Airfix 1/72 Victor B.Mk2
Discussion
Since getting back into building model aircraft again I decided right away that I wanted the trio of V-bombers - I've got an old airfix Vulcan kit that may or may not be serviceable, but with the incoming release of the new one I thought I'd hold fire on that one and start with the other two. My wife got me the Victor for my birthday last year, and the Valiant for Christmas, so having done the Hunter and the SR-71 as a warm up I thought I'd make a start on the Victor.
I've made a bit of progress over the last couple of weeks, mainly getting all of the cockpit area put together, the airbrakes, and the the complex air intakes for the engine and associated wing sections.
I acquired the Big Ed photoetch set for this- I wasn't planning on getting one but one came up too cheap to pass up so I've used bits of it here and there, but other stuff will be left as it is in the kit. For example there is a ton of extra detail for the landing gear and wheel wells, which will just never get seen, so I'll leave this as it is in the kit.
Putting the wing section together (it's not small!)
|https://thumbsnap.com/BXcKbWoS[/url]
Various sub assemblies for undercoating and initial 'grey' coat.
[url]
Cockpit detailing and painting
Airbrake assembly installed
Cockpit installed - I realised after fitting them that I included the ejector-seat release handles too high up on the front of the chairs. The thought of trying to remove and re-fit them without damage doesn't fill me with confidence so they can stay where they are, in any case the amount of this cockpit which will actually be visible on the finished model makes it a minor issue as far as I'm concerned!
Next up is creating the 25g weight for the front to avoid any tail-sitting. I'm planning on using a decent sized nut (which is almost 25g in itself), with plasticard top and bottom that I can use to hold some liquid gravity. I will probably go for closer to 30-35g as I did the suggested weight on my Hunter build and that still tail-sits at the slightest provocation.
And that's it for now. Next up is to get the weight installed and the fuselage halves joined together, at which point the wings will be attached and the bulk of it can be undercoated.
In the meantime I need to find a suitable display cabinet (that is big enough) to start putting these in!
I've made a bit of progress over the last couple of weeks, mainly getting all of the cockpit area put together, the airbrakes, and the the complex air intakes for the engine and associated wing sections.
I acquired the Big Ed photoetch set for this- I wasn't planning on getting one but one came up too cheap to pass up so I've used bits of it here and there, but other stuff will be left as it is in the kit. For example there is a ton of extra detail for the landing gear and wheel wells, which will just never get seen, so I'll leave this as it is in the kit.
Putting the wing section together (it's not small!)
|https://thumbsnap.com/BXcKbWoS[/url]Various sub assemblies for undercoating and initial 'grey' coat.
[url]Cockpit detailing and painting
Airbrake assembly installed
Cockpit installed - I realised after fitting them that I included the ejector-seat release handles too high up on the front of the chairs. The thought of trying to remove and re-fit them without damage doesn't fill me with confidence so they can stay where they are, in any case the amount of this cockpit which will actually be visible on the finished model makes it a minor issue as far as I'm concerned!
Next up is creating the 25g weight for the front to avoid any tail-sitting. I'm planning on using a decent sized nut (which is almost 25g in itself), with plasticard top and bottom that I can use to hold some liquid gravity. I will probably go for closer to 30-35g as I did the suggested weight on my Hunter build and that still tail-sits at the slightest provocation.
And that's it for now. Next up is to get the weight installed and the fuselage halves joined together, at which point the wings will be attached and the bulk of it can be undercoated.
In the meantime I need to find a suitable display cabinet (that is big enough) to start putting these in!
We (wife) has two of these for a collection of handmade perfume bottles and Swarovski flowers. https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4501512. Until I looked just now I didn't realise how much they cost!!
Get some shallower shelves and hang the bombers vertically at the back, as if the mirror was the ground with smaller stuff on the shelves in front of them.
After all, Cosford has one of theirs hung vertically.
Get some shallower shelves and hang the bombers vertically at the back, as if the mirror was the ground with smaller stuff on the shelves in front of them.
After all, Cosford has one of theirs hung vertically.
IJWS15 said:
We (wife) has two of these for a collection of handmade perfume bottles and Swarovski flowers. https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4501512. Until I looked just now I didn't realise how much they cost!!
Get some shallower shelves and hang the bombers vertically at the back, as if the mirror was the ground with smaller stuff on the shelves in front of them.
After all, Cosford has one of theirs hung vertically.
It's a nice idea but personally I'd like a cabinet where they can sit on their wheels on the shelf. If those ones were deeper they would definitely be an option.Get some shallower shelves and hang the bombers vertically at the back, as if the mirror was the ground with smaller stuff on the shelves in front of them.
