Einar Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 (edited) This is my Finnair Super Caravelle in 1/144 scale. The model is a kitbashing build from F-RSIN and Welsh Models Caravelle kits plus numerous parts and decals from many other sources. It's maybe one of the most demanding and work intensive modelling projects that I have ever embarked upon. The elegant and sleek Caravelle is absolutely my favourite airliner and the Super Caravelle in Finnair's traditional scheme is the most elegant of all the Caravelle liveries used by the different airlines! I know that I might be biassed and looking through blue and white glasses but this is my honest opinion. Finnair was the first airline to receive the Sud S.E. Caravelle 10 B3 jets to their fleet in July 1964 and this plane type subsequently received the official name "Super Caravelle" The planes had among other features new and more powerful PW JT8D by-pass jet engines. Two of the clearest differences to the earlier Caravelles were the bigger new engines with oval or "pear" shaped air intakes and the lack of the long dorsal fin in front of the tailplane. Finnair operated a total of 10 Super Caravelles during 23 years and the last scheduled flight took place in April 1983. I had the possibility of taking some flights in these planes from Helsinki to London, Madrid and Eilat. I had bought the Welsh Models Super Caravelle kit with Finnair decals many years ago but I soon discovered too many flaws in the shape of the kit and I decided to put it to the shelf of forgotten kits. However, when I learnt some years ago that F-RSIN was going to launch the very same Super Caravelle in Finnair colours I decided to have another go. The F-RSIN kit was in fact surprisingly correct in shapes and measures in the larger parts like the fuselage, wings and stabs. As usual with limited run kits the smaller parts like the wheels and the landing gear were quite rugged. The Welsh Models kit on the other hand had good quality white metal wheels and landing gear. Thus, I decided to use the good parts, decals and other details of the two kits plus extra parts from various different sources so that the final outcome is really a mish-mash model. As to the decals, I used bits and pieces from the both kits. Morover, I had the light grey coloured brand names of Finnair, the door frames and the registration letters re-printed by a fellow modeller. They were erroneously blue in the F-RSIN decals. The cockpit and the cabin windows I ordered from Authentic Airliner decals. The plane that my model depicts is reg. OH-LSA named Helsinki (all the Finnair Super Caravelles had a name of a Finnish town). Assembling the kit wasn't overly difficult. The F-RSIN parts needed a lot of sanding, fixing and puttying but that was to be expected. Mating the Welsh Models parts with the F-RSIN ones was actually quite straightforward. I finished the model by painting it with Revell 04 gloss white and Xtreme Metal Aluminium. The pointed fairing of the rudder and the patches here and there were painted with Lifecolor matt dark blue LC10. Luckily enough the shade of the paint was exactly the same blue shade of the decals. In the end I coated the model with Humbrol gloss varnish. A post card of the newly inaugurated Helsinki Airport Terminal circa 1970. In the front Super Caravelle OH-LSB "Tampere" A picture of the cockpit of OH-LSE en route from Helsinki to Madrid in 1977 (sorry for the unclean picture) Edited October 15, 2021 by Einar Adding two pictures 37 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Einar, That is yet another superb build even if you had a little more work to do using two kits. I will not argue with you about the livery either, such a clean sylish design. Vincent 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einar Posted October 14, 2021 Author Share Posted October 14, 2021 1 minute ago, Rupert said: Einar, That is yet another superb build even if you had a little more work to do using two kits. I will not argue with you about the livery either, such a clean sylish design. Vincent Thank you very much Vincent! Cheers, Einar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Super! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einar Posted October 14, 2021 Author Share Posted October 14, 2021 Just now, Britman said: Super! Keith Thanks Keith! Einar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiampieroSilvestri Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 (edited) Brilliant! I think I said this before but the Caravelle is one of the most elegant passenger aircraft ever built. Saluti Giampiero Edited October 15, 2021 by GiampieroSilvestri 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex1978 Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Another top quality build from you Einar. Truely elegant,and the cockpit photo is the icing on the cake. Thanks for sharing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skodadriver Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 That's gorgeous Einar. The Caravelle is a truly beautiful aircraft and you have really done it justice. I have been working intermittently on an F-RSIN 10B for about two years so I know the issues. I hate wings split on the top surface and if these are the F-RSIN wings on your model you have done an excellent job with them. I'm going to have to re-scribe most of the detail on my wings the next time I work on them. That said, F-RSIN have really caught the character of the Caravelle particularly around the nose and the hard work will be worth it. Dave G 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 That is a cracking build Einar, a beautiful aircraft, beautifully modelled in a lovely scheme. 