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Boeing 747SP Eastern Express 1/144


Alex1978

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Just a small progress on the SP today.

Engine cowlings are now complete.Next step here will be a gloss black base coat for the metallic paint on the engine .

I have to make sub assemblys here due to the engine design.

On the fuselage,the first coat of gloss white revealed me some shape issues on the cockpit part and the joint where the clear canopy piece is attached.

There was a slight bulge behind the window piece,which I didnt notice before.

I guess this had also something to do with the broken window part,seemed I did not glue it together well.But the fuselage is also a bit too rounded behind the window,400 grit sandpaper took care of that.

I had to sand that area to even it out and make the fuselage/canopy joint more flush.

 

 Here's a picture of the problematic area

 

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Tomorrow I will put some white primer on and have another go with the gloss white.I guess it should be fine now.

Just need to rescribe some lines again.

Otherwise its a troublefree build so far and I enjoy it.

 

Cheers

Alex

 

Edited by Alex1978
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This is making this look very tempting, though I do think the price is ridiculous, I keep thinking back to how much I'd like to model one of these in Qantas colours, they flew out of Wellington in the early 1980s & frequently droned over the top of Nelson on the way back & forth across the Tasman.

Steve.

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On 12/16/2020 at 10:02 PM, Alex1978 said:

 

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13 hours ago, Alex1978 said:

On the fuselage,the first coat of gloss white revealed me some shape issues on the cockpit part and the joint where the clear canopy piece is attached.

There was a slight bulge behind the window piece,which I didnt notice before.

I guess this had also something to do with the broken window part,seemed I did not glue it together well.But the fuselage is also a bit too rounded behind the window,400 grit sandpaper took care of that.

I had to sand that area to even it out and make the fuselage/canopy joint more flush.

 

I don't think that was entirely your fault Alex, one thing I did notice in your earlier pictures is there does appear to be a strange bulged area behind the cockpit section that isn't on the real aircraft.

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1 hour ago, 71chally said:

 

 

I don't think that was entirely your fault Alex, one thing I did notice in your earlier pictures is there does appear to be a strange bulged area behind the cockpit section that isn't on the real aircraft.

Yes,thats what I had noticed too.I sanded that area down a bit.After white primer is on,I will see if its solved.

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1 hour ago, 26Decals said:

There does appear to be a bulged area behind the cockpit on the real 747 as can be seen here:

747 nose

 

Thank you for that pic.

While I did some research myself,I realized that as well.Although EE slightly overdid it and together with my halfheartedly repaired window part,it was too much.

Seems though that EE came pretty close to the real thing shapewise.The other 747 kits do not seem to have this bulge.

As I dont have the AA 747,I cant confirm this there but I am sure Kurt was aware of that shape.

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1 hour ago, Pin said:

Inspiring build!

I afraid I'm starting to be wanting this kit! 

Despite the high price,I would definitely recommend this kit.

Thats so far the only criticism I would have,the high price.

After completion I will be able to give a full statement of the pros and cons,but as for now its a very pleasant and troublefree construction.

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56 minutes ago, buzz said:

Alex,  what colour did you paint the landing gear?  In the build photos, they look metallic.  Boeing gear is generally light grey, isn't it?

 

I painted them aluminium.

I usually followed painting guides from instructions.

Thank you for that hint 👍,I didnt realize that until now.Its sometimes difficult to make out the colours in pictures,also that the gears are mostly a bit worn and dirty.

I will repaint them accordingly.

Alex

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6 hours ago, 26Decals said:

There does appear to be a bulged area behind the cockpit on the real 747 as can be seen here:

747 nose

Absolutely, but to my eyes I wouldn't say that is how EE have rendered it, the side parts of the narrow cockpit area transform more smoothly into the wide fuselage rather than a 'bump' between the cockpit and upper door.  It doesn't look a huge issue to reduce with a sanding stick though, and might not be noticeable on a model table anyway.

 

Obviously these are -400s, but SPs seem similar in this area,

50683277428_55d15fd055_h.jpgBoeing 747 -436 G-BNLY British Airways by James Thomas, on Flickr

 

50313820152_e69293ddc1_h.jpgBoeing 747 -436 G-CIVW British Airways by James Thomas, on Flickr

 

 

 

Edited by 71chally
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I think that "bump" is nothing more than an oblique view of the upper bubble of the forward upper fuselage section:

 

747-cross-section

 

There is a "knuckle" in the outer mold line at about the WL308-WL312 level, corresponding with the "stateroom" floor at WL308.

