One of the things I really appreciate is that you don't use too much of rather expensive extra "stuff " and it's really helping me. Just back in to models at the age of 62 and its really easy to spend a small fortune on stuff that I probably wouldn't use much. Thanks for all the great videos 👍
Thanks Rob! I know that loads of clever washes and stains and this and that can make incredible models, and the skills involved are breathtaking, but it's just not my thing. I do a bit of weathering sometimes but that's pretty much it. You've got to be careful with them too. I remember doing a Seafire FR.47 with all kinds of exhaust soot and weathering and showed it to my ex-800 NAS Dad and he was horrified. Said the CO made sure all the planes were washed, even during the Korean War!
My Dad worked on the valiants and I bought him a model like this (pre made) to help reminisce (he had dementia by then) I wish I had your skill to complete one of these myself
John, I only picked up this hobby three years ago after a break of about 40 years! You'll be surprised how quickly you can build kits you are proud of. Very happy if my videos help! Cheers, Gary
Hi gary I just taken advantage of hornby offer of the 3 V bombers package for £149.99 plus with my club discount I got the 3 for £134,99 now that's worth being a member of the club. Loved the video of you building the Valiant.
16:47 I think that must be a first, I've never seen creep mark decals before. A very impressive build although I do have a question...where do you put all your models ???!!! I'm constantly on the hunt for display room.
My grandfather was actually at Christmas Island during Operation Grapple, part of the Royal Engineers who helped build runways and infrasturucture there. Ive met more of the Nuclear Veterans as they are called, which means they would have seen this actual aircraft. I think I might have to build this now!
I got back into this with a project to build everything flown by my Dad's squadron, so any personal connection is invaluable. Amazing to hear about your grandfather - you've got to do this kit! Cheers, Gary
A beautiful build! I love all the V-bombers in the original anti-flash white. I really appreciate the useful tips, too, as I've got the model in my stash and I'm itching to build it.
Fantastic build Gary! 👌👏👏 love the finish you've achieved, looks the biz! I've got the v bomber bundle in my stash, ready for my retirement! 😂 Only another 20 years! Loving watching all your old videos and seeing how your channel has changed since you started. I do like the format you are using at present as it means there's plenty of videos to look forward to every week!
Oh, gosh darn, you’re making me want to build a Valiant! Nice job. I was told she was a good kit and now I regret not getting it earlier. I read somewhere that when the RAF initially went to the anti-flash white, a boffin worked out that the darker red and blue stencils and roundels would have acted like a neat cookie-cutter when a nuke lit up. They very quickly diluted their colour.
It is a very good kit - well engineered and it's a less regarded aircraft. How I would love to be able to read that boffin's report, and on what said boffin based their conclusions. I mean, the data on energy absorption and conversion of different British Standard paint colours and finishes under nuclear test conditions would be a bit thin, I'd have thought? Or maybe not, they did do experiments on all kinds of odd stuff back then!
@@garys_stuff True. Five years ago, I was posted in South Australia at the Air Force base where the RAF launched nuke testing. To this day, the explosive ordnance prep area is called “blue steel”. Nobody other than me knew why, and they simply didn’t care when I explained it all to them. Kind regards.
Thank you, Gary, I enjoyed that. Regarding the panel lines, I'm sure you'll have tried oil paint thinned with white spirit but if you've not, it works a treat over gloss coat or Future or whatever. Black is stark though so maybe a grey would work better. And a bit of wet n dry wrapped around a piece of dowel would thin the jet tubes nicely.
Really like your style of (building,shooting) video! Getting back into it, picking up some great tips! Never really done a lot of painting was young when I last did any. Thanks for making the videos!
Superb video with some great tips , Ordinary Chap . I have yet to get the Valiant ( and the HP Victor ) , but have built Three variants of the Airfix Vulcan 1/72 over the years Maybe I should have Built the Valiant First , as my father in law worked on them at Wisley and Brooklands , LOL . Served on Vulcans During my service days . I hope You get to make The Vulcan . The kit has changed a bit in it's latest issue . Here is my first effort after being trodden on made in about 1995 . Now on the ceiling for safety . Some parts missing . I think the cat ate the , Blue steel Missile . lol .
