Airfix A12011 Avro Vulcan B2 Aircraft

Product Information

There’s a lot of internal structure to this model, as it is a large kit. There are two spars that form the front and rear of the bomb bay, which have small sections cut out first if you are depicting a Blue Steel aircraft, then the interior of the bomb bay, which has a series of arches along its length, some of which are numbered for your ease. The three larger arches are made first from three parts each, then the bay walls are attached to the two spars to be joined by the rest of the arches from above. The whole bay is painted white, and you have the basis of the structure provided for you in this kit, but there is always more you can add if you have the references and the inclination to detail it further. A pair of intermediate spars are attached to the sides of the bomb bay, and all three are joined by an L-shaped stringer that gives the structure some strength. This large assembly is set to the side now, while the upper and lower wing skins are built up. Just before we get on with this review here’s a look at the finished model just to let you see how it all turned out. It remains to be seen whether Dave’s efforts will result in an Airfix kit version of his impressive carrier, but we certainly look forward to watching developments with interest. We will certainly bring readers details of how our request for opinions on the subject progresses. The well appointed weapons bay with three carriers supporting 21 1000lb bombs. A Blue Steel stand off bomb is also included along with the correct fairing. The ‘A-Team’ on guard. There was no way anybody was going to be seeing this model before announcement time

Welcome to this latest edition of our Workbench blog and all the news, updates and modelling exclusives from the fascinating world of Airfix. Another built Vulcan model kit, this time finished as arguably one of the most famous aircraft in the history of the Royal Air Force. For a subject as popular as the Vulcan, we knew the modelling world would appreciate a new version of our 1/72nd scale kit, one which incorporated all the very latest advances in design and manufacturing technologies.

Have you seen what’s in the box?

Visitors to the Airfix stand at SMW 2019 would have been intrigued to see a spectacular hand built model sharing display space with our new Vulcan, one which has a particularly interesting story behind it. Occupying a prominent position initially near our make and paint tables and on Sunday, on the display stand itself, this magnificent 1/350th scale model of the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales was painstakingly built by talented modeller Dave Coventry, who was on hand to make sure nobody took too much of a shine to his latest creation and got a little too close. Attracting plenty of interest over the show weekend, this beautiful model was intended to stimulate discussions on two specific points – should Airfix be looking to re-enter the 1/350th scale ship market and if so, which particular vessels would be most popular with modellers? For now though, here is a final selection of images taken on or around the Airfix stand at this year’s Scale Modelworld show. Testing the water All the time this was happening, the Vulcan was getting closer to the Brazilian coast and conversations with air traffic controllers were becoming increasingly fractious. They were refusing to grant permission for the Vulcan to land, demanding that the aircraft inform them of its identity and its airport of departure, even scrambling a pair of fighter aircraft to challenge the as yet unidentified aircraft. With fuel levels now almost depleted and after discussions with the rest of his crew, the pilot eventually informed the Brazilian ground controller that they were 'A British aircraft low on fuel, with a loss of cabin pressure and we are from Huddersfield!’

You will really find it hard to ignore this latest release when next visiting your favourite hobby store - it just looks so spectacular! If building models of historic aircraft is one of your passions, this latest Avro Vulcan B.2 kit release will definitely prove hard to resist. As modelling also serves as a really effective recreation and preservation of the machines which took part in some of the world's most historic events, this Vulcan scheme pairing has to be amongst the most appealing we have ever offered and as we have only just marked the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands War, could this be considered the perfect modelling project for the impending Autumnal nights? With Argentinean forces now only too aware of the capabilities of visiting RAF Vulcans and their intentions in preventing them from using the airfield against the British Task Force, anti-aircraft operators were reluctant to turn on their detection equipment, as this would give the British airmen a target. Vulcan XM597 was therefore forced to loiter in the dangerous airspace over Stanley Airfield for 40 minutes, trying to tempt the defenders to target their bomber, which they eventually did. With anti-aircraft radar units now visible, two Shrike missiles were fired, causing the destruction of a Skyguard fire control radar unit on the ground. I had a set of decals that covered the markings but the pylons were more of an issue. I could have used some from an old Airfix Vulcan I had in the stash but I wasn’t sure these were entirely correct. If I was to do one of these aircraft I wanted to make sure it was accurate so I’ve decided to wait until Airfix release a boxing for this version as I’m sure they will as the wing have the locating holes for the pylons already moulded in place.With enough fuel now onboard for the return flight to Ascension Island, the crew could now reflect on what they had all just achieved. As one of the crew played the music from the film Chariots of Fire over the aircraft's internal intercom, the crew of Avro Vulcan XM607 had just completed the longest bombing raid in history and with it, announced to the world that Britain would not rest until the Falkland islanders had been liberated.

