Vac kits

[Cap'n Wannabe]

G'day all..

 

I have a number of vac kits I've picked up over the years and I'd like to attempt one soonish..

The following kits are easy to access, being right at the front of the stash:

Rare Plane 1/72 DH Dove/Devon

Forma Plane 1/72 Hawker Henty

Contrail 1/72 Saunders-Roe A27 London II

Contrail 1/72 Short S.19 Singapore 111

Contrail 1/72 Vickers Armstrong Warwick

Contrail 1/72 Miles M.33 Monitor

 

I've also got a few more in a box somewhere..

 

My question is, given I've never built a vac kit before, which one would y'all recommend I start with?

[LSP_Kevin]

I'm not familiar with those kits, but you definitely want to start with the smallest and simplest one - which from your list would appear to be the Miles Monitor. That said, if you have an option to build something that doesn't require landing gear or a cockpit, that simplifies things considerably!

 

Kev

[Iain]

I cut my teeth on Rareplanes vacs back in the day - aged 11.  

 

But I've built vacs from all 3 of those manufacturers.

 

Out of the three brands listed above Rareplanes are generally the best quality and go together in the most straightforward way.

 

Take your time getting the components prepped - taking care to get everything sanded to just the right thickness, nice sharp trailing edges, everything square etc. and enjoy - it's a very satisfying process!

 

The others are all buildable in my recollection - but will take more work and patience.

 

I'd definitely start with the Dove/Devon if it were me.

 

Iain

[RCPlym]

47 minutes ago, Cap'n Wannabe said:

Rare Plane 1/72 DH Dove/Devon

 

I would go for that one.

 

Once the parts are cut out and sanded back to the correct place, you will find all apprehension about vacforms will have ebbed away. 👍👍👍 

[RCPlym]

Just now, Iain said:

I cut my teeth on Rareplanes vacs back in the day - aged 11.  

 

But I've built vacs from all 3 of those manufacturers.

 

Out of the three brands listed above Rareplanes are generally the best quality and go together in the most straightforward way.

 

Take your time getting the components prepped - taking care to get everything sanded to just the right thickness, nice sharp trailing edges, everything square etc. and enjoy - it's a very satisfying process!

 

The others are all buildable in my recollection - but will take more work and patience.

 

I'd definitely start with the Dove/Devon if it were me.

 

Iain

 

You beat me to the Devon by seconds! 

 

I have plans for the Dove/Devon I fancy making use of!!!

[Iain]

It's on my 'I may CAD that one up at some point' list, along with a fair few others... 

 

Iain

[Cap'n Wannabe]

3 hours ago, Iain said:

It's on my 'I may CAD that one up at some point' list, along with a fair few others... 

 

Iain

What CAD system do you use?  I once tried to do a 1/48 PC-9 in Inventor and had a hell of a time..

[MikeC]

Yep, I agree with the Rareplanes kit for first choice.  Second place? The Formaplane. I built their Nimrod back in the day (converting it to  mk 2P with Sidewinder fit and opening/scratch building the weapons bay, but that's another story). 

Contrail are buildable, but I suggest get some experience in first, especially for the biplane flying boats you have.

Good luck.

[Hubert Boillot]

And +1 for Rare Planes ! Plus the Dove/Devon is a nice aircraft, to boot.

 

Hubert

Edited Monday at 08:07 AM by Hubert Boillot

[europapete]

Yep, the Henly or Dove. The Contrails can take more effort and I suggest a good set of plans for them, but those flying boats definately a must at some point.

The Warwick has multiple choices in the box, so pick your version right at the start. Also keep an eye out for their Windsor kit. 

But once you get the parts cut out and sanded to shape, vacs are just like any other kit. A bit more fettling and scratch building details, but that's what modelling is all about.

[Iain]

9 hours ago, Cap'n Wannabe said:

What CAD system do you use?  I once tried to do a 1/48 PC-9 in Inventor and had a hell of a time..

 

I've previously 'played' with Fusion 360 - currently learning Rhino and starting to make some progress! 

 

Iain

 

[Rick Griewski]

I started with 1/72.  Good experiences for me.  Keep an eye on the curved area between the part and the flat plastic when cutting out and sanding the parts.  Some kits have an uneven molding that can introduce a twist you will notice after you glue the parts together; fuselages can be problematic. 

[europapete]

When I do the sanding, I get as large a sheet of wet n dry as I can find and tape it down to a good piece of glass, like an old glass cabinet shelf. This gives a nice flat surface and then use it wet, as I find it makes the job easier and more smooth/even.  

[Iain]

I do the same! 

 

Only difference is I attach the Wet n Dry using Photo Mount spray adhesive - holds in place - but easily peeled when you need to replace the sheet.

 

Also have a 12" long 'T Bar' aluminium extrusion with a flat bottom surface that I attach narrower strips of Wet n Dry to - which can be useful.

 

Iain

[europapete]

Aeroclub had a system where they sold various short lengths of small T section alloy and double sided tape pads to hold thin parts while sanding. Saved the old fingertips from being eroded away. 

Still have a set in the tool draw.