neil5208 Posted January 26 Posted January 26 Before XM607 became famous by bombing the runway at Port Stanley on the Black Buck missions she was flown to the US on the Red Flag 77, were she had a middle stone/dark earth underside paint scheme. Unfortunately this was unsuccessful as the pilots reported they couldn't really hide the Vulcan massive shadow when flying over the Arizona dessert at 500 feet above ground level so they were authorized to fly as low as 300 feet agl. Due to waiting for a new nozzle for my airbrush (coming from Germany) and after speaking with Tom Probert at the last club meet I decide I would finally start the Vulcan that been sat in the stash for nearly 2 and 1/2 years, I'd already goth old of the Kits World decals which has the right sqn and serial number marking (I think you can model any B2 variant) to do the Red Flag 77 scheme when I received the kit. Must say I'm impressed how quickly such a large amount of plastic can go together My intent is to position the nose up 20-30 degrees as if on climb after take off so I built a plastic block and drilled through a 10mm hole for the acrylic rod and then used another block to prevent the rod from rotating. Its a bit rough but I made it oversize so I can file to fit inside the bomb bay. Next thing to do is find a lump of real wood for the base, don't want MDF this time. 20 1 1
Hook Posted January 26 Posted January 26 Oooh, a Vulcan! She's shaping up nicely already. Consider my chair pulled up, sir. Cheers, Andre 1
Trumpton_Orbital Posted January 26 Posted January 26 A Vulcan..... there's just nothing better...... I'll pull up a chair too if I may, it sounds like an unusual scheme and a great idea for a diorama - best of luck! Kind regards, Paul. 1
Richard E Posted January 26 Posted January 26 10 hours ago, neil5208 said: Next thing to do is find a lump of real wood for the base, don't want MDF this time. If you haven't already got something suitable in mind have a search on Ebay for a block of hardwood. Sounds like an interesting and different way to display a Vulcan... 1
stever219 Posted January 26 Posted January 26 (edited) On 1/26/2025 at 4:41 PM, Trumpton_Orbital said: A Vulcan..... there's just nothing better...... Search under " Handley Page Victor" for alternative suggestions! [Runs away bravely and dives even bravelier for very deep cover.] Edited January 28 by stever219 Phaulty phat phingers. 1 6
Trumpton_Orbital Posted January 26 Posted January 26 3 minutes ago, stever219 said: Search under " Handley Page Victor"gor alternative suggestions! [Runs away bravely and dives even bravelier for very deep cover.] 🤣 don't worry, I'm a massive Victor fan too!!! 2
TheyJammedKenny! Posted January 26 Posted January 26 This is a most worthy project and compelling subject. Who doesn't love a Vulcan? It's good that you're giving it attention, and frankly, 2.5 years in a stash is not long at all. I participated in two back-to-back Red Flags but there was no foreign participation in the ones I took part in. At 400 knots, the combined play areas (which include the Utah Test and Training range) get really small, really fast, and there's a lot of high terrain to worry about, particularly around "Reveille." I think flying at 300 feet AGL there would have been a terrifying experience personally. 3 1
LimaOperator Posted January 27 Posted January 27 (edited) 17 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said: I participated in two back-to-back Red Flags but there was no foreign participation in the ones I took part in. At 400 knots, the combined play areas (which include the Utah Test and Training range) get really small, really fast, and there's a lot of high terrain to worry about, particularly around "Reveille." I think flying at 300 feet AGL there would have been a terrifying experience personally. What about the crazy Buccaneer crews then…there’s in-cockpit footage from them at Red Flag doing 540knots at 100 feet! I’m surprised we didn’t lose more Bucs! Edited January 27 by LimaOperator 3 1
Lord Riot Posted January 27 Posted January 27 10 minutes ago, LimaOperator said: What about the crazy Buccaneer crews then…there’s in-cockpit footage from them at Red Flag doing 540knots at 100 feet! I’m surprised we didn’t lose more Bucs! RAF Buccaneer crews from the 70s and 80s have a reasonable claim to be the best fast jet aircrew of all time in my opinion. Back on topic, great to see another Vulcan build, looking forward to seeing this. 3 1
PLC1966 Posted January 27 Posted January 27 8 hours ago, Lord Riot said: RAF Buccaneer crews from the 70s and 80s have a reasonable claim to be the best fast jet aircrew of all time in my opinion. Back on topic, great to see another Vulcan build, looking forward to seeing this. I am sure there was a case where a Bucc down low was being chased by an F-15, the Bucc popped up over a sand berm and the Eagle driver didn't? 1
Trumpton_Orbital Posted January 27 Posted January 27 I'm sure I read somewhere that Vulcans would come back from Red Flag exercises with bits of scrub and trees jammed in the oil cooler inlets.....
