Vickers Valiant BK.Mk.1***Finished***

[PeterB]

Back in 2011 I saw that Airfix had announced a Valiant and so I put in a pre-order and waited - probably for around 6 months. Eventually it arrived but has been gathering dust in storage ever since. It was issued too late to be eligible for the Airfix Classic GB but is I believe eligible for this one and also the NATO one later this year, so if I have time I will have a shot at building it. Airfix describe it as a BK Mk 1 though I am uncertain if that is correct as initially the Valiants were pure bomber B Mk 1 I believe. Some were later converted to a PR version, and others to a tanker and in 2012 Airfix released a conversion pack for both of these versions, and in 2021 I understand that they released a re-boxing of the kit complete with at least part of  the conversion set. Perhaps the nomenclature was changed to recognise the fact that the bomber could be relatively easily converted to a tanker and back again, but I will be building it in the bomber configuration, perhaps in the all over "Anti Flash White" scheme as I remember seeing them flying high overhead once or twice on my way home from school in the early 1960's. The Valiant entered RAF service in October 1952, and was phased out in 1965 shortly after the switch from high level to low level as the wing spars were found to be suffering from metal fatigue. The Valiant was considered something of a stop-gap design and so as the "more advanced" Victor and Vulcan had entered service by then it was apparently decided not to bother repairing the Valiants, and the B2 low level version was not ordered into production.

 

 

 

The kit comes with markings for 4 aircraft - the second prototype WB215 in NMF, XD823 used in Operation Grapple to drop what was claimed to be the first UK hydrogen bomb in 1957 (there is some doubt about whether or not it was a fusion event rather than a fission one I believe), XD857 in 1963, and WZ404 in 1964, and has the option of either a single nuclear weapon or 21 x 1000lb iron bombs, though I will probably model it with the undercarriage down and the bomb doors closed.

 

I suspect this was one of the first of the "new style" Airfix kits, following their Bf 110 of 2010 so it will be interesting to see how it goes together compared with some of the more recent ones.

 

Pete

 

 

Edited February 8 by PeterB

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Welcome to the build, happy to see a “V” bomber. 

[stever219]

The Valiants were built as, and/or converted to B. Mk. 1, B. K. Mk. 1, B. (PR). K. Mk.1 or B. PR. Mk. 1.  They were all very similar externally apart from those fitted for PR work; these featured a weapons bay camera fit with fairing doors over the camera windows proper.  Airfix haven’t covered themselves with glory on this aspect of the conversion pack, providing flush-fitting curved windows flush with the weapons/camera bay door skins.  The PR fit also had shortened bay doors and deflector with a fixed section between them (I think only one jet had this fit but I can’t get to my Valiant references just now to confirm this).  The refuelling night equipment was better depicted.

 

@general melchett did a review/correction/improvement thread in “Work in progress” not long after the kit was originally issued.and it’s well worth a read.  The conversion pack had markings for an early High Speed Silver and Red jet engaged in cold weather trials and an anti-flash White example. 

[CliffB]

Welcome from me too Pete 

[Dave Swindell]

8 hours ago, stever219 said:

The Valiants were built as, and/or converted to B. Mk. 1, B. K. Mk. 1, B. (PR). K. Mk.1 or B. PR. Mk. 1.  They were all very similar externally apart from those fitted for PR work; these featured a weapons bay camera fit with fairing doors over the camera windows proper.

As built, the PR airframes were "fitted for" PR work, but were externally the same as the bombers. Only those serving on the Valiant PR squadron (543) were actuallyconverted to full PR fit with the weapons bay camera doors etc,.

None of the markings in the latest release as a B(PR)K.1 are appropriate for the camera fit implied in the instructions.

[general melchett]

Funnily enough I'm just putting the finishing touches to a 543 squadron B(PR)K Mk.1 WZ380 using the Airdecal 7214 sheet, for our Bomber Command SIG, I'll post images when finished, (don't hold your breath though). Out of interest five B(K) Mk.1s were also to have dual flight refuelling/PR capability, WZ376, WZ380, WZ382, WZ389 and WZ399.

