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Airbus A350-900 Lufthansa new livery 1:144 Revell (03881) In service since 2015, the A350 is the newest of the Airbus family of wide bodied long haul airliners. The fuselage is built from carbon-fibre reinforced plastic, making it lighter, stronger, and easier to maintain than traditional aluminium bodied aircraft. It is one of the modern ultra fuel efficient machines, with ranges from 8,000 nautical miles up to 9,700 nm depending upon version. Sectors over 20 hours have been introduced by Singapore Airlines flying to the west coast of America The first time I saw one I was surprised at how big it was, somehow photographs make it look a lot smaller. It is in fact very similar in size to the Boeing 777 and 787, with which is competes. With nearly 1,000 on order it looks like it will be around for many years yet. This is not a new kit, but a re-boxing of the original released in 2013, updated with the the latest Lufthansa markings. Moulded in white plastic it features lightly engraved detail, free from flash or sink marks. It comes in a tightly packed box, there are so many parts that in fact I had trouble packing it all back in once I had done the review photographs. This is no 'small kit rattling around in a big box', you certainly get your money's worth. The two fuselage halves are almost as long as the box, and feature the same belly cut out in the wing area that will be familiar to builders of Revells' other wide bodied airliners. All windows are cut out with a separate sprue holding strips of glazing. The wings are very nicely moulded with the upward curved tips, and recesses for the separate flap tracks. The two part tailplanes are also on the wing sprues. Having already built the earlier release of this kit, I can confirm that the fit of the wing to the fuselage is perfect. So much so that I have never glued them on to my model, as they lock in securely, and can be removed for storage/transportation. Next up is the previously mentioned 'belly plate', the flap track halves, undercarriage legs, and parts for the stand. The belly plate is a very good fit, and nowhere near as troublesome as on some of the other kits with this feature. Detailing on the undercarriage legs is sharp, all you really need to do is add some of the hydraulic lines from fine wire. Undercarriage doors, nacelle halves, and a complete cockpit feature on the next sprue. I always like it when a cockpit interior is included as it saves me scratchbuilding one. It is worth taking time over painting this as it can be seen through those large cockpit windows. The only thing I might add would be a couple of 'N' gauge figures painted up as crew. The engines are real works of art, the mouldings for the fan blades are amazing. A front and back set join together to form a complete fan disk. Again, having built this kit I can say that it is possible to rotate the fans in the completed and painted engine by gently blowing on them. The base of the stand, some undercarriage parts, and the wheels are all on the final sprue. The hub/tyre interface is neatly defined, which is a great help when painting them. I usually do hubs first, and then brush paint tyres with Humbrol 67 Panzer grey. (Tip - Tyres are almost always dark grey rather than black. And in any case in 1:144 the 'scale effect' of pure black is way too harsh). The decals are designed by DACO which is a sure sign of quality, and beautifully printed with a full range of stencils and walkways. There are optional solid windows if you choose to paint over all the glazing, or silver frames if you like to keep them clear. My only reservation is personal, and that is that I find the current Lufthansa livery a bit lifeless and bland. It is not a problem as there are several aftermarket decal sheets covering other operators of the A350. Of course, if you like the new look Lufthansa, then this sheet will do a superb job of re-creating it on your model. Conclusion. This is one of the best airliner kits available, taking advantage of the latest moulding techniques to produce a model with incredibly good fit, and those amazing engines. It is also quite big, dwarfing something like an A320, and even making a 747 look average. The ease with which it can be built, and the simplicity of the livery would make it a suitable kit the beginner, while the sheer quality of it will appeal to the more serious modeller. I love it, and have already purchased another. Highly Recommended Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit Footnote: My build of a previous release of this kit, using aftermarket 'Thai' decals from 26Decals. See what I mean about how big it is alongside a 747? And the wing fit is so good, they can be popped out for storage.

Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E, Airfix 1:144 Cyprus Airways decals from classic-airliners.com My last RFI of the year, in fact of the decade. It is the venerable old Airfix Trident, dating from around 1966 with some of its faults corrected. Yes Authentic Airliners do a Trident that is almost perfect, and yes Eastern Express are due to release a new range of Tridents next year. But this was in my stash and the sticker on the box tells me It only cost me £3.50 some 25 years ago, and what is a stash for, but building from! I stumbled across this decal sheet at Telford, and thought it made for a different looking Trident. It is actually the second Trident I started, as I also have a -1E on the workbench that will be finished in the BKS scheme. It was often known as the 'Ground Gripper' , or just 'Gripper' because of its tendency to use a lot of runway on take off, it was also said the it was only due to the curvature earth that it was able to get airborne at all. This was partly due to its swept wing design that enabled it to be one of the fastest airliners in service, once it was in the air. This particular aircraft 5B-DAC still exists. It had earlier served in BEA as G-AVFB in the red square scheme, and is preserved at Duxford today. After service with Cyprus Airways it returned to British Airways in 1977. An early 1970's ramp at Heathrow! The kit has several inaccuracies, and thanks to Dave 'Skodadriver' and Chris 'Stringbag' who both kindly supplied me with valuable information about where corrections are needed, and photos. I did not correct everything, the main thing I left out was reshaping the wing to get the leading edge 'kink' in it. It was a bit of fun, and I enjoy doing a bit of old fashioned modelling to try and make improvements. Airfix never kitted a Trident Two but all you need to do is fill in the windows and extend each wing tip . The rest of the changes are applicable to the Trident One (and the extended wings tips for the 1E). (Edit - Forgot to point out some reshaping of 'hole' in the center intake. There is a limit to what you can do, it is better but not perfect. Perhaps it needs building up with more plasticard and filler, and some serious reshaping.). These are the main improvements: The decals were laser printed and do not contain any white coloured print, which means that you have to mask an accurate demarcation between the grey and the white. I used a photocopy of the blue cheatline taped to the fuselage in order to apply the masking tape accurately, ending up with this: The decals had a 'Gotcha' which fortunately I noticed before putting them in water. The 'Antelope' figure in all references I have seen, id always heading to the right, as on the side views in the decal instructions. Strangely the port side decal for the option I chose, had him heading the other way. Simple to fix. I just cut him out and substituted one from the other tail decal that I wasn't going to use. Odd that the 'Trident Sun Jet' option was wrong but the other was was fine. Thanks for looking, John

