RLWP Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 200 units is a big ask for crowdfunding I think I'd find another kit to build Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holzemjo Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 200 units is indeed a lot... And I take it, nobody has ever heard anything about that elusive "Schmidt Modellbau" kit in the database? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vulcan32 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 The HpH C-47/DC-3 will be released in 2018. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holzemjo Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 The HpH C-47/DC-3 will be released in 2018.Private conversation, or do you have another source? Would be so awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamF Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I've often wondered how much call for a good vacuum forming would have, a sort of 'scratch aid' I used to CNC machine negative moulds for dummy anti tank and anti personnel mines and the results done well were as good as an injection moulding. Graham wunwinglow 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holzemjo Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 Well, sounds good to me, what are you waiting for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artful69 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Private conversation, or do you have another source? Would be so awesome! Heinz is friends and has regular contact with the HpH crew ... Rog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunwinglow Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I've often wondered how much call for a good vacuum forming would have, a sort of 'scratch aid' I used to CNC machine negative moulds for dummy anti tank and anti personnel mines and the results done well were as good as an injection moulding. Graham Me too, Graham. I did some 2500 litre tanks for Tornado, and some 24th scale Harrier tanks for Spencer Pollard, and I surprised myself how well they came out. I just sense such a level of ambivalance against vacforms, I kinda shelved the idea. For commercial products, anyway. I have a dozen projects in my head that would use the process though. I think the poor quality of some vacforms in the pre history of the hobby still cast a shadow on the process, which is a terrible shame in my opinion. Kagemusha and Iain 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Couldn't agree more!! Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Personally, though only having built one vac kit so far, I think new vac kits done to the highest achievable standards could still potentially find a market. With the ability to flesh out the smaller details with resin and brass, I think some very nice kits could be produced, and perhaps reinvigorate the market for vac kits. This is especially so for kits that would be too costly to deliver any other way. I know HpH (and others) are producing monster kits using fibreglass resin, but the price tag is also monstrous, and surely these kits would be much more affordable as a modern vac. Kev Iain, LSP_K2 and Lee White 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunwinglow Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Well, for a lot of structures, vacforms are frankly superior to most any method other than injection moulding. It is lighter, stronger, easier to work, easier to glue, easier to get fillers to adhere, easier to score, easier to paint, and waaaaay cheaper to manufacture!! It is unlikely to warp with time, which resin can be prone to. The only down side is cutting it out from the surrounding sheet and sanding the surplus off, but really, is that so difficult? OK, the parts need to be researched and designed properly, but that is the same whatever the process. And the moulding and forming need to done carefully and with understanding. And that is the same for any process!! No. Biggest problem with vacforms is this historic baggage of 'difficult and crude' the process drags about like the ghost of Jacob Marley!!! Kagemusha and Lee White 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 No. Biggest problem with vacforms is this historic baggage of 'difficult and crude' the process drags about like the ghost of Jacob Marley!!! That can be turned around, though. Once upon a time, resin kits had a similar reputation - crude lumps of vaguely recognisable parts that you spent most of your life trying to remove the pin holes and air bubbles from. But they improved over time to a point now where, at the parts level at least, they rival or surpass many injection-moulded kits. The vac market, on the other hand, largely conceded the market to mainstream manufacturing, and with a few notable exceptions, stopped improving. I contend that this same turnaround in fortunes (or at least, reputation) that resin kits enjoyed, could also be possible with vac kits. It wouldn't happen overnight, but if you could bring to market something like a HpH kit, or even a Silver Wings kit, where only the detail parts were in resin, and the major components were vacuform, I think it would find an audience. And if you bring enough of them out, eventually you'll find (or create) a market. I personally wish I had the wherewithal to do it myself! Kev Kagemusha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee White Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 (edited) The only down side is cutting it out from the surrounding sheet and sanding the surplus off, but really, is that so difficult? Agreed. I've taken to comparing it to driving a manual transmission vehicle- Yes, the first few attempts may be herky-jerky. But, soon after you've gotten the hang of it, it's actually quite easy. Edited October 17, 2017 by Lee White Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradleygolding Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 I have seen a 1/32nd American kit that was metal, or wood that was metal sheathed. They also did a Tri Motor. I have a web address somewhere. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 (edited) Regarding vacs, my Nieuport Sesquiplan, engineered in the late 90s, using FEMALE molds was as good as an IM kit : precision and fir, nice surface detail, nothing a modern « short-run » IM would be ashamed of today. Which proves it could and still can be done. Hubert PS: regarding a 1/32 DC3 kit, I can't wait ... Now, if it is a C-47, I'll pass ... I know I am that snobbish Edited October 17, 2017 by MostlyRacers Kagemusha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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