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New Tool Vulcan B2 - "rivet counted" build X2 - second build now active


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Update August 2022, second build has resumed from page 14 of this thread. 

 

If you know anything about me, you would know I like Vulcans. A lot. In fact, in total I have 26 Vulcan models now including finished builds, stashed kits, WIPs and diecasts. 

When the new tool Vulcan was announced,(sorry, leaked the day before the announcement) you can imagine my excitement. I wasn't surprised as I knew beforehand that Airfix had been actively looking to scan various Vulcans in 2018, so I was expecting a new Vulcan B2 (one of the many reasons why I only built one old tool Vulcan).

During the early days of Covid, I started building a lot of Vulcans in all sorts of scales, and as I built more and more I researched more and more. And wow was that quite a rabbit hole to explore. First, get the engines right, get the ECM plates right, but now I'm looking at the blisters, which style of aerial each airframe had, and what tiny little changes were made when. I really enjoy this, but I prefer to keep it only to Vulcans; if I want to build without worrying about rivets I'll build a ww2 plane of some sort. This build will be one I try to make as accurately as my modelling abilities allow. Yes, I'm rivet counting this one. 

 

Anyway, with two kits on the way from separate suppliers, I have some fun builds ahead. The first of these arrived this morning.

Wow, that box art is incredible! Really shows off the Vulcan B2's large wing. Only issue I have with it is that the grey looks more like Dark Sea Grey than Medium Sea Grey. 

IMG_20210702_154019471_HDR

 

 

Here's a spreadsheet I made with a lot of Vulcan B2 configuration info I've compiled into an easy to understand format from various books, photographs and other sources.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ljleemPGEVyH360F-DqwZqu5iB3LrcqL/view?usp=sharing

 

 

I'll start this off with the box contents, I probably won't have time to write it all now I as I have to go to work at 5:30... plus the hangover won't help writing this quickly at all.

 

So, first thing's first, the schemes. XM594 as a Blue Steel carrying aircraft in fairly early camo is the A scheme, and a classic white freefall bomber, XM602, is the B scheme 

IMG_20210702_154134446

 

IMG_20210702_154141956

 

I haven't yet decided what scheme I will paint mine in, I'm quite liking the idea of going with aftermarket decals or printing some and doing XH557 in white as the Olympus 301 development aircraft with set of 201 jetpipes on one side and 301 jetpipes on the other. 

 

The decals are well printed as you can expect from Airfix, there is however one issue I've already identified. I'm pretty sure the trapezoid tan decal should be black. Could be wrong, I haven't checked yet but I'm 98% certain on this.

The sqn markings for 12 Sqn look really good, my first choice would have been 9 Sqn with the large green bat instead of the fox but oh well, it's a nice scheme regardless.

IMG_20210702_161637446

 

Comparing to the Victor K2 decals, you can see they've fixed the undersized roundels both Airfix Victor kits suffer from. These actually look like 84" roundels in 1/72 scale.

IMG_20210702_161903419

 

 

For reference for any mentions later in the thread and for anyone else building this kit:

IMG_20210702_154343000~2

 

IMG_20210702_154354970~2

 

IMG_20210702_154350571~4

 

IMG_20210702_155856512~2

 

IMG_20210702_161043071~2

 

Amendment to this one: UHF aerials not VHF, the VHF one is part 21. At least according to The Vulcan B.Mk2 from a Different Angle by Craig Bulman. 

 

Right, got to call this first post there. Need to go to work. 

 

Edited by Adam Poultney
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9 minutes ago, motogpMatt said:

Adam, do you think a black buck aircraft is doable from the new tool offering. Or will it require lots of aftermarket. Got mine delivered this week, looks a beauty

 

Matt :)

Hold your horses!  The lower wing panels have blind holes for the pylons used on the Black Buck jets so it looks like Airfix have got this in hand for the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War next year.

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3 minutes ago, stever219 said:

Hold your horses!  The lower wing panels have blind holes for the pylons used on the Black Buck jets so it looks like Airfix have got this in hand for the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War next year.

Superb news I'll hold fire for now looks as though I might be getting another one day then lol :) just don't tell the bank manager lol

 

Matt

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1 hour ago, GrahamS said:

Go to work? 
 

I think you need to sort out your priorities……


😁😁👍

 

Graham

The evil child should be chained to his bench, building this thing and detecting any pitfalls for the rest of us.

 

Martian 👽

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I’m collecting a couple of these in the not too distant future so will be following this thread with keen interest. As a member of Newark Air Museum I feel it would be rude not to build one representing their airframe, using its current configuration  but with the D type roundels.

Edited by avro683
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4 hours ago, GrahamS said:

Go to work? 
 

I think you need to sort out your priorities……


😁😁👍

 

Graham

I'm leaving next week, already got them sorted 😂

3 hours ago, PhantomBigStu said:

Watching along even though it will tempt me ever closer to not waiting to get the kit..........

 Just buy one..... Buy as many as you can..... you know you want to!

