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Tweaking Revell's 1/144 727 kit: vac forming fail


DMC

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We must have different plans, Rob.

 

My plans: step 1: cement doors and hatches in place. Paint each half.  Step 2: apply transfers.  Step 3: punch out decals. Step 4: cement stairs, bulkhead, windows in place.  Cement fuselage halves together.  

 

You had had me scratching my head, Rob.  Thought I’d had yet another Senior Moment.

 

Dennis 

 

 

 

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This -100 is the early Airfix 727 before, if I’ve got it right, they modified the moulds and stretched them into a -200.  Plans are dated 1979 and the kit is the US variation.   Except for the fuselage all the other bits look the same.  It came with window inserts.

 

Dennis 

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41 minutes ago, rob Lyttle said:

OK

Well, you can either abandon the clear parts or.....

 

Who am I kidding.... You're just as likely to plunge mould a new fuselage to resolve the situation.....

 

 

I’ve read where modellers have had problems using the clear inserts to plug up the openings.  I’ll just use styrene strip like I did on the -200.  Nothing quite so ambitious as plunge moulding.

 

It’s this kit:

 

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/airfixtributeforum/1965-boeing-727-1-144-t613.html

 

Dennis 

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After spending countless hours plunging, fitting and painting the exhaust cones, but sans thrust reversers, for the pods I wrote what I had done off and started over.  Plunged new cones, cut out the reverser openings and cemented inserts to close off the openings.  I sprayed the cones with black primer, taped off the reverser openings and then sprayed them with Halfords’ aluminium.  Few of the cones in the online photos I looked at were that shiney.  Most were three or four shades of dull grey with, perhaps, the tip of the cone polished.  I tried to duplicate that look.  The, very small, mesh insert was cut from one of those little bags often handed out as party or weddings favours.  This is about the best I can do with these cones and having spent too much time on them already I am ready to move on.

 

Too scribe or not to scribe in 1/144 seems to be a matter of personal choice.  Easy to overdo things in such a small scale and end up with the dreaded “trenches”.  Rather than scribe directly into the plastic, I took a leaf from Paul Budzik’s book and scribed into the primer coat only.  I used the back of a new Xacto blade and three thicknesses of tape has guides.  A few of the lines strayed “off piste” but are difficult to see as the scribing is very fine.  After the colour coat the “panel lines” will be barely discernible.  Pleased with the way the scribing turned out.

 

Thanks for for your interest.

 

Dennis

 

Excellent scuribing tutorial from Paul Budzik.

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

 

Merry Christmas all.

 

Waiting for things to start happening around here so time for a quick post.  

The scribing on the wings came out pretty good.  They could have used another good coat of primer as I got into the plastic in a few places where it was too thin.  However, scribing into the primer works best for me, I just have to make sure there’s enough of it on the area to be scribed.  I’ll use Vallejo black wash to make it stand out a bit more.

 

I used Halfords’ aluminium on the wings and that certainly brought home to me the need to be extra careful with the primer finish as many file marks and scratches not noticed before really popped out. 

 

I reshaped the wingtips a little and cut out a notch for the nav lights.  I’ve seen some builds where a the modellers used a bit of clear plastic (toothbrush?) faired and polished into the wing to good effect.  Being something of a plunge moulding devotee, however, I thought I’d give that method a try before heading out to hunt down a suitable toothbrush. 

 

First few few tries weren’t very successful even though I was using the correct plastic for vacuum forming and plunge moulding (PETG). At .020 it was just too thick and I was about ready admit defeat but found a thin bit of scrap vacuum formed packaging that I had squirreled away previously.  I had an “eureka” moment when it didn’t fog when heated and the plunge was successful.  I had also reshaped the mould so that I would get both “lenses” with one plunge.  

 

Somewhat elated with with my nav light success I reshaped the wing root landing light I had previously done, lined it with black styrene and plunged, using the same plastic, a lense cover to fit the wing leadin edge. 

 

For the lamps themselves I’ll use these very handy ones I bought from Modelling Tools.  Now all I have to do fit these tiny pieces without sacrificing them to that ravenous carpet monster that lurks under my bench.  

 

Thanks for for your interest 

 

Dennis

 

 

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Hi Rob,

 

This is the stuff to get: no craze, no haze, as you can see on the canopy.  Available on the auction site for around £4, free postage.  Biggest problem I have with it is getting the pin-stopper back in the nozzle (tired old eyes).

 

Cheers

 

Dennis 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

 

Managed to get a few things done over the holidays but just bone idleness prevented me from doing more.  Re-scribing or rather scribing full stop as the panel lines were of the raised variety to begin with.  First tried scribing into the primer only which worked very well but I ended priming over them again a couple of times and had to refresh the scribing after I’d applied the (Halfords) aluminium.  But I’m pretty satisfied with the results and am hoping to improve as I do more.  Incidentally, some of the scribing was done directly into the aluminium top coat, over Tamiya primer, and I find that works even better and avoids having to do two scribings.

