Revell Airbus A319 and V1 Decals Air Côte d’Ivoire

[pinky coffeeboat]

And for my next entrant...

This is Revells nice but slightly aging (...aren't we all...) kit of the A319.

Here is the kit -

And here is the decal sheet -

Now, the observant among you will notice the registration is a temporary French one. The country uses TU- series, so I may have to adjust the registration somehow. Air Côte d’Ivoire have recently announced an order for the A320NEO. There was a nice flight report article I read recently but for the life of me I can't seem to find it. I'll keep looking and post a link.

Edit - here's a flight or trip report but it's not the one I'm looking for...

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1510258-air-burkina-air-cote-d-ivoire-7-countries-west-africa.html

Jeff

Edited July 13, 2016 by pinky coffeeboat

[mitchem]

That's an ace choice Jeff !!

I think this is what you may be looking for're looking for ?

http://flight-report.com/fr/report/6274/Air_C_te_d_Ivoire_HF_700_Abidjan_ABJ_Dakar_DKR

mike

[pinky coffeeboat]

That's the one, thanks Mike

[The 3rd Placer]

Nice subject Mr. Coffeeboat.

Ryan

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Nice scheme Jeff and first Airbus entry!

[pinky coffeeboat]

I've made a start on this one.

Since the colour scheme covers some of the cabin windows, I find it a bit easier to fill them all and use the decal sheet to provide the windows. Otherwise, if the scheme doesn't cover the windows (for example Air Canada) I prefer to keep the kit windows and fill with PVA glue in the final stage.

For the filling I use Aves Apoxie Sculpt. It's a bit like Miliput but I think it's a bit easier to knead.

One side done -

Both sides done -

Push the putty through the window aperture until it's a millimeter proud then slightly squash the lump to squeeze the putty into all the window gap.

Leave aside to dry (4-5 hours) then rub down with progressively finer wet'n'dry to leave a smooth surface -

I intend to keep the flight deck windows clear, so to assist with locating the clear piece a tab was added to each side. To prevent a see through look, a bulkhead was made and attached to the nose undercarriage bay and then painted black.

The wings were dealt with next to remove the additional fairings on the kit wing. These are only found on the A321 as these have double slotted flaps whereas the A320 & A319 have single slotted flaps.

There's few other changes to be made to the belly fairing.

The first change concerns the ECS heat exchanger pack outlets (highlighted in black in the above photo). At a certain point in production, these exhaust flaps changed from being triangular, rear opening style to the current "square hole with a lip".

early style:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Canada/Airbus-A320-211/2798837

current style:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/BMI-British-Midland/Airbus-A320-232/717100

Revell (and curiously Zvezda) mould the older style. I say curiously for Zvezda because that's a modern kit and I thought it would have incorporated all the current A320 featues, particularly the sharklets, but for all it's neatness and flaps and such it does lack a certain amount of detail.

And I'll deepen the recesses for the landing lights just between the u/c bay and the belly fairing.

Jeff

Edited July 17, 2016 by pinky coffeeboat

[mitchem]

Comprehensive coverage Jeff - I'm liking it.

:thumbsup2:

[The 3rd Placer]

That Apoxie Sculpt product is great, I use it as well.

Nice progress and great marking selection.

Ryan

[pinky coffeeboat]

That Apoxie Sculpt product is great, I use it as well.

Nice progress and great marking selection.

Ryan

Yeah, it's not bad. I bought it a while ago and it lives in the fridge. It's quite easy to mix, dries reasonably quickly and sands well too.

[pinky coffeeboat]

An update:

In between tanning myself and a bit of gardening (taking advantage of the sun), I've also made a bit of progress with the A319.

The wings have been prepared and I've made a start on adjusting the A/C pack exhausts.

The wheels have had their coat of Revell Aqua 6 Tar applied. This was sprayed on after thinning the paint about 50:50 with their own thinner.

And the beauty of airliner models is their speed of construction - not for us aftermarket cockpits with unseen details and lengthy paint jobs (unless you're building Zvezda), because here the fuselage halves have been joined, filled and sanded.

Once I've finished the underside, the wings will be attached followed by adding the windshield.

Jeff

[POTKC]

"Speed of construction"? Easy for you to say, what with the Revell kit. My EE 737 begs to differ...!

_{I know what you mean, of course. Just a bit of EE-rage...}

[Skodadriver]

Looking good Jeff.

I was totally unaware of the change in the heat exchanger outlets - amazing what you can learn by following a GB!

What's your source for Apoxie Sculpt? I normally use Milliput (my wife is extremely tolerant of modelling but refuses to let me use P38 unless she's out) and it sounds like Apoxie has about half the drying time of Milliput

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

I have a few of the A320 family to build. Maybe for the GB too. will have to pay attention to your mods and those required for my build!

[pinky coffeeboat]

......What's your source for Apoxie Sculpt? I normally use Milliput (my wife is extremely tolerant of modelling but refuses to let me use P38 unless she's out) and it sounds like Apoxie has about half the drying time of Milliput.....

I bought the Aves stuff on eBay from a seller in Wales. I had watched a YouTube clip in which a modeller was enthusing about the ease of use compared to other two part epoxy putties he had tried. To be fair it is quite easy to use. It doesn't require a great deal of kneading before it's mixed and is quite easy to work.

I'd like to give the P38 a go as I've read good reports about it's use.

A bit more progress.

