Airfix 1:72 Vulcan B.2
Discussion
The trolleys seem pretty randomly used on the Vulcan. Anyway, I’ll deal with that later.
Made some progress with the build; Cockpit structure needed a couple of ejector pin marks filling:
Seems to fit well in the nose halves:
I’m I bit of an abrasives connoisseur, and these Infini Ultra Precision sticks I picked up from Telford are the best I’ve used:
Also made a start on the bomb bay, and spars:
I’m assuming for open bomb doors, these tabs should be removed. Instructions don’t seem to indicate that, but too late now, I’ve cut them off:
I opted to use some Eduard p/e belts after all; the moulded ones are a bit soft, and if anything at all will be visible through the windscreens, it’s them:
Talking of the windscreen, I noticed mine’s got a flaw in it:
So I’ve sent some images to Airfix and asked for another one. Hopefully they’re not all like that. If they are, I found a clear resin version online, which also has a central windscreen wiper.
So this is current progress:
It’s going together very well so far, it’s nice to just build to make the best of a standard kit and not bother about too much additional stuff.
The cockpit area of a Vulcan is very complicated, and I was thinking a series of 1:48 or 1:24 sectioned noses (like the WnW Lancaster) would look great as stand-alone models. The V-bombers, as well as most WW2 bombers would make a great theme, and injection-moulded plastic would be enough to give great detail at those scales. Resin and p/e would take them to another level.
Next job: assemble the intakes and exhausts, but now it’s time for James Bond at the cinema.
Made some progress with the build; Cockpit structure needed a couple of ejector pin marks filling:
Seems to fit well in the nose halves:
I’m I bit of an abrasives connoisseur, and these Infini Ultra Precision sticks I picked up from Telford are the best I’ve used:
Also made a start on the bomb bay, and spars:
I’m assuming for open bomb doors, these tabs should be removed. Instructions don’t seem to indicate that, but too late now, I’ve cut them off:
I opted to use some Eduard p/e belts after all; the moulded ones are a bit soft, and if anything at all will be visible through the windscreens, it’s them:
Talking of the windscreen, I noticed mine’s got a flaw in it:
So I’ve sent some images to Airfix and asked for another one. Hopefully they’re not all like that. If they are, I found a clear resin version online, which also has a central windscreen wiper.
So this is current progress:
It’s going together very well so far, it’s nice to just build to make the best of a standard kit and not bother about too much additional stuff.
The cockpit area of a Vulcan is very complicated, and I was thinking a series of 1:48 or 1:24 sectioned noses (like the WnW Lancaster) would look great as stand-alone models. The V-bombers, as well as most WW2 bombers would make a great theme, and injection-moulded plastic would be enough to give great detail at those scales. Resin and p/e would take them to another level.
Next job: assemble the intakes and exhausts, but now it’s time for James Bond at the cinema.
CanAm said:
dr_gn said:
I opted to use some Eduard p/e belts after all; the moulded ones are a bit soft, and if anything at all will be visible through the windscreens, it’s them:
I knew it! But, as you say, it's the only really visible part of the interior, and it's a huge improvement on the moulded belts.
Continued today cleaning up parts and assembling a few things. Fin halves and top:
Tail cone; I’ve put some surfacer along the joint which should flat back nicely. Strange how the panel lines there are barely noticeable, doubt they’ll hold a wash. I’ll have to repair the lost detail of the braking chute and ECM glycol system access panels, but it will be tricky to get them the same as the existing ones:
I nearly glued the u/c bays together, but thought better of it. They will be easier to detail paint as they are. Here they are balanced together:
V-bomber model intake smoothing seems a popular pastime, these are in three parts, and the fit is good, although they’ll need some Milliput smearing around them and flatting, which should be fun:
The ECM fairings for between the engines were in two parts, one plain, the other has the Red Shrimp jammer domes:
Final thing today was starting the exhausts. Two sets are provided, the longer 200 series aren’t used:
so I began assembling the shorter 301 series versions. A nice touch is embossing all the parts do you don’t get mixed up:
The tailpipes comprise three parts per side, which are supposed to be assembled using a spectacle-like jig:
The joins needed quite a bit of filler, and the ridged inner pipe joins are difficult to fill and smooth neatly. Can’t help thinking it’s a complex way of doing it - would have been easier to make them tubular assemblies rather than with three longitudinal joints. Perhaps it was a production issue that prevented it:
Still need to put a guide coat of primer on, I think there’s a lot more fettling to do yet:
Apart from that, a few 1mm holes needed drilling for the engine ECM fairings and the vent pipes that exit at the rear of them:
That’s it for this evening, hopefully get the jet pipes finished tomorrow when the filler has set. Enjoying it so far.
