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1/72 Airfix Avro Vulcan **NEW TOOL**


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  • 2 months later...

After two months of neglect, my attention has once again returned to Avro's mighty delta...

 

Not a huge update, but any progress is still progress! The splitter plates were attached and unsurprisingly needed some filler:

 

spl.jpg

 

sprr.jpg

 

Note the unprimed areas around the side windows on the fuselage. Masking tape was applied (very roughly!) to protect the transparencies. I will mask them properly when the time comes.

 

Sanding and filling awaits... Still, it's good to be back at the bench!

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 07/01/2022 at 06:44, Biggles87 said:

Also glad to see this back, but boy it’s giving you a fight.Good luck.

Thanks John. I’m dabbling away at it still, trying to improve the intake seams. I’ll post some pictures when it’s worth updating!

 

In the meantime, I need a little advice please, so I thought I would tap into the wealth of knowledge that resides here on BM!

 

There’s probably a very simple solution, but what is the best way to cut a tidy circle (approx 5mm diameter) in a piece of masking tape? I need to mask the side windows in the canopy and cannot do it to my satisfaction…

 

I’m happy to buy a suitable tool if required, as cutting circles is a regular occurrence and I would like to do this properly!

 

Thank you!

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Stick some tape to a thin piece of plastic card and then punch through both with a suitable size punch and dye (or is it die?) set, then spend a tedious few minutes trying to peel the tape off the little plastic disk that you have just created - that’s the way I do it! Lovely work on the Sunderland - a favourite. The Airfix one my dad and I built about 40 years ago still hangs from my study ceiling!

Cheers,

Nick.

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13 hours ago, Back in the Saddle said:

 

I’m happy to buy a suitable tool if required, as cutting circles is a regular occurrence and I would like to do this properly!

 

Hi Matt

 

I use the Infini easy cutting matt type B for small circles , I think AK do a version too http://infini-model.com/index.php/portfolio/it-3002v1/

 

Mark

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  • 4 weeks later...

I gave up with the blu tac method as it wasn't looking very tidy. Attempting to cut a perfect circle was also proving troublesome... In the end I opted for Vallejo liquid mask instead. This worked really well on the canopy, as the window frames contained the spread of the liquid perfectly:

 

val1.jpg

 

It was also adequate for the two side windows lower down, but without the framing it is not quite so neat. If I'd not already used masking tape I would have used the liquid mask on the windscreens too - I think this would have worked well.

 

I also masked the bomb aimer's window on the underside:

 

val2.jpg

 

I will plug the undercarriage bays with foam and then prime the model to see how it looks. Clearly the seams on the nose need more attention!

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On 1/20/2022 at 9:34 PM, Nickthebrief said:

Stick some tape to a thin piece of plastic card and then punch through both with a suitable size punch and dye (or is it die?) set, then spend a tedious few minutes trying to peel the tape off the little plastic disk that you have just created - that’s the way I do it! Lovely work on the Sunderland - a favourite. The Airfix one my dad and I built about 40 years ago still hangs from my study ceiling!

Cheers,

Nick.

I may get a Brownie point or two for the suggestion, but my aircraft recognition clearly leaves room for improvement.

Where on earth did I get Sunderland from? Oh dear..... Must have been on the red wine.... Again....

Lovely work on the VULCAN, and you seem to have done a great job with the masking fluid.

Nick.

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On 16/02/2022 at 18:10, The Spadgent said:

The bird is looking like she’s coming together but I love the shot of the masking fluid. So neat and turquoise . 😀🐬

Thank you! I must admit, using liquid masking fluid is a joy - it's very therapeutic!

 

On 16/02/2022 at 20:03, Nickthebrief said:

Lovely work on the VULCAN, and you seem to have done a great job with the masking fluid.

