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Jet2 Boeing 757-200 & 737-800 1/144


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Jet2 757-200 & 737-800 1/144

 

I'm currently working on a diorama for Newcastle Airport but as I've progressed with that I've neglected to add my aircraft builds as part of my work in progress. These 2 examples will be of the same Jet2 livery and will be Newcastle regulars. Although Newcastle has a heavy Jet2 presence the classic 737-300s have gone and also the aging 757-200s. However ignoring the current disruption the 757 does make an appearance for New York trips and various other charter flights normally positioned from Leeds Bradford or Manchester. 

 

I don't have a specific registration for the 737 but the 757 will be G-LSAB which has been newcastle based and includes winglets. It also has the same metallic finish as the 737 fleet as some of the 757's have an older gray paintjob. 

 

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The Revell kit has error such as a mighty set of super sized winglets so for the cheap price the Zvezda kit is a no brainer. It's obviously been covered before but the kit is beautifully detailed and snaps together really well. It also has alternative winglet options such as the non-winglet tips found commonly on the classics (and some NGs) and the alternative scimitar type found on the TUI NG's.

 

 

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one small problem is the cockpit glass doesn't blend well with the fuselage. To overcome this I used superglue over the surface which once dried allowed me to blend the 2 surfaces smoothly.  

 

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Some unnecessary mini sections to add that come part of this kit, make sure you've got a good eye and a pair of tweezers. This piece I actually dropped and lost but luckily I had a spare!

 

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The 757 options are limited. I've went with the Minicraft C-32 kit and the braz conversion. Zvezda need to hurry up and bring out the 757 tool, I'd imagine it's going to be popular

 

 

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You can see from the minicraft build that it's not quite right. It's not abysmal but the tail is too square, the cockpit window area is angled incorrectly and there's almost a hump (a bit like the 777 rest area) just above and behind the cockpit. Some of the bodywork detail is nicely scribed and the parts actually fit together well. 

 

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the nose is fine but the cockpit window is too far forward

 

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The tail is too wide, this is made obvious if you look at the width at the top 

 

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conversions always get messy

 

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remove the link inside the fuselage, the braz piece won't sit right otherwise. You have to watch out because some parts of the circumference the plastic goes from thick to wafer thin.

 

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I found it was wise to leave some excess resin on the front bottom of the tail to fit in a hole in the fuselage, this way the tail is more secure when superglued to the base

 

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a good comparison

 

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the kit includes the giant wing tabs which can be a pain. If you lucky enough for them to fit then it's wise to keep them on otherwise they are not going to be very secure. As covered before this kit as a issue with the undercarriage where one set sits higher than the other, unfortunately this means inevitably you may have to hack the tabs off one wing and try and level it with the other wing, this will create a nasty gap but is necessary to have the thing sit on it's wheels. If your doing it in flight then you'll probably get away with the wing tabs and the position of the wings 

 

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I got some winglets imported from the US (at an extortionate price). They are extremely fragile and have a tab that fits on the top half of the wing. Sadly the lower portion of the wing does not fit on well as a result and a lot of sanding and thinning of the wing is required.

I actually bought the zvezda 737 after this and I live with regret as it would have been easier to modify the spare scimitar winglets for the 757, they are a very similar size and shape. 

 

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they include a nice little trailing strobe light

 

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as mentioned before the repositioning of the wing creates a gap. too big for filler or milliput. I admit I nicked this idea from somebody else's fine minicraft build but it is basically just spare sprue (from this kit) plus lots of polystyrene cement allows for a nice plastic pace. don't inhale this stuff! 

 

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drys as plastic and makes the wing less likely to snap off

 

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fairings added under the wing and starting to look like the mighty 757

 

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Another major problem is the plyons, as you can see it has the engines pointing nearly 45 degrees up. This is important....don't sand them to the correct shape which is what I stupidly did. just hold the plyon at both ends a bend the plastic (gently) till it straightens out and sits level on the wing. I did this with plyon no2 and it's perfect, unfortunately no1 needs completely reshaped with milliput. oops.

