airfix vulcan xm648

[robvulcan]

hi guys well even after building so many vulcans ive been putting off the urge to build any since last winters build of xh557 in 60s camo, now i want to do a model of xm648 in the wrap around colours of 1982 with 101 squadron badges. so here it is this morning, all bits seperated i will be doing wheels up like my others so if anyone needs any wheels, skybolt wing pylons, etc pm me,

so here we are a quick trip to the lms always try to put as much business his way as i can and always gives me a good deal in return,

whats in the box,

tools at the ready.

all bits take off sprues ready to star gluing first step for me will be to paint and fix up airintakes, and pva glue mask the windows. then chuck it all together.

Edited October 26, 2011 by robvulcan

[kev67]

Funny to see you have the Milliput ready at hand, I've got this as well, so looking forward to your build.

[robvulcan]

Funny to see you have the Milliput ready at hand, I've got this as well, so looking forward to your build.

yea i have the milliput ready, but so far i havent needed any, infact the fit of the kit is really good for what it is, since this morning ive got the wings tail, tail cone, fuselarge nearly together, and its not far from chucking it together and painting,

ill upload some more photos later when i get back from the shops before i do any more work,

ive so far on all my vulcans not needed huge amounts of milliput as ive been lazy with the intakes as that seems like a nightmare and ill probably only use a bit to seal the seams a little at the end stages

see how i get on, when i do my model of xm655 ill probably by a mikes resin set,

[kev67]

yea i have the milliput ready, but so far i havent needed any, infact the fit of the kit is really good for what it is, since this morning ive got the wings tail, tail cone, fuselarge nearly together, and its not far from chucking it together and painting,

ill upload some more photos later when i get back from the shops before i do any more work,

ive so far on all my vulcans not needed huge amounts of milliput as ive been lazy with the intakes as that seems like a nightmare and ill probably only use a bit to seal the seams a little at the end stages

see how i get on, when i do my model of xm655 ill probably by a mikes resin set,

I bought mikes resin intake set for mine, maybe I'm lazy, was thinking of getting the detailed undercarriage set as well

[robvulcan]

I bought mikes resin intake set for mine, maybe I'm lazy, was thinking of getting the detailed undercarriage set as well

i wouldnt say your lazy you got good taste its a quality product by the looks of it, and sure looks better than the kit ones, im being lazy with the milliput but i can live with the kit lines i guess for this build anyways.

i think i just want to preserve my sanity and they arnt looking too bad anyways.

just about to upload todays progress so far before i start work on it again in a few mins cheers rob

[robvulcan]

ok so this is todays work so far.

first i prepared the intake halfs and engine compressor blades. blue tacked onto an old harrier box.

then i sprayed them humbrol 27 grey from a rattle can

then i started work on the tail

then started to prepare the wing halfs when i build vulcans i have built a few now i scrape off the inner edges on the wing halfes and fuselarge halfs

this i have found it the reason many people find the wings have to be filled or platicarded up, if you do it this way you wont and will get a good join.

tail cone and tail setting for later on

corner pieces added to bomb bay.

engine faces painted silver

more work on the wing half mating edges to help later when glueing wings to fuselarge, if all goes to plan will not need filling same as my other 14 triangles.

coming together now

engine faces plugged in and glued around afterwards.

i use steel wire for the refuling probe cost 65p from my lms and is highly durable and looks much better, i dont like bits that are easily damaged by others who dont watch your models carfully,!

bore a hole

and at the back towards the top cutting a little channel to alow the wire to sit straight and true.

sighted up and marked with kit part.

i said this wire is tough, and im having to use more 1/1 scale tools, to bend it to shape ill be locking it in place through the cockpit as im not instaling that as you really cant see it waist of time seeing as this is gonna be a flyer.

fitted like this

super glued into place,

i like to reinforce the bombay making parts from the spure like this

to form a ledge along the side they need bending slightly to conform to the shape

then make sure you leave room for tour intakes and add cross sections to make really strong, but watch you can still close the top half of the fuselarge.

and were im at at 5.30 pm today.

