Vincent from Aden - 1/72 Azur/Frrom

[Patrik]

Full of vim after vacation, starting new build, 1/72 Vickers Vincent Mk.I by Azur/Frrom, so in fact Special Hobby (SH).

 

 

I am not novice to the kit. I have built another boxing, Vildebeest Mk.IV, some 5 years ago.

Therefore, I know very well that I must correct the rear cockpit again (Scarff ring – wrong vs. Fairey High Speed mount – correct). Additionally, the Vincent was a three-seater, so I will have to butcher the fuselage even more in order to open the observer’s cockpit behind the pilot. Vincent boxing contains additional sprue, featuring i.a. equipment for the extra cockpit.

 

 

I want the Vincent to look as much different as possible from my previous and future (Mk.III) Vildebeest builds, so it is going to be built with the underslung long-range fuel tank, message pickup hook, bomb racks and with no wheel spats. For that reason I have decided to represent one of the early machines in the service of No. 8 Squadron in Aden, K4134/D, especially as I can easily modify the surplus serials left from my previous Vildebeest Mk.IV build. While inspecting the decal sheet, I have also found the fuselage roundels are too small for a silver-doped machine, so they will be replaced from the spares.

 

 

There is one conundrum in the kit – two resin radial engines. The reason is that the engine had been for sure all wrong in the very first Azur/Frrom Vildebeest Mk.III boxing . They had provided (I suspect) Mercury instead of Pegasus. So in the next radial boxing – Vincent – they provided two engines. One smaller (Mercury?) and one bigger, likely Pegasus. Without single word in the instructions, and without altering any of the related injection moulded engine installation parts.

 

Now the references say the diameter of Pegasus was 55.3". The smaller engine in the kit is just 47", which is some 3 mm difference in 1/72. For me, too much to ignore. The bigger engine is for sure better, but still not perfect. 51" = 1.5 mm difference in diameter in 1/72. However, the bigger engine requires altering/replacing all the exhaust collector pipes (4 x 9 pcs.), which were designed for the small one. Therefore, I suspect, SH just silently provided two engines and left it to the modeller to use either the funny small one, fit the collector rings as they are and be happy with it, or use the bigger one and go through the ordeal of replacing all the piping. I decided to make it even more complicated, ordered replacement Pegasus by Radial engines & wheels and after I receive it, I will post here more detailed report on the engines.

 

Finally, the obligatory shot of the reference material, which is in case of Vincent quite satisfactory, especially the photographic references are really plentiful.

 

[SoftScience]

Even the idea of this kit gives me nightmares. You're a brave man.

[VG 33]

Hello

 

Some years ago I built 5 Wildebeest / Vincent simultaneously and it was really a time consuming build. I did not go as far as you in the details of the Vincent but I will follow yours with the greatest interest as I have somewhere in my stash a last box of this family.

 

Patrick

[Patrik]

7 hours ago, SoftScience said:

Even the idea of this kit gives me nightmares. You're a brave man.

The kit is challenging but not as that bad as far as I remember. I am grateful for it. The nightmares would be for sure in place, if the Contrail vacform was still the only game in town ...

[Patrik]

Replacement engine arrived in the post, time to compare.

 

As written earlier, the quoted diameter of Bristol Pegasus is 55.3" = 19.5 mm in 1/72. First photo shows both engines provided in the kit. In the end, the smaller one on the left represents most probably Pegasus, because the proportions are quite fine, just the scale is wrong. The diameter is 16.5 mm = 1/85. Too much for me to ignore, the engine with the huge propeller is the dominating feature of the airplane.

I identified the bigger engine as Bristol Jupiter. Why this one is supplied in kit, when it was used just in the early Vildebeest prototype, is a complete mystery to me.

 

 

The second photo compares the small Pegasus from the kit with the one by Radial engines & wheels on the right. Beautifully cast, very fine details and 18.5 mm in diameter. Therefore, the decision was rather easy for me, of course it means I will have to replace all the pipes of the rear and front engine collector rings.