After all, Cosford has one of theirs hung vertically.
r159 said:
I’ve got one of these, and the Revell /Matchbox one...I think it will be either on the wall or ceiling ...along with the Nimrod and Blackjack...oh dear...
As a kid I used to have all my 1/72 aircraft hung from the ceiling- I still get nightmares about the dust buildup! Back then I never had anything bigger than a B-17 though, it was mostly single and twin engine WW2 stuff. It's nice revisiting the hobby as an adult and not being limited to just the smaller stuff by a weekly paper-round budget.
The 1/72 Trumpeter Blackjack is on my list too - there is just something about the big bomber aircraft in 1/72... assuming the space is available!
Squirrelofwoe said:
r159 said:
I’ve got one of these, and the Revell /Matchbox one...I think it will be either on the wall or ceiling ...along with the Nimrod and Blackjack...oh dear...
As a kid I used to have all my 1/72 aircraft hung from the ceiling- I still get nightmares about the dust buildup! Back then I never had anything bigger than a B-17 though, it was mostly single and twin engine WW2 stuff. It's nice revisiting the hobby as an adult and not being limited to just the smaller stuff by a weekly paper-round budget.
The 1/72 Trumpeter Blackjack is on my list too - there is just something about the big bomber aircraft in 1/72... assuming the space is available!
williamp said:
El stovey said:
I didn’t realise the victor had 5 crew.
Seems a lot.
Nice build though. Love these bigger 1/72 kits.
I think the Vulcan had a crew of 5 as well. Only two of them had ejector seats..Seems a lot.
Nice build though. Love these bigger 1/72 kits.
I love how these aircraft have these cool little areas and different levels that the crew moved around in during different parts of the mission.
Is that what the cutout area between the pilots seats was or did he go under that?
ETA just found a photo showing it,
Looks like the center console lifted up and he crawled down there.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 23 February 22:06
Yep it was definitely cozy in the cockpit. Interestingly the kit even comes with 6 seats rather than 5- you can see the circular seat mounting in the centre of the floor on my model for the 6th seat. I didnt bother to remove this mounting as it won't be that visible, but I have left the spurious seat out. Not sure what that was about- I've not found anything online to suggest a 6th seat was fitted there.
There is a good video on YouTube showing the hinged control console, as well as explaining the crew entry process and bailout routine for the rear crew- including a mechanism to inflate their seat cushion and tilt their seat forward to help them get up under the high g loads. It makes you realise why the survival rate for rear crew members was so much lower than for the pilots...
There is a good video on YouTube showing the hinged control console, as well as explaining the crew entry process and bailout routine for the rear crew- including a mechanism to inflate their seat cushion and tilt their seat forward to help them get up under the high g loads. It makes you realise why the survival rate for rear crew members was so much lower than for the pilots...
Squirrelofwoe said:
Yep it was definitely cozy in the cockpit. Interestingly the kit even comes with 6 seats rather than 5- you can see the circular seat mounting in the centre of the floor on my model for the 6th seat. I didnt bother to remove this mounting as it won't be that visible, but I have left the spurious seat out. Not sure what that was about- I've not found anything online to suggest a 6th seat was fitted there.
There is a good video on YouTube showing the hinged control console, as well as explaining the crew entry process and bailout routine for the rear crew- including a mechanism to inflate their seat cushion and tilt their seat forward to help them get up under the high g loads. It makes you realise why the survival rate for rear crew members was so much lower than for the pilots...
I did see a picture with six seats, then I realised it was another photo of someone building your model. Didn’t look as good as yours though! There is a good video on YouTube showing the hinged control console, as well as explaining the crew entry process and bailout routine for the rear crew- including a mechanism to inflate their seat cushion and tilt their seat forward to help them get up under the high g loads. It makes you realise why the survival rate for rear crew members was so much lower than for the pilots...
Looks like some had a slightly different bit to get to the viewing area and a black instrument panel
Maybe that’s when the viewing area was removed but they still needed something to hold the center pedestal up?
Model progress looking great, looks like a lovely build.
The black cockpit above is a bomber style cockpit. There is a very tight tunnel that goes down to the bomb aiming position in the nose. This wasn't needed in the later K2 versions and the extended console had all the extra controls for the fuel tanking system, although the panel can be hinged upwards for access. The Airfix kit cockpit is more representative of a K2 cockpit, but as you say, you can't see much of it when the model is buttoned up so there wasn't deemed much point putting two sets of cockpit parts in the kit.
