Columbia20713

Just starting out, I can already see that this is going to be absolutely beautiful, your attention to detail with the scratchbuilding is incredible! Will be following this because I also have a Hase B-24J in my stash, and I'm sure I'll have a lot to learn from you. Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Wow, that's beautiful work! Really hope to have your level of skill one day, everything from the CAD model to printing does justice to the real thing. I wanted a 1/200 A330 myself (or, I guess just an A330 kit in general) but without a resin 3D printer at the time I settled on modifying and repainting the Hogan plastic model. I'll be watching this thread with a lot to learn from you. What CAD software are you using? The level of detail you achieved on modelling the A330 is mindblowing, I'd like to build up that skill sometime.

Sorry for the late response, but thanks everyone for the comments! Greatly appreciate it, means a lot. It was indeed quite a moment when I put it next to the Cebu A320, made it feel like I had made a fleet instead of just a model. Given how frequently these two aircraft and airlines see each other at my home airport it's quite fitting. Strangely enough, the wings and sharklets are indeed all on the same sprue, but the wing on the older version doesn't separate the wing and wingtip, but the newer one does, so it's a sprue change. Still odd that they didn't add it in the kit from the start. Thank you! Honestly I do actually prefer not to paint in parts or mask after decalling, but when the wings fit well, I find it much easier in terms of "bench ergonomics" to paint and decal the wings and fuselage separately. Consequence is of course sometimes I have to sand through paintwork, but thankfully it went ok! Thanks, great to hear that! Agree with you on that one, I find it more proportionally beautiful than the A320 myself, an aircraft that's almost like - but not quite - a B757.

This is the first build I ever had that I documented fully through video to show the build process. Not gonna lie, I struggled to get the setup right wherein the process itself can be captured, but I think it turned out alright for one of my first times doing this. If you're interested in seeing the build process itself, here it is: Background The Airbus A321 is the longest stretch variant of the popular A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus. It is based on the popular A320, but stretched to accommodate 185 to 236 passengers, and is powered by either IAE or CFM engines. It is the first derivative of the baseline A320 and entered service in 1994, about six years after the original A320. The aircraft shares a common type rating with all other Airbus A320-family variants, allowing previous A320-family pilots to fly the aircraft without the need for further training. The airline in which this model's colors are painted in is Philippine Airlines, the flag carrier of the Philippines, and the largest and oldest commercial airline in Asia. The airline services many of the country's furthest routes internationally, as well as domestically. Of course, I can't help it with the patriotism; I always wanted to do this simple but iconic scheme, and a trip to Taipei gave me the excuse to model the aircraft I was on: RP-C9907 (on the flight back). This is the Zvezda kit, the A321ceo tooling that comes with the Condor decals. Here's the photos of the model itself: As some of you might have seen, I also built the A320 from Zvezda in Cebu Pacific colors, Philippine Airlines' main competitor, so it of course felt fitting to take pictures of both together: This is the OOB kit. Paints used are Tamiya acrylics (Mix for PAL underside color is 2 parts XF-2 and 1 part XF-55) and Gunze lacquers (GX1 for the white, GX112 for the gloss, SM206 and Tamiya LP-11 for the metal parts). I designed the decals myself (honestly probably the most challenging part of the entire build, especially with the winglets), with a few of the Zvezda A321 decals that came with the kit also. These were printed by SetupDecal164 in Thailand, same shop that printed my decals for Cebu Pacific. This time around, since I designed my decals in raster instead of vector, the printing didn't come out as sharp. If I did the build again I'd want to mask the tail logo instead. I've already talked about my thoughts on this kit in my thread on the Cebu Pacific build, and the A321 went together pretty much the same way. I guess I'd want to note though on this one is that if you're buying this kit, it's important to remember that the older boxings don't include sharklets, only the wingtip fences. To my recollection, for non-NEO A321s only the Condor boxing has them. Of course, this is covered in the many reviews of this kit that exist, but it's worth mentioning just to be sure (especially as I found out the hard way; Another older Zvezda A321 box is now sitting at my bench, with me being unsure of what to do with it). (No Sharklets) (With Sharklets) The build itself went much more smoothly than my Cebu Pacific A320 build; I guess I got lucky, but I was also able to make use of a lot of the lessons I learned from the Cebu Pacific build, so that when this build rolled around I knew what to expect. I was also able to try a bunch of new things like using a Cricut for masking (cockpit windows), and overall I think this build turned out to be one of my cleanest, problem-free airliner builds yet. Any comments or feedback are appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Thank you! The paint is a custom blend, unfortunately I don't know the mix anymore; I eyeballed it with blue, green and white Vallejo paints until it looked somewhat like the interior of the PW engine, then handpainted it on.

