Pair of 1/144 Scale Northwest 727s

[Alan P]

Beautiful as usual! You always manage to create utterly convincing finishes for your airliner models. They both look like they could fly right off the table.

 

Thanks also for the reminder about DB Cooper, a genuinely baffling case.

 

Excellent work again and very well done 👏👏👏

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Both are awesome builds, nice work 🏆

[Sky Keg]

Beautifully executed and an outstanding presentation.  I enjoyed the story of DB Cooper being associated with one of the subjects.  Two to be proud of right here. 

 

Mike

[Eric B.]

Wow, 

 

Absolute gem... they are spot on

Fantastic build - Congratulations. 

 

Eric B.

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 4/24/2021 at 7:56 PM, RCI said:

really nicely done mate! i prefer the later scheme, allthough my favorite is the bowling shoe. great theme as well... what a weird mysterious story it is until today. hope to see more from your bench soon ... 👌

 

Thank you Sini...YOU are THE master. Learned so much watching your videos...and THANK YOU for the NAV light tutorial. Did you notice that I made these NAV lights on the 727s, per your instructional video?!?!? Yep...turned out quite nicely I think. I have a bowling shoe 747-400 that I built some years ago...it also turned out quite nicely! Very beautiful livery for the 747s. 

 

Paul

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 4/25/2021 at 12:49 PM, Viking said:

There are some nice airliners posted on here, but those two are truly exceptional. Absolutely beautiful finish, and as others have said they look spot on. Reshaping the nose really does stand out, an massively improve the look. Fabulous!

 

Cheers

 

john

 

Hi John....

 

Thank you for the kind words! When I'm told that mine are exceptional, it means alot to me. Takes a lot of patience and study to get the noses right on the Airfix -100... Miliput to the rescue! With lots and lots of sculpting and sanding. 

 

Paul

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 4/25/2021 at 1:04 PM, Alex1978 said:

These are just 2 superb build 727s.

Awesome in every aspect...build,paintjob,presentation👍🏅🏆🎖

I never saw a Minicraft 727 built up before,looks spot on.

 

 

Thank you, Alex! Coming from you...such a prolific builder with such a great eye for detail...that means EVERYthing. Thank you. A little secret...I was so unsatisfied with the finish on the -100, that I stripped it and started over...just the Alclad part...it was rough. Took a while, but finally got it the way I wanted it. The Minicraft 727 is actually a pretty good kit, in spite of a few flaws that need correcting. Engine inlets are too thick, wing leading edges are way too thick, and the main landing gear are just plain wrong...sufferingly so. Since I didn't have a second set of SAC metal gear in my stash, I used the plastic struts from the Airfix kit and re shaped them, cut holes under the wings, elongated the gear wells, and scratch built gear doors. Turned out much better than if I had used the original kit gear. Really appreciate you kind words.

 

Paul

[JK_Models]

Very nice. I am very impressed. Super nicely done & finished with great details, they look like the real thing!

 

The Metallics look great and yeah I didnt knew that the Minicraft 727 could look that good. 

Beautiful planes as well. I've seen Northwest with their DC-10's quite often here in Frankfurt during my early spotting days and always like them.

 

Julien

[Team Aer Lingus]

Two beauties the older scheme just shades it for me very well done 

 

Thanks for sharing 

 

Eamonn

[RCI]

11 hours ago, Challenger350Pilot said:

 

Thank you Sini...YOU are THE master. Learned so much watching your videos...and THANK YOU for the NAV light tutorial. Did you notice that I made these NAV lights on the 727s, per your instructional video?!?!? Yep...turned out quite nicely I think. I have a bowling shoe 747-400 that I built some years ago...it also turned out quite nicely! Very beautiful livery for the 747s. 

 

Paul

noooo dont say that, i m definetly not. i promise you will see a lot of fails in my WIP videos series for the 737.

Yes, i noticed the nav lights, looks really good, well done... allthough i really did not have in mind you were doing this by the video - kind of forgot about it haha.

Yes, i have seen your 744! looks great, it was a revell kit, right? so thats even harder to make it look good though i must say, i prefer older planes like the 727, DC9 or DC10 in these colors...also i like the 320. i had a desktop model a few decades back and i will definetly build one in 144 scale one day.

all the best

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 4/25/2021 at 3:40 PM, Berko said:

Another superb build! Thats why I like the golden age of aviation and trijets. Wonderful aircraft accompanied to master modelling skills. I always love your high shine metallic finish. Thanks for sharing.

 

Hi Berko;

 

Thanks so much! I am most attracted to the historical/classic airliners...they seem to display much more personality than the "white whales" we see at civilian airports today. The metallic finish is a labor of patience, for sure!

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 4/25/2021 at 4:19 PM, Skodadriver said:

Two absolute beauties Paul, congratulation and thanks for sharing them.

 

I always had a soft spot for the Northwest Orient silver top livery which I remember seeing on DC-10s at PIK in the 1980s. There was something slightly unfinished looking about it but it could never be mistaken for anything else.

 

Dave G

 

 

 

Thank you so much, Dave. Always....always appreciate your kind words, critiques, and observations. I, too, have a soft spot for the older Northwest liveries...they just lended such a classic look to these beauties. I just wish someone made a DC-10-40, with the rounded #2 tail engine, so we could have a representative of those old NW Orient beauties! 

[AV O]

41 minutes ago, Challenger350Pilot said:

I just wish someone made a DC-10-40, with the rounded #2 tail engine, so we could have a representative of those old NW Orient beauties! 

