1:72 Boeing 747-400 'Ed Force One'

[Wolfhound32]

Hi fellow modelers,

 

Here a project I've finished in 2017 but I thought you might like to see..

I've transformed a damaged old 1:72 KLM  travel agency Boeing 747-400 model into a shiny 'new' Ed Force One.

Enjoy, and... Up the irons!!

 

 

It all started in june 2016, when Iron Maiden did their ‘The Book Of Souls World Tour’. I saw a lot of pictures about the Boeing 747-400 Ed Force One, but never thought of having a model of it.. until Amsterdam was the location of their next concert, and the 747 would land and stay overnight on Schiphol Airport. I had a day off from work, nice weather, so I went to Schiphol to try to get a glimpse of the Ed Force One.
And that happened, I had a nice place at a secured gate somewhere at a cargo platform:

 

I waited for some hours, and finally... YESSS😬😬!! Bruce Dickinson himself and the band arrived, and Captain Dickinson held a short talk to the groundcrew. I zoomed in:

 

...and he entered the plane, starting procedures and checklists for departure.

 

Imagine you're the lead singer of the great Iron Maiden, and, why not, you fly your own World Tour 747.. EPIC!!!

 

Finally Ed Force One departed..

 

...and on my way back home I just knew it. I had to have a model of this beautiful bird. A BIG model!!

 

So at home I went to the attic, because there I had an old damaged 1:72 model of a KLM Boeing 747-300.

A travel agency model, belonged to someone who offered it to me for about 50€ so I bought it from him.  Didn't do anything with it, but now it was useful for my project..

 

 

 

Damaged flap hinge:

 

A broken and badly repaired engine:

 

Bad applied decals:

 

...and the cockpit window decal is applied out of line:

 

So time for a ‘Heavy Metal’ overhaul! I also had a 1:200 Hasegawa Boeing 747-400 without box an without decals. As the ‘Ed Force One’ decal sheets come in scale 1:144 and 1:200, I thought of making a 1:200 version too for a friend of mine who is a real Iron Maiden fan. 
Here’s the scale comparison of the 2 models...:

 

 

 So I contacted Ben Sweezey from V1 decals, and asked him if he could enlarge the 1:200 sheet for me to 1:72.. he was enthusiastic about the idea  so I ordered both decal sheets for the 2 kits. And they looked great: 

 

 

Test fit of the ‘Eddie’ tail:

 

So the sanding of the 747 started.. lot’s of sanding paper, as this is a model with 1 meter span and 1 meter length:

 

 

 

 

..and she’s ready for a primer gray base color:

 

But first I scratchbuilt 2 wingtips, as the model 400 has added wingtips for better fuel efficiency:

 

 

First a primer gray coat:

Smooth and ready for spraying.
I used only spray cans Tamiya paint for this project, as it’s a sleek desktop model with no fine details, so the effort of spraying this big model with a little airbrush is not done.

Too much refilling and diluting paint, a spraycan is easier.

 

After that, white for the body and tail ( the Eddie tail decal is partly transparent so the white color highlights the lighter skull colors):

 

Copied the decal sheet on paper, so I could safely test fit if everything fits well. 
And this way I could precisely put marks where the decals need to be applied on the big white body surface, because there are no more reference lines or windows from the old KLM livery:

 

Masking tape. Lots of it, and plastic bags for the bigger surfaces to spray ‘corroguard’ grey walkways on the wings:

 

It’s not the exact color, but it is a hard to find paint as corroguard exists from grayish anti skid material. It seems that it even has little glittering parts in it, so it’s difficult to make it exact as the real life color:

 

Yes, the underside of the wing had also ‘corroguard’-like plating.. which I don’t understand why? 

 

I wanted to give the engine exhaust platings a shiny chrome-like look, so I bought a Molotow Chrome marker as a try-out to see if it’s really as chrome as they say. 

But it was quite an expensive marker, and I never saw a chrome marker before (the result is always  silver/aluminium look) so I tested it..

 

 

 

...and I was amazed! Really shiny result, real chrome-like color. Nice !

 

Then it was time for applying decals. 

BIG decals.. VERY big decals! So I prepared a big bowl with water, my tools, decal set and I started the job.

The first decal.. look at the size!

 

Applying long stips of windows-decal, quite a challenge to get them in a straight line!

 

The decals look impressive at this scale.

 

Soaking the big Eddie tail decal:

 

As you can see, it was too large at the top of the tail. So after drying i cut it to shape carefully.

 

 

The complete tour-info as nose art

 

A much better cockpit window decal  :

 

Almost finished! Still got some engine work to do:

 

 

Painting the engine fan blades and intakes:

 

 

Painting the spinners, and time to apply the Eddie decals on the engines:

 

A cat for scale comparison.. Final inspection by our cat Bella:

 

That’s a different engine then the old KLM one  !

 

 

Putting it on a better quality black stand. Ready!

