Hi all!

My friends over at Aeroscale thought this was the best place to post a story about a Hovercraft.
I don´t know, I cant see a HC as a ship, but I´ll give it a try here.
Please let me know what you think about the subject and feel free to comment on my build!

I have started the build, but first let me tell a nice story, so please bear with me for a moment.

I found this kit at my LHS in the spring of 2006, and as I hadn’t seen It since the first time I built it in 1970 and the price was fair; I couldn’t resist the kit.



When I opened up the sealed kit at home, I found all parts "packaged" Airfix old-style!



All the clear parts were tinted a stark yellow colour, and the windows were filled with air-bubbles and sink marks, ouch!



Well, I wrote a mail to Airfix and explained my dilemma and asked to buy new parts.

We all know what happend then; Airfix went belly-up and was out of the loop for a long time.
I buried the kit in the stash and forgot all about it.

A few months ago, I was re-organizing the stash and this kit surfaced again.

Now when Airfix was up and running again I took a long-shot and sent another mail.

After a few weeks I got a small parcel in my mailbox (the real one!) containing a new clear sprue.
These parts were still slightly tinted, but no air bubbles and the sink marks was much smaller too.
No roof tough, but now I could build the thing.

The day after I got a mail from mark Lodge at Airfix where he regretted he couldn’t find any better parts, but the kit was OOP since several years.

Two days later I got another package from Airfix, and this time it was too large for the mailbox, so I had to get it at the post-office.

In this package was not only another set of clear parts, but also the big roof!
This time the parts were crystal clear, free from any scratches or imperfections whatsoever and looked as they were moulded yesterday!





My guess is that they actually were!

I asked how much I owed for the parts, but I only got “It’s with compliments from Airfix”!

This shows that Hornby Is taking care of Airfix and are continuing the tradition with the very BEST costumer service you can imagine!

Many thanks to Mark at Airfix for helping me with this kit!

Now we can get on with the build!

Well, I haven´t done so much yet but I have fitted the car deck to the lower hull plate.



More to come!

Cheers!

Stefan E

Hi all!

Now I have started the construction in earnest!

Each hull sides consists of two sections, one forward and one aft, each one assembled of two parts.

All parts fitted surprisingly good and with no need of filler.
Then I glued all hull sections to the hull bottom plate.
Again, the fit was almost perfect to the bottom plate and between the sections.

Please excuse the poor pics, but my camera doesn’t like all the white parts!







Then it was time to give the skirting some attention.
Many parts and many different sections, but all assembled very well.



I started by gluing the fore section first, the only one with any locating pins!
Then I followed by each side from fore to aft, concentrating to get a good fit to the hull outside.



Now I had the first fit-issues, gaps between the skirting sections appeared.





On the other hand, the joint to the hull sides was very good indeed.







I let the glue set for a day or so before I proceeded.

I stuffed the gaps with plasticard and when the glue had set, I trimmed off the excess with my trusty sprue-cutter.









Final trimming with the scalpel and the skirting was gap-free!



To get some relaxation, I assembled the propeller towers and the fins with the air-rudders.
The rudders had some sink-marks that needed to be filled, but the fit was fine.



All that white plastic makes me feel like a snow-blind Eskimo in a blizzard, phew!

But I have decided to assemble as much as I can before painting as it’s easier to get stronger joints.

Now I have some sanding and filling to do on the skirting before I can proceed with the interior walls!

This is a real oldie, but the fit is remarkably good considering the vintage of the kit!

But it’s a really FUN kit that has pushed all other projects on my bench aside!

More later!

Cheers!

Stefan E

Ahoy Stefan!

This is most definitely a great place to have your hovercraft build, mate!

What a great looking subject, and a definite good ole' kit, for sure...we'll be watching the progress, my friend, thanks for sharing the experience!

Cheers,
~Gunny

Ahoy Stefan,

Having a number of Airfix kits under my belt over the years, I can identify with the fit issues, but it looks like you are working around, through and over them quite nicely. I am also glad to know that the company is seeking to continue a great tradition in service to the modeling public. They have some subjects that you just can't get anywhere else and as such it is a work with what you got situation so a little dedication to the subject at hand is required.

I am looking forward to your continued progress and completed build.