Viking Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 1:144 Boeing 737-200 Busy Bee. Lima November decals. I saw this humourously liveried Boeing 737-200C parked on the ramp at Oslo Fornebu airport back in 1986, and thought 'I would like to make a model of that', so 30 years on, I have! I started with the old Airfix kit of 1969, and decided to see what improvements to could be made to it. These came down to: - Replace the cockpit glazing with the part provided in Daco's 737 kits. - Scratchbuild some interior detail for the cockpit - Open up the main and nosewheel bays, which are just shallow opening on the kit - Improve the engines. They are too short in the kit, and have the early 'skinny' pylons only applicable to the first 100 or so machines produced. - The passenger cabin windows are just little square shapes. I filed the all top and botton to open them up to oval shape. 2 were filled in and re-done further apart to allow for the cargo door. - This aircraft was equipped withe the 'Gravel kit' for operation off rough fields and gravel runways. Basically this is a large deflector plate fitted behind the nose wheels, and some pipes feeding compressed air forwards from the engine nacelles to blast any FOD away from the intakes. The nose plate stays horizontal all through the retraction cycle as the leg retracts forward, and ends up in its own housing grafted onto the lower nose. There is a great youtube of one landing and taking off on Youtube here Just look at all the crud kicked up! This is actually the second 737 that I have applied these mods too, the fiirst (in Air Europe livery) is complete but I have not posted it yet as I am making a diorama, and painting the little passengers walking out to it is taking ages! Some of the scratchbuilt parts Cockpit and crew painted up Nosebay on an unmodified kit, and the modified/scratched parts Noseleg additions. Done by eye from internet photos, as I could not find drawings Main gear bay. Just a blank on the standard kit, looks so much better opened up; Engines after accurising/improving. Lengthened with a section from a 1:48 bomb (covered with a band of white filler), and pylons fattened with plastic sheet & Milliput; And finally 'with something else' - the other 737 waiting to be finished. I did even more on this one, opening up the front & rear galleys, and luggage bay, and integral front airstairs. It also has all the mods I did on 'Busy Bee' apart from the gravel kit. Special thanks to Skodadriver Dave who very kindly sent me the Daco clear cockpit sections & the frame decals for them, and enabled this project to go ahead. Happy new year to all, and thanks for looking. John 32 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntPhillips Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Fantastic builds. As your builds show, the Airfix kit although ancient can still be made up into a great model with the application of a few relatively easy modifications. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guilherme Kosciuv Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 It´s amazing what you did to this old kit. Superb! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Good grief - that is amazing! I have built this kit about 30 times, but in effect, looking at yours, I have never truly built it. I recognized the gravel kit right away, but the dedication involved in correcting the shape of all the passenger windows, let alone installing a cockpit, well, wow. The quality does show. ( a lot ) How do you do the red light atop the fuselage? A small drop of CA? Like the integral stairs on the Air Europe model too. Good way to start the New Year - a huge dollop of inspiration to go with my coffee, Thanks John Cheers, Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdonnell Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Hello,John - "Happy New Year" to you too! What a great start.My compliments to you on a fine looking build of your '737'. Along with her stablemate on the ramp,I love the quality and detail of the paint and finishing work and they are both resplendent tributes to this iconic airliner.All the very best,Paul. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 What an incredible result from the venerable old kit. Well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 These look even better in real life. Even the hostess has the Air Europe logo on her knickers. Either that or they're creased. Nice one John. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex1978 Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 (edited) Happy New Year John. Absolutely marvelous builds of the classic 737. Your modifications just nailed it and improved the old Airfix kit a great lot. I used to see Busy Bee's and Air Europe's 737s in the early 90s at EuroAirport Basel in Switzerland and your builds are a beautiful ride down memory lane. I miss the sound of the 737-200 engines... Edited January 2, 2016 by Alex1978 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epeeman Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Happy New Year, John - Love the cockpit work and especially the crew figures - excellent! Where did you get the figures from? Regards Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchem Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 ! Splendid start to the New Year John, but crikey.....you've set the bar so high ! I don't think I'll ever be able to look an Airfix 737 in the face again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skodadriver Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Absolutely inspirational John. I really must try harder! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Moon Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Beautiful build! Your scratchbuilding efforts have turned that kit into a real stunner. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Rhodes Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Stunning builds John, especially the Busy Bee with all the corrections and scratch built additions. Looking forward to the Air Europe diorama. Damn it, might have to get myself one of these kits now! Darren 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 These look even better in real life. Even the hostess has the Air Europe logo on her knickers. Either that or they're creased. Nice one John. Trust you to look! Another stunner John, the detailing goes to show what can be possible with these old kits. Happy New Year. Wonder what you're going to finish in 2016? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated. How do you do the red light atop the fuselage? A small drop of CA? Mike, it is a drop of microscale 'krystal kleer' (white glue would be just as good) applied with the tip of a cocktail stick. Let it dy and apply a second blob to build it up. Finally a bit of Tamiya 'Clear red' applied with a fine brush to colour it. Where did you get the figures from? Dave, they are N guage railway figures; I've sprayed grey primer on the lower set, they didn't come like that! Some are seated figures but you can also chop the legs off standing ones, and reglue them in a sitting position. Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4rky Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 That is very nice. Airfix have those 737 kits on offer at the moment. Thinking of getting one... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Really nice way to start the new year. As others have said, just goes to show what a bit if skill can do to an old kit. Many of the improvements you illustrate I do to my Airfix 737, but I have to admit to stealing your engine lengthening process - such a simple modification changes the look enormously. I did it on my recently completed Southwest Airlines 737. At first I kept thinking it looked wrong being so used to how Airfix portrays it and I had to check photos to reassure myself. Looking forward to seeing the Air Europe diorama. Wouldn't it be nice if BPK scaled down their 737 kit? Jeff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Brilliant work there John - a real credit to your modelling skills and 2 most welcome additions to the forums collection of civil builds top work and superb scratch building / detail expansion, particularly given that the old Airfix kit is not the most forgiving to base your build upon. Give yourself a big pat on the back "Doors to manual" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timo Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Hi John Congratulations on such an amazing build of such an ancient Airfix kit - yet another great 'Viking' build. In particular, your scratch building / modifications are just top notch, especially the debris deflectors on the nose gear and engines, and the corrections to the engines. This level of detail at 144 scale takes some doing. Just brilliant Tim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedbird340 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 John, that is absolutely mind blowing! That really must be one of the best looking 737-200 models I have seen for a long time. I am busy with one myself at the moment and this model of yours really inspired me to put the extra effort in as well. Really amazing looking model! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeano Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Very pretty thing there ... always amazed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Absolutely stunning model! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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