The amphibious invasion and occupation of the Falkland Islands by Argentinean forces on 2nd April 1982 resulted in military planning which had already been taking place for some time in Britain, increasing in pace dramatically. In addition to assembling a powerful naval Task Force, military planners also began exploring ways in which they could prevent the main airport at Port Stanley from being used as a base from where Argentinean strike jets could operate against a British task force, with the RAF's fleet of ageing Avro Vulcan B.2 bombers seen as being the only option for such a mission. The Avro Vulcan, consider the most recognizable and technically advanced of Britain’s V bombers, served the Royal Air Force from 1960 through 1984. The B.2 variant featured a larger wing than its predecessor, more powerful engines, upgraded electronics, and could deliver both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomb bay assembles from sides, frames, and spars that attach to sturdy supports for the massive wings. Good engineering makes for smooth construction, but be sure everything is aligned. I airbrushed the bomb bay with Tamiya white primer. The lower wings needed a just a little filler and sanding before I added the landing gear bays, bomb bay, and wing spars.

JOIN THE FUN

Following the Argentinean invasion of the Falkland Islands at the beginning of April 1982, Britain's response was swift and decisive. As a powerful Task Force was assembled under the full gaze of the world's media, aircrews assigned to the last three remaining RAF Avro Vulcan squadrons watched on with interest at their home base at RAF Waddington. With their aircraft scheduled to be retired later that year and the fact that the type had already been in service for thirty years at that point surely made their involvement in any military response highly unlikely. In any case, the Vulcan hadn’t been used in a conventional bombing role for some years, so they really weren't prepared for such an operation. At their Chadderton factory facility near Manchester, the A.V Roe design team began work on this ambitious project in response to Ministry of Defence requirement B35/46, one which called for an aircraft which must possess an operating range in excess of 3,350 nautical miles, be capable of speeds approaching 500 knots and have an operating ceiling of 50,000 feet. Importantly, the aircraft was also required to carry a ‘special’ payload of 10,000 Imperial pounds in weight - this special payload was a nuclear bomb. The new aircraft was intended to serve as a flying deterrent to any future threat against the UK. Airfix has been releasing newly tooled kits of some of the subjects in its catalog, and I suspect that this 1/72 scale Avro Vulcan B.2 plastic model kit is likely the one everyone’s been waiting for. The company produced its original 1/72 scale Vulcan in 1983, and, as you might expect, this one has all the hallmarks of a 2021 tooling with better detail and much improved fits. A new tool Vulcan. Just sit there and let that sink in for a second. The only thing that would top that is a 1:48 injection moulded Vulcan, but that’s just pipe-dreams. It’s a great kit, includes plenty of detail for the majority of modellers, and has some neat, inventive engineering touches that should make it a good build at a fair price. Then it’s just a case of affording another one for the other scheme, and another one for the inevitable B.1 with the straight leading edges. An on-line exclusive offer, the first several hundred models sold also included the latest in our popular series of collector coins, however, sales have been so healthy that they may have all sold through now. If any are still available, snap one up now!

The front fuselage fits the wing assembly well, but I carefully clamped it to minimize misalignment. I had to trim quite a bit from the mounting tab for the tail to fit flush with the fuselage. All the little bits and landing gear finished the build. The main gear legs were a little tough to get in place but are sturdy and should have no problem supporting the weight. If you paint the camouflage, enlarge the marking diagram 250%; it provides a nearly perfect match to the model. There is one (very) small fret of clear parts. Not much else can be said of them, except that they are clear where needed The raid may only have been partially successful in terms of the actual damage caused, however, the psychological impact was profound and far reaching. If the Vulcans of the Royal Air Force could strike over such distances, then the Argentinean mainland was also within their range, at least that's what Argentinean military leaders thought. For that reason, significant numbers of aircraft were retained for home defence duties and therefore not committed against the British Task Force.

With many supportive comments received from modelling enthusiasts over the weekend of the show and with the reassurance of knowing this new model is the one most requested by modellers over recent years, we think we have a future Airfix classic on our hands and the Workbench team are very much looking forward to bringing you plenty of project updates as the new Avro Vulcan B2 (A12011) negotiates the various stages of its development. The model on display at the show was a unique and rather expensive resin prototype model and it proved to be quite an attraction at SMW 2019. With our display plinth rarely without a crowd of people around it all weekend, that even extended until after the Saturday show had been closed to the public and only the traders and exhibitors remained. It seemed as if nobody was prepared to leave before dropping by to take a look at our new Vulcan and to grab a picture or two – it turned out to be a late meal that night. The moulding looks good, details appear finely engraved or raised as appropriate and although there will undoubtedly be debates raging for months about the depth of the engraving it seems about right to me; not excessive but sufficient to take a panel line wash if that's your choice. With this decision made I needed to decide which scheme to do. It had to be an early camouflage over white as the second option in the box but this one was a bit plain. Fortunately, the decal sheet I had, covered a nice 617 Sqn aircraft in this scheme with a Blue ‘Blue Steel’ missile (a dummy I presume?). So that was the plan so let’s get on with the build. One of the stand-out parts of a Vulcan is the fin, which makes them easy to find on the ground. The tip of the fin is first to be made, then joined to the two-part fin, which has a posable rudder that can deflect 30 o to either side. The two flap sections per side are also made up and installed either side of the engines, and the two-section ailerons are also installed, with 10 o/22 o deflection and 12.5 o/27 o deflection respectively. The latter have separate actuator fairings fitted to the mobile section afterwards.