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Air France Airbus A350-900, Revell 1:144


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The A350:  it's an aircraft I can't work out if I like or not.  Maybe the nose is too pointy and pinched... maybe the vertical stabilizer is too small...  I can't put my finger on it.

 

But, I think in the Air France livery it looks very smart.

 

This is the Revell kit, which went together beautifully.  No issues at all during the build.

 

The instructions show to install the landing gear doors open, when they are closed when the landing gear is down.  That was really the only thing I queried during the build.

 

For the first time, I used Humbrol Clearfix to make the cabin windows.  The kit comes with clear parts for the windows, but these are installed before painting, and I didn't want to mask all of the windows.

 

I had the Clearfix for a long time, but the goopy texture of it made me think that I was going to make a mess so I never used it.

 

It was actually much easier to apply than I thought, and I was really pleased with the results - which made me look at my other completed airliners, where I had filled the windows with putty, and used decals.

 

I really wish I had had the confidence to use Clearfix on my earlier airliners.  But I have many more to build!

 

The Air France decals are from F-DCAL, and went on really well - though the texture of the carrier film meant that the gloss varnish beaded.  

 

I managed to buff the beads out, and went over the whole model with Auto Glym super resin varnish.

 

This is F-HTYC, Saint Denis de la Réunion.

 

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The A350 isn't a classic beauty like the VC10, although the nose shape and main undercarriage both take something from that lovely aeroplane, but it does have an elegant simplicity of line (I do like that tail-on view particularly). Let's hope that someone decides to paint theirs in a retro-jet scheme soon.  Suggestions anyone?

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I totally agree with you about the looks of the A350. I'm not so sure about it. But It is very modern looking. 

 

I actually flew in one. I was boarding an Ethiopian Airlines flight in Addis when I realised I had no idea what this futuristic looking bird was. I thought maybe 787 but once on board I realised it was an A350. Of course  inside they're all the same really. Although Ethiopian airlines treat you well and the flight attendants have a unique look. 

 

You did a great job on it. Very impressive. 

 

 

 

 

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Excellent model Neil. Thanks for sharing.

 

The Revell kit is a delight. I really enjoyed it when I built it in Air China livery a couple of years ago and I'm planning another, possibly in Malaysian livery although that's tbc. I'm a confirmed fan of the A350 itself - I love its quirky looks and it can't be mistaken for anything else!

 

If you're interested, Authentic Airliner Decals make excellent "photo real" windows for the A350. I used them on my Air China model and was very pleased with the result.

 

Dave G

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18 hours ago, Abandoned Project said:

That is a beauty Neil.

I have a What-if TAP Portugal brewing, does that count?

Sorry for the hijack.

 

TAP suits the A330neo - I think it would look great on the A350!

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13 hours ago, PhantomBigStu said:

Superub, as I said last week, for some reason the A350 as you say doesn't look right but yet the Air France livery seems to change that 


I wonder if it would look any better without the black frame around the flight deck windows...

 

 

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Hi Neil....

 

Well...given your "on the fence" about liking the A350, I would suppose that your work on THIS model shoves you over! to the "like" side, of course. Your work here just affirms that beauty of the airplane for me. Nice, nice work! And I agree, the AF livery makes her look quite smart! Using the Humbrol ClearFix? Love that stuff. but it does have a learning curve...looks like you found it! Thanks for sharing...great work indeed...as usual! 😉

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What a great result!!! I must say the A350 is my favorite modern airliner. I wish I could pilot one someday :D I think he's more aesthetic than the Dream)liner. When it comes to the Air France livery I really like the lettering refreshment for the wide body airplanes. In the narrow ones it looks too much for small airplanes! I wanna do an Air France as well but in a 787 instead :D 

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16 hours ago, Challenger350Pilot said:

Hi Neil....

 

Well...given your "on the fence" about liking the A350, I would suppose that your work on THIS model shoves you over! to the "like" side, of course. Your work here just affirms that beauty of the airplane for me. Nice, nice work! And I agree, the AF livery makes her look quite smart! Using the Humbrol ClearFix? Love that stuff. but it does have a learning curve...looks like you found it! Thanks for sharing...great work indeed...as usual! 😉

 

I have used PVA glue and Revell's Contacta clear for clear parts before, like navigation lights and beacons.  It works well, but I didn't try it on anything larger, like windows.

 

I watched a few videos on YouTube about Clearfix to learn how to apply it.   I will be definitely using it a lot more, but I'm not sure how long it takes to dry.  I didn't want to touch it and ruin it, so I left it overnight.

 

I'm pleased with how the A350 turned out, and it's a surprisingly large model, which makes it more striking!  It's hanging up next to my Boeing 777-300ER - the two of them together look good.

 

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8 hours ago, Diogo Monteiro said:

What a great result!!! I must say the A350 is my favorite modern airliner. I wish I could pilot one someday :D I think he's more aesthetic than the Dream)liner. When it comes to the Air France livery I really like the lettering refreshment for the wide body airplanes. In the narrow ones it looks too much for small airplanes! I wanna do an Air France as well but in a 787 instead :D 

 

I have the 787-8 and 787-9 to build soon, so it would be good to have all of them together.  I'm not sure if I will do them in Air France yet.

 

Air France has redesigned the titles for the narrow-body airliners too - I've seen it on the A318 and A319 already.  On the A318, the titles take up almost the entire length of the fuselage!

 

https://www.jetphotos.com/registration/F-GUGO

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I totally get what your saying about the proportions , Huge engines and massive wings , defiantly a long haul bird !!

 

Very nicely done especially with the windows , I always go down the decal route.

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