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As
we modelers gather a little confidence in our journey across the modeling
universe, we feel tempted to investigate mysterious regions, new horizons
and bizarre areas…of the twilight zone (spooky music here)
So, what about a “practice”
vacuformed model? After all, they are affordable, you can easily get some
at shows and swap meetings sometimes for a ridiculously low price, they
require no more effort than your average kit and…you get those strange
things you always wanted to build but…had to build a Corsairschmidtt
instead.
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images below to see larger images
So, I got mine –and several others- at the Anaheim Nats from a lovely
and cheerful couple that had a booth there.
Time ago I built an
Execuform N1M, a very simple molding. The results were so-so, but I took a
taste for the media. When I purchased the batch of vacs, I also bought
some “practice” ones that are not in my area of interest, but I
wouldn’t mind if I spoiled. That’s the case with this Eagles Talon
N9M. It offered the simplicity (just top and bottom shells) I was looking
for in order to have simple alignment and a lower main
parts count. This is then my second vac-, built in parallel with the third
one -one of the group I didn’t want to spoil: a Seversky P-35 that I
wanted to convert to Jackie Cochran’s racer.
After reading some
articles on the subject, it dawned on me how easier things are when you
collect the necessary information BEFORE you commit to the modeling knife
and glue.
There are several
articles on the matter; here is one from the Aeroclub Models website:
http://www.aeroclub-models.com/files/VacForm.pdf
Here I would like to thank fellow modeler Jim Schubert, who honoring his
proverbial “modelers helping modelers” motto sent me the wheels I used for
the project.
I would also like to thank
modeler Steve Kallan, who makes me feel better, by comparison, when he tells me
how’s the weather in the area where he lives.
So,
about vacs…I won’t lie to you: you have to get some parts and decals from
your spares box, scratch build some others, and take note that the approach is
slightly different than the one needed for an injected kit; but you surely can
get good results after a little practice…in the twilight zone.
Gabriel
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images below to see larger images
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