Airbus A320neo Lufthansa new livery 1:144 Revell (03942) The A320 neo is the most recent development of the highly successful Airbus range of narrow bodied airliners. Available as the A319, A320, and A321,'neo' stands for new engine option' as the aircraft can be fitted with the very fuel efficient Pratt & Whitney PW1000G or the CFM International LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion) engines. The other noticeable change is the wingtip 'sharklets', similar in appearance to those used on Boeing aircraft, which replace the smaller winglets previously used. With 95% commonality with the earlier A319-A321 range (now known as the 'eco',engine current option), it is an obvious choice for airlines operating the older machine. Entering service in 2016, the A319-321 neo family has become the worlds fastest selling airliner, although production delays with engines initially slowed down deliveries. For many years to come, they will be seen at airports all around the world, probably in a vast number of different liveries. The Kit. This is an all new tooling from Revell that has no commonality with it previous range of the A320 family. Moulded in Revells standard white plastic, everything is crisply moulded and flash free with no sign of sink marks or other flaws. The fuselage has a large cut out where a clear cockpit glazing section is fitted. This far better then the old kit which had a 'letterbox' slot into which the clear part had to be inserted, not an easy job. Cabin windows are moulded open, with clear plastic window strips to fitted from the inside. All the blade aerials are moulded along one fuselage half, but personally I cut these off for later re-attachment as they make cleaning up the fuselage seam very awkward. Rather than alignment holes and pins, Revell have gone for interlocking tabs along the fuselage halves. A neat little cockpit is provided, complete with separate instrument panel. I often scratch build my own airliner cockpit interiors, so here is one job saved. I normally put a flight crew in though, using 'N' gauge figures, and will do so on this kit as it can only be built 'in flight'. It will therefore need at least a captain and co-pilot in attendance. The wings are very nicely moulded with inbuilt dihederal and broad, thin sprue attachment point which make removal from the sprue much easier. On the old A320 kit you had to remove a number of flap track fairings and fill panel lines, as the kit shared the same wing mouldings as Revell's A321. No such problem here, this is a dedicated A320 wing ready to use 'as is'. The wingtip Sharklets are on their own sprue along with the nose cap. Also nice to see is the SAT antenna that fits on top of the fuselage, possibly this is the first time one had been included in a mainstream kit. Now, the big talking point about this kit. It does not come with any undercarriage, you can only build it 'in flight' and attach it to the included stand. I believe that the reasoning for this was to keep it as a simpler 'Level 3' kit for the inexperienced modeller. The similar A321 kit is Level 4' and does include the undercarriage, which apparently will fit this kit as it has the nose wheel bay and wing mountings for the main legs, notwithstanding the subtle differences in main wheel size. The engines option used by Lufthansa is the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G, so this is what the kit provides. The fine detail is superb, particularly on the fan blades, which fit inside the nacelle to give a seamless intake. The intake ring are separate parts, which makes painting them silver much easier. (Tip - attach them after the nacelles are painted, using white glue so as not to risk messing up your nice finish). Options. Only one livery is supplied, the current Lufthansa scheme. The decal sheet has been designed by DACO, and is superb, covering all sorts of fine stencil detail and giving a choice of four differnt Lufthansa aircraft. Printing is faultless with minimal carrier film and in perfect registration. Personally I find the new Lufthansa livery to be rather bland, but I'm sure that it won't be long before there are plenty of aftermarket decal sheets if you would like to build this kit in a more colourful livery. Conclusion. New release of airliner kits are few and far between, even less so when a manufacturer decides to produce a new tool of a model they already have in their range. Revell are to be applauded for this, and have produced a very lovely model of the A320. The decision to leave the undercarriage out strikes me as odd, as although it may attract the inexperienced modeller, it also runs the risk of putting off the experienced modeller. It is possible that Revell may re-issue this kit in other liveries in the future, and also include the undercarriage in those boxings. You could also use the parts from the A321 kit, if you plan to build one of those in flight. That said, the rest of this kit is a high quality product, the mouldings are superb, and it is far superior to the old A320 eco kit. It's simpler colour scheme will also probably appeal to the inexperienced builder, and construction also looks to be very straightforward. If, as it should, it encourages more people into airliner modelling, then I'm all for it. Recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

Douglas DC-8-62CF 'Thai Airways International' 1:144 Minicraft with 26Decals. One of my favourite airliners in one of my favourite liveries, a combination of two classics. The DC-8 is the Minicrfat kit available from S&M models but without any decals. This is not a problems as I expect almost all buyers would want to choose their own aftermarket decals anyway. I've always wanted to make one in the beautiful Thai Orchid livery, and found that 26 decals do a sheet for the the DC-8-63. I could have built the kit straight from the box and the decals would have been perfect for it, as Minicraft provide the fuselage for the stretched -63 version. However they also provide recessed cut marks inside the fuselage to show you where to remove sections forward and aft of the wing to shorten it down to a -62 version. I much prefer the -62 as it looks like a much better proportioned aircraft. The only thing was that Thai operated the stretched -63, but I came across some images of a single -62 Combi Freighter that they used for a while. Being part owned by SAS, Thai used lease/borrow/purchase several of their aircraft. I'm assuming this one was leased as it retained its Danish registration OY-KTE. All I had to do was shorten the cheatline decals, and find some suitable purple letters for the registration, which I did on the Thai A350 sheet I already built (never chuck anything away!) On with the photos: 'With something else", a Thai 737-400 in the same livery! Thanks for looking John

