dH Vampire. 12th Nov. 2024. Final pics and sum up

[Alain Gadbois]

Very convincing worn fabric effect!

Looking forward to see the complete base with the Vampire.

[geedubelyer]

Thank you Håkan and Alain. 

I took a couple of quick snaps before boxing the model up incase it doesn't survive the trip to and from Telford. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I can call this one done. 

 

It's been a thrill, privilege and honour to take part in this Silver Jubilee group build.

To celebrate 25 years of modelling with the community was a worthy cause and I would like to thank the mods for allowing me to contribute and everyone else for putting up with me! 

 

When I get back from SMW and if the model is still in one piece I'll take some better photos and post an RFI. 

 

Cheers all,

Guy

Edited November 8, 2024 by geedubelyer

[DugyB]

In one piece? Don’t make me fly over there and whoop some ass …. Wherever that is of course ..🤔

[Stevepd]

Certainly a different approach to other builds. It looks very effective indeed.

[Dpgsbody55]

Looks superb, Guy, and worth the effort you've put into this kit.  I like your take on the worn outlook and the imaginative display looks brilliant.  I hope it makes the journey to Telford and back intact.

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Shoggz]

I can confirm it looked brilliant ’in the flesh’!

[MikeC]

4 hours ago, Shoggz said:

I can confirm it looked brilliant ’in the flesh’!

Agreed, brilliant piece of work.

[Iain]

Fabulous result Guy!

 

Iain

[LSP_K2]

Very nice. I like it.

[DugyB]

I really like the final result here of what you did with a challenging build. The visual interest is off the charts.  Well done sir,  now bring on the Gate Guards group build …. 🤙

[geedubelyer]

On 11/8/2024 at 5:09 PM, DugyB said:

In one piece? Don’t make me fly over there and whoop some ass …. Wherever that is of course ..🤔

 You'll be relived to know that you won't have to travel to the UK Dugy. All went well and the model survived n one piece. 

 

On 11/8/2024 at 5:45 PM, Stevepd said:

Certainly a different approach to other builds. It looks very effective indeed.

Thanks for the kind words Stevepd, glad you like it. 

On 11/9/2024 at 5:51 AM, Dpgsbody55 said:

Looks superb, Guy, and worth the effort you've put into this kit.  I like your take on the worn outlook and the imaginative display looks brilliant.  I hope it makes the journey to Telford and back intact.

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

Hi Michael. I created a custom box out of cardboard and lined it with polystyrene style packing so thankfully all went well. Travelling over 100miles on some of the UK's roads was a tad bumpy at times but she survived intact. Thank you for your kind comments, they are much appreciated.

On 11/10/2024 at 8:08 AM, Shoggz said:

I can confirm it looked brilliant ’in the flesh’!

On 11/10/2024 at 12:16 PM, MikeC said:

Agreed, brilliant piece of work.

On 11/10/2024 at 4:35 PM, Iain said:

Fabulous result Guy!

 

Iain

 

On 11/11/2024 at 1:02 AM, LSP_K2 said:

Very nice. I like it.

 

 

Thankyou all very much for the generous words. I'm thrilled that you like the model, particularly since a couple of you have actually had to see it in the flesh! 

 

10 hours ago, DugyB said:

I really like the final result here of what you did with a challenging build. The visual interest is off the charts.  Well done sir,  now bring on the Gate Guards group build …. 🤙

 

That's a superb idea Dugy. Perhaps you could suggest it when the call goes out next time? Glad you enjoyed seeing the end result, thanks.

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

I don't think I quite realised what I was getting into when I chose the Infinity Vampire for this group build. My modelling experience consists almost entirely of mainstream injection molded plastic kits from established and well known manufacturers. This kit from Infinity certainly opened my eyes.

 

A number of things fell into place that gave me this opportunity. 

I became inspired by my choice of subject some time ago when I spotted an image online of a forlorn looking museum piece at the Planes of Fame museum in Chino, CA. 

This Vampire appears to have suffered the ravages of time and weather. Although some attempts have been made to keep the elements at bay she still looks sorry for herself.

Without looking in to things too closely I (wrongly) assumed that the airframe was the usual speed silver albeit pretty beaten up and faded. This enabled me to participate in the Silver Anniversary Group Build. Imagine my dismay when I discovered that actually the metal of the aircraft appears to have been primed in grey.  My thanks then to the Mods for permitting me to continue in the group build. (There are a few bits of silver on the airframe )

This Vampire kit along with the other Infinity offering is the only injection molded Vampire in 1/32nd scale as far as I know and this one was on sale so I snagged one. After I'd bought it I began watching reviews on YouTube and followed @Meindarts build thread online. He pointed out some of the most glaring issues with the model. 

There aren't an enormous amount of these built but @Iain also has a build thread here on LSP. 

