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Here is the Revell A330-300 converted to a -200 and finished as OY-GRN “Norsaq” of Air Greenland. Norsaq was built in 1998 and delivered to Sabena as OO-SFP. She joined Air Greenland in 2002 serving as their flagship until retirement in February 2023 and replacement by A330-800 OY-GKN. Norsaq was subsequent sold for parting out. On her final flight from Copenhagen to Tucson she made a low pass over Greenland’s capital Nuuk and most of the population turned out to wave her off. Converting the Revell A330-300 to a -200 is theoretically straightforward. The -200 is ten frames shorter than the -300 and it’s easy enough to remove six windows ahead of the wing and four aft. I used the BraZ replacement nose (more of that in a moment) so at the front I just cut off the necessary length for it plus six windows. I had previously borrowed the kit’s fin for use on an A310 and I replaced it with a tall post-modification fin from BraZ which was warped and needed softening in boiling water to straighten it. Also the fairings at the base needed to be reduced in width by about 50%. I found this photo helpful for getting the fairings correct. The BraZ replacement nose was a saga in itself. The main issue was that it didn’t match the cross section of the Revell fuselage and if it had been assembled as intended there would have been significant steps at the top and bottom. I believe BraZ worked from the actual Airbus drawings so the chances are they are right and Revell are wrong but that doesn’t solve the problem. Again I used boiling water to soften the resin after which I bent the rear of the nose halves closer to the Revell cross section. I then superglued them together at the bottom after adding the Revell wheel well and a decent amount of weight. Once the bottom joint was set I wedged the top joint apart and glued the assembly to the fuselage using 5 minute epoxy while trying (not very successfully) to align the top and sides with the Revell parts. The result was not pretty as the photo shows but after gap filling (scrap plastic, superglue and baking powder), copious quantities of Milliput and numerous rounds of sanding it more or less passed the T.L.A.R. test. A further annoyance is that the BraZ panel lines bear no relationship to the Revell ones. I took the line of least resistance and just filled everything. Unfortunately using the BraZ nose also means you lose the kit’s nicely detailed forward baggage door but there isn’t much you can do about that. The original Revell A330 was issued with GE and PW engines but both are poor. Norsaq had PWs and I replaced the kit engines with LACI’s 3D printed ones (LAC144134). Small fairings and other details came from plastic strip and sheet. The satcom bump is by BraZ. Red paint is Halfords Hyundai Electric Red. Sources disagree about the colour of the wings. Drawdecal say grey with coroguard which is definitely wrong while Lima November say plain Airbus grey. However photos suggest strongly that they were actually white. After much staring at Airliners.net and JetPhotos (especially this image) I decided that white was indeed correct, a conclusion supported by the fact that Norsaq would have had white wings in her original Sabena livery. I therefore finished the wings, stabs and engine pylons with the usual Appliance Gloss White. Metallics are by Tamiya and Revell. Decals are a mixture of Drawdecal and Lima November, mainly the former. I added Authentic Airliners windows and a few bits and pieces from the spares box. Because of the design of the Drawdecal decals I had to overlay the AA cabin windows which inevitably were differently spaced so all 112 of them had to be applied individually, the sort of modelling job which makes me question my sanity. Never mind, we got there in the end and the conversion, which was spread over about eighteen months, was actually quite an enjoyable project despite the problems. The finished result isn’t perfect by any means but I’m reasonably happy with it. If nothing else the large red model is a bit different and shows the “all airliners are white and boring” nonsense for what it is. Since I began this model the Zvezda A330-300 has arrived on the market. In theory it should be a big improvement on the Revell kit although discussion on Airliner Cafe has flagged up an issue with the sit of the Trent engines. I have one on order and I’ll form my own conclusions before deciding whether to dispose of the remaining Revell kits in my stash or hang on to them. Although the Zvezda kit isn’t cheap it should produce an accurate A330-300 without the additional cost and hassle of a (very) badly fitting resin nose and expensive 3D printed engines. Thanks for looking and constructive criticism is always welcome. Dave G

The LACI catalogue is downloadable here: https://laci-ltd.uk/en/content/19-catalogue-2024 V.P.

Here is my latest finished model. I have built the well known Zvezda kit using the decals by F-DCAL. Additionally I acquired the LACI engine (3D-printed) and so I had to create a maintenance scene. Something must be wrong with the thrust reverser system and the flight engineer and a mechanic are taking care of this problem. Globus Airlines was formed 2008 by the S7 Airlines but ceased operations in 2019 again. For the maintenace platform I used Preiser figures and Evergreen profiles. Thanks for watching!

Here is my latest update of an Airfix golden oldie - the Boeing 737 finished as G-BMEC of Air Europe while operating for British Airtours in 1983. Between 1983 and 1986 Air Europe and British Airways had a “swap lease” arrangement which gave BA access to Air Europe aircraft particularly in the winter months when their own aircraft were undergoing scheduled maintenance. It benefitted Air Europe by keeping their aircraft in the air when there was less demand for holiday charter flights. Updating the old Airfix kit to Advanced standards was good fun. Here is a quick run down on what I did: 1. Cockpit roof and windscreen replaced with spare part from Zvezda 737-700 (much easier to fit than the Daco part). 2. Zvezda kit used as pattern to reshape the Airfix nose. 3. Wheel wells opened up and main well fitted with a “roof” cloned from a Daco kit using Oyumaru and Milliput. 4. Lowest hinge on fin/rudder filled. 5. Daco p/e used for pitots and other small details. 6. Engines replaced with LACI JT8D-15s. These are beautiful and LACI have really nailed the appearance of the Advanced engines, at least to my eyes. You also get the choice of open or closed thrust reversers. Fit to the Airfix wings is adequate rather than good but the end result is way better than I could have achieved by modifying the kit parts. Paint is Halfords Appliance Gloss White and Racking Grey with metallics from Tamiya and AK Interactive. Decals are a mix of Classic Airlines and Flightpath with detail decals from the spares box and an Authentic Airliners windscreen. Coroguard is also by Flightpath. Thanks for looking and constructive criticism is always welcome. I haven’t decided on my next Airfix update but a Trident and an A300 do their best to catch my eye any time I’m in the loft. Dave G Posing with another couple of Airfix upgrades - the DC-9 and Caravelle: The gorgeous LACI engines assembled and primed: