1/144 747-8 Double Build

[Back in the Saddle]

On 07/08/2021 at 19:56, mitchem said:

I've got to congratulate you Matt. Your decal designing has come a long way since you started making repairs for one of your previous builds 👍👍 (I won't ask if the replacement set ever arrived.....)

Cheers Mike. I've enjoyed learning more about decal design and it's been a fun little side project. And no, the replacement decals never arrived...😠

 

I'm happy that my 'Poland' decals are not going to be an issue, even though they will need more work before they are ready to print. In the meantime, I'm getting stuck into the plastic again. 🙂

 

I'm not intending to use the stands, but both models come with one. For completeness, here they are:

 

 

Zvezda on the left looks better to me - the base is smaller and the stand is taller. Revell look to have a stronger and more stable offering, but it bulkier and shorter.

 

The attachment to the aircraft is via a single slot on Zvezda and two holes on the Revell kit, both marked with red:

 

 

I won't be trying them, as I don't want holes in the bellies of my models. The Zvezda stand appears to latch into the single slot, so is hopefully will be secure once in use!

 

I've already mentioned both the instructions and the engine quality, so a look at these now in more detail. Zvezda's instructions are a large, single sheet of paper. However, this contains all the information you need:

 

 

Revell's instructions are a mini colour brochure with multiple pages and more detail. For comparison, here's their version of the same engine construction:

 

 

The engines themselves are contained across a couple of sprues:

 

 

The Zvezda sprues are very crisp:

 

 

As previously mentioned, Revell's have some flash:

 

 

Zvezda have one minor issue in this area, with slight sink marks on one cowling (marked in red):

 

 

I will build these up and see how well they go together!

[Back in the Saddle]

I've had to contact Revell today about the quality of this kit - I'm at the stage of insurmountable problems! I started to remove the fan blades and as well as the previously noted excessive flash, two fan blades were also short shot:

 

 

Revell apparently charge for their replacement service and state it can take six weeks (if they have the parts), so I will report back and see what happens.

 

Fortunately I have few more of these kits in my stash (!):

 

 

Quick solution - open another box and borrow the bits I need. However, the other boxes all had the same issues on these parts. The next picture shows a bagged sprue, with one short shot fan (marked in blue) and excessive flash (marked in red):

 

 

So I kept going, and tried another box. It had the same issues with flash (marked in red) but at least I couldn't see any short shot fans this time:

 

 

I will try to salvage the bits I need to finish this model from my spare kits and hope that Revell can replace the fans before I need them. It appears to be a widespread manufacturing problem - has anybody else who has built this kit experienced this issue?

[Alex1978]

1 hour ago, Back in the Saddle said:

I've had to contact Revell today about the quality of this kit - I'm at the stage of insurmountable problems! I started to remove the fan blades and as well as the previously noted excessive flash, two fan blades were also short shot:

 

 

Revell apparently charge for their replacement service and state it can take six weeks (if they have the parts), so I will report back and see what happens.

 

Fortunately I have few more of these kits in my stash (!):

 

 

Quick solution - open another box and borrow the bits I need. However, the other boxes all had the same issues on these parts. The next picture shows a bagged sprue, with one short shot fan (marked in blue) and excessive flash (marked in red):

 

 

So I kept going, and tried another box. It had the same issues with flash (marked in red) but at least I couldn't see any short shot fans this time:

 

 

I will try to salvage the bits I need to finish this model from my spare kits and hope that Revell can replace the fans before I need them. It appears to be a widespread manufacturing problem - has anybody else who has built this kit experienced this issue?

Thats a sad story about the -8 kits.But unfortunately its a common problem.I had the same issues with this release,i e. the new LH colors and the UPS -8F kit.

 

The forms seem to be already dirty and worn,an issue that Revell airliner kits seem to have very quickly,no idea about other Revell kits though.

If you can locate the first LH release or the first Cargolux -8F release from Revell,they might be fine.All other might have the same issues.

I bought several kits from all releases and the newer share all the same problems.

Maybe Revell is able to send you some clean and fine replacements.

 

Alex

[Back in the Saddle]

1 minute ago, Alex1978 said:

Maybe Revell is able to send you some clean and fine replacements.

Cheers Alex. I hope Revell can help, but from what you've said they might not have any decent replacements in stock...

 

I'm already looking at using the Zvezda fans instead (which are immaculate BTW). I will trying to buy some more directly from Zvezda or possibly use them to make molds to cast replacement fans for the Revell models... Another new skill to learn!

[Alex1978]

16 minutes ago, Back in the Saddle said:

Cheers Alex. I hope Revell can help, but from what you've said they might not have any decent replacements in stock...

 

I'm already looking at using the Zvezda fans instead (which are immaculate BTW). I will trying to buy some more directly from Zvezda or possibly use them to make molds to cast replacement fans for the Revell models... Another new skill to learn!

