Greetings all. First I want to thank Arawasi for letting me post some pictures of my 1/48 Combat Models H6K "Mavis". Trust me, I will learn more about the Mavis than I’ll teach, but I have found a method for building large vacuform kits that works for me. Hopefully it will motivate others to try something unusual- if I ever build a 109, it will be the Japanese test aircraft!
The picture on the plans shows my start. I cut partial bulkeads, then use lots of scrap triangles to buttress them. Most planes will use a pass-through spar, Mavis used a bunch of struts to attach the parasol wing. You can see the support I put into the midsection, struts will pass through the cut slots and be epoxied into place.
Once that’s done, I’ll go back and start adding detail. Not a whole lot on the interior for reference, so I make my best guess and install some equipment. Once it’s sealed up, it’ll look like there’s something in there, not just an empty cavern. The cockpit crew stations sit on supports above and next to the central walkway.
In the shot of the cockpit, you can see how I filled the keel with epoxy- easier than trying to match angles for joining tabs. Next step will be to do seams and the surface of the fuselage- you can see what looks like wood grain in the plastic, like they didn’t seal the forms after carving.
That way I can do all the dirty work and wash it out real good, then finish by installing the cockpit (not done yet) in through the top. Last will be all the glass, I’ll tape over the strut slots and it should be sealed with no chance for dust to get inside- fingers crossed.
I’ll post progress as I make it. I started a new restaurant four months ago, so it may be sporadic, but model building is a good escape, I need to keep up with it for my own sanity!
Mark Jahsan - Michigan, USA
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