 

Armed (or so I thought) with all I needed to know i jumped in. 

 

The glaring truth is I was immeadiately out of my depth. 

The parts require a lot of clean up. They also have no real location tabs so positioning is more guess work than accuracy. Some parts are really badly poorly misshapen (e.g: air intake mouths) or asymetrical (interior bulkheads). Others don't seem to fit at all (Intake trunking). The instructions are closer to suggestions rather than precise guides and an amount of interpretation is necessary to figure out where certain parts fit.

With that said I got my head down and got stuck in. I painted the cockpit and seat and was pleasantly surprised by the detail and finesse of some of the components. Unfortunately getting it all to fit was trying and I confess to losing enthusiasm for the build. It sat untouched for some time until Michael aka @Dpgsbody55 also began to build one. 

Inspired by his tenacity and problem solving I got back on the horse and re-started the model. 

I marvelled at Michael's ability to build the kit so cleanly and neatly, especially as he had chosen an unforgiving all silver Canadian scheme

One useful feature that I had in my favour was how tatty the original is. I could get away with a few liberties and could blame it on the real deal! 

 

After much encouragement from fellow members in the group build I finally (unbelievably) got it built. 

Along the way I attempted to address the bloated appearance of the nose area by sanding away some of the thankfully thick sidewall plastic. Then, using smoke and mirrors, disguised it by slathering on filler like the actual museum article. The shape of the nose is one area highlighted by the builders who had gone before me. 

I also used a two part modelling clay to re-sculpt the engine intake mouths to something more closely resembling the full sized versions. These are possibly the worst area of the kit. I was aided in getting close-ish to the shape by only using the extreme length of intake trunking close to the mouth. Keeping the intake trunking whole meant nothing fitted at the intake mouth. Since I was going to use intake covers I dodged a bullet. The same was true for the jet pipe as my subject has a plywood cover bolted over the end.

Another area that could do with an aftermarket replacement is the canopy. Comparison with reference pics suggests the shape is not right, particularly at the rear of the sliding portion. I was deep into the build by the time I discovered the shape issues and almost exhausted by the model so decided to leave well alone. A dunking in floor polish tinted with yellow ink and some metal foil at the rear to improve things a little was all I was prepared to try.

The main wheel wells are a complex, ill-fitting affair that affect the position of the main gear legs so extreme car must be taken. Once again my subject helped me because she has flat tyres helping to disguise any poor modelling skills on my behalf. .

The actual kit landing gear and gear doors are possibly the best bit about the model in my humble opinion. The detail is good and they look right once finagled into position.

I knew going in that I wanted to include a base for the model. This idea developed still further to include the other aircraft wingtips when an image popped up that showed the Vampire tail boom resting on them. Since the kit is a tail sitter and I couldn't work out how to add nose weight and the cockpit at the same time  these scrap wingtips were a godsend.

I used plasticard and metal to fabricate them. They're not entirely accurate but I won't tell if you don't.......

 

So, enough 

 

 

 

A few closer pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to have a look.

If I haven't covered something or you have any questions please ask away.

Equally, if you have any comments, constructive criticism or feedback on any aspect of the build I'm happy to hear it. 

 

Cheers,

 

Guy

Edited November 12, 2024 by geedubelyer

[LSP_K2]

19 hours ago, DugyB said:

I really like the final result here of what you did with a challenging build. The visual interest is off the charts.  Well done sir,  now bring on the Gate Guards group build …. 🤙

 

I would really like to someday do a gate guard aircraft.

[DugyB]

4 hours ago, LSP_K2 said:

 

I would really like to someday do a gate guard aircraft.

Wouldn’t it be cool, wouldn’t have to worry about aftermarket parts cost, the subject is endless, pretty much anything could be simply built out of the box too …. 🤔

[DugyB]

14 hours ago, geedubelyer said:

 You'll be relived to know that you won't have to travel to the UK Dugy. All went well and the model survived n one piece. 

 

Thanks for the kind words Stevepd, glad you like it. 

Hi Michael. I created a custom box out of cardboard and lined it with polystyrene style packing so thankfully all went well. Travelling over 100miles on some of the UK's roads was a tad bumpy at times but she survived intact. Thank you for your kind comments, they are much appreciated.

 

 

 

Thankyou all very much for the generous words. I'm thrilled that you like the model, particularly since a couple of you have actually had to see it in the flesh! 

 

 

That's a superb idea Dugy. Perhaps you could suggest it when the call goes out next time? Glad you enjoyed seeing the end result, thanks.

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

I don't think I quite realised what I was getting into when I chose the Infinity Vampire for this group build. My modelling experience consists almost entirely of mainstream injection molded plastic kits from established and well known manufacturers. This kit from Infinity certainly opened my eyes.

