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Another build from me, and a switch back to Civil Aviation for this one. This is the Airfix boxing of the Boeing 727 kit and a quick check of the measurements indicate that it scales out to around those for -100 short body version and I will be using a set of 26 Decals for this classic Lufthansa Scheme. Here is an image from Airliners.net of D-ABIB at Stockholm -Arlanda in August 1964. Boeing 727-30 D-ABIB 18360 Box and contents photos. by John L, on Flickr The fuselage parts have some slight warping but should pull together OK. by John L, on Flickr The wing parts will need a bit of tidying to remove a bit of flash. by John L, on Flickr Here are the remaining parts including a stand, obviously issued when these came as a standard item in Airfix kits. by John L, on Flickr And finally my choice of decals for this build. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Hope to get started on this soon. John

Airbus A321-253NX. Titan Airways/United Kingdom Government. 1/144 Revell with 26 Decals This is the new release of Revell's Airbus A321 neo (New Engine Option) LEAP engines and wintip 'sharklets'. My example came with decals for the Airbus 'in house' colours, but I wanted something more interesting. When I saw this set on the 26 decals website, I just had to have it. My kit suffered from sink marks on the wheels and engines, but nothing that a bit of filler couldn't sort out, Maybe I was unlucky because others have not found this problem. Then I broke the sticky out nose leg off twice, and had to drill and pin it . I managed to ruin one of the 'UNITED KINGDOM' decals on the fuselage (late night and beer was involved!), but Ray at 26 Decals very kindly sorted me out with a replacement. Top man Ray! The only tip I would give anyone making this scheme is to cut the 2 part long sweeping blue 'cheatline' sections into halves again, to simplify getting them into place. I'm not usually too impressed with modern airline liveries, but this one is a belter, I really like it! It got a pair of 'N' gauge railway passengers painted up as aircrew: Thanks for looking John

When I posted my Fokker 100 a few days ago I mentioned that I had a second Air UK model on the way and here it is - the Revell BAe-146-100 (the TNT boxing) finished as G-UKJF circa 1993. G-UKJF had a rather nomadic life beginning with TABA Airlines of Brazil in 1983 and ending with WDL Aviation in Germany who retired her in 2012. She was with Air UK from 1990 until 1998. Like the Revell 146-200 the -100 kit is an easy, pleasant build apart from the fiddly undercarriage. I deleted the cargo door on the aft left fuselage and scribed a few panel lines but otherwise the build is OOB. Paint is overall Halfords white with Tamiya and Revell metallics. Livery decals are by Two Six with an Authentic Airliners windscreen and detail decals from the kit sheet. Thanks for looking and as always constructive criticism is welcome. Dave G and finally the two together ...

My latest creation is a modified Revell A310 finished as SATA’s CS-TKN “Macronesia” circa 2015. SATA was the last European airline to operate the A310 in passenger service with sister aircraft CS-TGV making the final flight in October 2018. (For anyone interested there are a couple of good YouTube videos showing Golf Victor doing a low-level beat up of Ponto Delgada airport). The deficiencies of the 35 year old Revell kit are well known but with aftermarket parts and a bit of creative imagination it can be turned into a decent model. (Note that I said “decent”, not 100% accurate). The newer Eastern Express kit is ridiculously over-priced and omits some detail which Revell got right. Anyone who wants the perfect A310 will have to look to Authentic Airliners. I replaced the Revell cockpit and nose with the BraZ resin part. This is cast in two halves which makes fitting much easier since solid resin plugs are rarely the same diameter as the fuselage they’re meant to fit. Revell have made the fairings at the base of the fin far too big and boxy. It is possible to sand down and re-shape them as @Viking showed with his beautiful Lufthansa model but I opted to replace the whole fin with one from a Revell A330 which is earmarked for conversion to a -200. While I had the A330 to hand I used it as a pattern to improve the sealing plates for the stabilisers which are like nothing that Airbus ever produced. I also removed the tail bumper and filled the many sink marks on the wings and stabs before re-scribing the detail. The engines are BraZ PW4000s. These were a little disappointing with the front sections larger than the nacelles which in turn had a slight “pincushion” shape. Milliput and determination got me there in the end and they will have to suffice unless and until Sergey Druz turns his attention to the A310! I used the Extra Tech p/e set to add a bit of bling mainly around the undercarriage. Paint is Halfords Appliance Gloss White and Holts HL Grey 01 with Tamiya and Revell metallics. The original plan was to finish the model in Tarom livery as part of my European flag carriers project but accuracy issues with the Nazca decals led to a last minute change of plan. The SATA decals are by Two Six and are excellent. I was a little concerned about how the tail decal would fit the A330 fin but it worked well with only minimal touching up (Revell Aqua 54 plus a little white). I added an Authentic Airliners windscreen, Flightpath coroguard and a few detail decals from the spares box. Although it was spread over nearly two years this was an enjoyable project and I have tentative plans to do a second A310 with GE engines. I just need to find another Revell A330 fin! Thanks for looking and constructive criticism is always welcome. Dave G

