Boeing 737 200 - 1:72 BPK

[woody37]

Boeing 737-200

1:72 BPK

Whilst Boeing was achieving considerable success with the larger 707 and 727 in the 60’s, development of the BAC 1-11, DC-9 and Fokker F.28 were progressing well to serve an anticipated need in the world market for smaller aircraft on short haul routes. In 1964, Boeing proposed their intention to tap into this market. To keep timescales down, they proposed a design that would use 60% of the structure and systems of the 727 which would also benefit by keep costs to a minimum. The 727 cabin had an advantage over its potential rivals in that it accommodated six abreast seating compared to a maximum of 5 abreast on the others. Another feature of the 737 would be its capability for Cat 2 Landings, the first of its kind. Production of the 737 was guaranteed following an order by Lufthansa for 21 100 seater aircraft, the first of which went into service in 1968. A follow up order came from United Airlines for another 40 aircraft; however they wanted a larger aircraft that would become the 200 series. Further refinements to the 737 200 led to the refined 737-200 Advanced which included improved thrust reversers, modified flaps, more powerful engines and greater fuel capacity allowing a 15% increase in payload. This became the ‘standard’ configuration by 1971. A lull in orders in 1970 drove Boeing to offer greater diversity in the design. Versions included the 737C (meaning convertible passenger / freight version) using a large freight access door, 737QC (Quick change which had palletised seats allowing quick removal) and the gravel kit equipped model for use on unpaved runways. Production of the 200 series continued until 1988 when no less that 1,114 aircraft were produced and served hundreds of airlines around the world and in 2010, over 300 were still in operation!

The kit

News of this release from BPK of Ukraine has been popular and when I received mine, I could see why. The only other 737-200 model in this scale is the multi-media kit from Welsh models with a vac formed fuselage. The kit comes in a sturdy top opening box and inside you’ll find a lot more parts than you’ll be used to if 1/144 is normally your scale. The version represented is the ‘Advanced’ model with refined details as mentioned above so can be built into a vast amount of livery options as and when they become available.

First impressions are very good, but not mainstream. There’s an absence of locating pins where you would expect them on a mainstream kit, so some additional skill and patience will be required to deal with this, but don’t let that put you off. Included in the set is over 100 injection moulded parts, additional resin & etch, rubber tyres and cockpit and cabin window masks. A great feature too is the clear nose section meaning that you won’t be left with the challenge of trying to prevent glue marks on your cockpit windows! There is no flash or sink marks to be found on any of the parts. Included on the sprues but identified as not used in the instructions are what look to be the gravel pack parts, so we could expect further versions to be released. The instructions are in A4 gloss paper and mostly adequate, however there are a few ambiguities that I’ll cover in the review.

Assembly starts with the cockpit. In here you will find all major features including seats, side, front and overhead panels, centre console, control columns and decals to add the necessary detail. The cockpit assembly locates to the rear bulkhead and it all fits into the transparent nose which on first impressions captures the shape very well.

The next step for the cabin windows requires a decision from yourself and reflects in my opinion some clever design work to give you these options. The cabin windows for each side are provided as clear strips that locate into the fuselage halves with finely marked windows. The kit is supplied without window decals that you typically find in aftermarket decal sets, so you will be required to cut the plastic out of the fuselage parts and replace them with the clear strips. If you intend to use decal windows that will probably become available from aftermarket suppliers, you could simply glue the clear strips over the top of the indented sections although one side will need a raised bead sanding or dremmeling down as noticed in the picture below. Doing this enables the clear parts to sit flush with the exterior surface. Leaving the indented sections in place and painting it with a dark colour before inserting the clear strips and masking the windows may also be an option to consider. If you do decide to remove the indented plastic, leaving some of it in as a locating surface for the clear parts would be advisable as long as it doesn’t foul the windows. The surface detailing in the fuselage is very nicely done with fine recessed details.

Moving on to the next build assembly and we have the main gear bays and wing box that locates in to the lower fuselage. Two spars are added as well as adequate gear bay detailing that adds plenty of interest. You may want to add some additional plumbing here if you like a lot of detail. The spars protrude out of the wing box to support the wings when fitted.

