neilg Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 I stepped away from my classic airliners for a bit to build this Airbus A380. I took some of the models that I made when I was younger from my parents' house, and my mother asked me if I could make a model to replace them. Since it's her birthday coming up, I thought it would be a nice present. This is the standard Revell kit, with no extras. I did cut out out the body dear doors to make a slot so I could position the doors closed around the gear struts, but I didn't modify the gears to pitch them down like I did with my Lufthansa A380 - I'm not sure if my parents will hang it or leave it on its wheels, so I left the landing gear untouched. The decals went on well, but as some of you may have seen, the registration of the silver ink was off, which meant that the frames of the windows aren't aligned with the windows. I sent an email to Revell, who sent an auto-reply that there are long delays because of coronavirus and I should be patient and shouldn't send a follow-up email. I still haven't received a response, so I decided to apply the decals as they were - you can't really tell unless you're up close. I know it's something my dad will point out though... Standard paints: Halford's appliance gloss white, Halford's racking grey, and Halford's Fiat capri blue. These were the same paints that I used on the A319. Humbrol gloss varnish on top, and polished with Auto Glym super resin varnish. One thing I noticed, the vertical stabilizer is slightly warped over to one side - the two trailing edges also didn't exactly align, which I have not had a problem with before. But I'm not sure I want to try correcting it... 31 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Beautiful finish on the big beast and great to see her alongside her baby sister! I hope that your Mum and Dad are happy with the model. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcNewitt Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 I'm not a big civvie fan but by god I have fallen in love with that! Awesome work. Marc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Beautiful work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skodadriver Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Excellent work Neil, thanks for sharing. I think if I were you I'd leave the fin alone. I really only noticed it because you pointed it out. Straightening something after assembly (never mind finishing) isn't easy - I once binned a fully painted and decalled DC-8 when an attempt to straighten the wings went badly wrong. Definitely not good for the modelling mojo! Dave G 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Excellent build. The white finish is very well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FortyEighter Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 A great looking model (and one that takes up a lot of space, mine won't go in the display cabinet but is also too big for the usual plastic storage crates 🤧) Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu Hotel Alpha Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 fantastic work.. ! I had warped plastic on my Revell A350- had to bend it into shape by gently heating it to soften the resin. (pics in the thread below) https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235086456-revell-1144-a350-900-lufthansa-new-livery/&tab=comments#comment-3949254 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex1978 Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Superb work there Neil. I am sure your parents will like this A380.Display space could be a problem...😉 I did the same a few years ago for my moms birthday,although it was a 1/72 Heller DC-6B in Balair colors,as this aircraft was her first flight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Fantastic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbofan Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Hi Neil, Beautiful finish on this beast! Do you decant the Halfords colours into an airbrush or spray straight from the can? The finish looks lovely and smooth. Nice sharp masking too. I think it's a cunning move to build a model for someone you see often that way they get to store it but you can still see it whenever you want! Must try that when I build an A380 or another 747! Cheers, Ian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger350Pilot Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 (edited) Nice build as usual, Neil! Really like the BA livery on the A380. And you built it for your parents?!?!?!? That automatically gets a "WOW!!!" My mom used to complain of sorts of all the models in my room whilst growing up. My room was only about 8 feet by 10 feet, in the middle of the house, with shelves on one wall that was full of model airplanes. I think the most I had at one time was around 50...all built and displayed. I suppose the complaining was because they were all dust magnets. Really glad you still have your parents to share such a great work with. Really like the finish, too. I've only recently discovered the advantages of using the Tamiya finishing polish. Truly hides some paint unevenness and makes the model shine beautifully. Very good work here. Thanks for sharing! 😉 Paul Edited April 4, 2021 by Challenger350Pilot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilg Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 22 hours ago, Skodadriver said: Excellent work Neil, thanks for sharing. I think if I were you I'd leave the fin alone. I really only noticed it because you pointed it out. Straightening something after assembly (never mind finishing) isn't easy - I once binned a fully painted and decalled DC-8 when an attempt to straighten the wings went badly wrong. Definitely not good for the modelling mojo! Dave G Yer I'm not going to touch it - the two halved didn't look warped when I looked at them, but now I can see it, I can't un-see it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilg Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 12 hours ago, Turbofan said: Hi Neil, Beautiful finish on this beast! Do you decant the Halfords colours into an airbrush or spray straight from the can? The finish looks lovely and smooth. Nice sharp masking too. I think it's a cunning move to build a model for someone you see often that way they get to store it but you can still see it whenever you want! Must try that when I build an A380 or another 747! Cheers, Ian I use them straight from the can - it took a few coats trying to get an even finish outside in the wind. I've never tried decanting them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilg Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 11 hours ago, Challenger350Pilot said: Nice build as usual, Neil! Really like the BA livery on the A380. And you built it for your parents?!?!?!? That automatically gets a "WOW!!!" My mom used to complain of sorts of all the models in my room whilst growing up. My room was only about 8 feet by 10 feet, in the middle of the house, with shelves on one wall that was full of model airplanes. I think the most I had at one time was around 50...all built and displayed. I suppose the complaining was because they were all dust magnets. Really glad you still have your parents to share such a great work with. Really like the finish, too. I've only recently discovered the advantages of using the Tamiya finishing polish. Truly hides some paint unevenness and makes the model shine beautifully. Very good work here. Thanks for sharing! 😉 Paul I don't know how they're so difficult to keep clean - mine are dust magnets too. My 1:72 collection is in a display case, but my airliners are hanging up, and I'm constantly having to take them down to dust and remove cobwebs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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