Greetings all;

Recently with Aeroscale member Mark Hamrick's fine build of the Grigorovich Flying boat I have been inspired to do a bit of instruction for those of you who might decide one day to pick up a vacuform kit and give it a go.

Vacuforms were always a source of inspiration to me. I remember the old John Tarvin Airframes kits, Rareplanes, Sierra. Tom's Modelworks and Wings 72 / Wings 48 . The first vacs I did were a set of 2 two 1/72. Phönix D.II (?) and a Thomas Morse Scout that I picked up at Hobby Hut in Grand Jct. CO. I still have a Tom's Modelworks Fok. D.VI and Sierra Roland C.II I have been toying with recently.

"The Vac-u-form, also called Vac-u-former, was a toy made by Mattel in the 1960s. Based on the industrial process of vacuum forming, a square piece of plastic was clamped in a holder and heated over a metal plate. When the plastic was soft, the holder was swung to the other side, over a mold of the object to be formed. Then pressing a handle on the side of the unit created a vacuum, sucking the plastic down over the mold and shaping it to it. When the plastic cooled it solidified, making an impression of the item.

Various molds came with the kit, but almost any small object could be used as a mold.

Because very hot surfaces were easily accessible to a child (or adult) playing with the toy, it probably could not be sold today." (Wikipedia Free Encylopedia.)

To begin with a bit of a refresher.

In the years after World War II there were Airfix, Aurora, FROG, Renwal & Revell model kit manufacturers. The first WWI aviation kit subject was FROG’s 1/72 Avro 504K in butyl plastic. In 1960 Cross & Cockade USA was born. In 1968 Cross & Cockade Great Britain rose into publication. Then, our very own Leo Opdyke brought us WWI Aero. The early sixties saw a resurgence in WWI aviation interest and with it Hollywood gave us “Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines” and “The Blue Max.” In a little out of the way swamp near Pougkeepsie, New York a man named Cole Palen carved out an airfield where even today the cough and roar of rotary engines can be heard throughout the summer months.

I remember the dark days after 1966. Airfix, Aurora, MPC, FROG, Revell, with some minor exceptions, all seemed to aim their kit productions away from WWI aviation subjects of any scale . Fortunately the old Profile Publication issues were still in print. They covered many types of aviation subjects. Then it was the fledgling cottage industries that gave us vacuform kits, slush molding and resin castings that kept alive the interest in modeling subjects of First World War aviation. These were Veeday, Merlin (both run by Vagn Espensen), Pegasus/ Blue Max (Chris Gannon), Classic Plane (D. Schörsch), Formaplane of London, By-Planes (Pamela Veal), Rareplanes of Canada, AirFrame (John Tarvin), CramerCraft and countless others all gave us a steady stream of ‘historic plastic.’ One of the premier companies at this time was of course Contrail, part of Gordon Sutcliffe Productions, Somerset, England. They were using female molds to draw the heated plastic into their recesses. This allowed for more detail to be represented on outside surfaces than was seen on vacuforms made with male molds. Now as we have entered the new century, vacuforms tend to be passe to most modelers. While they seem to have been replaced by the use of resin/ rubber vulcanizing or low pressure, short-run injection molding there are still several superb companies that manufacture high quality vacuform kits. Long live multimedia !!!

Then in late 1976 ‘the cottage industries’ started moving steadily away from their beginnings with vacuforms to small short run injection molded kits. For various personal or financial reasons many companies closed their doors while others flourished. Fortunately we have a fairly comprehensive record of these events as chronicled by two historians that followed this same path of success. Brad K Hansen gave us WWI in plastic and the indefatigable Ray Rimell. Brad has not been heard from in many years. Ray has been the greatest force in the publication of informational data on modeling WWI aviation subjects. Avlon Hill gave us the “Richthofen’s War” board game. Since the early 1980's anyone who has ever sought this type of info has had the great fortune to be able to turn to Albatros Pub. Ltd. and purchase Windsock magazines, Datafile monographs and other Special related issues. Ray had moved away from writing for Scale Models (Nexus Pub.) And opened his own shop. But in late 1986, Cross & Cockade USA fell silent. But in late 1988, Over the Front was the phoenix that rose from the ashes of the old C&C USA. When Soviet Russia fell in 1991 suddenly there was hope for all. A small Ukrainian company began pumping out some fine 1/72 scale kits. ToKo, led the way.

