easyjet Airbus A319 1/144

[RCI]

Hello there!

So here we are again with a "trip report" and whats the story?

in 2017 my former employer airberlin went bankrupt. Very soon it was clear that easyjet was about to aquire most of the operation out of my homebase Berlin (TXL), so that was the only company i wanted to work for in Berlin - and lucky me got a job with ezy in 2018.

When i started flying again i met a lot of new people and one of the first contacts is now one of my best friends. So to cut a long story short, his first flight as a pilot on a commercial aircraft was on G-EZAM, which will be the plane built.

Challange: it is his birthday present, so i have only time until mid of August. Some of you who might know me will quickly see the dilemma haha 🙂

 

I decided to go for the Revell A319 and started a week ago.

instead of cutting a zvezda 320 or revell 320 neo, which are the better kits for sure, allthough with some weak spots as well. Never the less i will steal and copy parts of those kits.

I wont be able to sort out all issues, but actually most of them. Basically i will fix all major items and only leave small inaccuracies - at least that is the goal. its all just limited to the time i have 😕

 

To start off i sprayed the fuselage halves in black, never did this before, i thought i could give this a try, the white plastic inside might be too bright.

Now the first major thing is: i wanted clear windows all the way... since the shape of the Airbus windows is only a 100% correct on the zvezda A321, i had actually the worst window shape of all kits with my revell choice.

I got a stripe of electrical tape (glue side is glossy) on the outside and filled the windows from the inside with clear resin.  once i come back to the fuselage these will be masked with correctly shaped masks, made by my own.

 

Results with the resin are perfect, i expected troubles here, but all worked fine. Got all the bubbles out with my vacuum pump.

 

 

Edited May 31, 2020 by RCI

[Adam Poultney]

After your stunning MD11 this should be an interesting build, I'll give it a follow, and good luck!

[Sturmovik]

26 minutes ago, RCI said:

Hello there

General Kenobi.

 

I'll be following this, since Easyjet has a nice livery.

[RCI]

Just now, Sturmovik said:

General Kenobi.

 

I'll be following this, since Easyjet has a nice livery.

i think its livery is rather ugly, but since i sit in this thing it doesnt bother me haha 🙂

 

21 minutes ago, Adam Poultney said:

After your stunning MD11 this should be an interesting build, I'll give it a follow, and good luck!

🤟 thx

[Space Ranger]

Excellent work on those windows! What brand resin did you use? Did you de-air it before pouring, or after?

[Graeme H]

Looking really good so far, will be along for the ride 

[RCI]

back again with some more news.

 

i copied the zvezda A320 clear part, the only accurate one and its not neccesary to refine it at all.

Also i got a todo list, lots of things are not on the list since i allready did them - like making a resin copy of the clear part and many others.

 

photo is not the best

 

[RCI]

8 minutes ago, Space Ranger said:

Excellent work on those windows! What brand resin did you use? Did you de-air it before pouring, or after?

its some german stuff, i think its called bredermann, but they now sell under a different name on ebay.

yes, de-airing after the resin is ready to use and once applied to the windows again de-airing it , cause sometimes you get bubbles when pouring it into whatsoever.

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Nice trick! good results.

 

[RCI]

i dont have too much time, so copying parts from better kits saves me scratchbuilding time.

regarding the flightdeck, initially i thought about using the zvezda one, which is nicely detailed, but it is a bit too wide, so noch fitting into the rvl 319.

i went for revells A321Neo flightdeck. fits into the 310 without shaping the part and it looks really nice. had to give some filler to the seats, revell made them with holes for a reason i dont know.

 

 

[RCI]

started converting the 321 wing to a 319 wing. not only the middle fairing have to be removed, but also die panel lines for the double slotted flap.

Also holes were drilled in the fuselage and bottom wing for landing and wing lights. Lense inserted and filled with clear resin 🙂

 

plastic is quite soft, removing the fairings wasnt a big deal.

Flap canoes had to be reshaped. Geometry is a bit different on the real one...they are not that pointy 🙂

A nice kit, but too many sinkmarks...which had to be filled 😕

Wheelwells look ok, will probably leave them likes this, at least thats what i think now haha

 

 

 

 

[coneheadff]

Good job so far!!!

 

May I ask something...are you a pilot or a FA?

I was a B1 with Air Berlin Technik in TXL

Heard the whole fleet is now in SXF...and the guys in TXL are without work 😪

I'm in MUC now with...you know who

 

Alex

[halcyonjet]

Lovely work so far, and really nice to see glazed windows!

 

Dave

[RCI]

22 hours ago, coneheadff said:

Good job so far!!!

