stringbag Posted September 28, 2016 Share Posted September 28, 2016 That's one hell of a finish on the fuselage Jeff. It's all coming together nicely by the look of things. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted September 29, 2016 Author Share Posted September 29, 2016 Thank you Chris. What I have noticed is that the join line from the top of the windshield and along the upper fuselage for about 20mm has become quite visible. Not sure if this is due to all the painting, sanding and repainting work or if the cellulose top coat has softened the glue joins in this area. I'm now considering how best to deal with this - ignore it or sand back the top coat, fill and then repaint it. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme H Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Well, you know you just have to sand it out and repaint now, as we all know about it Otherwise excellent work there Jeff 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted September 29, 2016 Share Posted September 29, 2016 Nice shiny finish Jeff. I might have to give the thinner spraying a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 (edited) Thanks Ray. Give it a go but be careful with the amount you lay down. Too much and it may start eating through the paint to the plastic. One thing that happened whilst I was spraying the wings was a large drop of thinner splashed out from the paint cup and landed right on the rear fuselage. I had painted the fuselage and wings at different times so I had somewhere to hold and the fuselage was completely dry. Initially I thought about using a tissue to wipe up the excess, but the voice of reason said "don't panic, let it dry and deal with it then" I was glad I did because the thinners had softened the paint and if I had wiped it away, I'd have been left with a very awkward marring of the finish. As it dried, the paint hardened again and the only thing I had to do was a light polish with very fine wet'n'dry. Phew! Now that I've mentioned about the reappearance of the top seam, I've been looking at the best way to deal with it. I'd love to ignore it or maybe include it in the weathering process somehow but the Cyprus Airways aircraft appeared to be fairly clean and tidy. I could fill, sand and then refinish...but could I get the same smooth gloss finish? I must admit, I think I was lucky the first time and am not sure if I could get the same results. I'll try to post a photo later to see what other modellers would do. Beyond that, there's not really a lot left to do. The small bits like the wheels and legs can be worked on whilst decals are drying and such. Thanks for all your kind comments so far! Jeff Edited September 30, 2016 by pinky coffeeboat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted October 2, 2016 Author Share Posted October 2, 2016 As promised a photo of the seam The seam has since been dealt with - all that was required was a light sanding which seems to have removed it. I then lightly misted over some white. Note also the amount of paint in the panel lines - too heavy handed! Today, real noticeable progress has been made - I've begun to stick the decals on!! The Air Cote d'Ivoire A319 looks on enviously! The black handled tool just beside the model is a Royal Sovereign clay shaper. This is something I bought several years ago that has become one of my most useful tools. It has quite a firm rubber/silicone (?) chisel shaped tip that is pretty impervious to all the nasty products we use. It's what I use to apply filler and move decals around. The tip has just the right amount of firmness to push the filler into the gap and allows you then to smooth it over. A quick wipe with fingers or a tissue removes the left over filler. And for decalling, it has the right amount of grip to push and pull the decal around. Highly recommended; there are various types of tips, from pointed to angled tip. I bought mine in an art shop (Hobbycraft in the UK). The decals from 26decals are pretty good, requiring the usual close trimming to remove the excess carrier film. A few seconds in warm water starts the release process and within a minute or so the decal is ready to be applied. There are several key areas on the model that allow correct positioning of the decals, for example, the front of the cheat-line starts from the rear edge of the radome and the lower edge of the front right service door sits along the fuselage lobe line. In the photo above, I just need to trim the little bit of cheatline that has made its way onto the radome. I'm not sure there will be the correct gap between the top edge of the blue line and the windshield decal but a little bit of careful positioning should overcome that. The APU exhaust will be added after the decal has dried. Can you imagine the hassle trying to get a decal to lay down over a slightly protruding tube?! It's always good when the decals go on. Jeff 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 On 10/3/2016 at 6:41 AM, pinky coffeeboat said: ... The APU exhaust will be added after the decal has dried. Can you imagine the hassle trying to get a decal to lay down over a slightly protruding tube?! It's always good when the decals go on. Jeff Looks good Jeff. I can tell you exactly what happened when you lay a thin decal over a protrusion like that Something I did not think about when I was working on my B737 (until it was too late). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted October 4, 2016 Author Share Posted October 4, 2016 Unbelievably I had the foresight to leave the exhaust off until after the cheat line was added. I didn't on all the previous DC-9s I've built and then spent too long trying to paint match for touch ups around the mess that resulted. The model is almost fully decalled, just a couple of stencil markings and the static vents decals to find. Jeff 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 This looks very nice - a few good hints and tips there which will help my next 717 build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandboof Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Looks great Thanks for sharing Martin H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Just had another look at you bench there Jeff in your last decalling shots. I am afraid you have too much uncluttered space! Do something about it! Start another 2 or 3 kits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 Ha! Honestly, last night this very model came within inches of being smashed because of clutter on my bench! I