With the main parts of the fuselage assembled, it’s all brought together – fuselage halves joined and cockpit, wing box, nose and tail cones attached. Again without the benefit of locating pins, be careful to get everything aligned correctly. Here I noticed a few things missing from the instructions. One of the last stages is to add the nose wheel bay, but to do so, you need to cut away part of the clear nose and fuselage halves to do so. It will be easier to do this before you assemble the fuselage. No mention is made of nose weights either, so I’d play safe and stick some metal up front too whilst you’re there. This may be obvious to some, but I’m one of those who steams ahead and pays the price later for my impatience!!!

Onto the wing assembly. This is a simple affair; the wings are supplied in top and bottom halves with the gear bays to be inserted as separate parts. As these will take the weight of the kit when sitting on the gear, I’d recommend plenty of glue here to prevent them from breaking loose under load. Separate flap jack fairings are supplied and simply fit to the lower wings. The tail and tail planes follow the same two halved approach with a small spacer to be inserted between the tail halves to offer some rigidity.

Detailing in the engines is well catered for. The intake fan is mated to an etch IGV (inlet guide vanes) part that requires the vanes to be twisted through 90 degrees and the intake cone fitting to the IGV. These then mate to an injection moulded cylindrical insert that provides a smooth intake profile. The exhaust looks to be more challenging. Instead of using a plastic insert, the exhaust has to be made forming a flat sheet of brass plate into a cylinder. You may try to find some tubing of a suitable diameter to avoid doing this...I think I will! Resin exhaust compressors and exit cones are supplied to finish off the inner detailing.

The undercarriage is quite a complex arrangement. Each main gear assembly is made up of no less than 6 parts excluding the wheels themselves. The nose wheel bay also has to be assembled from 5 parts, so you may want to reinforce the joints to prevent it from collapsing under the weight. The nose gear assembly contains a further 10 parts, so you may want to have a beer on standby for when you finish that off! The tyres are supplied as rubber which some dislike. I suspect that some aftermarket resin replacements may become available in due course. The tyres do have some small amounts of flash so this will need to be removed. The instructions for the main gear door assembly aren’t very clear, so I will be looking for some reference material when I come to build this to see exactly how the 3 parts fit together correctly.

The etch sheet contains quite an array of exterior parts including wing root intakes and the various antennas and probes around the fuselage which is a welcome addition in 1/72 scale. A nice touch too is a front passenger door and port baggage doors supplied giving you the option of cutting the fuselage out and having the open doors. I see a good diorama possibility here. Unfortunately, the forward air stair isn’t included.

The decals

The decal set produced by Decograph is quite simple. I would of preferred a number of options but only one livery is included for Piedmont airlines; aircraft No. N780N which was delivered in 1980. This aircraft finally ceased operations as registration YI-APY in 2010 with Iraqi Airways. The sheet doesn’t include fuselage cheat lines, door frame markings or windows which again would have been useful for those who prefer that route. Masks are included to paint the door markings though. The cockpit panel decals are nicely detailed too.

For those wanting some British liveries, keep an eye out of the Two-Six website as Ray has a number of options that he’s planning to release (as well as non-British liveries) including:

Britannia 1970s & 80s

British Airways Negus & Landor

Dan Air London

BA World liveries

Air Europe

Conclusion

This is a welcome model of an iconic aircraft so will probably be popular amongst the airline modelling community. The detail is good and the shape looks accurate too from what I can see without assembling it. I suspect it will spur a number of aftermarket initiatives too. It’s not a kit for beginners, but nor does it require expert skills either. Judging by the release of the T-43 and the inclusion of the gravel pack parts, BPK are going to cover most if not all of the 200 series options in due course. Additional liveries and decal options would of been a good feature to add value, but overall I’m very impressed with what BPK have created.

Review sample courtesy of

[Jennings Heilig]

F-Dcal will also have a number of decals coming along shortly for the BPK kit. Stay tuned to www.f-dcal.fr

J

[Viking]

Cracking review Niel, I'm intrigued to see how those cabin windows will work. Cockpit section looks like a being a winner though.

