Jump to content

747-400 wi-fi antenna


Recommended Posts

Morning all,

 

Would anyone be able to point me at a good overhead photo or drawing of the wi-fi antenna housing on a 744 - if it was a BA jet that would be even better! 

 

Done a fair bit of googling but can't find a good pic of the shape from above. 

 

Just need to get one scratchbuilt and my Hase kit will be ready for paint when the BA retro jet decals arrive from Ray at 26..... :)

 

TIA

 

Keith

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Tim, 

 

Unfortunately that looks like a different type than is on the 'retro jet', which appears to have a bigger circular or possibly oval housing just behind the upper deck hump.

 

Cheers

 

Keith

 

edit - actually it just dawned on me the pic is very helpful as I didn't have a good pic showing the upper wing colours, thanks again Tim 👍

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Keith

That new antenna is for the GoGo 2k Wifi system BA is rolling out across their fleet.

If you Google "GoGo 2k Wifi antenna" there are plenty of pics showing you the shape needed, but I can't see any dimensions to help scaling.

Best of luck

Tim

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On ‎3‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 9:46 AM, keefr22 said:

Morning all,

 

Would anyone be able to point me at a good overhead photo or drawing of the wi-fi antenna housing on a 744 - if it was a BA jet that would be even better! 

 

Done a fair bit of googling but can't find a good pic of the shape from above. 

 

Just need to get one scratchbuilt and my Hase kit will be ready for paint when the BA retro jet decals arrive from Ray at 26..... :)

 

TIA

 

Keith

Hi Keith

 

I am building a 1/200 BA (well BOAC) 747-436 at the moment. She has the large dome antenna dish just behind the upper deck. I looked on Shapeways for some 3D printed ideas but could only find 1/500 scale. I guess these are not too difficult to make in any scale but then I found that the 1/200 Hasegawa 777-300ER kits are all supplied with these larger Antenna domes on a separate sprue and they work very well on the 747 in the same scale.

 

Hope this helps. The pictures below don't show them as I had not made the antenna alterations yet when I took these last week but it will give you an idea of what Rays set look like on the kit in 1/200

 

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-16 at 14.56.47

 

John

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks John, the decals look great, any issues in applying them? Did you use the xtracolor Boeing grey recommended in the instructions as it looks spot on.

 

I found an overhead shot of a real 777 and wondered if the antenna housings were the same.

 

Keith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, keefr22 said:

Thanks John, the decals look great, any issues in applying them? Did you use the xtracolor Boeing grey recommended in the instructions as it looks spot on.

 

I found an overhead shot of a real 777 and wondered if the antenna housings were the same.

 

Keith

Hi Keith - I will drop you an updated phot over tomorrow of the set up I have used. I use my own choice of greys as I never invested in the Xtracolor range. I have used Tamiya and some greys form the Mig Ammo ranges which have done the trick for the wings however the fuselage has been airbrushed using Mission Models Light Gull Grey as that was the closest I could find from my stock to match the close up photos of the real thing. If you have not used it before, Mission Models acrylics take a bit of getting used to but  I love them and seem to have mastered the ratio of thinner and retarder quite quickly.

 

Applying the decals was a delight - they only needed a few seconds in warm water and I used Microsol and Microset for the actual application. The nose end wrap was a bit of a challenge and there was about a 4mm overlap which needs trimming down. Note you will need to mask and paint the engines white rectangular blocks that sit above the engine BOAC logos as they are not included on the decal set - I have made some white decals for this rather than mask and paint them.

 

All the best - John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great stuff John, many thanks for the reply. Looking at the decals I thought the nose end of the stripe looked like it'll be fun! Thanks for the heads up on the engine rectangles, I'd have probably missed that! Good idea on using white decal, I've got a sheet somewhere!

 

I don't have any MM paints, but do have a tin of the Xtracolor Boeing  grey & a few different brands Light Gull, so I'll see which I think looks best. If I don't like any I'll invest in some of the MM paints, something I've been thinking of doing anyway, so this'll be a good excuse! 

 

I'd appreciate it if you have the time to post a pic of your antennas, would be very helpful.

 

Cheers

 

Keith

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, keefr22 said:

Great stuff John, many thanks for the reply. Looking at the decals I thought the nose end of the stripe looked like it'll be fun! Thanks for the heads up on the engine rectangles, I'd have probably missed that! Good idea on using white decal, I've got a sheet somewhere!

 

I don't have any MM paints, but do have a tin of the Xtracolor Boeing  grey & a few different brands Light Gull, so I'll see which I think looks best. If I don't like any I'll invest in some of the MM paints, something I've been thinking of doing anyway, so this'll be a good excuse! 

 

I'd appreciate it if you have the time to post a pic of your antennas, would be very helpful.