Embraer 190 - Lufthansa New Livery (03883) 1:144 Revell Designed and built in Brazil by Embraer aerospace, the 190 has been in service since 2005. The 190 is a 100 - 124 seat regional airliner with a very successful sales and operation history, with more than 500 having been sold. Its sister, the Embraer 195 features a 2.5 metre fuselage stretch and capacity for more passengers, but a a reduction in range from 3500 km down to 2600 km. The 190/195 was developed from the Embraer 170/175 by stretching the fuselage and adding a new wing, tailplane and engines. The Kit First released around 2015, this re-release adds a new set of decals for the latest Lufthansa livery. I built one of these early releases in 2017 and can confirm that it assembles and fits very well, and will give a good result for all builders from novice to experienced. Comparing this kit with my Aurigny 195 (Boxed as the 'Air Dolomiti version) confirms that the fuselage features the reduced length of the 190, and so is not a simple reissue of exactly the same sprues. Unusual for a 1/144 scale airliner kit, construction begins with the cockpit. A neat little unit is provided, which can actually be seen through the nice clear windshield on the finished model. A small amount of nose weight is required to prevent tail sitting, 20g being suggested in the instructions. Once the fuselage halves are together the main wheel bay is fitted to the under fuselage belly plate, which is then added. The wings are two pieces each, moulded with integral winglets which eliminates the need for getting them aligned properly as on kits where they are separate parts. The wings fit very well to the fuselage, followed by the tailplanes. On my earlier build the fit was so good that they can be added after painting, which makes masking very much simpler. Engines are nicely detailed with a two part core and separate intake fans and exhaust cones. These are fitted inside the two part pylon/cowling units, finished off with a one piece cowling front. The beauty of these is that you don't get an inside joining seam, the inner intake is completely smooth, so full marks to Revell for this. Once the engines and flap tracks are fitted to the wing, a choice can be made with the undercarriage, either up or down. The legs and wheels are so beautifully moulded, it would be a shame not to use them though. The clear sprue holds the cockpit windshield, which fits neatly into the slot in the fuselage. [Edit] Comparison of the Revell Embraer 195 fuselage(Aurigny) with this 190 kit, showing that Revell have correctly shortened it [/Edit] Markings Just one, as it says on the box 'Lufthansa new livery'. It is in overall white with silver leading edges on wings, engines, and tailplanes. The blue tailplane will need to be masked and painted by the modeller. The sheet looks to be high quality, with beautifully sharp and fine printing. Doors, stencils, and vents are well detailed, as are silver window surrounds. The cockpit windows get a very nice white surround, so there is no need to brush paint the frames. Options are given for seven different aircraft from the Lufthansa fleet, the only difference apart from the registration, is the the names that go under the 'Lufthansa CityLine' logo near the front doors. Conclusion This is a very nice kit to modern standards, which are few and far between for us airliner modellers. It is well moulded, builds easily and makes a surprising large model, similar in size to a Boeing 727-200. No glazing is supplied for the cabin windows, but the clear carrier film on the window decals will cover these. Alternatively Microscale Krystal Klear can be used, or you can fill them before closing the fuselage halves and use window decals. The Livery itself may not be to everyone's taste as it is rather plain and lacking in colour. However there is no shortage of aftermarket decals for the 190, including some very colourful options. As I said earlier, everyone from beginner to expert should get a good result from this kit. Highly recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Boeing 737-400 Thai. 1:144. Siam Scale Decals. This is the Daco/Skyline Boeing 737-400 in the previous livery of Thai Airways, which I think is one of the best ever. It looks lovely on all aircraft it has ever been applied to, it is a shame they replaced with a new livery. My Thai friends very kindly obtained the decals for me from Siam Scale, and I collected them on my last visit to Thailand. They look to be screen printed on moderate thickness carrier film, (rather like those in many Tamiya kits). The colours are spot on, and they go on to the model with no trouble at all. I was quite impressed with them. The only thing I did was to also apply the standard window decals from the Daco kit as they have the fine silver surround that the Siam Scale ones lacked. I hope you like it, this is the only 1:144 Thai 737 model I've seen, so it is something of a rare bird. As usual I cut away the solid cockpit section and replaced it with the clear part. This obliges me to scratch build a cockpit to fill the interior. My 3 Thai friends are crewing this flight, complete with the captain wearing the red LFC cap! The model awaiting the application of the decals: Thanks for looking, John

Boeing 737 Airfix 1:144 Braathens decals from Lima November I've developed a liking for taking an Airfix 737 out of the box and improving it. I must have done 5 or 6 now. Basic changes are: Lengthen the engines by 6mm Build up the pylons from the early skinny style to the more common fat type, Cut out the shallow main and nose wheelbays, and build new ones Cut away the cockpit and install a Daco Clear part from one of their 737 kits. Scratchbuilt a cockpit and out in a couple of N gauge seated figures for pilots. The basic mods make a huge difference to the appearance of thee model. Decals are from Lima November, and absolutely superb. The sheet gives you this style and he later one where the cheatline was dropped below the window level, but I prefer this. You also get every registration and fleet name for all Braathens 737-200's to choose from. (BTW, it is pronounced Brawtens, a double A in Norwegian is an 'AW' sound, There - my educational point for the day!). I really enjoyed building this, for once I didn't make any major bloopers. Can you see the co-pilot? The scratchbuilt wheel bays The crew are really difficult to photograph, but you can make them out here. In real life they are quite easy to see. And it wouldn't be complete without 'Something else' alongside! In this case a Welsh models Vac F-27 also with Lima November Braathens decals. The scratchbuilt cockpit Overview of the most obvious mods during construction. Thanks for looking John

I present in no particular order the dozen 1/144 airliners which I finished this year. I haven’t really been as productive as the number suggests - several of the models are delayed 2017 builds which for various reasons weren’t finished until early this year and some are older models which have been refurbished and repainted usually, although not always, quicker than building something new. The better and/or more interesting builds have been in RFI but several are appearing here for the first time. Thanks for looking and I hope you like my civilian collection. Happy Christmas and see you in 2019. Dave G Condor Boeing 707-430. Heavily modified Minicraft kit with decals from various sources. British Airways Boeing 767-336(ER). Revell kit with Two Six decals Air France Airbus A319-113. Revell kit with F-DCAL decals. Cambrian/BOAC Vickers Viscount 701. F-RSIN kit with Two Six decals Flybe Bombardier DHC-8-402 Q400. Welsh Models kit with RJS decals Hapag-Lloyd Express Boeing 737-4K5. Daco Skyline kit with mixed BOA, Drawdecal and Brasil decals. Built for the Boeing 737 STGB. LOT Boeing 787-85D. Revell kit with F-DCAL and Authentic Airliners decals Air UK Fokker F27-600. Doyusha kit with Two Six decals. Donbassareo Airbus A320-233. Revell kit with BS Modelle decals. Britannia Airways Boeing 737-204. Airfix kit with Two Six decals. SAS Scandinavian McDonnell-Douglas MD-81. Minicraft kit with Welsh Models decals. BOAC Cunard Vickers Super VC-10. Roden kit with Two Six decals.

