1/72 FROG De Havilland DH100 Vampire FB5

1/72 FROG De Havilland DH100 Vampire FB5

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Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,680 posts

264 months

Thursday 17th July 2014
quotequote all
The next one on the bench is the old (1970ish) FROG single seat Vampire.



By modern standards this is a very, very basic kit with pretty limited internal details (i.e. virtually none).
Parts fit is also a bit of an issue - especially the wing to fuselage join and the area where the twin booms join the rear of the wings. How do I know these things? I originally built one of these about 40 years ago (when the kit was relatively new - like me smile)

The main problem area however is the wheel wells and wheels themselves. There is no wheel well detail of any sort. The wheels are of the type favoured by FROG at this time i.e. they are placed over the stub axle of the undercarriage leg and then the tip of the stub axle which protudes through the centre of the wheel hub and is supposed to be melted flat with the hot blade of a model knife or screwdriver.

As you can guess, this leaves you with a very unrealistic depiction of the wheels. In the case of the Vampire, it looks nothing like a Vampire wheel, at all.

So, rather than source alternative wheels, I’ve decided, to build the kit “wheels up” and place it on a stand. I don’t normally do this but I thought it would be nice for a change. I recently came across the 1/72 Corgi die cast Hawker Hunter in a charity shop for £4.99 and I couldn’t resist it. It is now mounted on a stand and looks quite nice in its Black Arrows scheme – so the Vampire can keep it company.

This Vampire was one I picked up at Farnborough Modelfest for the princely sum of £1 as it had no instructions or decals. However, there are so few parts (and I’m not even using about half of them) that building the kit “blind” should present no problems.

The picture above is not my particular kit but just a picture nicked off ebay. The model WOULD have looked like that originally.

HoHoHo

14,974 posts

249 months

Thursday 17th July 2014
quotequote all
If it looks like it flies nicely it probably will (or whatever the saying is!)

What a lovely looking aircraft and look forward to seeing progress Eric thumbup

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,680 posts

264 months

Thursday 17th July 2014
quotequote all
I'm a bit of a glutton for punishment. The Heller kit is much better and I have a couple of those to build too. The Heller kit was also issued in Airfix and Revell boxings.

72twink

963 posts

241 months

Thursday 17th July 2014
quotequote all
Happy days, built this far too long ago, having seen this and the Heller side by side I've always felt that there are aspects of the Frog kit which outweigh the younger kit!

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,680 posts

264 months

Thursday 17th July 2014
quotequote all
What are they?

It certainly can't be the detail.

72twink

963 posts

241 months

Thursday 17th July 2014
quotequote all
The contours around the nose - to my eyes they always captured the shape better.

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,680 posts

264 months

Thursday 17th July 2014
quotequote all
I'll build one of the Heller versions eventually and I'll get to see the differences. The FROG version has a certain "blobbiness" about it.

perdu

4,884 posts

198 months

Thursday 17th July 2014
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I'm with 72twink on that Eric

I always thought that Frog got shape close and detail miles away

As you may remember I'm a great Frog fan myself, I've the Frog/Hasegawa Lightning to do when I finish my present baby copter (Airfix Scout)

I will be along enjoying this run down memory lane too Eric


thumbup

Ayahuasca

27,427 posts

278 months

Thursday 17th July 2014
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Where on Earth do you get 30 year old kits from? And why?

confused


perdu

4,884 posts

198 months

Thursday 17th July 2014
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Ayahuasca said:
Where on Earth do you get 30 year old kits from? And why?

confused
Pssst

How many d'you want guv?


wink nod nudge

A hint

I bought a couple of old but good kits at Scalemodelworld and the Shropshire modellers do in November and April

Newer isn't necessarily more accurate, even though it might be thought to be. Newer usually has more 'detail' but sometimes the shapes are offal.

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,680 posts

264 months

Friday 18th July 2014
quotequote all
Ayahuasca said:
Where on Earth do you get 30 year old kits from? And why?

confused
40 plus year old in the case of the Vampire.

