Frog 1/72 Vickers Vimy Mk.IV Converted to Airco DH.10

FROG 1:72 VICKERS VIMY MK.IV
Converted to AIRCO DH.10

Reviewer: Steve Hedworth (contact via SMAKR webmaster)
Kit Review submitted: February 2009

Aircraft History:

Along with the Vickers Vimy the DH10 was to have spearheaded the RAF’s bombing campaign in 1919. Up to 1291 had been ordered but the Armistice of November 1918 put paid to that and many contracts were cancelled. A single bombing raid had been carried out before the cessation of hostilities but very few aircraft had been delivered before the end of 1918. After the war about 240 DH10 types were delivered and along with the Vimy it served as a medium bomber. It served in the Middle East with 216 squadron, in the UK with No 120 and in India with No 97, which was subsequently renumbered No 60. This latter was stationed on the NW Frontier and operated against local uprisings during the third Afghan war. It continued in this role until early 1923. At the start of 1922 there were 60 DH10’s in service with a further 37 available but the DH10 was withdrawn from RAF service in 1923 save one example that continued as a research aircraft at RAE Farnborough. This last flew in July 1926.

The DH10 was not popular with the pilots of the day. In the event of an engine failure, particularly on take off, the aircraft was pulled into a sudden tight turn brought about by the torque from the engine still running at full power. A spin often resulted and with insufficient height a crash was inevitable. It turned out that problems within the fuel system were causing most of the engine failures but it was not until the end of 1920 that this became known and a remedy was concocted. Other design factors contributed to engine failures and modifications were suggested. However, until the end of it’s service life the DH10 remained a difficult aircraft to handle in the event of an engine failure. Had the war continued a solution would have been given greater priority but in the parsimonious conditions in the immediate post war period the impetus was lacking. It is also my contention that the DH10, and to a lesser extent the Vimy, became surplus to the requirements of an RAF tasked with policing the wilder parts of the Empire. Such twin- engine bombers were designed to fight their way, if necessary, to the target. Post war there were no enemy fighter aircraft to evade. Now greater emphasis was given to the need to carry troops and supplies to remote areas as quickly as possible. Aircraft such as the Vickers Vernon and it’s successors were better able to carry out this role and could also be fitted with bomb racks to bomb recalcitrant tribesmen from unopposed skies. A large dedicated bomber thus became a luxury and such aircraft fell victim to the bean counters

The Kit:

Originally released by Frog as Alcock and Brown’s transatlantic Vimy it was taken up by Novo after the latter’s demise. It is presented as a RAF bomber and is still the only mainstream version available of this type. Typical of the era the rib detail on the upper sections is very pronounced but not so on the under sides. The plastic is grey and there is flash on some of the parts but nothing a file or sharp knife couldn’t sort out in a few moments. Maquette have also released the kit. Their Vickers Commercial, or Vernon bomber transport, is a Vimy kit with an additional fuselage to make the transports.

Instructions:

There are 14 exploded views and 10 modelling tips. I don’t think many will have problems following the sequences. However, before commencing I would recommend some serious research. The Profile Publications series have a booklet on the DH10 which I haven’t seen but appears fairly reasonable to buy but the Windsock Datafile book, in my opinion, is well worth the cost. It contains numerous photographs and detailed drawings in both 1/72 and 1/48 scales.

Construction:

The DH10 is smaller than the Vimy so the fuselage requires modifications. Tape the two halves together and cut off the front gunner’s cockpit behind the scarf ring. Next cut the fuselage right in front of the rear gunner’s compartment. Now remove 0.8 inches from the rear of the front fuselage section.

Now what remains of the forward fuselage has to be modified. The Vimy is a tenth of an inch wider than the DH10. I measured a twentieth either side of the centre line and filed the extra off. It sounds worse than it was and then the pilot’s floor and seat etc are fitted, filed to fit, and the halves are joined together. I also filed the top of the fuselage to achieve a flatter profile. Cockpit detail is minimal so add what you wish.

The front gunner’s cockpit has a distinctive shape and this has to be constructed. First it has to be reduced in width to match the fuselage. There is plenty of plastic but the sides are pretty thin by the time you are finished. I further filed an aperture into the front of the Vimy nose and enlarged the lower part into an inverted T. The floor was lengthened with a piece of shaped plastic card and thin 10 thou card was used to create the rounded extensions needed to alter the shape of the Vimy nose section. Small cut outs were made in the rounded parts and the floor section as there are four windows in the DH10 nose area. A piece of clear oblong shaped plastic was used as the bomb aimers front window. This slopes forward from the top of the aperture to the new floor. There is another window in the floor and pieces of Perspex are glued into place at the bottom of the rounded parts prior to cementing them into place. Once dry the new nose section is filed smooth, the seat is installed and the insides painted. When dry it can be cemented back into place. Further filler is required to blend the parts together at the joints.