Here's my Amodel 1/144 Caravelle 10R with Transeuropa decals from 26. The kit's ok but there were a couple of things I didn't like - the undercarriage was a bit of a faff with quite indistinct and imprecise fit, and one of the PE wing fences just didn't want to stay on the wing! The 26 decals were nice as always. It does have cockpit window decals - there just isn't much contrast between them and the blue surrounding them! thanks for looking Julian

As my other three current builds all either have milliput or primer drying, it's time to start another French build, and there seems to be a Caravelle-shaped gap in the GB so I'll try to fill it. This is the Amodel 1/144 Caravelle 10R, which I'm going to build in Transeuropa colours using 26 decals. Here's the plastic: There's also a small PE fret with the wing fences. There are apparently a couple of shape issues, but it looks like a Caravelle and it's quite crisply moulded. I've made a start by assembling the fuselage. Didn't bother with the cockpit as I'll be using decals for the windows. The instructions say nothing about ballast in the nose, so I've added about 20g in the form of Australian 5 cent coins. Here's the very little progress so far: more soon Julian

I've been flying back and forward between Bristol and Amsterdam regularly in these little Embraer beauties over the last year and thus felt the need to model one. Jadlam's recent clearance sale of this kit was the catalyst required. They do remind me more of a sports car than an airliner, and indeed the pilots seem to fly them in a slightly more aggressive manner than the Airbuses. Plus, they are much more comfortable than Easyjet's A319s and A320s - and they feed & water you during the flight! Although I previously built a Revell E195 a few years back, this is their recent E-Jet issue, featuring the shorter fuselage of the 190. It comes with rather plain Lufthansa decals in the box, so for this one I used the superb 26 Decals KLM Cityhopper set and selected a serial for one I know flies out of Bristol. Mind you, literally minutes after I ordered these, I found another vendor in the US selling a set that included the current colourful KLM 100 yrs markings, but these still met the bill perfectly! The kit is a fairly easy build with no vices. I added a little weight in the nose and had to fill and sand a few blemishes on the top of the fuselage where the sprue didn't detach cleanly. Unlike my previous build, in this case I managed to keep the tiny antennae intact despite my sanding! My kit was crisply moulded with little flash, although I have heard this is not always the case. For the KLM blue I used Revell 50 gloss enamel. The wings are Humbrol US Medium grey, which in retrospect is a little dark, but it all depends on the lighting of course!!!! As always the kit was hand brush painted enamel, with Klear and Micro Satin acrylic top coats to finish. FredT

For cheatline lovers everywhere here is the Minicraft DC-8 finished as EC-BSE “Playa de las Canteras” an ex-Iberia -63 operated by Aviaco between 1981 and 1983. After leaving Aviaco the aircraft spent time in Canada with Quebecair and Nationair before the inevitable freighter conversion and service with Airborne Express until retirement in 2005. When I was a regular spotter at Glasgow 40-odd years ago Aviaco’s Spanish charter flights were normally the domain of DC-9s but once in a while a DC-8 would turn up. Much as the rare sight delighted us spotters, it can’t have been fun living under the flightpath since the arrival and, even more so, departure of a DC-8 involved an ear-splitting noise level which is hard to imagine in the modern era of high-bypass turbofans. Happy days provided you didn’t have a DC-8 in full cry passing over your house! I used the S&M bagged version of the Minicraft kit which comes with alternative engines, wingtips and noses but no decals. Anyone planning a -70 series from the bagged kit should note that they will need to find an alternative source for the prominent nose grills which are on the Minicraft decal sheet. The kit has been around for many years and apart from the need to straighten the wings (do it before assembly, use a hairdryer and be careful) it’s an easy and pleasant build. I used an Extra Tech PE set to add some bling mainly around the undercarriage. Aerials, pitots and a few other small details not provided in the P/E set were made from plastic sheet and strip. White is Halfords Appliance White. Natural metal is mainly AK Interactive and the light grey on the wings and pylons is Mr Hobby Aqueous 338. Decals are by Two Six. I added an Authentic Airliners windscreen (actually a leftover from an MD-80 set) and some detail decals from the spares box since, as already mentioned, the bagged kit comes without decals. Thanks for looking and as always constructive criticism is welcome. Dave G

