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My first big build after nearly 4 months of forced absence due to our house renovation...What would be a better start than a 747 ? Lots of cursing had been heard/read about the Revell 747-400,esp. for the Iron Maiden release being a very bad kit. Well to be honest...yes its a truly awful kit. I built the Revell 747-400 British Airways version that comes with Rolls Royce engines,and being, apart from the engine types,the same kit,those moulds were not as problematic as with this offering here. Lots and lots of excess plastic on virtually every part (these would have well given enough material to do another kit),very thin moulded parts,one engine half was unusable. Luckily I had some replacements in my spares box. Adding the shape issues that plagues the 747-400 kit,it is a shame that Revell didn't put in some more effort in this release or even better,created completely new moulds. Esp. the Iron Maiden version tempted probably many modelling unexperienced people to buy this kit,the results can be frustrating and off putting,a shame as it would have been a nice and original entry into the world of airliner modelling or modelling in particular. The owner of my local modelshop told me about some very disappointed customers who bought this kit and tried to build it. Experienced modellers will have probably much less trouble with it but here Revell surely missed a chance here and one can only think of being cheated by this company. If one make a repack and put this kit in an Eastern Express box,no one could tell the difference... Well,having learnt some lessons while building the BA Landor 747-400,I thought I will have another go on a Revell 747-400 and get me one of these Iron Maiden kit. Corrections / alterations I did on this build; - Correcting the noseshape,but not widening the front end,and using decals for the cockpit windows - Replacing the locator pins on the elevators with aluminium wires to give more stability - Adding hydraulic cables son the main gear - Putting in some sprues in the wing section of the fuselage to strengthten this section for a better stability when gluing in the underfloor plate - Replacing the APU with a plastic pipe cut to shape - Sanding down the wing halfs on the inside before glueing together to get a better wing profile.The wings are too thick out of the box - Using the Flying colour detail decal set for the 747 to enhance the overall appearance Once every part was cleaned,filled and sanded to shape and corrected where needed,the build itself was pretty straight.Problems came when dryfitting the wings...One wing half was a bit shorter than the other,thus creating a gap at the fuselage join.This was corrected by cutting a piece of Evergreen plastic to shape and glued on the lower wing root. I find it much easier to build and paint the parts in sections and then put the model together.It safes a lot of masking and time. By doing so on this kit,I had to correct all parts upfront to guarantee a smooth fit. Small gaps that could not be prevented were filled with Crystal Clear and these sections were then painted in the required color after drying. Paints used for this build;Tamyia Pure white from a rattle can for the fuselage,Revell white airbrushed on the engines, Testors Canadian Woodoo Gray for the wings and landing gears,Mr.Color Super Metallic Chrome Silver for the leading edges and engine inlets. The coroguard panels are a mixture of Revell grey 374,Silver 90 and black 08. The fuselage received a cote of Testors metallic sealer after the white was on to give it a smoother,more realistic look. After the decals were on,a cote of "Future" was applied to seal them. The decal set,again a superb work of quality from Daco,are very nice to apply and also the big fin decal went on and around the edges just beautifully. Overall and despite the faults with the kit,I enjoyed this build and the final result is better than I expected. Its a unique livery and makes this 747 a very special one in every Jumbo collection. On with the photos,taken on the new balcony and my critic (Kitty)