Strted to build My C-5A Vacform Galaxy

[Guest]

Right Folks I have now decided to do my C-5A Galxy 1:72 Vaform. When i cut the pieces out i couldnt believe it was so huge. My dad couldnt even believe it. Ill be posting pics of the vac very soon.

Char.

[Guest]

I always suspected that the C5 Galaxy was large.

[Guest]

Well put it this way i am using my old snooker table which is medium size, like the ones you get from Argos. Basicallly it covers that. The length of the fusalage is 103cm and the length of the Wings is 92cm.

[Guest]

Where are you going to keep it?

[Guest]

Im putting up on my Cealing lol.

[Guest]

Here are some pics after I have cut the fuselage. You can see how big it is compared to my snooker table.

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Hope you enjoy.

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[Guest]

That is truly huge, and its 1:72. It must be huge!!!

Have Fun!!

Euan

[Guest]

Howdy Miss Charlotte,

Well, I know the real aircraft weighs 380,000 lbs. empty, and a 1:72 scale model of this plane will be huge....get Nigel to put in more ceiling joists lol.

Have a good day,

Greg

Just imagine this aircraft fully loaded with fuel and cargo topping out at about 769,000 lb. (3/4 of a million pounds) now ask yourself how something that heavy flies.

[wonwinglo]

Char,put plenty of formers etc into that long fuselage,get hold of one of those carpet fitters tools that has multi prongs that push out when you place it into the fuselage,draw around the shape onto thick Plastikard and scribe around with a sharp knife or better still an Olfa Cutter ( craft shops ),then snap the Plastikard at right angles finishing off with a sanding block,you could even use balsa wood internal formers,to use these apply balsa cement to the wood and polystyrene cement for the plastic,when joined together the two cements fuse together.

When you build the wings put spars in them to stop them drooping too much,see my tutorial on how to fix them in place.

I look forward to seeing this model as it goes along,Vac forms are real fun to build if not slower than conventional kits,but who cares as long as the end result is there,so plenty of pictures Char !

[wonwinglo]

For convenience and to offer encouregement here is the tutorial-

BUILDING VAC FORM MODELS.

What is a vac-form ? well to fully understand the purpose of these limited production run type of kit it is important to understand why they are made in the first place ? The larger manufacturers rely heavily on recouping the high costs of producing the master pattern or mould as it is termed,to this end they must ensure that the subject that they choose will reach high levels of sale ie the well known Spitfire's,Hurricane's,Me.109 etc are guaranteed money spinners,but what about the types of aircraft models that builders want for their collections ? well this is where the cottage industry come into force with simple vac-forming equipment capable of building adequate model kits,I use the word 'adequate' because this is what is offered,a basic set of mouldings in thin plastic sheet and sometimes you as the builder are required to scratch build undercarriages,propellers and other detail parts.But true modellers look upon these kits as a stepping stone to building those rare elusive types of aircraft and jump at the opportunity to build something very different from the usual run of kits.



This is what you get for your money,a basic sheet of plastic parts that have been hot blown over a master mould,this kit is an Airmodel Bristol Brigand which has not yet to my knowledge been made as a conventional moulded kit.



Start by drawing around the shapes with a marker pen,the reason for this is that it gives us a guide as to where we are going to sand down to,it is much easier to see the pen mark than to judge where the blade has cut into raw plastic.



The first requirement is to tape a sheet of wet & dry paper onto a piece of plate glass,this will provide a perfectly flat surface from which you can prepare the various parts to build the model,you can either tape the paper or better still tack glue the sheet to the glass with a 'cow gum' adhesive,or even use double sided tape to do the job.



To make life easier firstly seperate the pieces leaving a reasonable gap between the parts as above,this makes the parts more manageable at the initial cutting stage.



Use an Olfa cutter to scribe ( not cut through) the various parts,simply butt the blade against the plastic and pull gently towards you,a slither of plastic will be pulled from the plastic leaving a slight 'v' cut this is exactly what we want.



Next carefully snap away the parts,the pieces should break away easily.



You will then be left with a kit of parts that look like this...

[wonwinglo]

And more building sequences to study-

You will then be left with a kit of parts that look like this...



Dont throw the scrap material away,you will need some of this valuable material later.



You now need some pieces of alloy 'T' Section,you can get a set of these very reasonably from Aeroclub.



Using some new Bluetak,stick the pieces one by one to the pieces of 'T' Angle,do not press too hard,just enough pressure to grip the pieces.



With plenty of water to hand carefully draw the parts back & forth over the abrasive paper,do this until you see a slither of plastic start to appear,also and this is important observe where the black marker line just starts to vanish,then is the time to stop sanding and reach for the next part.



For places such as the wings,make up simple balsawood spars,use superglue ( cyno ) to stick these to the inners of the parts.



Likewise use inner stiffners made up from the scrap plastic,to get the inner shape press in modelling clay,slice through with a blade and draw around onto the scrap plastc,score and snap as before when we cut out the main components.

[wonwinglo]

And finally building up to the finished model-



Once the main assemblies have been put together,carefully use the drawing to assemble the parts,small joins can be easily filled with Squadron model filler,allowed to dry and blended in with wet & dry paper.

Note the old donor plastic model underneath which has been used to provide the engine nacelles and any other useful parts not easily reproduced in vac formed plastic.



Here the undercarriage legs were soldered up from wire,doors and small fittings have been made from scrap material from the kit,see I told you that they would come in handy ! keep fairing in and sanding until you are happy with the results.



Another view of the model now progressing nicely.



To pull everything together spray with a coat of Holts primer,this will give a first class finish for the final finish,she looks a long way from that single sheet of mundane plastic,just see what can be achieved,it is not difficult just requires lots of patience to get a result.

So this is what Vac-form modelling is all about,and you will probably have a model in your collection that is quite unique.



The completed Bristol Brigand,the colourschene was used in Aden by the R.A.F.



And a dramatic lower view of the aircraft in flying attitude.

[Guest]

Thanks barry you are a life saver.

[wonwinglo]

You are most welcome Char,we need to see you through this mighty project with the least of any hassle,if you get stuck or need any advice you know where I am,there are lots of tricks and dodges with vacforms that can be used which assist getting things done,treat each part as a model in itself and watch it take shape.

Thanks barry you are a life saver.

[Guest]

Ok guys i have sanded the fusalage and the wings. Here is some pictures. I also in some of the pictures placed my 1:72 vulvcan for you to see the difference. hope you like the pictures.

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More pictures should be posted up when i make more progress.

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