Bombardier CRJ-200 - 1:72 BPK

[Viking]

Bombardier CRJ-200

1:72 BPK (Big Planes Kits)

The Bombardier CRJ (Canadair Regional Jet) is a a highly successful small airliner which started life as a development of the Canadair Challenger, and has been developed and stretched from the -100 series to the -1000 series. Entering service in 1992 the
50 seat CRJ-100 was soon developed into the CRJ-200 with more efficient engines, and sold widely to many airlines around the world, with a total of 1,021 of both models being delivered.

The stretched CRJ-700/900/1000 series is still in production, with over 600 having been delivered. CRJ's can be seen at virtually any major airport around the world, and are likely to be in service for many more years.

BPK from Ukraine have already released models of the CRJ-100 and 200 in 1:144 scale, which are lovely little models, reviewed here.
In a logical move they have now released them both in 1:72 scale, with different marking options for each. The CRJ-200 has been received for review at Britmodeller, and comes in BPK's familiar yellow box with a sturdy cardboard base unit. A side profile of an 'American Eagle' CRJ adorns the lid, with the side panels announcing a Pilatus PC-6 in 1:144 and a Boeing 737-100 in 1:72 as 'Coming soon'. That will have many a modeller waiting with eager anticipation!

Lifting the lid, we find that there are a number of large mouldings, several sprues, a bag of resin parts, an etched fret, a large clear moulding of the nose, a set of decals, a set of masks, and instructions. Most interesting is the now familiar style of BPK clear moulding for the cockpit area.

This is a very innovative way of producing the cockpit glazing, and having used it on the 1:144 CRJ's I can confirm that it works really well. The unit comes sealed in its own ziplock bag to protect it, and is cleanly moulded. The actual window panels are lightly marked out, and the mask sheet provides each panel as a separate unit to apply before painting.

Next we have the two fuselage halves, which look huge after the 1:144 versions. Similarly they have recessed channels where the glazing strips will go.

On the 1:144 versions I cut them out leaving a 1 mm lip all around to retain the clear glazing strips. Panel lines are very lightly recessed, BPK have this exactly right as they are just deep enough to be visible, rather than the heavy 'trenches' that some manufacturers seem to favour. I prefer the BPK style every time. The 1:144 CRJ gives a sense of how much bigger this 1:/72nd version is.

The lower wing is a single full span piece, the advantage of which is that the dihedral is perfectly set for you. The uppers are separate pieces for each side. Again the panel lines are lightly recessed, giving visible but subtle detail.

Sprue D contains most of the cockpit parts, as having provided clear cockpit windows, there is a complete cockpit unit to put inside. Seats, control columns, panel, coaming, and etch brass details are provided, along with decals for the instruments and even the bulkhead behind the pilots seats. Rudder pedals are shown, but not numbered, on the instructions. It is a simple deduction to work out that these are parts Pe34 on the etch sheet. The mouldings are very nicely done, and will only require minimal clean up once removed from the sprue.

Sprue E holds the engine cowlings, pylons, flap tracks and airstairs. This last is an interesting option. A very complete set of airstairs is provided, which on the real CRJ is the front door which hinges at the bottom and drops down to form the stairs.

The etch brass sheet provides a number of fine details and handrails.The front door itself is moulded shut on the fuselage half, and will require removal if you want to use the open option. Chain drilling and cutting with a sharp knife will probably be the best way to do this, and then of course you will need to scratchbuild a bulkhead and floor to sit inside. I've started doing this on 1:144 scale airliners and while it is not for beginners, is not actually that hard to do. It is nice to have the option here for the more advanced modeller to take up.

The engines are made from injection moulded upper and lower halves and pylon, with resin exhaust cones and intakes. The resin parts eliminate the need for any join seams around the intakes, and simplify the cowlings into very simple units to make.

Sprue F provides the fin, tailplanes, and winglets. All very cleanly moulded with the same fine recessed detail seen on other sprues.

Sprue G holds the glazing strips for the cabin windows. Unlike the 1:144 versions which are plain, these have the windows etched lightly into them, which will help with locating the individual masks. Also on the sprue is the extreme nose tip and landing lights. We even have the individual bulbs (G5 & G6) to go behind the landing light glazing!

Resin.
Seven strips of resin components are supplied, and feature incredible detail. All are flawlessly moulded with not trace of any air bubbles or flaws whatsoever. The detail on the engine fans is outstanding, I doubt that it could be made any better or realistic.
Each fan blade is beautifully curved along it's length, and separate from each of it's partners. The engine nozzles are similarly impressive, with beautiful compound curve shapes and lightly recessed detail.

The wheels have circumferential treads, with separate hubs featuring crisp and fine detail. Separate tyres and hubs always makes painting so much easier than single mouldings, full marks to BPK again here.
The resin components are some of the most beautiful I have seen, and without a doubt are of the highest standard possible.

Etch.
A small brass fret is packed with a large number of small details, mainly aerials and vents found at various points around the airframe. It is surprising how many tiny blade aerials are scattered around the CRJ.

Decals and masks.
Two main colour schemes are provided, two for the 'American Eagle' shown on the box lid, and 'Air Canada Jazz' in either red or green. A full set of stencils are also present, for placing at various points around the airframe.

The Air Canada Jazz schemes are the most interesting, as the main elements are not decals but masks.

This provision was also made with the 1:144 kit, where vinyl masks are applied to the model and paint airbrushed on to give the 'Jazz' titles on the fuselage and the maple leaf on the tail. I have actually used these on the 1:144 scale kit, and they work brilliantly.

What you actually use is not the 'Jazz' lettering, but the vinyl around it. It needs care to apply it to the fuselage and line up correctly, not forgetting to put the oval inside the 'J'. It has since been suggested to me that a lightly soaped solution could be applied to fuselage first, which will allow some room to move the vinyl around. Apparently this is how it is done on full size vehicles. I have not tried it, but mention it here in case anyone else wants to have a go.
Once pressed down, I airbrushed some white onto the masks. The idea being if that there was any paint 'creep', it would be white and match the fuselage. The red was then airbrushed on top to give an even coverage. Pulling the masks off revealed a very pleasing result.

Another lesson I learned was to be very careful removing the masks. I managed to put a couple of scratches in the red paint with my knife blade and had to touch them in with more red paint. It was only because I was using the tip of the blade to lift the masks, and slipped a couple of times, so take care. The result is well wort it though. This is still under construction and needs all the silver work applied to leading edges etc, and well as the wheels. This is the result of using the masks on the 1:144 CRJ to spray the red paint on.

Conclusion.
The two 1:144 BPK CRJ's I have built are little beauties. I love the way BPK approach their kits and devise innovative solutions for them. The complete cockpit glazing sections and cabin windows are good example of this, and give the most superior results. The fit of parts on the 1/144 kits was excellent, and this 1/72 version looks to have the same finesse and precision about it. Although probably not suited to absolute beginners, they are very enjoyable and satisfying kits to build, and this larger version should be stunning when finished.


Highly recommended

Review sample courtesy of

[Julien]

Kit looks good.

[Radleigh]

That looks a great kit, with the Amodel Beech 1900's, Jetstreams etc we're being spoilt for regional aircraft, It's great...!

Edited September 4, 2015 by Radleigh