[kev67]

Blimey thats quick, good tips to follow though

[robvulcan]

Blimey thats quick, good tips to follow though

yep build 5 when i was a kid with my dad who taught me, sadly they got damaged but one was resurected on here last year or year before as a b1a when i found it in bits,

then i built 2 about 7 years ago but my nutter ex gf destroyed them,

then the gf of today heard that sotry and bought me one, and told me to build loads of them, so i did and got back into modelling, this will be the 14th airfix of the batch i built over the time 2009 to onwards, with one old vac form rareplanes one, 1 frog, and a few lindys.

so im glad if any tips help there not to hard a kit to build i think just not like newer kits that fall together, old school indeed but fun yes, i dont rate my work that highly and this only my second work in progress as i was always a bit embaressed to show my work, but now i know its such a freindly forum i love to share,

thanks for reading this topic

[AnonymousAA72]

Rob! You've painted the intake trunking grey? Shouldn't they be white?

Edited October 22, 2011 by Bill Clark

[robvulcan]

Rob! You've painted the intake trunking grey? Shouldn't they be white?

hi bill, yes they do seem to be white insides on most if not all vulcans, except xh558 in her display colours, and i have not yet plucked up the courage to mask them on other vulcans ive made,.

however this is to be a wrap around dark green dark grey machine and looking at some photos ive got they look pretty dark in there. either way it will do for me, on this build at least,

i suppose it could be a tweasers and tamiya tape job as when i do my model of xm655 i want that one to look smack on as i can get it.

[AnonymousAA72]

hi bill, yes they do seem to be white insides on most if not all vulcans, except xh558 in her display colours, and i have not yet plucked up the courage to mask them on other vulcans ive made,.

however this is to be a wrap around dark green dark grey machine and looking at some photos ive got they look pretty dark in there. either way it will do for me, on this build at least,

i suppose it could be a tweasers and tamiya tape job as when i do my model of xm655 i want that one to look smack on as i can get it.

Hi Rob, I didn't read your original post properly regarding this build, I missed that you were planning to do this in wrap around camo - and I think that painting them a dark colour is a good call. Vulcans with wraparound do seen to have the front portion anyway - up to and including the central trunking column painted in the local camo colours - I assume this is to avoid a big flash of white on an otherwise relatively dark scheme. I've been looking at photo's this morning of wrap around camo'ed Vulcans and you're right, the intakes are very dark!

So, Carry on!!!

[robvulcan]

morning guys well first of all here is as far as i got last night before hitting the cheese board and sherry with the gf last night,

tail cone fitted

bomb bay fitted will need a bit off attention as will tail cone,

these parts are one of the main offenders in the wing join area work on these and the the undercarriage area, its a and the other connection points eventually it will sit flat or near enough flat,

then put lots of glue on and push and hold the wings together for a while, its a good exercise for your chest muscles and it will have little that needs filling.

i use carving sets to help with this stage a curved knife helps get fit even better, and you can already see my trench from earlier on when scraping the half and fuselarge edges down.

another offending area to consider is the wheel wells though if your doing wheels down you may want to pay more care mine is wheels ups so i can butcher freely.

dry fitting not much gap and hardly any when pushed together, with glue added should melt together nicely.

first wing on,

and again

both wings now fitted

[robvulcan]

Hi Rob, I didn't read your original post properly regarding this build, I missed that you were planning to do this in wrap around camo - and I think that painting them a dark colour is a good call. Vulcans with wraparound do seen to have the front portion anyway - up to and including the central trunking column painted in the local camo colours - I assume this is to avoid a big flash of white on an otherwise relatively dark scheme. I've been looking at photo's this morning of wrap around camo'ed Vulcans and you're right, the intakes are very dark!

So, Carry on!!!

morning bill thanks for keeping a look out for me, yea i looked at many photos first, xm648 was in the normal 70s camo before in 101 sqn and it would seem it was then repainted in wrap around whist in 9sqn 44sqn and again 101 sqn from photos ive been looking at,

i have a photo somewere of a vulcan in wrap around at i think red flag or somewere in america or canada and it is head on on the ground in the sun and they from memory didnt seem white inside, ive seen photos of xl426 when she was flying and in dark grey green and then again seemed to have no white, (before being repainted in its current off colours,)

approaching milliput sanding went and dry and painting stage now,

[Moofles]

blimey so stunning work has been shown here, really looking forward to the next ''milliput'' update.

