justin

Does anybody here make vac form kits? I tried several years ago, but found the experience painful as the quality was pretty dreadful and I found it have been almost as easy to scratchbuild! However I saw on Hannant's web site a vac form kit for a 1/48 Fw200 Condor for £30, which isn't too expensive really, just wondered if anybody can tell me whether those vac kits are any better these days or if they are still to be avoided. Thanks,

Justin

egonzinc

Justin
I'm no expert on vacuromf but I would STAY AWAY from these models. Don't think they have improved much.
I tried some years ago with AFV vacuform conversions but forget it! Its reallly more for scratch builders to hel them along as far as I'm concerned.
I remember giving it a chance as there were many neat vacuform alternatives. For example there was one tha converted an Opel Blitz to a bus, anothe that turned a Horsch into an ambulance and yet another that turned a pzIV into a Hummel!
All sounded great on paper but then the pieces arrived and it looked more like disposable dinner wear!
The airplanes also bring an added difficulty in that you need to make interior "bulkheads" of some kind to give the model shape and strength.
E

justin

I'm afraid my experience matches yours Ed In the old days the only way to get a lot of subjects was through vac form or resin kits produced by one horse companies. In resin I found some were very, very good, for instance those Verlinden figures, but some were, well, not so good I remember having to fill the fuselage and wings with expanding foam to give them substance, and using wooden dowel pins to reinforce bits. As you say, it's like a scratchbuild project!! I just saw this kit advertised, and thought, well for £30 it may be nice to go back and give vac form another chance, but writing these posts all those old memories are coming back, maybe I'll stick with the Revell one in 1/72

Justin

Garindan

Hi Justin,

Vacform kits have I'm only too happy to say come a long way in the last few years. I've built a few in my time and can share your views on some of the older ones, my Contrail models TSR-2 for one was absolutely appaling! There are still bad kits about to be sure but a couple of manufacturers have led the way in perfecting the art of vacform kit production, names to look out for are Falcon from New Zealand (I have their 1/48th Supermarine Swift which is lovely), Dynavector from the UK ( their Westland Wyvern is a gem) and from America, Koster which is owned and run by Bill Koster who used to be a pattern maker for Monogram in the days of their classic 1/48th kits.
Who is the manufacturer of the Fw-200 you mention? I seem to remember Koster did one a while back but they are expensive kits, for £30 it sounds like an I.D. models kit in which case run away and don't look back!

Rich

justin

Hi, thanks for the feedback!! That Condor kit is made by Sanger, who I've never heard of, maybe it's one of the ones I should avoid.... Take care!

Justin

Garindan

Hi Justin,

Mean't to post a reply to this the other day but got too excited about my Stuka to remember!. Sanger kits produce what used to be Contrail models kits I seem to remember. Contrail kits where average at best and some where plain awfull. I remember them doing a fair few 1/48th kits of things like Hampdens,Blenheims and a Halifax and they were all pretty bad.So in short I'd leave it alone!

Rich.

justin

Thanks, I think I'll forget about it Maybe we'll see a good kit from a mainstream manufacturer of the Fw200 soon, the Revell one is OK but dated by todays standards.

Justin

JosephLalor

Garindan gives some good information there. May I also chip in with Welsh Models, who have kitted various military and civilian transports in 1/144 scale over the years. More recent kits such as the Breguet Deux Ponts Provence provide plenty of assistance to the modeller with good white metal detail components. I think with vacforms it depends on how how patient you have. A softly, softly, catchee monkey approach with a degree of forward planning helps.

Joseph

CFTGEFAN

I have built few welsh models vac-form kits and in my opinion and experience they are very good quality wise, you do need lots of patience with them but once all parts are cut from sheet card and sanded they become like injection kits except you don't have alignment pins molded on them. As for white metal parts, you have to lightly sand and clean them, its very soft metal and can be easily painted and glue with CA glues. There is lots of sanding required in general mind you and that is the main key with vac-form kits. I am selling few now, if you or anyone else like to get them, please PM me for details, they are all 1/144 Airliner kits.

gospodin

I'll stick with injection molded, thank you. The vacu-form kit I tried was just not worth the effort to make it into something presentable. Too much cutting to get the model pieces out, and the detail sucked. Resin kits are almost as bad, but have gotten better since the introduction of forced injection got rid of the bubbles. But for the best kits, it's got to be i.m. plastic, IMO.

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