Author Topic: What are Vacform kits?  (Read 3039 times)

Offline N.C.S.E

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 109
What are Vacform kits?
« on: May 30, 2012, 08:50:33 PM »
Forgive my lack of knowledge but what exactly are vacformed kits, I assume they stand for vacuum formed kits and how are they different from plastic kits.
The years to come seem waste of breathe, a waste of breathe on balance with this life, this death. - W.M.Yeates

Offline GAJouette

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3579
  • " Beware of the Spanish Inquisition"
Re: What are Vacform kits?
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2012, 09:09:38 PM »
   N.C.S.E ,
Good question my young friend. Vacuform kit are made by drawing heated plastic over the master via a vacuum. Once this step is completed you end up with the entire basic kit vacuum molded on a single sheet or more usually two depending on the scale. All the pieces must  be cut from the sheet and sanded down first then the build from this point is very much like any injection molded kit. Most likely some scratch building will be require for the interior and various details. The plastic for the vacuform kit is generally thinner than that of an injection  kit as well. I hope this gives you a better idea of Vacuform kit.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
" What Me Worry"

Offline Pete Nottingham

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 906
  • I chose the wrong week to stop sniffing glue
Re: What are Vacform kits?
« Reply #2 on: June 01, 2012, 02:03:57 AM »
Hi N.C.S.E.,  If you look in the Falcon 1/32 Fok. E5/DVIII thread in the Vacform Kits section of the forum, you will see what Gregory means by the way you would receive a Vacform kit, also with a number of these kits the plastic is very thin and you have to scratchbuild formers to give the fusilage a bit of strength they do tend to give white metal and resin parts for details.

Cheers

Pete.