2 hours ago, motogpMatt said:

Adam, do you think a black buck aircraft is doable from the new tool offering. Or will it require lots of aftermarket. Got mine delivered this week, looks a beauty

 

Matt :)

I'm very confident that it is planned, the locating holes are already there to drill though and attach pylons, although the additional parts that would be necessary aren't included in this version of the kit. 

In terms of what you would need for the configuration of a Black Buck Vulcan, the four that went to Ascension were pretty similar. XM597, 598, 606 and 612 all had one ECM plate, Olympus 301 engines, a dual emitter head X-Band jammer and the full set of Skybolt blisters. 

XL391, the spare aircraft, was a little different, it never had an X-Band jammer, but did have the full set of blisters and one ECM plate; it stands out in its serial batch as it has a quite different configuration to the others. This was because it was held back on the production line to be fitted with Olympus 301s and full Skybolt attachments (probably more that I can't remember off the top of my head).

All these standard Vulcan parts are included so no obstacle there.

2 hours ago, stever219 said:

Hold your horses!  The lower wing panels have blind holes for the pylons used on the Black Buck jets so it looks like Airfix have got this in hand for the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War next year.

Yep that's what I'm expecting! Black Buck and it's about time for another rebox of that Victor K2....

2 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

Hi Adam,

 

Great start and loads of valuable information already! Thanks!

 

Picked up my example today, so I'll be following closely :)

 

Cheers,

Mark

If you need any more info, do ask. I'm enjoying this far too much already 😂

1 hour ago, avro683 said:

I’m collecting a couple of these in the not too distant future so will be following this thread with keen interest. As a member of Newark Air Museum I feel it would be rude not to build one representing their airframe, using it’s current configuration  but with the D type roundels.

It did undergo a significant amount of changes later in its service life since the Type Ds were phased out. But if the NELSAM in Sunderland can do it on their real one, I say go for it on the model 

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1 minute ago, avro683 said:

They are a cheeky bunch at NELSAM. Their Lightning F6 is a repainted Saudi F53!

haha yes it is, oh well hardly the only disguised Saudi Lightning. Great museum, and you're not going to see a Type D roundel Vulcan anywhere else. Their Canberra is up for some much needed work next I heard 

Edited by Adam Poultney
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Nah will resist despite the temptation given I’ve only just got myself a victor (which I will be building soon), he says knowing there’s very good chance having consumed a few beverages during the england game I’ll accidentally click a buy button somewhere 

Edited by PhantomBigStu
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@Adam Poultney

Thanks for the outstanding modeling detail photos and all of the recon work you are doing on the Vulcan- I have one on the way, and will be sitting quietly at the bar, taking copious notes! Got to see one fly at a Bergstrom AB airshow at Austin, TX back in the 80's and it was an incredibly awesome aircraft- BIG, NOISY, and boy could it maneuver! Looking up into the bomb bay, it was cavernous! Stunning on the ground and in the air.

Mike

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42 minutes ago, PhantomBigStu said:

Nah will resist despite the temptation given I’ve only just got myself a victor (which I will be building soon), he says knowing there’s very good chance having consumed a few beverages during the england game I’ll accidentally click a buy button somewhere 

An Airfix Victor I hope? They are a beautiful kit to build; I've done three of them and if I wasn't going to uni soon I would be getting a fourth to do in camouflage. If I see any going cheap though I am going to buy another anyway, I don't want to end up not being able to get one at a reasonable price when I can build them again if they go the way of the Airfix Valiant

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Well done Adam, this is the type of thread I’ve been looking forward too. It’s understanding those small subtle airframe differences that were added over time that help make ones Vulcan replica so much more accurate. I’ll have to study your spreadsheet a little closer for all this to sink in. 
 

On face value, it would appear that this kit has certain lumps and bumps that should be removed / added for the two kit schemes, I’m wondering if you could specifically highlight these in a possible future post. 
 

Unlike the early arrival Beaufort, we haven’t quite seen these kits Down Under as yet, however am really looking forward to getting one as soon as I see one. 
 

Cheers and many thanks.. Dave 

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2 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Well done Adam, this is the type of thread I’ve been looking forward to. It’s understanding those small subtle airframe differences that were added over time that help make ones Vulcan replica so much more accurate. I’ll have to study your spreadsheet a little closer for all this to sink in. 
 

On face value, it would appear that this kit has certain lumps and bumps that should be removed / added for the two kit schemes, I’m wondering if you could specifically highlight these in a possible future post. 
 

Unlike the early arrival Beaufort, we haven’t quite seen these kits Down Under as yet, however am really looking forward to getting one as soon as I see one. 
 

Cheers and many thanks.. Dave 

I wouldn't bother with the studying spreadsheet just yet. I have some additions to make that will require further research, mainly pertaining to recessed lamps to illuminate the IFR probe's tip at night which early Vulcan B2s were built without. 

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5 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

On face value, it would appear that this kit has certain lumps and bumps that should be removed / added for the two kit schemes, I’m wondering if you could specifically highlight these in a possible future post. 