Thank you guys for your comments about the build! Appreciate it very much. I figure it might be worth linking here as well, I compiled footage of the timelapses and build processes I took during the build and put them into a sort-of "reel" - The editing is a bit rushed as I didn't want to spend too much time on it but here it is. Will be putting it in the main post as well. Haha, thanks! Definitely lost some of my sanity with this build and I'm pretty sure you noticed as I was doing it. Great to hear you like how it turned out in the end, especially knowing you saw it as it progressed. Thank you! It took me some time and effort to write the descriptions of the processes, so am quite happy to hear you like it. The window/cockpit join issue seems to be a common factor for Zvezda A320 builds, and it's interesting to hear you have the same experience with it as well. On my build, it was strange - the engines themselves fit well for me, albeit not well enough for the fan to freely rotate - but the engine-wing fit was where the major issue was for me. Given Skodadriver's experience with engines it seems to be a mixed bag for these Zvezda builds. Greatly appreciate your comments, an honor especially from someone with airliner builds as amazing as yours! Seems like the engines are indeed strangely inconsistent with these kits, even my engines on the Zvezda 777 were fine up until I had to fit them onto the wing. It's not a major issue for me but it makes things somewhat strange. I actually did encounter a lot of trouble with making the flaps that configuration, I chose not to mention it as I figured it was probably user error but now that you mention it it might be worth noting. Definitely took some trouble getting the wing parts to fit in the flaps area as well, don't know how I persisted with it haha. Thanks for linking Authentic Airliners, I wanted to use their decals for this build but unfortunately they don't offer shipping to here in the Philippines. A shame as a lot of their products would definitely be upgrades to my builds. Thank you! It's a beautiful scheme indeed, good to know that it gets noticed outside the country as well.