 

 

Some one did but the scale might not suit you :

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/27642-airliners-modern-trijets-1200th/&tab=comments#comment-301533

 

[Challenger350Pilot]

4 hours ago, AV O said:

Some one did but the scale might not suit you :

 

Thank you for this...I had forgotten completely that Hasegawa had done the 1/200 scale version of the DC-10-40. I have one in my stash! Appreciate the correction. 1/200 scale suits me just fine...I just prefer 1/144. Wishing that someone would do 1/144 for those of us with fat fingers and failing eyes! 🤓

 

Paul

Edited April 30, 2021 by Challenger350Pilot

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 4/26/2021 at 1:55 AM, Alan P said:

Beautiful as usual! You always manage to create utterly convincing finishes for your airliner models. They both look like they could fly right off the table.

 

Thanks also for the reminder about DB Cooper, a genuinely baffling case.

 

Excellent work again and very well done 👏👏👏

Hi Alan....

 

thank you for your kind words. I think hard work, perseverance, patience, and the right lighting (natural) make all the difference. I’m very pleased with the turn out on the two 727s...it was a fun project for sure, but not without some pretty unique and unplanned challenges along the way. And you’re right...completely puzzling hijacking. Not sure if Cooper was genius, or just a common crook that seem to evade beyond belief. 

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 4/27/2021 at 3:35 AM, Sky Keg said:

Beautifully executed and an outstanding presentation.  I enjoyed the story of DB Cooper being associated with one of the subjects.  Two to be proud of right here. 

 

Mike

 

Thank you, Mike. I've been fascinated with the Cooper hijacking; interesting that he was never found. But I am way more interested in the beauty of the classic airliner he "took for a ride" one dark rainy night! 

 

Cheers!

Paul

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 4/27/2021 at 6:02 AM, Eric B. said:

Wow, 

 

Absolute gem... they are spot on

Fantastic build - Congratulations. 

 

Eric B.

 

Thank you, Eric! Lots of research went into these build to make them as 'spot on" as I could get them. One fact I didn't mention about the -200...the airplane itself is a prated out hull in Smyrna, Tennessee, which is about a 3 hour drive north of where I live. I spend an afternoon wondering around it, photographing and poking around, opening doors, and being up close and personal with it. Sad to see it rotting away in the open air, with no engines, no tail...no interior...just a hull and wings...but the paint job is still visible but faded, and the tires are all flat...she was once a beauty, faithful in her years of service. 

 

Cheers!

 

Paul

[airdaniel]

Really nice pair of NW. I love them... Nice to see that clean and glossy finish.

[Meatbox8]

Amazing.  A couple of very attractive schemes beautifully applied.  Nice photography too.

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 4/28/2021 at 2:39 AM, JK_Models said:

Very nice. I am very impressed. Super nicely done & finished with great details, they look like the real thing!

 

The Metallics look great and yeah I didnt knew that the Minicraft 727 could look that good. 

Beautiful planes as well. I've seen Northwest with their DC-10's quite often here in Frankfurt during my early spotting days and always like them.

 

Julien

 

Thank you, Julien! Really appreciate the kind words. The Minicraft 727 is a pretty good rendition, but does have some glaring issues. The entire kit fits together very well as the MC kits usually do, but the shaping of the nose, the nose cap, the thickness of the wings, panel lines that are way too deep, and completely wrongly molded main landing gear and gear doors...all add up to "be prepared to do some extra work." But patience, perseverance, and study reward pretty well. 

 

Paul

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 4/28/2021 at 5:39 AM, RCI said:

noooo dont say that, i m definetly not. i promise you will see a lot of fails in my WIP videos series for the 737.

Yes, i noticed the nav lights, looks really good, well done... allthough i really did not have in mind you were doing this by the video - kind of forgot about it haha.

Yes, i have seen your 744! looks great, it was a revell kit, right? so thats even harder to make it look good though i must say, i prefer older planes like the 727, DC9 or DC10 in these colors...also i like the 320.

 

HA! You're killin me! yes YOU ARE! 

 

Your instructional video on making NAV lights was very helpful to me. Thank you, too, for the kind words about my 747-400. That was a HARD kit...lots of issues with that one, as you well know. And yes, it was the Revell kit. I am with you...preferring the older classic airplanes too. 

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 5/2/2021 at 9:02 PM, airdaniel said:

Really nice pair of NW. I love them... Nice to see that clean and glossy finish.

 

Thank you! Clean and glossy come from patience and a finishing coat of Future! 

[Challenger350Pilot]

On 5/3/2021 at 4:26 AM, Meatbox8 said:

Amazing.  A couple of very attractive schemes beautifully applied.  Nice photography too.

 

Thank you! I try to wait for good sunny days for photos...nothing else brightens and highlights the details more than natural sunlight. I appreciate the kind words. 

[Jeff Thomsen]

Hi Paul,

I started flying for NWA in 1982 and got to log quite a bit of time in all three cockpit seats of 272US in the ensuing years, so those photos of yours really brought back some fond memories. Thanks for that!

Your models are simply amazing. You've really captured the "look", and you have an eye for detail. I've built both the Airfix -100 and MPC -200 and struggled with them, so I appreciate all the work you put in to make them more accurate. Outstanding, sir!

And I have to ask....where in the world did you get such realistic runway bases? 

 

 

[72nders]

Absolutely beautiful!! Well done !!

 

It brings me very fond memories as well, they were my first Boeing aircraft and I was lucky enough to spent 3000+ hours flying these beauties (they were a real pilot’s airplane).

 

I am still waiting for a good 72nd scale kit…..

Edited January 16, 2023 by 72nders
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