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Ukrainian 1/72 IL-76 Vacform Kit


'V'

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O.K an introduction.

I have here one large Vacform kit that I believe came as part of swaps I did with Konstantin from Kiev back in the 1990's.

My large plastic bag has a date 26th October 1996 written on it by me, indicating this has been in my loft for some 25 years.

The kit is in rather thick (Now brittle) white styrene and I note I have made up the A50 version radome and one wheel as

preliminary test pieces. In so doing I appear to have lost one engine fan, one undercarriage leg, and an engine intake tunnel.

 

The actual kit can be made as either the IL-76 transport, IL-78 Tanker, or A50 AEW version. All will require some detail work

and conversion. Probably the biggest problem is lack of detailed plans, photographs of those awkward areas not seen clearly

in distant photographs.

 

I am tempted to go for the plain IL-76, but could be persuaded to change that. Somewhere I have a few photographs I took when

the Russians visited Fairford, can't remember when that was, or where the photos may be. This was well before I obtained my first

digital camera.

 

Why now after 25 years of stalling ? Simply that I'd like to see it made up, with my 80th birthday coming in the first half of 2022

there is no spare time left, it's either now, or never.

 

For those super detail modellers I give you the instruction sheet  :-

 

IMG-4297.jpg

 

To be fair there are two large sheets that give a more detailed one side view of a IL-76 & A50. But many things are not shown

like the location of the many large flap fairings. As to  undercarriage zilch !! Now let's see if this is going to be clickbait, or not.

It comes with a warning that this will drag on for probably 2 years. Let's face it the IL-76 has been in my signature line since I

first joined Britmodeller early in 2008.

 

'V'

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I'm still searching out what little I have that could be called reference material.

The IL-76 book is in Russian, I was learning back then, but forgotten almost everything.

Still better than nothing.

 

IMG-4298.jpg

 

'V'

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Looks like a great project. The instructions look like the ones I had for a Bristol 188 vac I did a while ago - very minimal.

 

I had a quick Google for “il-76 walk around” and there does seem to be quite a lot out there on the web. I hope you can get the additional information you need that way. Looking forward to seeing it get built!

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

 

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Thanks for the replies guys,

 

I should be finishing my Ba-33 model, but last evening the windscreen went missing.

I thought if I made a real mess with plastic scrapings I could pacify the wife by pointing out I was going to carefully

clean the floor looking for that little piece of clear acetate.

For anyone who has not tried a larger Vacform, the extraction of parts and fettling into reasonable shape is both time

consuming and very messy. It's taken me all afternoon to extract from sheet and make up one intake trunking and one

pylon c/w engine half from one of 4 small sheets that look like this.

 

IMG-4296.jpg

 

The trunking now joined, showing the accuracy of parts. Vacformers need filler by the ton !!

 

IMG-4301.jpg

 

You will appreciate why I say this will take a long time. Even then it will be no super-detail job, I'll be happy if all 20 wheels touch the ground !!

Yep some 40 wheel halves to extract and believe me there is no way I'm looking for any resin after market components. Any extras will be Produced

from the plasticard, microstrip, brass wire and any other bits I can find around the house, garage and loft. I may of course have to buy more filler.

 

Looks like another afternoon at least to get the other parts off this.

 

IMG-4300.jpg

 

One section with the intake trunking and undercarriage leg has been 'lost', or mislaid over the last 25 years. Making a replacement under carriage may

give better results than what you see here. The problem then becomes replacing them all ??  Making round trunking shouldn't be too difficult from sheet

card wrapped around a suitable size pipe.

 

Ha, you can see why super detail is not the aim of this project.

 

Ahh Yes Adrian, Instructions can vary !! Is it any wonder you never see things like this at model shows.

 

'V'

 

 

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Thanks for the replies guys,

 

I should be finishing my Ba-33 model, but last evening the windscreen went missing.

I thought if I made a real mess with plastic scrapings I could pacify the wife by pointing out I was going to carefully

clean the floor looking for that little piece of clear acetate.

For anyone who has not tried a larger Vacform, the extraction of parts and fettling into reasonable shape is both time

consuming and very messy. It's taken me all afternoon to extract from sheet and make up one intake trunking and one

pylon c/w engine half from one of 4 small sheets that look like this.

 

IMG-4296.jpg

 

The trunking now joined, showing the accuracy of parts. Vacformers need filler by the ton !!

 

IMG-4301.jpg

 

You will appreciate why I say this will take a long time. Even then it will be no super-detail job, I'll be happy if all 20 wheels touch the ground !!

Yep some 40 wheel halves to extract and believe me there is no way I'm looking for any resin after market components. Any extras will be Produced

from the plasticard, microstrip, brass wire and any other bits I can find around the house, garage and loft. I may of course have to buy more filler.

 

Looks like another afternoon at least to get the other parts off this.