[PeterB]

Just dug out one of my books on the Valiant and it seems Airfix were correct - 3 of the 4 aircraft were indeed BK.Mk.1, the other being the Vickers Type 667 2nd prototype.

 

Pete

[PhantomBigStu]

Glad to see this one, I'd be tempted myself (and I'm still tempted to buy a third anyway as I’ve a sizable Amazon voucher going spare) if I hadn't ruined two with my total inability to spray white.......build wise it goes together fine except the gear doors in the up position though I''m guessing yours will be on its wheels 

Edited February 8 by PhantomBigStu

[PeterB]

3 hours ago, PhantomBigStu said:

Glad to see this one, I'd be tempted myself (and I'm still tempted to buy a third anyway as I’ve a sizable Amazon voucher going spare) if I hadn't ruined two with my total inability to spray white.......build wise it goes together fine except the gear doors in the up position though I''m guessing yours will be on its wheels 

Hi Stu,

 

I am still thinking about the paint scheme for this - at the moment I have a Rareplanes Vulcan which currently is in the grey/green over light grey scheme and a Matchbox Victor K2 in grey/green over white. I have  conversion kit to turn the latter into a bomber some day, and also have the first boxing Airfix Vulcan, and I guess one of the models will end up in overall white so I have stocked up on Colourcoats "anti-flash" - the trouble is I can't as yet decide on which of the 4 it will be! As I did my TSR 2 in a "Whif" scheme I suspect it will be the Valiant, and one of my Vulcans will perhaps end up in the wrap round dark grey/green scheme.

 

Spraying white could indeed by a problem, particularly given the size of the model, and it might have to wait until later in the year when we hopefully have better weather so I can do it in my shed - we will see. I will as you suspected be building it wheels down in all probability.

 

Pete

[PhantomBigStu]

On 2/8/2024 at 4:17 PM, PeterB said:

Hi Stu,

 

I am still thinking about the paint scheme for this - at the moment I have a Rareplanes Vulcan which currently is in the grey/green over light grey scheme and a Matchbox Victor K2 in grey/green over white. I have  conversion kit to turn the latter into a bomber some day, and also have the first boxing Airfix Vulcan, and I guess one of the models will end up in overall white so I have stocked up on Colourcoats "anti-flash" - the trouble is I can't as yet decide on which of the 4 it will be! As I did my TSR 2 in a "Whif" scheme I suspect it will be the Valiant, and one of my Vulcans will perhaps end up in the wrap round dark grey/green scheme.

 

Spraying white could indeed by a problem, particularly given the size of the model, and it might have to wait until later in the year when we hopefully have better weather so I can do it in my shed - we will see. I will as you suspected be building it wheels down in all probability.

 

Pete

Best of luck with the spraying when you eventually get to it, I'm told its not actually that difficult if you are not me as the prolific civy builders on here suggest. Anyway this got me thinking as I did actually brush paint the underside of a victor gloss white few years back before the paint bizarrely and uniquely started peeling off so I've ordered one my my favoured brand's take on white to see how it brushes with a future valiant in, only problem is I lack a suitable small scale test subject...... 

[Redstaff]

Nice choice, I've built Vulcans and Victors in the past, but never a Valiant

It'll be nice to see the differences in the build  

 

Ian 

[81-er]

I've recently aquired the latest boxing in the new year sale, so I'll follow along, Pete. All I've done with mine so far is take the fuselage and wing bits off the sprues for a dry fit to see if I'll be able to fit the completed model in the cabinet (a bit touch and go). What I did notice is the outer sections of the upper wing on mine are very warped, although they seem to straighten out ok when aligned with the lower sections. I've also seen some talk online that the joint between the front of the upper wing and the fuselage can be a bit interesting, and there's some impressive ejector marks to fill in the intakes.