In the area of aftermarket productions we can not forget the decal companies that have provided so many great scheme markings. For many years Blue Rider and Krasel industries (Microscale and Superscale) gave us great profiles. Gone are Aeromaster and Eagle Strike as they were purchased by Squadron. A new company stroking for WWI aviation modelers is {b]Microsculpt.[/b]

Finally in 1992 company from China, Dragon Models Limited gave us kit #5601, their Fokker Dr.I also in 1/48 scale. In the following years they gave us a Spad XIII, Fokker D. VII and a Fok. D.VIII all in 1/48 scale. Then they fell silent. Now simply called Dragon, they have closed their WWI aviation line and sell large scale multi-pose WWII figures and small scale WWII aviation and armour subjects. In the same year another small company (named after a an ancient knight from the region of what is now the modern Czech Republic) that opened up the way for hope to grow. With their main thrust being the production and sales of aftermarket photoetch metal parts, Eduard gave us kit #8001. It was their Siemens Schuckert D.III in 1/48 scale. To show you what I mean I am providing a partial list of 1/48 scale WWI aviation kits that Eduard has given from 1992 to 2004. That is at least 52 kits in 12 years.

We are in the “Golden Age of WWI aviation modeling.” In all my years of building their kits I have never found an Roden or Eduard kit in the bargain bin of any hobby shop. They keep their worth. But Eduard is growing and as such it is changing its direction. What it will leave behind is the contact with our era modelers. While we will continue to buy and build, modelers are looking to some new up and coming companies to fill the gaps that Eduard has left behind in it move away from WWI subjects. It is about survival. For a company to grow it has to touch other markets. The comparative new kid on the block is a company called Roden, based in the Ukraine. They began producing1/72 scale kits and only in the past two years have started cranking out high detail, modestly priced 1/48 scale subjects. While Eduard has promised that 2005 will be their year of the “Fokker” their recent subjects of the Sopwith aviation type are as detailed as a modeler could expect and it can be said that they lead in the multi media market. Roden is a strong contender in this area and what they have in store for 2005 will be astounding. A giant leap in modeling is promised. With the world economy striving for a free - trade community and the internet bringing all of us closer together I wonder, where we will go from here?

WWI aviation history is preserved in national record offices and private museums. One such repository is the Lafayette Foundation in Platteville CO. http://www.lafayettefoundation.org/

Research fiends, enthusiasts and devotees regularly visit its hangars to study their model displays, documents, uniforms and to watch full and 80% scale replica WWI fighters take to the sky. A warm greeting and a hot cup o’ coffee is always on the stove every Friday and Saturday or by appointment.

The “internet super-highway” allows us to transport to various websites on a daily basis. Modeling sites have popped up like little towns that line the highways from here to there. Here's to the hope that we can become one of those fine recreational venues

Others provide links to the image based or informational sites. Even the top membership society journals of real history like Cross & Cockade Intl and Over the Front magazines have their own websites. One can find that large scale control line, free flight or radio control subjects have several companies with plans or complete kits for purchase all on the internet. For the individual looking for that old kit, uniform or photo there is e-bay. There are even personal computer flight simulation games with our favorite aviation subjects.

Today, general subject modeling magazines are beginning to turn their backs on publishing 1914-1918 aviation kit build ups. Will our arena of scale kit modeling eventually phase out due to lack of interest? Will kit prices continue to climb to where they can not be afforded? Will all of our modeling eventually be 3-D and done on a computer screen? Or will the future see a group of adults that come back to kit modeling as a way to revisit their youth? It may be that in that future time we come full circle and see cottage industries again purchasing old injection molding machines and pressing out long forgotten subjects. As for today, we the WWI aviation kit builders are having our day in the sun.

Hi Stephen!

Thank you very much for this encyklopedia about WW.I modelling.
I totally agree with you. On one hand I am very happy that we actually have the Golden Age of WW I modelling. On the other hand there is a kind of sadness ( maybe a nostalgic feeling) that manufacturers like Sierra Scale or Jostick have faded. Their Vacus gave me a lot of modelling pleasure and still now I am shure that these kits are a good basis for a nice model.

I have been attending a tremendous ammount of modelshows and exhibitions so far and also could win a nice amount of prices taking part in competitions. I have regarded that the more perfekt the kits and the modelling industry becomes the more the pure fun and enthusiasm of modelling is disapearing.
The expactations of a perfect model are growing with the quality of the kits.