 

 

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Mmmm Pin,

 

Interesting and would no doubt save time & give a better look, however as I said this project is to have the absolute minimum of

expenditure on it's creation. It's a case of clearing projects that I've had a nibble at and therefore have no resale value, but also

something I have because I want to see it standing proud on a base.

Sadly my Contrail Myasishchev 3M, or is it a 4M ? will never reach the work bench, life is too short !!

 

Back to the '76' here the major parts are laid out alongside the side view plans I have.

 

IMG-4295.jpg

 

As can be seen it's something of a beast and I'm still fretting about finding a decent wet sandable filler as this is going to need quite

a lot. I fear this is where I will have to spend a few pounds. At the moment I'm thinking two mix car filler from Halfords. An attempt to

fill out a turbine boss where the plastic was drawn so thin it didn't exist has failed using Humbrol filler. Simply crumbles away.

 

I shall continue extracting the engine pods and pylon sections. Two now out and resting together, held by elastic bands to help gettin

the engine intakes round. All too easy with vacforms to either over trim as in fact I recall doing decades ago on an Aeroclub Meteor, or

not removing enough and in this case having too thick a pylon.

 

As I've now found the windscreen for the Ba-33 I shall return to that and finish it soon (I hope).

 

'V'

Edited by 'V'
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Hi TheyJammedKenny,

 

I have used two mix car filler before, I don't remember it getting that hot, just warm. I will have to invest in some fillers,

a heavy deep fill and a lighter fine fill.

 

Anyway it's taken me an hour to extract a 1/3 main fuselage section from its scrap edging. Using a Stanley knife to the

degree that I have slightly sore hands. Put the Vernier gauge on an undrawn edge and came up with 2.0 mm thick.

 

I still don't know if I should go for the A50, IL-78, or IL-76. here it sits on the kitchen work top with the wings and radome

to try to give an idea of how big this monster will be. I took a load of pictures of a IL-78 at Fairford, all pre digital cameras.

 

IMG-4311.jpg

 

I have a Boeing E3, that would look good alongside the A50, but then an IL-78 would sit well alongside my VC-10 K2. Yet a

basic IL-76 is easier to make and when did you see one made up ? I wish I could make up my mind !!!!!

In the meantime I have loads of rough trimming to do, even before the finer matching up to any adjoining parts.

This will run for some time- A little faster than previously, those main wings were put together in the mid 1990's

 

'V'

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More trimming done and now all 7 components of the main fuselage cut out.

I have no idea of how accurate the plans are, but the parts indicate the model will be somewhat narrower.

It will be made as parts allow, the fin sweep angle doesn't agree and certainly the fin bullet is far to thin. I will

build the fin bullet up as all the photographs I've seen none are like the kit part, but fin sweep will be as kit.

 

IMG-4312.jpg

 

This is a monster, big enough already to have had comments from her indoors. Funny never complaints about railway

stuff laying around. It is taking a lot of space, here just the tailplane alongside the almost finished Czech Ba-33 model.

 

IMG-4313.jpg

 

The more I check against the plans the more I'm tempted to do as an AWACS A50. There is no provision for the twin

tail cannon armament of the transport. Also should I ever take it out, it would look good with the NATO Boeing E3.

 

'V'

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Hi TheyJammedKenny,

 

Yes, exactly one of the reasons for looking at Mainstay. The cabin windows I believe are all flat, but I will have to look at that

carefully when I start cutting out the voids. My VC-10 windows were individual flat pieces cut to match the openings, so I

have done that before, but with many less and it was slow !

 

Just preparing the kit parts is laborious, and although I built a complete flight deck for the VC-10 this will have the absolute

minimum, like a cabin floor and pilots seats, perhaps some central controls as they take up so much space between the pilots.

This one is for me, because I like the airframe shapes, I doubt it'll ever go to an exhibition so no fancy work.

 

'V'

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5 hours ago, 'V' said:

The cabin windows I believe are all flat, but I will have to look at that

carefully when I start cutting out the voids.

 

Some of them are also gold-tinted.....

 

Taken at MAKS 2009

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

Great progress on your Il-76/-50 btw :worthy:

 

Ken

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Hi Flankerman,

 

Thanks for those photos, I can use them for painting as well. although the dark grey one I've seen in some photos

would be interesting.

The gold effect can probably be obtained by painting the inside with Humbrol enamel gloss varnish, the yellowing effect

should work (Theory !). It looks like those small eyebrow windows are also gold tinted.

 

TheJammedKenny

 

MMmmm perhaps some time, but not immediately, The VC-10 has sat gathering dust in my loft for the last 8 years plus. It could

probably do with a wash. Another windows trick I used once was to use thin, flat, but stiff clear plastic and flooded with superglue,

building up until I could sand back to more or less match the fuselage single plane curvature. I've tried a few things, some work,

otherwise I wouldn't be here now !!

As to clear vacformed windows blister - No chance with this beast. I'm certain it came from my pen-friend in Kiev way back in the

early '90's.

 

'V'

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