[robvulcan]

blimey so stunning work has been shown here, really looking forward to the next ''milliput'' update.

ta moofles i hope it comes out stunning enough, just been sanding her like mad, with sand paper and wet and dry, filling in with super glue, poly, and milliput, not too much though,

but gonna get back to it now and see how shes doing, up date later on, rob

[robvulcan]

ok this is were i started this morning and i still have more photos of what has been going on the rest the day,

work started with a cup of coffee and so far she is all over grey and ready for me to start brush painting on the green other details such as exausts radome thimble etc

im happy with how she looks so far and thoughly enjoying this build its caused my harriers to be delayed but will get to that possibly next weekend.

so here is the work done early this morning,

coffee and milliput modellers breakfast.

accompanied overnight by what appears to be an f-15 !

i mask my windows were i can and on all my vulcans with kiddys craft pva and apply with a a cocktail stick carefully flowing it into the edges makes life easier, left it dry till it goes clear then hold up to the sunlight and check its looking ok it will apear a bluey colour after and i do this on the bomb aimers window too,

i think its funny that the airfix spares sheet says "flash service sheet" something we used to expect from the old scarefix!

[Moofles]

Great idea with the masking, i have never thought of that before, just like to say you have really provided a great walk through on how to build the vulcan, great job bud.

[robvulcan]

Great idea with the masking, i have never thought of that before, just like to say you have really provided a great walk through on how to build the vulcan, great job bud.

great im glad your enjoying it, im a bit nervy doing a walk through on this as there are many much better modellers on here than me, but over the last 2 years ive been kicking about here ive had many questions on how i do this and that and as most my posts have been vulcan orientated i thought id share how i do mine, bit likea cream egg how do you eat yours, lol,

the pva masking technique is very usefull and it works well the vast majority of the time, it is best were there are kit lines to follow and its best to use craft grade pva,

i had successfully done it on my buccaneer after adding klear first, but on my last couple of builds ive found it best to leave the klear off like i did on all my vulcans and be carefull picking it of using again a cock tail stick, being carefull not to scratch underneath,

as for other canopies i tend to klear the inside only, then after taking off the pva klear the other side, rather than dunking,

but as these window are so tiny it dont matter too much about the klear thing and the airfix clear parts are very clear as is.

ill try and add more photos later.

just starting painting on the green.

cheers rob

[cjhm]

Good progress there, looks like you will need less filler than my one ....

[robvulcan]

Good progress there, looks like you will need less filler than my one ....

i didnt need too much, but i maybe could have used more,

i just got some millput watered over the areas needing a bit and grated it into the gappes and finger smoothed it with water,

its not perfect but ok for me, your xh558 is looking faboulous

[TomTwin]

Damn that looks a nice Vulcan. Something about that shape, add Pixie Lott in a photoshoot with it and I think I have a new picture

Keep up the good work, she's coming along well

[robvulcan]

Damn that looks a nice Vulcan. Something about that shape, add Pixie Lott in a photoshoot with it and I think I have a new picture

Keep up the good work, she's coming along well

thanks alot mate and i see your a new member so welcome to the site, about to start uploading the rest of yesterdays progress photos.

all the best rob

[robvulcan]

hi there here is another update, with still more photos to be added. last night i got as far as starting to apply the camo, im trying my best to get the pattern to match xm648s from the few photos i have of her,

as each vulcans pattern was unique as for the belly i have not got no photos so ill have to look at pictures with decals that are not totaly accurate but what can you do with a plane that was cutt up in 1982 or 3,

if anyone has anyphotos please send them here as i only have a few i have found on the net,.

anyway.

here is the canopy after the pva had dried.

then i build up the insides of the front wheel well with sprue parts i sometimes use platic tube or a bit of pen.

cockpit painted

small parts added to the engine tunnels i belive from what ive been told by a guy working on xm655 air ventillation system ?

and radar panel, then i give her a sand all over with sand paper to take the detail down so its not too visible as its not very notice able on a vulcan i didnt rescribe it the raised pannel lines should hint at the detail through the paint work,

then i filled little areas with super glue poly cement and water filled with milliput and then wet and dried with 1000 grit and sprayed on the grey with humbrol rattle can 27 x 3! cans.

but before i sprayed her i bunged up the engine tunnels with tissue paper to protect the silver engine faces of the 300 series olympus.

i think shes looking ok so far, ill add the photos of the painting later. i take it if they were still in service now this is probably what they would look like, just grey, with a few small pale demarcations, pretty sweet.

[robvulcan]

just finished the tops side of the camo, now on to the bottom, then i got to do a second coat, cant wait to get her finished looking great!

[robvulcan]

Damn that looks a nice Vulcan. Something about that shape, add Pixie Lott in a photoshoot with it and I think I have a new picture

Keep up the good work, she's coming along well

by the way, what is "pixie lott" ? , not sure what you mean cheers rob