It is not so far away that a modeller could proudly present his model out of a vacu with some slightly changes and a few addings and of course modelling skills. He was able to enter competition and had good chances to win a prize. The result was that the competitions have been full. Of course with different qualities but also different styles of modelling could bee seen and developed.Today the competitions are much more empty because not extremly skilled modellers are afraid to enter and in fact they have no chance. I am shure that this is one of the reasons that lesser and lesser people are attending our lovley hobby.

To come back to the Vacus. There are a lot of rumors that vacus are so difficult to build. I don`t think so. Indeed you need some different but not so difficult to learn techniques. But there are some advantages as very thin fuselage shells, thin trailing edges and much more. Also adding some scratchbuild items of your own is more easy.


I always loved modelling beside the mainstream and thanks to some produces of vacu kits I got the chances to find some kits to start with, As I begun modelling there was only Sierra and Jostick providing Austro/Hungarian Aircraft of WW.I. Later Blue Max added som short run kits. Many thanks to them all.

As you know I produce my own kits as a cottage industrie and its pretty difficult to stay on the market. The power of the big modelindustrie is so strong. But all these small producers do models beside the mainstream. The curiosity is that if I bring out the 1001st version of a Me 109, it might sell much better as all my kits togehter.

The reason for my engagement in discussion forums and in the IPMS is to encourage modellers to go their own way, the risky way! If you never try you will never find out your skills and somtimes to show a failure is more helpful for oneself and others. Under this aspect every modeller should try vacus or some other basic kits and make the best out of it he is able to. A lot of experience and fun is guranteed.

Vacu is not a method producing kits it is also a basic skill for scratch builders. My modelling bible "The Master Scratch Builders" by John Alcorn displays some outstanding examples what can be done with this technique.

Regards Peter

Very interesting articles by both, I agree very much with Peter about the notion that modellers are becoming very demanding but at the same time perhaps very limited in their subjects, I mainly build ship models (Peter produces some beautiful kits of KuK subjects), but have more recently moved into a few other areas including WW1 aircraft to try and stretch my skills a little.

I do see that there is a demand for that perfect kit and as etch and resin aftermarket items become more and more common, modellers get lazier and lazier in what they will do to correct a kit and how much they will do themselves. Model forums are full of people asking where do I get this part, why doesn't somebody do that part, why do model companies make errors, are they stupid? The number of us who are prepared to sit down and put the time and effort into building something out of an old or poor kit because they like the subject are dwindling it seems to me, partly because of the above but also the competition mentality for people who just want medals so want the best kit they can as a starting point, I know some people like that, they do exist.

I only yesterday completed my first WW1 aircraft for many years, it's not perfect but was a good learning experience and the next will be better (and it was a nice change from all the grey), and what is more I'm building an old Airfix kit to boot.

So thanks Stephen for the encouragement, I have seen vacform kits on ebay and will keep my eye out for something interesting, though I need to get a bit better at things with wings first

Cheers
Mike

Cheers Mike and welcome to the conversation.

I have to pur some oil in the fire of this discussion.
Thank you Mike for your input, I totally agree. You brought up the competition mentality of collecting medals. Yes this gets more and more important and in the same time the fun and pure lust for modelling fades.
It is much more satisfying to solve a problem by oneself than to buy an item. What I mean. To make a model out of a not so perfect kit, with a lot of personal input makes the builder happy and satisfies. This is my experience as a judge in a lot of competitions... you see the difference. But often there is no chance to win for such a model. I truly love seeing them and the skills and enthusiasm of the modeller is highly apreciated.
Of course I am carved of the same wood. If I want o build a model I try to get the best I can, buying all the aftermarket goodies I can get. This is my native origin of hunter and collector. But.... then building the modell I usually end up with a severe surgery of the kit parts... droping a lot of expensive buys and scrachtbuild a reasonable percentage of the model. This is nit because the kits are not of perfect quality it is because I want to built something individual ... my singel one and own model. For example my latest built kit was a ship. The USS Brooklyn from Yanis Masterpieces. A very expensive and absolute top quality kit. It is absolutly worth the high price and the best I could get. I worked on this model over a period of 4 years and as usal I did a lot from scratch. Finally I am very happy with this model.
Maybe I speak against my own profession as a kit and model manufacturer but I want to encourage modellers more to do their own. To be braveharted and devolp their own personal style. It is so delighting seeing individual styles on modelshows and speak with these enthusiastic modellers.
regards
Peter

A very good topic . Lately I have notice and not just on this site on the amount of resin and PE sets modellers put into their builds in hope of an award . And then get mad because some one beat them out who had more money to but into the project . Some will excel better at it then others , but it's only hobby . Which we seem to forget in the long run .
I enjoy the srcatchbuilding the last two projects I did on line both cockpits where scratch , I did use some PE parts and maybe one or two of the kit parts , To turn a cockpit with 10 kit parts and to add well over 100 made by plastic and blade with a little imaging tossed in the mix is very satisfying . i do also realize that not everyone has the skills for it .