I have a Vulcan sitting outside my office waiting for me to get up the courage to do it. I also have the masks for the wrap-around camo I remember seeing back in the 80's. I never managed to blag a flight, but I have stood in the cavernous (empty) bomb bay and sat in the driver's seat. I'll never forget seeing one on "Skywatch 1974" dropping the full stick on a range...Always great to hear from people who have a direct connection to these builds! Cheers, Gary
New subscriber, very nice build. I liked your "committee decision" comment. I have taken the liberty of including it in my list of enlightening quotes. 👍
The reason for the lighter roundels etc was it was thought that if the aircraft was caught in a flash from an atomic blast ordinary markings would burn through so the idea was to use a lighter hue for the markings to minimise this ,it sad to that her service life was cut short due to fatigue once they switched to low level ,ironically the one and only B2 valiant was designed for this kind of attack that aircraft was finished in all over gloss black had a bogie main under carriage that folded into wing nacelles and was called the pathfinder but only one built , Watching this again Gary All the best Mark 🎅🏼👍🏻😊
Just purchased this kit to revive my model building interests many years ago. I was on Christmas Island 1958 and watched 3 hydrogen bombs dropped by this aircraft. At the time it was always mentioned that the aircraft used for the tests always had the black patch under the nose as shown on the box picture. I note that there is a black patch in the decals, could this be for this purpose? Enjoyed your build my only fear is trying to get a nice gloss white finish.
Can't remember the decal sheet, but the big black area under the nose is for the bombing radar. I sincerely hope you haven't suffered any long-term effects from your service. For the gloss finish, all you really need is some spray gloss varnish as it's such a big kit and a relatively dust-free environment. Hope you enjoy the kit!
Nice done! Why I never watch Your channel before? I give You only one advice - be careful with ejector pin marks in places like engines intakes, it appears to be visible. ;) But final result is still very good! All the best for You! ;) PS: great idea with that reversed clamps, I must remember this! ;)
I understand the theory, but this must just work at a fairly specific distance from the bomb. Nearer and the whole plane is going to melt anyway so it doesn't matter, further away and the heat will be absorbed or reflected without catastrophic damage. It must be a very small zone where, say, dark blue will absorb enough to tear a hole in the skin and cause the loss of the aircraft but pastel blue is untouched.
nice tip on the rear cockpit section. I'd paint behind the bomb aimer with black or something dark... You're a quicker builder then me (I tend to use back basing for depth and contrast, and spray more), but I do like someone who's not obsessed with super perfection!! I love my airfix kits - it's nice to see something other than F-4bs, bf109 and spitfires!!
Cheers Tony! My first 'big' kit for a while - I've been doing a LOT of 1/72 scale single-seaters or two-seaters so good to get stuck into a proper-sized aircraft. Mind you, I've just been painting my Vulcan and that is big. No doubt the 1/48 Buccaneer with be fun too when it arrives.
For a lot of aluminium I use Vallejo Model Air Aluminium. It's thick enough to brush easily and I like the finish. If you mix it about 2:1 with white you get a pretty fair high-speed silver too.
I think so - it's quite a beast of a kit but does go together nicely. Very tempted by another one with conventional bombs and camouflage in the future - but the Vulcan is calling to me...
Thanks Greg. For the aluminium I use Vallejo Model Air (71.062) as I think it gives a nice dulled sheen and covers really well with brushes as well as an air brush. For the steel details I use Revell Aqua Color steel (36191), when you add the *tiniest* drop of water to the mix it has a really good shine off the brush. The majority of my paints are Vallejo. Cheers, Gary
Might be an issue of visibility. I'm wondering why I bothered with much of the detail because, with the crew door shut, you can see almost nothing inside. That said, I enjoy doing it - even if no-one else will ever see it!
How did the navigators do celestial navigation in these, I wonder? That hemispere on the rear cockpit roof isn't some kind of sextant housing, is it? Worth remembering - they didn't give the backseaters ejector seats because they weren't sure if they'd work facing backwards. Martin-Baker demonstrated yes, they work just fine facing backwards, but the UK govt decided it wasn't worth retrofitting. A Vulcan ditched in the Irish Sea with all hands as the pilots declined to eject and leave their crew to die, and the UK govt then spent more money recovering the wreckage than it would've cost to do the retrofit. Horrific decisionmaking from the top.
I ask myself that every time... us model folk are strange in that we do more detail than is often necessary just because it is there. I'm not sure if you can see much of the interior from the door - I'll have to check - and some people do "cut-away" models so they can remove say the top part of the cockpit and see inside. I guess also that part of it is not knowing what will be unseen until the thing is made! I include it in case people want to do it. Each to their own! Cheers, Gary
The black panel lines do not look very well, some of the lines are wry or not completely filled with paint. Tamiya panel line accent color would have been a good choice. "Banggood " in the United States offers a special panel line accent pen. Otherwise a well built model...