These models are not particularly rare and they are easily available from kit dealers such as Collectakit and King Kit. Also, if you go to model shows, you will always come across individuals selling off parts of their unbuilt collections. There is a fair amount of "churn" in the kit world.

In addition, when FROG went bust in 1976, most of their moulds were sold to the Soviet Union where they continued in production. After the break up of the Soviet Union, these models continued to be produced, mainly in Russia and Ukraine by companies like Eastern Express. Some even found there way back to Western producers like Revell.

There is a certain charm and nostalgia in building models that one may have built as a child or in one's youth. In many cases the kits may be a bit crude and simplistic by modern standards, but often they are accurate in outline and in some cases may still be the only plastic kit available of a particular aircraft. The FROG Shackleton is a good example.

Yertis

18,011 posts

265 months

Friday 18th July 2014
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Eric Mc said:
There is a certain charm and nostalgia in building models that one may have built as a child or in one's youth. In many cases the kits may be a bit crude and simplistic by modern standards, but often they are accurate in outline and in some cases may still be the only plastic kit available of a particular aircraft. The FROG Shackleton is a good example.
I agree. I've just had delivered a part-built 1974-vintage Airfix Lancaster. It's terribly crude but I expect it represents the most numerous type of 'Lancaster' ever built – I think that particular kit is an important part of the mythology of World War 2 (especially as the real AJ-G still exists).

I'm going to clean it up and complete it, but not sure whether to try to make the best possible job, which would mean binning a lot of it, or building to as high a standard as possible straight out of the box, rivets and all. I'll do a thread when I get going, it'll be a good way to get me back into modelling after the previous interrupted attempt.


Edited by Yertis on Friday 18th July 11:59

Yertis

18,011 posts

265 months

Friday 18th July 2014
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And by the way Eric thanks to you I now have a Fokker Friendship in a 'Type 4' box winging its way to me. I've now got every Series 5 kit shown in the '74 catalogue. biggrin

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,680 posts

264 months

Friday 18th July 2014
quotequote all
I've got a '74 catalogue.

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,680 posts

264 months

Monday 28th July 2014
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Some progress





This will be a "flying" model so I have closed up the undercarriage - which was woefully simplistic and inaccurate anyway. Of necessity, I have painted up our intrepid aviator and inserted him into the fairly spartan cockpit.

The main "enhancements" I have made are the provision of guide vanes for the engine intakes and drilling out the gun ports. The kit completely omits the guide vanes and the gun ports are just represented by raised oval shaped lines.

I have also cut away a section of the wing tips for the insertion of clear plastic to represent the navigation lights.

The model needed a lot of filler - particularly around the wing roots and where the tail booms meet the wings.
I am currently using De Luxe water based filler. This can be smoothed out after application with a damp cotton bud. This, in turn, eliminates the need for massive amounts of sanding and prevents the chances of removing too much of the raised surface detail.

Next task will be spraying on some primer.

Ayahuasca

27,427 posts

278 months

Monday 28th July 2014
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Have you read 'the Shepherd' by Frederick Forsyth? It features a DH Vampire.

IroningMan

10,154 posts

245 months

Monday 28th July 2014
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Ayahuasca said:
Have you read 'the Shepherd' by Frederick Forsyth? It features a DH Vampire.
Smashing story.

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,680 posts

264 months

Monday 28th July 2014
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I read it many years ago. Might be worth a re-read. I think Forsyth flew these in the RAF.

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,680 posts

264 months

Saturday 9th August 2014
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Nearly there. Painting completed and decals being applied. I hope to be able to post pictures of the completed model by Sunday or Monday.


Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,680 posts

264 months

Sunday 10th August 2014
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Hit a snag.

Anybody got Modeldecal Set 14 set in their stash?

I messed up one of the decals for the 112 Squadron Vampire I am building.

I'd be willing to pay.