There was a sixth "jump seat" in the middle, this wasn't always fitted, but the fittings are always present in the cockpit floor. Can see the base of it in this photo I took at Elvington:
You can see a very small semi-circular handle next to the left-hand yoke by the pilots right knee- this is the steering "wheel" for on the ground!
The black cockpit above is a bomber style cockpit. There is a very tight tunnel that goes down to the bomb aiming position in the nose. This wasn't needed in the later K2 versions and the extended console had all the extra controls for the fuel tanking system, although the panel can be hinged upwards for access. The Airfix kit cockpit is more representative of a K2 cockpit, but as you say, you can't see much of it when the model is buttoned up so there wasn't deemed much point putting two sets of cockpit parts in the kit.
There was a sixth "jump seat" in the middle, this wasn't always fitted, but the fittings are always present in the cockpit floor. Can see the base of it in this photo I took at Elvington:
You can see a very small semi-circular handle next to the left-hand yoke by the pilots right knee- this is the steering "wheel" for on the ground!
Edited by lufbramatt on Wednesday 24th February 08:14
Just to expand on this a little bit the extra jump seat was just for occasional use, eg air cadets on air experience flights. The three guys in the back didn't have ejector seats but did have a system of what I remember as inflatable cushions that sort of pushed them out of their seats. As an air cadet we we spent a happy few hours practising emergency egress from a Victor (nose section), in case of mishap during said air experience flights.
lufbramatt said:
Model progress looking great, looks like a lovely build.
The black cockpit above is a bomber style cockpit. There is a very tight tunnel that goes down to the bomb aiming position in the nose. This wasn't needed in the later K2 versions and the extended console had all the extra controls for the fuel tanking system, although the panel can be hinged upwards for access. The Airfix kit cockpit is more representative of a K2 cockpit, but as you say, you can't see much of it when the model is buttoned up so there wasn't deemed much point putting two sets of cockpit parts in the kit.
There was a sixth "jump seat" in the middle, this wasn't always fitted, but the fittings are always present in the cockpit floor. Can see the base of it in this photo I took at Elvington:
You can see a very small semi-circular handle next to the left-hand yoke by the pilots right knee- this is the steering "wheel" for on the ground!
Cheers Matt, that makes more sense now- and I feel vindicated in leaving the seat fittings in place on the floor!The black cockpit above is a bomber style cockpit. There is a very tight tunnel that goes down to the bomb aiming position in the nose. This wasn't needed in the later K2 versions and the extended console had all the extra controls for the fuel tanking system, although the panel can be hinged upwards for access. The Airfix kit cockpit is more representative of a K2 cockpit, but as you say, you can't see much of it when the model is buttoned up so there wasn't deemed much point putting two sets of cockpit parts in the kit.
There was a sixth "jump seat" in the middle, this wasn't always fitted, but the fittings are always present in the cockpit floor. Can see the base of it in this photo I took at Elvington:
You can see a very small semi-circular handle next to the left-hand yoke by the pilots right knee- this is the steering "wheel" for on the ground!
Edited by lufbramatt on Wednesday 24th February 08:14
Encountered the first proper 'difficulty' with this kit- fitting the instrument panel. As it fits in from above and attaches to the cockpit sides, rather than anything on the floor, the instructions have it being fitted in place after the fuselage side have been joined- allowing it to slide onto a protrusion on the inside of each fuselage halve. The access for this is incredibly tight (considering all the delicate parts on both the panel and in the cockpit), and I've seen a few builds online with people saying to fit it to one of the fuselage sides before joining them to make this easier.
Well I gave this a go and the fitting points are so 'loose' that it seems impossible to get the panel seated correctly without the support of the other fuselage half. So I'm going to stick with the instructions on this and try and slot it in after the halves have been joined- but I'm not looking forward to it and if anything gets knocked off in the process it will probably be lost for good. It's annoying as I've been very impressed with the design and fit of everything else so far- it's been a joy to put together until this!
Anyway- a bit more progress:
Got the weight 'capsule' finished. Basically an M17 (or 18- I can't remember) nut, with some putty and liquid gravity inside, with a plasticard top and bottom fitted to it, allowing me to fit it into the aircraft with two large plastic-to-plastic mating surfaces:
I then made up a plasticard base for the weight capsule to sit on so that it can fits snuggly between that and the cockpit floor above it, allowing it to be glued securely in place above and below.
Then with the weight capsule glued in place. I went with 35g in the end, rather than the 25g recommended by the instructions. With the fuselage halves joined (not yet glued) and the wing section in place so that I could balance it at the points where the main landing gear will sit, this amount of weight still didn't feel particularly excessive- hopefully it's sufficient!
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