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British Airways Airbus 380


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Hi Everyone

Thought it was time to get some serious modelling done for this GB.

I'm going to make a 1/144 Revell Airbus380, finished in British Airways livery using 26Decals for the BA specific parts. Obligatory box / state of play shot:

 

20160801_173229

 

The windows were filled-in in advance of the GB to leave enough time for shrinkage effects to show. Although there is still some minor finishing needed, most of the windows are quite good:

20160801_173431

Having recently flown on the "baby" of the fleet, this will be finished as G-XLEL.

Mike

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and a mock-up of the complete engine

20160805_164503

It's a pity the intake rims are held onto the sprue by attachments to the section that is visible after assembly - surely it could have been designed so that they were attached to the hidden surfaces?

Work has also progressed on assembling the stabilators and wings but pics of that would be well boring!

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Looking forward to you build Mike, have the kit and same decals and was at one point considering building mine for the GB (along with the 70 other airliners in the stash! :D )

Glad to see a 380 in the list now.

Hi Trojan,

Like you I had several airliners that I could have chosen. My I initial thoughts were to limit models to ones I've actually flown on but beginning to wonder...... what if one of the earlier A380s had been painted in Negus livery to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of BA??

Will have to decide how to finish it!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Firstly, I couldn't resist this comparison in size with an A319:

20160814_154018

The first round of prepare, fill, prime has taken place - no doubt there will be more repetitions this week. Grey primer has a purple tinge in photo as colour balance has been upset by the yellow tablecloth.

The underside of the wings were poor, the trailing edges varying considerably in thickness along their length where it appears that the molten plastic hasn't run through the moulds correctly. Any other imperfections are mine!

Have fitted the under fuselage gear legs but for some reason they protrude a slightly different distance on each side, so the aircraft has a small list to port. With the underwing legs temporarily fitted things look better; at some point in the future will need to see what it looks like with all four legs in place and decide then if any surgery is needed.

Regards

Mike

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Have one in the stash wAitinng to be an Emirates bird so will be watching this intently. I've seen other reviews which say there are problems with the u/c and that it is prone to collapsing under the vast weight of plastic, when the time comes I might look for metal replacements. I think is the nlg that takes the brunt of the weight 'cos of the ballast

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Have one in the stash wAitinng to be an Emirates bird so will be watching this intently. I've seen other reviews which say there are problems with the u/c and that it is prone to collapsing under the vast weight of plastic, when the time comes I might look for metal replacements. I think is the nlg that takes the brunt of the weight 'cos of the ballast

Well I managed to break the nose gear leg but fixed it with a drill and brass rod, so at least I can now pose it at any angle. The main u/c has a lot of flash, much of which is irrelevant had I realised earlier that the instructions were wrong ie these doors are closed not open as shown. As far as I can see, SAC don't do the A380 set.

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She's a monster Mike,

I love these size comparison shots :D

I have 2 in the stash. I was aware of the main gear door issue and will be aware of it when I build mine.

As for the gear, I will need to think about how to get them all level when the time comes. I did not have any issues when I built the Zvezda B747-8 last year.

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Underwing gear has now been assembled and painted and engines awaiting their next coat of primer:

20160821_161801

and as you might guess, I managed to break one of the underbelly legs! Have built a new (and hopefully stronger) version from brass rod / tube and the plastic links cut from the original. Will leave this off until wings are painted - although the main oleo is not as long as in the photo, this won't be noticeable once the gear doors are in place.

As I said earlier, the aircraft had a list to port - have yet to work out which of the main legs was the correct length but aim to mount the new version into a small block glued into the undercarriage bay.

Does anyone have a definitive answer as to the colour of the wheel hubs (white? steel?) Many photos are obviously white hubs but, even allowing for shade effect, there are some that look like steel.

Regards

Mike

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Hubs are white from the factory, but quickly blacken from brake dust - that's the 'steel' colour you describe.

On the A380, the wing gear wheels are all fitted with brakes, but on the body gear the rear most pair of wheels are not - therefore they often remain white(ish) whilst the other two pairs on the bogey get stained with brake dust.

The nose wheel, being non-braking, usually remains pretty clean looking.

Tom

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Hubs are white from the factory, but quickly blacken from brake dust - that's the 'steel' colour you describe.

On the A380, the wing gear wheels are all fitted with brakes, but on the body gear the rear most pair of wheels are not - therefore they often remain white(ish) whilst the other two pairs on the bogey get stained with brake dust.

The nose wheel, being non-braking, usually remains pretty clean looking.

Tom

Hi Tom,

Thanks, that makes sense. Presumably the rear most pair on the body gear don't have brakes as they are steerable- forgot to remove the discs on this axle.

Mike

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Work is progressing - wings and stabs are now primed and soon to be sprayed in Airbus grey.

Having bought both Halfords Racking Grey and Holts HLGrey01 this week, I thought some of you might like to see a comparison:

20160826_192134_001_zpskpbb1neu.jpg

Ok, I'm using some old Mig-29 wings as my test bed and the difference in colour is less apparent to the eye than the photo! Both give a nice finish though the Halfords paint is much glossier, the Holts is more of a satin finish.

Regards

Mike

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I am quite enjoying this build. I'd almost consider buying one of these A380 kits if I liked the nose more. Still, it is growing one a bit more and one day, I may change my mind.

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Have been working on the engines this weekend.

Not sure what part 141 actually is (a heat shield?) but if inserted as per instructions it hangs over the cone like a mudguard:

20160829_171115

A little bit of work with the sanding sticks on the bottom of the pylon means it can be glued almost flush. Then, using plasticard behind part 141and filler to smooth off results in this:

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20160829_164856

Not perfect but a lot better than it might have been.

And final just for Trojan who loves comparison shots, how about the size of the engine against a 737?

20160829_164800_005

Mike

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  • 1 month later...

After a couple of weeks working on a different project, time to get back to the Airbus:-

 

Fuselage has had four coats of Appliance white, micromeshed between coats, and now needs masking for the blue.

 

Engines have been sprayed blue, some creep under the masking tape needs tidying up but that gives me the opportunity to spray the small rectangular grey section on top of the cowlings at the same time.

 

Have just sprayed the aeroflex on the wings:

20161009_164640

 

It has come out a bit too dark but will live with the colour on this build rather than going through the hassle of re-masking and spraying again.  I used Tamiya Ocean Grey, on a test on scrap it looked OK but of course I forgot to take into account the effect of building up several coats!!

 

Hopefully, may be able to start the decals by the end of next week.

 

Regards

 

Mike

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Hi Ray

 

The blue is Halfords Fiat Capri Blue - it was recommended on this site but I can't remember where.

 

Have also noticed this morning that the colour on the Ocean Grey jar lid is much lighter than the actual paint.

 

Mike

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Fuselage and wings are now fully decalled; top antennae installed; rear stabs are glued but main wings just a push-fit at the moment.  That leaves the main undercarriage to sort out (remember I managed to break both of those and made new from a mix of brass & plastic) and also the engines (which are still in the paint shop).

 

Most of the decals went on well but Murphy's Law dictated that the ones really in the wrong position were the ones that just wouldn't budge!  So, if anyone has some spare A23 and A22 doors please send me a PM (I suspect that the door decals are the same irrespective of the airline).  Just to be on the safe side after the door fiasco, I cut the large tail logos into three parts and applied them separately - having measured their relative positions before cutting.

 

So, a few pics with more to come in a week or so when it might be finished............

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20161103_182112_002

 

 

 

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