Boeing 727-200. 1:144 Airfix kit. 26Decals Iberia 'Delivery scheme' sheet. This is the venerable old Airfix kit that originally appeared as a 727-100 in the late 1960's, and the mould was modified in the early 80's to make it into the stretched -200 version. It's a bit clunky by today's standards, but can be made into an acceptable model. Some mods I made were; Cut out the cockpit area and replaced it with a Daco clear cockpit section. It makes a big difference and is well worth doing. Scratch built a basic cockpit, seats & instrument panel. Reshaped the nose, as the kit has it a bit blunt. Cut the wing fence off the trailing edge, and made new ones on the leading edge. Scribed the wings. Scraped and sanded the hard line that runs back over the fin from the top of the engine intake. Removed it and blended the area smoother. 10 minute job, but again, it makes a noticeble difference. Replaced the wheel with a set of Brengun resin ones. Paint is Halfords appliance white, Alclad, and Tamiya acrylics, all sprayed. Hope you like it! 'With something else' could only be the Iberia DC-9, also an Airfix kit with 26Decals. Some WIP photos. The cockpit area cut away: Daco glazing trial fitted Cockpit painted up, Milliput on the nose to help with reshaping. overall view. Note the 'hard line' running onto the fin from the centre engine top has not yet been scraped & sanded away. Thanks for looking, John

Airbus A350 Thai Airways. 1:144 Revel kit with 26 Decals. I bought this kit when it first came out a few years ago, in the prototype scheme. I didn't much fancy doing that, so waited for some aftermarket producers to come out with some alternatives. Having a liking for all things Thai, I bought these decals from Two Six when they came out. I started the model a year ago, and more or less finished it by June of last year. It has been sitting on the workbench ever since, waiting for the aerials to be fitted. I'm having a bit of a purge of 'nearly finished' models on the bench, and this is the first one to be completed. The kit itself is excellent, the fit is amazing, one of the best I've ever worked on. The engine fans actually rotate if you blow on them. I haven't even glued the wings on, they push fit in and stay in place so well, that it gives me the option to detach them for storage. Now, I've got a couple of Airfix lightnings, a Wingnut Wings Albatros, an Eduard Pfalz, an Airfix DC-3, an Authentic Airliners 707, and two Group build 737's to be getting on with before the bench is clear. Anyway, after a long delay, this one is at last complete. I hope you like it. A couple of 'With something else' shots. It it a huge aeroplane, much bigger than I realised. Two regularly seen at Suvarnabhumi airport, teh A350 and an A320 of Bangkok Air Pretty much the same size as a 747, it's only slightly smaller; And the fit is so good I've left the wings detachable for storage; Thanks for looking, John

Fokker F-27, Air UK. 1/144 26 Models. This is the Eastern Express kit reboxed by Ray at 26 Decals, and offered at a considerably more reasonable price (£21 vs EE's retail price of £49.99), including a set of Rays' own Laser decals. It has the look of short run injection kit and definitely needs 'building', by which I mean parts need to be checked & fettled to get the best fit. And it needs filling and sanding along the way. That said, it does build into a nice little replica of the Friendship. The decals were laser printed on constant film, so needed individually cutting out, but they performed very well, and I really like this livery. 'With something else' A shortened Revell RJ70, also with 26 Decals on it A few words on construction. The kit actually comes with complete solid fuselage halves, a cockpit interior, and an optional clear part for the cockpit area. There won't be much point building the cockpit interior if you are going to put it inside the solid fuselage, as it will never be seen! Therfore I decided to use the clear section. Unfortunately there are no markings inside or the fuselage halves as to where you should cut, so I did it gradually, test fitting the clear part and cutting back until I had a suitable opening. It is not a brilliant fit, being too wide at the front end, but there is just enough material on it to sand it back and blend it in after gluing. This is the amount of solid area that needs removing from the fuselage halves. The next challenge was that the clear part is completely smooth and has no indication of the glazing panels. I put a sheet of clear plastic over the cockpit window on the decal sheet and a strip of Tamiya masking tape on it. I then made a set of masks matching the decals, and applied them to the clear part. Of course all this extra work can be avoided by not using the clear part and building it with the solid fuselage halves. Main airframe, filler was used! Not shown here are the props. They are fiddly to do as the spinners are in 2 parts with a back plate and forward spinner. You do get a choice of 2 different types of props though. I also replaced the 'towel rail' aerials on the fuselage underside with fine copper wire, and the above photos show I bent one during the photo session! I've straightened it out since. It is a nice little kit, but perhaps not one for the beginner. Thanks for looking, John

I know about the Douglas DC3 Dakota and C-47 Skytrain however, whilst looking for liveries of these types in civilian use, I've come across references for Dakota 4's. Can anyone help and explain what was different about the Dakota 4.? I would also like to know what, if any, visible differences were to be found between them and the DC3/C-47. I'm planning to build two or three DC3 kits as civil liveried postwar aircraft, for a small airport diorama, but some of their serials state them to be Dakota 4's. cheers Mike

I will go for my 'oldest' Airfix kit - the DH Comet 4B. It did occur to me that this might be a 'collector's piece' but I have decided I'm a 'builder', although I will keep the box with the finished model. I will be putting in a big effort (for me) by including after-market add-ons and really try for a pristine finish. It could represent the journey that some kits have been on... Raring to go and happy modelling all!

