GWH 1/144 Avro Vulcan K.2 Tanker

[LudvigN]

I had a tiny problem when I tried to decide what to build next. I let the ISM-mob decide and put it to a vote. I wouldnt have needed a vote since this subject won unchallenged (18 against 5). The Vulcan seems to be a very popular aircraft, especially amongst the british members. I am not an expert on Vulcans by any means and I merely bought the kit since the Vulcan looks cool. Anyway, I have about a month to complete this kit before the "In the navy"-SiG starts and I plan to be finished by then. Here is a kit overview:

The kit is basically a normal bomber Vulcan and instructs you to do some minor surgery to make into a Tanker. You also get two parts that builds up the refuelling device. No hose or basket is included and I intend to scratch build that.

The fusilage and wings come in two halves:


Markings:


This is the individual I will be making:


Tiny decals!


Even tinyer pilots! Havent really bothered much with the pilots and cockpit since the Vulcan canopy doesnt allow you to really see anything at all, and especially in this scale!


The tail fin constructed:


The fit of the gear doors is quite good:


The cockpit:


Intakes has to go in before you join the halves:


Glueing the plane together requires you to do it in sections if you havent got enough clamps


The fit of this kit is like a snap tite kit with gaps. The fit is not horrible, but not as good as I expected. Maybe my Tamiya Zero has ruined other kits for me




Quite a bit of filler is used in this build:




That's it for this time! I will try to do this popular aircraft justice and I think it will look awesome with the camo on and the refuelling device extended. You get a stand in the kit so that will look great! Until next time, cheers!

[Puj]

XM607 was saved from the scrap yard and went on to bomb Port Stanley during the Falklands conflict.

[privatepete]

Hi just watch this.pete

[LudvigN]

Hi just watch this.pete

Top stuff! Was it really that shiny back in the service era? It looks very shiny in the video but that's a restoried Vulcan right?

[LudvigN]

Update 2

Didnt know if youre supposed to pre-shade a 1/144 but I wanted to have a go at it so I did. Tried to only shade the "big" panel lines to avoid overdoing it. There are a few fit issues with this kit, the most annoying one being the exhausts. I tried my best using filler, but Im not entirely happy with it. I hope it wont be too visible when finished.

Sanded and filled


Annoying little fit issues:


The tanker-specific equipment


Fully assembled in flight display:


Masked the tiny windows with liquid mask


The pitot tube, how long will it stay intact?


Off to primer:


Primed using Ammo grey primer:


Preshaded:


Until next time, cheers!

[Nige1940]

Looking fantastic , The Vulcan is one of my favourite aircraft . I have a few personal and family connections with this aircraft so I'm biased
However your doing a great job of tackling the issues so far.

[Puj]

I love Vulcan too... so much so I am the Dorset area representative of 'Vulcan To The Sky' club

http://www.vulcantothesky.org/

[chief5437]

Great work so far buddy! I'm surprised to see those fit issues, I expected better from gwh!

Good luck with the rest of it

[Puj]

What airframe are you doing ? (If it is 558 you need to remove the TFR nipple from the nose)

[LudvigN]

What airframe are you doing ? (If it is 558 you need to remove the TFR nipple from the nose)

Im building the tanker:

Small update:
Painted the underside white. I had to spray the white part grey first to even out the pre-shading, fearing it would be too much if I hadnt.


Trying to scratchbuild a refuelling basket in 1/144 is way above my skill level, but I will give it a try! Im using lead wire in different sizes for the basket.


Tomorro, I will mask up the white and maybe spray the underside. Until next time, cheers!

[rwsmith14]

looking forward to the rest of the build

[LudvigN]

The first attempt on the basket failed so I tried a different approach using the tip of a pencil and a spare wheel from a helicopter.


Sanded down the wheel alot to make it the "right" size.




I will paint the black in a metallic tone and the grey in light brown. Have made cuts in the plastic that will hold a wash later on. It isnt the prettiest solution out there but I think it might do the job.

Got the paint I ordered for this build:


Gotta love the spelling on Vulcan and Harrier on these:




Masked up the underside:




This is how the lower hull turned out. It looks good, but isnt the grey a bit too much "brown"? Cant tell for sure but itll have to do.


Then I masked up the rest of the underside, just in case.


Decided to cover the whole upper hull in grey instead of trying to imitate the camo. Will sort that out when I paint the green anyway. I also mixed in a tiny bit of light gray to make it a little bit brighter.


Until next time, cheers!

[felisbarcinonensis]

Looking really good mate!

[LudvigN]

So for the big painting session! Im a rookie when it comes to camo, especially hard edge camo. The instructions are the right scale, so supposedly, you should be able to photo copy and make paper-masks of it. However, I dont have a copier but I decided to try and use the instructions anyway. I started to get a feel for the camo by marking the masking tape:



It was soon clear that it wouldnt work since the aircraft has curves etc. I decided to use the markings as a guide and nothing more. Im not very good at masking and decided it would be best if I just tried to make it as close as possible instead of trying to make an exact copy of the camo:







I managed to spill paint twice (Must remember to use less paint), and unfortunatly, both times exactly on the masking tape edge. Capillary reaction, that's normally a good friend made sure it turned out bad.





On other places, i was really happy with the result:



Tried to remedy the mistakes:





The final results:





There is still some detail painting to do, but Im hoping to put down the first clear coat tonight. Until next time, cheers!

[Puj]

Looking good

[Timmie]

nice job, that's really starting to look good

grtz Arjan

[mick]

great work

[AndreFerro]

That´s awsome! Good Job!

[Joesdad]

Great stuff Ludvig

[patrickroos]

Nice save and great progress, paint and camo turned out great!
Smart move with the templates. Its either that or white tac rolled into "worms".

I think we have all experienced that one, I do it at least once per model...
Tips:
-If full colour cup (and no lid) hold the model up so Your always spraying "90 degrees"
Then airbrush will be mostly horizontal and you minimize chance of spilling.

-I always have a couple of cotton buds moist with the thinner in question prepped and ready.
Partly to clean the tip from buildup if needed, and partly to fix any splutter or spilling.
Just gently roll the cotton bud over the drop/area and suck up the paint.
Remember, they MUST be moist with thinner!

[LudvigN]

The final WIP update:

I noticed that the refuelling basket is already included but in an unfolded state. So to use a scratch built one, I would have to carve out this in some way. I decided to skip the frustration and just have it the way it is. I would have wanted GWH to include an option for it to be out since that would look so much more impressive.


Decalling:

Theres alot of decals for a 1/144 and thats nice! Had no problems with the decals except that they might be a little glossy.




Weathering:

Decided not to wash all of the panel lines since its so many and it might look overwhelming, I used an oil wash for the panel lines and streaking.






Attached the last of the aerials at the front



Reveal:

I decided to paint the stand with Mr Metal buffable(stainless). I did it quickly with a hairy stick and the finish is somewhat satisfying, I wouldve used an airbrush if I had the time.


So its, finished! Here's a teaser and I hope to find you in the Gallery section where I post all the pictures and my final conclusions about the kit.

Gallery



Hope you enjoyed the thread, until next time, cheers!