Back in the Saddle Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 I'm having problems progressing several of my builds at the moment. To minimise paint fumes I do my airbrushing in the shed and it's just too cold to spray out there at the moment! Instead I have turned my attention to something that can be worked on indoors. I bought this model last year for just over £10, which is probably the best bargain I've ever had on eBay! It's completely un-started and will be built OOB - with one major exception. The tail fin will be adorned with a 'world image', also known as the Utopia livery, introduced by BA in 1997. Just to make it a bit more interesting, I have chosen an image that was destined to be used by BA, received full approval but was then quietly dropped when the Utopia livery was abandoned in 2001. There are around ten designs which reached this stage and were never applied to an aircraft - I think it's time to see them! As BA took delivery of its first A380 in 2013, there will be a fair degree of what-iffery involved. My first job will be progressing the design from paper to make a decal that fits the A380 - requiring some significant Photoshop action. At least I've had plenty of practice at this on my 747-436 build! 😆 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex1978 Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 Cool idea to have a "what if" A380. I recently finished one of these giants in the ANA "Flying Honu" Turtle scheme. My ANA A380 carries the name "Lani" Should be somewhere in the RFI section. The Revell kit is not without its issues and/or inaccuracies. The kits first release dates back to 2002,and is based on early drawings. Should you plan to build it gear down,be aware of the gear door arrangement. I am not sure if Revell ever corrected the instructions/parts of it. My example used was one of the older releases,but since I built mine "in flight",I didnt take any notice on it. Cockpit windows are also not in the right shape.Maybe the new decals have taken care of that. Will follow with interest 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesModeller Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 I’m in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 On 14/02/2021 at 17:38, Alex1978 said: Cool idea to have a "what if" A380. I recently finished one of these giants in the ANA "Flying Honu" Turtle scheme. My ANA A380 carries the name "Lani" Should be somewhere in the RFI section. Cheers Alex, I'll take a look.👍 On 14/02/2021 at 17:38, Alex1978 said: Should you plan to build it gear down,be aware of the gear door arrangement. I am not sure if Revell ever corrected the instructions/parts of it. I'll check the references carefully to make sure the correct doors are open/closed. I'm working on the building the undercarriage at the moment, but desperately trying to find a way to close the fuselage up without putting the nose gear in first - I know fragile plastic won't last long poking out at the front like that! On 14/02/2021 at 22:52, BluesModeller said: I’m in! Welcome along! It occurred to me after starting this thread that it would be a sensible idea to tell my employer (British Airways!) about this build and check if they have any objection to me posting material which has never been in the public domain before. So until I get their permission, I will be unable to post any information about the planned livery - I don't want to get myself into trouble! In the meantime I will carry on building and post some pictures next time - there's not much to see at the moment... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzz Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Re the landing gear, I built my only one (so far) back in 2003 when the kit came out. I have a few in the stash though. I did a build review on Airlinercafe (shameless plug to still the most viewed review!) and a couple of magazines which included some tips on installing the gear. Note that I built it out of the box and didn't correct the belly gear doors at the time, or the other errors in the kit such as the windshield and landing lights shapes, I think I was unaware of these at the time. That model has recently been stripped and will become a BA one for my BA collection having flown on them to Singapore a few times. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 Cheers Buzz, I’ll read the review for some pointers! 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilg Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 2 hours ago, Back in the Saddle said: I'm working on the building the undercarriage at the moment, but desperately trying to find a way to close the fuselage up without putting the nose gear in first - I know fragile plastic won't last long poking out at the front like that! When I built mine, I didn't assemble the nose gear as the instructions told me, because I have snapped nose gears off many times. Here's step 2: This is what I did: I assembled 166 and 167 to the nose gear bay. I didn't install 168 (or the nosewheel bay doors permanently) until the build was complete. I pushed-fit the nosewheel bay doors for painting. The bottom tang of 166 does not stick out that far, so it is fairly protected from knocks. When I finished the build, I lifted out the nosewheel bay doors, then assembled 168 to 166, then pivoted 167 backwards into position. Then I cemented the closed nosewheel bay doors. