So I bought a FROG Vulcan - definitely a restoration job

[Adam Poultney]

This is a kit I've been after for a while, I hardly need to state just how rare they are. Mint condition ones can go for between 150-300 quid. While I would love a mint one and probably would pay out for one, they're quite rare and each time I've bid on one I have unfortunately been outbid. I missed out on one that was sold with an unbuilt FROG Valiant a few months ago as I was away at the time, and since then I've hardly seen any for sale.

This one, in not great condition and missing the stand and a pair of wheels, came up on eBay and well, I won with £74.11.

It's definitely restorable, the plan is to disassemble it as much as I can, strip everything down and go from there. I want to get the wings apart if possible because would like to make improvements on the rather lacking intakes of the kit. Additionally, I plan to have this in a gear up configuration, but on the advice of @robvulcan, who also has this kit, I will be blue tacking the gear doors in place, or trying to find any way to use magnets without having them visible. That way I could add the gear at a later point if I decide to do so (but I'll have to cast a copy of a set of wheels).

With this soon to be in my collection, I am only missing one Vulcan kit. Of the six injection Vulcan kits that have been released, I have all but the Lindberg prototype/early B1. I'm probably going to bid on one that's on eBay currently. I have the two of old Airfix one (one is just a cockpit section though), three GWH/Pit Road kits, four Trumpeter kits, five Dragon/Cyberhobby kits and now this FROG kit. I'll be picking up the new Airfix one when it's released.

 

I've not yet decided what scheme I'll go with, but I'm leaning towards a silver XA8-- aircraft. I'll probably need to print my own decals given the scale, but if I can find close enough equivalents I'll use those.
 

FROG are the only manufacture to have made a proper Vulcan B1, since the Lindberg is more like the second prototype and not accurate at all; the B1 my favourite variant and kits of it are so rare, so I hope I can do a good job of this. 

I'll be looking a lot at this thread to see how I'll approach this project. I won't probably be going as far into correcting the kit as in that thread, but my kit I think it's in a worse condition. 

There's also a very good thread on another forum of a build from a brand new one

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/gregersfr/frog-avro-vulcan-b1-1-96th-scale-t10761.html

 

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by Adam Poultney

[Eric Mc]

Good find and it will be nice to see the finished result.

[Adam Poultney]

1 hour ago, Eric Mc said:

Good find and it will be nice to see the finished result.

can't wait either, I'm looking forward to this project

[Pete in Lincs]

Nice find. Big price though! So is it going into the freezer to help disassembly?

I've found that Tamiya extra thin can soften old tube glue. 

On such an old kit it may attack the plastic so be careful.

[foxhandybread]

*Clicks follow on this topic*

[bentwaters81tfw]

I have spare Lindberg undercarriage if you need it. 2 full sets. 1/96 same as FROG.

[Adam Poultney]

4 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Nice find. Big price though! So is it going into the freezer to help disassembly?

I've found that Tamiya extra thin can soften old tube glue. 

On such an old kit it may attack the plastic so be careful.

I don't know, I'll see when I get hold of the model. The wings at least aren't glued to the fuselage, so that helps

And thanks for the tips, I'll definitely be careful with this one. 

Edited November 6, 2020 by Adam Poultney

[Adam Poultney]

So I also bought a Lindberg one today and with that my collection is complete. I might put that on this thread as well or might give it its own one. Undecided as to whether I’ll go with the second prototype VX777 which it was supposed to be, an early silver B1 with the original wing, or if I’ll make some mods to the kit to represent he first prototype VX770.

[Adam Poultney]

So here’s the first proper update. I have the model now, seeing it in person it’s a little worse off than I thought from the pictures but nothing too bad. This has got to be one of the best kits of that late 1950s, The panel lines are not bad,

 and actually recessed, overall shape is better than most kits from the time. The only really lacking part is the intakes which ar too wide and lack any detail

The decals in the FROG kit clearly mark it as XA891, the serial is actually engraved into the plastic as well. The scheme that I most often see on old FROG Vulcans is this airframe in white, which is odd that FROG went with that colour since this particular Vulcan was never painted in white. 

The single missing pair of wheels

Once I finished admiring this kit (well I’m not sure I’ll ever finish admiring it), I tested some isopropanol on a cotton bud to see if it would strip the paint. The paint comes right off. That will make this nice and easy to strip down to the bare plastic at least. 

