1/32 scale Lockheed Super Constellation (Warning Star) from the ID Models' vacform

[tomprobert]

20 hours ago, Rainer Hoffmann said:

Even with the nose section still missing she already is a beauty. One of these days I'll build one in the early Lufthansa livery ... Wait, I'm turning 69 in September and haven't completed a single model in the last 20 years. Maybe it's a bit too ambitious.

 

Great progress, Tom.

 

Cheers

Rainer

Come on young man, there’s no time like the present!!

 

18 hours ago, OzzieNick said:

Vacform + LSP = Masochism personified to me (says he having never even handled a vacform in his life let alone build one…)

@tomprobert I have a few photos of Connie, the airworthy and flown Constellation in Qantas colors here in Aus that I can share if that helps ….

I’m after detailed shots of the landing gear bays if possible - there’s a few pictures on the net but this is an area I’m struggling with, so if you have anything of that nature I’d be appreciative. 
 

18 hours ago, geedubelyer said:

Huge! 

This looks set to dwarf even the Stirling? 

Yes, quite a bit bigger. The only thing comparable in size is the B-29 I did a few years ago. 
 

18 hours ago, RCPlym said:

Ahhh good ol' P-38! Lovely stuff!

 

I found a cheaper version going by the name of 'Big Boy' Ultrafine Body Filler. 🤣 £6 for a 250g tub.

 

Really smooth stuff and easily carved for a good hour after initial cure.

 

That’s good to know - P38 is quite expensive so I’ll look out for some Big Boy. Thank you. 
 

8 hours ago, allthumbs said:

P38? UK equivalent to Bondo?

 

Oh, and by the way Tom: super impressive work as always!

 

It’s an automotive filler - two part epoxy stuff that is incredibly strong but very easy to sand and scribe. Perfect for doing the dog work initially, and then it can be tarted up with Milliput. 
 

6 hours ago, Gazzas said:

gawd, that tail section looks elegant!  Well done!  One question...   how do you get straight lines when you cut the plastic...   I've tried ruler and scriber...  label tape...   ruler and knife...  and it always looks like it was done by somebody who should have given up 2 bourbons ago.

I use a flexible metal ruler which I tape down in the correct position before scribing or cutting. With the tape holding things in place, there’s far less chance of it slipping. Also, I do multiple light passes with the scalpel and don’t go too heavy too soon - this seems to work better than trying to hack through it in one pass. 
 

In other news, I got the fins out last night and each one is a different size/height, with the middle fin seemingly far too short. I’m going away on holiday on Friday and haven’t had the chance to go into my school (and use the photocopier) to get my plans enlarged yet, so I’m likely to hit the pause button on this for the next week or so as those iconic triple tails have got to look right. 
 

Cheers,

Tom

[Cicchino]

Tom, 

 

Please just take it with you on holiday - I'll be having withdrawals...🤣 

 

How soon would you need the pics?  There was a Connie on display at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida. Looking at AppleMaps, it looks like it's still there;  it'll give me an excuse to take the drive down. Only issue would be the facility actually being open - it seems to be a little hit and miss at the moment. I'm on holiday next week as well, so it would be after that before I could get to it.

 

Seriously, enjoy the time away!

 

Regards

 

John

[OzzieNick]

@tomprobert will go hunting my photo collection 2mrw. Stay tuned

[Rainer Hoffmann]

Probably not quite what you nee, but perhaps it helps a bit (scanned from a faded copy pre-Xerox):

 

 

 

Cheers

Rainer

[OzzieNick]

Not quite what your after Tom, but from Udvar-Hazy a few years ago

[OzzieNick]

Connie is hangered @1.5hrs from me AND I have to be in Wollongong in 2 weekends time, so I can find out if she will be "in residence" then and accessable and I can see if I cant get some more relevant and detailed shots then if you like @tomprobert

Edited August 20 by OzzieNick
for clarity

[tomprobert]

@Rainer Hoffmann and @OzzieNick thank you, both, so much for sharing those images. I was actually at the Udvar-Hazy museum a few years ago but didn’t think I’d be building a 1/32 Connie a few years down the line so didn’t take anything more than a few quick snaps. 
 

@OzzieNick don’t go out of your way but if you’re able to get up inside the gear bays and snap some shots that would be awesome. No rush though, as detailing these areas is a way off yet!

