mitchem Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 This is the 1/144 MInicraft DC-8-63 kit modified to into a DC-8-55F by shortening the fuselage and using JTD-3B engines from an old Welsh Models kit. The original aircraft was purchased by Affretair (Rhodesia) in 1972 from Seaboard World Airlines but registered as TR-LQR in Gabon. In 1977, it was repainted in the colours of CargOman and re-registered as A40-PA in Oman as a flag of convenience. This effectively allowed the aircraft to continue being used on sanctions-busting flights from Salisbury to Libreville (Gabon), Muscat (Oman) and various points in Europe. Flights in and out of Rhodesia normally took place in the dark of the night and the aircraft was usually kept well out of sight, behind the Affretair hangar. In 1982, it officially reverted back to Affretair (Zimbabwe) ownership and re-registered first as VP-WMJ and then as Z-WMJ . It was eventually sold to Trans Air Cargo Service in 1997 and was scrapped in Kinshasa in 2005 after suffering an engine failure during landing. The decals are home-made. There's a sort of build in progress thread and a couple of additional photos here : http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234937676-minicraft-douglas-dc-8s-in-1144-one-down/ (I'm afraid it's all a bit messy, as I'm trying to build three DC-8s at the same time - not the brightest thing I've ever attempted !) Hope you like it. mike 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 That is an absolute stunner Mike, really beautiful model. And those homemade decals are mightily impressive again! Top job!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halcyonjet Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Bloomin' lovely! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 Beautiful job from start to finish Mike, and the decals are most impressive. Nice to have a little background info on the airframe as well I'm looking forward to the others being completed as well now. All the best. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted December 26, 2013 Share Posted December 26, 2013 That is just so good. Brilliant job, I absolutely love it. Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Those engines came out beautifully Mike. Started chopping up two of these last weekend - right now they look like Frankenstein's monster, not the smooth fuselage you achieved here. Sandpaper and putty in my future! Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 What colour did you use for the coroguard inspars? It looks just perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchem Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 Many Thanks for all of your kind comments - much appreciated. What colour did you use for the coroguard inspars? It looks just perfect. It was Alclad Dull Aluminium and it was a lucky choice as it ended up where the Xtracolor Coroguard should have been. Best Regards mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Certainly do like it Mike, really interesting history to the real aircraft too. You've done a cracking job on the decals as well as the paint work Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Oooooo, that Xtracolour coroguard stuff is a handful. I still have splatters on my kitchen ceiling from opening that teeny tiny little pot a few years back. It just literally erupted. One is better off without it, and you have a perfect workaround. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 I like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Nice result Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mach82 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Lovely job Mike. Just as I can remember seeing her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev1n Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 good stuff - well done that man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 wow, now that I love, great model! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Always loved the DC-8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Beautiful finish ans very attractive scheme. Nice work. Cheers, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Marvellous work! Absolutely gorgeous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbrax Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Hi Mitchem I'm hoping that you are still active in this forum and will pick up this reply at some point. I was browsing the internet looking for models of Affretair\Cargoman DC-8's and found these fantastic models you created and posted here on Britmodeller. My dad Roger used to fly this very plane for Jack Malloch in Rhodesian sanctions busting days in the 70's and then for Affretair in the 80's after it was re-liveried. I would very much like to have a chat with you about them if possible and have sent you a PM with my email details. Would love to hear from you! Thanks Jimbrax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 A wonderful model, very clever adaptation and thank you for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skodadriver Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 That really is a beautiful model. Many thanks to Jimbrax for reviving this thread which pre-dates my joining Britmodeller and which I hadn't seen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex1978 Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 O(hh) man... What a wonderful DC-8. I really love this airliner. I managed to be on 2 flights many years ago on the DC-8 1981 (3 year old lad) African Safari DC-8-53 and in 1992 African Safari Dc-8-63. Superb aircraft in every aspect and in my opinion still heads above the all plastic airliners of nowadays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbofan Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Hi Mike, Like Dave I too missed out on this first time round. It's a gorgeously finished model of an unusual subject, well done, love it! I'd be interested to know what the red shape is on the logo? It looks like a power tool of some sort, but I can't imagine it is! Cheers, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchem Posted November 9, 2017 Author Share Posted November 9, 2017 4 hours ago, Alex1978 said: O(hh) man... What a wonderful DC-8. I really love this airliner. I managed to be on 2 flights many years ago on the DC-8 1981 (3 year old lad) African Safari DC-8-53 and in 1992 African Safari Dc-8-63. Superb aircraft in every aspect and in my opinion still heads above the all plastic airliners of nowadays Thanks Alex. Glad you like the model. I went through a bit of a phase at the time and built four others ! : It's just a pity that the Minicraft DC-8 seems to be extinct these days. 26 minutes ago, Turbofan said: Hi Mike, Like Dave I too missed out on this first time round. It's a gorgeously finished model of an unusual subject, well done, love it! I'd be interested to know what the red shape is on the logo? It looks like a power tool of some sort, but I can't imagine it is! Cheers, Ian Thanks Ian. The red shape on the logo is a stylised Khanjar - a traditional dagger originating from Oman. The Khanjar also used to appear on the tail of aircraft belonging to Oman Air in their original colour scheme : Oman Air 737-800 Best Regards mike 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzn20 Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Blimey ..this is a rave from the grave, 2013 ? Worth the wait though. Its stunning, love the different NMF shades.. Looks like a thread rebirth and well worth it. Well done and thanks to whoever woke this up ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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