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The Tupolev Tu-104 (NATO code Camel) was an airliner developed on the basis of the Tu-16 bomber. The Tu-104 was also the second commercial jet airliner after de Havilland Comet. In the Soviet Union the plane type was widely used until the late1970’s. The Tu-104 A version was an improvement of the original prototype. The capacity of the plane grew to 70 seats, and a total of 80 of that particular model were built. The Czechoslovakian state airline, ČSA, acquired six aircraft in its fleet in 1957, and ČSA was also the only foreign airline to operate the Tu-104 in addition to Aeroflot. I built my model from an Amodel 1/144 scale, limited-run kit. Despite my doubts, it was surprisingly good in quality and detail, although I had to do quite a bit of puttying and sanding. The smallest parts, such as the antennas and pitot tubes were quite thick and ill molded and that’s why I ordered an NH Details photoetch set to replace them. I decided to build the CSA Tu-104A with the registration number OK-LDA (Praha). Since I had chosen to fill the cockpit and cabin windows, I had to get new decals and windows from the aftermarket. The BOA Decals sheet was very nice and detailed and they also had a very stylish livery to choose from. That was the scheme to commemorate the airline's 40th anniversary with the coat of arms of the city of Prague and the 40 years of the airlines' operation. There were also antenna wires that ran from the tail of the plane to the front of the fuselage. I modelled them from a 0.08 millimeter fishing line. I painted the white areas of the model with Tamiya's Fine Surface primer, which I then coated with Tamiya’s gloss varnish rattle can spray TS-13. The metal coloured areas I painted with Alclad Aluminum and I also used several Vallejo and Humbrol shades for the smaller details. This an interesting photo I took with my crappy camera from the observation deck of the Stockholm Arlanda airport in the summer of 1969. I was at that time an active 14 years old plane spotter. After a close scrutiny of the picture (where the register code is not visible) I found out that the plane, despite its similar livery to my model is not a Tu-104 but a shortened version i.e. Tu-124