Morning all, I made a pink Skyvan: I've always been fascinated by Barra Airport in the Western Isles, and the whole landing on the beach at low tide scenario. This photo provided the inspiration, and a nice excuse for a vignette: Two Six Decals had the exact right stickers needed. The pink was 50/50 mix of Humbrol 200 and Cherry Paints First Group "Barbie" pink - who knew there was an enamel paint manufacturer specialising in authentic bus colours! The Airfix Skyvan needed a little bit of window adjustment and 4 blade props to become a Skyliner, but no big sweat. There is an interior in there including some passengers and some rather loud seat upholstery, but you'll have to take my word for it I'm afraid! The kit builds well for its age, although as the fuselage has four sides there are issues with symmetry and general fit. I also seem to have an issue with bowed wing struts as they were slightly warped, but hey ho. I'd love to know a bit more history of Interstol but haven't found it. I don't know if they briefly took the Barra route over from Loganair in the 1970s? And thank goodness for the model railway industry, otherwise where would one find OO gauge sheep? 🤗 All best, Harry

In case anyone is interested Ray Charles currently has EE DC-10s at £35 plus postage. He's offering a tempting range of decals including Iberia, Sabena and Monarch. It may also be worth noting that Ray is intending to stop production of laser decals at the end of this year. Dave G (PS I have no connection with Ray except as a customer)

I present the Revell A350 in the cheerful “Expo 2019” livery carried by Air China’s B-1083 to promote the International Horticultural Exhibition in Beijing. I know that opinion is divided about the A350’s looks but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and personally I like its odd, quirky appearance. The superb Revell kit really does it justice. The kit was a straightforward and enjoyable build. Apart from a BraZ satcom fairing and a few small details the model is OOB. I was particularly taken with the engines and undercarriage which are both masterpieces of miniature plastic engineering. Although it looks complicated the undercarriage is actually easy to assemble, much easier than the Revell A330/340, but it’s essential to follow the instructions carefully and, in particular, put the brake discs on the right way round. (Don’t ask…) White paint is Halfords and the standard Airbus Grey on the engines is Holts HL Grey 01. Metallics are by Tamiya and Revell. I’ve never seen an authoritative match for Airbus Matterhorn White and after a bit of experimentation I used Mr Color 107 Character White for the wings, tailplanes and pylons. It looked OK indoors but when I took the model outside for the photographs it obviously isn’t grey enough so the search for the perfect Matterhorn White will have to continue. Livery decals are by TwoSix with Authentic Airliners windows. Ray has done a fantastic job with the decals which virtually fell into place on the model apart from a tiny bit of trimming round the number 2 doors. The only minor issue is that the winglet logos are a fraction too big (particularly noticeable on the inner faces) but nothing I can’t live with. Thanks for looking and thanks also to @Duncan B who supplied the kit. As always constructive criticism is welcome. Dave G One problem with the design of the kit is that you must install the nose wheel leg at an early stage, there is no way round it. Here's a tip to protect it using an expanded foam "bead" cut in half. The idea isn't mine - I pinched it from somebody on here, possibly Turbofan. Obviously it won't protect against dropping the model on the floor but it should save the leg from routine knocks.

My contribution is hopefully going to be the Roden Britannia in the livery of Donaldson International, an Anglo-Scottish charter airline which operated a clutch of second-hand Britannias between 1967 and 1972. Although I’ve never built the kit before, several Britmodellers have posted beautiful Roden Britannias in RFI giving me a lot to live up to. The Boscombe Down machine also featured in the Made in Britain GB although I’m not sure if that model was ever finished. Here’s the raw material …. http://SAM_2014 by David Griffiths, on Flickr http://SAM_2015 by David Griffiths, on Flickr http://SAM_2016 by David Griffiths, on Flickr For reference I’ll mainly be using “The Whispering Giant” by Frank McKim, “Classic British Propliners” in the Aviation Archive series and “Bristol Britannia” Issue No.4 in the Airlines and Airliners series. For older aircraft books are sometimes better than the internet although the Britannia is pretty well documented on the net and Britmodeller has an excellent walkaround featuring G-AOVT and “XM497” which I believe is really G-AOVF, not that it matters. I won’t actually start the build until the middle of next week since I’m heading off to Aberdeen for a few days and I won’t be home until Tuesday. See you then. Dave G

