A good vacuform kit to start with?

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Hi guys!

Whenever I need a break from the “everyday” models, I like to try something new. I’ve done some all resin kits but now I’d like to dip my toes in the waters of the vacuform kits. I’ve read many articles so I am familiar with the basics in theory, just not in practice. Is there a good kit or two out there that someone could recommend? I guess I’m looking for something with few parts, ease of assembly, and nothing that would make me run screaming and crying away from it.

Thank you for your help and suggestions!

Eric

2

One of the hardest parts (and most fun) of vacform building is scratch building the details (like gears, cockpit and props). I would suggest starting with a kit that has those parts, either in resin, injection molded plastic of white metal. Try manufacturers like Dynavector, Karo As or MPM (they started vacforms)

And chose a subject that you really like, so that you stay motivated even if you have some minor setbacks during the building proces.

3

I would also include Broplan of Poland and Wings as producers of vacuform kits. A conversion kit can also be a good starting area where you are merging a injected molded parts with vacuform parts.

Mike T.

4

On ebay you can find many alternatives, that include some metal details or require you to scratch build them. Execuform, Rareplanes, Esoteric, as well as the others listed so far. My first vacuform was a simple jet – the Combat FJ-4B in 72nd. I build it back in the '80’s and other than the basic fuselage/wing/canopy, everything else required scratchbuilding. For a first effort it was okay, and today I’d recommend to a first timer to build a simple jet with no landing gear as in in-flight model – unless it comes in the package as injected plastic, white metal or resin.

A conversion is a good choice as well, Falcon had some and you should be able to find them also on eBay.

GS

5

Thanks to all for the great info! I wasn’t even sure what companies were out there that I should look for. I don’t think it was too long ago that FSM showed a vacuform article where the person built an interesting trainer jet called a Pinto. I thought it looked great and it was something different. I don’t have many spare parts so I figured I’d do a nice wheels up model.

Time to do some browsing. Thanks again guys!

Eric

6

UGH!! I built one vac kit a few years back and while it came out fine it was way more work than I want to put into a project. I swore - Never again…never again.

7

They’re not that bad, really. The two hardest parts are, as stated:

-Scratchbuilding interiors, details, etc.- if you can find a vac kit that includes these details, this is a non-issue.

-Removing the pieces from the backing plastic- This depends on two things, how thick the plastic is, and how close you cut the pieces from the backing sheet. You have no control over the first. The second, though? Entirely up to you.

Here’s my method of “quick a dirty vac piece removal”.

-SCORE around the piece you want to cut out, AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE. You do NOT need to cut all the way through!

-Bend the backing sheet away from the side of the cut. If you cut on top, bend it back. This opens and weakens the score mark.

-Bend it back the opposite way. In a perfect world, this will pop the weakened seam with little or no fuss. Saves a LOT of time.

-Get a big sheet of high-grit sandpaper, the coarser the better. Place it on a flat surface larger than the piece you are working on.

-Sand the backside of the piece until the little strip of backing sheet you left on just drops away. Just be careful not to sand too much, and that you sand evenly. Uneven edges = more filling and sanding later.

As for a first kit- the smaller, the better! Less “stuff” to sand on the smaller pieces, and smaller seams to fill later. I’ve got a 1/72 Bv 40 attack glider that will one day be an easy “weekend vac”.

Best of luck!

8

Hi Lucien!

I’ve always enjoyed your builds and your writings on this forum! Sometimes I feel like you in your pursuit of the slightly off-the-wall subject only without the talent. LOL! Just minutes ago I was looking at a vacuform kit of the Northrop XN-9M flying wing in 1/72 scale. It’ll have a 10" wingspan with a 3" nose-to-“tail” length. I figured it probably couldn’t get too much easier than that. It also comes with cast resin cockpit, prop hubs and even landing gear all for about $22 after shipping.

I’ve built perhaps seven or eight “stick and tissue” balsa planes in my yoot and I’ve always hated the part where you had to cut out the vacuformed plastic parts. I can cut them out but I’ve always had problems getting surfaces to mate properly or simply not break. But young and foolish was I back then and I think I’m a little bit better prepared now with information.

Again, thanks to everyone for the great advice. I’m absorbing all of it!

Eric

9

The last remaing bastion for the true Gizmologist, vacforms are… My first one was about 25 years ago with a Combat Models’ 1/32 JU-88, cost about 25.00 IIRC… Mix of vac, wood, and white metal (the guns and engine fronts, BMW AND Jumo, were magnificent, while the main gear struts looked like they shrunk the real ones to 1/32…) and the only game in town for a LOT of types that never did or will see life in injection-molded form… It had optional parts for the gondola, the hatch for it, two different canopies, a Mistel nose, radar nose, G-Series nose, 37mm gunpack, and A or G tail…

I don’t recall all the stuff I had to do, but I had to build the main spar, gear bays, cockpits and gondola interior, but there were 1/32 drawings for that, as well as a a sheet of 1/32 drawings for the whole aircraft… The one thing I had to add to the “shop” was my (now) ex-wife’s kitchen table because my bench was no where big enough to lay out the drawings and still be able to work… But that was one helluva kit… Although I much prefer injection-molded, I’ll tackle a Vac any day if there’s one that strike m’ fancy or just can’t get an injecttion-molded version in the scale I need…

Wish that some of them would switch to 1/35th though… Since it doesn’t look like the manufacturers of the “normal” kits will ever change scales (in fixed-wings) to accomodate the dio-builder…

10

Hey there Hans!