[Brigbeale]

I’ll watch this with interest.

Nice to see the paint will come off without too much trouble.

[Marcin Wojciechowski]

I am in favor of restoring old models.  I like to watch how real gems are made from old models.  I keep my fingers crossed for the effects of your work.

[Adam Poultney]

1 hour ago, Marcin Wojciechowski said:

I am in favor of restoring old models.  I like to watch how real gems are made from old models.  I keep my fingers crossed for the effects of your work.

I hope I can make a real gem and not have to restore this again in a few years time...

[Adam Poultney]

Work continues on removing the paint from the wing. The decals put up a bit of a fight but they will come off with some very light sanding paper 

That’s one wing fully stripped minus the roundel decal. With the white plastic it looks much better. I’m pretty much settled on a silver scheme now rather than doing white. I just think that silver is the nicer scheme for a kit like this.

[Derek Bradshaw]

On 11/8/2020 at 5:25 PM, Adam Poultney said:

So I also bought a Lindberg one today and with that my collection is complete. I might put that on this thread as well or might give it its own one. Undecided as to whether I’ll go with the second prototype VX777 which it was supposed to be, an early silver B1 with the original wing, or if I’ll make some mods to the kit to represent he first prototype VX770.

 

Nice Adam. I also have a second hand built (and satripped) Lindberg Vulcan kit which I shall also refurbish one day, so I shall follow your progress with interest (I could certainly do with some accurate 1/96 scale drawings for all Vulcan marks - do you know if such things exist?).

 

Cheers

 

Derek

Edited November 10, 2020 by Derek Bradshaw

[KingTiger435]

Quite the fixer-upper, in defence of whoever made that kit decades ago they did a pretty good paintjob, looking forward to see how you do in repairing it 

[Adam Poultney]

 

 

16 minutes ago, Derek B said:

 

Nice Adam. I also have a second hand built (and satripped) lindberg Vulca kit which I shall also refurbish one day, so I shall follow your progress with interest (I could certainly do with some accurate 1/96 scale drawings for all Vulcan marks - do you know if such things exist?).

 

Cheers

 

Derek

I have a set of B1 drawings for 1:144, at least a digital copy that another modeller sent me. I have printed a number of copies to use in various scales, it's just getting it printed at the right size and you can have pretty much any scale you want. I'm not convinced by the nose shape which appears oddly similar to the GWH Vulcan's nose but other than that they appear to be fairly accurate. 

A set in 1/72 I have for the B2, which came with Warpaint No.30 Avro Vulcan B1, B1a, B2 and K2 is less accurate I think but not terrible either

[Derek Bradshaw]

5 minutes ago, Adam Poultney said:

 

 

I have a set of B1 drawings for 1:144, at least a digital copy that another modeller sent me. I have printed a number of copies to use in various scales, it's just getting it printed at the right size and you can have pretty much any scale you want. I'm not convinced by the nose shape which appears oddly similar to the GWH Vulcan's nose but other than that they appear to be fairly accurate. 

A set in 1/72 I have for the B2, which came with Warpaint No.30 Avro Vulcan B1, B1a, B2 and K2 is less accurate I think but not terrible either

 

Thanks for your advice Adam - I trust your opinion in these matters. With Covid, things are obviously more difficult to obtain these days, but I shall see if I can find copies of the drawings you have mentioned.

 

Many thanks and good luck

 

Derek

[Adam Poultney]

On 10/11/2020 at 12:55, Derek B said:

 

Thanks for your advice Adam - I trust your opinion in these matters. With Covid, things are obviously more difficult to obtain these days, but I shall see if I can find copies of the drawings you have mentioned.

 

Many thanks and good luck

 

Derek

If you need a set I can email you a copy of what I have, but it’s up to you to print them to scale

Anyway, my Lindbergh kit arrived, I opened it and fitted the main parts together just to see how it looks but put it all back in the box and into the stash. I decided that I have other projects I’d like to do before building that.

As inaccurate as the box art is, I love it.

 

Back to the FROG kit, the paint stripping continues. The black paint on the radome is putting up more of a fight but it comes off.

