Ray S Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 (edited) Hello all. At the moment it is so hot here, and I do not have aircon or a fan, so that is limiting what I can do on the workbench. I have decided to do something which I am not renowned for, and that is a bit of pre-build preaparation. When the 'French Fancy II' GB came up, I really only had two subjects in my stash. There was the small matter of this vacform, or HobbyBoss' 1/350 Condorcet pre-Dreadnought. At one point I was going to do both. However, the 7 GB's I signed up to were overlapping each other somewhere along the line - they all started between January and August. I have therefore decided to do only the one, but it will be my third vacform for the GB's, with possibly another later on in the High Wing GB. This is what I have chosen for this GB: It is a small sheet for the aircraft, and I will not need to cut out too many parts as some are duplicated in metal. Scaleplanes as a brand were in my memory as being very good but basic kits, giving the modeller the bare bones to work with, but good bones at that. Their instructions are of the time (1980's): As you can see, it states quite categorically that is a 'Basic Vacform Kit' And there was plenty to read, but minimal guidance as to what goes where, or even how big the bits are. There are templates for the struts, and the modeller has to work out which is which - 'proper modelling!' When I bought the kit from a trader at our local Club Show a few years ago, the price tag was £10, and I saw the vacform sheet and the instructions. Imagine how I felt when I also found this lot inside the pack too! Transfers and a photo-etch fret, complete with 'Scaleplanes' etched on it. They must have decided to go a bit 'less basic' compared to when I bought my first couple of Scaleplanes' kits. But there was more! Yes, even some white metal was in there too. Whoever had pre-owned it had started to paint the prop, but that was as far as they got. I am not sure if this was included by Scaleplanes or if it was after-market stuff that had been left in the pack.There was also two strips of Aeroclub/Contrail-type rod in too for the struts and undercarriage. All in all, I was happy with the £10 for the vacform model, but these accessories really made my day! The etch fret appears to have numbers printed on it, but no reference to it in the instructions, but I will replace the etch undercarriage and struts with the rod (or my own Aeroclub struts) as the etch is too flat, but it will do as a template. I have sprayed the vacform sheet with Halfords Grey Primer, and tomorrow I will start cutting it out and sanding it down. I have three other kits on the go at the moment, so it will be a little while before I start this properly, but at least it will be cut out and ready to go! Any advice, hints or tips will be greatly appreciated. Ray PS - Scaleplanes always seemed to pick subjects that stretched the skill levels. The two others I have done were the AD-1 Sparrow Scout, and the Burgess-Dunne Floatplane Edited September 29, 2021 by Ray S Edited Title 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray S Posted July 22, 2021 Author Share Posted July 22, 2021 Hmm, I have just read some reviews that state this kit is small all the way round. Will that bother me? Nope! http://www.wwi-models.org/misc/FrenchWW1/MoS/mos72_m.html Never mind, it will still be built! Ray 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 Hello Ray welcome aboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 Fantastic choice Ray, although I expect @CliffB will be very disappointed this one isn't appearing in the High Wing GB that is coming later, you can't get much higher wing than a parasol. Good luck with this one. Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray S Posted July 23, 2021 Author Share Posted July 23, 2021 1 hour ago, JOCKNEY said: Fantastic choice Ray, although I expect @CliffB will be very disappointed this one isn't appearing in the High Wing GB that is coming later, you can't get much higher wing than a parasol. Good luck with this one. Cheers Pat This could have gone into French Fancy II, Anything But Injection or High Wing! I still have another parasol aircraft, so watch that space (maybe!) - it is the Eduard Fokker EV, and it is on my list of GB's I am doing along with their prospective subjects, and I have followed that reasonably well. Ray 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 Nice choice, such a cute aircraft. Shame you couldn't do the pre-dreadnought too... Good luck with the tiny Morane. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted September 6, 2021 Share Posted September 6, 2021 Hi Ray Have you endangered your pristine vacform parts sheet with any sharp objects since we last heard from you ? Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray S Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 On 9/6/2021 at 12:21 PM, JOCKNEY said: Hi Ray Have you endangered your pristine vacform parts sheet with any sharp objects since we last heard from you ? Cheers Pat Sorry for the late reply Pat. Sadly, nothing has been done to this, and it has been 'suspended' for the time being. I think I have "vac'd out" after the vacform Felixstowe and Bristol Scout, and need to do something different to keep my mojo going. My apologies to all! Ray 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 In the words of the philosopher K Roberts, "You've got to know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em; know when to walk away and know when to run." I applaud your self-knowledge and willingness to do what suits you best. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 3 hours ago, Ray S said: Sorry for the late reply Pat. Sadly, nothing has been done to this, and it has been 'suspended' for the time being. I think I have "vac'd out" after the vacform Felixstowe and Bristol Scout, and need to do something different to keep my mojo going. My apologies to all! Ray Hi Ray No apologies required mate, I've a stalled vacform Italian fighter which annoys me each time I look at it. Doing some simpler straightforward builds is my mojo restorer of choice. The challenge now is finding that straightforward kit in the stash ! Best of luck. Cheers Pat 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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