Handley Page Victor B.Mk.2(BS) (Airfix)
Big box with lots of parts. My plan is to build the anti-flash white scheme with the Blue Steel missile.
I bought the Eduard "Big Ed" set to go with it - almost as much money as the kit! Here are the cockpit frets.
And the exterior/landing gear photoetch bits.
Lastly, the PE details for the tail cone/air brake and the masking sheet.
Master provide nice turned pitot tubes and refueling probe.
I bought these resin wheels ages ago to use with the old Matchbox kit. I don't think I'll use them on this build as I've ordered the set from Armory.
As usual with the Eduard sets, they have you remove all moulded in detail. You can see the PE on the step sidewalls.
Take a good look at the rudder pedals. Once the fuselage is closed up they'll never be seen again!
Cockpit painted and the PE going on. The throttles are an accordion-like folding job, lots of fun in 1:72 scale! The rear control panel consists of 18 individual PE bits - and it's not done yet.
Front instrument panel uses 5 separate PE parts. The control yokes are from the kit, but with a smaller diameter column needed to fit into the holes in the panel. I simply used some Evergreen rod for that.
The cockpit and flight deck is pretty much finished. I used smaller diameter rod for the shafts protruding from the top of the ejection seats (these held the wires to activate the emergency hatch removal). The rods moulded into the kit seats were much too large. The Eduard PE parts really improve the cockpit.
Another view. The yellow portion under the pilot and co-pilot seat cushions was a plastic container for the emergency kit.
You can see a better view of the photoetch braces from the floor to the back of the ejection seat rails. The kit simply provide a triangular styrene shape with no detail at all.
I couldn't resist adding a couple of Mayfair magazines from the mid-60s. The boys need some reading material.
Apparently, the Victor had massive girders inside the wings. Actually, these do a great job of stiffening the wing assembly and setting the proper dihedral.
Getting ready to tackle the intakes by spraying them white. The way Airfix engineered this is quite clever, and I "think" it will ease the removal of any seams that may be visible. I like how the splitter plates slip down through the slots. Way better than moulding them into the intake trunking.
I'll leave the elevators off the tail until later in the build so I can pose them as I like.
The nose gear strut and wheel bay went together easily. Just one bit of Eduard PE on top of the actuator arm - the rest is all Airfix.
Paint is Alclad Aluminum with the wash made from Future and Mr. Hobby black. Most of this will never be seen again either!
A splash of Alclad and a dark wash for the engine faces.
Airfix did a good job of engineering these intakes to minimize seeing the seams.
Note the use of big honking spars to keep everything in proper alignment.
Starting to go crazy with Eduard PE for the gear wells. The bits add detail for sure, although what comes with the kit is pretty good.
Note the positive alignment devices for the wing spars. Clever Trevor.
Oops, forgot to use this! Oh well...
This notch on the wing trailing edge needs to be cut out for proper installation of the wing "carrots."
View from above. Wing tips have yet to be added - this is a big model.
Lots of PE to play with for the air brakes actuators.
Looks nice to me!
This significantly enhances the Airfix parts.
The inside of the air brake petals get the PE treatment as well.
Can't leave out the main gear legs. I think all this PE will look really nice after painting.
PE for the gear doors too. There is PE everywhere I look...
Main fuselage components are coming together.
The Blue Steel fairing that covers the bomb bay is too short - so I've added a shim at the back to make up the difference.
Working on the seams. They've all needed at least a little work to clean up.
Look Ma, more PE.
The bomb bay fairing was a horrible fit, and needed a lot of extra seam work. Ugh.
Note the sink holes on the intake scoops and the fairing itself. Really nasty compared to the rest of the kit.
Wing tips are on, along with the wing carrots. I love the crescent wing shape.
Almost ready to paint. Why Airfix moulded the wing tips in clear is beyond me. The navigation lights are but a tiny bit...
White is the new white.
Need to break up the monochromatic look...
A couple of spots to clean up, but overall I'm happy with the white - not my favourite colour to paint.
Internals will be aluminum. Plus, the flaps will be down and the elevators in a non-neutral position.
Panel line wash will be toned down, it's a bit too dark for a white aircraft. A few highly thinned coats of white should do it.
Alclad Aluminum and a light wash of "instant skill" for the gear struts and gear wells.
The same for the nose gear.
And the air brake mechanism.
Some detail painting on the radome and forward dielectric panel,
And on the rear panel and tail cone.
Stickers are on. Stencil city!
Very impressed with the decals - hardly any film and they reacted really well with the solvents. Just a few bits left to add now.
The turned metal refueling receptacle is a bit undersize relative to the plastic boom, but looks good nonetheless.
Masks are finally off the clear parts after almost a year in place!
A little instant sunshine added to the underside.
