Turbofan Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 When Bra.Z models released the conversion kit for the A340-5/600 I picked up one of the first ones from Ivo at Telford. I can't remember when it was but it must have been 10 years ago. I already had the Revell A340 kit which is needed for some of the parts so I set to work straight away as I'd wanted an A340-500 or 600 for ages and didn't fancy having to do all the conversion work myself. As many of you will know this conversion kit is a challenge but will, with some effort, eventually produce an impressive model. But if I had known that Authentic Airliners would release one I would definitely have waited and saved myself a lot of work and ended up with a more accurate and detailed model. During the build I replaced the fuselage roof with some ABS tube I found on ebay, ditched the resin wings and reworked the Revell wings myself, and used the Bra.Z replacement nose as I don't like the Revell kit nose. So from the original conversion kit all I've used is the wingbox and lower fuselage, rear fuselage and vertical stabilizer and the engines. The horizontal stabilizers I also adapted from the Revell kit parts. The nose wheels are 767 main wheels as I felt the Revell A340 nose wheels are too small. My problems didn't end with the build, painting has been problematic with the white crazing and having to be removed. The same thing happened to a lesser extent with the second application and also on my recent Qantas 747-200. I think this was due to either not shaking the can enough, painting in the cold or laying on to many thick coats too quickly. Possibly a combination of all three! I used Halfords Appliance White and Racking Grey. The purple colour on the rear fuselage looks quite blue in the photos but is a better colour in real life but it is a very difficult colour to pin down. I have not painted the metallic purple Thai initially used but the non metallic colour they changed to later. I made up the colour from Tamiya X16 Purple and X3 Royal Blue. In retrospect I should have used less blue I think. The decals are the 26 sheet for the A330 and A340-5/600 which worked well but were a little brittle. Cockpit and cabin windows and door details are from Authentic Airliners Decals and other details were designed and printed by myself. In much the same way I prefer the 777-200 to the -300 I also favour the A340-500 over the -600. The proportions are more pleasing to my eye. As I've recently built an Emirates 777 I decided to put this in Thai Airways livery, my other choice would have been Singapore Airlines but that'll have to wait for my next 777-200. Anyway here are the pics, hope you like it! I think I could do with a darker wash on the fans to highlight the blades a little more. Thanks for looking, all comments and criticisms gratefully received. Cheers, Ian 33 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unfinished project Posted November 17, 2018 Share Posted November 17, 2018 Very nice build there’s something about the A340-500/600 airframe. I’ve seen this actual aircraft at Zurich. Such a stunning scheme seeing it coming in at sunrise with the Swiss Alps as a backdrop 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 Well worth the effort you've put into this one Ian. The white, although you have used appliance white, looks very good in the photos too. Not as bright as usual but more realistic in my opinion. Another fine result. 👍 Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 Beautiful model of a beautiful aeroplane in a beautiful livery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-CAAC- Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 Hi Ian. What an excellent job! Your work on this A345 and the B772 earlier both involved challenging conversion work yet they turned out such well integrated like a single-piece work. I am also considering a China Eastern A346 and China Southern B772 on my todo wishlist. May I ask how did you manage to minimize any visible discrepancies when connecting the fuselage/tube segments? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 It’s come out beautifully Ian, well worth the 10 year wait. It’s a lovely scheme to do as well, I suspect not the easiest though with those angles on the colours? cheers neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 (edited) Wow, great work and as others have said, well worth persevering with. I have that conversion but you and others keep repeating the same phrase "this conversion kit is a challenge" - I may bite the bullet and go the AA route instead and clear some room. I love the neatness of the top fuselage colour markings - mine would be all over the place!! 9 hours ago, stringbag said: Well worth the effort you've put into this one Ian. The white, although you have used appliance white, looks very good in the photos too. Not as bright as usual but more realistic in my opinion. Another fine result. 👍 Chris. Yeah, there is something about Appliance White that I find just a little bit too bright sometimes. I've started to use Mr Color GX 1 cool white and find that to be a good white when a slightly less bright white is needed. Excellent work Ian, I'm still trying to work out the masking requirements for the Calder DC-8..... Jeff Edited November 18, 2018 by pinky coffeeboat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchem Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 🤩 That's rather brilliant, and as Mr Kipling would say - Exceedingly good ! Thanks for persevering. mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger350Pilot Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 What a beeeeautiful build, Ian! One to be most proud of. Really enjoyed reading the details of the build; the additions, deletions, your pleasures and displeasures. Thank you for sharing this. Truly inspirational. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig88 Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 Fantastic! Well finished. Some of the photos even look like they are shots of the real thing! Miguel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 Simply wonderful model aeroplane! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skodadriver Posted November 18, 2018 Share Posted November 18, 2018 Thanks for sharing another amazing model Ian. The beautiful result certainly justifies all your hard work but I must admit reading your comments makes me glad I’ve never dabbled in the BraZ A340 conversions! You've achieved your usual immaculate finish and I’m surprised to read about the problems with the appliance white. Jeff’s point about it sometimes being too white is well made but I stick with it because it’s never let me down although I always decant and airbrush mine. Looking forward to your next masterpiece. Dave G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael301757 Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Stunning build and a gorgeous livery, lovely job. Cheers Michael. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Noice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Wow! That is absolutely beautiful. I've always had a thing for the clean & powerful lines of the A340 - no better displayed than on your fine model! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 A real beauty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbofan Posted November 21, 2018 Author Share Posted November 21, 2018 (edited) Thanks for all the replies everyone! On 11/18/2018 at 12:07 AM, stringbag said: Well worth the effort you've put into this one Ian. The white, although you have used appliance white, looks very good in the photos too. Not as bright as usual but more realistic in my opinion. Another fine result. 👍 Chris. Thanks Chris, I think the white isn't as bright because although it was a sunny day the sun was so low. On 11/18/2018 at 7:16 AM, -CAAC- said: I am also considering a China Eastern A346 and China Southern B772 on my todo wishlist. May I ask how did you manage to minimize any visible discrepancies when connecting the fuselage/tube segments? Hi Chris, Thank you! Well if you are considering an A346 I would seriously consider the Authentic Airliners kit, I saw one last weekend at SMW in Telford and it really blows the Revell/Bra.Z conversion out of the water in all aspects and considering the cost of the kits you'll need isn't really that much more expensive. But if you do go down the RV/Bra.Z conversion route I can only recommend assembling each side first and joining these as you would any other kit. Don't try to build each section, ie nose, centre and tail, and then join the tube segments as in real aircraft manufacturing. Plus lots of dry fitting and fettling before any glueing! You'll still have plenty of filling and rubbing down to do though! Once you've done an A345/6 conversion the 777-300 to -200 is a doddle and you can cut up the fuselage and join it back together very easily with very little effort. Hope this helps! On 11/18/2018 at 9:34 AM, woody37 said: It’s come out beautifully Ian, well worth the 10 year wait. It’s a lovely scheme to do as well, I suspect not the easiest though with those angles on the colours? cheers neil Thanks Neil, yes it took a few goes with the masking tape to get it right! I couldn't have done it without a photocopy of the decal to adjust the masking to. On 11/18/2018 at 10:02 AM, pinky coffeeboat said: I may bite the bullet and go the AA route instead Hi Jeff, As you no doubt saw at Telford it's a beautiful kit and well worth the money imho! I'm sure you're up to the task re the Calder DC8 just don't rush it that's my advice! On 11/18/2018 at 11:27 PM, Skodadriver said: Thanks for sharing another amazing model Ian. The beautiful result certainly justifies all your hard work but I must admit reading your comments makes me glad I’ve never dabbled in the BraZ A340 conversions! You've achieved your usual immaculate finish and I’m surprised to read about the problems with the appliance white. Jeff’s point about it sometimes being too white is well made but I stick with it because it’s never let me down although I always decant and airbrush mine. Looking forward to your next masterpiece. Dave G Thanks Dave, the problems with the Appliance White were my own fault I think. Painting is a real bottleneck for me and in my impatience to get it over and done with I often try to get by with one heavy coat rather than two or three light coats. Of course it very often backfires and I end up spending more time stripping back dodgy paintwork and redoing it, I might learn one of these days! Next off the bench could be an Air India 747-300 converted from the Zvezda 747-8 which is all ready for the decals but I did pick up a couple of AA Tridents at Telford last week which I keep tinkering with! Cheers, Ian Edited November 21, 2018 by Turbofan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 Just beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbofan Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 On 11/21/2018 at 1:41 AM, Meatbox8 said: Just beautiful Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex1978 Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Great to see a -500 . You did an awesome job here and the Thai livery is one of the best to grace the A340. As you have mentioned,the A340-500 has the much better proportions compared to the -600. I will probably go for the Authentic Airliners kit rather than the very expensive conversion set Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Another one I appear to have missed at the time of posting! Great work Ian, I'm sure I would have given up the struggle you appear to have had. It was well worth persisting though, its come out beautifully. Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 she looks stunning - and a nice colourful choice of livery - a brilliant conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbofan Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 On 23/01/2019 at 22:49, Alex1978 said: Great to see a -500 . You did an awesome job here and the Thai livery is one of the best to grace the A340. As you have mentioned,the A340-500 has the much better proportions compared to the -600. I will probably go for the Authentic Airliners kit rather than the very expensive conversion set Thanks Alex, I agree about the Thai livery although there weren't many to choose from! Yes the AA kit is definitely the way to go for a -5 or -600. On 26/01/2019 at 09:37, Viking said: It was well worth persisting though, its come out beautifully Thanks John, I think this holds the record for my longest build, I was so glad to get it finished in the end! 1 hour ago, Gimme Shelter said: she looks stunning - and a nice colourful choice of livery - a brilliant conversion. Thanks John, it certainly looks better now it's finished, I'd got so used to seeing it half finished, but it didn't put me off conversions!! Cheers, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teeradej Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 Outstanding job! The shade of Thai Airways' blue you used looks very close to the real thing. Flawlessly executed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger350Pilot Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 On 11/17/2018 at 5:20 PM, Turbofan said: I think I could do with a darker wash on the fans to highlight the blades a little more. Well...maybe...yeah. But does the real airplane have darker fans? At any rate...this is really really reeeeaaalllly nice work, Ian. I am certainly one for detailing when its reasonable. I have followed this build somewhat, and have been so impressed by the undertaking. The end result has been worth the wait, and hopefully worth the time and effort you've put in for it. This is outstanding, and a real eye pleaser. Love the A340; and I agree with your assessment of the differences between the 500/600 and the 777-200/300 that can form personal preferences. Congratulations on a job well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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