 

And here you see my next project.. A 1:72 Boeing 747-123 SCA with Space Shuttle. I will make a new topic for that  

 

I hope you enjoyed this 'makeover'! I think Mr Dickinson will approve it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RMCS]

Awsome 

[fewr9fkr9595]

Speechless!

[Graeme H]

What a project, and such a beautiful end result, must be hard doing something at this scale, well done, just love it

[Baldy]

Beautiful model of a beautiful jet! And WOW!! that is BIG!!!

 

Cheers

 

Malcolm

[Lewis95]

That's fantastic again mate! Loving these XL builds! 

[Abandoned Project]

Kudos on the refurbishment. A great save of a big queen.

[Andy Dyck]

Hi,

absolute stunning you even painted the spiral on the spinner cones! ✌🏼✌🏼
 

Cheers 

Andy 

[Alpha Delta 210]

Incredible transformation! Did you finish the 1:200 version for your friend?

[jhutchi]

Wow. That's amazing! 

[theaa2000]

Awesome work! The Ed Force One livery is really cool! It's pretty sweet that you got to see it takeoff as well.

 

How heavy is the model? The stands don't seem too heavy duty so I guess it's hollow?

[dbay133]

I am totally lost for words and full of admiration for your vision and commitment.  Awesome project.

Cheers

Graeme

[BluesModeller]

Great job!
 

Would love a model that big but wouldn’t have the room.

 

Speaking of 747’s...

 

Just watched Virgin’s ‘Falcon’ 747 leave Manchester for the final time.  Such a shame the Queens are being phased out.

[Aces High]

Awesome!

[neilg]

That's really impressive!

 

I love the chrome pen - I've never seen that before!  I've never been able to achieve a chrome finish like that.

 

The decal sheet has Las Vergas, not sure if you noticed.

[dolphin38]

Awesome work 

[Booty003]

As a massive Maiden fan I can easily say that is one fine model and an absolute joy to see.

 

Just stunning.

 

Phil

 

\m/   \m/

[Wolfhound32]

To all you fellow modelers above that replied here and gave me feedback: 

 

I thank you all, very much appreciated!!

 

 

I will answer some of your questions.

 

@Alpha Delta 210: Incredible transformation! Did you finish the 1:200 version for your friend?

Yes, I will post some pictures of the 1:200 Ed Force One in a few minutes. He was very happy with it!

 

 

@theaa2000: How heavy is the model? The stands don't seem too heavy duty so I guess it's hollow?

The model is a Skyland Models 747, a hollow polystyrene model in one piece. So it weighs almost nothing.. Easy to handle during painting etc, but quite a size.. 1m x 1m!

 

@BluesModeller: Just watched Virgin’s ‘Falcon’ 747 leave Manchester for the final time.  Such a shame the Queens are being phased out.

Yes, I had the luck to ride jumpseat on a KLM 747-406 from Amsterdam to Seoul, South Korea. My cousin was co-pilot on the 747, now on the 737, he arranged that flight for me..

It really was the most awesome thing I've ever experienced! 11 hours in the cockpit, and a free business class seat (which I didn't use). It was too awesome..

It's a shame that the beautiful Queens are phased out..

 

@neilg: I love the chrome pen - I've never seen that before!  I've never been able to achieve a chrome finish like that.

The decal sheet has Las Vergas, not sure if you noticed.

 Las Vergas... You're right!! Never seen that, that's funny!

And about the chrome marker: it really works fine, try to get one if you can.

They told me that it was a limited edition; normally I don't buy that but to be honoust..I've never seen one again in a shop..?

 

And now I will add some more Ed Force One pictures from this project.

[Wolfhound32]

And now the 1:200 version..

 

 

This 'little queen' was easier to handle during the build

 

 

 

Almost finished, only the engines need some work..

 

 

...and it's ready!

 

A photo-session with her big sister...

 

 

Ben Sweezey from V1 Decals asked permission to post the finished model on his site !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Lovely work on both the 1/72 monster and 1/200 version Dick!

 

[JJ2016]

Really nice work there, I was initially looking for a 1:72 747 to do this with but there was only vacform so I chickened out and went with the Revell kit !

 

Really nice finish to the surfaces there mate, and as always V1 Decals to the rescue !!

 

Cheers

 

JJ

Edited June 16, 2020 by JJ2016

[Jonners]

Absolutely spectacular. Modern airliners really aren’t my usual modelling preference, but my son is a rock fan and I’m sure he would love to have an Ed Force One B747 on his desk. Hasegawa 1:200 747 and V1 decals? Hmmm...

Jon

[Sky Keg]

You Mr Wolfhound are crazy and I for one, LOVE IT!!!!!!  What an entertaining presentation that you have provided here and the level of quality considering what you were working with is simply incredible.  

 

I salute you my friend!!!!! 

Mike

[Ryan Hothersall]

Great restoration. 
 

was fortunate to see the aircraft on the Australian part of the tour. 

[Camo Viking]

Bravo, sir! That is a magnificent restoration.

(And yes, I was at the Iron Maiden concert when they came to my city. 🙂 )