Contrail 1/72 Vac-form Handley Page HP-42

I joined the fuselage halves with lots of clamps and my trusty Zap-a -Gap CA. 

I had some fairly large gaps on the underside of the fuselage,so I glued in some strip styrene.

Filled the gaps with putty sanded  and checked them with gray.

OK! THe seams have been delt with and now I have to decide how to attach the lower wings to the fuselage.i opted to use chrome plated brass tubing from an old radio aerial I had in my parts box.I carefully determined the position of the lower wings and drilled holes for the tubes.Since I am using the cammo paint scheme I will not permanently attach the lower wings until after painting is concluded.The wings fit tightly enough without cement to allow me to determine the position of the wing-support struts for the upper wing,a post crucial step. Here are some pics;   

Ok!I drilled the holes for the wing struts and have begun to install them.I made a wing-angle jig so that the struts were at the proper angle and parallel to each other.  

I still have a long way to go!  

Very cool project.  Vac kits are fun!

I've always admired this aircraft; very interesting.  Looking forward to more, philo.  Keep those pictures coming!

m@

Will do! The strutting operation continues!Good thing I made those jigs! 

Decided to test-fit the top wing today.oh No!Looks like the two struts that go from the engine pods on the lower wing are a little short!Oh well,I guess I relied too much on the kit instructions to take measurements.I will find a way to fix it!it is really going to be fun installing the top wing when the time comes!    

What a monster!

No doubt1 pLus remember it is 1/72 scale!

philo426

Decided to test-fit the top wing today.oh No!Looks like the two struts that go from the engine pods on the lower wing are a little short!

Oh no, I was worried about that. :(  It's hard to tell from the angle of your photos, but when I look at reference shots the inner struts should almost meet each other at the top wing.  This one will be hard to put together without a gig to hold the wings.  I'd love to have a copy of this kit, but I'd be sweating the whole time!  Doc said to reduce stress, this one 'd kill me!

Is Contrail out of business?

m@

I took the measurements directly from the kit plans The struts are not actually in the holes in the photo ,just resting atop the struts so once they are all aligned it may bring it down a bit.I still may have to make extensions for the inner-motor struts.I may have to put the wing down on the workbench and align the struts that way,however, the fuselage is heavy and may present problems of its own. Well I knew going in that this would not be an easy project so i should not be surprised!Yes i believe Contrail is out of business so the kits may be hard to find.There are some Contrail kits on the Bay but not this one!

OKAY! I finally got the wing strut situation sorted out and now turn my attention to the tail unit.I epoxied in a brass tube to accept a brass wire to ensure a strong tail joint.I left off the 3-part rudder and elevators to allow me to rig,paint and decal the tail unit. here is a pic.   

I decided to use a .11 Electric guitar string to add wire to the tail. I also added the short vertical stabilizers to the tail surfaces.       

Except for the rudders,the tail unit is complete.Sure looks like a box kite doesn't it?  

Philo, only because I've made that mistake, the 0.011 wire is too thick. I rig with 20 denier monofilament. It's available from Uni-Caena.

"vac kits are fun" ...

After looking at these photos, I would rank that statement in the same category with, "Clearing a minefield with s stick is fun." Yeowwwwwwwwwwww ... but this is going to be one heck of a good looking bird when all is said and done!

Good looking build of a great looking airplane – even if it does have a built in headwind. I have the Airfix 1/144 scale kit in my stash that the rigging has kept me from building.

Cheers, Aaron

I don't think the string is too heavy at all! Looks right to me!As for the rigging don't forget that the warren style trusses on the wings were so strong that rigging was judged to be unnecessary on the wing struts.

philo426

I don't think the string is too heavy at all! Looks right to me!As for the rigging don't forget that the warren style trusses on the wings were so strong that rigging was judged to be unnecessary on the wing struts.

Check out the last line of text on the instruction sheet1 Truer words were never written!     

Okay! I mocked up the landing gear on the port side.i had to use brass tubing due to the great weight of the model.The starboard landing gear will have to be made tomorrow. 

Looking good Philo!!!! I have never been game enough to try a vac form!!! A mate has given me a few kits from his stash and one of them is a Sanger 1/72 An-10 Cat with white metal gear and props. So I will be taking some notes lol.

Thanks! If you want to test your problem-solving skills try a large-scale vac form!

Shot the first coat of primer on the underside today.I had to prop it up to avoid damaging the struts.Next up;I will paint the underside of the fuselage and wings yellow .   

Painted the yellow underside today!Pretty hideous but that is the way some of the Brits painted their a/c back in the day!At least it is on the underside!  

p