Minicraft Boeing 707-320

[garryrussell]

You need to check the turbo compressers.

They can be on all four with the 320...South African Airways 344 for example

Some military 707-320 have them on all four too.

There were a few 707 with only two...not sure which marks and AFAIK all 430 had four, but it's generally accepted they were on engines 2,3,4 but that is not always the case.

The 707 is definately one type that shpould never be started without good reference to the particular airframe at the correct point in it's life.

[Jessica]

Just for fun I taped a -320C kit together, then took pictures and did a little manipulation

I didn't get then exactly the same size, but the red elipses show where the -320C wing is larger than the standard -320/420 wing.

[woody37]

Just putting this into the thread so everyone can see it. Bradley and I are agreed that if someone from much nearer to him than Canada has a set of engines the postage would be easier on his pocketbook. Any takers?

Woody, your 707 is bang on. Those "intakes above the engines" are the turbocompressor cowls, and they're exactly correct; they were never on pylon #1

Thanks Jessica, this was the Minicraft 320 OOB as far as the engines are concerned, so isn't this what Bradley has ?

[Jessica]

Thanks Jessica, this was the Minicraft 320 OOB as far as the engines are concerned, so isn't this what Bradley has ?

Not necessarily. There are 2 different wings and at least 3 different engines the Minicraft 707 could have in the box, and every so often they get it wrong. That also doesn't count buying the wrong boxing for the version you want to do. I think that's the case for Bradley's kit. His kit is the TWA -320 kit which comes with the JT-4 engines but his desired subject is a BOAC -320C. If his kit has the correct wings for its version he's going to need to swap them too. He might be better off swapping his entire kit with someone who has the Northwest Airlines boxing which was the subject of my review. That one's correct for what he wants to do.

Incidentally Bradley, I'm pretty sure I have a spare Northwest kit around here if you want to do that swap.

[madaboutmodels]

That would be a good idea, but postage would murder me...

Also looking at the wing im more confused, the 707 is a pain, this is the wing i have.

John, loom what you have caused..... lol

[bzn20]

BOAC's 2 707-336c 'szf and 'szg had JT-3D engines,these had auxillary intake doors on the 1st section of cowling,see below for link.

http://airlineindustryreview.com/st-akw-a-photographic-farewell/

go to bottom pic.a close up of a No 1 position "pratt" with aux doors just open.

as far as the 707-400 go the only one i know got converted to freighter was a -430 ex lufthansa ended up in africa.

No1 pylons i've found quite a few 707's with No1 pylon turbo compressor.the JT3C AND JT4 and conway JETS had 4 pylon cabin pressurisation turbo compressors

the pylons/engines on the 336c model above are correct.good model btw woody!

[Jessica]

Okay, that's the straight -320/420 wing, not the -320C wing you need. You know what? You have a perfect opportunity to do a BOAC passenger -420 right out of the box. The JT-4 nacelles are pretty much the same as the Conways (just use the other set of organ pipes instead of the ones the kit suggests. IIRC the Conway's organ pipes were shorter) and leave off the "cargo" titles.

Just make it look like this.

[madaboutmodels]

Hi Jessica

That was the back up, but i already have a -420 in BEA Airtours, the plan was to do something different, so i just need to change th pipe organs?

the 707 is a nightmare, how would i go about converting one to a 720?

[bzn20]

the 720 is a different kettle of fish!

the wing inbd of 2 &3 engines is a different sweep back angle and the fuse is shorter,if there is a -120 kit about the fuse is the same.

the 720 has the same engine differences problems as you have with the 336c.there maybe a wing root mod kit available that fits over the 707 leading edge.the trailing edge has differences too.there are other things aswell i cant remember them all.

Edited August 28, 2012 by bzn20

[garryrussell]

The 707-120 and 720 fuse are not the same

The 720 fuse is about eight foot eleven shorter that a 707-120

The QANTAS -138 was a 120 with a ten foot shorter fuse making it thirteen inches shorter than a 720.