That seems to be a good idea.

Should I ever build another -8I,the Zvezda kit is the one to go for.

Too bad,they did not make the -8F as well...

The Zvezda kit may lack some details such as landing lights and antennas,(nothing that can be added ) but the build is more easy going than the Revell and once finished,its hard to tell the difference between the two.

 

 

[Back in the Saddle]

1 hour ago, Alex1978 said:

The Zvezda kit may lack some details such as landing lights and antennas,(nothing that can be added ) but the build is more easy going than the Revell and once finished,its hard to tell the difference between the two.

I obviously had the warping issue with the Zvezda fuselage, but I think I was just unlucky with that... The Revell kit is more detailed, but contains errors (such as the small nose wheels). This issue with the quality of the fan blades has put me off the Revell kit completely - it is far too tricky to fix as they are delicate and complex to copy. More worryingly, this seems to be a widespread issue with Revell kits rather than an isolated incident... On balance, I currently prefer the simpler kit from Zvezda.

 

As this is a comparison, here are the Zvezda fans:

 

 

They need a bit more tidying, but are in a different league to Revell!

I have contacted Zvezda to see if I can buy some more. They fit perfectly into the Revell engine casing:

 

 

I would prefer not to have to attempt casting these fans, as I suspect the result would not be satisfactory!

 

[Back in the Saddle]

I was painting the BA blue today on my A380, so gave the engine cowlings on this model a quick blast of paint too:

 

 

My next job will be building the engine cores and fans.

[Back in the Saddle]

I contacted both Revell and Zvezda to try to get some replacement fan blades, but a week later neither company has responded... Airfix has much better customer service!

 

Fortunately @Turbofan read about the problem and has stepped in with some surplus parts (and decals!) from his builds:

 

 

Thanks very much for those Ian, I really appreciate your help.👍

 

I will hopefully get some engines assembled shortly...!

[neilg]

On 09/08/2021 at 18:35, Back in the Saddle said:

I've had to contact Revell today about the quality of this kit - I'm at the stage of insurmountable problems! I started to remove the fan blades and as well as the previously noted excessive flash, two fan blades were also short shot:

 

 

Revell apparently charge for their replacement service and state it can take six weeks (if they have the parts), so I will report back and see what happens.

 

Fortunately I have few more of these kits in my stash (!):

 

 

Quick solution - open another box and borrow the bits I need. However, the other boxes all had the same issues on these parts. The next picture shows a bagged sprue, with one short shot fan (marked in blue) and excessive flash (marked in red):

 

 

So I kept going, and tried another box. It had the same issues with flash (marked in red) but at least I couldn't see any short shot fans this time:

 

 

I will try to salvage the bits I need to finish this model from my spare kits and hope that Revell can replace the fans before I need them. It appears to be a widespread manufacturing problem - has anybody else who has built this kit experienced this issue?

 

I built the Revell 748 back in 2013 and I didn't have this issue with the fan blades.  They look appalling!

 

I have another one boxed upstairs, but I'm worried about looking at it now!

 

 A few fan blades on the 788 and A359 that I built snapped off when I tried to remove the fans from the sprue. 

[Back in the Saddle]

7 minutes ago, neilg said:

A few fan blades on the 788 and A359 that I built snapped off when I tried to remove the fans from the sprue. 

I'd better check the stash - I have a Revell 788 hiding in there...😟

[neilg]

10 minutes ago, Back in the Saddle said:

I'd better check the stash - I have a Revell 788 hiding in there...😟

 

I had to check, or I wasn't going to sleep tonight.

I'm not sure if I'm going to sleep any better... both of the sprues look like this:

 

 

[Back in the Saddle]

1 hour ago, neilg said:

I had to check, or I wasn't going to sleep tonight.

I was OK, until I saw your photos... I then had to check mine after seeing the state of yours, or insomnia was going to bug me too!

 

Those look awful.😬

 

Strangely mine are completely different, including the way they are attached to the sprue:

 

 

Apologies for the image quality, but I didn't open the bag. These fans are crisply molded and have only 3 attachment points to the sprue.

 

Here's the box - not sure if you have the same version of the kit?

 

 

At least this one will be issue free - I hope you get yours sorted OK.👍

[neilg]

9 hours ago, Back in the Saddle said:

I was OK, until I saw your photos... I then had to check mine after seeing the state of yours, or insomnia was going to bug me too!

 

Those look awful.😬

 

Strangely mine are completely different, including the way they are attached to the sprue:

 

 

Apologies for the image quality, but I didn't open the bag. These fans are crisply molded and have only 3 attachment points to the sprue.

 

Here's the box - not sure if you have the same version of the kit?