 

Looking at the landing gear, this is the same on both sides, the plastic has failed and will need replacing if I choose a gear up build. I would like this gear down but I’m favouring a gear up build as I think that would be a lot simpler. I might also modify the Lindberg Vulcan’s stand to use on this model

 

The inscribed serials under the wings and the roundels and other markings elsewhere are a bit of a pain. I’ve heard that superglue is quite effective at eliminating panel lines well if it’s not left too long, so I’m going to test this on part of a model I have for just testing stuff on, there’s some comparable panels on there.

[Pete in Lincs]

1 hour ago, Adam Poultney said:

I’ve heard that superglue is quite effective at eliminating panel lines

Not a method I've heard of but worth a try. You can also try stretching some sprue, and using Tamiya extra thin to glue into the lines.

It would then need a rub down, but I have used this method on an old kit in the past.

I have to say though that I think the lines suit it, being as it's an old kit.

[Adam Poultney]

41 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

 

I have to say though that I think the lines suit it, being as it's an old kit.

I would keep them but I already have a model of XA891. I could do another, my model of XA891 has the original pure delta wing she was built with. I would rather do a different airframe though. 

[Antti_K]

3 hours ago, Adam Poultney said:

I’ve heard that superglue is quite effective at eliminating panel lines well if it’s not left too long, so I’m going to test this on part of a model I have for just testing stuff on, there’s some comparable panels on there.

Hello Adam,

Here's my technique:

 

I use White Milliput a lot in my projects. And there is always some leftover that I allow to dry and then sand it into dust. Apply superglue onto the area you wish to fill and while the glue is still fresh, pour the Milliput "dust" on top of it. Press firmly with a blade and you can start sanding the treated area right away. You will get a hard, smooth surface. The only drawback is the fact, that you can't re-scribe on these areas. Superglue might shrink but when used together with Milliput dust there won't be nasty surprises later.

 

Cheers,

Antti

[alt-92]

Those moulded-in serials are very much a thing of it's time.

The Mistercraft Tiger Moth 1/48ish kit also has that, because it's basically the 1956 Merit kit. 
Took them off with sanding and polishing, also because they were slightly textured.

[RJP]

Moulded in markings were all the go.  The Aurora kits of my youth took it a step further.  They didn't just do outlines, some of them had a rough raised finish that ensured the decals didn't stick snugly.  Eventually trapped air let them flake off. If there had been aftermarket transfers back then a kid could have had another go at it.

 

Hawk did better.  Their T-6s and others had cleanly engraved outlines, easily solved with a swipe of tube filler and a bit of primer.

[Derek Bradshaw]

23 hours ago, Adam Poultney said:

The inscribed serials under the wings and the roundels and other markings elsewhere are a bit of a pain. I’ve heard that superglue is quite effective at eliminating panel lines well if it’s not left too long, so I’m going to test this on part of a model I have for just testing stuff on, there’s some comparable panels on there.

 

Hi Adam,

 

I use a similar technique to Antti_K. I use a mix of talcum powder (any brand or type) mixed with CA glue. I make a small pile of talcum powder, make a divot or hole in the middle of it and then add one or two drops of CA into it. I then use a cocktail stick to collapse the edges of the talcum powder into the CA glue and mix the two until I have the viscosity or consistency of thickness I require (the mix looks like something akin to a porridge sludge when mixed) and then apply it to the panel line or wherever else I need for filling purposes.

 

Once mixed, you maybe have a couple of minutes or so so apply it before it starts to harden (the more talcum powder you add, the quicker it will set). Once hardened (only a few minutes, but generally less than 10 or 15 minutes tops), you can sand it. It sands very easily and is smooth and non-shrinking, and what's more, it can be scribed. This is my 'go to' filler for nearly all jobs and I have used this technique for nearly 40 years!

 

Good luck

 

Derek

Edited November 13, 2020 by Derek Bradshaw

[Adam Poultney]

Slow progress recently, but progress nonetheless. The fuselage is mostly stripped and the decals on the stripped wing have been removed. The other wing remains untouched aside from removing the gear (and it put up a fight!). I decided to 100% go with a gear up build now after being indecisive for ages about this, after all Vulcans are meant to fly not sit around gathering dust. 

 

The now empty wheel well was filled with milliput. It’s a rough application and I’ll smooth it out at a later point. I haven’t got around to removing the serials yet. As can be seen here there’s still some work remaining to be done on paint removal for the underside of the fuselage.