Vickers Vanguard - looking for references

[kitnut617]

IIRC I paid C$60.00 each for mine, I should have my receipt somewhere so I'll try to find it an confirm.

EDIT: Actually I paid US$40.00 which included the postage from eastern USA to western Canada

Here's an answer from Gene Hooker to my email enquiring about his products, his contact address is at the bottom, keep in mind this was in 2006 when I was making the enquiries:

Hello Robert,

I most likely sent one or more lengthy e mails about the C-l33 to P. Dean, but have not saved them. Perhaps he can send you copies. A color photo of the C-l33 model and description of the kit appears on Cal Taylors website. Do a Google search for DOUGLAS CARGOMASTER and click on the paragraph with the word 'angelfire' in it. Then click on GALLERY. Both the C-l33 and Vanguard are plastic vacuform kits; mostly male molded. female molded parts include the nacelles and radome, flap tracks. each kit has a center wing section which fills in the bottom of the fuselage-with a one piece spruce spar made from a yardstick, so there is no sag, no root rib stubs to sag...Originally TCA, Air Canada and BEA decals were available. I now only have BEA and TCA. you have to choose one per kit. Cockpit window decals are include and clear acetate windscreen printed with window framelines are included. The BEA paint scheme is the one with red wings, or is it red BEA squares on the fuselage and wings? Price postpaid to Canada for the Vanguard is $40. For the Cl33 it is $60. I also have a XC-99 conversion for the Mongram B-36 kit. it includes two fuselage halves, radome and vertical tail. It might be better to graft the b36 tail onto the lower wedge portion of the conversion part. price of the XC-99 is $25 if shipped with either of the other two kits, or $35 if shipped by itself. That is pricey for what little there is but there is postage,box cost and labor for someone else to produce it.I may not have answered all your questions so you are welcome to e-mail me again.

All three kits were originally released twenty years ago (l986). The C-l33 was reissued in l996 and this past summer. I also put together in l986 a 230 page xerox collection in bound form of every significant Vanguard article which appeared in the US and British magazines when the plane was being promoted- about l955 to l962 I think. Somewhere I have my copy of it. and hopefully all the originally xeroxes used to print it, pages back to back, one at a time.. very time consuming. I made only four copies to trade and sell back then. At l0 or l5 cents a copy and something for my time it would have to be an item of special interest to even consider buying a copy. I rarely even mention it. My interest in the Vanguard was a result of a visit to Expo 67 in Montreal. I spent a day at Dorval Airport and took some Kodachrome slides of the Air Canada Vanguard, Viscount, CPA DC-8, Aeroflot Tu-ll4 (I think, 4 engine turboprop). I need to find the rest of the slides for myself. I also have Air Canada Vanguard color photos and fold out brochure (in TCA colors)...If you know of any other Canadians interested in the Vanguard kit, please pass the word along...

GENE HOOKER

PO Box 8456

Columbus, OH 4320l-0456

Edited July 31, 2010 by kitnut617

[CarLos]

I get mine in Ebay and paid US$52 plus 30 for shipping to Portugal.

[garryrussell]

Thanks guys

Obviously created by someone with more enthusiasm for the subject than self promotion which is a good sign

Strange the kit was released so long ago but I've not heard of it except a slight mention here and there more recently but nothing to lift it above rumour........Shows how cut off one could be in those pre internet days

[kitnut617]

I came across it by chance, as you might guess from the email answer I got I was after something else, the C-133. An Air-Britain member had answered a query about something and I found out he was a fellow model builder, only he specialized in obscure aircraft, or at least the non-mainstream types. He put me on to Gene Hooker and as I've always had a think about the Vanguard I just had to get one as it was in my chosen scale, 1/72.

Many, many years ago I had built the Airfix 1/144 kit and thinking back, I began to realize that this was probably one of the very first kits I had built all by myself. It was the BEA 'red square' livery issue. Then after finding out Trans Canada Air Lines used them and I could get the decals for it, that sort of sealed the deal.

Edited July 31, 2010 by kitnut617

[garryrussell]

Amazing what is around

I have heard of a 1/72 vac formed Comet and Trident, but apart from indicating US I haven't a clue as I've never seen it advertised. The 1/72 Carvair was never widely advertised many years ago, so few know of it and I even saw a pic of a resin 1/72 Viscount that was fuse tailplane and wings complete with engines. Shape looks spot on and it was sort of like a travel agents model in unpainted kit form.

But often when you do find a list of models thaey just tell you they exist and nothing more.

I think the Viscount was Canadian.

ATB

Garry