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1/144 Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 720B


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Many thanks for the kind words everyone - much appreciated.

Hang on a minute Mike It can't possibly be a Roden kit. That kit is supposed to be unbuildable according to some.

Your beautiful model looks far too good to be a from a Roden kit surely.

:rofl:

Can you tell that I've got my tongue stuck in my cheek.

Chris.

Cheers Chris. Just hope I don't get caught digging through anyone's bin :shutup:

Superb Mike, i have been fanciying a go at one of these for a while, not sure I could do as good a job as you though, what was the kit like?

Thanks Steve. The kit has received a fair amount of bad publicity on the net, but in my eyes, it looks like a 720, and that's good enough for me. I have to admit that I had quite a bit of difficulty with the engines though - too many parts for my liking, and as for hooking them up to the wings - large gaps on the joins. (I found it was easier to scrape the moulded wing mounts back to the surface and then pinning the engines on. Pretty much eliminated the gaps and made life a little easier) The mounting pins on the tail planes were ridiculously small as well, but I eventually managed to "weld" them into place ! Otherwise no real issues. I have plans to build at least two more of the "unbuildables" when I get the chance.

Just gorgeous Mike - a total work of art. Love the detailed metallic shades on the wings.

One thing I have constantly tried to master ( besides trying to walk and chew gum at the same time ) is the masking to achieve that gradual curve from the cheat line to the nose. I'd sell my soul to the devil for that ability, and you make it seem so matter of fact.

Nicely done indeed.

Cheers,

Mike

I'm afraid I sold my soul to the devil for a company car Mike, but I gues that's why Mrs M and I had kids. (The boy is blissfully unaware that I'm growing him for his hair !)

Best bet for the gradual curve is to use very thin masking tape to start and then adding thicker strips on top.

Very nice, thanks for showing it. But I've got to agree with stringbag this beautiful model can't be the Roden kit...can it?
Of course it can!! The Roden kit a very nice model that many have shown can be made to look as good as, if not better than, the competition.

Can I ask what paint range gave you such fantastic looking metal work?

Jeff

Thanks Jeff. I used Alclad's White Aluminium (wings, tail planes and engines), Steel (dark bits on the engines) and Duraluminium (flaps and spoilers).

AK's Xtreme Metal Dark Aluminium (central wing panel and undercarriage legs) and Polished Aluminium (fuselage and front of tail) were used to finish it off.

He has a habit of turning up at club with his latest masterpiece safely packed up......in his coat pocket!! And remarkably they always seem to survive unscathed! He turns up, sticks his hand in his pocket and pulls out a lovely model - much more impressive than the old rabbit out of the magicians hat...!!

Pitching up to club meetings is the easy bit Keef !

I'm more worried about getting home and having to explain to Mrs M that "No, I'm not pleased to see you. It really is a Roden 1/144 Boeing 720 in my pocket" :suicide:

Regards

mike

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Beautiful job Mike! Unlike the 720, the engines appear well proportioned and not out of place with the rest of the model. Do i understand correctly that you sanded the mounting pads flush on the lower wing surfaces??

It really looks like a 720. Much more so than the Minicraft 707 resembles a 707. Withholding judgement on the new KC-135s till i buy one.

Great stuff. Thanks ever so much for posting!

david

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Hello,Mitchem - My compliments to you on a beautiful looking build of your 'Boeing 720'.I love the quality and detail of the paint and finishing work and in your chosen scheme she is a resplendent tribute to this classic type.All the best,Paul.

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Wow, it's a task trawling through all the military subjects in the hope of finding an airliner buried in here somewhere...!

Great build - looks really nice, especially in that first picture; definitely captures the look of the 720/707 family of aircraft. I also like the A319 in pic.6 :)

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  • 4 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Steve found it to be an inspiring and helpful build.

-d-

Thanks for the compliment Dave. Much appreciated.

Steve's build has certainly provided some inspiration of it's own, so watch this space !

mike

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  • 4 weeks later...

I love the Ethiopian scheme. Something you don't see too often. I have also enjoyed this kit, so much so that I am considering tossing out my Minicraft 707 320......it's rubbish. Find attached an image of my 720 representing a 707 138. A few things to finish off yet.

qantas%20138%202.jpg

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I love the Ethiopian scheme. Something you don't see too often. I have also enjoyed this kit, so much so that I am considering tossing out my Minicraft 707 320......it's rubbish. Find attached an image of my 720 representing a 707 138. A few things to finish off yet.

qantas%20138%202.jpg

Welcome to BM and thanks for taking the time to post a pic of your build.

Looking sharp and certainly looking forward to seeing it in the RFI section soon.

What are your plans with the A380 in the background ?

mike

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If Mike doesn't mind me taking his topic OT, could I ask a couple of questions about that lovely 707, as I've long wanted to do a short body Qantas jet.

What changes did you do to the 720 to make it a -138, & who's decals did you use?

Nice build!

Keith

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Hi guys,

The 380 will end up being a QANTAS job too. All my airliners are Australian prototype.

I did nothing to the Roden 720 besides filling in some windows at the rear. The rest of the windows were then filled, once painted, with microscale liquid windows then the decals are applied and clear coated. The decals are Hawkeye cut into sections to match. Overall I'm very happy with it. To be even more fussy I should have bought another kit and replaced number 4 engine to have a turbo compressor as the 707 138 has 3 and the 720 two. I'm saving that next Roden kit so I can pinch it's engines for the minicraft 320 I'm trying to....well....like. Some may nit pick but she looks like a 138 so I'm happy.

Joe.

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Mike, question for you: When you applied the decal windows, did you apply them in the same place as the kit window locations, or slightly higher? There's some uncertainty as to whether the windows are too low on the fuselage, relative to the windscreen. It came up when Steve's 720 wound up over on Airliner Cafe (wasn't me).

-d-

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