 

A number of things fell into place that gave me this opportunity. 

I became inspired by my choice of subject some time ago when I spotted an image online of a forlorn looking museum piece at the Planes of Fame museum in Chino, CA. 

This Vampire appears to have suffered the ravages of time and weather. Although some attempts have been made to keep the elements at bay she still looks sorry for herself.

Without looking in to things too closely I (wrongly) assumed that the airframe was the usual speed silver albeit pretty beaten up and faded. This enabled me to participate in the Silver Anniversary Group Build. Imagine my dismay when I discovered that actually the metal of the aircraft appears to have been primed in grey.  My thanks then to the Mods for permitting me to continue in the group build. (There are a few bits of silver on the airframe )

This Vampire kit along with the other Infinity offering is the only injection molded Vampire in 1/32nd scale as far as I know and this one was on sale so I snagged one. After I'd bought it I began watching reviews on YouTube and followed @Meindarts build thread online. He pointed out some of the most glaring issues with the model. 

There aren't an enormous amount of these built but @Iain also has a build thread here on LSP. 

 

Armed (or so I thought) with all I needed to know i jumped in. 

 

The glaring truth is I was immeadiately out of my depth. 

The parts require a lot of clean up. They also have no real location tabs so positioning is more guess work than accuracy. Some parts are really badly poorly misshapen (e.g: air intake mouths) or asymetrical (interior bulkheads). Others don't seem to fit at all (Intake trunking). The instructions are closer to suggestions rather than precise guides and an amount of interpretation is necessary to figure out where certain parts fit.

With that said I got my head down and got stuck in. I painted the cockpit and seat and was pleasantly surprised by the detail and finesse of some of the components. Unfortunately getting it all to fit was trying and I confess to losing enthusiasm for the build. It sat untouched for some time until Michael aka @Dpgsbody55 also began to build one. 

Inspired by his tenacity and problem solving I got back on the horse and re-started the model. 

I marvelled at Michael's ability to build the kit so cleanly and neatly, especially as he had chosen an unforgiving all silver Canadian scheme

One useful feature that I had in my favour was how tatty the original is. I could get away with a few liberties and could blame it on the real deal! 

 

After much encouragement from fellow members in the group build I finally (unbelievably) got it built. 

Along the way I attempted to address the bloated appearance of the nose area by sanding away some of the thankfully thick sidewall plastic. Then, using smoke and mirrors, disguised it by slathering on filler like the actual museum article. The shape of the nose is one area highlighted by the builders who had gone before me. 

I also used a two part modelling clay to re-sculpt the engine intake mouths to something more closely resembling the full sized versions. These are possibly the worst area of the kit. I was aided in getting close-ish to the shape by only using the extreme length of intake trunking close to the mouth. Keeping the intake trunking whole meant nothing fitted at the intake mouth. Since I was going to use intake covers I dodged a bullet. The same was true for the jet pipe as my subject has a plywood cover bolted over the end.

Another area that could do with an aftermarket replacement is the canopy. Comparison with reference pics suggests the shape is not right, particularly at the rear of the sliding portion. I was deep into the build by the time I discovered the shape issues and almost exhausted by the model so decided to leave well alone. A dunking in floor polish tinted with yellow ink and some metal foil at the rear to improve things a little was all I was prepared to try.

The main wheel wells are a complex, ill-fitting affair that affect the position of the main gear legs so extreme car must be taken. Once again my subject helped me because she has flat tyres helping to disguise any poor modelling skills on my behalf. .

The actual kit landing gear and gear doors are possibly the best bit about the model in my humble opinion. The detail is good and they look right once finagled into position.

I knew going in that I wanted to include a base for the model. This idea developed still further to include the other aircraft wingtips when an image popped up that showed the Vampire tail boom resting on them. Since the kit is a tail sitter and I couldn't work out how to add nose weight and the cockpit at the same time  these scrap wingtips were a godsend.

I used plasticard and metal to fabricate them. They're not entirely accurate but I won't tell if you don't.......

 

So, enough 

 

 

 

A few closer pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to have a look.

If I haven't covered something or you have any questions please ask away.

Equally, if you have any comments, constructive criticism or feedback on any aspect of the build I'm happy to hear it. 

 

Cheers,

 

Guy

Hey, it just dawned on me, there's no rattlesnake there …. 🤔

[Dpgsbody55]

Nice pictures.  I'm so glad it made the trip to Telford and back successfully.  I keep coming back to this build and how well you've weathered it.  The finish is brilliant and the display you've built is just right for the model.

 

It would have been nice if someone had done a better canopy for this Vampire.  It looks too flat from about the mid point back, almost as if it's been taken out of the mold too soon, which I think is something that's affected other parts too.  However, displaying it with the canopy open takes your eye away from that part passably well.

 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael