- The Airfix Tribute Forum -

Have made an attempt at this one, I now see why there are aftermarket parts available! Resin Intakes at £15, well I thought they were ridiculous, now I'm not so sure!

Not only that, the fuselage is a terrible fit and you could fall in the panel gaps on the wing roots.

I got as far as dry fitting the wings and put it back in the box! I wonder if there was any QA done on the original kit. What a shame, I was looking forward to making the mighty tin triangle. If if was my first purchase in the world of Airfix, I wouldn't have made a second. I'll stick to Spitfires!

It's no secret that the Vulcan isn't the best fitting ever produced, but to be fair engineering large kits like this is not the easiest thing to do and after getting on for thirty years the tooling itself must be pretty worn. In fact thirty years ago the prospect of an injection moulded Vulcan seemed pretty faint, the only options were even more difficult to construct vacforms. There's nothing about it that is insurmountable given time and patience, even the intakes can be done without purchasing resin, although I'd be tempted to go for them myself for any future Vulcan projects.

peebeep

The proof of this one is in the proverbial pudding, in this case, in the Airfix Vulcan thread. Yes it's big, yes it's not perfect (I remember finding the undercarriage to be an incredibly difficult area) and if you don't have an air brush, yes, it is quite a challenge to get to look good. But as already said, those modelling characteristics of 'time and patience' can solve all those problems. So look back at the Vulcan thread - you are bound to be inspired, even in your darkest hours of modelling disharmony. It's worth the effort.

It is the same with the Matchbox?revell Victor

the shape of the intakes is incorrect and the splitter plates are a nightmare- but as Peebeeb said it is due to the technology available.

see it as a challenge to overcome and whatever happens the experience will improve your modelling skills- that is what i keep telling myself any way

Keep at it. It will be worth it in the end.

I was on the verge of giving up with mine but once the wings are on it just looks so good. I'm sure a bit of filler will cure most problems although I'm not happy with the slight diaherdral it's developed. Will add some pictures of mine when I remember where I've put my camera. Once its sprayed anit-flash white and is on it's stand in my office collecting dust I'm sure it will look fine!!

I've got one in my stash

dry fitting showed a bit of filling is required

i quite like Humbrol filler,initial gental rub with 600 refill pits, again with 600 then wet 1200,i'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination but i'm happy with the result this technique gives.Dont give up,just chill and be patient

Dry fitting the Vulcan parts does look a bit alarming at first, but as you start to fix part together it does start to take on more rigidity and the wing/fuselage join ends up being quite snug - I've built two and the time consuming bit was rescribing the panel lines!

As for the intakes, I cheated and made FOD guards - 10 minute job, easy fix.

I built the Airfix Vulcan a long time ago, and I recall that as I was so depressed with the intakes, I scratch-built some FOD covers to hide most of the damage.

Don't give up the ship! Here's an example of what you can do with a little elbow grease.

Ayup AB...

The fact that you're posting means you're not about to give up, you've just hit a 'wall' and aren't sure of what to do. ATF is 'Here to Help'. Big models like Vucans need a little experience before tackling. and you've jumped in at the deep end after your 'Starting' builds. it's always best to ask around about potential problems surrounding big models like this before 'Going for it'. So take Heart, take a deep breath, and go to it. We're all rooting for you.

And, FWIW, i think FOD guards are a cop-out in ANY situation. Unless they're removable so one can see the darn good job you've done on the kit Intakes... regardless of Resin Intakes too.

Go to it Bro...

Hi Stu

sometimes people represent the subject as seen on the ground which means FOD covers on
so imho is a valid option

however i am hoping to display my corrected and scratch built Revell Victor intakes, but if it goes horribly wrong then i will cop out er i mean use some FOD covers

Thanks for the kind words guys. I'll have another attempt soon (currently doing wallace and gromit with the mrs, photos on the W&G thread!)

Be warned that the model Steven has linked to above isn't all that great! The Vulcan's engine exhausts don't have an internal section like he's added. The roundels are also the wrong size.

The Airfix kit is pretty ghastly but it's still a Vulcan and way better than nothing. As has been said, it's a very old kit (in fact it's origins were back in 1969 or so - it took a long, long time to appear!), so you can't expect anything great. But if you look at it as the mere basis for a good model then it can be turned into a beauty. The overall shape is good (apart from the nose which is a little mis-shaped). If it's filled and cleaned-up, trailing edges thinned down (and panel lines re-scribed) it looks good.

The only real down-side are the engine exhausts which are very clumsily moulded and only represent the later 300-series engines. If someone produced a decent set of replacement resin parts for the engines, life would be so much easier. Flightpath produce some but they're a weird shape and don't look like either a 200 or 300 exhaust cans!

The intakes are a chore but they can be filled and cleaned up with a bit of patience. All it needs is a piece of rolled-up abrasive paper and some hard work! Putting intake covers in is a good "cheat" but to be fair, Vulcans hardly ever had intake blanks fitted - the ground crew couldn't be bothered getting up there to put them in!

Stick with it - it's a grotty old kit but the basis for a really good model is there if you're prepared to fill, sand and tinker with all the niggling little bits.

Lee Kolosna.

Unless they omitted the "Jr." that guy has been building models longer than I have! I remember seeing his models in magazines in the sixties!

Maybe he has been - who knows - maybe that wasn't one of his best efforts. Point is, the Airfix kit can be made into a pretty impressive model with a bit of work.