Airfix DC-9 1:144 26 Decals 'Iberia' This is ye olde Airfix kit from the orginal 'KLM' boxing. As I have 4 of them in the stash I though I should build one of them, even though the Fly Models kit is a more modern tooling. It is still worth building as it has very good fit and is pretty accurate. The main problem with it is that it lacks the prominent 'Lobe Crease' along the lower fuselage. I scribed it in with an Olfa P cutter, and worked along the line with a sub miniature half round file to emphasise it. It also lacks the eyebrow windows on the cockpit glazing, and although I left the glazing clear, I used the eyebrows off the decal sheet. Iberia's 9's all seemed to have an amount of thrust reverser staining at the back end, so i tried to replicate this also, with a puff of Tamiya 'Smoke' from the airbrush. It's one of my favourite classic airliners, and it has the plus of a red cheat line! And 'With something else', A Fly Models 'Baby 9' in Draw Decals TWA livery. There was a 'Gotcha' with the decals. the instructions only show a Post side profile, so i reapeated the layout on the starboard side. A couple of days later looking on Airliners.net I spotted that it was wrong, which just goes to show the importance of checking references.. Out came the sellotape and I stripped the titles off. The ever helpful Mr Stringbag just happened to have some replacements so i was able to correct it. Thanks Chris! Can you spot the uncorrected error here? Thanks for looking, John

Hi All, Here is my recently finished Boscombe Down Britannia using the excellent 26 decals set which performed faultlessly. The Roden kit went together well with just a small amount of filler around engines and a smidge on the wing roots. Usual acrylic paints used, Revell Aqua, Humbrol and Xtracrylics. Now awaiting the release from Mikromir of the Argosy! Hope you all enjoy this one! MODeller

Although I usually have four or five builds on the go at any one time I tend to finish them in pairs. When I posted my Court Line Tristar in RFI I mentioned that it had been finished in parallel with an overall orange Easyjet A320. I would have posted both models at the same time but after I’d applied the decals on the A320 I noticed a problem which needed some attention and a bit of careful re-finishing. Fortunately that worked out OK and here is the result. The kit is Revell (actually an old model which I stripped and re-finished) and decals are by 26. Thanks for looking. Dave ... and the two together

Aer Lingus Boeing 737 Authentic Airliners 1:144 This is the Authentic Airliners all resin kit, the most accurate Boeing 737 in any scale. They are pricey kits and I have long wamted to try one, and secured this one via e-Bay for a fair price. There are few parts, all beautifully cast and a small fret of photo etch to go with it. There were no instructions, which was not a problem for the main assembly, but left me wondering where a few of the etched parts were meant to go. This was an early release with a separate clear casting for the cockpit much like the Daco and Minicraft 737's have. Current kits are all-resin fuselages without the clear part, which I think is a better idea. 'With something else' - These 2 could frequently be seen parked near each other at airports in the early 70's. (Welsh Models Vac BEA 1-11 500) This project did not run smoothly, every now and then I seem to get a 'jinxed' build, and this was certainly one of them! It is a beautiful kit and well worth getting, just try to avoid the errors I made along the way! Troubles I had; Mixed my own Coroguard for the wings, and it looked too dark. Remasked, resprayed with lightened mix. Cockpit insert was fine and blended in well, fuselege sprayed with Appliance white. After a couple of weeks the join across the top of the fuselage began to show as a 'ghost'. Re-Milliputted it, blended it back in, reprimed, resprayed, remasked and redid the grey on the fuselage. The Appliance white on the fuselage then developed a 'micro-crazed' affect where I had re-filled the cockpit join. Happily this was solved with micromesh polishing cloths. I did not get the undercarriage right. the main legs were too 'stilty'. Cut them off, shortened and re-fixed them. Decals went wrong, I had to strip them off and buy another set. After the first attempt something did not look right. I realised that the cheat line was too high. The cabin windows needed to be lower, and the cheatline curve upwards to the cockpit window. The white paint under the green cheatline should be half the width of the cheatline itself. I had to strip it all off, and order a new set of decals. On the second attempt, I lined up the cheatline with the white underneath it, and curved the front 3cm or so up to the cockpit windows. It is a subtle change but makes a huge difference. A picture speaks a thousand words. Upper - first wrong attempt. Lower - second correct attempt. Another little 'gotcha' I noticed is that one of the Irish flags is upside down on the decal sheet. Simply cut if from the 'Aer Lingus Irish International' titles and rotate it 180 degrees, the green portion of the flag is always on the left. Top one is ok, lower one needs correcting; Well there were times when I nearly gave up on this one, but I am glad I persevered. It is a nice kit and a lovely looking livery, so don't be put off by my errors. I've now got an Authentic Airliners Boeing 707 to have a go at! Thanks for looking John

Hi All. Four new screen printed decals released: STS44208 Thomson Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner STS444210 British Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner STS44211 Iberia Douglas DC-8-63 STS44212 Aer Lingus Airbus A319,A320,A321 All the best Ray