Corgi 1/72 Vulcan- who's getting one?

[aferguson]

Last i heard the big 1/72 Corgi Vulcan bomber is still scheduled to be released in August. A pretty exciting release in my view. I'm definitely getting one but the question is which one. The first release is an uninspiring plane with a bland history, though it looks like a regular fleet bomber.

The 'hot' releases i would guess are a Falklands War plane and an all white nuclear bomber. Problem is i'm not sure i can wait that long...lol.

The next release is likely to be the white one or something other than a Falklands one, which is the big prize, for me anyway.

The pace at which Corgi releases planes it could be 2 or 3 years or more before a Falklands scheme comes out. That's a long wait when you're old...heh.

The first scheme to be released looks pretty much like a Falklands bomber, it just isn't. sigh.

[The_Helicopter_Pilot]

I've thought about this, though if I were to get one, I'd have to sell one on my 1/18th birds, for both the extra cash, AND the room for it... Lol
$200 is a big price tag, but it's hard to complain when it's almost as big as my B-52D!

[tmanthegreat]

At first I was very much undecided, but then lately I've been on a 1:72 scale Cold War/Modern RAF aircraft binge in 1:72, recently getting the Corgi Tornado, Jaguar, BAE Hawk, Hawker Hunter, De Haviland Vampire, and soon a Lightening and Bucanner.

Given that my collection was going this direction, I figured I had better get the Corgi Vulcan. Its likely to go up in value after the first release and subsequent releases will likely cost more. Thus, it seems best to get one at the reduced preorder price... Using a coupon code, you can get one for about $185 from The Flying Mule with free shipping. Bland history or not, I like the standard look of the Corgi example and its just one of those "unique" models that pushes the envelope in terms of size in its given scale.

Besides, I've had an interesting experience involving the Avro Vulcan that pushes me in the direction of getting the Corgi model even more. In 2009, I got the chance to climb inside a Vulcan B Mk 2 displayed at the Castle Air Museum, in Atwater California, about an hour's drive from my house. Here are some pictures:



Vulcan cockpit: pilot & co-pilot seats


Vulcan cockpit: Flight Engineer/Navigator station (right side)


Vulcan cockpit: Flight Engineer/Navigator station (left side)


Vulcan cockpit: looking up the entry ladder


Having gotten up close and personal to an aircraft is all the more reason to get a model of one, at least in my book

[snake]

Pre ordered the first one, as a must have.

Seen the Vulcan numerous times at Abbotsford in the past, and this one is in the colours of the restored, and only flying example that did the British Airshow circuit.

And I like the scheme myself

[aferguson]

after seeing a video of the Vulcan, if that is indeed the finished product, i am going to seriously have to think twice. Colours poor, big ugly nose joint at a $200 price.

http://tdhp.fr.yuku.com/topic/17493/master/1/?page=7

video near bottom of page

Here's how it's supposed to look:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... _XH558.jpg

Corgi's used a green that is too bright and too light and a grey that is too dark. Totally missed the mark.

[aferguson]

Pics up on Ebay. It's worse than i feared. Not only are the colours bad but the plastic part colours don't even match the painted metal colour. Look at the tail vs the rest of the plane.

Just saved me $200...what a disappointment.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Corgi-Aviation- ... 2461wt_916

[Dauntless]

Looks impressively huge.

I haven't collected many 1:72 jets, or I'd probably buy one. For the large Cold War jets I've stuck to smaller scales and this doesn't look like something I have to have.

Besides got to save for a 1:72 Sunderland.

[aferguson]

ah you know about the Corgi SUnderland? I just found out about it a few days ago and was dee-lited to hear about it.

[tmanthegreat]

Got mine today Here are a few quick photos:







Came from TheFlyingMule and I did not pay full price or shipping. The colors seem fine to me and match on the different sections. They appear darker in person and not as light as in the video or other photos. Good crisp detail.