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by Patrik

[Patrik]

Principal butchery completed, observer's cockpit opened and the rear cockpit corrected. Time to start working on the interior. The apertures for the transparent parts and the transparent parts as such had to be modified to fit. Fortunately, the transparent parts were all slightly bigger than needed, which made the corrections quite a straightforward issue.

 

 

 

After minor adjustment, the fit of the fuselage halves with the lower wing is exemplary.

 

[Patrik]

The end of August and whole September are not going to be best suited for my modelling activities, unfortunately. Too much business travelling, interleaved with short vacation. Nevertheless, I have not been idle and I prepared the interior parts for painting. The number of them is quite extraordinary for a shortrun.

The fit has been excellent so far, you just have to take care about the internal decking of the observer/radio operator cockpit (yellow arrow) which is about 1 mm too wide (easily correctable).

 

 

The next photo shows the level of detail you get straight from the box without need to search for aftermarket parts. Be careful when gluing the pilot's seat though. If put in the logical position at the end of the framing, it will protrude to the second cockpit annoyingly. Instead you have to keep the two horizontal tubes (orange arrows) in a line perpendicular to the fuselage axis. I had to tear of the seat after first try and redo the job. Test fit, test fit, test fit.

 

[Patrik]

After the expected three unproductive weeks, nice progress to show today. Interior completed, still without the scratchbuild parts in the rearmost cockpit, which I plan adding after joining the fuselage halves. The only part not coming directly from the kit is the missing portion of the framing inside the big port window under the pilot’s seat.

From the previous Vildebeest build, I remember the interior fit as exceptional. With Vincent, all floorboards and the rear instrument panel are coming from the additional “Vincent sprue". It almost looks like Vincent was added as an afterthought to the Vildebeest project, because all the additional parts were wider and required quite some sanding to fit.

 

 

[Patrik]

The fuselage halves joined. Unfortunately, the panel lines, especially in the rear part, are more or less completely wrong for a Vincent. So I decided to correct them, eventually add new ones where missing.

 

Phases 1+2, filling and sanding, completed. Phase 3, scribing, left for tomorrow.  The plastic is quite hard and easy to scribe in, so it seems it is going to be a pleasant job.

 

 

 

 

[Courageous]

Just caught this thread, nice to see your work again Patrik. Never liked rescribing myself.

 

Stuart

[ColinChipmunkfan]

Following this with interest Patrik.  Work on the fuselage interior looks good already.

Colin

[Patrik]

Thanks! The re-scribing job finished, but it was not that enjoyable task after all. Below my 2021 interpretation of the rear cockpit, with the new parts still unpainted.

 

 

After confronting the photographic references, I decided to disagree with the instructions regarding the position of the holes for the underwing bomb racks and this is the result.

 

 

Additionally, most Vincents were equipped with the light type Mk.I universal carrier. I had given up on this one already, because the scratch-building efforts seemed simply unnecessarily too much for me. But then, yesterday evening, I was searching through my stash for the Mini World gun barrels (found later elsewhere anyway), when I spotted exactly the right kind of carrier on the boxart of the Airfix Swordfish floatplane. After opening the box I found it winking on me from the sprue, and as I have two Swordfish boxes, and I will for sure not use the carrier in both of my builds, the problem was solved. The extra holes are marked green above. However, I was not as pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Swordfish moulding. The detail is rather soft, and the sprue gates are simply huge, resembling much more a shortrun kit than mainstream production.

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by Patrik

[Patrik]

Almost in parallel, I am posting the build on modelforum.cz, as not all my countrymates follow BM. And when I was doing so, it occurred to me that I have also the Eduard PE set for the Airfix Swordfish. So I dug it out and guess what was there? Much better than the original Airfix part. Means I have to fill in the holes in the green circle above, however the result will be worth it, I am sure.

 

[Lewis95]

This looks like a simply stunning build so far of a lovely type! 

[Patrik]

Brief report on my re-scribing activities before vacation. New panels indicated by arrows, one or two of them are just modified originals. Masks by Peewit

 

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Patrik

[Ray S]

@Patrik, this is coming along very well, such lovely crisp moulding. I am amazed at the detail in this kit and, like you, was delighted with the wing/fuselage fit. 