 

After reading up a little on ‘Corogard’,  I went ahead and sprayed Vallejo U S Grey which I think is close enough based on what I’v seen in a few photos.  It is, apparently, a clear carrier with powdered(?) aluminium mixed in.  Close up ‘again apparently’ the infusion of the aluminium is obvious but from a distance it appears greyish.   I noticed a slight film of aluminium on my fingers from handling the painted wing and I rubbed it lightly on the grey which imparted a slight sheen to the ‘Corogard’ for, ha!, authenticity.

 

I also redid the landing lights using the Little Cars lenses.  Two mm for the largest one and one and a half for the smaller.  The wingtip lamp is only half a mm. Really strained my vision on that one.  Working out now how best to fashion the lense covers.

 

The reference photo is from the BM 727 Walk Around.

 

And here’s another way to do the lights: 

 

http://floatingmid.com/LL.htm

 

Bottom photo is of the Revell (top) wing and the Airfix wing.  The large gaps run the entire length of both wings but really should only be between the outer and inner ailerons. Where the flaps join up should only be a fine line (BM Walk Around again). Missed filling the gaps on the Revell kit but I’ve added a bit of styrene rod to fill the gaps in on the Airfix wing.  I’ll scribe the separation line in after painting the wing.

 

Thanks for your interest.

 

Dennis 

 

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10 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

There's a lot to be said for a bit of bone idleness.....!

Figuring out what all the bits on the wings do... That's the challenge.

You're watching gimme shelter doing the TriStar?

All fascinating stuff.

 

Sometimes I suppose, Rob, time to problem solve, which is what I enjoy most.  This airliner lark is all new to me and I’ve learned a thing or two about the 727 which is useful as I’ve two more to get on with.

 

Yes, the Tristar build is really good.  Learning a couple of things about how to do complicated flaps.

 

I have a punch and have used it for punching out very shiny foil that I’d cemented to styrene sheet....just to experiment.  Looks good on your Caravelle (doh! Not a Caravel!).

 

And thanks for the bump.

 

Dennis

 

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Spent some time mulling over just how I could make a clear cover for the wing root landing lights.  Plunging the cover was not much of a problem but getting the shape right and then painting the frame around it was really going to tax my vision a bit.  So, I plunged an opaque leading edge and trimmed a section of it to fit just the opening, with no overlap.  I fixed that to the clear  leading edge I had previously plunged with a dot of liquid mask.  After that set for a minute I misted a little Tamiya grey primer on the piece and then a light coat of Halfords’ aluminium.  

 

Top right photo shows the mask I actually used and the plunge I cut it from.  For this demo I made another one with a scrap of styrene cemented to it which made it much easier to handle.  Should have done it the first time.

 

Cut the painted ‘cover’ from the plunge and carefully trimmed around it with very sharp nail clippers until it looked about right.  I’m going to hold off cementing it to the wing(s) until they are on the fuselage. 

 

Pleased with the results and now that got the ‘how to do it’ worked out I think the next one will be easier.

 

Thanks for your interest.

 

Dennis

 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

 

Well, if you’re modifying a kit you got to trust something.  I found a set on the Internet and they looked pretty good.  However, when I matched up the kit wings against the plan view the wings came up a little short in chord.  Same with the Airfix wings, which are a close match with the Revell ones, in the bottom photo. 

 

So, I found a second set of plans and both the Revell and Airfix wings were a pretty good match.  Couldn’t find anything on the 727 chord at the root so naturally I’m going to go with the second set of drawings and forget about cutting the wings up to match the first set. 

 

Pays to to get a second opinion.

 

Thanks for your interest.  As usual, advice and questions welcome.

 

Dennis 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

 

 

Come time to make up the starboard engine pod I couldn’t find the mould I had carved to plung the tail cone.   While carving a new one I had the clever idea that I should, as I would eventually need more than one, try vacuum forming several at one time.  Carving several that would match up, however, would take some doing.  While mulling it over, I focused on the cone shaped top of a glue bottle.  Perfect!, the correct taper and with a bit of clay, rough shaped and coated with Vasoline, pushed into the cone I had six in a matter of minutes.

 

After baking and cooling down, I spotted six on the rig and gave vacuum forming all six a shot.  No luck with six so removed two, reheated the styrene and tried again.  No luck with four either after a couple of try’s.  Couldn’t get rid of the webbing between the cones.

 

So, back to basics.  Plunged a new cone and after painting, etc. fitted it to the pod which I had repainted correctly.  I had also made up and fitted a new cowl ring.  After comparing pod #2 with the first one I decided to remake that one for a better match.

 

I’ve already spent far too much time on the pods and am going to attempt to concentrate on getting this one to the paint and decal shop.  The VC-10 beckons and there is the Jumbo I just bought.  

 

Thanks for your interest.  Advice and questions welcome.

 

Dennis

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

Bright and sunny, a good day for catching up and general messing around.  Did a little scribing on the belly of the 727 and filled in a few hollows and file marks.  Also discovered that I was a little hasty in closing up the fuselage and needed to rework the NACA ram duct, which practically nonexistent on the kit.  Had to cut a plug out and match up a scratched duct to fit the opening.  Looks okay but I could have saved myself some work and time had I done a little more research and planning.  

 

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Thanks for looking in,

 

Dennis

 

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