Hi, I gathered some components for eventually lighting up some of the models I'm going to build but never actually got around to do much with it except a few trials. To help with that, I wanted to ask you guys if someone would care to join in brainstorming some ideas? I was thinking, civil airliner lighting is pretty much standardized across airlines and models so, maybe we could start with these? Let's see: what are the standard lights? what colours would the lights have which ones are static (on/off) and which ones dynamic? which lights would be on in different stages? at the gate taxiing during take off in-flight during landing If it helps, we can start with a particular type like an A320 or 737... Eagerly waiting for your feedback! Cristian

Hi, new member here. The Story (feel free to skip) I am getting back into modelling after a brief suspension of, oh, about 41 years. I'm pretty sure the last model I built was in 1977 - I can't remember doing any in 1978 - that would have been an 1/72nd A6E Intruder... Back then I was in my teens, and a prolific if not exactly pro standard modeller. I'd model anything and everything, mixing all eras, scales, nearly always OOB, and they'd all end up festooning my bedroom ceiling gathering dust. After leaving home my parents reclaimed my room and unceremoniously dumped the lot; I don't think any survive. I started the hobby back in 1973, inspired by the jets I saw streaming out over our newly moved-to house in Hemel Hempstead. These were the Comets, Boeing 720s, 737s, Britannias, BAC 1-11s, and the best of the lot - the Court Line L-1011 TriStar that was brand new to Court and the UK that year. These colourful jets really made an impression on me, with that characteristic RB211 growl still at under 2000ft as they took off out of Luton over our house and school. Me and a friend would cycle up to Luton and gawp at the jets taxiing past the chainlink fence that marked the 'spectator area' in those days. I loved the Court liveries, they seemed so exciting and modern back then, and the TriStars were especially awesome. My planespotting friend and I vowed to become pilots. He did, I didn't - he now flies for EasyJet from Luton. I just write software. Anyway those planes inspired me in other ways, and one of the very first models I built was the Airfix TriStar. Of course it had to be in Court markings, not whatever the kit came with back in those days (maybe Air Canada?). I had no idea. There were no aftermarket decals available, and even if there were I wouldn't have known about them. I hand-painted the lot (with brushes) using approximations to the colours from the Humbrol range. The result was over garish, with horrible hand-painted cheat lines (not even masked). Gloss paint onto bare plastic, dust and fingerprints everywhere, seams unfilled. Yup, the typical rushed effort of a 11-year-old with no skills or patience. Still, I was happy enough with it. I did improve over the years, and the Intruder I built as my last effort to date was done pretty well I think (I owned the extremely crappy Humbrol hobby airbrush by then, powered by canned air). In thinking of restarting the hobby, I decided to see what was around on this internet resource thingy we have today, and discovered there are now aftermarket decals for the Court Line liveries. I also discovered this site, thanks to the inspirational efforts of others who have also 'done' the Court Tristars. In the intervening years I've forgotten a lot of the skills I'd gradually acquired, for what they were ever worth. But also, there are lots of new products and support for the hobby that I wasn't aware of back then. And of course there are a million YouTube videos to help learn how others do it - back in the day I rarely met other modellers, and I was usually ahead of where they were at (which nevertheless isn't saying much). The Model OK, so I have my subject. Initially, my first thought was simply to retread my steps and do the Airfix L-1011. I ordered one, but in the meantime thanks to this site and others I discovered that the Airfix version is not considered very accurate, and so I was advised (thanks Phil and Skodadriver) that the Eastern Express kit might be a better starting point. Once it arrived I compared the two and I can see that the Airfix one does have numerous shortcomings, so it was sound advice. The Eastern moulding also has excellent fine surface detail, though the overall quality of the parts fit and engineering is crude compared to Airfix. Still, I'll manage. I want to bring myself up to speed with the more realistic modelling that is in vogue these days (may have been back then, but I tended to build to a relatively pristine, unweathered finish), use a proper airbrush, photo-etch add-ons, extra detailing and scratching where needed to build something a bit more interesting. But also, since I'm so rusty, an airliner is a relatively simple build that shouldn't end up going unfinished due to overextending myself. But having said that, I decided to build it as if on short finals, with all the flaps hanging out, as that was often how I saw the plane in real life (or else shortly after take off). There's enough work in cutting out the flaps and building up additional details in the flaps mechanisms and undercarriage to make this a pretty good challenge. I'll also be using the Authentic Airliners decals for the windows, 26 Decals for the livery, and the Metallic Details PE kit. So I've made a start by tackling the most difficult bit (I think) first - the flaps. I carefully cut the flaps from the kit wings and used them with added styrene to build up the deployed flap shape. I then added the track fairings to the ends and shaped them. Using piano wire I made up the tracks/mountings. These will be hidden with some further styrene work and an added second upper flap (still to make), and some detailing on the exposed wing internals. At this stage I'm in two minds about the leading edges. I would like to set them deployed, but I'm not sure how to do it. Cutting out the leading edges of the wings would leave them with no material to join the upper and lower halves very well, so I'd prefer to simply add something over the top of the existing parts. Or I may end up deciding it's not worth the trouble. If anyone's actually interested in this build, I'm very keen to hear all possible advice and criticism - I want to do the best I can, but after so long there are probably good ways to do things that an experienced modeller can point out that I wouldn't be aware of. So please don't hold back if you see me doing something stupid, or think there's a better way to accomplish something. I'm hoping the build will take 6-8 weeks, work and other things permitting, but knowing me it'll probably overrun the estimate.

