1/144 Revell China Northwest Airbus A310

[-CAAC-]

New to the forum and excited to post here for the very first time. This is one of the models in a series of Chinese airlines I have planned to build since early this year. The kit was a 1/144 Revell Airbus A310. The corogard decal was from Liveries Unlimited while the airline decal was custom made. 

 

A brief history of the aircraft: Delivered in 1985, B-2302 was the second Airbus A310 purchased by CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China). When China Northwest Airlines was formed in 1989, this aircraft was transferred to CAAC Northwest Branch and repainted with the CNW blue-red cheatline and logos. After the merging of China Northwest with China Eastern in 2002, the aircraft entered the China Eastern fleet and served until 2007. 

 

Headquartered in Xi’an, China Northwest Airlines was one of the six backbone airlines in the 1990s in Mainland China. Others being Air China, China Northern, China Eastern, China Southern, and China Southwest. Only three of the airlines are still in operation today. 

 

The logo of CNW was an inspiration from the Flying Asparas in the Frescoes of Mogao Caves in northwest China as well as the shape of the globe. It has embedded in the memories of many old generation Chinese people. 

 

The Revell Airbus A310 kit (Lufthansa) came in its original package of 1984. The number of pieces were kept to its minimum and easily assembled.

 

Modifications made include: 

Replacing the CF6 engines from Revell kit with PW4000 from Brazil Models. 

Custom designed and printed decal. 

 

Shortcomings: 

Weathering was not considered when building this model.

Application of the Testors gloss enamel paint was not as smooth as anticipated. 

 

Here are a few pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for viewing and providing your feedback. 

 

Cheers, 

Chris 

[zebra]

Very nice. Don’t see many A310s and don’t think I’ve seen those colours on a model before. I like it a lot.

[MartinSK]

Great A310 in nice livery that we do not seen often. Regarding to not enough smooth gloss colour I use sandpaper 6000 to give it smooth finish and after sanding I use old cotton t-shirt to achieve glossy finish.

[Challenger350Pilot]

Welcome to the forum, and to Britmodeller. This is a great place to seek and receive good advice on building, and the replies are always respectful and praiseworthy. You'll enjoy the people here...they are genuine and keenly interested in good builds. Nice model, and a beautiful livery. Looks like the Testor's gloss enamel didn't go well, but who can ever tell why? Sometimes the temperature while applying is too hot, too much humidity, could be the nozzle was partially clogged and caused the spray to "spit;" or it could be that the Testor's sprays are just plain inferior. The clear gloss enamel will yellow over time, and sanding it smooth or removing it will only prove to be frivolous. Next time, try the Tamiya products. And for a clear sealant/protectant the use of an acrylic floor wax, such as the Johnson product "Future" would be easy to apply in sparing quantities, with no yellowing. Lesson learned, I am sure. Nonetheless, and all of your observed flaws considered, this is a fine model, and a good choice for a beautiful livery.

[Abandoned Project]

Love the livery  

[-CAAC-]

16 hours ago, MartinSK said:

Great A310 in nice livery that we do not seen often. Regarding to not enough smooth gloss colour I use sandpaper 6000 to give it smooth finish and after sanding I use old cotton t-shirt to achieve glossy finish.

Thanks for your advice. I'll consider a smoothing finish next time following your tips!

[-CAAC-]

6 hours ago, Challenger350Pilot said:

Welcome to the forum, and to Britmodeller. This is a great place to seek and receive good advice on building, and the replies are always respectful and praiseworthy. You'll enjoy the people here...they are genuine and keenly interested in good builds. Nice model, and a beautiful livery. Looks like the Testor's gloss enamel didn't go well, but who can ever tell why? Sometimes the temperature while applying is too hot, too much humidity, could be the nozzle was partially clogged and caused the spray to "spit;" or it could be that the Testor's sprays are just plain inferior. The clear gloss enamel will yellow over time, and sanding it smooth or removing it will only prove to be frivolous. Next time, try the Tamiya products. And for a clear sealant/protectant the use of an acrylic floor wax, such as the Johnson product "Future" would be easy to apply in sparing quantities, with no yellowing. Lesson learned, I am sure. Nonetheless, and all of your observed flaws considered, this is a fine model, and a good choice for a beautiful livery.

Thanks for your welcoming message and excellent remark. I have used Tamiya acrylic spray paints before and they worked pretty well. I guess the main reason for the unsmooth finish was because I had only one spary can that was used till near empty when the paint came out in uneven splashes instead of even layers. Appreciate your advice and will consider them next time!

[stringbag]

Nice result from a rather mediocre kit.  You have obviously put a lot of effort into this one.

Great to see another airliner modeller in the ranks.

 

Chris.

[Graeme H]

A fantastic job on that, it's not the easiest kit, and you have done it really well  

[Alex1978]

Welcome to Britmodeller,always great to have more airliner builders.

I built a number of Revell A310s so its nice to see another one.Especially in such unusual livery.Despite your troubles,you created a very nice model.

 

[Greg Law]

Nice builds. I have flown China Eastern within China quite a few times in the past. So this brings back memories for me.

[-CAAC-]

Thanks for all the greetings and feedbacks. Here's a few new pics:

 

 

 

 

[Adam Poultney]

Photos don't appear to be working