The Airbus A320neo family is a development of the popular A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus. The A320neo family is based on the previous A319, A320 and A321. Re-engined with CFM LEAP-1A or Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines and fitted with sharklets as standard, it is 15% to 20% more fuel efficient than the A320ceo family. The airline depicted is Cebu Pacific Air, founded in 1988, and the largest low-cost airline of the Philippines and the largest airline of the country based on passenger numbers. Operating out of Cebu and Manila as main hubs, the A320 family makes up the majority of its fleet, the A320neo making up 9 of its fleet of 48. It was an ambitious paint scheme for sure, but one I've always wanted to do. This airline is a big part of my and any travelling Filipino's memories, after all. The project ultimately got bogged down quite a bit, but I will elaborate on this later in the post. The aircraft depicted is RP-C3281, a Cebu Pac A320neo that I took on a domestic flight to Dumaguete and then saw again in Caticlan Airport. Thankfully, as an owner of a camera taking reference pics proved to be very useful in the build. Here's the A/C itself as I photographed it in Caticlan Airport. I also compiled some of the timelapse footage I got of the build and put it into a sort of "reel" - First time trying this and I didn't want to spend too much time on it, so the editing and cinematography might not be the greatest. I chose to spoiler tag the rest of it as they do have quite a few images and are talked about in length Review - The kit itself is pretty good for an airliner offering, and it's no secret that Zvezda makes some of the best airliner kits out there. Personally I'm content with how the build went together, I don't have any major gripes or issues with the kit and it's still very good. However, there are a few nitpicks worth talking about - Masking Process - The masking was one of the most challenging parts of the build, and the sweeping curves all around the A320 were certainly very hard to replicate. I've been asked quite a bit about this process when posting about it, so here's a thread explaining the process. Decals: Painted with a combination of Armored Komodo lacquers and Tamiya acrylics. Gloss is GX112. Now, to summarize the build experience as a whole... This build has honestly brought me to the edge of quitting modelling more than any other build in the past, partly due to mistakes as a result of my own negligence, and partly due to luck so bad it was comedic, and certainly much worse than I've encountered on any other build. Issues ranged from paint peel on the white paint that then wouldn't feather when sanded, to incorrect hues on the first rounds of paint resulting in multiple rounds of masking and painting the (very difficult!) Cebu Pacific logo on the rear fuselage. For some reason, the white paint I used then started to yellow over time, which I had to sand back while the decals were already on - look closely around the windows where I had to avoid taking a sanding stick to it and you'll see some of the yellowing still there - Afterwards, seams reopened which resulted in having to repaint over the already peeling and yellowing white paint. The painting of the engines then went awry as the coverage of the white wouldn't lay down correctly, having to strip and repaint each one around 4-6 times each. The paint I used on the wings for some reason lightened under one of the registration decals as well, which meant I had to repaint a good fourth of the starboard wing to correct it. I had to speed up the final phase of the build as I wanted to make it in time for the local Nationals, which ultimately resulted in lots of compromises of the build - it was in the IPMS hall with the engine exhaust cones missing, left at home because they were still drying! Needless to say, it didn't really win any prizes but did catch the attention of quite a lot of people, as the only airliner build put in the competition, and with the vibrant and recognizable colors of Cebu Pacific no less. It then got damaged on the drive home, with the engines and landing gear breaking off and another fuselage seam reopening. Ultimately, the cowling ring and one of the nose landing gear wheels went missing, so I had to 3D print resin substitutes, which then made it onto the build in time to be make it my last completed build for 2022. Any modeler with a good eye can spot quite a few mistakes in the build's craftsmanship, many of which I honestly no longer had the energy or time to correct. In the end, I'm just happy to have gotten this project through the finish line. Thanks for reading, especially if you've gotten this far through the wall of text!

It's been a while since this was completed, but indeed the end result is still magnificently done, and the attention to detail is almost inspirational. Definitely one of the best builds of this kit I've seen. Well done!

Beautiful build! Built one of these myself but for the ProModeller boxing, it was a lovely experience. Love what you did with the metal paste, might have to try that sometime so I don't have to deal with fragile NMF paints..

Beautiful work of a rarely-seen aircraft. Well done!

Whether it's a new tool or a reissue, very excited for this one. Can't tell you how long I've been waiting for Revell to revisit theirs or for one of the other airliner kit manufacturers to pick up the slack to fill the A330-sized hole in the market ever since the Thai Airways boxing became a rarity.

Thanks for the comments guys, I really appreciate it! Yep, IIRC on 777s the dark green liveries were B-KPF in the "Asia's world city" scheme and B-KPB in "The Spirit of Hong Kong" livery, but I'm not sure if they're still around. It would be amazing to see that livery brought to life in a model, but it also looks like a very daunting task. Agreed, some of my most fond memories on smooth aircraft rides were on 777s. Personally prefer the comfort of later planes like the A350, but nothing beats the graceful lines of a 777. Same here, I've been on them more than a few times! I feel like I could fly anywhere in the world on Cathay 777s alone, they certainly were a very common sight for me at airports no matter what part of the world I was in. Thanks, I also can't get enough of this livery that I keep getting attracted to building it every time I want to do an airliner lol. Even the older brushwing/brushstroke livery that's being replaced now still doesn't seem to age.

