ghodges Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 (edited) Another in my litany of "guilt builds"...... I've had this kit since Koster released it @1990 (and I was sure NO ONE would EVER release a 1/48 A-20 in injection mold ) I'd gotten this far a couple of years ago before being side tracked by something else (common sense?) And got this far today after about 4hrs of work Though it doesn't look like much, getting the cockpit/nose gear well together allowed me to test fit everything, so that now painting and detailing can proceed in those areas. I even cut out the main canopy and was surprised how well it fit! Anyway, I'm building this as part of the vacuform Fellowship Build over on Agapemodels.com, so I figured I could just as easily post it here for anyone who's interested to follow along too. Vacs aren't really that tough. They just require a little more elbow grease and some additional techniques to compensate for thin plastic and the lack of locating pins. As you can see by the first pic, this is a true multi-media kit (like all Koster full kits) with metal, pe, resin parts and a full decal sheet. It'll be built primarily OOTB, as nothing else is really needed! Comments and questions welcome! Cheers! GIL Edited July 25, 2010 by ghodges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David M. Knights Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 Gil, Can't wait to see this one done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedeater Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 (edited) Gil, over the past year it has been a thrill to watch your progress on the T-28, the Banshee, the P-400, the P-38 and more. Even the E-2 was awesome. (I promise I wont' tell anybody about the gaff. Wink, wink). I am sure this A-20 will be just as thrilling to watch. Thanks for including us on your endeavors. They way I figure it, if I can't enjoy building 'em myself, (I'm experiencing a HUGE case of AMS and/or builder's block right now) I might as well enjoy watching you. At least you'll know if you go missing off of the radar for more than a few weeks on this one, we'll send out a search party to make sure you're OK. Model on, Brother Vacmaster of the Sprue.....er....um...of the Sheet. Teehee. Edited May 3, 2010 by Weedeater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adfogel Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 Just awesome, Gil! You know my love (and fear) of vacs and this kit was/is one of the ones I'd eventually like to try. Keep up the good work, buddy! Later, Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66Foxtrot Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 I have this exact kit....I won it at a show(raffle). It's still in the box, where it will stay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamsof51 Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 I've started two vacuforms in my modeling life and finished zero. I think I went to a model show and saw what a vac kit done by capable hands looks like then compared that to where my project was going and gave it up on the spot. Funny cause I love to torture myself with limited run multi media stuff- just not vacuform. My major issue is cutting the parts away from the sheets. I sand off too much and things don't line up right. Its all downhill from there. I'll leave this one up to you Gil. Thanks for sharing the process with us. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adfogel Posted May 3, 2010 Report Share Posted May 3, 2010 I have this exact kit....I won it at a show(raffle). It's still in the box, where it will stay! Hmmmm, we should work something out, sir, if you have 0% interest in building it. If collecting it no worries. later, Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted May 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 (edited) Got some more work done today. The top pic shows the main gear well and main gear assemblies. I don't like engineering that requires this type of building as it means the gear will be hanging in the way from now on, but it was the only option short of major surgery. Koster gives you a jig (center of top pic) to help assemble the metal gear parts, which is much needed to get it done. The instructions are barely adequate, especially if you don't have any other references. That said, the parts all fit together reasonably well once you figure out what goes where. Keep in mind that these kits aren't necessarily designed for the beginning modeler, and Koster probably expects a certain level of experience with model building and vac building; which is why the instructions are as sparse as they are. The bottom pic shows how the asemblies fit into the wings, and they too fit reasonably well. All plastic gluing was done with Weld-On #4 to tack things into place followed by liberal amounts of super glue and accelerator to set things in place and strengthen the assemblies. The wings are now assembled and have been test fit to the fuselage, and they fit suprisingly well! I hope to make some more progress tomorrow on the cockpit. I think the hardest parts are done! Comments and questions are welcome, as always! Cheers! GIL Edited May 8, 2010 by ghodges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adfogel Posted May 8, 2010 Report Share Posted May 8, 2010 Looks terrific, Gil! Nice thought on providing the jig. Keep up teh good work! Later, Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted May 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2010 (edited) Got some interior work done. This pic shows the main cockpit components. The only parts that aren't kit supplied are the sheet plastic instrument shroud and the plastic control wheel I substituted from the spares box. This pic shows both side panels. The throttle and bomb consoles/levers are kit supplied while the rest of the pe is from the spares box (mostly old Hodgepdge stuff). The buttons are chopped rod. The next step is painting and adding a little wiring. After that I can close the fuselage and start making some real progress! Cheers! GIL Edited May 9, 2010 by ghodges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David M. Knights Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 That looks like a very well engineered Vac kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewahl Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 I just know I'm going to be all kinds of impressed with this build. I've started a 1/72 vac kit of the Bell X-2, and it still confounds me with the assembly challenges and a scratchbuilt cockpit. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Typical Slo Hand.... Perfectly good AMT kit available and he goes this route! Excellent work so far, Gil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted May 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 And thus the sub-title to the thread! I did have some serious second thoughts while building the gear and the gear wells......... ! GIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adfogel Posted May 11, 2010 Report Share Posted May 11, 2010 Keep up the good work, Gil! I'm using your build here for when I eventually get this kit and build it. Later, Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted May 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2010 Update (no pics): I have put the interior green on, and plan to do the interior detail painting over the next few days. I got sidetracked by starting a Hurricane and a Spitfire for the BoB and Steeds of the Aces builds! GIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted May 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2010 (edited) Got the fuselage together..... The bright silver object is part of a Terry Dean nose weight. I'll have to blow all that sanding dust out before adding the canopy! Slowly making progress! GIL Edited May 20, 2010 by ghodges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMoore Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Looking good Gil. I can't wait to see the wings on it! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adfogel Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Excellent work, Gil! Just looks better and better with each update. Later, Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Pruitt Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Nice work!! Y'know...through the years, I've always thought I'd like to tackle a vac kit...but I usually just lie down in a dark, quiet room for an hour or so, do a few deep breathing meditation exercises, and the feeling eventually passes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted May 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2010 I've found beer to be a great aid in my vac motivations..... Got the wings on, so it's starting to look like a Havoc! Windshield is also on so I could get most of the heavy filling/sanding done. I used superglue/babypowder for that. Making some sure (but stubborn) progress! I'll definitely be in the mood for a Tamiya kit by the time this one's done! Cheers! GIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidF Posted May 23, 2010 Report Share Posted May 23, 2010 I'm always envious of anyone that builds vac kits - they scare me Good work Gil, looking forward to seeing it completed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adfogel Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 Right on, Gil! This is really coming together quick and beautiful. Later, lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted June 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2010 Starting to get back to work on the Koster A-20G now that I've got the decals on my Spit and Hurricane for the Group Builds forum. Got some of the last exterior parts on yesterday.... This pic shows the upper intakes, for which Koster provides resin intake lips. You can also see the firewall/cowl flaps that will seat the engines and cowlings. This shows the intakes on the inside of the nacelles. Koster even provides pe intake baffles for them! You can also see the exhaust pipes I added using plastic tubing. The gray putty is (hopefully) the last application of Mr. Surfacer before the final priming and rescribing. I also opened up and test fitted the vac cowlings, as well as assembling the resin engines and tires. The next job will be to cobble together the cannons, machine guns, and the 4 rocket tubes to allow me to build the Havoc on the cover of the "In Action" book. Questions, criticisms, and comments welcome! Cheers! GIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adfogel Posted June 18, 2010 Report Share Posted June 18, 2010 Glad to see this is back in the pattern, Gil. A fine job on this...I can only hope to get my Beaufighter looking half as nice, sir. Later, Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts