1/72nd Valom Vickers Valetta C.1 ***FINISHED****

[Learstang]

Nice piccies of the Valetta! Tony, you are too right regarding Suez - it really is going down the rabbit hole. I already have the Shackleton and the Avenger, and I've a feeling one of the new Meteor night fighters from Special Hobby is going to show up soon. Whilst I was on the Special Hobby site, I saw your beautiful Sunderland! Pity that wasn't used at Suez - I believe all the remaining ones were in the Far East by 1956.

 

Regards,

 

Jason

[tonyot]

18 hours ago, AdriaN (MLT) said:

Valetta in Luqa Malta 1960s...

 

 

 

Very nice pics, cheers,..... Godrey Mangion has got some superb pics from the heyday of the RAF in Malta and he seems to have liked the Valetta. 

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,..... a bit more progress,.....

 

One of the engine cowling openings was bigger than the other,..... obviously my fault trying to sand it,...... so I added an inner rim from plastic strip and then blended it in with filler;

 

 

When it comes to the astrodome,.... I was originally going to cop out and just paint a black circle on the fuselage before plonking the astrodome on top,..... however,..... the astrodome is very clear,..... and it comes with an inner lip which fits into a hole,...... so rather than sawing this off,..... I carefully drilled a small hole into the fuselage roof and then filed out the opening until the astrodome slotted down into place. Use reference photos of the real aircraft as opposed to the kit instructions, otherwise you may mount it too far forwards. The engines have been re fitted on the model again;

 

The down side of drilling out the astrodome was the fuselage was filled with plastic dust,...... so I removed the cockpit side windows and used these holes to get a damp brush inside and remove the dust from the inside of the canopy,..... I used a can of air with a long nozzle to clear some dut from the cabin windows too;

 

As you can see,.... I also fitted the undercarriage too;

 

So once the cockpit side windows have been replaced it is time to start adding the antennae and masts,

 

Cheers

           Tony

[Learstang]

Almost there Tony - looking very nice indeed! I should be at this stage with my Valetta (which I haven't received yet, having just ordered it), by, oh, about the year 2050 or so.

 

Regards,

 

Jason

[ColinChipmunkfan]

Loving following the build  Tony, the model  is looking very good indeed.  It nostalgically harks back to a time when we had a decent sized air force.

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, Learstang said:

Almost there Tony - looking very nice indeed! I should be at this stage with my Valetta (which I haven't received yet, having just ordered it), by, oh, about the year 2050 or so.

 

Regards,

 

Jason

Cheers Jason and LOL,..... I bet you do it quicker than that really!!

 

1 hour ago, ColinChipmunkfan said:

Loving following the build  Tony, the model  is looking very good indeed.  It nostalgically harks back to a time when we had a decent sized air force.

Thanks Colin,... it sure does,....... nowadays we don`t even have enough Hercules transports to train Parachute Regiment recruits to get their wings up,...... never mind continuation jumps for the other lads,...... but the RAF are still selling Herk`s off! The new Atlas isn`t cleared to drop paratroopers yet,..... it was never trialled by AIRBUS for anything but skydivers!! Back in my day in the 80`s the RAF could easily rustle up 27 Herk`s for a battalion jump and we went on our jumps course on a Monday having passed P Company on the Friday,..... I do feel sorry for todays soldiers...... and the RAF seems like a civilian corporation,...... I won`t mention the bosses because I was called a racist on this site for disagreeing with a certain decision recently!!

Cheers

          Tony

Edited July 24, 2020 by tonyot

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Tony--what an accomplishment!  This is just amazing.  You engaged in some high-risk/high-reward modeling, particularly with the last-second corrections on the engine cowlings, the dreaded upper fuselage drilling/astrodome installation, and myriad lesser tasks.  The results are pretty clear.  Hats off to you on this.  You accomplished in a few short weeks what it probably would take about a year or so for me to accomplish.  Thanks to your demonstration and fact-finding, I'm happy to test my timing empirically. 

 

Yes, the sorry state of the RAF should worry all of us, including long-time friends.  The British military's slow decline in capabilities certainly has received coverage on this side of the Atlantic, albeit in specialist publications.

 

27 Hercs to drop a 550-man battalion?  That must be a lot of extra kit, but what do I know?  I never jumped out of any aircraft at all--even involuntarily.  As an aside, a couple female C-130 pilots I knew were avid sport jumpers, with about 500 or more safe canopy openings each, so the adage against "jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft" doesn't always hold in the USAF among the jet set (or jet-prop set).

[tonyot]

2 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Tony--what an accomplishment!  This is just amazing.  You engaged in some high-risk/high-reward modeling, particularly with the last-second corrections on the engine cowlings, the dreaded upper fuselage drilling/astrodome installation, and myriad lesser tasks.  The results are pretty clear.  Hats off to you on this.  You accomplished in a few short weeks what it probably would take about a year or so for me to accomplish.  Thanks to your demonstration and fact-finding, I'm happy to test my timing empirically. 