 

James

[Retired Bob]

I have the same boxing as you Pete, probably bought around the same time as well. (must get it built)  Some of the slight problems with this kit were found by @general melchett  back in February 2012, well worth a look through for build advice, but some of the photos and links have expired.

Your comments about "Operation Grapple" I believe XD818 was the aircraft that dropped the weapon, that's the only reason it didn't get scrapped like the rest of the fleet when the fatigue was found to be so bad.  The weapon that was dropped was a fusion bomb, there was just a problem with obtaining the megaton range they were trying for.  Our American cousins finally relented and helped us with that problem, hence the Yellow Sun Mk.2 and Blue Steel had a megaton range warhead.

[general melchett]

Quote

Some of the slight problems with this kit were found by general melchett  back in February 2012, well worth a look through for build advice, but some of the photos and links have expired.

 

Thanks Bob, I'll have a look through the photo library and see if I can repost all or some of the missing photos.

[PeterB]

Ok, with my two B-25 builds nearing completion I can make a start on the Valiant before too long (I hope).

 

Here are the sprues.

Yes, the Blue Danube nuclear bomb was ruddy big - later nukes progressively became smaller and lighter - those are supposed to be 1000 lb bombs alongside it on the sprue - the Valiant could carry one 10000 lb Blue Danube or 21 x 1000 lb conventional bombs.  As the Valiant was probably the least well known V Bomber, here is a bit of background I lifted direct from Wiki which sounds about right.

 

'The Air Ministry issued a specification (B.14/46) on 11 August 1947 for a "medium-range bomber landplane" that could carry a "10,000 pound [4,500 kilogram] bomb load to a target 1,500 nautical miles [2,780 kilometres] from a base which may be anywhere in the world", with the stipulation it should be simple enough to maintain at overseas bases. The requirements also included a weight of 140,000 pounds (64 tonnes). This request would become the foundation of the Royal Air Force's airborne nuclear deterrent.

 

At the same time, the British authorities felt there was a need for an independent strategic bombing capability—in other words that they should not be reliant upon the US Strategic Air Command. In late 1948, the Air Ministry issued their Specification B.35/46 for an advanced jet bomber that would serve as a successor to the Avro Lincoln, the then-standard heavy aircraft of RAF Bomber Command, and that it should be the equal of anything that either the Soviet Union or the United States would have. The exact requirements included that the fully laden weight would be under 100,000 pounds (45.36 tonnes), the ability to fly to a target 1,500 nautical miles (1,700 mi; 2,800 km) distant at 500 knots (580 mph; 930 km/h) with a service ceiling of 50,000 ft (15,000 m) and again that it should be simple enough to maintain at overseas bases. A further stipulation that a nuclear bomb (a "special" in RAF jargon), weighing 10,000lb (4,500kg) and measuring 30ft (9.1m) in length and 10ft (3.0m) in diameter, could be accommodated. This request would be the foundation of the V bombers.

 

The Air Ministry accepted that the requirement might prove to be difficult to achieve in the time-scale required and prepared for a fall-back position by re-drafting B.14/46 as an "insurance" specification against failure to speedily develop the more advanced types that evolved into the Avro Vulcan, Vickers Valiant and Handley Page Victor as this was to be a less ambitious conventional type of aircraft, with un-swept wings and some sacrifice in performance. The only significant performance differences between B.14/46 and the more advanced B.35/46 were a lower speed of 435 knots (501mph/ 806km/h) and a lower height over the target of 35,000 to 45,000 ft (11,000 to 14,000m).. According to aviation authors Bill Gunston and Peter Gilchrist, the specification's ignorance of a swept wing was odd for the era, and had been made in order to allow the prospective bomber to be delivered more quickly.'