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Alternatively, you could attach the nose gear but build a cardboard shield for it to protect from the inevitable knocks. Works well for me! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 I've been working away on this one whenever I get a spare minute - and there don't seem to be many of those at the moment! I have also had a good think about how to attach the nose gear. The method described in the article written by @buzz was the eventual winner, although I was very tempted to follow @Alan P's advice and simply build the leg then protect it with cardboard! @neilg's solution was the most elegant, but as I had already applied glue to the relevant joint this was sadly a not an option anymore...! Here's how the nose gear assembly is designed to fit together, with the side of the undercarriage bays holding it all in place: I opened up the rear attachment lugs so the nose gear could be slid into place once the gear bay was assembled and also put some plastic in place for reinforcement on the front attachment lugs. The front is the left side in the following picture: The nose gear itself needed some surgery, to remove the pins that fit into the front lugs: The bays were then primed, painted with light grey and assembled, ready for some weathering: The body gear has also been built but this can be added at a very late stage, due to a large belly panel on the model: I have also started work on the wing gear, so I can paint all five undercarriage struts at the same time: A bit more gluing needed here, to attach the brakes! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Hi Matt Always good to follow an A380 build, not least in a "what if" livery. Purely for information, the A380 doesn't have wheel brakes on the aft axle of the Body Landing Gears (BLG), as only the forward and centre axles of the BLG are equipped with braked wheels. The BLG however incorporates Body Wheel Steering (BWS) on the aft axle of the bogie beam, to aid in low speed ground manoeuvring. To operate the BWS there is a rather large steering actuator installed on the aft part of the BLG assembly, as illustrated below. Hope I didn't cause you any trouble with the above, in 1/144 there is obviously a limit to how accurate you want to be 🙂 Cheers Johnny b 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted March 1, 2021 Author Share Posted March 1, 2021 On 27/02/2021 at 18:10, desert falcon said: Hope I didn't cause you any trouble with the above, in 1/144 there is obviously a limit to how accurate you want to be 🙂 Hi Johnny. No trouble at all - thanks for the advice. TBH, I thought the brake rods looked too long but assumed Revell had this bit correct... My bad! Seeing as you took the trouble to post a great diagram, it would be churlish not to try and improve the bogies! Here are the revised sections, with shorter brake rods and additional steering rams. I kept the brake units in place, as without them I think the resulting gap would have looked strange! Thanks again for the diagram - very helpful!👍 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Garard Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 Matt, I think you've done your LG mods the wrong way round. Comparing to Johnny's diagram, you've cut off the wrong half of the brake rods and your steering actuator rods are on the wrong side - they should attach just from behind the lower arm of the anti-torsion scissor link to the axle on the other end! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrier/ViperFan Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 The landing gear is backwards and meant to be inside the wheelwell thats why its not aliening right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted March 1, 2021 Author Share Posted March 1, 2021 1 hour ago, Scott Garard said: I think you've done your LG mods the wrong way round. Doh! At least I left the disc brake unit behind, which makes fixing it slightly easier! I will do some surgery later to correct my schoolboy error... Measure twice and cut once...😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 3 minutes ago, Back in the Saddle said: Doh! At least I left the disc brake unit behind, which makes fixing it slightly easier! I will do some surgery later to correct my schoolboy error... Measure twice and cut once...😉 Oh no, look at the confusion I've caused now !! I'm sorry Matt but @Scott Garard is indeed right, it is the other way around. Give me a moment and I'll see if I can find a clear picture/illustration of the BLG/BWS arrangement. Stand by short ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted March 1, 2021 Author Share Posted March 1, 2021 Just now, desert falcon said: Give me a moment and I'll see if I can find a clear picture/illustration of the BLG/BWS arrangement. Don’t worry, I can see the problem! I somehow transposed the modifications once I picked up a scalpel and started cutting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 2 hours ago, Back in the Saddle said: Don’t worry, I can see the problem! I somehow transposed the modifications once I picked up a scalpel and started cutting... This happens to us all 😉 You will only need one steering actuator for each BLG and it is situated to the right of the bogie beam (please refer below illustration). This way the actuator will either "pull' or "push" on the RH side of the aft axle, depending on the desired direction of movement. The only picture I had of the Body Wheel Steering arrangement is the one below, which unfortunately isn't that good. I have tried to point out the main components of the BWS, you can just about make out the location of the big steering actuator to the right (the photo is "Aft Looking Forward" in the direction of flight). The two steering lock springs and the single steering unlock actuator on top of the bogie beam are considerable smaller than the steering actuator and would be really tiny in 1/144, so personally I wouldn't bother about them. And this concludes todays lesson on the BLG 😁 At the risk of further confusion, let me know if you need further references or pictures as you move on with the model and I shall see what I have. Good luck with the BLG modding/de-modding !! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted March 2, 2021 Author Share Posted March 2, 2021 On 01/03/2021 at 17:18, desert falcon said: Good luck with the BLG modding/de-modding !! Thanks Johnny - I think they're now as they should be...! The brake rods look to be a better size than the originals and I now have just one steering actuator on each bogie - I think I'll stop there before I make any more mistakes! I have also been working on the fuselage. The cockpit and nose gear bay have been glued into place. I added 10p worth of ballast too - that should be enough! I then closed the fuselage up, gluing it section by section. I started with the nose: Then joined the top of the fuselage adding reinforcement strips of plastic: Before finally gluing the tail fin: The joint looks reasonably tidy, so hopefully not too much work required to smooth the seams. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 The BLGs are looking really good now and more than appropiate detailed for this scale 👍 The rest of your work is looking good too !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Aer Lingus Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Very nice start Matt and I'm learning as you go along thanks for sharing regards Eamonn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert falcon Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Matt, not sure if your kit comes with provision for the red flashing anti-collision beacons, but if so I seem to recall some Revell A380 kits being presented with only one beacon on top of the fuselage. Might not be important to you either, but the real aircraft will have two upper beacon lights and only one lower beacon light: Below a photo of a diecast model I have, think the location of the beacons are pretty accurate: Here a photo of the real thing, for reference the big antenna in the middle is the SATCOM antenna. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 On 02/03/2021 at 19:34, desert falcon said: The BLGs are looking really good now and more than appropiate detailed for this scale 👍 The rest of your work is looking good too !! Thanks Johnny! On 03/03/2021 at 08:04, Team Aer Lingus said: Very nice start Matt and I'm learning as you go along thanks for sharing Hi Eamonn. You’re welcome - hope you get some good tips.👍 On 03/03/2021 at 13:30, desert falcon said: Might not be important to you either, but the real aircraft will have two upper beacon lights and only one lower beacon light: Thanks for that - the kit appears to have no beacon lights at all... More scratch building required! I turned my attention to the wings yesterday. The sections all have a slight warp: Nothing too serious - I just carefully glued and clamped to hold them whilst they set: I also looked at the fuselage where the belly panel goes. It was too narrow, so I added a spreader bar. I think another one might be needed towards the front of the gap too (on the right hand side of the picture). I also added some tabs by the wheel bay cutouts to help hold the belly panel in place: The next bar will be stronger and located at the wing roots, to help support the wings and prevent drooping. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted March 11, 2021 Author Share Posted March 11, 2021 Just a quick update. I had the chrome Alclad out today, painting the struts on my Lightning F.2A, so it seemed like a good time to work on this beast too: I will mask the chrome sections later then get the rest of the undercarriage painted. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilg Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 (edited) I was just wondering if you had any printing issues with your decal sheet? The frames of the windows, landing lights, and door frames do not appear to be in registration on my kit: Edited March 13, 2021 by neilg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilg Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 On 14/02/2021 at 17:38, Alex1978 said: Should you plan to build it gear down,be aware of the gear door arrangement. I am not sure if Revell ever corrected the instructions/parts of it. The instructions still show that the body gear doors should be open, but the box art shows that Revell modified the model that they photographed to show the correct position of the gear doors - i.e., closed when the main landing gear is extended, as shown on their website: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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