1/144 Eastern Express 737-300 (Soyuz-Atlant)

[The 3rd Placer]

Hello all,

Here's my entry, I was drawn to it by the markings. It will be a nice challenge to spray the blue and red paint job. I'm somewhat scared of the kit decals though, there is an aftermarket for a -800 I may have to use if the kit decals fail.

ee14423 by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr\

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Ryan

[pinky coffeeboat]

Another Eastern Express 737. I'll be watching this one to see where/how the kit gets its reputation from...

Jeff

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Looks like someone needs to build a Minicraft kit as a comparison. Good luck with the scheme Ryan.

[POTKC]

Another Eastern Express 737. I'll be watching this one to see where/how the kit gets its reputation from...

Jeff

The reputation is very accurate, as far as I can tell from my build. Good luck Ryan! I think we might need to have our own support group after this...

Also I have an interesting story about Atlant-Soyuz if anyone wants it.

[The 3rd Placer]

We will make it through!

Ryan

[The 3rd Placer]

Well since the GB has officially started here are pics of the kit.

The single page instructions are very simple, note the cockpit insert looks nothing like the part in the illustration!

image by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr\

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The small decal sheet is well printed, the finish is very flat...not sure how these will perform during application....

image by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr\

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The fuselage is warped pretty bad, but can be sorted out.

image by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr\

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image by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr\

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Though a bit flashy, the gear and engine bits aren't too bad.

image by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr\

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The wing sprues are the sharpest molds of the kit, very nice. While the fuselage has very little or faint panel lines the wing engravings are well defined.

image by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr\

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That's it for know, time to get building!

Ryan

Edited July 17, 2016 by The 3rd Placer

[POTKC]

I see the fuselage warp comes as a built-in extra, free of charge, on all EE 737 kits. I didn't notice that the cockpit insert is that different from the instructions, thanks for pointing it out! and by the way, be careful with the horizontal stabilizers/elevators - for some reason EE chose to mold them in two pieces each, an upper and lower half. These two don't fit together very well, resulting in nasty seams and gaps and the leading and trailing edge. A lot of sanding and test fitting is required to get a somewhat acceptable joint between the two, and then you end up with a completely flat mating surface, making the two parts tricky to align properly. You may also want to sand down the trailing edge to make it more sharp like on the real thing and less of a flat edge at the back. In this case, you would also need to rescribe some of the lost detail.

[Graeme H]

I commend people who take on the challenges that EE kits offer, some really nasty flash on that

I think I will keep all my Daco kits though

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Wow, nice flash there Ryan!

[The 3rd Placer]

Thanks for the tops POTKC, I will watch out.

Graeme and Ray, a little flash makes the seams easier to see!

Ryan

[The 3rd Placer]

After gluing on the cockpit transparency, a fair amount of putty was required to blend it in....it will take a few more sanding swipes and primer to eliminate the join.

image by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr\
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Looking at the tail end I noticed something was not quite right...yes the elevators are at different heights!

image by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr\
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Last update is on the wings, they have a very thick trailing edge. I did scrape them a bit but still had to block sand the edges to get an acceptable edge, this wing still needs a little work.

image by The 3rd Placer, on Flickr\
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Eastern Express if you are reading this please refrain from fusing together and copying other companies kits. Your quest for quick "new" product turn around and fast cash will only hurt in the long run. This model was clearly cobbled together from a couple of other manufactures kits and it shows with all the problems I have documented. I have some home grown EE kits in the stash and they are great, please give us new products designed from your own company.

Ryan

Edited July 20, 2016 by The 3rd Placer

[CliffB]

The offset on those tail planes is pretty impressive! Is it easy to fix?

Cliff

[The 3rd Placer]

Yes. I'll probably raise the one on the left of the screen and fill the resulting larger hole below the part with plastic strip.

Raise it by filing the square hole larger upwards if that makes sense.

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

How's this one going Ryan?

[The 3rd Placer]

Still clicking along, working on the wing trailing edges and re-scribing some panel lines...boring.

Ryan

[The 3rd Placer]

Ugh this kit.

Think I'll push aside until I can get a hold of a Minicraft kit.

Life's too short for this one.

Ryan

[POTKC]

That's a pity. I hope mine doesn't end in the same way...what specifically happened?

And if you get a minicraft kit, you could build it for my suggested Boeing Centennial GB if it goes through!

(Shameless plug)

[The 3rd Placer]

POTKC, its a dogs breakfast of Inconsistent or weak panel lines, symmetry, and poor fit.

My time is better spent on something else, when its a chore to build these things its no longer fun.

Ryan

[POTKC]

Well, I see. That's a pity.

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

So Ryan, what will you other possible options be??

[The 3rd Placer]

I'm loading up pics today of a 1/144 Minicraft 777 (Japan Airlines).

Ryan

Btw this project is not dead, I just can't source a Minicraft 737 right now!

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

If I was not on the other side of the rock I would offer you one of mine. Postage would be the killer. If you are interested I could investigate postage costs, etc?

[The 3rd Placer]

Thanks Ray, I will be attending a quite large model show soon...I hope to find one there!

Ebay is bone dry.

Ryan