had a Zvezda 777 dry assembled and was spinning it round checking to see if it would be possible to build and paint the model but not permanently attach the wings (running out of space). Well the nose caught a book I had propped open on the bench which was in an awkward place because I have a Zvezda A320 waiting to be masked and a Revell 727 loosely assembled sitting on the bench. The book tipped over and landed on the right wing of this DC9 bouncing it off the desk and on to my legs. I quickly closed these trapping the model between my knees - the horizontal stabilisers have broken off, lifting but not damaging the tail decal on both sides. And the DC9 was almost finished! It won't take long to repair the slight damage, it could have been a lot worse. The 777 is such a long model!! Jeff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 15 hours ago, pinky coffeeboat said: Ha! ... The 777 is such a long model!! Jeff It sure is, I have resurrected my Minicraft -300 conversion and was going to finish it with the B-777-212 I am working on. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 (edited) Umm, hang on a minute - just the other day you said I had too much uncluttered space. Have a look at your neat, tidy CLUTTER free work bench!! Yeah, I love the 777 and Zvezdas model of it. I could build them all day long but storing/ displaying them is a different matter. Whats the intended colour schemes for these big twins? And sensibly, it looks like you QANTAS retro 737 is diving for cover in case it suffers a similar fate to my DC9 !! Jeff Edited November 1, 2016 by pinky coffeeboat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I had to unclutter it to take the pictures, Ops normal now Colour schemes will be: B777-212ER Singapore Airlines, B777-3ZGER Virgin Australia. Yep, the B737 is trying to escape being finished.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POTKC Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Virgin Australia! My favorite 777 scheme! Will you make a build thread for it anywhere? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 21 hours ago, POTKC said: Virgin Australia! My favorite 777 scheme! Will you make a build thread for it anywhere? I started it a couple of years ago in fact! Thread here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POTKC Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Oh, I remember that thread! Saw it a long while ago, just didn't make the connection now. Pity about the 777SP... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever219 Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Just a suggestion for extending the engine pylons if you're going to do another one. Put the shims on before assembling the fuselage; that way you'll be able to drill the new locating holes from the inside. I know hindsight's cheap, but that's a trick I learned the hard way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted November 3, 2016 Author Share Posted November 3, 2016 (edited) The holes for the engine pylons would need to be drilled through to the inside before adding the shims. Then after they've dried, drill back through the holes from the inside. The extended pylons need a little bit of re-profiling to cater for the reverse bucket nib fairing. This just allows a closer fit between parts. I'll try and push on with this one. The tail planes could do with a firmer mounting point, so I may add a pin/ peg thing to support them. These also would benefit from a little bit of reshaping at the root, again just to provide a better fit. I've just had a flick through this book and learnt that Cyprus Airways leased two aircraft from KLM on routes to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from Larnaca and leased a third one in Nov/Dec 1975. I wonder why they used USA registration? Possibly overcoming any type of political leanings/ inference of bias or support? No idea. ^ this book. Edited because I knew that Cyprus Airways had two aircraft (N54648 and N48200) but the third must have been very elusive as I can't find either the registration or any picture (which would probably provide the registration !!). Jeff Edited November 3, 2016 by pinky coffeeboat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted November 10, 2016 Author Share Posted November 10, 2016 After the near disastrous encounter with a book and this model, I thought it about time it was finished and cleared off the bench for its own safety. As mentioned above, when saving the model as it rocketed off the bench my knees did a great job of removing the tail planes. Luckily, the only noticeable damage was a slight ripping of the top of the tail decal. This was stuck down again and the attachment point inspected for serviceability... Don't worry, I'm not going to be one of those modellers who has mascots and figures pretending to assist him! They actually looked quite good in the pose above. Anyway, the tailplanes were attached with a plastic rod through the fin to provide strength. Remember to mount them parallel to the ground with no anhedral. This was added to the later DC-9 variants. Aerials have been attached and all that is needed is to create an upper and lower anti-col light. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 Looks good Jeff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex77 Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 That is a nice one. a Fly DC-9 is on the wishlist. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraftkit Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Well done Jeff ! A thoroughly useful and entertaining write-up. Lots of helpful general modelling tips, plus specific details on how to improve the basic DC9 kit. And great photos, too ! Hopefully you got as much pleasure and satisfaction from building the model as I got in following your adventure. More please ! Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 Thank you Don. I'm looking forward to receiving my Eastern Express DC-9 soon. Jodie Peeler provided a side by side comparison of the Airfix, EE and Fly DC-9 kits over on Airlinercafe. As usual, there's some issues with all of them but I think her conclusion was that the EE kit would be the best way forward. I'm intending to enter the 737 STGB here in a few weeks time, so if you enjoyed this build, tune in and follow us as we attempt to beat the clock and frustration and mojo killing seam lines to model Boeing's baby jet!!! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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