Roden Vickers Super VC10

[Convair990A]

For those of you who recognize this build from Facebook...... move along, nothing to see here.

My Roden Vickers VC-10 has entered what i call the "end game" which is the final integration of all the pain in the butt details like landing gear struts, blade antennae, pitot probes, and the like.
10-278 by convairb58, on Flickr

I've been doing an exhaustive narrative on the build over on Britmodeller, so rather than regurgitate all the photos i posted over there, i'd prefer just to post photos of relevant parts of the build cycle as questions come up, if that's okay with everybody.

-d-

[RayS]

That is looking great

[hrtpaul]

Saw this on FB mate. Really stunning work there

[Uros]

I also saw it on FB. Looks great!

[oz rb fan]

now thats a scheme i cant help but love

[Convair990A]

Latest update from your buddies at Vickers-Armstrongs (Washington) Ltd.
10-291 by convairb58, on Flickr
My model building mojo took a serious hit after spending the month doing job interviews. Its coming back, but slowly.
I masked and painted the Dual-Loop ADF aerial on the upper fuselage. They actually sit slightly proud of the fuselage skin, and RODEN did include them, but they were inevitable casualties of the required filling and sanding evolution.
10-292 by convairb58, on Flickr
Here's an update on the underside. Still a few more things i wish to add.
10-293 by convairb58, on Flickr

So, that's the latest and greatest. As always, keep those letters and cards coming.
david

[hrtpaul]

Amazing

[RayS]

Very tidy work there

[VH-WAL]

that is a lovely lovely thing

[Convair990A]

All right, Lads....

She's on her feet.
10-317 by convairb58, on Flickr
Believe it or not, the undercarriage on this thing was a real setback. In a nutshell, when the left and right halves of the mold came together, the struts were so mismatched that the axles were staggered, left to right. I had to cut almost all of the axle stubs away, make a best guess where the center was, carefully bore a hole though to take a brass rod for the new axle..... and then i had to reconstitute the somewhat eccentric, not-exactly-round "Clown Car" wheels. This kit could definitely benefit from some resin aftermarket love!
10-294 by convairb58, on Flickr
Here is the end result.
10-309 by convairb58, on Flickr
The discs i punched out sort of serve to represent Brake stacks, but also something to help hold the wheels/tyres more vertical as well as more surface area to glue onto.
10-308 by convairb58, on Flickr
10-318 by convairb58, on Flickr
On this model, i decided to try to sand flat spots on the two bogies before they were installed on the model. The problem is, due to the wheels less than round nature, i ran into some unexpected problems when i glued the struts on. I set the model onto a flat surface while the glue set up, but i still wound up with *one* wheel, ever so slightly off the ground. I think i have that fixed now, but i would definitely go about things differently the next time around.
10-320 by convairb58, on Flickr
10-322 by convairb58, on Flickr
Now that the undercarriage is installed, all that remain are two rather large gear doors, some blade antennae, and those curiously long pitot tubes the VC10 had.
Hope you like, and keep those letters and cards coming!

david