McDonnell Douglas MD-11 1:144 MikroMir After the first generation wide body airliners were established into service, thoughts naturally turned to the future. Of the major companies, Boeing continued to develop the 747 whilst also working on 767 and 777 next generation wide bodies, as did Airbus with the A330 & A340 . Lockheed were unable to do much more than offer minor variations to their Tristar, and Douglas were similarly short of cash, meaning that they too were not able to look at creating a new aircraft. There were several proposals from the 1970’s onwards to develop the DC-10 with fuselage stretches and reductions, but for one reason or another they came to nothing. It was not until 1986 that the MD-11 was finalised and offered for sale. The design featured a 5.6 metre fuselage stretch, redesigned wing & tail, a glass cockpit, and the use of composites in construction, and new fuel efficient engines. The MD-11 program suffered from various delays, and the first flight was seven months late, in January 1990. Performance was also below forecast, with the aircraft unable to meet its range/payload figures. December 1990 saw Finnair introduce the MD-11 into service just days before Christmas 1990. Several airlines were disappointed with their MD-11’s, American Airlines keeping their fleet barely 5 years and Singapore cancelling their entire order. Production lasted just seven years for the passenger version, with the final cargo MD-11’s being built in 2000, giving a total build of 200 MD-11’s of all versions. Of those still flying, all are cargo versions, with FedEx and UPS having the largest fleets. The Kit <EDIT> The completed model can now be seen in Ready for Inspection </EDIT> Developed in partnership with Eastern Express, the MD-11 is an all new tooling of this much wanted subject. Upon opening the box it is quickly apparent that it shares the same design approach as the Eastern Express L1011 Tristar released last year. The plastic is very similar, with the same delicately engraved panel lines and detailing, and most obviously a separate rear fuselage and fin unit. The two fuselage halves are quite big and will need their mating surfaces cleaned up and smoothed off with a sanding block. There are some sprue attachment and a little bit of flash, just as there is on the Tristar kit, and having built a Tristar I can say that it is a simple and quick job. Construction starts with the cockpit, which is very unusual for a 1:144 airliner, but most welcome if like me you sometimes find yourself scratch building to fill the empty space. With those large cockpit windows I expect that this detail should be visible on the completed model. With 10 parts to make up the nosewheel bay and leg there is also more detail than usual. We have come a long way since the shallow recesses provided as wheel bays on the likes of Airfix airliners. With the bay and cockpit completed, they can be inserted into one fuselage half, and fuselage closed up. The instructions show the two main fuselage halves being joined, then the two rear fuselage sections being joined to each other, before bringing the two units together. Personally I prefer to avoid this method, as it often seems to result in a ’step’ on the join. I have not tried it on this kit, so it may be feasible, but on my Tristar I joined the tail units to their respective fuselages, to make two ‘normal’ fuselage halves. If you do the job on a flat surface, everything should be in line. The Tristar came out with an almost perfect join, so I will be tempted to do it this way with the MD-11 kit as well. The cockpit glazing is done with a complete unit, including the roof. The moulding captures the look of the DC-10/MD-11 cockpit windows very well, so I’ll be interested to see how it looks on the completed fuselage. A set of pre cut window masks is on the main masking sheet. The wings have restrained engraved panel lines and are nicely shaped, having the distinctive kink at the roots from mid chord to trailing edge Not easy to photograph, but I’ll give it a try. The engines in this kit are the General Electric CF6-80C2D1F, with separate hot and cold sections, compressor and turbine fan discs. The no.2 engine (tail) is also provided in full, which is pleasing to see. Most MD-11’s used this engine, although there was the option of the Pratt & Whitney 4460 or 4462. I believe that a version of the kit may be produced in the future with the P&W engines. The fuselage underside has a large insert for the wing box, in a style that will be familiar to anyone who has built any of Revell’s wide body Airbus kits. Interestingly a spar is also provided, which goes in before the under fuselage part. The wings later slide over this stub spar, which should add strength and assist in getting the wing to fuselage join lined up. . The landing gear legs are well detailed, including the characteristic central main gear leg, but all the wheels are in halves. The hub detail on them is excellent, and very sharply defined. It is a small point, but I always appreciate the wheel hubs being clearly defined from the tyre like this. It makes painting them so much easier, quite important when there are 24 hub ‘sides’ to do. Decals and markings. The box top has a very distinctive looking MD-11 of Finnair on it, and you can’t fail to notice all the cartoon characters down the side. These are the ‘Moomins’ from the childrens stories by Finnish author Tove Jansson. I know this because when my daughter was young, we had Moomin books, videos, and toys in the house! The big decal sheet contains all the Moomin decals for OH-LGF, and an alternative Santa and his sleigh scheme for OH-LGC. The printing looks really good, the colours are right, the print itself is razor sharp, and everything is in perfect register. Without a doubt these are the best decals I have yet seen from MikroMir. It they work as good as they look, I’ll be well satisfied. The Belgian airline CityBird is provided as a third option, but is only shown on the side of the box, so airliners.net will be your friend if you go for this one. The big ‘CityBird’ logos are not decals, but come as masks, meaning that you really need to spray these. (Or maybe its just me, but I’ve always had paint ‘creep’ under masks when using a brush, whereas I’ve never had any trouble with spraying I used masks on a BPK ‘Air Canada Jazz’ Bombardier CRJ-200, and was very impressed with them). Conclusion Airliner modellers have long had the MD-11 near the top of their with list, so this release is very much appreciated. It has a slight ‘limited run’ look to the plastic parts, with the fuselage mating seam needing cleaning up, the rear fuselage being separate, and the wheels being all in halves. None of this will be of much importance to most builders though, as at long last we have an injection moulded MD-11 . The quality of all the mouldings look to be very good, the fine recessed lines are very restrained and delicate, to the point that you won’t want to lose them by using too many coats of primer and paint. Undoubtedly it will build up into an impressive model, I think it is a good looking aircraft, and an essential one to have in any collection of modern airliners. It’s great to see that after many years of ’drought’, new airliner models have been released in the past couple of years, and with the Argosy & D-11 MikroMir provided a couple from near the top on many peoples ‘wants‘ list.. Already the aftermarket producers have released numerous decal sheets for the various airlines who operated MD-11’s , so it looks set to be a popular model, and deserves to be. Highly Recommended Review sample courtesy of

