McDonnell XP-67 Moonbat
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97 31 August 2023, 15:27
Robert PodkońskiTaking a seat! (Vacuum formed kits are far beyond my patience and skills...)
31 August 2023, 16:07
J35JThanks Robert!
Well, this is my first vacuum kit so I feel quite humble starting the build.
I'm also planning to use some parts from a P-61 kit (props and landing gear) that seems to be a decent match at a first glance.
Any advice or best practice from all mates regarding vacuum formed kits are welcome.
31 August 2023, 17:14
Isaac KiteNow that is a really RARE Rareplane. Wishing you great success with this curious beast.
23 October 2023, 14:35
J35JThanks Isaac Kite, Ben M and Michael Kohl for your kind comments.
To get things even more intresting it turned out the kit was incomplete with missing horisontal stabilizor parts.
So if any mates out there have some Junkers JU88 stabilizor parts in 1/72 I'm all ears. 😀
23 October 2023, 17:09
S MFound this project late so I'm taking a back seat. Cool subject and vacu-kits are very interesting. Did you add any internal support into the model? And if you don't find any spare stabilators you could scratch build them easily from styrene sheets.
4 January, 20:43
J35JWelcome S M,
As mentioned before it my first vacu-kit encounter so it is quite intresting to get the feel for it compared with a "normal" kit. Also good training for the building skills.
Regarding internal support I put in four plastic sheets as I had to create the air intakes for the engines.
Thanks for the advice regarding the stabilisators. I will have a final go in my stash to see if there is something that can work with some mods, otherwise scratchbuild.
4 January, 22:23
J35JThank you Cuajete & Michael for you comment
@S M - Yes! I found some stabs from an old DH Hornet kit that fitted perfect after some minor adjustments.
Next step will be to take a stab at the cockpit. I should had cut out the entire cockpit bay and sorted the scratchbuild for that before glueing together the fuselage…
10 January, 14:20
J35JThanks mates for all nice comments
@S M - indeed the white metal parts was a good investment. Took some time to hunt them down.😅
20 January, 15:44
Robert PodkońskiLooks like you're seeing the finish line now, J35J 😉 I am impressed with your skills and perseverance - myself, I am not patient enough to tackle vacuum-formed kits...
23 February, 07:12
Gary KitchenFabulous work and a very interesting subject. Agree with Skyhiker surely an inspiration for later Bat Wings. One question, will the metal props be sufficient weight-wise to avoid tail-sitting or did I miss a nose weight going in. I only ask because I'm having a pig of time trying to get enough weight into an Airfix Mig17.
23 February, 07:21
J35JThanks Robert for very kind words. 🙏🏼😀
Yes, you have to put in some more patience, spare parts from other kit's and research to knock out the details, otherwise it is pretty straight forward.
As you have already completed some Unicraft kits you can easly take on a vacc kit.👍🏻
23 February, 08:44
J35JThanks Gary for your comments. Yes, tail sitters is a pain in the ….
Regarding this kit I had to be creative with where to put in extra weight. After some thoughts I decided to put it in the engine nacelles as these are quite long and had some distance form the main wheels.
I understand your situation with the Mig. There is not much space for extra weight. Have you considered the product "Liquid Gravity"?
23 February, 09:10
Michael KohlLiquid gravity is rather expensive. A similar but cheap method is to purchase lead granules (<1mm). You can mix them with Elmers glue and you have liquid gravity for a fraction of the price.
23 February, 11:53
Gary KitchenThanks J35J and Michael- i have the liquid gravity arriving but yes very expensive- I'll try the lead granules next time 👍
23 February, 14:04
S MI would recommend tungsten fishing weights because they weight more than lead, but are more expensive.
23 February, 22:10
J35JThanks mates!
Yes, the white metal version is a little thin. Currently thinking about if I should "beef up" the front wheel leg or just leave it as is.
28 February, 16:11
J35JThanks Łukasz! 👍🏻
It coming nice together after all work.
There no varnish on yet, according to pictures flat varnish seems to be the the way forward. Some final decisions need to be made.
3 March, 12:05
CaptGPFOnly cow! That's neat! I didn't even know vacuum kits existed - and the work in progress certainly makes it look like a regular plastic kit!
4 March, 00:51
Pierre PierreI agree with Cuajete, Łukasz and Neil 😛 impressive vaccum result so far !
4 March, 05:39
J35JProject completed! First vacc kit was a intresting experiance. Fun and challenging build. Will certainly build some more vacc's in my stash.
16 March, 13:05
gorbyI would never have believed that this started as a vacform kit. Outstanding work.
16 March, 15:11
J35JMany thanks for all kind comments. Means a lot!
Bringing a 45 year old kit to life was as quite a journey.
16 March, 20:42
SkyhikerNice rare bird. Vac kits are a lot of work but when you get them finished it is really rewarding. Congratulations.
17 March, 10:53
J35JThank you S M for kind words!
The kit turned out well after some up's and down's during the build.
18 March, 09:41
Derek BuckmasterYou've done a wonderful job with that! Not too many kits around with the fuselage split into top & bottom halves, but perfectly logical for this bird.
18 March, 10:17
Rui ReisThat is great work and even more so from a vacform kit! I love the Moonbat, it's a beautiful plane and your build does it justice.
19 March, 22:10
Album info
The McDonnell XP-67 "Bat" or "Moonbat" was a prototype for a twin-engine, long-range, single-seat interceptor aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces.
Although the design was conceptually advanced, it was beset by numerous problems and never approached its anticipated level of performance.
The project was cancelled after the sole completed prototype was destroyed by an engine fire.