And the finished behemoth. A rhapsody in white.
Enjoy the photos!
Way cooler than a B-52.
Airfix have you paint the ladder green, but white Victors had a blue boarding ladder.
The antennae and elevators were the last bits to attach.
All that Eduard PE made a difference, but you have to look for it.
Lots of wing...I like that Airfix provide a way to lower the flaps.
More of that PE.
From a normal viewing perspective - the Victor looks very futuristic.
The turned metal pitot tubes from Master are brass, and very easy to bend. Both of my mine were bent in the package, but I managed to straighten them out.
You can see precious little of the flight deck on the finished model. All that work on the cockpit - oh well, I know it's in there.
Kommentit
88 12 May 2023, 18:22
Slavo HazuchaTuning in for the show - cockpit already looks fab, incl. the mission-read elements! 👍🏻
14 May 2023, 14:27
Bill GilmanI've uploaded more photos that document the build progress, which has been very slow. Sorry about that, but life keeps getting in the way. I've had a variety of health issues and I'm heading to the oncologist next week to set up a time for a biopsy on some nodes in my neck. Hopefully it's just related to a sinus infection I've been fighting and not the lymphoma coming back. Keeping my fingers crossed. Cheers, Bill
10 February, 20:06
Robert PodkońskiI'll keep my fingers crossed for you too, Bill. Great job on the model btw. Keep it up!
10 February, 22:19
Zbynek HonzikI'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well with your health, Bill. 🍀
10 February, 22:36
NicolasI also keep my fingers crossed that everything will be fine with your health.
11 February, 20:14
Bill GilmanI used up a few bottles of semi-gloss white, but the Victor is now a "white whale." Thanks for the kind words on my health - I go in on Feb. 29 for a sinus surgery and tissue collection for biopsy. Fingers crossed. I tried to cross my toes but was unsuccessful... Cheers, Bill
26 February, 14:47
gorbyHope the biopsy doesn't find anything bad Bill.
The Victor looks excellent so far.
26 February, 15:54
Bill GilmanOh, by the way - after two weeks (!) of testing my oncologist decided the biopsies were negative. Dodged another bullet.
17 June, 14:07
Bill GilmanThanks mates. I've added a couple more photos that show the painting of the landing gear and air brake internals. I've also painted the wheels, gear doors and air brake petals (photos soon). Up next is to paint the dielectric panels on the underside as well as the H2S radome. Cheers, Bill
19 June, 13:34
Bill GilmanTwo more photos added showing some detail painting. I'm off to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware tomorrow for a week of spending what's left of my retirement portfolio. Unfortunately there are no hobby shops anywhere near where we'll be. But the Air Mobility Command museum at Dover AFB should make up for that.
21 June, 11:16
Bill GilmanNearing the finish line on this one. The stickers are all on, and I really like how they performed. Hardly any film outside the design, and they snuggled down nicely with the usual solvents. I didn't see any silvering. Next up will be a few coats of a semi-gloss clear, and then I can attach the remaining bits. It's been a long build, but it was interrupted several times. Next project will be smaller! Cheers, Bill
14 July, 20:13
Thomas KolbThat is an exceptionally clean build and paintjob, I am super impressed with the decals too.
1 August, 14:03
Bill GilmanThanks everyone. It took me more than a year to build it, but I think it was worth it. Now, where to put it? Cheers, Bill
1 August, 18:35
Palo MI also wonder about the same question (where to put it), that's why mine is still in the box 🙂 . Beautifully done, Bill, congrats on such a great result. Please do share once you have an idea for how to show it off permanently 🙂
1 August, 20:02
Bill Gilman@Palo M - I have a display case large enough to hold it, but it's currently full! I've decided to get a smaller enclosed bookcase (like an IKEA Billy with glass doors) and move all my smaller models over to that. That will free up more than enough room. For now though, the Victor is in a large cardboard box awaiting its permanent home. Cheers, Bill
2 August, 12:18
Palo MThanks Bill! May I ask what kind of case it is? I'm familiar with Billy - I instead use an IKEA MILSBO glass vitríne for all of my models. I just can't find a decently priced one for larger models like this Victor, 1:48 F-111 or larger 1:32 planes. If you know the name of the display case, would appreciate the info.
2 August, 19:02
Bill GilmanHi Palo, My big display case is a homemade custom one that I got from a local club member's estate after he passed away. It's really nice, with internal lights and some storage drawers at the bottom. Whoever made it knew his/her woodworking. Oh yeah, it weighs a ton. Cheers, Bill
2 August, 19:13
Bill Gilman@David Taylor, I have them. The plan is to do the Valiant in silver and the new tool Vulcan in camouflage. Cheers, Bill
2 August, 22:17
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