Normally I use Revell weathering powder in water, but the very high gloss stops it spreading. The paint seemed a bit better. I will have a look at that pen though. Thanks for the info! Cheers, Gary
One of the things I really appreciate is that you don't use too much of rather expensive extra "stuff " and it's really helping me. Just back in to models at the age of 62 and its really easy to spend a small fortune on stuff that I probably wouldn't use much. Thanks for all the great videos 👍
Thanks Rob! I know that loads of clever washes and stains and this and that can make incredible models, and the skills involved are breathtaking, but it's just not my thing. I do a bit of weathering sometimes but that's pretty much it. You've got to be careful with them too. I remember doing a Seafire FR.47 with all kinds of exhaust soot and weathering and showed it to my ex-800 NAS Dad and he was horrified. Said the CO made sure all the planes were washed, even during the Korean War!
@@garys_stuff i would love to have a go at it but just dont have the display space.
@@jaws666well then
My Dad worked on the valiants and I bought him a model like this (pre made) to help reminisce (he had dementia by then) I wish I had your skill to complete one of these myself
Not forgotten by me, anyway! When I was a nipper I had a poster of the three V-bombers: Valiant, Victor and Vulcan on my bedroom wall (early 1960's).
I've always had a fondness for these old V series jets. Nice model and well built!
WOW…Thanks for this Gary. The Valiant is the last of my “V” bombers to build. I think I'm going to tackle this one next.
Another great build and teaching us minions who only just started the modelling bug. Thank you
John, I only picked up this hobby three years ago after a break of about 40 years! You'll be surprised how quickly you can build kits you are proud of. Very happy if my videos help! Cheers, Gary
Hi gary I just taken advantage of hornby offer of the 3 V bombers package for £149.99 plus with my club discount I got the 3 for £134,99 now that's worth being a member of the club.
Loved the video of you building the Valiant.
Very good offer indeed! Hope you enjoy building them all...!!!
@@garys_stuff thanks I enjoy your videos
Gary I'm building the Valiant that was stationed at RAF Honiton Suffolk cause that is only 31 miles away from where I live
Just about to start the build and after watching your video I feel more confident about tackling this wonderful plane.
Lovely job, Gary!
A very imposing model indeed.
👍🏻👏🏻
Many thanks! Nice kit of an almost forgotten aircraft.
Arrrgh! just got the feeling (ache more like!) I got with the Airfix Stirling in 1968. cant thank you enough mate. Tony Bowden
16:47 I think that must be a first, I've never seen creep mark decals before. A very impressive build although I do have a question...where do you put all your models ???!!! I'm constantly on the hunt for display room.
They are all in boxes stacked away - I don't have display space either!
My grandfather was actually at Christmas Island during Operation Grapple, part of the Royal Engineers who helped build runways and infrasturucture there. Ive met more of the Nuclear Veterans as they are called, which means they would have seen this actual aircraft. I think I might have to build this now!
I got back into this with a project to build everything flown by my Dad's squadron, so any personal connection is invaluable. Amazing to hear about your grandfather - you've got to do this kit! Cheers, Gary
I built this model last Christmas and it was a really good kit and it was fun building. It is still in one piece now
Probably a unpopular opinion but the valiant is my favorite out of the three.
Your videos are so easy to watch and I find them very relaxing!! Loved this valiant build, top stuff 👍
Thanks man! I find them relaxing to make! Cheers, Gary
Just bought this and looking forward to watching this again to help me out!!
excellent build , well done
A beautiful build! I love all the V-bombers in the original anti-flash white. I really appreciate the useful tips, too, as I've got the model in my stash and I'm itching to build it.
Thanks Michael - it's always a worry when building a V-bomber whether one needs to buy two so you can have camouflage and anti-flash white!
Well... the camo does look nice too! 😁
Fantastic build Gary! 👌👏👏 love the finish you've achieved, looks the biz! I've got the v bomber bundle in my stash, ready for my retirement! 😂 Only another 20 years! Loving watching all your old videos and seeing how your channel has changed since you started. I do like the format you are using at present as it means there's plenty of videos to look forward to every week!
Thanks Bobby - glad you like the format!
Beautiful work 👍
Oh, gosh darn, you’re making me want to build a Valiant! Nice job. I was told she was a good kit and now I regret not getting it earlier. I read somewhere that when the RAF initially went to the anti-flash white, a boffin worked out that the darker red and blue stencils and roundels would have acted like a neat cookie-cutter when a nuke lit up. They very quickly diluted their colour.