 

I will keep dropping in to see how things go, and thanks for popping the link into my Vildebeest thread!

 

Ray

[Brandy]

Coming along very nicely. I have to admit to a bit of a soft spot for inter-war RAF types as they are often more than a little eccentric!

 

Ian

[Sandeha Lynch]

Your interior is really beautifully done.

 

At the end of 2020 I built a Vincent, bodged from an Azur Vildebeest kit, and since I didn't do a great job or get the right camo paints I looked again and found the same Azur kit you have. I'll get to it later, possibly in the New Year, but I will be coming back to see how you are getting on.

 

I have an interest because it's one of the aircraft my dad got to fly in (as a passenger) when he was stationed in Sudan from 1938-40 (ish). He was an Intelligence Officer with 47 Squadron, based in Khartoum, and later at one of the airfields nearer the coast. 

 

There are a couple of his shots in my Flickr set (click below) but there's one detail I only realised quite recently - a sort of an 'Oh yeah' moment.

 

It appears to my eye that the edging on the windshield is chrome. I'd automatically have assumed a painted surface, but it seems not.

 

e004 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

 

He generally left few notes with his negatives, but this particular photo was taken on a flight to Cairo on 8th May, 1939, piloted by New Zealander Sqn Ldr Dudley Marsack RAF.

[Patrik]

The collection of the photos made by your father is fabulous, Sandeha. I just wish he was more interested in the airplanes he flew than on the people he met. Joking, of course.

Have you been able to find out the serial number for the camouflaged Vincent? From the photos it looks like KU x 3, K6???.

Do you perhaps have some photos of camouflaged Fairey Gordon in your possession? Or eventually even camouflaged Fairey IIIF?

[Sandeha Lynch]

I'm sure you know how inconsistent RAF records are in this period. I've worked on this question with a number of air historians and the closest I could find was by eliminating those reported on accident records. I suspect KU-3 is K4683.

 

I have put notes below each photo on Flickr, but much is still guesswork. For example, in identifying the camo Vincent as JE Dennant's, I figured that this was one of the prominent stories regarding an individual pilot, and why else would my dad have bothered to get out to meet and photograph the pilot if not as part of some debriefing ???  But it's a weak guess. 

 

Every interesting negative is in the folder, especially of the aircraft. Some I didn't scan for years because of technical faults, but, for example, the downing of the Caproni Ca.133 turned out to be a well-documented event. If a Ca.133 turns up in 1/72 I will build it. On the basis of just two shots proving he rode in a Lysander, I built one of those as well.

 

But there are no Faireys. And that really is a shame as I heard from Marsack's son that Dudley had enjoyed flying them before war began. I think my dad must have been up in one, but perhaps many negatives were lost long ago - there are none after 1941 even though he was still travelling a great deal. But still, I hope these shots can help people in whatever way.

[Patrik]

Few more steps successfully completed.

 

 

The forward position of the fin is not right, but I think I can live with it. The correction would mean reconstructing the whole empennage, and the kit has been subject to enough butchery already. The photo on the right is not of a production machine, nevertheless it illustrates the correct forward position of the fin nicely.

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by Patrik

[Patrik]

Adding various details, both from the kit (which are very nice, by the way) and scratchbuilt, and successfully procrastinating the dreadful moment when I have to start working on the 36 individual exhaust manifolds for the replacement engine. OK, starting tomorrow with the first 18.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by Patrik

[Courageous]

Always nice to see the details going on.

 

Stuart

[Ray S]

That is looking fabulous!

 

Ray

[Patrik]

Thank you all.

Engine ordeal, period one:

 

 

And period two:

 

 

I decided the last period, and probably some extra time, containing the complex assembly of the front exhaust collector ring, the two long exhaust pipes running along the fuselage and the remaining 18 exhaust manifolds, would come first after the recent setup would be painted an probably even fixed to the fuselage.

The Pegasus by Radial engines & wheels is a real beauty, with excellent engineering.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Patrik