 

Yes, the sorry state of the RAF should worry all of us, including long-time friends.  The British military's slow decline in capabilities certainly has received coverage on this side of the Atlantic, albeit in specialist publications.

 

27 Hercs to drop a 550-man battalion?  That must be a lot of extra kit, but what do I know?  I never jumped out of any aircraft at all--even involuntarily.  As an aside, a couple female C-130 pilots I knew were avid sport jumpers, with about 500 or more safe canopy openings each, so the adage against "jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft" doesn't always hold in the USAF among the jet set (or jet-prop set).

Thanks mate,...... yeah high risk,... or just forgetful,.... same difference!!

The British Armed Forces have been infected by PC culture thanks to the Chief,.... Nick Carter,.... he has ruined them in my view. The controversy regarding Guy Gibson`s dog is just typical.  I just hope that our troops remain tough enough to fight in a future war where an enemy will not care about their gender, fitness, feelings, religion etc. My nephew is a long serving Royal Marine and he says that he has seen a massive culture change, especially in the Army and RAF. 

The 27 Herks were the stretched C.3 variants too,....... carrying a battalion group of 800-1,000 men (including attached arms,..medics, signals, engineers etc) and all of their vehicles,....... 90 troops per aircraft or 2 x MSP`s carrying a Landrover and trailer each or even a Scimitar tank.  Taking pat in these jumps was amazing and apparently they were pretty spectacular as we whizzed along at low level through the Welsh valleys en route! It has got so bad now that the USAF is loaning their C-130`s and crews so that lads can get a jump in! 

Edited July 24, 2020 by tonyot

[Rafdec]

Hi Tony,

 

Your model is superb. Clear nostalgia, better schemes then compared to todays types.

 

Yes I agree with you on the standards of the forces today. They got rid of many of the servicemen a few years ago, now they can`t recruit them and have lowered the standards ( i.e. Beards in the RAF and accepting head tattoo`s plus gay pride stalls at some shows ). Utter disgrace. Not enough people to do the jobs but can find time to decorate the aircraft with their Anniversary markings, all very good when flying in a war-zone. As you say it`s all too PC now, even the Recruiting adverts on the TV, don`t get me started.

 

Anyway, a very nice model as always.

 

Best wishes Tony,

 

Steve.

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, Rafdec said:

Hi Tony,

 

Your model is superb. Clear nostalgia, better schemes then compared to todays types.

 

Yes I agree with you on the standards of the forces today. They got rid of many of the servicemen a few years ago, now they can`t recruit them and have lowered the standards ( i.e. Beards in the RAF and accepting head tattoo`s plus gay pride stalls at some shows ). Utter disgrace. Not enough people to do the jobs but can find time to decorate the aircraft with their Anniversary markings, all very good when flying in a war-zone. As you say it`s all too PC now, even the Recruiting adverts on the TV, don`t get me started.

 

Anyway, a very nice model as always.

 

Best wishes Tony,

 

Steve.

Thankss Steve and I`m singing from the same song sheet as you mate,...... nuff said!

Cheers

         Tony 

[Brizeman]

Steve/Tony

             As ex RAF and now  MOD contractor it is very noticeable how standards have slipped. The beards thing doesn’t bother me after all most NATO countries dress standards have been more liberal than ours for many years  and it doesn’t appear to have affected their ability to fulfil their commitments however please do not get me started on the Scampton  dog grave. 
          As regards the painting of anniversary aircraft, they are all done by contractors. The RAF got rid of the painting trade a few years ago and contractorised it. All of the aircraft sporting the 100 years stickers were applied by a team of contractors except the Voyager which was applied by AirTanker and is different to the rest by not having the white outline. 
 Tony, loving the Valletta. I have one to build but mine will be the Malta aircraft. a country very dear to me and an aircraft I saw on the fire dump at Hal Far during my tour there.

 

       John

[71chally]

Superb result with the Valetta Tony, raised the bar for my build aspirations!  The stripes, anti dazzle panel and cheatline colour really lifts it out of what could have been a bit ordinary.  Great stuff!

[Lord Riot]

That Valetta is outstanding! Amazing colours from the heyday of the RAF.

[tonyot]

6 hours ago, Brizeman said:

Steve/Tony

             As ex RAF and now  MOD contractor it is very noticeable how standards have slipped. The beards thing doesn’t bother me after all most NATO countries dress standards have been more liberal than ours for many years  and it doesn’t appear to have affected their ability to fulfil their commitments however please do not get me started on the Scampton  dog grave. 
          As regards the painting of anniversary aircraft, they are all done by contractors. The RAF got rid of the painting trade a few years ago and contractorised it. All of the aircraft sporting the 100 years stickers were applied by a team of contractors except the Voyager which was applied by AirTanker and is different to the rest by not having the white outline. 
 Tony, loving the Valletta. I have one to build but mine will be the Malta aircraft. a country very dear to me and an aircraft I saw on the fire dump at Hal Far during my tour there.