Boeing 737-300 Norway Airlines. Daco/Skyline kit This will be my second entry, the superb Skyline kit paired up with a set of equally lovely LN Decals. Norway Airlines only lasted about 3 years from 1989 to 1991 operating 2 737-300's, only LN-NOS wore their complete livery. LN-NOR wore a hybrid Air Europe livery due to Norway Airlines having a subcontract with Air Europe, resulting in some interesting combinations of the 2 liveries. The kit ready to go; Th LN Decals sheet with 3 permutations of livery; I'll be doing LN-NOS in the full Norway Airlines Livery. John

Boeing 737-130 Lufthansa. Airfix kit modified. My first entry will be the 737-130 in its Lufthansa delivery scheme. My understanding is that although delivered like this, the tailfin was repainted in the then new scheme of overall blue, with the yellow Lufthansa 'roundel' before it was put into service. The fuselage will need shortening, and the engines will require a fair bit of rework. The very early 731's had engine pods developed from the 727 nacelles and were much shorter than the later ones. I'm still looking for some good drawings of them if anyone can help! I'll also be cutting away the cockpit roof and replacing it with the excellent clear part from a Daco/Skyline 737, as it massively improves the look of the Airfix kit. Here's where we start; Nice laser decals from Nick Webb at http://www.classic-airlines.com/ Note the short engine nacelles with the 727 style 'bump' on the rear underside for the thrust reversing mechanism; Should be fun, and will complete my collection of 737s from the -100 to -900. John

Hoping to finally show winter the door with something a bit breezy and tropical: the Revell (ex-Matchbox) DHC-6-300 Twin Otter, in the sunny livery of InterCaribbean (formerly Turks & Caicos) Airlines. As one of Matchbox's better late issues, the kit holds up reasonably well in its current Revell/Germany release. Old options still included are skis and floats as landing gear alternatives, and choice of the blunt short nose (used on military aircraft) or the longer tapered 'shovel' nose I used on my civil build. Build was pretty much out-of-box, with a few minor add-ons. The kit's completely blank cabin got some basic 'seat shapes' to have something visible through all those windows. I slipped several fishing sinkers into the nose, to keep her solidly on all three wheels. The simplified landing gear itself got a semblance of brakes for the main wheels, and scissors for the nose strut to replace the solid triangular chunk on the molding. Remaining additions were mainly assorted exterior bits and bobs such as windscreen wipers, aerials, and slightly more petite pitot heads to replace the large kit parts. Last necessary fix---for a grounded bird---was to remember to feather the props, since they do so automatically once hydraulic pressure bleeds off. Decals were home-made, based on the lovely photo of the same aircraft on the Airline's own website. Paints were mainly Tamiya acrylics, with special Testors fluorescent acrylics for some of the bright tail colors. There are a few things I'll do differently next time...one structural, one cosmetic. As to structure, the kit's main gear axles are especially spindly, and might best be replaced with heavy-gauge wire or even paper-clip sections. The cosmetic fix will be more challenging: the kit's windscreen isn't quite wide enough, and the 'A pillars' (to use an automotive term) consequently too wide; this does much to lend a 'blocky' look to what is supposed to be the Twin Otter's fairly sleek cockpit area. (There are some other problems with this area on the kit, but that's for those far more expert than I.) All in all, a nice winter-beating project. I hope you enjoy the pics.

RAF Britannia C1 XM496 'Regulus' 26 Models kit, 1/144. The bus is an Oxford diecasts 'N' gauge model. Since seeing Ian Turbofan's and Dave Skoadriver's lovely Roden Britannias, I thought I must get one. Well here we are! This is from Ray at 26 decals, who sells several versions of the Roden kit with various option of his own decal sheets, all a bargain price. Rather than a civvy scheme I opted for this RAF version as I have happy memories of seeing them at Brize Norton in the 70's on several trips with the Air Cadets. As Ian and Dave pointed out, the kit is a real beauty, one of the best airliner kits available. I chose XM496 simply because it is the only genuine RAF Britannia still in existence. the only mods I made were to add a small teardrop blister on the underside between the wings. I struggled to find references, and just 'eyeballed' it from photos cutting up a 1/72 bomb to make the shape.. It meant that the underside 'towel rail' aerials were relocated to the top, again located according to photos. The underside 'teardrop'; I also opened up the cockpit area and scratched up some basic detail, as I was masking the cockpit glazing to leave it clear. The windows are so tiny, that I might not bother to do it again. So what next? I've got this lined up. Airfix VC10 with Braz Super VC10 conversion. Some guidance would be appreciated here, I think all I need is the leading edge extensions and engines/pylons, & some wing fences. The RAF VC10's were standard fuselages with these other 'Super' fittings right? Cheers John

I decided to combine a current 'civil aircraft' streak with taking a kick back at bleak winter, by doing Revell's (ex-Matchbox) lovely little 1/72 DHC6 Twin Otter, with bright tropical markings suggestive of sunshine, balmy breezes, steel drums...and perhaps a few rum-laced libations. I have never built the kit before, but multiple online reviews uniformly laud it as one of Matchbox's very best late efforts, with much more subtle surface detail than their generally-well-earned reputation for 'trench'-style panel lines would suggest. I have what I believe is the most current boxing from Revell Germany, with markings for the Swiss Topographic Office: The kit still comes with its original options of long or short nose, and floats and skis for the landing gear. All of those will go into the spares box except the long nose. I began by sanding off the molded-in raised panels---what I presume are wind deflectors of some sort---adjacent to the forward cabin window on each side, since the photo I'm working from shows these locations as flush panels. The kit has a reasonably well-appointed cockpit...but nothing at all for the cabin between the cockpit and aft fuselage bulkhead. The clear cabin windows are fairly thick and non-optical...but there are a lot of them...so I opted to rough out a very basic interior, consisting of a simple floor and seats made up mainly from scrap left over from my last project. The seats will be painted a dark color, so no real detail was needed: I just wanted 'seat shapes' to be visible through the plentiful cabin windows. As to these windows...they started the project off with a truly delightful surprise. As I said, they're rather thick...but the fit to the fuselage is better, bar none, than any similar kit I've built in my 5+ decades in the hobby. The windows are molded individually, so there's no 'mounting strip' to obstruct the fit (as they typically seem to do); and best of all, they are cleanly beveled to match the fuselage openings. All I had to do was lay each piece in its little cut-out, and hit the corner with the slightest touch of Tamiya Extra-Thin; the cement wicked cleanly and perfectly around each rim, leaving no worry about water-based clear adhesives weakening and windows possibly popping loose in mid-project, or while trying to mask. That's it for the present. Thanks for looking in.

