Regards, Pete in RI

I have the Iris, and the Southampton, and the Singapore, and the Scapa and the London. I will probably give the Perth a miss though as ypu are essentially making the same model as the Iris.

2 hours ago, europapete said:

Awesome tutorial here Martian, well done.

Thanks Pete hopefully you are getting something out of it.

 

Martian 👽

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4 hours ago, Martian said:

I have the Iris, and the Southampton, and the Singapore, and the Scapa and the London

I don't often get 'model envy', especially as I don't believe in building a traditional stash (okay, I have 5 unbuilt kits), but I'm feeling a bit green with it now. Possibly not such a strange state, to a Martian.

Jon

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