This seems to be the way our hobby is turning . Why make it when you can buy it !
I guess that's way I love building WW1 aircraft , most of all the things we have to make . Not much out there in the line of resin or PE set's . It is a dieing aspeck of the hobby , shame though it's where avaition all began and the amount of subjects seem to be endless not to mention the marking options !

I'll keep with the srcatahing and my skills will improve and one day I will tackle the vac kit's in my stash and will keep getting more !

I hope Peter and I as people who enjoy ship building as well as early aircraft aren't slightly going off topic but actually I think the two genres have a lot in common, they are perceived as difficult so people don't want to try. Of course a lot of people don't have the time, maybe skills, certainly inclination to spend a lot of hours on one model as it is sometimes frustrating to see something sit on your workbench month after month while the model stash grows. I do tire though of the mentality of 'where do I buy...'

I spend quite a bit on models and parts, but I think if if came down to it, I would be as happy doing up an old kit, and have been, as spending all the hard earned cash on the latest parts and etch. Those who pursue medals are missing something I feel, the pleasure of putting your effort into something original, not a question of who has the deepest pockets.

Personally I try probably once a year to take on an old kit and see what I can do with it, honestly the results may not always be top notch but the sense of achievement is far greater.

I'm just waiting now for all these old airfix re releases!

Getting back to the original subject, I only build in 1:72 due to space limitations, any recommendations for a nice vacform subject?

Peter - I'll look forward to seeing your USS Brooklyn, keep producing those wonderful kits of yours.

Best wishes to all

Mike

To further this thread we will go with a few how to basics. I invite any modeler experienced with vacuform kits ( especially early aviation types) to contribute images and comments. The following is a Sierra 1:48 LFG Roland C.II vacuform. You will see as I go along that I compare it to the Eduard injection mold kit just for you the modeler to see the basic differences in these two type of plastic kits. Vacufor vs. injection mold.

Here are the Sierra injected plastic kit details and the corresponding Eduard kit pieces.

Now many of you will remember my recent Eduard kit review where I showed the interior assemblies. Here is the Sierra kit.

For comparison here is the Eduard interior image.

I remember it very well Stephen , a most excellent build ! Will be following this build on the sierra kit

Stephen,
Wow I can't believe I had missed this thread.Great thread my friend and one I hope will continue to spark my fellow modedler interest in vacuforms.I'm pleased to see you share my affection for these kits.It's a shame the old Tom's Modelworks kit are gone ,except for E-bay.But the good news is as you know Sierra is back.Personally I'm looking forward to building their A-H kits again.Happy Days are here again. I'll be following your build with great interest as i have the same kit in the stash.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

Thanks Terri & Gregory,

Here are the Sierra parts after some cleaning up. I just can't justify using most of these with the better aftermarket guns and etc available. Even a well stock spares supply would yield parts with more accepatble details.



Here is another quick comparison.

Here is a comparison to the Eduard injected wings and the Sierra Vac wings





Here are the respective tail units.



To comment here, The general shape in the plan or overhead view it pretty close in this case. Where most modelers fail in working with vacs is the scale thickness of the finished vac wings being the same as the thickness in the injected mold wings.

Here I did some light scribing to the engine and cockpit compartments before overpainting. Still alot of cleaning to be done and rescribing the cockpits (too light).

Moving along with the Vacuform a little brown stain over the simulated lath slats. Note how the aluminum lacquer wrinkled the under coat. a bit of sanding needed there. But no-where else thankfully. The engine is an old Rosemant Hobbies resin BMW IIIa backdated to an early Mercedes D.III. It actually did not take much to do this. It was not a very good example of a BMW motor.



Some extra Eduard LFG Rol. C.II window frames get used here.

Stephen, the information is very nice, the history of WW1 models, and the marks that did the producton.

Cheers.

Al

Friends, I investigated a few about Airframe model kits, and only some informative notes, not the history, or since when the models was produced, I found a web page where sales 6 or 7 of them, but only 3 or 4 of WW1 planes.

Cheers.

Al