Neil

Funny thing is ..... in most of the pics I have posted, the cockpit main windows and 'eyebrow' windows above the cockpit look totally Black, but in reality they are the kit clear transparencies and not Black at all. The cockpit interior is painted in that colour though, which is giving the transparencies the impression of being that one colour. Which is really, REALLY annoying ...... took so much time to mask up those tiny transparent segments on the clear cockpit section ......

Thank you! ...... but not quite as cool as Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John-Paul Jones ...... inside that 'plane ...... in the '70's.

As most of the previous finished pics are taken from above/high-level, here's a few more mostly from a lower down perspective.

Will be starting a new project in the very near future and it looks as if I will need a couple of decal sheets from the Classic-Airlines.com decal range. Been on Hannants site to see if they stock them but it looks as if they do not do so (Hannants are reasonably close to me, so usually get my specialised stuff from them in person at the warehouse). Classic-Airlines do have an ordering facility direct from their website, so looks as if I will need to go that route instead. Are they reasonably efficient/reliable/prompt to order from, is basically what I need to know? Obviously I have never ordered from them before, so just asking, as it were. Or alternatively, are there other recommended stockists I could order their decals from? http://www.classic-airlines.com/airliner-decals.html Thanks for any help/suggestions.

Unfortunately that is not N7224U 'Caesars Chariot'. Thank you.

Oops, sorry Matt, I missed that question! As Romeo Alpha Yankee says, there is a link at the beginning of this thread to the In Progress build, showing the resin engines.

Things like props I leave loose so they can simply be be pushed on/off the model because they tend to get broken when fixed, the same goes for open canopies and speedbrakes (F-15, F-18 etc) they simply clip or balance in place when displayed and removed when transporting them. Large, positionable tailplanes like F-15, F-18, Jaguar etc have their original mounting pins removed and replaced with lengths of metal rod or tube (brass, aluminium, steel or such) makes them stronger and can be fitted/removed for display or transportation. All the individual loose, fragile components fit into their own compartments cut into the deep sponge. Props, canopies, speedbrakes, tailplanes (and ordnance on some not shown etc) are far less likely to be damaged. The loose tailplanes actually fit into slits cut into the foam.

Spot the Boeing 720 ...... now packed in it's box with my other most recent build the 1/48 Fairey Albacore, and with the other built models I have decided to take to the show tomorrow. Just need the upper layers of protective foam placing in the boxes, and taping up, and putting in the car. Should be a good show by all accounts.

A very small one ... . This goes back to when I was only a very, very young lad, and was the first time that I ever flew in an aircraft, for years I have had a sneaky intention to actually build it. I need to dig around and find the exact date, but I think it would of been around 1969/70/71 (.... ish) kind of time frame, it was a holiday flight from Norwich to Jersey, in the Channel Islands, on a de Havilland Heron flying with Channel Airways. Had a tentative dig around and I think it may of been the fixed undercarriage type. I have the 1/72 Airfix Heron ready and waiting for when I do make a start on it. Hope the link works, it is probably one similar to this below (could even be the one .... who knows!!). https://www.planepictures.net/v3/show_en.php?id=832963 There are decals for a Channel Airways de Havilland Heron ...... unfortunately in 1/144, and not 1/72 though.

We may have a recurring theme here ...... Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. Have to say that I really did enjoy making this one, as I mentioned before this kit has been on the back-burner for ages now, and very pleased to have finished it. In a round-about kind of way my hand was sort of forced (....ish) into building it actually, I have been off work for a few weeks with an issue with my left leg and foot, and really got stuck into this one to avoid the boredom and tedious nature of not being very mobile. Believe me, the LAST thing I wanted to do was watch daytime TV as a recreational persuit, because of the enforced lay-up, and not being able to do a great deal else. This made quite a refreshing change from the usual military aircraft subjects I normally build. After this non-military subject, I have another which I would quite like to build now too, which in truth has been in the back of my mind for alot longer that this '720 has actually, it is a civilian subject but not a jet airliner ....

I bought the 'Starship One' version of the Roden '720 as well as the 'Caesar's Chariot' version, that has the Deep Purple and very early Led Zep makings included in it. You possibly also thinking of 'Ed Force One' 747 too, I guess ......

Finished at last, just in time for the Milton Keynes Modelkraft show at the weekend, so will take it there for display on the club stand. Been wanting to have a completed model of this aircraft for a long time, pleased that I have now eventually finished it. In Progress build link is below, highlighting the modifications, paintwork, scratchbuilding, home-made decals, my own resin engines etc etc: Of course, the model was carefully assembled with a "Whole Lotta Love" .... (sorry, I know, I just had to say it ...... ).

I normally concentrate on military stuff, rarely do any civil/commercial ones, but as it has the 'Led Zeppelin' connection I really wanted to give it a go, been on my to-do list for a while. Makes a bit of a change if nothing else!

After a little bit of holding of breath ...... things worked out fine . The areas previously sprayed Gloss Black now have a nice coat of Alclad, much to my relief. The majority of it is Alclad ALC-119 Airframe Aluminium, with smaller darker sections on top of each engine nacelle and the turbocompressor housings on both inboard pylons sprayed in ALC-120 Gunmetal. The fin and tailplane leading edges and the small sections of wing leading edges next to the pylons are also in ALC-119 Airframe Aluminium. The two antenna wires have been fixed into the upper leading edge of the fin top with superglue, and the other ends passed through the holes made previously in the forward fuselage roof and passed through the hole in the nosewheel bay I made earlier. They just need to be gently pulled taught, superglued, and painted Black to finish them off. I used some fine 3lb nylon fishing line for the antenna wires, apparently it has a diameter of 0.17mm (so it says on the reel). Can make a start on the subtle fuselage weathering next, along with a few blade antennas etc. Getting close to being finished.

