Skodadriver Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Flybe operate the world’s largest fleet of Q400s and their aircraft are a familiar sight at UK airports. I had wanted to add a Q400 to my collection for a while and the discovery that high quality screen printed decals for Flybe’s purple livery are available from RJS Decals gave me the necessary excuse. I’m not a great fan of resin kits but if you want a 1/144 Q400 it’s resin or nothing. I used the Eurolot kit by Welsh Models. There was also a good kit by Nazca although I believe it’s out of production. The Welsh Models airframe consists of only six parts - fuselage, nose cone, fin, wings with integral engines, and tailplane. Apart from having to bore out the nose to take weight (you really need a Dremel or similar tool) the parts assembled quickly and easily with only a little filling required. The propellers are supplied as separate blades and hubs. They were a bit of a fiddle but the blades are stronger than they look and the end result isn’t too bad. I wasn't greatly impressed with the undercarriage and it really needs complete reworking but I was in a hurry to finish the model for the Glasgow show so I used it as it came. I may revisit it at some point. The only outline accuracy issues I picked up were the nose which was slightly too blunt, easily fixed with Milliput, and a minor adjustment to the top of the fin to correct the sit of the tailplane. The instructions provide templates for the fuselage strakes but these are printed the same size as the side drawing which is quite a bit smaller than 1/144 so I had to guesstimate the dimensions from photographs. In hindsight I might have made them a little too big but they’re staying the way they are. Purple is a custom aerosol matched to Pantone 266 and white is Halfords. I’ve got so much purple paint left over I’ll probably end up building a Flybe E195 to use it up. As already mentioned, livery decals are from RJS, excellently printed by BOA. I smartened up the windscreen a little by overlaying sections cut from spare Authentic Airliners decals. I must learn to make my own decals one of these days - Werner Lehmann’s wonderful products have really put me off plain black/grey windscreens and there are still plenty of gaps in the “photo real” ranges, particularly classic propliners. Thanks for looking and as always constructive criticism is welcome. Dave G 45 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 That's a real beauty Dave. The finish is superb and that purple is spot on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Noice! I have a 'thing' for dHC aircraft, Dash 8s (and Twotters) in particular. Very well done, top marks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossm Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 I love that - could even tempt me to 1/144. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Swindell Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Excellent result there Dave! I've always fancied one of these myself, didn't realise Richard had done any more decals after the 2 Jet2 sets I got from him, that's just cost me a few quid... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 (edited) Beautiful Dave, well done. I'm looking forward to the Eastern Express Q400 (but not the price) to do this very scheme. I wasn't aware of RJS decals but having searched for them (RJS Decals) they will now provide the markings to realise my future build and they also have the FlyBe purple Embraer. I recently bought the Ascensio set for this but these require the tail stripes to be painted on and are laser and may now be up for sale... Thanks for posting your latest masterpiece and for introducing a new decal company to my wallet!!! Jeff Edited October 18, 2018 by pinky coffeeboat used the word "decals" too many times... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Beautifully done. What a great finish! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbofan Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Wow that's sharp Dave! I've not seen many of these Welsh resins built up, only their components on the Welsh website, I've thought they were a bit clunky in the past but not this one, maybe I should give them another go. Would be interesting to compare this with the Nazca kit. Nice to see the Scotland titles on it. It's been a good week for airliners! Cheers, Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 What a cracking build !!! See these overhead on a regular basis flogging up and down the country, usually at high level, so it's nice to see this model close to. Thanks for posting Dave. Chris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill.B Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Very nicely done indeed. If your Welsh Models kit was anything like mine (Global Express 5000) you have overcome many issues to produce such a nice model, respect! Having traveled on many of these Flybe Q400s’ over the years I’ve never seen one quite as clean as yours. They’re really grubby from all the use and abuse they get. If you do another one maybe weather it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skodadriver Posted October 19, 2018 Author Share Posted October 19, 2018 Thanks for your kind comments everybody, they make it all worthwhile On 10/19/2018 at 7:54 AM, Bill.B said: Very nicely done indeed. If your Welsh Models kit was anything like mine (Global Express 5000) you have overcome many issues to produce such a nice model, respect! Having traveled on many of these Flybe Q400s’ over the years I’ve never seen one quite as clean as yours. They’re really grubby from all the use and abuse they get. If you do another one maybe weather it? Thanks for the compliment Bill. Welsh Models kits can have their issues but the Q400 didn't really give me any serious trouble, nothing like the problems you're having with the Global Express 5000. The undercarriage is pretty awful as I've already said but at least the wheels are round! One of my other projects is a Welsh Models CV440 which has stalled because I'm trying to work out how to fit the undercarriage - the white metal legs bear absolutely no relation to the mounting points on the resin wings and the instructions are useless. I'll get there eventually but having built many Welsh kits over the years it's not an unusual situation. I tend to take a minimalist attitude to weathering. Badly done weathering on an airliner looks awful and getting it right takes serious skill, more than I possess, so I usually content myself with emphasising the control surfaces and replicating obvious soot staining like the rear of a Tu-154. All airliners must have been clean at some point in their life cycle so I suppose it's a bit like a stopped clock being right twice a day! When you raised the point I had another look at the model and realised I'd missed the hinge line on the right side of the fin which has now been attended to. Dave G 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Speaking from under the flightpath for Southampton runway 02, I can vouch for the paint work and colour scheme.... Absolutely spot on!! Often wondered what my options are for doing one of these. Now I know. Thanks for posting 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchem Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 That colour scheme is a bit brilliant Dave (as is the build). I remember flying on one of these from Cardiff to Glasgow and back again about 4 years ago. If memory serves me correctly they were a bit noisy on the inside ? Thanks for posting. mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Top notch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAAMAN Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Really great finish, well done 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Lovely job Dave, I would love to build a 400Q but I would prefer 1/72. So I will have to wait a little longer until I build up the courage to attempt a conversion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skodadriver Posted October 20, 2018 Author Share Posted October 20, 2018 22 hours ago, mitchem said: That colour scheme is a bit brilliant Dave (as is the build). I remember flying on one of these from Cardiff to Glasgow and back again about 4 years ago. If memory serves me correctly they were a bit noisy on the inside ? Thanks for posting. mike Thanks Mike. I’ve never flown on a Flybe Q400 but I did a couple of short flights (MUC - BSL and return) with Augsburg Airways a few years ago and from what I remember it was pretty noisy. One leg was noticeably noisier than the other although whether that was down to where I was sitting or the individual aircraft I wouldn’t care to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 Nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 One thing I remember, on final approach into Belfast City he slipped the props into fine pitch, and it was like he'd hit the brakes hard. Those blades are pretty good at the job they do. You have them right for the parked position. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex1978 Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Superb work all around. Flybe must have one of the greatest liveries around Europe.It looks fantastic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rb277170 Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 (edited) Having seen the model in the flesh at Bellahouston it is stunning , along with all of Skodadrivers display. Very fine indeed. Having done a few Glasgow - Belfast City rotations on them I can tell you they are noisy inside. I’m afraid the E195s won’t be an outlet for your purple paint though, David, as far as I’m aware they are all still in the old light blue livery . There is an article in this months Airliners Magasine that says their leases aren’t being renewed and do they will return to lessor. That will leave Flybe as a Q400 and E175 airline. Great speaking to you again. Edited October 22, 2018 by Rb277170 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Swindell Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 11 minutes ago, Rb277170 said: I’m afraid the E195s won’t be an outlet for your purple paint though, David, as far as I’m aware they are all still in the old light blue livery Not all of them, G-FBEJ and G-FBEM have the purple livery. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rb277170 Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Thanks, I didn’t realise that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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