 

In reality the only aircraft built to the B.14/46 spec was I believe the Short Sperrin, a rather ungainly looking plane with straight wings albeit with a heavily swept leading edge, and 2 R-R Avons of 6500 lb thrust pod mounted on each wing in a vertical pairing. Its performance was actually pretty good but for all its "simplicity" Vickers rather more advanced Valiant actually flew before the Sperrin in May 1951 and the latter was not accepted for service, the two prototypes being used for engine and weapons testing for a few years. Production Valiants entered squadron service in February 1955 as the first of the V Bombers. Production ended in August 1957 after 104 had been delivered. The Air ministry wrote a revised specification B.9./48 when they confirmed the production order for the Valiant.

 

I eventually managed to find Colonel Melchett's build from 2011 - most impressive but I think mine will be pretty much OOB though I may modify the top of the vertical tail as he suggested.

 

Pete

 

 

 

Edited March 29 by PeterB

[PhantomBigStu]

Nice to you starting, I got myself the reissue with the extra sprue last week so even more keenly watching along 

Edited March 29 by PhantomBigStu

[PeterB]

I painted the cockpit parts yesterday and today I assembled them and got the decs on. Airfix suggest using Hu 88 "Deck Green" for the interior but that is a bit dark and so I have followed General Melchett's suggestion and used Hu 102 "Army Green" which turned out to be almost a perfect match for the green background to the instrument decs and apparently also matched the real thing! I also added the windows and door to the fuselage halves. Only the very front section will be visible when the canopy is on and painted. I will add the top grab handles to the ejector seats just before I add the canopy later.

 

 

When that was dry I did a test fit and as expected with the current Airfix kits the tolerances were too tight even though I had scraped the paint off the mating surfaces so it was out with the file and I reduced the width of the various bulkheads.  After several dry fits, more filing, and removing a little from the fuselage edges in the cut out for the wing which were interfering with the fit I got there in the end. I then glued in the cockpit assembly, the 4 fuselage bulkheads, the undercarriage bay and the insert at the rear of the cockpit, checking from time to time that they lined up correctly,

 

 

After one last check I added the ballast to the nose - at least there is plenty of room for once! Airfix say it needs 22g but I added 26g as near the nose as possible - if that is not enough I can get a bit more into the nose cap thingy. I then glued the fuselage together. As it is long I started at the back and worked forward - it was a struggle but not that bad. However, when I came to fit the bomb bay door and the part between it and the undercarriage bay it was clear that the lower fuselage was a bit "wobbly" which is hardy surprising when you consider the size of the cut-outs in it. It needs a fair bit of help but the fit does not look too bad, though it will probably need a small amount of filler.

 

 

I will leave that to dry overnight before I add the wings and tailplane.

 

Pete

[CliffB]

Nifty work Pete, and looking good 👍

[PeterB]

Although it is a big kit physically, there are only 142 parts according to Airfix, and if you exclude the alternative bits and the bomb bay/bombs that comes down to 99, so it is going rather faster that I expected, at least in terms of construction. Whilst waiting for the fuselage to set I assembled the wings and ran into an interesting problem. When I checked the kit back in 2011 to confirm all the parts were present and intact I did not notice this.

 

 

The tips of the lower wing parts include a thin strip which should lie flat and glue to the upper wing outboard of the aileron cut-out but as you can see they are both curled up into a semi-circle. I suppose it may have happened during packing or transit but that seems unlikely. I tried the hot water trick as plastic sometimes is said to have a "memory" of where it was before it was bent, but to no avail, and had to resort warming it up and bending - perhaps significantly, each time I put it back in the warm water before a bit more gentle bending it tried to curl back up, and when I did eventually straighten them out they showed the characteristic "stretch marks" which were not there previously.

 

 

As mentioned earlier this was on pre-order before the kit hit the shelves and so must be from an early production run by Airfix and I suspect it is due to a moulding problem - maybe the plastic was not fully hardened when it was taken from the mould. Presumably this was sorted on later runs. Anyway, once that was fixed I drilled out the holes for the underwing fuel tanks and added the wheel bays.

 

 

Followed by the intake assemblies.

 

 

And then I glued the wings together.