Not sure that I am a fan of 'rubber' tyres but those look reasonably good. Are Rays decals going to be silk screen? He's chosen some lovely ones there.

Looking forward to seeing you do a WIP on this one. Pretty please.

John

PS my old dad flew all variants of the classic 737 (apart from the 100). Called the 200 'a nasty little bitch!'

[woody37]

That's good new Jennings

John, I reckon the cabin windows will be OK, the strip sits very flush. Ray said that some will be Silk, some laser, so we will have to wait and see

A WIP.....o go on then !!!!!

[Dads203]

A WIP.....o go on then !!!!!

What you hanging about for .. Get cracking !

[stringbag]

Nice review Neil.

Britannia Airways is a must for this one I think.

As Dan says; get cracking.

Chris.

[Victorlas]

Thanks for the review!

[PBoilermaker]

Outstanding review! I agree with the consensus that this kit is a winner. I wanted to note something important for those wanting to use the clear cabin windows, however. While the cabin window sections feature the appropriate overall number of windows on each side (34 total to starboard and 33 to port with emergency exits at the 18th window from the rear on each side), the first and seventh windows on the port side (counting fwd to aft) are spaced to allow for the cargo door with tight gaps between the 1st/2nd and 6th/7th windows ( 00 0 0 0 00 ). If you want a 737-200C, this window arrangement is fine and the port fuselage half has the cargo door and sill plate scribed already (the instructions tell you to putty the outline on the Piedmont kit). If you want a non-cargo 737, you will need to fill the cargo door outline as directed and alter the spacing of the 1st and 7th port side windows to be correct. Thankfully, the scribing looks light and you might be able to sand the offending window outlines flush to mask the correct window spacing with the provided vinyl masks.

To be fair, the window spacing difference between the 737-200C and 737-200 is something that most people will not notice, but it stands out to those familiar with the type's external differences. The only other minor nit is that the bottom rudder hinge should be filled (the scribed cover plate should remain, though). The -200 only had the top two.

That being said, thank you to BPK/Victorlas for bringing such a wonderful kit of this important aircraft to market in this scale! BPK even gave us a complete unpaved airstrip kit with a nosewheel gravel deflector and engine-mounted vortex disspators! This is a first in any scale as far as I am aware. I will need to pick up a few more...

-Mike

Edited December 24, 2012 by PBoilermaker

[Radleigh]

Great stuff Woody, I really want one of these but I can't see me getting one until mid-to late next year. One of my all time favourite aircraft, reminds me from going over to LHR as a kid in the early 90's.

[Team Aer Lingus]

Just ordered one hope ray@ twosix does bring out upscaled early Aer Lingus scheme for this kit

[woody37]

Just ordered one hope ray@ twosix does bring out upscaled early Aer Lingus scheme for this kit

Might be worth dropping him an email or pm

[waltmertins]

I do not even build nor collect 1/72 Airliners.

But..... at the price BPK is offering the kit...... you can not go wrong at all!!!

Mine will be Alaska Airlines with the gravel deflector kit for sure.

Outstanding work BPK!!!!!

Walter

[charley420]

How much are they?

[Radleigh]

How much are they?

Here you go mate

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=bpk+737&_sacat=0&_from=R40

[charley420]

Cheers buddy

[woody37]

Heads up, Twosix has now released his decals for the kit

http://www.twosixdecals.co.uk/epages/62035508.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/62035508/Categories

I've ordered the 80's Britannia set

[halcyonjet]

I've received a parcel from the Ukraine today

Having a quick look at the parts, between decorating the conservatory, I noticed that mine also contains a separate resin nose cone, as well as the one on a sprue.

I'm sure I read somewhere that that part was maybe a little off, so I wonder if this addition is a correction?

Now to gather plenty of information for detailing, and decide which airline to do it in

Dave

[kev67]

Just ordered mine but the grey and white T43-A

[Team Aer Lingus]

Have any decals been produced in this scale for this kit yet? I've got one ready to build to am not too sure I've the skills to do it justice

[woody37]

I'd speak to Ray at 26 decals. Couldn't see any on his website, but I got some off him last year, so he may be able to help.