Thanks Nick. I did wonder about the Sunderland reference, but I didn't like to ask...!😁  Which model is hanging from your ceiling though?:hmmm:

 

Work has continued apace now I've got the bit back between my teeth on this one. Firstly I took advantage of a dry day and sprayed the model with primer:

 

pri.jpg

 

Grey primer was used everywhere except the area around the intakes which were sprayed with white primer. Here's the left intake:

 

pil.jpg

 

A few minor blemishes, so some more filler was used:

 

fill.jpg

 

There is some nice rivet detail on the underside too, but it's a real shame about the deep panel lines - they might have to get filled before the end of this process...

 

It was then time to finish off the nose, as it just looks plain wrong with a blunt pointy end. Here is a shot of the sprue, which has multiple parts for the different protrusion options:

 

vns.jpg

 

Then the required piece was glued into position (minus the fragile probe!):

 

ncn.jpg

 

One other sprue shot for you, showing the exhaust pieces:

 

ves.jpg

 

Crisply molded and they assemble together like this:

 

exs.jpg

 

I will get the jet pipe interiors painted and then these can be attached. Tail fin next!

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13 minutes ago, Back in the Saddle said:

It was then time to finish off the nose, as it just looks plain wrong with a blunt pointy end. Here is a shot of the sprue, which has multiple parts for the different protrusion options:

 

vns.jpg

Of course missing the best option... IFR fitted pre-TFR fitting mod. Part 8 is post TFR mod, but without TFR actually fitted (probably correct for the camo scheme in the kit but not for any white Vulcan). Luckily the correction isn't difficult if you care enough and happen to want to do such a scheme

Edited by Adam Poultney
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20 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Nice to see this one progressing along again Matt. I love the way that liquid masking went onto those windows. Very neat.

Thanks Terry. Good to see you back building the gliders again too!

 

I have painted the insides of the exhaust attachments:

 

gm.jpg

 

And the corresponding areas on the upper wing section of the aircraft:

 

gm2.jpg

 

They were then glued into position using my favourite clamps to keep them in place:

 

coo.jpg

 

The exhaust sections can be fitted next. These are helpfully notched (marked with red dots) so they do not get mixed up. These are for engines '3' and '4':

 

rds.jpg

 

As promised yesterday, a look at the fin. Here's the main sprue:

 

f1.jpg

 

And the sprue for the rudder (and elevons):

 

f2.jpg

 

The pieces were cut out and the next image shows how they go together:

 

f3.jpg

 

Note the alternative pieces for other variants👍. I will glue these together and see how well they fit.

 

 

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On 18/02/2022 at 18:05, Back in the Saddle said:

I will glue these together and see how well they fit.

I must have had a premonition about this... The fin sections joined together without any issues:

 

fina.jpg

 

But if you look closely, you can see the locating tabs at the base have been attacked. The fin simply would not fit into the slots on the top of the fuselage:

 

fgp.jpg

 

I ended up tapering the tabs quite severely (and also widened the slots in the fuselage):

 

tpr.jpg

 

I then tried to fit the fin again. It was better, but still far from good:

 

fra.jpg

 

fla.jpg

 

The curvature of the fin fillet blends into the fuselage quite nicely and the fin is sitting vertically, so I will accept this and use filler to plug the gaps.

 

I'm not sure why the fit was so bad - did anybody else have issues with this section?

 

 

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3 hours ago, Serkan Sen said:

I can't believe how I missed this build from the beginning.

I can - this build has been pretty much on hold since October!

I'm quite enjoying it again now though, having had a decent break from beating it into submission. 😁

 

3 hours ago, Serkan Sen said:

The progress you did so far is amazing.

Thanks Serkan. It's certainly required more skill and attention than I had anticipated for a new tool kit... Talking of which, here's tonight's update on the latest problems!

 

The fuselage was masked at the base of the fin and a generous amount of filler was applied in the gaps:

 

mt.jpg

 

Hopefully once sanded back it will look as intended. 🤞

 

I then started work on the elevons, which are shown in one of the sprue shots further up this page. Some were distinctly warped!