 

On 8/19/2026 at 11:26 AM, Cicchino said:

Tom, 

 

Please just take it with you on holiday - I'll be having withdrawals...🤣 

 

How soon would you need the pics?  There was a Connie on display at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida. Looking at AppleMaps, it looks like it's still there;  it'll give me an excuse to take the drive down. Only issue would be the facility actually being open - it seems to be a little hit and miss at the moment. I'm on holiday next week as well, so it would be after that before I could get to it.

 

Seriously, enjoy the time away!

 

Regards

 

John

Thanks for this, John - as I said to Nick above there’s no great rush as the wings, and therefore the gear bays, are some way off yet. 
 

Cheers,

Tom

Edited August 20 by tomprobert
Typos

[Oldbaldguy]

If you are compiling gear bay and strut information for future use, net-maquettes.com has some decent detail photos of a Connie, including landing gear.

[tomprobert]

17 hours ago, Oldbaldguy said:

If you are compiling gear bay and strut information for future use, net-maquettes.com has some decent detail photos of a Connie, including landing gear.

Good to know - thanks and I’ll take a look. 
 

I’m hoping to pop into the Aviation Megastore in Amsterdam this week and pick up some aftermarket for the Connie - there’s a few decal sets I’m considering, as well as resin wheel bays, an Eduard instrument panel and pre-painted interior set, a brass undercarriage set, 3D printed wheel set as well as some replacement engines and props. I might pick up the dropped flaps set and poseable control surfaces set, too. Oh… wait… 

[tomprobert]

Howdy guys and gals,

 

A return to the classroom after a lovely summer break has meant modelling time has once again been quite severely limited, but I thought I would post a couple of shots of the work I've been doing on the centre fin. 

 

The parts have been removed from the backing sheet, sanded to the correct thickness, and some basic panel scribing done. I've also removed the rudder as I plan to have the canted off to one side as is so often seen on parked Connies:

 

 

Upon measuring the centre fin against both plans and the Rareplanes kit, it transpires the ID parts are too short, by about 5mm, so before adding it to the fuselage I had to insert additional plastic to the base of the fin This did have its advantages however, as the flat base to the fit parts did not follow the complex contours of the fuselage and stabiliser profile... every cloud.

 

I didn't photograph it, but I drilled the top surfaces of the stabilisers to take some dowel, and then slid the fin over the top and secured it with 5-minute epoxy which gave me ample time to get it perfectly vertical and also perpendicular to the stabilisers. I've since filled and blended the base in:

 

 

 

If the weather stays fine this weekend, I'll try and give it a squirt of primer - which will probably reveal a multitude of sins 

 

More when there's more!

Tom

[tomprobert]

Howdy folks,

 

A return to the classroom after the summer break has meant modelling time has reduced somewhat, but progress on the big Connie has continued, albeit at a slower pace…

 

I’ve continued working on the tail and have got the outer fins installed. These have proved to be quite a headache as they were all molded at different thicknesses, sizes and generally were all over the place!

 

Perseverance was certainly the key, and after much head-scratching and looking at photos and plans, I got the fin halves rubbed down and approximately the right shapes and sizes before I divided them top/bottom to fit over the stabilisers:

 

The rudders were removed as I’ll make these later and have them installed at an angle, and thus the hinge lines were squared off and boxed in with plastic card. As you can see by my hand for scale, these are large slabs of plastic!

 

Next up, I worked out the position of the fins on the stabilisers, and drilled holes to take some sprue, as these as act as spars and support for the tails:

 

 

 

I then had to build up the gaps present at the rear with plastic card and Milliput, also paying attention to the leading edges where they protrude slightly ahead of the stabilisers, and viola, we now have that iconic triple fin set up installed:

 

 

 

I have run out of primer so I am going to have to wait to see how it all looks under a uniform coat and what blemishes need sorting, but overall I’m going to sign that off as a success! I think I’m going to scribe the fuselage now anyway, so I’ll likely prime the whole lot together. 
 

These were another 15 hours of work, so we are now running at a total build time of 68.5 hours…
 

More when there’s more!

Tom

[Martinnfb]

Clean and precise work. Thank you for sharing Tom.

 

Cheers

Martin

[RCPlym]

Lovely to see old-school workings! 😁😁👍👍👍👍 

[Jim Barry]

Such a similar tail to the Lockheed Electra

[SwissFighters]

You make it look remarkably easy!
Thanks for sharing
Tony