 

May I ask something...are you a pilot or a FA?

I was a B1 with Air Berlin Technik in TXL

Heard the whole fleet is now in SXF...and the guys in TXL are without work 😪

I'm in MUC now with...you know who

 

Alex

Hi Alex,

 

Pilot, we probably then know each other haha, cause i was based in TXL for 7 years and worked in maintenance before (ProdPlan).

Yes, definetly most OE registered planes are in SXF, but we keep heads up.

I guess who...

by the way, my master build is going to be an airberlin A321, probably CQ, but its still in the planning stages.

3 hours ago, halcyonjet said:

Lovely work so far, and really nice to see glazed windows!

 

Dave

thx dave! yeah, sadly only very few do so...

[coneheadff]

9 hours ago, RCI said:

Hi Alex,

 

Pilot, we probably then know each other haha, cause i was based in TXL for 7 years and worked in maintenance before (ProdPlan).

Yes, definetly most OE registered planes are in SXF, but we keep heads up.

I guess who...

by the way, my master build is going to be an airberlin A321, probably CQ, but its still in the planning stages.

Die Welt ist so klein

Maybe we really met but I spent the last six or seven years mostly on customer aircraft and the 330 fleet.

Looking forward to see CQ in AB livery.

 

I have the Revell A320 box with the old AB livery. Maybe I will tackle that one soon. So I'm following your build and I'm learning cause I haven't build an airliner yet  

[RCI]

13 hours ago, coneheadff said:

Die Welt ist so klein

Maybe we really met but I spent the last six or seven years mostly on customer aircraft and the 330 fleet.

Looking forward to see CQ in AB livery.

 

I have the Revell A320 box with the old AB livery. Maybe I will tackle that one soon. So I'm following your build and I'm learning cause I haven't build an airliner yet  

ja, vor allem, dass man sich hier trifft - selten 🙂

 

Oh dear, lots of cleanup required and if you want to build a proper 320, you need to add a lot of parts. I will probably also build one some time, but i m now really into this 319 and an airberlin 738, which i will also show here, once it is finished.

[coneheadff]

Looking forward to see them finished!!!

 

Yeah I know...it's hard when you see an aircraft every day and then just ignore the short comings of the kit.

But the cockpit door mirror... 😜 I think I would ignore that detail

[RCI]

55 minutes ago, coneheadff said:

Looking forward to see them finished!!!

 

Yeah I know...it's hard when you see an aircraft every day and then just ignore the short comings of the kit.

But the cockpit door mirror... 😜 I think I would ignore that detail

haha....thats only a very small piece. anyway you are better served with the zvezda A320

[RCI]

wings went together quite well.

and i managed to collect all parts from the zvezda kit i need to copy for the revell 319.  DAMN i forgot the APU exhaust...will need to cast that one seperately.

 

also i refined the shaft oil vent and drilled holes... really an exhausting work.

 

 

[RCI]

ok, so the resin copies of the revell Neo flightdeck are perfect. the picture of the mainpanel shows the applied decal before the softener started its work, thats why it looked a bit creapy with some air trapped underneath, but it developed well in the end...i mixed two MRP colors to get the airbus interior blue, 2 types are used.

 

 

finally the seatbelts...

 

 

[RCI]

the final result is absolutely ok, considering its size and whats visible under the clearpart, i am quite happy. again, i dont have time

looks a bit untidy, but i already checked, whats visible later and its fine.

 

 

 

[RCI]

window blinds

 

 

[coneheadff]

Nice little details!!!

[RCI]

Masks are ready. I checked all availble masks, and there is not a single correct one among them.

initially i thought the one from PAS is ok. When i buy masks i usually scan them and compare them to the real thing - so thats what i did and it didn't take me long to accept the fact, that also the PAS mask isnt optimum. inaccurate geometry and the fit is also not perfect.

Again, i did my own, and i m certain that it is the 95% solution. fits perfect and is drawn with pics of the real thing. Also tamiya masking tape is the best, i know most available masks are vinyl / oramask, and they are total crap. i tried to use them, but they are onla cheap, no further advantage.

 

 

[Challenger350Pilot]

Hi Sini....

 

Well...this is going to be fantastic. A great build, and a wonderful masterclass to follow...and NO...absolutely NO...I do NOT find this boring in ANY way.

 

The resin windows look amazing. Will you frame them too? And what about the cockpit panel decals...did you design and print those? I have wondered if using a photo of an actual airplane cockpit training poster could be reduced small enough to be used. Would that depend on the printer and the size of the printer head? Hmmm.....

Edited June 7, 2020 by Challenger350Pilot