The CFM-56 engines in the Revell kit represent the earlier type (CFM-56-5A series) where the nacelle front section is narrower and therefore the base of the pylon is closer to the intake lip.

http://www.airteamimages.com/airbus-a320_F-GFKX_air-france_88391_large.html

The later series, the -5B, has a longer casing and that's the type in use with the A319 of Air Cote d'Ivoire.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CFM56_engine_of_a_Hamburg_Airways_Airbus_A319.jpg

Thankfully, the engines in the Zvezda kit are of the later variant. Therefore, these will be used instead.

The badly painted engine is the Zvezda one and you can just about make out the increased distance from the lip to the base of the pylon. (it was hastily painted to try out a few things,honest!)

Here are the various bits that will go to make up the replacement engines

Jeff

Edited July 18, 2016 by pinky coffeeboat

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Well, I did not realise that there were so many changes to the A320 through its production life. A real eye opener your build is Jeff. I can most certainly see the difference in the engines there

I think I need to pay more attention to my Airbus builds if the changes to the A320 are anything to go by.

[Graeme H]

You are certainly cracking on with this Jeff, great work, and you certainly have taught me a few things about A319/320/321's Airbuses I didn't know, and even better the different model kit features.

With the CFM engine cowls, are there now 3 different lengths, because the length was increased very early in the -200 series, I remember Ansett having some of a shorter cowl, and later aircraft which were lease build had the longer cowl, 4" from memory

[pinky coffeeboat]

Pressing on this morning due to having a bit of time before going to work, I've added the windshield. It's not a particularly good fit and I can't remember if it ever was with earlier releases. Certainly, those released in the past few years have shown quite a bit of flash around many components.

Also noticeable in the pictures is the problem area with the Revell windshield. The scribed on window frames make the windows themselves too small. The solution is to fill all around the clear bit and sand off the filler and the scribed on detail. The windows are then the correct size and use the surrounding white plastic as the outline for the window frames.

Or just use decals.

A start has been made on the engines. I don't like the colour I've used here, AK Xtreme Metal Duraluminum. I was trying to get that stained metal look but it's too shiny and brassy. I've added a wash of black oil to create a bit of depth and may matt varnish it when dry to dull the overall look.

Jeff

[Radleigh]

Personally, I would leave the F- reg as it is, it looks different. Plus, looking at this image from Airliners.net you need to remove the white box and match the green. LINKY

Looking forward to seeing the end result what ever you do, I quite like A319's.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Radleigh

[pinky coffeeboat]

Thanks Radleigh, still not sure how well I could do it too.

In the flight report I mentioned in my first post (but not the one Mike linked to now I've had a good look at it), there is a photograph of another Airbus from ACd'I (can't be bothered typing out Air Cote d'Ivoire all the time...apart from then) parked at the gate that is in full ACd'I livery but still has the Air France winged Seahorse badges on the engine cowlings; that may be the route I go. But, I think it has the TU-XXX registration, so I may still have to attempt it.

Jeff

Edited July 19, 2016 by pinky coffeeboat

[CliffB]

Nice to see such good progress Jeff, but still finding time to make some worthwhile mods

Cliff

[Skodadriver]

Jeff, P38 has plenty of good points - it's quick drying, adheres well and has very good sanding properties. It's also readily available from Halfords and other car accessory outlets. BUT it stinks to high heaven and it isn't much use for small areas unless you want a lot of wastage. Apoxie Sculpt sounds like a good compromise between P38 and Milliput.

[pinky coffeeboat]

Apoxie sculpt isn't bad but I always mix too much and then smear the left over inside the fuselage as close to the nose as possible, just to add that extra nose weight. I'll look into getting some P38.

Ok, a little bit of progress.

The gaps around the clear part have been filled and it doesn't look pretty.

I'll leave that aside for a few hours to fully dry. I use Tamiya White Putty, it's very nice, has little shrinkage and dries quite quickly. It can be thinned and manipulated with lacquer thinners (or cellulose thinners if you're more familiar with that term).

A start has been made on sanding

and polishing

but a close inspection reveals more work needed

Concurrently, the wheels have been painted Revell 371 light grey with aluminium centre caps. I've added a thin black wash randomly to them, trying not to achieve a uniform look. I like to "pretend" (if you like) that a wheel has been recently changed and so hasn't suffered the same amount use as the others and looks a bit cleaner. I'll add a light dust of brown pastel later to simulate brake dust and grime.

The paint job on the wheels doesn't look anywhere as bad as the photo above.

Jeff

Edited July 21, 2016 by pinky coffeeboat

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

I hate painting wheels Yours are looking good Jeff.

For me I mostly decal windscreens so no need to be tidy when installing them

[pinky coffeeboat]

Thanks Ray. It's amazing how many faults a camera can pick up. To my eye the wheels look quite good but boy, under the lens they're blinking awful!

I've always preferred to use the holes in the kit for the windows. I think I've mentioned this before but many manufacturers struggle producing a row of holes in the correct place and the correct size. It totally baffles me. The detail on the Zvezda IL-62 is so nice and fine but good grief their windows...how hard can it be!!??

I'm slowly coming round to decals for Windows especially the cabin ones. The speed of progress without having to carefully sand around the clear window and then a fiddly masking job, sometimes life's too short!

Jeff

[pinky coffeeboat]

The windshield has been treated to another dose of filler, sanding and polishing. Not too bad now.

The wings have been glued on to the fuselage and I'm now looking for enthusiasm to tackle the engines!!