I’d have to say I’m nowhere near to the level of gizmolotist that many people in this forum are but I sure wouldn’t mind giving it the ol’ college try. I hear what you mean about how vacuforms seem to be the route to go when you just can’t handle another Spitfire, Mustang or pretty much any German plane out there. I just can’t take it anymore (<---- to be said like the woman in “Airplane!” who had the long line of people ready to belt her one).

My only fear is that I’ll want to start venturing into paper models. It just seems weird to be able to make a model out of something that you can three-hole punch.

Eric

11

My advice would be to stay away from older vacformed kits that only come with plastic sheets, and are found at shows under the tables, and go for just a few pounds, euros or dollars! More modern vacforms often include metal and/or resin parts, decals and decent notices. Those ‘extras’, which often includes engines, interior details, wheel wells, tyres, struts,… will save you a lot of aggravation and time… so that you can concentrate on getting the best out of the vacuformed plastic parts.

Several manufacturers have already been proposed. I’d add Welsh Models, who offer some nice military and civilian aircraft kits in 1/144.

Once you’ve completed a couple of those ‘easy’ vacs, you can then try something yet more basic… There are some amazing and crazy vacformed models out there… ED Models of England comes to mind…

12

Interesting. Now that sounds like a get-the-feet-wet project. I’m moderately interested in doing a vacuform job myself. FYI there’s a real, recently restored XN-9M at Chino Planes of Fame museum. It’s precisely a quarter scale (or so) of the XB-35.

On my bench, pushed way to the back, is an Estee’s Rocket model of the Space Shuttle/Booster combo and the Shuttle glider is vacuform. I need to finish that puppy…

13

I bougt this Sierra Scale Models 1/48 Moranec Saulinier on Echo nay.Good basic kit

14

LOL… I don’t think you’ll have to sweat paper, although I did try my hand at a few back in the day when I was TDY somewhere and stuck in a barracks at night… Some of 'em are pretty damn good too…

I even tried my hand at building models for Combat Flight Simulator, lol… Never got any of 'em to “fly”, but I got pretty good at painting them… I took what knew from scale modeling finish-work and applied it to the skins to do specific aircraft for the game…

My “Von Hammer” Fokker D VII for CFS2:

Guess the main thing about Vacs is to remember that they aren’t injection-molded and that the construction is a bit different and there’s a LOT moe sanding… Having the space to tape down sheets of sandpaper onto a glass surface for intance, moving the parts on the paper rather than the other way around, and fabricating entire mounting points and systems for the gear and engines and such. Also had to be ready to cut bulkheads and formers for the fuselage at times, plus get good with a number of different adhesives (not mush of an issue these days though) and know where to find them. I don’t know how I’d have done the ones I did without my own vac-u-form either, but that was just for me to use other kit parts as masters for making other kit parts… Didn’t know how to cast my own parts back then either…

Frankly, I don’t know if Combat Models is still in business, but there’s bound to be some of their kits somewhere.

Lol… Those are what I built, heh… Cutting the parts from the sheet and sand, sand, sand… You’ll get a Dremel tool in a hurry if you don’t have one already, lol… I even used a belt sander at times, mountin it upside down in a vise to sand larger parts like wings and fuselages… Combat Models included all the different stuff you mention… They were at the upper-end of vac-kits, but you’ll still need to fabricate parts here & there… 'Course, that’s the reason they’re for the Gizmologist and not the “assembler-type” of modeler… If you want “shake & bake” kits, vacs aren’t for you, lol…

That’s a REALLY nice Bullet… I never could do a vac of a plane that small…

15

The three words I’ve seen consistently in my readings on vacuform kits are SAND, SAND AND MORE SAND! Alright, technically that might have been four words but you know what I mean. LOL!

I’ve also been hearing about how those paper models can be extremely well engineered. I’ve seen one or two on the internet and they do look amazing to say the least. Perhaps if I get tired of injection kits and resin kits and vacuforms, paper will be my next route. Time will tell.

And that is a great model you’ve got there, Philo! It looks better than my 1/48 Neuport 17…and that’s one small model even at 1/48! Great job indeed.

Eric

16

Thanks!Yes it is necessary to tape the sandpaper to a piece of glass and sand the parts to get a good fit.After the first couple of vac-forms the rechnique will become second nature.It might be advisable to start with a 1/72 kit to start with due to the smaller surface area involved.