[bzn20]

yeah,you're right! 100" shorter,it was the wing span that was the same as the -120.the wing was "thinner" inbd for a higher cruise speed.

the original boeing model# was the 717 which had been used once already on the c-135 programme,then 707-020,eventually they settled on 720 as the aircraft had sufficient differences to warrant a new model number

[Jessica]

The best way to do a 720 is the Welsh Models kit. Converting a Minicraft -320 to a 720 is possible, but you'd have to correct literally every part of the model; it's major, major surgery. You may as well start with a Cessna 152 kit and convert that to a 720; the work involved would be about the same.

[stevesig]

720 - you could try shortening the Revell - 100 kit and adding the wing gloves. (check out the thread over on the FB Airliner Modelling Group)

[living legend]

Its really not that bad. Ok yes it is, here's a breakdown:

707-120/138/220 straight trailing edge.

707-120b/138b/720/720b straight trailing edge plus leading edge glove.

707-320/420 single trailing edge kink.

707-320b/320badv/320c dogtooth leading edge, double kink trailing edge and flared wing tips.

So, realizing this the 707 wings can be covered with 3 kits. The Revell AWACS/720/707 covers the 120, 138, 220. Plus 720, 720b, 138b if you add the glove. Minicraft polecat, braniff, northwestern covers 320b, 320badv, 320c. Minicraft TWA covers 320,420. This assumes the correct parts are in the kits. This list covers only the kits I have. Not sure what comes with their other offerings. Engines and stabs are another matter. As far as what comes with Airfix and the other 707 kits I don't have any experience with them. I hope this helps.

Edited August 29, 2012 by living legend

[garryrussell]

It's only the Conways that come with the Airfix kit even though it has been marketed as 707's that are 320's in real life.

[madaboutmodels]

so confusing

how difficult wll ir be to fins one of these and what prices will i be looking at?

http://www.airlinercafe.com/photo_2853.details.large

[Jessica]

That's not really a 720, that's the old ancient Revell 707-120 in a 720 box. You'd have to cut down the fuselage to make it an accurate 720. Revell always uses (nearly) the same plastic in every one of their 707 kits, including the AWACS, which is wrong. The bonus is that if you find any Revell 707 kit(including the KC-135), you know you're getting a -120 and can work from there. Be warned that it's not the greatest kit in the world. You need to do a ton of filling and sanding. If the box you find has the fan engines then you need to extend the stabilisers and add the wing glove. You may also need to extend the fin tip to add the 40" extension. The tip with the HF antenna is usually horribly moulded anyway and really should be replaced.

If you really want a 720, do yourself a favour, save your pennies and get the Welsh kit. You will have far fewer frustrations that way.

Edited August 29, 2012 by Jessica

[madaboutmodels]

i think that my minicraft kit will be my last 707....

If you really want a 720, do yourself a favour, save your pennies and get the Welsh kit. You will have far fewer frustrations that way.

I cant fo Vacs

[Jessica]

Sure you can. Vacs are not difficult. The only thing that's different about them is that you have to sand them out of the backing sheet and that's easy (although I'll grant it's tedious). Once you've done that building a vac is not a lot different from building an injection kit.

[Kev1n]

as Jess said ^

As to 707's being confusing, it's just a matter of learning the differences and fixing a kit to make the version you want

The process also includes learning which kits are supposed to be which and what they arent.

dont give up on 707's brad- it gets easier; trust me, it does

[madaboutmodels]

.

dont give up on 707's brad- it gets easier; trust me, it does

i have 2, that will do.

im still not going near vacs, i have a shorts 360 and someone else is cutting it out for me

[Jessica]

dont give up on 707's brad- it gets easier; trust me, it does

Should we start our own "It gets better" campaign for Bradley?

[stevesig]

^{We were all like Brad once - just his youthful impatience to build everything here and now. IT GETS BETTER :-)}

[Kev1n]

^{....youthful impatience to build everything here and now.}

mmm....dont think I've ever lost that....

It does get better tho'

Dont know if these pics will help but fwiw, this is an airfix 707-420 that became a 707-320C...

the changes are relatively straightforward;

use engines from the revell kit

change the shape of the wing roots at the trailing edge

make the fin taller by using the tip of the revell kit (this also makes the revell kit more accurate depending on which sub-type of 707 you want that to be, tho that's another story...)

and lo!....it becomes a -320B and by adding the cargo door, a C

my teacher for this btw was steviesig

[bzn20]

kev1n

love that!the pax doors and eng.aux door detail and the silver isnt too silver( if you know what i mean!)