Edited by Space Ranger
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7 hours ago, Space Ranger said:

I think that "bump" is nothing more than an oblique view of the upper bubble of the forward upper fuselage section:

 

747-cross-section

 

There is a "knuckle" in the outer mold line at about the WL308-WL312 level, corresponding with the "stateroom" floor at WL308.

Thank you for that diagram.

This explains it.I guess,I have fixed that area now.

Looks pretty much like this.

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The last update before christmas

 

The bump behind the cockpit has been taken care of and the area has been sanded slightly to conform the clear part to the rest of the fuselage.

Now everything seems fine.

I also applied the last coat of gloss white to the upper fuselage.I will let that dry at least 2 days before commencing with the lower half and then the wings.

The gear legs have also been repainted in light gray,according to buzz's input regarding that matter.

Thank you again for that.👍

 

I also continued work on the engines,but I found out,that glueing the fanblades into the nacelle first,then the inlet and glueing the housing together,makes construction and painting easier.

EE has you attaching the fanblade to the exhaust and glueing the whole piece into the housing.

Its more work that way.

 

I made a picture of the engine build and the instructions to show what I mean.

 

Thats it for now,I might be working on the SP during the christmas holidays but not post it until after christmas.

 

Merry christmas to all who follow this build,

enjoy the days with your loved ones

🎁🎁🎄🍾

 

Cheers

Alex

 EEs proposed engine construction

My way...

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Looks good now.

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Edited by Alex1978
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More updates after the christmas holidays.

I hope you all had a wonderful christmas despite the pandemic.

 

During these days I was able to continue the build.

As of today,the paintjob and main build is done.

Some touch ups here and there and all looks good.

 

As I had mentioned earlier,the instructions suggest the complete assembly of the engines.

I thought it somehow complicates the paintjob if some nuances in metallic shades should be achieved.

For that matter,I prepared the engines to be able to paint each component before putting everything together.

If every part is cleaned of any flash,and the mating surfaces are sanded smooth,everything fits together perfectly.

 

 

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Final result

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Its difficult to take proper pics of the engines.

I hope it will be better visible when the are on the wings.

 

Fuselage is done as well so far.

Some small parts still need to be attached

 

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And tailplanes

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Lighting is not the best in my hobbyroom for taking pictures but I hope it will be ok.

 

I received the AA windows before christmas,so I will apply the cockpit window as well as the upperdeck windows probably tomorrow.

The airline markings have not arrived yet,so the production will have to be stopped until the decals from F-dcal have arrived.

 

Thats it for the moment.

I have to admit,I am surprised how smooth and quick the build went on.

 

Cheers

Alex

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4 hours ago, Team Aer Lingus said:

Super impressive work Alex & what a collection in the background seriously jealous 

 

Happy New Year to you and yours

 

Look forward to seeing you working your magic in 2021 

 

regards

 

Eamonn

Thank you very much.

There is a whole lot more stuff in the background.  😊😉

2021 should be similar productionwise.

The 747SP Sofia is on the to do list as well as a 747-300 (airline undecided) and probably some special liveries.

Stay tuned

 

Happy new year as well

 

Regards

Alex

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Small progress update

Still waiting for the airline decals to arrive.

 

But I applied the AA cockpit and upperdeck windows to see how the nose profile looks.

To my eye,EE has rendered it very nicely.

 

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I had a postal delivery note in my mailbox today,so fingers crossed,that this will be the f-dcal sheet ...

 

Cheers 

Alex

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4 minutes ago, David H said:

Gee whiz, Alex. Shapes sure look good to me. I don't get what all the drama is about over at the other-airliner-centric-place-that-shall-not-be-named.

 

-d-

It looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it must be a 747. I just dabbled in looking at the reviews and it seems ok to me. Gets very confusing reading about all the inaccuracies.

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I know that a lot has been spoken about this EE 747SP kit on that 'other' site by certain individuals - including some criticism about certain dimensions being off on this 747SP kit.  Having observed the progression in the assembly and finish of this kit, I really don't see the arguments being made against the purchase of this kit other than there are just people out there who have chosen to be part of the Authentic Airliners fan-club and will go after anything that is not AA and find something to gripe about . . . . whether it be the price of the kit or this shape or that length or whatever.  It gets a little irritating after a while.  

 

Nice work on the model.  Your build is certainly swaying me to make a purchase of this kit myself. 

Edited by MrMD11
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