vac form kits, am I right to be terrified by them!!

[chrisonord]

Chris, I'm planning to do my first vacform this year - an old Airmodel kit of the XF8U-3 "Super Crusader". What are you looking at building? We could do a mini-GB and build them at the same time?

Hya Alun,
There is a company that does a TU-28 Fiddler for a fraction of the price of an Amodel one. I keep looking out for an Amodel fiddler, but they are just too expensive, and the quality of the kits just does not justify the price. Maybe one of these ould tempt me into the dark realms of vac forming..........or not!!!
Chris.   

[thedarkmaster]

I used to have a vacform tu28.........biggest pile of pooh i ever tried to put together, the only vacform i ever gave up on.

[chrisonord]

I used to have a vacform tu28.........biggest pile of pooh i ever tried to put together, the only vacform i ever gave up on.

Hmm......
I won't bother with one of those then, was it the Sanger one??
Chris.

[Thorvic]

Chris

The other aspect with Vacform kits, is that with the work required it tends to work better if the vac model being built is something you really want and thus worthy of that little extra effort.

Geoff

[PR19_Kit]

Robert,

On second thoughts I've got well over 150, I nearly forgot about the box of CF-105's I got with the VP moulds I bought.

Not all of them, you sold me a couple!  

And pretty darn wonderful they are too!

Vacforms can be simple, fiddly, difficult or darn nigh impossible. Just like injection kits in fact.  

The difficulty is picking the first one to start with, and I'm vainly trying to remember my first one and failing. I think it was a Rareplanes Meteor F8 (and no I didn't convert it into a PR19....) Rareplanes were pretty good back then, but the F8 was quite small of course, and something larger maybe easier to start with.

As an 'off the wall' idea how about a Welsh Models airliner? They are part vac, part resin, and the fuselages are the vac bit, so large enough to get hold off during the sanding process. I use an old mirror, about 18" in dia, as a sanding block for that stage, with some 420 grade wet and dry taped to it. Works pretty well, but weighs a ton!

PS The Contrail XB-70 is DEFINITELY in the 'impossible' class! The engine bay is moulded in one piece and in 1/72 it's about 3" deep. You can imagine how thin the moulding is at the bottom, can't you??? 

[thedarkmaster]

I won't bother with one of those then, was it the Sanger one??

yes mate , an utter utter utter pile of pooh.     

[lancer]

My first and so far only vac fornm has been theWhirlybird P1121. The strange thing was that I thoroughly enjoyed building it. Still, it was an excellently moulded kit and the nresin inserts helped a bit, but on the whole it was a most enjoyable experience.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Proof that a vacuform model can be built and look good when it is done. 

Darius has managed to perform such a feat with the ID Models 1/48th scaleDouglas C-133 Cargomaster. 

Several additional images on ARC at this link: 1:48 C-133A Cargomaster, I.D. Models vac-form

[buzzbomb]

My experience with Vacforms.. and I have done many is generally good.
For that model you just have to have to complete a collections, say Blackburn Blackburn for example if you do Royal Navy Fleet Air arm for instance... is/was generally only done as a vacform, sure resin is now widely available but vacforms are cheap now due to being "out of favour"

Another "advantage" you can have with Vac Forms is that they are in plastic, soft plastic at that.
That means all your normal plastic techniques, glues, tools work and the plastic is easier to deal with.
No Superglues generally needed like a resin kit, except where metal is required and then epoxy is generally better anyway.

Besides, the lack of detail is sometimes a good thing as it is easier to put stuff on than take off bad stuff and replace it.

... and finally.... for a whiffer the base models sometimes just cry out for a good whiffing

[philp]

Another good way to get your feet wet is to use some of the vacuform conversion sets.  Could be a nose, fuselage or just something extra.  This would give you the confidence to move on to a full kit. I had picked up a set to make a B-57 out of the old Canberra but then the B-57 was released and I sold the Cranberry so...

I still haven't done one myself but there are a few I am interested in.  Unfortunately, they are mainly 72nd airliners.  Would love the 747 to put my Shuttle on.  And a DC-9 to make a Nightingale.  And a 737 to make a T-43 (wish someone would repop the old Aurora kits). 

[jcf]

And a 737 to make a T-43 (wish someone would repop the old Aurora kits). 

The Aurora 737 is a -100 and has the original short fuselage and short engine nacelles, the T-43
was based on the -200 which is six feet longer with extended nacelles.

[kitnut617]

  And a 737 to make a T-43 (wish someone would repop the old Aurora kits). 

Welsh Models does a multi media kit of it in 1/72 scale:

http://www.welshmodels.co.uk/MTpage.html

[kitnut617]

The Aurora 737 is a -100 and has the original short fuselage and short engine nacelles,

Got one and a Hawkeye Models Australia decal sheet to do the NASA -100, look under US Miliatary here:

http://www.hawkeyemodels.com.au/Site.htm

Mind you, I got a Welsh Models -200 and a Draw Decals sheet to do a 'Janet Airways' too, in 1/72