John Masters Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Here's my first entry to this Very Big GB...I'll get into it sometime this week as soon as I have made some space on the bench. Even at 1/72nd scale this is enormous... This is the profile...I like the camo. Plus, it looks like the one they used in "Thunderball"...I know...the Bond Vulcan was a B.1A... Nice looking decals. Plenty of stencils... And here is the sprue...Gi-normous...still scratching my head and wondering if this isn't really 1/48th... --John 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Thoroughly looking forward to seeing this build. Plenty of reference pictures here https://www.pinterest.co.uk/adamjackpoultney/vulcan-reference-photos/ Two that will be useful, the second one is actually the real XM594: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted February 27, 2022 Author Share Posted February 27, 2022 Thank you @Adam Poultney I am pretty sure I am building this OOB but the references will be helpful I am sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 8, 2022 Author Share Posted March 8, 2022 I'll be starting this beast tomorrow... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 And I'm in! Page 1... Page 2... And here is what I have assembled, painted black as instructed. I'll go through and highlight the entirely with a dry brush. Also, I'll pick out the individual colours (leather, khaki, yellow, etc...) and then apply the decals for the IP, armrests... I have terrible feeling that none of this will be visible on the finished model. Too bad. It's a pleasantly busy office. --John 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 This is a nice looking cockpit and went together very well. It's a shame it'll be most;ty all closed up. --John 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 11, 2022 Author Share Posted March 11, 2022 Basically still recovering from a stomach bug, but feeling better...I decided to take care of this nose-weight issue. 40 grams. That's the heaviest I have ever dealt with. Time for the Liquid Gravity and the scale... Secured all those little beads in there with some CA, and I'll let that set up. --John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 What's the ratio of Liquid Gravity/CA in that poor nosecone? In any case, the cockpit looks very neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 11, 2022 Author Share Posted March 11, 2022 2 hours ago, Christer A said: What's the ratio of Liquid Gravity/CA in that poor nosecone? The CA is just the outer crust. I imagine the inner beads are loose, but I tamped them down before I added the CA so it is pretty tight. 40 grams. Egads! Big and British indeed! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 13, 2022 Author Share Posted March 13, 2022 I took care of a lot of infrastructure tonight. I also finished the nose. Surprise! A gap to fill! Bomb bay... Lots of these goobers needed to be removed. --John 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted March 13, 2022 Share Posted March 13, 2022 (edited) Hi John, Reviews of the more recent Airfix kits do say that clearance is very limited and that the fuselage interiors are a very tight fit needing paint to be scraped off sometimes to avoid gaps - looks like this may be one where they made it just a little too tight! I had a similar problem with my Beaufort but managed to adjust it in the end. Is it going to cause problems with the fit of the canopy? Pete Edited March 13, 2022 by PeterB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 10 hours ago, PeterB said: Is it going to cause problems with the fit of the canopy? Thanks Peter....I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, and a quick test fit say's 'no'...but I have a feeling it won't be any issue I cannot surmount. The instructions say that the interior should be painted black...that's fine. I may hold off on any paint inside until I know what can be seen. I''d rather the interior superstructure fits cleanly and allows the large wing to sit properly than any interior look. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 The fit issue you need to watch for is if the seats are in correctly. If they sit slightly too high they will foul on the canopy. Happened on my build of this kit and I had to remove the seats and sand down the tabs at the bottom before reinstalling them to fix it. You can see how much effort I put into mine, personally I'd do it again on a Vulcan but you can't see much of that at all. You could get away with a very basic paintjob so long as the pilots' seats look good 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 6 hours ago, Adam Poultney said: The fit issue you need to watch for is if the seats are in correctly. I know what you mean. When I was first putting them in, they seemed to not sit right. Then I gave them a little push and they popped down snug. The canopy fits over them well enough. I missed the rear navigation board! Oh well. Can't see it anyway. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 Onto the big delta wing and the interior superstructure...it's big. First some modifications, as per the instructions... This was tricky. I found it best to glue one side, then the other. Some putty will be needed, but I figured that. Glueing the interior superstructure is tricky. It is best to glue one corner, let it dry, then continue, etc...to try to get all 6 corners down at the same time is frustrating and cold lead to blue language. Used a lot of glue, both CA and Tamiya Thin. And I weighted and clamped where I could. Eventually you end up with this: I will put that aside for now and build the landing gear bays and the interior motor sections, all of which need to be built and painted before inserting them into the interior and, obviously, before one attaches the top portion of the wing. --John 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 Hi John, Coming together nicely but looks like hard work! I have the earlier Airfix version which may be less accurate but should be rather easier! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 38 minutes ago, PeterB said: Coming together nicely but looks like hard work! I have the earlier Airfix version which may be less accurate but should be rather easier! It's not difficult at all. I am just unused to building something quite so large! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 19, 2022 Author Share Posted March 19, 2022 Time to get the innards built and installed... Wheel bays... Nice looking details that will pop out with some highlighting once painted. Engines...I am doing away with the template for painting. It seems extraneous. I gave the internals some Medium Sea Grey on the outward areas and black inside. Aluminum for the jets. No one will see them. Clamped... While all that dries I'll fix the top half of the big delta wing. Hemostats required for clamping. --John 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted March 19, 2022 Share Posted March 19, 2022 Double check that that nose wheel well is in right, I got mine in wrong and had to snap the nose off to fix it. Looks ok in the photos but double check. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 19, 2022 Author Share Posted March 19, 2022 1 hour ago, Adam Poultney said: Looks ok in the photos but double check. Yes. It's easy to see how it could fit wrong. I am petty sure its in correctly. I'll double check again... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 20, 2022 Author Share Posted March 20, 2022 Egads. "Big" is correct. I'm actually finding it difficult to handle because it is so large. I need a bigger boat. Wing assembled...big clamp needed. A few hours later I added the nose. What you cannot see are the enormous gaps that will need to be filled and sanded smooth. It'll be alright in the end, but some work will be needed before priming. --John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 That's the problem with 1/72 Vulcans... they're a complete nightmare to handle during the build. You'll want to get that nosecone added soon because that will end up with a nasty seam that needs fully eliminating (it doesn't match any real panel line). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 21, 2022 Author Share Posted March 21, 2022 3 hours ago, Adam Poultney said: a nasty seam I've lost count. I'll be breaking out the spackle from the DIY shop... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 21, 2022 Author Share Posted March 21, 2022 I started on the rear sections of the engines... Just to show the gaps...I also attached the rudder... Gaps and seams... I had to seriously file down the tabs on the rudder so they would slip in. Even then, big gaps... I can't really believe that this is all my doing. Some of it must be the kit. There are also tons of sprue nodules that need to be removed which make me think the moulds are not the most perfect. I will wait until it is all pretty much assembled and then go around and fill it all in and give a good sanding, smooth it all up. --John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike N Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 Crikey, that is a very disappointing level of fit for a brand new kit, especially from Airfix of new. Add in that this must be considered a 'flagship product' and it's doubly surprising. Still, the level of detail is much nicer than their old tool kit. Keep plugging away Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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