Airfix 1:72 Avro Vulcan B.2 New tool

[adt70hk]

Now that's a sensible idea!

[colin m]

Upper wings fitted. They didn't really present any 'fit' problems, they are just so big, a bit of care is needed. All 18 wheels also completed along with the landing gear.



Well I wasn't expecting that. I was about to start masking the canopy and thought a trial fit would be a good idea. It didn't fit. The seats were to high. The seats fit into slots in the cockpit floor, I'm sure both seats were fully inserted and indeed, looked ok. So, I had to break them out, file them down and re-fit.


Seats re-fitted in their lowered position. Any pilot would have a job to see out of this canopy now. I'll have to have a little search to see if any other builds have had this problem.

[papa 695]

Strange about the seats Colin, but looking very nice.

[Guest]

Could well be the problem results from the seats being at the correct height, but the canopy thickness being that of scale armoured glass?

[Jim R]

Hi Colin
She sure is big!! Looks great. The seat problem is really odd but sorted.
Jim

[colin m]

Could well be the problem results from the seats being at the correct height, but the canopy thickness being that of scale armoured glass?

You might be right Jakko. I haven't found another build (I haven't looked to hard) on the web at this stage yet, so no other reports of the problem. It could still be something I did.

[yak face]

It looks like its the season for seats sitting too high and fouling the canopy ! Nice fix colin , its looking mighty triangular now !
regards Ivana Dorito

[colin m]

It looks like its the season for seats sitting too high and fouling the canopy !

Well, it seems I'm not the only one, I've found a build on BM with the same problem.

Anyway, more has been done. The front and rear fuselage have met each other. Unfortunately, where they met, isn't an actual panel line, and the fit leaves a bit of a gap to deal with, which all means, a bit of work required here.


Then there is the deflectors. Fitted as stand alone units means quite a bit of blending in.



So all these gaps need filling. I'm not sure what Airfix are trying to achieve doing things this way.


After a few hours of filling and sanding we are here. The tail fin took a while to get to sit properly. The locating tabs were to wide, and possible a bit to deep as well.


In fact, I've got to say I'm spending a lot of time making parts fit, and a fair bit of filling / sanding. That's ok, it's old school modelling, but I'm a bit of a fan of new tool Airfix as normally, they go together so well. There's normally and area or two to deal with, but no drama. With the Vulcan, there seems to be a bit more extra work required than I would expect of a new tool kit.

[Mark1]

Shame about the extra work but it's certainly looking the part now.

[Mini Me]

Looks good from over here. :thumb2: Rick H.

[Jim R]

Hi Colin
Shame about the fit issues but you're sorting them. Looking very good.
Jim

[colin m]

looking the part now.

Looks good from over here

Looking very good.

Thanks for the comments chaps, but don't get me wrong, it is still a good kit, but just not as good as other 'New tool' kits.

[colin m]

Well I lost count of how many times I sanded and re-sprayed those pesky intakes. Anyway, they're about 95% ok. I found myself examining them with a magnifying glass, then had a quiet word with myself 'put the magnifying glass down'
So, all primered up, ready for paint.


I was hoping to get the white underside done tonight, however, the underside of in service Vulcan's didn't stay white for too long. Look at the shiny 'out of the stores' white Blue Steel, compared to the Vulcan's underside.
And this is one of the better examples I've found. I've seen pictures with an even greater colour difference. So, plain old white, will be to white, it's some sort of cream colour I think, even though it should be white. I'll have a think and get around to it tomorrow.

[Tim Marlow]

Not sure if that is a photographic artefact Colin? The pylon the Blue Steel is attached too looks to be the same white, as does the one next to it. Could actually be a reflection of the concrete?

[Guest]

Wouldn’t the pylon be a separate part specifically for the missile, only attached to the plane when the missile was to be carried? Also, if the off-white colour is a reflection of the concrete, then the missile’s underside would be that dark too, while it looks even whiter than the top, which is either in more shadow or reflecting the plane’s colour here, I think.