My biggest gripe - and its a serious gripe - is that this thing is mostly plastic. Despite its size, it feels lightweight. I've collected Corgi for 11 years and have many of their WWII and modern aircraft all of which use a significant portion of diecast. This is really more of a plastic display model... The Corgi 1:32 Mosquito probably weighs twice this (and has FAR more diecast); heck even my old Corgi Lancaster from 2003 feels heavier. Then there are the seams...

I like the fact that I have a Vulcan in 1:72 and its a big model - I'll keep it for the "wow" factor. But it wasn't quite worth the hype and I have to wonder what Corgi was thinking during the design process...

[Coreyeagle48]

Tristan:

The colors on the Vulcan actually look better than a lot of websites and other pictures have shown and the details do look very good.

Some suggested on other sites that the use of plastic was to keep the weight down but not sure of the reasons (the landing gear, packing, etc). I had read that somewhere though.

The seams are bad. It's surprising a company like Corgi couldn't clean that up much more than they are. I can see that being an eyesore for many collectors.

Not my cup of tea as I don't do 1/72, but its decent. Yet it still misses the overall mark I think people expected of it. That seems to be a trend this year, models missing their mark. Hopefully these companies go back to the drawing board and engineering aspects of their models and produce some better pieces in 2015.

Corey

[tmanthegreat]

The paint actually came out better than I was expecting and the plastic does have the effect of showing off the fine details quite well. The landing gear pieces really need work, though. They almost seem cheap with the white in the wheel wells being unpainted plastic... I can see the reasoning for the extensive use of plastic to keep the weight down, but that is almost un-Corgi-like. I mean, they still sell their 1:32 Mosquito and that is mostly diecast. Odd seams are something that have long characterized Corgi models. I look at the B-17F model I got 11 years ago (my first Corgi plane) and it has some very noticeable seams, especially around the nose section. But the B-17 is a more clunky plane than the streamlined delta shape of the Vulcan - thus the seams on the Vulcan are more visible. One would think Corgi would try to fix the seam issue with its models...

But in any event, the model still does retain its "wow" factor. Its neat to have a large modern bomber in 1:72

[aferguson]

thanks for the input guys. After seeing photos i've been very on the fence about getting one. I'm not concerned about plastic content as i actually prefer it......i don't care for super heavy diecasts as it makes them more awkward to handle and more dodgey for hanging on the wall, which is my preferred display method.

My concern was only the colours.....they are nothing like real Vulcan colours, especiallly 'Vulcan to the Sky' which is painted in an especially light shade of grey. Ironically, i like the colours of the Corgi model....i think it looks better than the colours of the real plane(s).......it's just that it's not accurate.

Since they made a whopping 4000 of these i'm going to wait and mull......i expect a sizable price drop at some point too.

Tman: are you saying that in person the colours look darker than they do in your photos? How do the colours look in comparison to your bottom photo?......darker, lighter or about the same?

[tmanthegreat]

Aferg,

The most accurate of my photos to the actual colors of the model is the second picture with it sitting in the box. The colors appear brighter in the third one as the camera was a little closer and there is reflection from the flash. Again, lighting in the photos is key, but overall, I found it to be darker and flatter than expected.

I was hoping Flying Mule would have one of their great photographs of the model up, but they must have sold out of this quickly as there are no photos of the unboxed item on their website...

[aferguson]

actually it's Mule's pics that have been causing much of the furor on several of the diecast forums:

http://www.flyingmule.com/products/CG-AA27201

thanks for the response Tman

[snake]

Looks pretty decent, but disappointed to see such a large nose seam.

Especially as this is a brand new mold. Certainly not a deal breaker, but could have been better.

Have to wait till I get mine to check the "heftiness " of this, and do want it to have some decent metal content, a Corgi strongpoint. If it is mostly plastic, getting away from what Corgi is known for, particularly in its bombers.

Whatever the outcome, happy to get a Vulcan in 1/72, even though it is quite expensive.

[aferguson]

as i understand it the only metal content on the Vulcan is the vertical tail piece and the upper nose piece. The rest is plastic. Lots of comments by people being surprised how light the model is.