I just joined Britmodeller; wanted to share some of my work of completed models that are "ready for inspection." Constructive criticism is always welcome! Hope you enjoy! Heller 1/72 scale TWA Boeing 707-323. "Out of the box" build, using Alclad aluminum and Tamiya white paint, 26 Decals, Liveries Unlimited Decals, and Nazca detail decals. Airfix 1/144 scale Eastern Airlines Boeing 727-200. I used Alclad aluminum and Tamiya white paint, Liveries Unlimited and Nazca detail decals, and Braz landing gear. Airfix 1/144 scale Southern Airways DC-9-32. "Out of the box" build, with Liveries Unlimited decals. Revell 1/144 scale Boeing 747-400 "City of Detroit." I used Tamiya red, gray, and white, Alclad aluminum paints, Draw Decals, Flight Designs Decals, and Aerocolours decals, ExtraTech photoetch details, and Braz engines.

Hello everyone! Such a joy to be able to join in here at BritModeller! I am new to this site, and am eager to share my work for constructive criticism, to learn from those of you that have considerbable experience, and enhance my skills in civil model airliner making. I have been building since I was a young lad, having lined the shelves in my room at home with model airliners, then growing up, not building for many years, and returning to the hobby, only to find so many changes and so many skilled builders that enjoy it as much as I do! I'm ready to show some of my work, but wanted to introduce myself before hand. Currently living in Alabama, in the USA, and work as a professional corporate pilot flying the Bombardier Challenger 350/300 series aircraft. My collection of unbuilt kits far exceeds the built ones...I have enough to keep me busy til the end of my days, but then...who's counting? Sometimes the fun is just having the kits on hand! Enough about me...let's get going! To begin with...I would greatly appreciate some direction and instruction from anyone as to how to display some photos here, and in which forums to place them. I have discovered how to successfully post photos, so to that end, I have been successful, though no posts here yet. I have a few that are "ready for inspection," as well as one on the workbench now that is "in progress" with a long way to go before finishing.

Here’s a roundup of the 1/144 airliners I finished in 2017. Most of the models have been in RFI but there are one or two new to BM. As usual a few builds didn’t work out (notably the over-priced, over-hyped Eastern Express/MikroMir MD11) but overall I’m happy with how things went in 2017 and I’m hoping 2018 will be equally productive. Roden Douglas DC-6 with F-DCAL decals Hybrid Roden/Minicraft Douglas DC-6B with TwoSix decals Minicraft Douglas DC-4 with F-DCAL decals Revell Airbus A319 with F-DCAL decals Revell Airbus A319 with TwoSix decals (an old model which was stripped and re-finished) Revell Airbus A320 with Nazca decals (another old model which was stripped and re-finished) Revell Airbus A321 with Liveries Unlimited decals Revell Airbus A330-300 with BraZ engines and TwoSix decals DACO Skyline Boeing 737-300 with Drawdecal decals Revell Boeing 737-800 with BraZ engines and Nazca decals.

Vickers Viscount 701. Early BEA Scheme. Converted from 1:144 S&M Models Viscount 800. The Viscount served BEA very well from 18 April 1953 when series 701 G-AMNY operated the worlds first regular turboprop service, until the last service flown on 28 March 1982 by 806 series aircraft G-APIM. Incidentally, G-APIM is preserved at the Brooklands museum.Such a significant aircraft deserves to be modelled, and when I found this decal sheet at classic-airlines.com, the project was on! As I had a few of the S&M 1:144 Viscounts in the stash, I decided to try modifying one from an 800 series machine to a 700 series. The major difference was to shorten the forward fuselage by 8mm and try to reduce the bulging of the engine cowlings. I'm not after a competition winner here, just a bit of enjoyment from enhancing a basic kit. Cutting out & rejoining the fuselage went remarkably well, and the join vanished under a coat of primer. I also did quite a bit of reshaping of the kits nose area as it is far too blunt as it comes 'out f the box'. I reshaped it side to side & top & bottom with Milliput and sanding until I got it to look like it does in photographs. The noseleg was also shortened a touch, and an air intake fashioned from a section of sprue, and glued on the underside near the trailing edge of the wing. Paint on the fuselage & cowlings is Alclad highly polished aluminium, as these aircraft had almost a mirror like polish to them. I did the wings in a duller aluminimium from Vallejo 'Metal Colour' Aluminium to provide some contrast. The white is Halfords appliance white. The decal sheet does not have any white printed on it, so the white top demarcation with the silver fuselage sides had to be vary carefully masked to give a white pinstripe under the Peony cheatline. Likewise the badges on the nose needed an underlay cut from white decal sheet. The underlay was applied first, then the 'BEA Sir Ernest Shackleton' decal on top. Because I had reshaped the nose, the peony trim was a little fiddly to apply, but I did it in sections to leave white stripes in in, and it wasn't too difficult. The 26 Decals detail sheet was used for the panellines & wing details. It adds hugely to this model and is almost essential. I'm reasonably happy how it turned out, I'm trying to use up the 3 S&M kits I got at a bargain price and this seemed like a good way to use one up. With the BCAL 800 that's 2 down and 1 more to go, with a British Midland waiting its turn on the workbench now! Thanks for looking, John <Edit>18 Dec 2017</> A short update... Ian (Turbofan) noticed that this livery had 'BEA' logos on the upper & lower wings, and very kindly produced some decals for me; Easily applied; Thanks Ian!