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Aircraft I've Flown Part I - A Tribute to the Mighty 747-436


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Being completely honest I didn't like the 747 when it entered service as it was going to replace my favourite VC10's, 707's and DC-8's. But it hasn't half grown on me, I felt a real sadness watching those two depart into a suitably gloomy London sky, much more so than when the earlier jets were retired....

 

Keith

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A few inaccuracies in the DM article, but that's to be expected...!🙄

 

A couple of YouTube clips from today. This one shows the BBC coverage of the final two departures from LHR. G-CIVB (Negus) was the first to leave, destination Kemble and preservation. G-CIVY was next, destined for St. Athan and the scrap man...😢.

 

The take offs begin approximately 8'30" into the clip:

 

 

The next clip shows G-CIVB's arrival at Kemble:

 

 

 

There are plenty of other clips on YouTube showing today's flights if you want to go searching!

 

Regarding the model, the fuselage is finally ready for gloss paint. It took a bit more effort than I expected, with a couple of last minute blemishes that needed attention. If the weather cooperates, this will get sprayed tomorrow.👍

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There's been some great British Airways livestream footage on this today, and well done to them for doing that, I know they can be reluctant over such things.

It was a privilege to have met Cpt Allister Bridger (last time he visited Saints was in a Jet Provost in the 1980s!) and his crew today, on what was clearly an emotional goodbye.  Love that the callsign of G-CIVY was Speedbird 747.

 

 

 

I guess this is my final arrival shot of a 436.

50436409287_9113454c48_h.jpgBoeing 747 -436 G-CIVY British Airways by James Thomas, on Flickr

 

 

This video is worth a watch, just because you can see and hear a 747-436 in isolation, if that sound doesn't get you, nothing will.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWm-aDiHkJY

 

The 747 wasn't just an improvement on an existing product, it truly revolutionized how we can now move around the planet.

 

 

 

 

Edited by 71chally
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45 minutes ago, Back in the Saddle said:

A few inaccuracies in the DM article, but that's to be expected...!🙄

Only a few?!?!?  They’ve improved dramatically then.😝😝🤪🤣🤣

 

What annoyed me about the DM photo gallery was the shot at New York showing a 747 and a Concorde the caption for which completely failed to acknowledge the true Queen of the Skies parked alongside the former, the beautiful, fastest non-afterburning Atlantic crossing, last all-British big jet, the VC-10!

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Another great shot James👍.

 

I’ve just had this clip recommended to me, showing the final flypast at LHR before departing to St. Athan:

 

 

There was a very impressive turnout of people who wanted to witness this moment first hand, especially considering the time of day and weather...
 

Just nine BA 747’s remaining at Cardiff now - once they’ve gone it will truly be the end of a 50 year era.😢

 

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10 hours ago, FortyEighter said:

the penultimate 747 to leave LHR (Ivy Bee) was the aircraft for my penultimate BA 747 flight

IVB is the aircraft destined for preservation at Kemble.👍

 

I managed to get the first coat of gloss white applied today, using a Halfords rattle can. I was a little too close to the model during spraying, resulting in a minor paint run, so I will leave it overnight and give it a gentle sanding and another light coat of gloss white tomorrow - I think that should be enough to rescue the run!

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On 09/10/2020 at 21:42, FortyEighter said:

It's good that one of the heritage liveries will be preserved, any idea where it will finally end up?

 

IVB has made her final flight - she will now remain at Kemble. I believe the intention is that this aircraft will be available for the public to visit at some point in the future.👍

 

A minor milestone today - I have finished painting the white:

 

white.jpg

 

Apologies for the overgrown state of the neighbour's garden! I sprayed the model with a rattle can and popped it on an old garden fence post whilst doing so...

 

I now need some top tips please for masking the demarcation line between the white and the blue. The straight bits should be easy, but what is the best way to get an accurate and level line around the curves...?

 

TIA!

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20 hours ago, Back in the Saddle said:

 

IVB has made her final flight - she will now remain at Kemble. I believe the intention is that this aircraft will be available for the public to visit at some point in the future.👍

 

A minor milestone today - I have finished painting the white:

 

white.jpg

 

Apologies for the overgrown state of the neighbour's garden! I sprayed the model with a rattle can and popped it on an old garden fence post whilst doing so...

 

I now need some top tips please for masking the demarcation line between the white and the blue. The straight bits should be easy, but what is the best way to get an accurate and level line around the curves...?

 

TIA!

Hi Matt

 

Hopefully IVB will become a visitor attraction at Kemble?

 

As for the masking;

 

Forward of the wings I use Tamiya flexible masking tape (the white stuff) and try to pull the demarcation line level by eye - if the bits of tape from each side meet exactly on the nose then it's probably OK.

