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My latest build is one that has been on my wish list for a long time: the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar. As some of you may know, I am a big fan of Tri-jets and have built the Trident, Yak 40, Yak 42, Boeing 727, Tu-154M, DC-10 and MD-11. So basically all of them with the exception of the L-1011. My KLM DC-10 took almost 70 hours to complete (because of all the metal colours) and as with the DC-10, most liveries for the L-1011 have metallic undersides and engines and I didn't feel like spending another 70 hours on this kit. Thus, I went looking for a relatively easy livery. And luckily I found one: The Air Atlanta livery (specifically TF-ABV) which has a completely white fuselage and engines. Boring? Maybe, but nice looking white isn't ugly and besides, the wings were challenging enough, since the flaps are metallic, with difficult shapes. The L-1011 project was launched in March 1968 (first flight in November 1970) and set a new standard in technology and safety for wide-body jetliners. The L-1011 was Lockheed's only commercial jetliner and its design was based on an American Airlines request for a large-capacity, medium-range aircraft. It also became Lockheed's last civil aviation aircraft. The success of the aircraft was hampered by high inflation at the time, but especially by competition from the Douglas DC-10. In addition, the bankruptcy of manufacturer Rolls-Royce with the only engine option (the RB-12) was a major blow. A cash injection from the British and American governments eventually saved Roll-Royce and with it the L-1011, but the damage was already done. Only 250 aircraft were built (against more than 440 of the DC-10, which also wasn’t great for Douglas). However, the L-1011 was certainly a technically advanced, safe and perfectly capable aircraft. The kit is once again from Authentic Airliners. Injection molded kits are also available, but as with the DC-10, the Authentic Airliners kit is by far the most accurate. Decals are from 26decals and the cockpit and window decals from Authentic Airliner decals. I also used Nazca for the Corroguard as well as some details. I used Tamiya TS-26 for the white parts and MRP Boeing Grey for the grey parts. For the slats and flaps I used Allclad Airframe Aluminum with a mist of Inspire Chrome to give it a bit more shine. The exhaust were airbrushed using semi-polished aluminum. Anyway, enough talk. On with the pictures: And one quick final picture with the Lockheed L-14 from F-RSIN also in 1:144. Hard to believe that only 33 years sit between these two aircraft! And with that, my Tri-jet journey is finally over! As for my future projects: I'm currently working on the SE.2010 Armagnac as well as the Antonov-140, but my next wide-body build is going to be the A340-600 in Star Alliance (Lufthansa) colours, also from Authentic Airliners. Thanks for reading and see you next time! ~Martijn~

My recently finished builds are mostly Hasegawa 1/200 kits,and these are the first that came off the assembly line. This was one of Hasegawa's 2in1 kit releases and offers to build 3 ANA versions to be build,although you have to decide which one of the Triton Blue version you want to build. The bare metal underbelly or the all grey underbelly, like the TriStar was before retirement in 1995. I opted for the very first TriStar in the "Mohican" scheme as they were delivered in 1973 and the "Triton Blue" last flight livery with the all grey underbelly As for all Hasegawa LL200 airliner kits,the build is straight forward with no issues at all. I really love those kits as they offer easy,fun builds with quick results. The only thing I changed were the engine exhausts on the Triton version,which had to be shortened to match the later version engines. The Mohican version was left with the longer exhausts as offered in the kit. Painted entirely by airbrush using Revell and Testors enamels and coted with my Media Range Color protection spray. The windows were filled with Krystal Klear.The cockpit windows were painted inside black as the empty cockpit looked a bit off through the clear cockpit windows. Thanks for looking.... And group shots of the 2 TriStars...