👍 Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 The Super Caravelles and the 4 Series of the beautiful Comet airliner are among my all-time favorites. You've done the Super Caravelle justice and can be quite proud of what you've accomplished. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 Oh my- what a wonderful build. First time i learned of the Caravelle was from a postcard of one in SAS markings, under glass on the coffee table of my grandad's house. Later i learned my Dad had flown on them a couple times. Truly an elegant aircraft; you can tell the French looked at the Comet quite closely before building this one. It served as the archetype for all short-medium range jet airliners to follow. Great choice of paint scheme. You're not gonna grace us with an SAS Convair 990A, are you?? -d- 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einar Posted October 15, 2021 Author Share Posted October 15, 2021 9 hours ago, GiampieroSilvestri said: Brilliant! I think I said this before but the Caravalle is one of the most elegant passenger aircraft ever built. Saluti Giampiero Grazie mille Giampiero! Einar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einar Posted October 15, 2021 Author Share Posted October 15, 2021 9 hours ago, Alex1978 said: Another top quality build from you Einar. Truely elegant,and the cockpit photo is the icing on the cake. Thanks for sharing Thank you Alex! Einar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einar Posted October 15, 2021 Author Share Posted October 15, 2021 6 hours ago, Skodadriver said: That's gorgeous Einar. The Caravelle is a truly beautiful aircraft and you have really done it justice. I have been working intermittently on an F-RSIN 10B for about two years so I know the issues. I hate wings split on the top surface and if these are the F-RSIN wings on your model you have done an excellent job with them. I'm going to have to re-scribe most of the detail on my wings the next time I work on them. That said, F-RSIN have really caught the character of the Caravelle particularly around the nose and the hard work will be worth it. Dave G Thanks Dave! Good luck and patience with your F-RSIN Caravelle👍 Einar 4 hours ago, stevehnz said: That is a cracking build Einar, a beautiful aircraft, beautifully modelled in a lovely scheme. 👍 Steve. Thank you Steve! Einar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einar Posted October 15, 2021 Author Share Posted October 15, 2021 4 hours ago, SAT69 said: The Super Caravelles and the 4 Series of the beautiful Comet airliner are among my all-time favorites. You've done the Super Caravelle justice and can be quite proud of what you've accomplished. Thank you very much! Einar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einar Posted October 15, 2021 Author Share Posted October 15, 2021 2 hours ago, David H said: Oh my- what a wonderful build. First time i learned of the Caravelle was from a postcard of one in SAS markings, under glass on the coffee table of my grandad's house. Later i learned my Dad had flown on them a couple times. Truly an elegant aircraft; you can tell the French looked at the Comet quite closely before building this one. It served as the archetype for all short-medium range jet airliners to follow. Great choice of paint scheme. You're not gonna grace us with an SAS Convair 990A, are you?? -d- Thank you Dave! It was really nice to hear of your memories and opinions about the Caravelle. As to the SAS Convair 990A, let's see if I roll her out one fine day😄 Cheers, Einar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einar Posted October 15, 2021 Author Share Posted October 15, 2021 9 minutes ago, Flight Line Media said: Great work, Einar! Thanks for sharing it. Thank you! Einar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 Yes I agree, the Caravelle in Finnair colours is a gorgeous looking aeroplane! That is a very nice result from combining the two kits. Cheers John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einar Posted October 15, 2021 Author Share Posted October 15, 2021 2 minutes ago, Viking said: Yes I agree, the Caravelle in Finnair colours is a gorgeous looking aeroplane! That is a very nice result from combining the two kits. Cheers John Thanks John! Cheers, Einar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 That's a superb replica of the beautiful Caravelle! I have fond memories of the type, since it was in an SAS Caravelle that I first was lifted off terra firma en route to Roma. Magnificent work, Einar. Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einar Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 8 hours ago, Spitfire31 said: That's a superb replica of the beautiful Caravelle! I have fond memories of the type, since it was in an SAS Caravelle that I first was lifted off terra firma en route to Roma. Magnificent work, Einar. Kind regards, Joachim Thank you very much Joachim! Einar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza l Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Stunning work, she looks fantastic in that livery. gazza l 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Young Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Very nice Super Caravelle Einar, and well done with the cross - kitting to get this done, that’s always a challenge! I like the window and cabin decals, very realistic. Very elegant aeroplane. Cheers, Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einar Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 12 minutes ago, gazza l said: Stunning work, she looks fantastic in that livery. gazza l Thanks Gazza! Einar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 What a lovely model of a lovely looking aircraft. Great work on this. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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