Sorry about that, the thread was prematurely posted before I finished making it. The photos should be up now

My scale model airliner build portfolio basically serves as a Cathay Pacific advertisement at this point, and this one is no exception lol. Subject - Cathay Pacific Boeing B777-300ER (B-KQY) The Boeing B777 was designed as a widebody long-haul aircraft designed as a replacement to aging B747s. Having been the first airliner fully designed with CAD, as well as Boeing’s first airliner to fully use fly-by-wire controls, it represented a quantum leap in airliner efficiency. Cathay Pacific Airways is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, offering passenger and cargo flights to international destinations around the world. It is considered one of the world’s largest and most prestigious airlines. The airline was heavily involved in the development of the B777, even becoming the recipient of the first prototype and the launch customer of the -300 variant. Cathay Pacific continues to use the type heavily in medium and long-haul routes, and is one of its largest operators. The aircraft depicted is B-KQY, one of CX's newer 777s that I was on twice, one from an FCO-HKG flight and on another in an HKG-MNL flight. The fact that I've built this same aircraft multiple times before made it easier to make the decals and copy the window layouts. B-KQY now seems to reside in storage along with other CX aircraft at Alice Springs, Australia for obvious pandemic-related reasons. Build I was originally planning to build this as an Emirates bird but a few days into the project made me decide that the CX livery was too good to pass up. I actually built Cathay 777s in the same livery before, one in 1/144 (B-KPK) and one in 1/200 (also B-KQY) but neither project really left me satisfied with the end result. Years after, and having accumulated what I hoped was enough modelling experience, I decided to tackle the 777 again one more time, partly as a gauge for how much I've improved. This was painted with mostly Armored Komodo lacquer paints and the paint mixtures were eyeballed with various so unfortunately I don't have a proper formula to give. Gloss was with GX112 polished with Tamiya and Novus polishing compounds and micromesh. Decals were a combination of 26Decals from the Emirates decal sheet I bought for the initial Emirates livery I wanted to do and Cathay Pacific decals designed and printed by myself with inkjet decal paper. Everything else is out of the box, short of the wi-fi dome I 3d printed. Kit - Zvezda 1/144 Boeing B777-300ER Going into it, I was expecting to be met with fit issues and seams given my experience with the similarly tooled Revell kit, so I was pleasantly surprised that the Zvezda kit went together easily and without too much fuss. If I had to talk about anything that could have been done better, the breakdown of the fuselage and wings makes it so that the belly is attached to the wing assembly. This makes it difficult to assemble and do polishing work on the wings, and also means that if you wanted to leave the wings off until after painting and decaling, you would have to sand, fill and repaint at the seam. I really liked Revell's engineering approach to their A350 and A380 wings wherein the wings can be left off until the end, and it would be nice if Zvezda did the same. It isn't really relevant in my case because 26decals included almost all the decals necessary for a 777, but Zvezda's inclusion of decals in this kit is very lackluster and misses out on a lot of big details. If you are buying an aftermarket set of decals for this kit, better to make sure that the set you buy includes 777 stencils or buy those separately. Decals This is the first time I've used 26decals, and although I had to pay a huge premium for the Emirates decals that I never used anyway, the other decals went down really well and the borders are practically invisible once applied. They're very thin though so extra care needs to be taken in applying them as it is easy to rip or fold them accidentally. - Overall, this build turned out to be a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting, and I'm happy to be able to do justice to this aircraft once and for all, with the end result being a Cathay 777 that I can feel satisfied with. Thanks for looking, feedback and comments are appreciated!

Thanks for the comments guys! I wish lol, modelling a damaged nose would be far beyond my modelling skills. It's somewhat unfortunate that the mistake about the vents still occurs, but to be fair, having exhaust pass around the vents instead of from inside is a somewhat subtle distinction that can easily be missed. The metallic was Mr. Hobby Super Metallic SM206 Super Chrome. In hindsight, the anti-glare is a little too brown, I agree. I was trying to go for what some of the color photos from the time show olive drab to be, like on this B-17F. I couldn't find much of a consensus or proper conversion for B-17 antiglare olive drab colors either so I picked the closest Tamiya paint I had on hand. In my eyes, I kind of preferred a more brown hue for aesthetic purposes. It certainly could have been more green though.