jester292 Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 I'm looking to expand my hobby horizons and purchase a "vacform" kit. I build exclusively in 1:48 scale. What's a good starting point into this niche of the hobby? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MoFo Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Dynavector are widely recognized as producing some of the best vac kits on the market. Though, most of their kits have been superseded by plastic kits they've been OOP for quite a while (although, most vac kits are OOP). http://www.dynavector.co.jp/airmodel/english/index.html Another decent first kit would be one of the conversions from Koster Aero Enterprises. Bill Koster is/was one of the head patternmakers at Revell Monogram, and has released several vac conversions for Monogram kits: http://www.swannysmodels.com/KostersKorner.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ikar Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Even when vacuum kits were popular because of the rare subjects they covered, I don't think there were a lot of subjects in that scale. I still have a couple kits of Air Force utility aircraft but they are in 1/72nd scale. I remember back in the 70s, when they were popular and more abundant, Rareplanes was among the best out there. I'm afraid you'll just have to hunt around on ebay and other sites to see what you can find. If you decide to build one you may find out that you will also have to make your own landing gear because the provided parts are either too badly molded, too flimsy, lacking in detail, or just not there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 What kind of subjects do you like to build? There were not too many vacs in 1/48th, the majority of vacs were 1/72, unless they were really big kits like a b-47. As MoFo stated above, Dynavector made 1/48th scale vacs. I did once open the box of a Dynavector 1/48th scale Javelin kit .... and it looked like an injection molded kit on a sheet. If you want to experiment without spending a lot of money you can typically find the small rareplanes kits for under $10. These are nicely detailed, and they try to give you all the parts you need for the kit, though like ikar mentioned, the vac landing gear is best replaced. Some later Rareplanes kits came with injection molded detail parts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
silverkite211 Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 There is also Falcon, they do kits and conversions in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale. Some of the kits come with white metal parts, such as prop blades, landing gear, ejection seats, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ivy-5 Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Hi ! from my limited experience with vac kits, they can be as easy (or as crappy) to build as injected kits depending on kit engineering. In 1/48, as was already said, Dynavector and Koster are good kits, as are Falcon, Aeroclub or Sierra Scale: parts are easy to cut without damage, fit is good, sheets are thick enough to allow cementing without too much reinforcement... What subject or timeframe are you looking for ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SERNAK Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 Still have a half-build vacuformed T-2C Buckeye in 1/48 (I don't even remember the company that has produced it!). Even though, I was excited when I got it 20-something years ago, the lack of references / resources and the difficulty that this category of scale models present, have made me put it aside and either wait for something better or, for some better references. Now, that there are both available, I don't have the time to commit! So, my advice would be, if you're looking for a rare subject then yes, vacuformed kits are the best and only solution but, you need to have the skills, resources, and patience to work with these scale models. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jester292 Posted March 8, 2017 Author Share Posted March 8, 2017 Very good advice everyone. Thank you all for your input. Basically, I'm just looking for something 1:48. My interests are broad. Finding spare landing gear will be an issue though.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aerofan Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 I'm very late to this party but Vac Wings 48 made a number of 1/48 scale vacuform aircraft in addition to their Vac Wings 72 1/72 scale line of aircraft. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaiidanTomcat Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 I have a 1/48 scale Wings Yakovlev Forger I could part with if you want it. looks like this: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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