 

       John

Hiya John,..... glad you like the Valetta mate and I don`t blame you for doing the Malta one,....especially as you saw it during your tour there.. the island is very close to my own heart too,.... so much so I wrote a book about it!😀 I would have loved to have seen Malta in the 50`s-60`s,..... before it changed. ... you are a very lucky lad..... I have herd some stories!

 

Scampton,....me too mate,..... and I was called a racist here on BM for being angry about it too! 

 

Painting,..... yeah I know about the contratorisation,..... a good friend was an RAF Painter and he was made redundant,..... a poor decision but hey!

 

The modern RAF,...... we used to take the piddle out of the Cloggies and Danes for having long hair and beards,........ and now the RAF are there too,....... not a fan myself. I saw a film recently of a bloke making a nuisance of himself filming outside RAF Benson and the RAF Police were very scruffy in combats and with their beards one of them looked like Odd Bod from Carry On Screaming!! Because the man causing trouble was a black man everybody was scared to death of dealing with him,..... they came across pathetic,....... it was quite embarrassing really, especially when another RAF Police bloke following him in a BMW bumped into another car while parking it,.....all on video!!  The bloke was filming personnel, number plates etc,.... despite signs saying no photography,......back in the day we would have escorted him to the guardroom for a chat.

5 hours ago, 71chally said:

Superb result with the Valetta Tony, raised the bar for my build aspirations!  The stripes, anti dazzle panel and cheatline colour really lifts it out of what could have been a bit ordinary.  Great stuff!

Thanks Chally,...... I cannot claim the plaudits for the colour scheme,......84 Sqn just had a nice colour within the Wing (114 Sqn had green!) and then the Suez stripes do their thing too! 

 

4 hours ago, Lord Riot said:

That Valetta is outstanding! Amazing colours from the heyday of the RAF.

Thanks very much,...... yep heyday it was,...... glad you like the model.

[RichG]

Beautiful job Tony.

 

I am at the masking / gluing window stage stalled as I want to try the Hataka RAF Training colours set in the orange / lacquer series, on its way from Poland (not in stock anywhere in the UK). I am planning to do mine in Far East Air Force markings just before retrirement in Singapore. No invasion stripes, but lashings of fabglo on the nose, tail and wings!   

 

Surely a HP Hastings will follow soon...  Mr Valom...? Mr Airfix...?  Just imagine one of those in a big red box....  

 

Rich

[tonyot]

42 minutes ago, RichG said:

Beautiful job Tony.

 

I am at the masking / gluing window stage stalled as I want to try the Hataka RAF Training colours set in the orange / lacquer series, on its way from Poland (not in stock anywhere in the UK). I am planning to do mine in Far East Air Force markings just before retrirement in Singapore. No invasion stripes, but lashings of fabglo on the nose, tail and wings!   

 

Surely a HP Hastings will follow soon...  Mr Valom...? Mr Airfix...?  Just imagine one of those in a big red box....  

 

Rich

Cheers Rich,....... good luck with yours,.. I want to do a Far East one in exactly the same scheme,.....and may possibly open the para door and add an interior including a SEAC board with a supply dropping load. 

We can but hope for a Hastings,...... you never know eh? I would love one,.....or two,.....oh OK,.....at least a few more!  

All the best

                  Tony

[tonyot]

Right then,..... I`m calling the model,....... FINISISHED!!!

 

I was asked ages ago to take a photo of the finished model alongside a Dakota for comparison,......so here we are;

Thanks for all the encouragement folks,

Cheers

          Tony

[bigbadbadge]

Tony that looks absolutely stunning, great work fella and no cracked fuselage from drilling through the fuselage for the Astrodome too. Great work fella.

All the best

Chris

[tonyot]

5 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Tony that looks absolutely stunning, great work fella and no cracked fuselage from drilling through the fuselage for the Astrodome too. Great work fella.

All the best

Chris

Cheers Chris,..... I was very, very careful,.....and very, very nervous mate!!

[Colin @ Freightdog Models]

Lovely job Tony, very nicely done!

 

Colin 

[71chally]

Yep, your Valetta has turned brilliantly Tony!  Great info and step by step guide on the way aswel.  I hadn't realised that about the cheatline colours neither.

Quite chunky next to a Dak.

 

Excellent result!

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Outstanding freakin' job, Tony!  Very sharp, and I especially like the C-47 nose-to-nose comparison.

[perdu]

Absolutely stunning Tony, have a delighted WOW

 

I fully agree with you all here by the sound of it, the Forces don't have to go 'to the dogs' the Dogs have been dragged to them

 

What a world we have allowed to be built on our watch huh.

[woody37]

It looks superb mate, great to see how it builds up. Love the phot next to the Dak too

 

[kev67]

That is one fine looking Valetta Tony, just shows the size of it and very comparable if not wider than the Dakota