In truth, if we hope to see larger subjects like this in 1/72 pre-builts, from anybody, then expect mostly plastic content. It's the only way to keep costs reasonable. The upcoming Sunderland will most likely be largely plastic as well.

The next step will be to have the buyer attach components like wings and tail pieces, much like the 1/18 planes from 21st Century. If it means big 1/72 subjects i say bring it on, although the traditional diecast crowd will hate it.

[Dauntless]

Makes sense, the Sunderland is supposedly based on the Airfix/ Hornby model.

Funny many of us here have been saying the same things for years about pre-built partial assembly required plastic models. Many of the die cast crowd won't be pleased like you say, but I'm already used to that with 21st Century Toys and this is still going on with the 1:144 model companies. Dragon went full plastic on their 1:72 armor, but make up for it with the detail.

This may be the reason why Hornby was able to produce 4000 of these Vulcans.

[tmanthegreat]

One argument for the use of plastic in aircraft models is scale weight. In reality, most aircraft in WWII were made of aluminum, wood, or fabric. Modern fighters used everything from aluminum, fancy alloys, to composites. All in an effort to keep things as light as possible. Hardly any aircraft was ever built like a tank out of heavy steel. In that sense, the scale weight of Corgi's 1:32 Mosquito is very likely much heavier than the actual plane would be - and also has the wrong feel to it. Plastic would have felt more like painted/varnished wood. Same thing with the Vulcan. While the Vulcan is a large aircraft, the designers would have taken every step feasible to keep the air frame as light as possible. If the Corgi version were solid diecast, it would likely way far more than the actual plane, scale wise.

Just the reasoning I'm using to get around the lack of diecast on a Corgi model

[aferguson]

in my model building days, i had the idea to make my models scale weight, which i thought was a cool idea. I figured it would be easy with a bit of internal weighting, to bring each subject up to its correct scale weight.

Boy was i in for a surprise. Turned out, there was no way i could add enough weight to make a tank model heavy enough (both in 1/72 and 1/35) as there wasn't enough room inside, even adding lead weights to even come close to scale weight, and there was no way i could make my airplane models LIGHT enough (1/72 and 1/48). Even just plastic kits with no weight added were far too heavy.

Very eye opening. So every prebuilt airplane available these days, even the Easy Models are too heavy for scale weight in 1/72.

[Dauntless]

It's that tactile feeling that one is getting something of worth if it weighs more. A well done plastic model looks the same as the die cast one beside it till you touch or pick them up.

I remember being attracted to 21st C 32X armor if it said "Cold Steel" on the box I knew it had some metal on it though it was the same price as the all plastic one.

When really the amount of detail, accuracy and correct paintwork you'd think would determine the value.

If you think about it long enough people are strange in their beliefs.

[The_Helicopter_Pilot]

Now with this info, I'm going to pass, maybe but a kit in the future if it becomes one of those "have to haves" plus I just spent $164.99 on eBay for the sidewinders 1/18 F-18, I don't think I'm going to be buying many more models anytime soon...

[snake]

Got mine about a week ago, and pretty happy with it.

Lots of plastic, and a bit light for Corgi, but it is a big 1/72 model, so the lack of lots of metal is fine with me.

Know that there are complaints about the colour of the paint, but I am not an expert on XH558, so doesn't really bother me. It is a camo pattern Vulcan.

Lots of collectors have been wanting a Vulcan in 1/72 for a long time, so this release was and is highly anticipated. There have been a few complaints, but mostly due to the paint colour.

Seeing it in the flesh, it is a good model, and there will be other squadrons and time frames for the Corgi Vulcan. So for those that can't get past the paint "issue", there will be others.



Corgi 1/72 Vulcan





Avro 1/1 Vulcan

[cnq]

The model looks decent enough but the price is way too much for me. I might build a kit in future to add to my collection.

[tmanthegreat]

Glad you enjoy the model, Snake. I do agree with CNQ that its a bit expensive for something with a lot of plastic in it, but its still a neat model. After all, it has that wow factor going for it

[aferguson]

wow factor as in "Wow, it's expensive!".