 

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final thing to add is a couple of VHF antennas, they are barely noticeable on the real thing but I wanted a little detail added to the top of the fuselage

 

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As mentioned this is part of my airport diorama and both planes will sit on the apron in front of the building

 

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  • 8 months later...

I'm glad to say the project has not been abandoned just delayed indefinitely,. A bit like Top gun 2. 

 

During this period I have actually quietly done some unpublished work. With the outstanding release of Zvezda's 757-200 ultimately rendered my Braz masterpiece almost redundant, it got me thinking....every time I do a conversion project someone ends up releasing the tool. 

I started building a An-225 and revell released the tool, then I converted an a350-900 to a 1000 and zvezda released it. So as I started on Braz conversions for the 757-200 and a 757-300 zvezda brought out the 200 and the latter due for release later in 2022. I'm grateful but I wish the timing was better especially after paying for 2 sets of 757 resin winglets from the U.S of A.

 

The 757 kit is probably the best and the easiest I've ever assembled, even the horizontal stabilisers clip on and it takes effort to remove them. The only real problem I encountered was blending the cockpit glass window into the fuselage but prior to that I was impressed that the cockpit window could be attached after the fuselage join without fear that it could slip into the fuselage gap, it was that good of a fit. 

Obviously in comparison the Braz is about 5 times heavier and retains the old clunky wings of the infamous Minicraft kit. Zvezda have captured the elegance of the popular jet with accuracy which has persuaded me to use the Zvezda version for my Jet2 example. 

As my theme is Newcastle airport I might retain the Braz as United Airlines for the short livid New York route, I've already added a spare satcom to the rear fuselage just to differentiate the two. 

 

 

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Obviously there is a hell of a lot more detail in the Zvezda version, as I'm going for the metallic livery I think the fuselage detail is important because it will show up everything. Also note the accuracy in the kit here, The gear opening on the Minicraft wings is too large and the fairings are more slender. Also the amount of work that went into straightening those engine pylons was the stuff of nightmares. 

 

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In addition to the 737-800 and the 757-200 I wanted a 737-300 to join them with the later life retrofitted winglets. Best tool on the market is DACO but with none available and seemingly discontinued I took a punt with the Eastern Express 'New Tooling' which is remarkably like the old tooling by EE in quality but parts resembling the DACO kit.... like they got their hands on some experimental moulds 

 

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As you can see the parts fit together beautifully! Who needs glue?!

 

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Well apparently I do need glue and lots of it. Obviously use polystyrene cement and try and fuse the parts together. The gaps I fill with a thick none drip superglue, I find this much better than filler or milliput as the glue tends to blend with the plastic more effectively and doesn't show up as well under paint when its been sanded down. 

 

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The bottom of the fuselage is probably more of a challenge

 

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The result being a nice flat smooth finish. I had to re-scribe the top panel lines but it could have been a lot worse

 

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The opposite side needs a bit more TLC

 

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The rudder isn't the best fit and doesn't even line up with the vertical stab

 

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The only thing I've been able to use from the 800 Zvezda kits is a spare pair of winglets (winglets were provided but they were about 1 and half times the real size) , they are a little wide but I will work them into the wings

 

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Missing piece from the Zvezda kit, I'm just going to have to improvise here

 

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Together with one of it's larger successors the 800NG. As a cheap alternative to model paint I've primed it with Halfords racking Grey which is an exact match for Airbus Grey and almost Boeing Grey (close enough) Which is also Revell 371 and Tamiya Insignia White. 

As all 3 Jet2 will be metallic I'm using this as the fuselage base and it's correct colour for the wings and horizontal stabs. 

 

 

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Quite a project you have on the go 👍 Looks very promising already.

I also have 2 Minicraft 757s on the go currently and took the Zvezda kit as a guide in some places to improve the Minicraft kit as good as possible without spending money on aftermarket replacement parts.They look better now but certainly cant be mistaken for anything else than Minicraft 757s...

 

The EE 737 looks already fine considering the kits quality,or lack thereof.

 

Will follow with interest on the progress

Alex

Edited by Alex1978
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