Jump to content

British Airways Tristar


speedbird

Recommended Posts

Having taken the plunge into the strange alien world of civil aircraft modeling, I have decided I want a BA Tristar. As already said in a previous post I know very little about this subject and although I'm not a rivet counter I do like a reasonable level of accuracy. My question is this, can the Eastern Express Lockheed L1011 Tristar (Delta Airlines) kit be used for a British Airways example?

 
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes it can, it's the long fuselage version so can be used for Tristar -1 and -100. They have announced a short fuselage -500 in Pan Am markings and that can be done in BA colours too.

 

Paul Harrison

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you buy it from here 

http://www.26decals.com/epages/62035508.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/62035508/Categories/26_Models you can get it with BA decals.

And don't forget AA do the best window decals 

http://www.authentic-airliner-decals.de/epages/17895661.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/17895661/Products/D144-L01

 

I'm not a TriStar expert but I think the engines are slightly different. If you compare the kit engines with pics on the net the back (technical term) seems different.

Cheers,

Ian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Turbofan said:

I'm not a TriStar expert but I think the engines are slightly different. If you compare the kit engines with pics on the net the back (technical term) seems different.

Cheers,

Ian

The L1011 exclusively used the RB211 so the differences must be relatively minor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Tristar had 3 very subtly different exhaust nozzles during its lifetime. The first had the long hot section with thrust reverser fairings on it as depicted in the Airfix, Revell, Otaki and EE kits. The second did not have the fairings, and the third was shorter . The first type shows the long nozzles and fairings on the hot section:

1280px-Rolls_Royce_RB_211_engine_from_Lo

 

Photos of the second type are rare because it didn't last long. The nozzle was the same shape, but had the hot section thrust reversers deleted. The third type was shorter with a steeper angle:

RAF-TriStar%20KC%20Mk1_03-add.military%2

 

It was the most common configuration, so of course the model companies didn't choose to offer it to us.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The other thing to check is the fairing below the centre engine intake - you can see it in Jessica's photo. I haven't seen the Eastern Express kit up close but from photos I've seen I don't think it's included. It was on all Tristar 500s, but some 200s had it as well - I may be wrong here but think BA's did. So check whether the individual aircraft you're modelling had it - I think you'll have to add it yourself for a BA Tristar 200, but you can build a Tristar 1 or 100 without it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take a look at the RAF Tristar from a few posts ago. Look at the upper fuselage roof just below the #2 intake. The Frisbee fairing is that raised 'ramp' below the intake. It's a narrow sharp wedge shape which blends into the leading edge of the fin below the intake. It was added to correct a buffeting problem caused by shock wave formation below the intake where the local airflow approached mach 1 when the aircraft was at cruising speed. All -500s had them from new, and some older -1s, -100s, and -200s had them retrofitted.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Jessica said:

Take a look at the RAF Tristar from a few posts ago. Look at the upper fuselage roof just below the #2 intake. The Frisbee fairing is that raised 'ramp' below the intake. It's a narrow sharp wedge shape which blends into the leading edge of the fin below the intake. It was added to correct a buffeting problem caused by shock wave formation below the intake where the local airflow approached mach 1 when the aircraft was at cruising speed. All -500s had them from new, and some older -1s, -100s, and -200s had them retrofitted.

Ok, never noticed that, thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ideally you'd replace the exhaust nozzles entirely, but you can probably get away with shortening them by about half and filing off the reverser fairings. You'll probably need to put in a new disc of plastic in the mounting area for the shorter nozzle to sit on because the old mounting ring on the nozzle will be thrown out. There's also a new fairing which needs to fit between the pylon and the nozzle as seen in the photos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't found anything in the Halfords range which is a good match to the Landor scheme.  Xtracolor (Hannants) make BA Pearl Grey as X304. It's in stock according to their website but I know from previous experience that it is too dark and needs around 50% white added. Another Britmodeller suggests Revell 371 for the grey although I haven't used it myself.  Nobody has ever produced an exact Landor blue. The last time I built a model in the scheme I used Xtracolor, a mix of 50% X023 Oxford Blue and 50% X357 US Airways Dark Blue. That recipe was given to me by a fellow modeller who used to work for BA and it looks pretty accurate.  Hannants have both blues in stock according to their website.

 

Dave G

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By strange coincidence, I have a substantial wooden box painted in Landor blue at home. It was built by a British Airways engineer when the scheme was current. It's never occurred to me before now to colour match it!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh dear, I was afraid that would be the answer... I'm not a fan of xtracolour as it takes eons to dry. I could use humbrol but I lost faith in them ages ago due to lack of quality  and the fact that enamels tend to discolour after a while. To be absolutely honest guys I'm not that bothered about being 100% accurate as long as it looks something like... I seem to remember years ago a friend building the Airfix 747 and they recommend oxford blue for their British Airways scheme so would that be ok for that? Would a slightly lighter shade than oxford blue be ok for a landor scheme?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thinning Xtracolor with cellulose thinner usually improves the drying time. To my eyes Oxford Blue on its own is too light for Landor Blue.  If you really don't want to use Xtracolor it might be worth getting hold of some acrylic blues from Tamiya or Revell and trying your own mix.  

 

The only thing that matters is for you to be happy with the final result.  

 

Edit:  In this thread Viking used a mix of Tamiya dark blue and black and you can see superb result he achieved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If anyone cares, I just compared my wooden box to the colour standards I have handy. There's nothing in RAL Classic close to the "Landor Blue" paint on my box. The closest in reflectance/darkness FS595C seems to be FS25042, which is what most model paint companies sell as US Sea Blue, but it's a little greyer than Landor Blue. The closest in hue (but too light) looks to be FS25060.

 

The closest match in my BS381C copy seems very close indeed, and it's -106 Royal Blue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

A good match for the Landor blue is the Humbrol blue 15 or Testors Blue Angel blue.For the latter you may want to spray a cote of black first before applying the blue.

I did this on my BA 747-200 and 747-400 and the result was quite pleasing.For my recent 777-200 I used the Humbrol blue 15 which I am also happy with.

 

For the grey I always use Revell light grey 371.Its satin gloss but if polished up and cleared after, it looks very good.

 

Hope this helps.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...