It is a very good kit - well engineered and it's a less regarded aircraft. How I would love to be able to read that boffin's report, and on what said boffin based their conclusions. I mean, the data on energy absorption and conversion of different British Standard paint colours and finishes under nuclear test conditions would be a bit thin, I'd have thought? Or maybe not, they did do experiments on all kinds of odd stuff back then!
@@garys_stuff True. Five years ago, I was posted in South Australia at the Air Force base where the RAF launched nuke testing. To this day, the explosive ordnance prep area is called “blue steel”. Nobody other than me knew why, and they simply didn’t care when I explained it all to them.
Kind regards.
I’m back watching this a third time. Hmmm. I’ll have to purchase the kit, as I’ve now got the other two V-bombers. A great looking build, Garry.
Yeah, I bought one. I’ve watched this quite a few times now...
That looks dead smart!
Thank you, Gary, I enjoyed that. Regarding the panel lines, I'm sure you'll have tried oil paint thinned with white spirit but if you've not, it works a treat over gloss coat or Future or whatever. Black is stark though so maybe a grey would work better. And a bit of wet n dry wrapped around a piece of dowel would thin the jet tubes nicely.
My pleasure. Good tips - this came from my very early days on YT - now I'd probably use a grey MIG Ammo panel wash or some such!
Another very, very, interesting aeroplane
It's a beauty and a very good kit too!
Really like your style of (building,shooting) video! Getting back into it, picking up some great tips! Never really done a lot of painting was young when I last did any.
Thanks for making the videos!
Glad you like them - many more to come!
Thanks for the review and built. The Valiant has been on my wish list for a while since I missed out on the initial release.
Superb video with some great tips , Ordinary Chap . I have yet to get the Valiant ( and the HP Victor ) , but have built Three variants of the Airfix Vulcan 1/72 over the years Maybe I should have Built the Valiant First , as my father in law worked on them at Wisley and Brooklands , LOL . Served on Vulcans During my service days . I hope You get to make The Vulcan . The kit has changed a bit in it's latest issue . Here is my first effort after being trodden on made in about 1995 . Now on the ceiling for safety . Some parts missing . I think the cat ate the , Blue steel Missile . lol .
I have a Vulcan sitting outside my office waiting for me to get up the courage to do it. I also have the masks for the wrap-around camo I remember seeing back in the 80's. I never managed to blag a flight, but I have stood in the cavernous (empty) bomb bay and sat in the driver's seat. I'll never forget seeing one on "Skywatch 1974" dropping the full stick on a range...Always great to hear from people who have a direct connection to these builds! Cheers, Gary
New subscriber, very nice build. I liked your "committee decision" comment. I have taken the liberty of including it in my list of enlightening quotes. 👍
Great stuff, I built the 2011 release. Its a great kit and you've done a great job.
Great!!Love your videos....greetings from germany
Another great kit from you great job👍👍
Perfect work 👍
How do you do the window mask so good I struggle to do it
The reason for the lighter roundels etc was it was thought that if the aircraft was caught in a flash from an atomic blast ordinary markings would burn through so the idea was to use a lighter hue for the markings to minimise this ,it sad to that her service life was cut short due to fatigue once they switched to low level ,ironically the one and only B2 valiant was designed for this kind of attack that aircraft was finished in all over gloss black had a bogie main under carriage that folded into wing nacelles and was called the pathfinder but only one built ,
Watching this again Gary
All the best
Mark 🎅🏼👍🏻😊
Cheers Mark!
That wzx a great build there sir, if only the RAF could go back to the 'golden days' of their big aircraft.
Thank you. Very useful video.
Just purchased this kit to revive my model building interests many years ago. I was on Christmas Island 1958 and watched 3 hydrogen bombs dropped by this aircraft. At the time it was always mentioned that the aircraft used for the tests always had the black patch under the nose as shown on the box picture. I note that there is a black patch in the decals, could this be for this purpose? Enjoyed your build my only fear is trying to get a nice gloss white finish.
Can't remember the decal sheet, but the big black area under the nose is for the bombing radar. I sincerely hope you haven't suffered any long-term effects from your service. For the gloss finish, all you really need is some spray gloss varnish as it's such a big kit and a relatively dust-free environment. Hope you enjoy the kit!
Superb just superb again 🇬🇧
Thanks man!
One model I need to get
Nice done! Why I never watch Your channel before? I give You only one advice - be careful with ejector pin marks in places like engines intakes, it appears to be visible. ;) But final result is still very good! All the best for You! ;) PS: great idea with that reversed clamps, I must remember this! ;)
Thanks mate, good tip. Hope you enjoy some more of the videos!