 

Cheers

 

Keith

 

Hi Keith

 

I wasn't going to bother posting a WIP of this build however to help you, here are some pictures of where the BOAC -436 is now. I made my own golden tail fin logos as the decal Speedbird is not very 'brilliant' when applied - no fault of 26Decals, it is just not an easy colour produce as a laser printed decal. I used a new sheet of decal paper, airbrushed matt white and then airbrushed Vallejo Model Air Gold over that,  after which I cut the logos from the A4 sheet and applied these over the already fitted main tail fin logo. As mentioned yesterday, I also made my own engine white rectangular bar decals. The antenna dome is positioned here and the rear antenna probe added. I have never done any resin casting but are thinking about giving it a go as I only have one or 2 of these 777ER antenna domes in stock so I may go on to cast a load myself for my unbuilt 1/200 74-400 fleet

 

Her wings need to go on and then just a few nights masking the undercarriage and she'll be done. Looking forward to seeing yours completed and good luck up the front end with that nose dome end wrap.

 

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-19 at 09.08.46(2)

 

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-19 at 09.08.46(1)

 

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-19 at 09.08.46(4)

 

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-19 at 09.08.46(6)

 

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-19 at 09.08.46(3)

 

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-19 at 09.08.46(7)

 

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-19 at 09.08.46(8)

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you John, those are great pics! I'd been toying with the idea of spraying the speedbird as I agree about it looking a little dull. I was thinking of spraying the whole fin gold and then cutting the logo out of the decal, but that might make it a bit fragile, so will probably follow your lead. 

 

Am I right in thinking the antenna you've used is a sort of 'dish' shape and has a concave, rather than flat, top? After Tim suggested above googling GoGo antennas, I did so and found quite a few variations! Also the 777 pic I mentioned seems to have a flat top one. Also, and I've no doubt you've noticed, GC has two more small black antennas just behind the 'hump' and in front of the wi-fi one. Just in case you hadn't noticed and would want to add them, this pic of the jet in it's earlier scheme shows them well;

 

https://www.airplane-pictures.net/photo/974008/g-bygc-british-airways-boeing-747-400/

 

I hope to get some more done on mine today, I actually started building it in the box Qantas scheme about a decade ago! I'd made a bit of a mess trying to rescribe the raised lines on the fuselage, so they were covered all in filler and I'd intended to glaze the open fuselage windows with Krystal Klear, but they now needed filling to use Ray's decals! After two or three passes at them I think it's now just about ready for some primer!

 

Once again, many thanks for the pics, your kit is looking superb and I look forward to seeing her finished - I hope I can get mine looking somewhere near as nice!

 

Keith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello John, 

 

Niice work all over but I am curious about the cowl rings.  Very clean looking, inside and out.  Do you foil them or are they cemented on after painting?

 

Cheers,

 

Dennis

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎3‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 2:43 PM, DMC said:

Hello John, 

 

Niice work all over but I am curious about the cowl rings.  Very clean looking, inside and out.  Do you foil them or are they cemented on after painting?

 

Cheers,

 

Dennis

 

Hi Dennis -

 

No foil - just painfully time consuming masking and then Alcad II White Aluminium at 8psi

 

Kind regards - John

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎3‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 10:02 AM, keefr22 said:

Thank you John, those are great pics! I'd been toying with the idea of spraying the speedbird as I agree about it looking a little dull. I was thinking of spraying the whole fin gold and then cutting the logo out of the decal, but that might make it a bit fragile, so will probably follow your lead. 

 

Am I right in thinking the antenna you've used is a sort of 'dish' shape and has a concave, rather than flat, top? After Tim suggested above googling GoGo antennas, I did so and found quite a few variations! Also the 777 pic I mentioned seems to have a flat top one. Also, and I've no doubt you've noticed, GC has two more small black antennas just behind the 'hump' and in front of the wi-fi one. Just in case you hadn't noticed and would want to add them, this pic of the jet in it's earlier scheme shows them well;

 

https://www.airplane-pictures.net/photo/974008/g-bygc-british-airways-boeing-747-400/

 

I hope to get some more done on mine today, I actually started building it in the box Qantas scheme about a decade ago! I'd made a bit of a mess trying to rescribe the raised lines on the fuselage, so they were covered all in filler and I'd intended to glaze the open fuselage windows with Krystal Klear, but they now needed filling to use Ray's decals! After two or three passes at them I think it's now just about ready for some primer!

 

Once again, many thanks for the pics, your kit is looking superb and I look forward to seeing her finished - I hope I can get mine looking somewhere near as nice!

 

Keith

Hi Keith - mine's finished and over on the RFI pages today

Cheers - John

  • Like 1
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...