Beyond The Sprues
Current and Finished Projects => Physical Models => Aero-space => Topic started by: Frank3k on March 06, 2026, 12:18:30 PM
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I was rearranging the kit stash when the Fly Models 1/2 Avrocar Racer X kit fell and landed at my feet:
(https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/0/9/9/955099-11104-47-pristine.jpg)
When I opened the box, I noticed that the two resin exhaust blade assemblies (one for each side) had lost some of the tiny blades at some point between the factory and my bench. I made an effort to reattach them, but it didn't look good. Instead, I measured the parts, CADed it up and printed it in PLA - it took less time than trying to get the CA to hold the fragile blades in place. Since it's a filament printer, I made the blades thicker. Still, good enough:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55131419746_ebf27e4a8e_b.jpg)
The interior bits went together quickly but I noticed that the blades stuck out from the body:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55131600348_4d30eeaee7_b.jpg)
Unless I messed up the interior, the resin parts would have had the same issue. Cutting them down to size fixed the problem:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55131600353_44a294126a_b.jpg)
The two cockpits are barely visible, despite being nicely detailed in resin:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55131651489_c5922c13f2_b.jpg)
If I had wanted to, I could have sealed everything up and started painting, but the "landing gear" was just a set of small resin caster wheels. I cut some landing gear bays and found some 1/144 MiG-23 landing gear that I could repurpose. The two saucer halves are glued together and under some weights (the fit isn't great). Tomorrow I'll start painting.
The kit comes with control vanes at the front (like in the final version of the Avrocar) but the original control disk looks better - I may print that up as well. I also thought of adding a tail of some sort. Let's see how I feel about it tomorrow.
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Small enough to hide the fit issues and still look good!
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This is different! The Racer X decals are wild! Nice job with the vanes. I bet this would be really cool in 1/48th.
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Racers are a neat idea & racers need spoilers at the back ;)
I have some circular stand bases (& hubcaps from my vacuum cleaner wheels) that make great saucers.
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If this is Racer X, I wonder what the Mammoth Car looks like...
I knew of the kit, didn't realize it was that detailed. Such a nifty little craft; such a pity it didn't work as hoped. Are you going with the Racer X scheme, or something else?
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Cool project! And nice to see design credit for the Avrocar right on the box! :D
'Jack' Frost was, of course, the head of Avro Canada's Special Projects Group. I wonder who C.J. Williams was?