 

 

The span was 114ft and the fuselage length 108ft  approximately, - midway between the Vulcan and the larger Victor. I left that overnight and then this morning I added the wings and the horizontal tail.

 

 

The fit was tight and needed a little easing with a file, and the flexibility in the centre of the fuselage I mentioned earlier meant that a little clamping was required to squeeze it at the rear of the wing - not perfect but I have seen a lot worse over the years. 

 

The size of the kit makes handling a bit problematic and I may end up switching to the dining room table as I did with my Fw 200 and Ju 290 last year due to lack of space on my workbench.

 

Pete

[PeterB]

I seem to be on a bit of a roll with this one, so I added the control surfaces, jet-pipes, tail cone, and the intake under the port wing and then started work on the seams. Just a little filler which I then rubbed down before adding the undercarriage legs. As the balance was fine I added the appropriate nose section together with the ejector seat handles - probably not the correct ones for the Martin Baker Mk 3/3A fitted to this plane but they add to the appearance.

 

 

I then added the canopy and the bomb aimers cupola.

 

 

I also built up the under-wing fuel tanks. I remember reading an article some years ago about a post-war craze in the US - people bought surplus drop tanks, added engines and running gear and used them as single seat road racers. Well, if they bought a Valiant tank they could add a V8 engine, seats for 4 people together with a dog and baggage, and maybe even a bed or two or a bar😆

 

So in terms of what's left in the box, it is just the wheels, wheel doors, pitot tubes and a couple of aerials - not bad considering I only started on the cockpit on Friday, and I thought this was going to be a long build! Perhaps that is an indication of how well it goes together, or maybe its because I am a sad individual who spends far too long at the workbench - probably a combination of the two.

 

With luck I will get it washed later today ready for priming, but after that it all depends on the weather. When I was making up a minimum order from Sovereign Hobbies a few years ago I bought a couple of tins of their Colourcoats "anti-flash" white so I will see how it does in my airbrush - could be fun!

 

Pete

Edited April 7 by PeterB

[Wings unlevel]

Great progress, Pete, you’ve done more on your Valiant in a week than I’ve done on my Victor in over a month! With your fettling and care it looks to have gone together very well. Think I need to build one one day for sure.

[81-er]

You're making a great job of this one, Pete, and making me want to build mine  I've also got the same problem with the curly strips on the wings, but my kit was purchased directly from Airfix in January, so it's clearly a "feature" of the kit

 

James

[PeterB]

1 hour ago, Wings unlevel said:

Great progress, Pete, you’ve done more on your Valiant in a week than I’ve done on my Victor in over a month! With your fettling and care it looks to have gone together very well. Think I need to build one one day for sure.

Hi Wings,

 

Well, I certainly have had to do a bit of fettling but as to care, then by my usual standards I seem to have gone at it like the proverbial bull in a china shop - it says a lot for the kit engineering that I seem to have got away with it so far! I got lucky with the weather as the rain stopped and the wind dropped enough for me to get a coat of Halfords white plastic primer on outside.

 

 

I may need to do a little more work on the wing to fuselage joints but otherwise it is ready for the top coat. Now with that I really will be taking some care, so it will probably go wrong. For smaller kits I can't be bothered getting my airbrush out but I will give it a try on this beast. However there is a big area to cover and my old Badger is getting a bit temperamental, so I will probably start under the wings to see how it goes. This will take some time as I will be using enamel paints for once. I am almost tempted to just give it another coat of primer and then spay varnish over it, but then it would probably be just a little too white! The anti-flash white seems to have been slightly greyer if the Colourcoats paint is anything to go by.

 

Pete

Edited April 8 by PeterB

[81-er]

The primer looks nice and smooth, Pete

 

James

[Wings unlevel]

2 hours ago, PeterB said:

I am almost tempted to just give it another coat of primer and then spay varnish over it

You almost could, it looks pretty good from here, but I will watch with keen interest to see how the Colourcoats anti-flash white goes, as I really haven’t worked out how to tackle painting my Victor yet.