 

bilb.jpg

 

Some clothes pegs soon made them conform to shape whilst the glue was setting, but note the joint seams on the upper surfaces which required filling. These could easily have been designed to be on the underside and far less visible:

 

vons.jpg

 

I now need to find some reference photos to show how the control surfaces would have looked when the aircraft was parked. I would like to have them with some droop, but I'm not sure if that is 100% accurate?

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26 minutes ago, Back in the Saddle said:

I can - this build has been pretty much on hold since October!

I'm quite enjoying it again now though, having had a decent break from beating it into submission. 😁

 

Thanks Serkan. It's certainly required more skill and attention than I had anticipated for a new tool kit... Talking of which, here's tonight's update on the latest problems!

 

The fuselage was masked at the base of the fin and a generous amount of filler was applied in the gaps:

 

mt.jpg

 

Hopefully once sanded back it will look as intended. 🤞

 

I then started work on the elevons, which are shown in one of the sprue shots further up this page. Some were distinctly warped!

 

bilb.jpg

 

Some clothes pegs soon made them conform to shape whilst the glue was setting, but note the joint seams on the upper surfaces which required filling. These could easily have been designed to be on the underside and far less visible:

 

vons.jpg

 

I now need to find some reference photos to show how the control surfaces would have looked when the aircraft was parked. I would like to have them with some droop, but I'm not sure if that is 100% accurate?

Contemporary photos suggest little if any elevon droop when parked, unless you are talking about preserved examples, where a bit of droop does seem to set in.

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1 hour ago, Back in the Saddle said:

I can - this build has been pretty much on hold since October!

I'm quite enjoying it again now though, having had a decent break from beating it into submission. 😁

 

Thanks Serkan. It's certainly required more skill and attention than I had anticipated for a new tool kit... Talking of which, here's tonight's update on the latest problems!

 

The fuselage was masked at the base of the fin and a generous amount of filler was applied in the gaps:

 

mt.jpg

 

Hopefully once sanded back it will look as intended. 🤞

 

I then started work on the elevons, which are shown in one of the sprue shots further up this page. Some were distinctly warped!

 

bilb.jpg

 

Some clothes pegs soon made them conform to shape whilst the glue was setting, but note the joint seams on the upper surfaces which required filling. These could easily have been designed to be on the underside and far less visible:

 

vons.jpg

 

I now need to find some reference photos to show how the control surfaces would have looked when the aircraft was parked. I would like to have them with some droop, but I'm not sure if that is 100% accurate?

That warping isn't a good look for a brand new flagship release from a big manufacturer... The theme of QC letting down this kit continues.... Oh well....

 

With regards to the elevons, they would usually be pretty much at the neutral position when parked. I added a tiny amount of droop to mine. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I believe that the elevons should sit neutrally provided the powered flying control units (PFCUs) are correctly adjusted. Droop, on out-of-service examples, can be caused by the PFCUs having leaked their hydraulic fluid.

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On 08/03/2022 at 03:58, XrayLima said:

I believe that the elevons should sit neutrally provided the powered flying control units (PFCUs) are correctly adjusted. Droop, on out-of-service examples, can be caused by the PFCUs having leaked their hydraulic fluid.

Thank you - that ties in with what I've seen online. I was curious as the control surfaces droop on many other aircraft (such as Concorde, from a similar era) and I wondered if this was the case on the Vulcan too.

 

I've had a session with some wet and dry... I first attacked the joint line at the base of the fin:

 

furg.jpg

 

I'm sure that there is more to do here, but that will need to wait until I've applied another coat of primer and looked again!

The intakes have also been sanded smooth. Here's the left side:

 

lis.jpg

 

lis2.jpg

 

And the right side:

 

ris.jpg

 

ris1.jpg

 

The whole model also received a gentle rub down, ready for the next coat of primer:

 

rtt.jpg

 

I think it's getting there - slowly!

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