 

At the rear end I use the ordinary tape and again pull  out straight by eye to near the tail.  Then I cut a curve in a wider piece of tape (either with a circle or ellipse template), position the centre of that on the underside CL and smooth the two sides of that piece back to overlap the tape on each side of fuselage.  Experiment until you get a curve on the underside that roughly matches any photos to hand - it's easier to waste some tape than repaint the blue.

 

I'll try to remember to look at some of my past builds and post a couple of pics of the end result.

 

Mike

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On 14/10/2020 at 18:41, RAF4EVER said:

You could have cut the grass first😃😁

Not my grass! 😂

 

3 hours ago, FortyEighter said:

Forward of the wings I use Tamiya flexible masking tape (the white stuff) and try to pull the demarcation line level by eye - if the bits of tape from each side meet exactly on the nose then it's probably OK.

 

At the rear end I use the ordinary tape and again pull  out straight by eye to near the tail.  Then I cut a curve in a wider piece of tape (either with a circle or ellipse template), position the centre of that on the underside CL and smooth the two sides of that piece back to overlap the tape on each side of fuselage.  Experiment until you get a curve on the underside that roughly matches any photos to hand - it's easier to waste some tape than repaint the blue.

Cheers Mike, exactly the advice I was after. Thank you.

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And hopefully a couple of pictures make the method clear

20201015_160549

Sides taped and pulled to the centre line wherever they naturally meet.  Below is the tape for the rear curve - in this case a 10mm arc (choose radius to suit size of aircraft)

 

And now in place

20201015_160800

 

The other issue is getting the front and rear sections of the demarcation line level with each other - mask front first, align another length of tape (2) on the top edge of that piece extending most of the way to the tail  and then fix the rear tape to align with the bottom of the piece (2) and trim where it goes above the rear edge of the wings.

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Excellent result there Matt, looks like a lovely finish.

Masking for these sorts of lengths and shapes can be a bugger, but constantly checking and adjusting the masking tape by eye, for level and curvature, is a must for a good result.

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Hi Matt,

 

Looks as though Mike’s got you sorted with your demarcation line.  Unfortunately, I won’t be able to use his method as I have a vision thing (AMD) going on and need some sort of physical guide, ruler etc., to help me with straight lines and so on.  The mark 1 eyeball ain’t what it used to be.  I’ve used this before for model ship waterlines and cutting guides and when properly set up works very well.  This is just a quick setup for the photo bet you’ll get the idea.  When I get around to using it everything will be much neater.

 

resized_d3c694e8-ef4f-4967-8fa5-5d57ed0a

 

Obviously everything has to be secure and, in this case, the fuselage level.  The pencil is shaved flat on one side can be raised with shims if needed.  A bit of a faff maybe but I need it to get the demarcation lines, two in the Negus livery, wobble free.  

 

resized_2adadc85-072d-4e03-9a72-df16bbdc

 

Cheers,

 

Dennis

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I managed to get back to the bench and this particular model today - the past few days were spent getting other models finished for various GB's on BM. Deadlines focus my attention!😆

 

For a change of direction, I am now working on the RB211 engines - I will return to the white/blue demarcation line on the fuselage at a later time!

 

The engine components have been cut out and the flash removed:

 

pods.jpg

 

I have numbered the halves to hopefully prevent any mistakes at the assembly stage! Once built, it is pretty obvious where each engine pod is located.👍

 

There is a very useful thread on BM at the moment regarding the angle to mount the engines, started by @DMC. Essentially they are at 90 degrees to the wing, so owing to the dihedral they should look as if they are canted out slightly when finished. I had never noticed that on the real aircraft until it was pointed out. In my defence, on the ground the wings droop considerably due to the weight of the fuel, reducing the apparent dihedral by a few degrees.

 

Hopefully the pods will go together easily. I will experiment with Alclad on the pylons. This is a product I've barely used but would like to master!

 

 

 

 

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It was certainly welcome news that another one of the 747 fleet is to be preserved.👍

 

The work on the engine pods was not quite as straight-forward as expected... However, that has been the story with the entire kit so far!

 

The engine casings had nothing to prevent the fan discs from moving rearwards, so a few bits of scrap were used to prevent movement:

 

fans.jpg

 

The exhaust sections had a decent ridge to hold them in place, so their positioning was not an issue. One of the engine sides was short shot at the rear, so some filler will be needed to build it up:

 

pods2.jpg

 

If it is dry tomorrow I will prime them to see what areas need attention.

 

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19 minutes ago, 71chally said:

For some reason Matt your pictures aren't opening for me, have tried on three different platforms?

Glad you've progressed to the engines stage, the bits that make this particular kit unique of course.

 

They are opening for me BUT, I now notice on this thread, and some others (but not all) that the "Not Secure" warning on the URL window at the top is displaying. Is this something to do with the picture source I wonder? @Mike any ideas?

 

Terry

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