Alright I'm in

[Leigh]

Well I thought I'd dodged the bullet on this one seeing as I'd sent my one and only Vac-form to Brian, then Barry went and sent me a beautiful 1/48 Gannet. OK I'm still safe 'cos that one I want to build as a real bird so not eligible in a WIF build.
Then I had to go and do it pick up a bargain Vac on E-Bay and now I've got no excuses. Wish me luck I dont have a clue what I'm doing here but this is how it looks right now.

[Andrew Gorman]

Totally cool!  That's been one of my favorite oddball aircraft since I saw a sketch in "Airplanes of the World" when I was in Jr. High... Did it come with decals, or does anyone know of a source for those nifty prototype circled "P"s?
Andrew

[Leigh]

Did it come with decals, or does anyone know of a source for those nifty prototype circled "P"s?
Andrew

Hell no, the paperwork in the pic is pretty much the extent of what you get.
It say's that the markings are available on modeldecals sheets 33,34,35,36 and 41 but from what I can gather those sheets are just generic letter and number codes, roundels and fin flashes.
And the P in a circle is available from esci,almarks, letraset and blick

instructions are dated 1979 so good luck.

Anyway mines not gonna be a prototype but an R.A.F. '46 in service in the far East.

[Brian da Basher]

This one's gonna be killer! If I can build a vac Leigh, I'm sure a modeller of your skill and talent will have no trouble at all! I don't see a canopy in your pic. I'm sure smash-u-forming one from blisterpack material will be no problem though. I'm really looking forward to seeing your progress on this one. Thanks again for donating that Su-5 Leigh! I had a great time participating in this GB! I'm glad you could find another so you could be in too.

Andrew, as to the P in a circle...I'm currently working on a RAF prototype project and the best I could come up with was to take a roundel bordered in yellow and paint out the interior and then stick on a yellow P code from my spares. Unfortunately, the fuse on this build is so slim that none of my yellow bordered roundels will fit. Oh well, I don't think they were using the P in a circle in 1930 anyway.

Brian da Basher

[John Howling Mouse]

Good for you, Leigh  >>snicker, snicker, snicker; read: "welcome to the dark side of modelling" as I try to figure out how to cut my stupid dihedral wings from their irregular sheet plastic mounts<<<

[K5054NZ]

Leigh, I know she'll be a real looker when done. Will this be your first vac by any chance? Because I have a feeling it is for everyone else thus far in the Build.


Viva Saro! B)  

[Leigh]

Yes this is my first attempt at a Vac build, by the time I started modelling in the early seventies they had this new process called injection molding so it's never been necessary, I've never had to churn my own butter or heat up water on a stove to take a bath either.
In fact this is the first (read possibly last) Vac- form I've ever knowingly bought, always avoided them like the plague.

Canopies oh the woe this is causing me, this is one of those little tricks that God likes to play on you, the vac form one that came with it is all smashed up and beyond my skills to repair. So I checked the spares drawer for one of those many that are usually in there and hmmm there's only a choice of two, front half of an A7 Corsair and a Spitfire bubble off a revell easy kit which although supposed to be 1/72 seems way too small.
No prob I'll check the drawer I keep all my extra detail packs in and all I've got in there is two P-51 Malcolm hoods
Ok got a ton of MPM kits and they usually come with two vac canopies I'll steal one from summat there, but all the ones I checked which I KNOW should have two only have one.
So I'll have to go and dig around in the garage through my carefully packed stash of kits.
Anyone else suffer from stuff that's always getting in the way until you need it and then gremlins have gone and stolen it?
 

[Brian da Basher]

Leigh you can try smash-u-forming a canopy or just cutting one out of blisterpack material (like what batteries come in). The canopy on my "Ollie Torpedo Bomber" was made this way.

Best of luck!

Brian da Basher

[Leigh]

So I've been trying to assemble the sum total of what? twelve parts that make up this thing. Vac forms are a royal pain in the arse What's the next GB gonna be? Carve a model from a big lump of granite? Got a few bits together, filled in the float wells and then I get to cut it all to bits again to put in a cockpit and the horizontal stabiliser.

[Leigh]

Woo hoo I can see daylight, this should be a fun fix.

[Leigh]

And ooh the top looks just as good. Why are we doing this again?

[nev]

I knew there was a reason I didn't enter this GB

Aeromaster also provided prototype P's with an RAF roundel sheet.  Also had wingco's pennants on there as well.  Very useful sheet

[Brian da Basher]

Looking good there Leigh! Nothing a little PSR won't fix! I'm excited to see you making progress on this project. I think the Suanders-Roe jet fighter flying boat is one of the most unique designs ever flown. Hat's off to you for be brave enough to take on the challenge!

Go, Leigh, go!

Brian da Basher

[Leigh]

dunno that the PSR is going to work, the gaps are probably way too big and I'm sure it will end up cracking. Also sanding in a corner underneath the wing will be a pain, I think I'll try and shim the underside gaps before I put the wing on, topside probably make a liquid styrene mix with scrap and laquer thinner and fill with that.

As to schemes I'm going in a completely different direction now. My local IPMS chapter is doing a Schnieder cup '48 competition and it would be remiss of me not to enter an IPMS "What If" competition, so I'll kill two birds with one brick as it were and this will end up in some kind of shiny racing scheme.

[Andrew Gorman]

From what Ihave seen, the best available technology for filling gaps that size is Aves Apoxie-Sculpt- Ive been using it, and it's a treat.  Sets up overnight, smooths down with a wet finger, and sands easily.  I bought a tub from the starshipmodeler store-
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/cfstore/ind...&Product_ID=162
It made the Supermarine 224 much easier!
Andrew