I'll definitely make a post on that, probably tomorrow. Honestly I could probably most of it off the top of my head at this point, I've spent so long looking at Vulcan bits recently 😂

Scheme B requires less changes, as confirmed by @general melchettin another new tool Vulcan thread, XM602 was chosen for its configuration of blisters, engines and lack of an IFR probe.

 

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Ok so now I have some time to write up the rest of what I started writing earlier.

A selection of images from the instructions. If anyone wants a full set of images posting, I'll be quite happy to take some more and put them up on Pinterest (I can put as many images as I like on there unlike Flickr)

IMG_20210702_154159587

 

A great inclusion, hopefully to fix something which is almost universally painted incorrectly. The line between camo and white in the intake is something I've never managed to go get exactly right. Don't use these for wrap around Vulcans though! The camouflage went much further back into the intake on those.

IMG_20210702_154202630

 

 

It's like scraping a Vulcan but backwards! Speaking of seperate cockpit sections, Airfix would be very smart to sell the sprue with the cockpit on it alone (I think it's all on I've sprue), and tool up a bulkhead peice. There are 11 Vulcan cockpit sections, 8 of which are a Mk2s which this easily could represent. If it was, say maybe £12 or so, maybe £15 if it included a stand I'd happy buy a few.

IMG_20210702_154214305

 

 

You can see here just how well designed the jetpipes are and how much thought has gone into them. They include a jig to align parts correctly, which I'm sure will be very much essential. Unfortunately as this kit only has decals for Olympus 301 Vulcans, it does not include instructions for assembling the Olympus 202 jetpipes, so I'll have to guess at this if I want to use them. Annoyingly they have not included the original smooth 200 series jetpipes only the later ones with blisters around the edge. So if you want to build a vulcan pre c.1962-66 depending on the individual Vulcan in question, you'll need to make some modifications.

IMG_20210702_154218771

 

Well thought out ECM plates and air oil separator pipes. 

IMG_20210702_154229406

 

 

And now a few sprue shots:

 

Starting with the clear parts, I've seen better moulded ones but these are quite good. The problem here is that Newark have their Vulcan's windscreen wipers positioned in a way that wasn't the standard for a parked up Vulcan. The ones on the second and fourth panels should be parallel to the framing on the outboard edge, and the middle wiper is missing entirely

IMG_20210702_155829127_HDR

 

More coming in a moment

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IMG_20210702_155642393

 

Now for the nose.

Just so we're on the same page here, this is the terminology I'm using:

 

IMG_20200728_110358912~3

TFR blister and IFR probe, also note now there is no vertical panel line though the radome or wrapping around the top above the radome.

05072014_084535_0167_D3300~3

Recessed lamps for illuminating the IFR probe at night and the circular cap which covered the position of the TFR blister while it was not installed.

 

The kit provides four configurations:

Smooth nose, no IFR probe

TFR mod with circular cap, IFR probe

TFR blister, IFR probe

TFR blister, no IFR probe

 

It is missing:

Smooth nose, IFR probe

TFR mod with circular cap, no IFR probe (I don't recall if this was ever on any in service Vulcans, but it certainly is on preserved ones)

 

TFR was actually removable, it you look on XH558, XM603 and XL318 today, or the cockpit of XL388 or XM602, you'll see that there's a circular plate covering its position. The mod to receive a TFR blister was done before the actual blister was installed and most of the fleet flew with a circular cap where TFR would go for a few years from 1966 onwards. The part here is actually a circular cap with IFR, they are missing smooth nose with IFR. You could simply blend in the one with a circular cap in and rescribe to fix this.

 

If I'm being super pedantic, the kit is also missing the version which was a smooth nose with the hole for IFR blanked over; a lot of Vulcans actually had the oval hole cut on the production line and blanked over in preparation for the introduction of IFR probes.

 

For earlier B2s which were ordered as B1s, up to the XJ serials, modelled early on, you need to delete the recessed lamps. These were added during later refits so no need to in later configurations. 

 

The way the parts have been moulded, you will end up with an extra panel line running vertically around the nose and through the radome. This needs to be filled. In an ideal world the whole nose front would be a seperate part but this isn't realistic, I feel the best compromise would be run the seam along the line where the black portion of the radome starts; there is no panel line there but at least it won't stand out as much if it isn't filled. 

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17 minutes ago, SallysDad said:

I will be watching this.

 

Someone mentioned the Valiant..... Did the Airfix Valiant go out of production?

Yes it's been gone for a good few years now. Prices on eBay can exceed 100 quid for one. Thankfully Airfix are reissuing it at long last

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Watching this one very closely @Adam Poultney

 

Sorry if my reply in the rumourmonger thread seemed rude - I've just re-read it and it doesn't read well - doh! 

 

I did get to see 594 last weekend and my kit is currently sat at the DPD distribution centre in Rotherham so it's getting closer! Luckily my first build is going to be 594, but do you have any tips on correcting the canopy, or do we just wait until someone like Ali does a brand new one for us all? 

 

Cheers,

WV908

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