There is an element of apprehension during the masking, no two ways about it. Masking over previous fully cured paint is not quite so bad, as such, the bit that always makes me nervous is applying masking tape close to (or over, in this particular model....) previously applied decals, alot of which are one-off hand cut items. The risk of tearing off these delicate little strips of decal film with masking tape are quite high, it would be a real pain to replace them. To say the least ......

All the relevant sections that will be coated in Alclad have been masked, and sprayed with a coat of Humbrol Gloss Black (enamel) thinned again with Cellulose thinners for airbrushing purposes.

That single stage of finishing that never seems to end ...... paint masking. Made a little more complicated because of bare metal sections adjacent to the pylon fairings where they join the wing leading edges, and a couple of tiny leading edge sections outboard of engines No.1 and No.4, aswell as the engine nacelles and pylons. Looked closely again at all the available pics that I have of this 'plane, and very nearly missed something. The leading edges of the fin and tailplanes are in aluminium or bare metal too, so these were also masked up prior to the spraying of the Gloss Black sections. A detail that is easy to miss ......

Applied some panel shading and light weathering to the wings, similar to the tailplanes, but kept it subtle and discrete. It would look out of place if it was heavily weathered and 'in-your-face'. The fuselage is not yet weathered, but it too will receive some subtle treatment. The engine nacelles and pylons are now ready to be masked up, and when masked will be given a coat of Gloss Black, in preparation for the airbrushing of a nice shiny coat of Alclad. Note that some overwing exit marking decals were applied to the top wing surface, not included in the Roden kit (single-exit type decals, as there is only one overwing exit door above each wing) but again, luckily, they were included on the TwoSix decal sheet I had.

I have not used that stuff before, will look into it sometime.

Undercarriage units are now finished and ready to be installed, hubs were masked with discs of tape made with a Waldron punch and die set and the tyres sprayed Black. The White legs and hubs just need some subtle shading done to them. Did a dry-fit with the u/c units on the model and I am pleased that I reduced the overall diameter of the front wheels, they do now look more to scale in relation to the overall look of the model. Made a start on masking and spraying the wings and tailplanes, with various Grey and Aluminium shades. Now, all of the pictures I have collected of this aircraft in use show it to have a hint of 'used' look about it, certainly not a factory-fresh pristine condition. That's not to say it was in a heavily marked, really dirty or grubby finish as such, it just had that mildly 'pre-owned' look about it (in the time frame that I am building it from anyway!). So I will be adding a very subtle and faintly weathered finish to the paintwork, certainly nothing over-the-top to it though.

Thank you kindly, I do have a bit of a vested interest in this one though, considering who used the 'plane at the time, so trying to make a nice job of it . One small detail, but for something that will be not installed until everything else is finished on the model, because they will be a little delicate. There are two antenna wires to be fitted, both of them are (essentially) attached at the same point on the leading edge of the fin, near the top, and then they enter the forward fuselage at two different and separate points. They both enter above and just behind the cockpit area, so in preparation for this I drilled two separate 0.3mm holes, in the relevant area, with the drill in a pin vice. Also made one 0.5mm hole in the relevant point on the fin top leading edge, where both will enter and attach. The Red circle on the pic is where they individually enter the forward fuselage, should be able to just about make out the two 0.3mm drilled holes (tiny Black dots!). I also made a hole in the nose wheel undercarriage bay where both wires can be pulled through and kept taught when they are to be fixed with superglue. Will probably use some very fine fishing line for the wires.

I'm pleased with it so far, glad that the fuselage is now basically done. Those really narrow strips of decal either side of the band along the fuselage were a pain though, but it was fortunate that I had the TwoSix decal sheet kicking around, the Silver window frames really finished things off nicely, and I must say that it makes the windows certainly look more of a finished article instead of just basic blank holes. All the fuselage decals now have a coat of clear over them to seal them in, will leave it now for a few days to cure and then tackle the wings.

Replaced my original serial number with one that now looks a little better, and all of the Silver frame decals have been added to the fuselage windows on both sides. My home-made circular 'Icarus' decals have now also been applied to the fin/rudder surfaces, and am happy with how they have turned out. Will probably add a coat of clear over all of the completed fuselage and fin decals, just to seal them in, and then once that has hardened off can get cracking on with the wing painting.

Was looking at an enlarged image, and it suddenly dawned on me that the fuselage windows have Silver frames to them, not easy to spot with pics that are taken at a distance. As luck would have it, I already have a sheet of TwoSix decals for the Boeing 720 and in amongst the generic stencils and such, are Silver window frames, which is something of a bonus. I have applied these frames to the eight rear windows on the starboard side, just to see how they look (second pic) and it does make a surprising difference in 'looks' as it were. The fuselage windows now look more 'complete' for the want of a better phrase, and not just holes in the fuselage side. Also applied a disc of White decal to the area, on the fin/rudder, that will eventually be covered with the 'Icarus' logo I printed onto decal film earlier, and after a little thought decided to remove the serial numbers I had previously applied because they were a little on the big side. I have some more Black decal letters and numbers lined up for the serial instead.

The fuselage band that surrounds the windows and goes up the fin now has the narrow stripes added either side of it; the Brown section on the rear fuselage/fin has Yellow stripes either side of it, and the Yellow band section on the forward fuselage has Brown stripes either side of it. These narrow stripes are cut from decals and really tried my patience when applying them. Circular area on the fin/rudder is ready for the Icarus logo, that I printed on decal film earlier, to be applied. The correct serial number has also been added to the fuselage.