vacuform pros and cons

Joe,

As with every Vac kit that I've done (5), there is at least 400% additional scratch building required, above and beyond what's written down on the instruction sheet, ie: fabricating your own bulkheads, wing spars, wing ribs, gear compartments, cockpits, etc etc etc.

Get yourself SEVERAL surgical scalpels, blocks of balsa wood and or Styrofoam for JIG fabrications, masking/scotch tape, filler putty, super glue (several tubes), tape measure, pencil, filler putty, multiple grains of sandpaper, filler putty, steel wool, etc etc etc.... bottom line, a vac is going to require a real "Improvise, Overcome, Adapt" attitude if going into it with "basic" building skills (heck, it requires a good I.O.A. even with advanced skills!!). For instance.... on a Vac, you can't just glue a gear strut to the surface, you must fabricate internal bracing.... and through all this fabrication, things have to be done in the correct *unwritten* order, so it all comes together properly. *A well stocked Spares Box will come in handy.... pretty darn near required, honestly!*

An injection kit can be constructed out of the box and made to look acceptable.... a Vac, on the other hand, requires a lot of TLC, imagination, and patience, but generally come out looking pretty good, and unique. I know, sounds intimidating, but I credit the VAC kits for making me more proficient with the injection kits!

Take care and happy modeling,
Frank

PS: Oh yeah, don't forget to get Filler Putty!

Oldhooker is telling you true. It does take a lot more work but is generally well worth the effort in both results and acquired skills. Stop by my web site, go to Axis Aircraft and take a look at the Fw-200 Condor build. It is a Vac project and includes several tips as well as links to Vac education sites. Take your time, and maybe have another project going on the side to help settle your nerves when things get tough.

My first vacform was a couple of years ago, someone else had bought it & I said I'd have a go. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the challenge, it turned out looking really good ( a
1/48th D H Sea Vixen) & the guy I built it for was over the moon. So, I say, heed the advice of the guys above & go for it, you'll be surprised what you can do, & we're all here with advice when you get stuck. Good luck.
Pete

like i said i have overstepped my limitations. but i do need to do this for myself. i have grown comfortable with the ready made kit. the ones that just fall out of the box put together. oldhooker i read and reread your post, although i am not sure that i am ready for such an undertaking the lure of pushing my limitations and increasing my skill level is strong. I claim to be a builder, in a short period of time i will sell the products and be as close to an expert in this area as they know. i have to be able to tell my customers what they will need or the effort they will need to put in i had better have done it myself.

thankyou for the lifeline that has been thrown. believe that i will use it. some things that i see that i need to do before beginning are to purchase sheet and rod styrene, the surgical scalples(hadnt even thought of them), balsa wood, and much much more of the scratchbuilding materials that i have not needed to this point. they say the truth can hurt, the truth is my skill level is a two and this type of kit sounds like a fifteen. i could be in for a long, long but satisfying journey.

joe

I can read the doubt in your post but I can also see that you are ready for this adventure - jump in, go for the gusto. Be not afraid for the styrene gods are with you

or either way it is on.

joe

I myself have never done a vacuform but would like to try it someday. What is a recommendation of a good kit to start with

Richard

A good friend of mine started a 1/32 Kingfisher vacuform kit years ago and he ended up building a balsa skeleton for it. He never finshed it before he passed away. I ended up with it in the hope to finish it for him one day. I'd say he had it 60% complete. That will be the only attempt I will make at a vacuform kit. Of course at my rate of building someone will make an injection 1/32 Kingfisher before I finish it! If it is some obscure aircraft vacuform may be the only kit they make of it. They are a lot of work, but I've seen some great works of art come out of them. Patience and a lot of elbow grease!

Go for it! I love vacs and have a few tricks that I like to use to side step some of the challenges of the vac. The first is using the expanding polyurethan foam that they sell for insulation purposes. Take an upper and lower wing section for example. Squirt the foam evenly on both halves and after it cures take a hacksaw blade and saw it flush to the edges that will be joined. Butter one half with two part epoxie and sandwich the parts together. Now you have a wing with structure. You can do this to any hidden internal area that needs strength. You can manipulate the foam while soft with an icecube. Another trick I like is to cut through a cross section to install a bulkhead. Let's take the rear bulkhead of the cockpit as an example. You cut completely through the fuselage at the proper angle, cap the bisection with a styrene sheet, and glue the cockpit nose back on. Using this method you can detail the sheet before you glue it on. Trim the proud part of the sheet, sand flush, and then rescribe the panel lines. I don't always use the tips above but they are in my bag of tricks when I need them.

Woody,

Thanks for sharing those tips. A friend of mine used "Bondo" auto putty filler, but that was heavy stuff. The foam filler sounds like a neat trick!

Not a problem. I build fairly obscure planes so I had to embrace the idea of building vacs. After building my first vac I found them to be not so difficult and more than rewarding. I'm considering my next build(for the NMF group build) to be the old RVF 1/72 Saunder Roe SR A/1 Flying boat fighter.

woody thanks that sounds easy enough to do. may save me some headaches.

joe

QUOTE: Originally posted by RSaddlemire I myself have never done a vacuform but would like to try it someday. What is a recommendation of a good kit to start with Richard

Koster Aero Enterprise Kits are a great place to start - well engineered and include all the stuff you need meaning not so much scratch building. The old MPM vacs are pretty good also if you can find one. Combat models and ID models need lots of work to complete so stay away from them until you have a few easier builds under your belt.

Thanks Swanny

Richard

"Koster Aero Enterprise Kits are a great place to start - well engineered and include all the stuff you need meaning not so much scratch building. The old MPM vacs are pretty good also if you can find one. Combat models and ID models need lots of work to complete so stay away from them until you have a few easier builds under your belt."


now you tell me.
actually i am beginning to look forward to attempting this adventure. have read the posts in this thread and some of the articles on different websites. it will be a challenge but the end product will be worth it.

joe