AAbshier

So there's no way that the gear can be mounted after assembly, then?

Today I cut out the major parts and started parts cleanup and preparation: When I was doing the work, I found both good news and bad news. The good news, which I unfortunately can't show photos of because I don't have three hands, is that, after cleanup, the wing-to-fuselage and horizontal stabilizer-to-fuselage fit is remarkably good, very close to not needing filler at all! I'll probably still need to tweak them a bit to make the fit even better, but that's remarkable for a limited run kit. Leaving the wings and stabilizers off during the finishing phase will make life a lot easier. The bad news is that I discovered some weird divots on some of the parts: It's nothing insurmountable--toolmaker's epoxy and sanding out should take care of it--but it's something I've never seen on any other model I've built. I wonder if the parts got pulled from the molds too soon? Anyway, it's fixable, so I can deal with it. On this kit the tabs for the horizontal stabilizers are on the upper halves. To ensure I didn't glue the wrong parts together, I labeled each on the inside with a permanent marker: Next is a small amount of interior painting (wheel wells), then assembly begins. This plane is sort of growing on me. It's not pretty (perhaps, as they say, it has a "great personality") but it's different! Andy

This group build just got ugly! Hey, someone has to do it, and Cooper Models in the U.S. made me a deal I couldn't refuse. The A380 was not the first time Air France operated a big, ugly, double-decked airliner. ;-) It's actually a well-detailed model; there's wheel well detail, and some nicely molded engine fronts. The surface is a bit grainy, like all F-RSIN kits, but that can be dealt with. I liked the Air France 1960s livery with the flying horse, so I chose that boxing. Pretty much Air France is all you get with the 763; except for short leases to Air Algerie and Silver City Airways, Air France and the Armee' de l'Air were the only operators. Does anyone have any idea what the wheel well colors are? I was going to guess either natural metal or gray, but if anyone has better information, let me know. Andy Sarasota, Florida, U.S.

They said the plane had a lot of trouble gaining altitude. In other words it was a clear case of Hansa cross the sea without much Luft.

Looks like i could buy the kit and have my modeling needs met for the year. Stash? What stash? ;-) Andy

I don't think much would be seen through the nose glass, so I'm not putting an interior in mine either. I noticed that the person who did resin parts for this kit didn't do an interior either, so it must not be very visible when everything is closed up and painted. Andy

No; many Lightnings were painted. F2As in Germany were green over NMF, F3s and F6s first got DSG/green over NMF, and later various forms of tactical gray schemes. Andy

Nice work on the exhausts. I stand corrected. :-) Andy

Um, good luck with this. Save that cutoff exhaust ring. On mine, I found the exhaust impossible to fit inside the sleeve and had to discard it and re-fit the plastic ring. Make sure the diameter of the Eduard ring is no more (and I mean, even 0.001 is too much!) than that of the base ring. If it exceeds it even slightly, it won't work! Andy On the cockpit: Really good work! I had bought the Eduard set you're using for an F6 I completed some time ago, but on that project I had used the Neomega cockpit, so didn't have a chance to see how the Airfix + Eduard bits in their cockpit would look. After seeing your work, I have to say it looks pretty impressive! That resin seat looks like the Neomega seat, which is definitely a good one. Andy

Buy all 3, then draw lots to see which one to start first! Andy

The kit was originally an ICM kit released in the mid-1960s. It was released as a Lear 23 with the original large windows and bullet fairing on the vertical tail ahead of the horizontal stabilizers. I built one, with great difficulty, as a kid. It's worth seeking out the older version because the molding will be better, and the interior is set up for the large windows. Andy

Yeah, that was pretty much the conclusion I came to. I'll go the clear windshield/decal window route on mine. On the wing clip mechanism, I cut off the clip parts of the tabs and found the wings to be easier to fit. Andy

Looks great. Thanks for the tip on the clear windshield. I too prefer clear windows and windshields whenever possible. Has anyone ever tried opening up the cabin windows? I stare at them, and keep thinking it's going to be nearly impossible to open them up and keep it totally uniform-looking down each side. I may chicken out and go the decal window route. Andy

One of those might be my next F-RSIN once I get the Britannia done. I photographed the ConEx ATRs pretty extensively in Mobile and Houston, so I have many references. Andy

If you REALLY want to earn your modeling stripes, try doing the Yak-40 from the ancient Diwi kit. I think I'd rather do this type in 1/72nd; maybe AModel will favor us with one in due course! Andy

The nice thing about the aluminum spars is that you can make the wings removable. That would take care of part of the storage problem. I did this for an Anigrand 1/72nd B-32 and it worked quite well: Still not sure I want to tackle a kit as big as the 1/72nd An-124, so I'll be an interested observer when you start yours! Andy

RoG is going to reissue the 747-100/Space Shuttle combo. The 747 kit was not altered (the SCA parts are all "add ons") thus it can be built as an airliner quite easily. It has the original P&W engines, so BOAC and early BA schemes are possible. Andy

I built an Anigrand 1/72nd B-32 for the US importer of those kits at that time, back in 2009 if memory serves. That was enough Anigrand experience for me! At least I got some free mainstream model kits out of it for my trouble! Andy

You'll have a lot of wing mods to do too, if so. The 747SP used single-panel flaps without the flap track canoe fairings. There's some slight bulges over the flap hinges that are rather subtle and would not be easy to duplicate on your own. Plus you'll have to extend the span on the horizontal stabilizers. You're better off just getting the whole 747SP kit! Andy

Sadly, they are out of business. The 767 has been parked in Miami for some time. While it was flying, "Sharko" was a much-loved and photographed airliner! Nazca Decals does not do Sharko (yet) but they have decals for other equally spectacular liveries from Aerosur: http://www.nazca-decals.com/html/bolivia.htm Andy

It almost looks like they stole P-38 booms from a captured aircraft to get the prototype (almost) built. Interesting airplane! Andy

Excellent work! I hope Airfix has the Lightning high on their "re-do" list in 1/72nd. Trumpeter left the door wide open! Andy

I'm being a grammar pedant. "Infamous" implies that Memphis Belle was well known for some bad quality or deed, which was hardly the case. "Famous" would be a much better adjective. Yeah, the nose glass is awful, but I'm not real happy with the "brickwork" panel lines on the aircraft either. Maybe OD over gray will tone that down. Andy

The only Tu-154s that got Olympic markings were Tu-154Bs, rather different than the Tu-154M in the Zvezda box. But I bet we see these markings for the 1/144 Tu-134 from someone! Andy

I think I have the markings for this aircraft from the old Hobbycraft kit. You're welcome to them, if you want. Andy