neil5208 Posted January 27 Author Posted January 27 7 hours ago, PLC1966 said: I am sure there was a case where a Bucc down low was being chased by an F-15, the Bucc popped up over a sand berm and the Eagle drive didn't? There's also the story where a Bucc was being chased by an aggressor F5 when low level so dropped a dummy bomb and was awarded a kill due to the blast danger area being large enough to affect the F5 1
TheyJammedKenny! Posted January 28 Posted January 28 I never heard these stories. We were briefed about and shown the HUD footage from an F-16 that augured in during the 90s. The pilot was reading off his position over the radio, looked up, and realized he was done-for. It was a sobering moment, because it demonstrated that a few seconds heads-down lack-of-awareness could be fatal. The ranges are not all cleared for ordnance use; only certain, clearly briefed ones. There was an infamous "safety violation" in the 90s caused by an enthusiastic bomb-dropper who nearly struck a manned observation position in a no-release area. Not good, and I'm pretty sure that pilot was sent packing that very day. I doubt very seriously that a Bucc driver would have released even a BDU-33 while being "chased," as it would have been a safety violation no matter the chances of impacting with the aggressor. That would have been a "knock it off" moment with the pilot and navigator sent back to Mother England. 2
TeeELL Posted January 28 Posted January 28 I remember seeing the ground crew scrubbing away with stiff bristle brooms to remove the sand/brown camouflage, it took quite a long time as I recall. I never participated in Red Flag during my 5 years flying Vulcans, but I do recall a tale where a Vulcan released chaff and the pursuing F15 was next seen screaming away vertically. 2
Adam Poultney Posted January 28 Posted January 28 I wouldn't use the decal sheet you've chosen here. I have the same one sitting unused. The colours are mostly incorrect, nearly all of the decals are significantly underscale, and most of the squadron markings are poorly drawn. Happy to go through all the optional parts you should use for xm607 in that scheme if you'd like 1
neil5208 Posted January 28 Author Posted January 28 26 minutes ago, Adam Poultney said: I wouldn't use the decal sheet you've chosen here. I have the same one sitting unused. The colours are mostly incorrect, nearly all of the decals are significantly underscale, and most of the squadron markings are poorly drawn. Happy to go through all the optional parts you should use for xm607 in that scheme if you'd like Yes please Adam, that would be helpful. As for the decals only planning the tail codes and sqn badge rest would be from the kit.
Adam Poultney Posted January 28 Posted January 28 20 minutes ago, neil5208 said: Yes please Adam, that would be helpful. As for the decals only planning the tail codes and sqn badge rest would be from the kit. Ok so the good news is that the kit is very well suited to modelling Vulcans from Xm597-612. Should be fairly easy to make it accurate. Most of the small lumps and bumps are already as they need to be. For most of the kit just follow the instructions for the Black Buck version with a few changes noted below. https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/9/0/4/1502904-34-instructions.pdf The following points also apply if building a Black Buck era XM607: Step 56: cut off the tailcone tip along pre-scored lines and replace with the alternative part (slightly longer) Step 76: use part F36 instead of F37. Step 78: use the squared off fin cap instead (RWR fitted). No idea how Airfix got this wrong Step 135: part H16 is the wrong part. There is a more symmetrical looking version of the part that should be used Step 139: Part H19 is the wrong part. There is a blade antenna that should be used instead. Step 141: H20 similar to step 139. Step 142: Use the part with the TFR thimble and ifr probe. Another obvious error from Airfix! (Step numbers won't match the instructions you have! Refer to the Black Buck ones on Scalemates) For Xm607 pre-black-buck: Omit all the Black Buck parts - you don't have them anyway in this version of the kit General corrections: Add the missing middle windshield wiper (easy to scratch build) Remove added locking parts on the landing gear (find reference photos from a museum. Anything painted red is to be removed. DO NOT use the tan trapezoidal decal that goes over the square patch under one of the wings. This is for an earlier version (which shouldn't have a raised panel! Though post 1974(iirc) should be a square panel, check ref photos) and should be black anyway 2
TeeELL Posted January 28 Posted January 28 The artist of the box art clearly has no idea about Vulcan flying control surfaces. The positions are impossible as the ‘ailerons’ (outboard elevons) and ‘elevators’ (inboard elevons) are deflected in opposite directions. 1
neil5208 Posted January 29 Author Posted January 29 After searching ebay for a few hours the wife pointed out we had several off cuts from the oak counter top fitted with the kitchen that could be ideal just stuffed in the garage. Its solid oak, 40mm thick so will have enough weight to support the Vulcan. I'll dig out the router and circular saw at the weekend and cut to size. Also dug out the last of the pilot figures from Revell NATO Pilot set I have so they can occupy the cockpit, can't really have an in flight without them and they will be more visible than on the B58 I did a few years ago. 6
TeeELL Posted January 29 Posted January 29 Be aware that we normally wore the Mk 1 flying helmet - in fact we would only wear the olive green cloth inner, the outer hard shell (silver/grey) would be attached to the ‘hand holds’ behind the ejection seats. our flying suits would be green (Tamiya XF58), gloves off white, boots black or medium brown for ‘light weight’ boots, the Mk1 inner was green (Hu116 with a touch of black), LSJ (Hu116), the oxygen mask ‘nearly black’. 3 1
TheyJammedKenny! Posted January 30 Posted January 30 What TeeEll is telling you is: substitute heads from WWII flying figures or cut back and sand the helmets until they're nearly conformal with the heads. 1
neil5208 Posted January 30 Author Posted January 30 (edited) Made some progress on the mounting solution today, trimmed the block to fit inside the bomb bay and drilled the doors for the post. The doors are not bonded yet so I can sprue glue the block from both sides to ensure that it won't break free. And with the post in my work vice. I think the angle is pretty much what I was looking for, just need to find out how much aileron deflection I need to show for take off. Next up shaving mini helmets x2. Edited January 30 by neil5208 6
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