Very nicely done, both video and kit.
The paler the colour on the decals the easier it is for the paint to disperse heat from flash
I understand the theory, but this must just work at a fairly specific distance from the bomb. Nearer and the whole plane is going to melt anyway so it doesn't matter, further away and the heat will be absorbed or reflected without catastrophic damage. It must be a very small zone where, say, dark blue will absorb enough to tear a hole in the skin and cause the loss of the aircraft but pastel blue is untouched.
nice tip on the rear cockpit section. I'd paint behind the bomb aimer with black or something dark... You're a quicker builder then me (I tend to use back basing for depth and contrast, and spray more), but I do like someone who's not obsessed with super perfection!! I love my airfix kits - it's nice to see something other than F-4bs, bf109 and spitfires!!
Cheers Tony! My first 'big' kit for a while - I've been doing a LOT of 1/72 scale single-seaters or two-seaters so good to get stuck into a proper-sized aircraft. Mind you, I've just been painting my Vulcan and that is big. No doubt the 1/48 Buccaneer with be fun too when it arrives.
Brilliant model!
It is a lovely kit Bertie, goes together so well!
Nice!.. thanks mate✈️🇳🇿👍
No worries, glad you enjoyed it!
As for sawing the tail off, probably because the Grapple aircraft had a camera fit in the tail and it was a different shape/length?
Makes a lot of sense!
Great build! 👍🏻
Thanks Tom!
She's beautiful fella.........Merry Christmas...............
Cheers Brian, a Merry Christmas to you too!
The PR option would have been painted, not bare metal - probably High Speed Silver, which was the standard RAF silver/aluminium colour at the time.
Thanks for the info - good to know!
What paint did you use to brush paint the aluminium? Thanks.
For a lot of aluminium I use Vallejo Model Air Aluminium. It's thick enough to brush easily and I like the finish. If you mix it about 2:1 with white you get a pretty fair high-speed silver too.
@@garys_stuffok. Thanks. I’ve finally got around to build mine. 😃
I would love one of these or a Victor but for about £50, is it worth it? Great build
I think so - it's quite a beast of a kit but does go together nicely. Very tempted by another one with conventional bombs and camouflage in the future - but the Vulcan is calling to me...
@@garys_stuff I got one of the old vulcan kits, the Falklands war one. I think one of the new vulcans would be nice
Superb
Thanks 🤗
lovely build chap. jusy wondering what metallic paints do you use?
Thanks Greg. For the aluminium I use Vallejo Model Air (71.062) as I think it gives a nice dulled sheen and covers really well with brushes as well as an air brush. For the steel details I use Revell Aqua Color steel (36191), when you add the *tiniest* drop of water to the mix it has a really good shine off the brush. The majority of my paints are Vallejo. Cheers, Gary
@@garys_stuff nice one thanks, i'm a brush painter me so struggle to get a good metallic finish
I often wonder why Airfix don't make their instrument panel decals a bit more photo-realistic.
Might be an issue of visibility. I'm wondering why I bothered with much of the detail because, with the crew door shut, you can see almost nothing inside. That said, I enjoy doing it - even if no-one else will ever see it!
How did the navigators do celestial navigation in these, I wonder? That hemispere on the rear cockpit roof isn't some kind of sextant housing, is it?
Worth remembering - they didn't give the backseaters ejector seats because they weren't sure if they'd work facing backwards. Martin-Baker demonstrated yes, they work just fine facing backwards, but the UK govt decided it wasn't worth retrofitting. A Vulcan ditched in the Irish Sea with all hands as the pilots declined to eject and leave their crew to die, and the UK govt then spent more money recovering the wreckage than it would've cost to do the retrofit. Horrific decisionmaking from the top.
Noice!!!!!
If you cant see it when you have finished, why spend the time doing the work on interior stuff???
I ask myself that every time... us model folk are strange in that we do more detail than is often necessary just because it is there. I'm not sure if you can see much of the interior from the door - I'll have to check - and some people do "cut-away" models so they can remove say the top part of the cockpit and see inside. I guess also that part of it is not knowing what will be unseen until the thing is made! I include it in case people want to do it. Each to their own! Cheers, Gary
The black panel lines do not look very well, some of the lines are wry or not completely filled with paint. Tamiya panel line accent color would have been a good choice. "Banggood " in the United States offers a special panel line accent pen. Otherwise a well built model...
Normally I use Revell weathering powder in water, but the very high gloss stops it spreading. The paint seemed a bit better. I will have a look at that pen though. Thanks for the info! Cheers, Gary
Atomic white .
Niiiiice.