The fuselage needs more alterations for it to conform to DH10 outlines. The underside beneath the pilot’s cockpit back to the wing cut out has to be filed flat. The fuselage on the other side of the cut out, needs to be removed. There is now a hole 1.3 inches long by half an inch wide. Next, the rear section of fuselage needs to be rejoined to the front. But first a piece of 60 thou plastic card, 1.85 by 0.5 wide, should be cemented flush with the open end and over the cockpit. You’ll need to file off the moulded scarf ring. Drill a pilot hole and enlarge to replicate the hole. The Vimy windows need to be filled and the tail has to be reshaped into an arrowhead as against the Vimy’s square end. About 0.4 ins was cut off, the top and bottom reshaped, and inserts cemented into place at the sides. A touch of filler and everything was filed to shape. Now this rear section can be joined to the rest. I cemented a couple of small tabs inside to guide the parts together and when happy superglue was run into the joints. When dry the two sections are filed to shape and small amounts of filler completed a smooth join.

But the DH10 has a deeper rear fuselage than the Vimy and there is still a gap where the wings should have been. A piece of 40 thou card, 4.3 ins by 0.5 was cut and shaped to size. A bomb door was scribed onto it and cemented to the underparts. A little filler and our fuselage is complete.

The Vimy wings are a scale ten feet in chord while the DH10’s are six and a half. The span is a scale foot short on the actual wing but it can largely be made up on the aerilon overhangs. There are two choices, either scratch build new wings or modify the Vimy and the latter was chosen. I debated on cutting a section out of the centre of the wings in order to preserve the trailing edges but finally decided to remove 0.4 ins from the rear and try and file new edges. This was done and cut outs for the aerilons were made.

The wings have a 3 degrees sweep and I used the same method as on the Hinaidi. Having scale drawings this time round made a hell of a difference and I cut the wings diagonally, filed the centre section pieces flat, and then rejoined them. Superglue all round, lots of filler and more filing and you end up with two useable wings.

The DH10 has Liberty engines and the Vimy’s Eagles could not be used or converted. Aeroclub provided two nice metal replicas and two engine nacelles have to be constructed. Two bits of 60 thou card, laminated together and filed to shape created the radiators. Three strips of card, 0.1 by 0.8, formed the sides and base, in a triangular shape, and more card made the backwall. Make sure the engines fit and then firm up with CA. Using the plans cut another piece of card to be the base of the nacelle rear. It needs to tilt up and I ensured this by nicking it with a file crossways and bending it. Flexible 10 thou card is then used to form the ovoid rear sections, more card and filler is filed to shape for the upper parts and everything is cemented together. If you keep photos of the areas you’re working on close to hand it helps to make everything that little bit clearer.

I measured the position that the wings needed to be on the fuselage sides. They are to be butt jointed. Supports from paper card were made and after several dry runs I applied CA and stuck them on. Success and they were left supported overnight. Next morning, one is OK but the other has too much dihedral but I’m hopeful I can correct this without major surgery.

The nacelles are positioned onto the lower wings next. I have acquired some Aeroclub wing struts and using the plans cut the vertical supports and two side struts. The former were cemented to the nacelles with polystyrene glue and left to almost set. Final adjustments were made at this stage and they were sited onto the wing. In the meantime the forward side strut had been stuck onto the nacelle and the loose end was superglued onto the fuselage. This held everything in place while the other side strut was positioned and superglued. Locate the rest of the lower support struts and then repeat for the other wing. You’ll probably want to paint them at this stage. When dry glue the engines into the nacelles.

I used the kit engine struts as they have a cut out in them and the Liberty’s exhausts have to fit around them. They were cut to size and CA’d into position. The fuselage centre struts are Aeroclub’s and after much trial and error and dry runs I located the upper wing. Of course, everything went perfectly, and if you believe that you must have flying elephants living nearby. One engine was rather good as were the centre struts but the port was slightly off line. The struts could be bent into position but they looked awful. So I snipped a bit off and CA’d where it stood and filled the locating holes.

Next saw the wing struts completed. The two rear engine struts were cut from my new stash and the kit parts were cut to size, 1.15 ins, and reshaped. The didehral problem previously mentioned looked best when 0.1ins was lopped off the outer strut lengths. Not a perfect solution but I think it looks the best as the wings looked lopsided when I forced the correct size struts into the port wings.