 

 

At least this one will be issue free - I hope you get yours sorted OK.👍

 

Ahh the picture I took was of the 748 fan parts - they look like they're in the same condition as yours.

 

The fan blades of the 788 and A359 were moulded well, a few came off the hub when I tried to cut the fans off the sprue.

[Back in the Saddle]

47 minutes ago, neilg said:

Ahh the picture I took was of the 748 fan parts - they look like they're in the same condition as yours.

They’re identical to mine…😠

 

I’ve bought my final 748 kit from Revell, it will be Zvezda if I get any more in the future. They are slightly more basic, but a far better build.

[Back in the Saddle]

I still haven't done any more work on the engines yet, as I've been sidetracked by designing and printing the decals:

 

 

I won't need them for a while, but at least they're ready!

 

@neilg I  have some spare engine bits from the Revell kit if you need them? They will obviously need careful cleaning up, due to all the flash, but there are plenty of them so I can send you the better examples if it helps.

[neilg]

3 hours ago, Back in the Saddle said:

 

@neilg I  have some spare engine bits from the Revell kit if you need them? They will obviously need careful cleaning up, due to all the flash, but there are plenty of them so I can send you the better examples if it helps.

 

That would be ideal, thanks!

[Back in the Saddle]

Send me a PM with your details and I’ll pop them in the post!

[Rupert]

Matt,

Engine fan replacements

 

https://www.hahen.com/epages/64625185.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/64625185/Categories/"Resin parts"/Resin_1144

 

I have a set of thyese and can vouch for their good quality

 

Rupert

[Back in the Saddle]

On 21/08/2021 at 22:53, Rupert said:

Matt,

Engine fan replacements

Thanks Rupert. Thanks to @Turbofan this is no longer an issue for me, but @neilg might find these useful? If not, I will happily post my spare Revell fans to you.👍

 

I had a painting session at the weekend and primed the fuselages:

 

 

Zvezda is closest to the camera and the windscreen fit is far better.

 

Here are the rear fuselage sections:

 

 

A bit more detail with fuselage antenna bulges on the Revell model, but other than they are very similar. I need to fix a couple of blemishes and then it should be ready for the gloss paint.

 

I *will* get around to building the engines soon, but at the moment I'm on a roll with this part of the build!😁

[Back in the Saddle]

I have finally made a start on the engines.

 

I cut out the parts for the engine cores, starting with the Zvezda kit:

 

 

Note the 8 fan assemblies too - 4 from this kit and 4 from Ian to replace the atrocious Revell offering... The pointed part of the exhaust cone fits inside the engine core on the Zvezda kit. Revell have this cone attached onto the core after construction, making painting a little more straight-forward. Here are the Revell pieces:

 

 

Revell also attach the fans to a long spindle, running right through the engine. The Zvezda fan has a tiny spindle built into it instead. If they actually spin once constructed I'll be impressed!

 

I will need to make some minor modifications to fit the Zvezda fans into the Revell casing correctly, but this should not be too challenging.

 

Time to start gluing...!

[Back in the Saddle]

I've finally started building the engines! Not much progress so far - the fans have been sprayed with Alclad and the cores are built, I will post some photos once there is more to show.

 

I have taken advantage of the good weather and cracked on with painting the fuselages:

 

 

There are a few minor paint touch ups needed, but nothing significant. I might be sidetracked into applying decals next - I want to see how they look in situ...

[busnproplinerfan]

Paint looks good from here. Glad you show the differences of the kits.

[Abandoned Project]

I too have had @Turbofan save the day in the engine department. I shall be watching intently your revezda engine build so that I can plagiarise, I mean follow your method.

[Back in the Saddle]

11 hours ago, busnproplinerfan said:

Paint looks good from here. Glad you show the differences of the kits.

Thank you! The main purpose of this thread was to compare the kits - I hope you're finding it useful.

 

11 hours ago, Abandoned Project said:

I too have had @Turbofan save the day in the engine department. I shall be watching intently your revezda engine build so that I can plagiarise, I mean follow your method.

It's the second time he's come to my rescue! The engine build looks to be straightforward and I will post some pictures soon - I'm having a day out with the family today. I did have a little look at the decals earlier, to see how they fit:

 

 

The 'Saudi' design fits well; the 'Poland' design (nearest the camera) was little short. I'm not sure how this happened, as I test fitted this one multiple times before printing...

 

It should be an easy fix, as the missing section at the top is entirely black. Hopefully more decals will go on this evening.🙂

[Back in the Saddle]

I have decided to completely re-work the 'Poland' decals. Now they have been applied onto the model they just don't look as bright as I hoped. This is a very colourful design, but it looks a bit bland at the moment... I have tweaked the image file, making the colours more vivid and will print out some replacement decals. I can then strip the existing decals off and start again!