Tail cone; I’ve put some surfacer along the joint which should flat back nicely. Strange how the panel lines there are barely noticeable, doubt they’ll hold a wash. I’ll have to repair the lost detail of the braking chute and ECM glycol system access panels, but it will be tricky to get them the same as the existing ones:
I nearly glued the u/c bays together, but thought better of it. They will be easier to detail paint as they are. Here they are balanced together:
V-bomber model intake smoothing seems a popular pastime, these are in three parts, and the fit is good, although they’ll need some Milliput smearing around them and flatting, which should be fun:
The ECM fairings for between the engines were in two parts, one plain, the other has the Red Shrimp jammer domes:
Final thing today was starting the exhausts. Two sets are provided, the longer 200 series aren’t used:
so I began assembling the shorter 301 series versions. A nice touch is embossing all the parts do you don’t get mixed up:
The tailpipes comprise three parts per side, which are supposed to be assembled using a spectacle-like jig:
The joins needed quite a bit of filler, and the ridged inner pipe joins are difficult to fill and smooth neatly. Can’t help thinking it’s a complex way of doing it - would have been easier to make them tubular assemblies rather than with three longitudinal joints. Perhaps it was a production issue that prevented it:
Still need to put a guide coat of primer on, I think there’s a lot more fettling to do yet:
Apart from that, a few 1mm holes needed drilling for the engine ECM fairings and the vent pipes that exit at the rear of them:
That’s it for this evening, hopefully get the jet pipes finished tomorrow when the filler has set. Enjoying it so far.
audikentman said:
dr_gn said:
By the way, does anyone happen to have reference images of a Blue Steel trolley that I can scale for CAD/3D printing? Thanks.
If you 3D print these up I'm sure there are plenty on here (including me) who would buy 1 off you. Looks like there's a metal one (the low profile simple looking version) available in 1:72, but Hannants have currently got it listed at £32.40...sod that.
I have Tim McClelland's book on the Vulcan and it has a photo of what appears to be the smaller trolley shown above, the larger trolley has a number plate so is probably to move the missile between sites.
There is also a photo of the handling vehicle . . . must find time to scan them for you.
There is also a photo of the handling vehicle . . . must find time to scan them for you.
IJWS15 said:
I have Tim McClelland's book on the Vulcan and it has a photo of what appears to be the smaller trolley shown above, the larger trolley has a number plate so is probably to move the missile between sites.
There is also a photo of the handling vehicle . . . must find time to scan them for you.
Thanks, much appreciated. There is also a photo of the handling vehicle . . . must find time to scan them for you.
The vehicle looks really cool: AEC Mandator? There's a 1:72 version due for release, but it's very expensive. I think the more robust version of the trolley would be good to model.
I've got this kit OP, although I'm most definitely at the opposite end of the model making spectrum to you.
A pal of mine works in insolvency, back in 2015 he mentioned that Airfix's parent co Hornby were having a wobble so Airfix kits might not be available in future, I took the opportunity to buy this kit and a few others as something to build with my (then) baby son when he gets older, he is now nearly 7.
Fortunately it seems that they rode those storms out and remain (I see they have been bought by Phoneix Asset Management and Covid has put them back in profit - interesting times!)
So, I'm nearly 50 and haven't made an Airfix since I was about 12, so a lot to get to grips with. I was all fingers and thumbs as a kid, hopefully I'll smear less cement everywhere compared to back then.
I will be following your build with interest, as something to aim for.
A pal of mine works in insolvency, back in 2015 he mentioned that Airfix's parent co Hornby were having a wobble so Airfix kits might not be available in future, I took the opportunity to buy this kit and a few others as something to build with my (then) baby son when he gets older, he is now nearly 7.
Fortunately it seems that they rode those storms out and remain (I see they have been bought by Phoneix Asset Management and Covid has put them back in profit - interesting times!)
So, I'm nearly 50 and haven't made an Airfix since I was about 12, so a lot to get to grips with. I was all fingers and thumbs as a kid, hopefully I'll smear less cement everywhere compared to back then.
I will be following your build with interest, as something to aim for.
Edited by PurpleTurtle on Tuesday 23 November 13:13
If you bought an Airfix Vulcan in 2015 it won't be this kit. It will be the old 1983 moulding - which is a far less detailed kit and a bit of a struggle (although it can look great when finished). Here are some of the various boxings of the old tool kit. The new Vulcan was only released earlier this year.
Eric Mc said:
If you bought an Airfix Vulcan in 2015 it won't be this kit. It will be the old 1983 moulding - which is a far less detailed kit and a bit of a struggle (although it can look great when finished). Here are some of the various boxings of the old tool kit. The new Vulcan was only released earlier this year.
The one I built had the top box art and would have been around 83/84....so fresh off the mouldNewarch said:
How do you find out whether an Airfix kit is a new design or an old kit in a new box? I'm never sure.
https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?q=Airfix&...For example, here is the listing for the Vulcan kit(s) https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?fkSECTION%5B...
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