tomprobert Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 This is the Revell 1/144th scale kit, with the CF6 engine option (Lufthansa boxing.) It's starting to show its age a bit now, and this moulding had lots of flash and misaligned parts - the landing gear in particular was a complete nightmare to clean up and get to an acceptable standard. The Revell 747-400 also has a slight shape issue with the nose and flight deck area, so I attempted to remedy this a little with some Milliput and sanding - I think I have improved on the look of the original. All obliterated panel lines which were destroyed in the filling and sanding process (of which there was plenty!) were rescribed back on to the model. I used TwoSix decals which were absolutely outstanding, over Halfords' automotive paints, finished off with a little light weathering with Humbrol enamels and pastels. Build time - from opening the box to completing the model: 5 days. Boeing 747-443, Virgin Atlantic Airways, G-VROY 'Pretty Woman' Virgin's 'four-holers' - alongside an A340-600 using the Braz conversion: Happy modelling folks! Tom 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomore Shelfspace Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Nice one. I built this kit years ago, I agree it was a pig. I finished mine in JAL livery. It's also very large even in 1/144. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Delicious! Love that staining around the back. Brought back some great memories - did a number of trips LAX - LGW back in the day. That Upper Class cabin sure made the flight seem so much shorter than the other carriers. There just seemed to be a great sense of humour about. Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Both stunner,s beautifully finished examples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Very nice Tom, The A340 and B747 look great together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike DeTorrice Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 What a gorgeous build of this great-looking 747 ! Both these "Virgins" look absolutely beautiful. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Very 'Pretty Woman!!' Very nice work. The last time I returned from a holiday in Florida was in G-VROY . And the last time for me to go Virgin because of poor conduct bt the cabin crew and of a passenger who came down from upstairs sat down in an empty seat in front of me and started fondling some woman, in front of a minor alongside laid his seat back right in to my face while I was having a drink. You can guess what happened and an enormous kerfuffle ensued but the cabin crew wouldn't help me because he paid 4 grand for his seat upstairs and I was only one of the riff raff in economy! Talk about discriminating !!! I was livid and told the head cabin boy what I thought of there 'customer care' and that they only cared for those upstairs!! silly thing was I never wrote to virgin bosses to make a formal complaint, but it still rankles and won't fly with them !! At the time I also argued with the crew and passenger that If he wanted to come down and mess about with some scrag , then I 'll go upstairs and have his seat or he should drag her upstairs with him!! Anything for a bit of quiet and comfort on an overnighter!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme H Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 That is very nice Tom, and such a quick build for such a pig of a kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom271282 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Lovely finish. Do you lacquer them after decaling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feoffee2 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Lovely models I agree the model is showing its age I did mine in delta colours Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Thanks for the compliments Lovely finish. Do you lacquer them after decaling? Yes I use Halfords' Lacquer applied in several 'dust coats' to avoid it eating the decals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom271282 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Thanks for the compliments Yes I use Halfords' Lacquer applied in several 'dust coats' to avoid it eating the decals! Thanks Tom. I presume you masked off the corro prior to the lacquer. I was wondering about the decal eating capability of the lacquer, I have used it in the past but got scared! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Thanks Tom. I presume you masked off the corro prior to the lacquer. I was wondering about the decal eating capability of the lacquer, I have used it in the past but got scared! It's pretty potent stuff, and if applied too thickly will dissolve the decals and cause a general mess. I tend to apply it in very light coats from a good 10-12" inches away, and build it up slowly. This had about 5 coats until I was happy with the finish. I've got it down to a fine art now and rarely use anything else to seal decals when I build commercial jets - it is really hard wearing and models I finished years ago still look as fresh as the day I painted them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom271282 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 It's pretty potent stuff, and if applied too thickly will dissolve the decals and cause a general mess. I tend to apply it in very light coats from a good 10-12" inches away, and build it up slowly. This had about 5 coats until I was happy with the finish. I've got it down to a fine art now and rarely use anything else to seal decals when I build commercial jets - it is really hard wearing and models I finished years ago still look as fresh as the day I painted them. Perhaps I'll just use my trusty alclad varnish on my new project seeing as it's taken me the best part of a year to get the decals for it. Thank you for the tips, I'll practise for use in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I'm voting for the old fashioned "Klear" Cheers, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 (edited) Very nice build Tom. And I agree with many, the kit is a bit old now but you've produced a stunner. I don't think I'll risk using lacquer spray on mine as I can be a bit heavy handed at times. Jeff Edited August 2, 2014 by pinky coffeeboat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 That is a knockout Tom! Whatever you did to reshape the nose has worked wonders, it looks spot on now. Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 That is a knockout Tom! Whatever you did to reshape the nose has worked wonders, it looks spot on now. Cheers John Thanks John - I didn't do a huge amount to the nose shape, just reduced the bump forward of the cockpit a little with some sanding (I couldn't reduce it any further through fear of sanding through the plastic!) and built up the area above the cockpit windows with some Milliput. Once blended in and rescribed it did improve it. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the process as wanted to knock it out quickly so just cracked on regardless. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Nice job on that one. Julien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 wow - what a great looking giant. I love it - please share your secrets regarding the nose reshaping as I have 2 of these kits in my stash destined for BA and Virgin liveries - I have already bought the Braz Rolls Royce replacement engine set for my intended BA kit. I will let you into a secret of mine here - years ago I was a silk screen printer and one of the commissions my employer won was with Virgin when the big flying lady logos were first introduced. We printed these logos on flat bed presses and they were huge. The company I worked for had the UK's largest single frame Svecia silk screen bed plant at the time (which would explain why they won the contract I guess) but even so, the logos had to be printed in pieces - leg, head, body, arms etc. The logos were about 25foot long when assembled and applied - it must have been around 1990 at the time which would have meant we were printing for Virgins 747 200 and new 400 fleet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 wow - what a great looking giant. I love it - please share your secrets regarding the nose reshaping as I have 2 of these kits in my stash destined for BA and Virgin liveries - I have already bought the Braz Rolls Royce replacement engine set for my intended BA kit. It wasn't major surgery and wasn't too difficult - all that was needed to build the area immediately above the flightdeck windows up a little with some Milliput, and then when dry sand it and blend it in with the upper fuselage contours. The small 'humped' area in front of the flightdeck was also largely removed as this isn't present on the real aircraft. I went as far as I dared without sanding through the plastic - then rescribed the panel lines. Hope that helps? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex1978 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Great looking 747-400 Lovely finish and she looks just great in Virgin colours I also have one under construction.But I gave it a pause because the correction work on the cockpit section didn't work out as I hoped. So for the moment she's on hold until I find the nerve to continue with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Brilliant model! Can't believe you completed it so quickly, top work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadRicky Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Cool Job!! Thank you for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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