It was at this stage that I rigged the wings. I had earlier painted the underside of the upper wing and drilled holes half way through in most cases although the centre section holes were drilled all the way through. The lower wing holes are right through for tensioning and the procedure went well, mainly because there is a lot more space to work in.

Tail & stabilizers were cut from 60 thou plastic card and the ribs scored with a craft knife. The Vimy tail elevators were cut to size and filed down as they were a touch too deep and the detail re-scribed. A notch is filed/cut into the DH10 rear fuselage for the stabs to sit in and two holes were drilled into the tail for rigging and a single in each stab.

Undercarriage was next and the Aeroclub wing strut that measured up to the plan was used. I took my measurements from the drawings and thankfully everything came together well. The Vimy u/c has a streamlined section where the axles come through. I snipped off the kit struts and cemented the DH10 pieces in place and allowed to dry, finally strengthening with CA. They were stuck to the wing, the axle located to the aerofoil section and pushed into position. A touch of CA secured the structure which was allowed to dry before the final two supports were attached. Then of course, you do it all again.

By now you have a recognizable aircraft and the end is in sight. The DH10 sported two different sizes of wheel, 1100 by 220mm or 900 by 200mm. The Vimy wheels correspond to the smaller so I fitted them as I had lost the will to scratch build a wheel for the sake of a scale 8 inches. The propellers are remnants from the Matchbox Heyford and needed to be cut down about 0.2ins from each end. I fitted two of the Vimy bomb racks. They appear crude but photographs of DH10’s in India show similar looking crude devices fitted to the under wings so I concurred. The internal bomb bay is represented by a simple oblong panel scored into the under fuselage. Bombs and guns are from the kit. Pictures seem to show that the type carried Lewis guns with large cooling jackets along the barrels. The kit guns are crude but seemed more like this type than the stripped down Aeroclub version. A single Aeroclub scarff ring was used in the rear cockpit but the support frames are from the kit.

Finally, two wind generators, courtesy of Aeroclub, were fitted and two windshields were cut and installed.

Colour Schemes:

The forward section of De Havilland aircraft, at this time, was made of plywood. On the DH10 this was often painted gray. I used Revell matt 47. The upper wing surfaces and rear fuselage are quoted as PC10 or PC12. The former appears to be Nivo which in the past I have represented with Revell matt 65. PC12 is stated to be red brown and appears as such within the Windsock publication. I achieved a very close approximation by mixing three parts Revell matt 37 which is rust to two parts Revell matt 84 brown. The under wing surfaces are clear varnished canvas represented by Revell matt 88. Main struts were painted as wood and the centre section struts are grey. Finally, I varnished overall with Humbrol clear satin varnish 32. First time I have used this and it really looks the part.

Decals:

I’m not aware of any off the shelf DH 10 schemes on the market and I tend to draw the line of such purchases when they can often cost more than the build itself. I model types, not specific aircraft, as a general rule, and contented myself by making use of the spares box. The tail emblem and the downward striking arrows came from the Bolshevik version of the Sopwith Snipe kit. The D’s are ex-Luftwaffe and believe it or not, the roundels are the originals from the kit as I needed white outer rings because of the dark colour scheme. These must be over twenty years old and it was the first time I have been able to use old Frog transfers. Every previous attempt ended with total disintegration as soon as they were touched. Not believing my luck I sealed them with varnish as quickly as possible.

Accuracy:

It is as accurate as my humble skills could make it. The wingspan is slightly undersize by a sixth of an inch. If that bothers you so be it but it ‘s close enough for me. The dihedral was my fault, brought about I think when I joined the port lower wing together. I don’t believe my correction spoils the look of the model and the rest of the kit was checked against the Windsock plans so I’m confident of the dimensions.

Conclusions:

As far as 1/72 scale is concerned you can try and locate a vacform from Eastern Star, circa 1990, or go down the conversion route. The early inter war period has been neglected by the main injection companies but it’s surprising where a bit of imagination can lead. I don’t think that any skill more than basic modelling is required to carry out the above conversion. Novo Vimys are a fairly regular sales item on e bay and range in price from £8 to £20 on average. This one was cheaper because there were parts missing but nothing major. In addition, I had to purchase from Aeroclub the Liberty engines and the generators. Most will want to fit Scarff rings and guns and the Contrail struts and rods cost £5 but they will be used on many other projects for years to come. In total the DH 10 cost me about £20. Compare this to the Heyford and the more recent single engine inter war releases and I think it appears quite reasonable. Those with greater skills and anyone with more patience will be able to create a better end result than I have so I recommend this route as the best way to adding to the small inter war bomber fleet currently available.

References:

Windsock Datafile 38, Airco DH 10 by JM Bruce

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