Lancfan's whif partly restored Vampire build ** FINISHED **

[lancfan]

My first build will be a partly restored whiff Vampire inspired by a similar model built for the Sea Fury GB.



David.

[airjim]

Sorta like this?

Jim

[PaulBradley]

Or this?









At the Fliegerflab Museum, Dubendorf.

[lancfan]

My model would be an aircraft in the closing stages of restoration and I plan to have the pod covered in doped fabric and the airframe would be rigged. These pictures are very interesting and I may build a bare wood pod if there is time later.


David

[JohnRatzenberger]

... pod ... doped fabric ....rigged

Are you building a Vampire or an FE.2 ?

[lancfan]

John, LOL
I began just after midnight by assembling the cockpit as shown, this model will not carry ejection seats as in this model they are meant to be stored elsewhere waiting to be restored and refitted. The mounting rails have been made from plastic strip and the kit seats are now in my spares box.


Before packing in for bed I made patterns in car filler of the interior to be sectioned as templates for future use.


The build proper can now begin.


David.

[lancfan]

With the cockpit finished the weights were added to either end of the cockpit before the pod was assembled.


Joining the pod halves and assembling the tail and booms came next.


Adding just six more parts gave me a complete basic airframe ready for paint and final
assembly, by its nature the biggest job on this brilliant little kit will be in the painting.



David.

[Ian]

That's gone together quickly!

[ShaunW]

I agree, that has gone together quickly. The part resto is an interesting take on the theme as well. Did Vampires have wooden nose sections then? Also, what's with the car filler templates? to provide interiors for older Vampire kits?

[lancfan]

Ian, shaun, IMO this is just about the best of the new tool Airfix kits as not only is it superbly detailed but also ALL the parts fit together properly.
The restoration theme came from a model I made for the Sea fury GB, I liked the effect so much one model such as this will be a part of every type in my collection.

I agree, that has gone together quickly. The part resto is an interesting take on the theme as well. Did Vampires have wooden nose sections then? Also, what's with the car filler templates? to provide interiors for older Vampire kits?

Shaun, yes both the Vampire and Venom had a Ply/Balsa/Ply laminated pod laid up in a similar way to the method used for the Mosquito and Hornet fuselages.
The templates are for future use, I have plans for this kit and decided that patterns which I can slice up for cross sectional templates will be useful at some point.

David.

[ShaunW]

Cheers for the info David, your builds are always interesting and informative!

[Sissel]

Very quick progress here.
Interesting project, David.

[splash]

Nice work so far I like the template idea I can see that coming in handy if you need to build bulkheads.

I have seen a similar method use using plasticine, you stick the kit with the plasticine in the fridge until the plasticine goes hard, then you can remove the plasticne and chop it up with a sharp knife, lay the parts on card and spray around them in black and you finish up with a negative template to cut out.

I look forward to seeing this build as I enjoyed watching the Sea Fury.

Interesting enough back in the very early 70s I had the pleasure of dismantling a Sea Venom at RNAS Yeovilton, it was being given to a local school.

When we took the wing off, the team leader had forgot to check if the drop tank was empty, when the crane lifted the wing and we undid the retaining bolts, the whole port wing swung into a trestle stand and punched a big whole in the tank and dumped gallons of Avtur all over the hanger floor, needless to say we emptied the other tank before removing it.

I recall an Electrician taking a whole morning to remove the electrical connections from the engine and then expression on his face when I took 10 seconds to remove the electrical cables from the bulkhead using a large set of bolt crops. They were fun days.

Regards Splash

[Saxon]

Nice work so far.

[MarkyM607]

Like it so far. With the photos of the real part restored, with all that space you could have a nose turret!!!!!