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1/32nd scale Avro Shackleton

Started by Thomas Probert · 27 ≡ · ↻ 6 years ago · Avro Shackleton, Scratchbuild

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Thomas Probert said 8 years, 8 months ago:

I have a real soft spot for the Avro Shackleton, and with the likelihood of one being released in vac-form yet alone injection moulding minimal at best, I've decided to have a go at scratch-building my own. There's no guarantee of success I hasten to add, but I thought it worth a go. I thought I'd update you all with my progress so far...

I've quite bit of experience in building large scale, challenging vac-forms, so have approached this is much the same manner so far. I've decided to go for either a MR2 or possibly AWE2 version, so once I'd enlarged some plans I set about making plastic card formers, starting with the nose section.

With this having a reasonable resemblance to the real thing, I had the confidence to tackle the fuselage, which again was built up in plastic card formers.

The nose section will be 'planked' with thin plastic card strips to build up the outer skins, and the main fuselage sections will be skinned by using an old ID Models Lancaster I had in the stash (having already built one and with the HK kit on the horizon I thought it could be sacrificed!)

Part II to follow...
7 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Thomas Probert said 8 years, 8 months ago:

Part II:

With the basic skeleton ready, I added the skins to the main areas of the fuselage by carefully cutting the Lancaster side panels to shape, as well as adding numerous sections of plastic card, which was then all blended in with car body filler. As mentioned in part I, the nose was planked and then blended once again with filler.

The rear section of the fuselage was more challenging, as this was very different from the Lancaster, and therefore had to be skinned using heat formed plastic card and even more filler!

So this is where I'm up to currently - it's been reasonably straightforward thus far, but there's still a heck of a long way to go...
15 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said 8 years, 8 months ago:

Tom, unbelievable! You are going to put this in a museum when its done, I hope? This deserves to be seen and appreciated by a whole lot of people. Really looks well done. I'd be curious how long this takes, given the level of craftsmanship.
George Williams said 8 years, 8 months ago:

Some project, Tom, but I'm sure you can pull it off. I've admired your models here on iModeler, and look forward to seeing your progress with this one.
John Healy said 8 years, 8 months ago:

Now that's impressive! True craftsmanship.
Vincent Perry said 8 years, 8 months ago:

Very impressive
Rob Pollock said 8 years, 8 months ago:

Thomas, yours are the skills of the traditional 'model maker' rather than modeller. Excellent work. If this comes to fruition you should contact HK Models to see if they're interested in scanning the model for possible future use as a mainstream kit.
David Hansen said 8 years, 8 months ago:

Wow.
Words kind of fail me. The layup and sanding of all those styrene strips and bulkheads is exquisite. Its almost a shame to cover it with paint.
My guess is right now its as strong as a battleship, and it weighs about as much.
Josh Patterson said 8 years, 8 months ago:

Have you ever built Guillow's kits as well? This very much reminds me of those, save for the balsa being replaced with styrene! Can't wait to see what the nacelles and radiators look like when you're done! Is that a 1/72 scale Shack or Sanger's 1/48 you're comparing yours to?
Thomas Probert said 8 years, 3 months ago:

Lots of progress on my 1/32nd Shackleton to update you on - since the last update I've finished the fuselage including the cockpit and nose, completed the inner wing sections using the ID Models Lancaster wing sections, scratch-built the inner engine nacelles, and I've also had the engines and main wheels 3D printed. I feel I've broken the back of this project now and am confident of a successful outcome, although I might be a year or two away yet!
29 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Thomas Probert said 8 years, 3 months ago:

A few more pictures...
30 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Thomas Probert said 8 years, 3 months ago:

Josh - the model in the earlier picture is the new Airfix 1/72nd scale kit that I converted to an AEW2
Thomas Probert said 7 years, 8 months ago:

More progress for you - the outer wings are now on and complete. The basic wing was from the ID Models Lancaster, with the extended tips made from plastic card and some spare Beaufighter stabiliser sections.

Multiple internal spars were made from 2mm plastic card for structural support.
12 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Thomas Probert said 7 years, 8 months ago:

Once the outer sections were firmly attached to the inner wing, I blended the join with car body filler for a very strong wing section - much time was spent getting the dihedral set beforehand. I used Araldite which is a two-part expose glue for extra strength. All sanding was done above the kitchen sink as it was the only space large enough to handle it properly and there was a ready supply of water to keep the dust to a minimum.

The wings have had a coat of filler primer and a sanding down, and are now ready for the making of the outboard nacelles.

The Spitfire in one of the pictures is also 1/32nd scale - the Shackleton is a large model!
12 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Louis Gardner said 7 years, 8 months ago:

This is an amazing build ! I've never built a vacuformed model, much less scratch built my own...

It reminds me of some balsa wood models that I have built in the past with the formers and all.

Looks great.

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Work in Progress – Aircraft

1/32nd scale Avro Shackleton