Having grown up with balsa and plastic, I have a question regarding "vacuform" - how are kits made in this format? I am looking into getting my first kit in this format; do parts come on sprues, or what?
- posted
19 years ago
Having grown up with balsa and plastic, I have a question regarding "vacuform" - how are kits made in this format? I am looking into getting my first kit in this format; do parts come on sprues, or what?
This nice article might get you started:
Along with this one from our group's FAQ:
And you could also have a look at this
RobG
The links provided by others in reply to your query are a fairly comprehensive overview of how vacuform parts are provided, prepared, and assembled. However, you may find it interesting to see an actual vacuform part being molded:
Thanks, James
_______________________________ James Duffy snipped-for-privacy@mac.com
They do take some practice to get good results. Unfortunately the practice usually comes from doing something wrong along the way. I sure ruined my share before I got acceptable results. I hope I can remember what not to do when I finally get to the last one I have in the stash.
Bill Banaszak, MFE
Andrew:
You have gotten a lot of replies going into the technicalities of vac-u-form production. Here is some advice about whose kits to look for. Aero-Club in England, they have a website. Falcon of New Zealand, I don't know if they have a website but I believe both Hannant's and Aero-club carry them. There is a Japanese firm, Dyna-Vector, who make some beauties but trust me, theirs are not for beginners.
Bill Shuey
in article snipped-for-privacy@starpower.net, William H. Shuey at snipped-for-privacy@starpower.net wrote on 3/27/05 3:23 PM:
I think Bill Koster (Koster Aero Enterprises) is also eminently worth of mention as producing well-engineered vac kits that supply everything you need to make an extremely accurate model.
Pip Moss I used to feel cheap 'cause I had no signature.
Though, once again, the cutting away of the parts, is not where the main struggle lies. Sanding the surfaces is where the real skill comes into play. And very few people can afford an industrial-quality laser cutting machine. Remember: many (if not most) vac-form maufacturers, just like the resin-casting people; are simple "one man" or "a few men" operations, operating out of a garage, or a small rental shed.
Good for you! This hobby is about enjoyment. Stick with Tamiya or Hasegawa or whatever your present preference is. No need to get frustrated by tough-to-build kits. And no, I don't mean this to sound sarcastic. I just wish more of the subjects I really wanted to build were done by the majors.
I've built six complete vac kits over the years, and three that were conversions involving major vac assemblies. It's a lot of work. However, bringing a Frog kit up to modern standards is also a lot of work, building a resin kit is often a lot of work, and building some of the limited-run injection kits to acceptable (for me) standard is also challenging. Of the forty-some models I have on display, exactly two are mainstream injection-molded kits from the last five years. It's not because I'm a great modeler who doesn't feel challenged by the better-built kits. Rather, it's because my modeling interest is subject-driven, and the subjects that appeal to me are rarely done by the big boys.
One thing to be said for a vac kit--nothing will accelerate your modeling skills as much. And it does open some eyes when you put a completed vac onthe table at a club meeting.
Mark Schynert
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