Zvezda 1/144 Boeing 737-700 NG with Westjet C-GWSY Decals by V1 Decals

[JoshuaM]

 

Hi everyone thanks for taking a look at my first build in a few years. I built lots of models back when I was younger but have taken a break for a few years but now i'm in university pursuing a degree in computer science and need to not stare at a computer screen for every waking hour so i'm getting back into my old hobby. I have built a nice little bench and have been gathering some kits and supplies so i'm ready to go, and looking at all the excellent builds on this forum its easy to get some inspiration. First off here is the kit i picked up from my local hobby shop because i was impatient waiting for my kits from Russia to arrive and of course the day after i purchased this they all arrived from Russia but hey I cant complain because you can never have too many kits.

And here are the sprues.

So first thing in order for me was removing the fuselage parts from the sprues and cleaning up the injection marks and doing a quick tape test fit.

Overall I happy with the fit, the fuselage seam is decent so some sanding and Milliput should take care of it. So after this I decided it was time to fill the windows so I placed a piece of tape on the outside of the fuselage and filled the windows with some Ultra Fine Milliput and made sure to really push it through the windows so when I remove the tape the putty will be proud of the fuselage so I can sand it nice and flush.

So the final task of the day was to glue in the gear bay sides into the wings so i can airbrush the gear bays tomorrow hopefully. 

So that wraps up the first day of the build. I hope as I continue on with build I will remember to take pictures. Any feedback is greatly appreciated and I hope you have a great day!

Edited November 6, 2021 by JoshuaM

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Nice start.  You've really gotta hand it to the team at Zvezda--they know how to create sharp-looking models.

[Vesa Jussila]

Good start. Looks to be nice kit.

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Following with interest Joshua,

 

An interesting method to fill the windows,  I had not seen that way before.

 

I have the Zvezda -800 kit and it will be good to know how yours goes together.

[JoshuaM]

14 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Nice start.  You've really gotta hand it to the team at Zvezda--they know how to create sharp-looking models.

Thanks! they really are nice kits that also have a great price.

14 hours ago, Vesa Jussila said:

Good start. Looks to be nice kit.

Thank you it is definitely better then the older Revell 737-8 kits .

4 hours ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

Following with interest Joshua,

 

An interesting method to fill the windows,  I had not seen that way before.

 

I have the Zvezda -800 kit and it will be good to know how yours goes together.

Thanks, I find this method works well you just have to be sure not to peel the tape off too early or else you sometimes pull up a little putty. The kit is great so far, the only real issue is the cockpit window is just slightly shorter then the top of the fuselage which may require a dab of putty and some sanding but its really nothing to worry about.

[JoshuaM]

 

 

So another day of progress means another post. So far so good I am happy with the rate of progress and the quality of the kit so far. 

First thing I did today on the kit was peel off the tape to see the results of filling the windows. The bottom half of the fuselage was almost perfect, but the top half had some gaps because last night I peeled the tape off a little early and pulled up some putty but it wasn't a big deal. As you can see below I put a little extra putty on both halves the one side really didn't need any but I threw some on anyways and the other half definitely needed it to fill some gaps.

Next on the agenda was to paint the gear bays. I airbrushed some Mr.Color 128 Gray Green and Im quite happy with the results.

After laying some paint I super glued 4 cents which was the recommended 10 grams into the front of the plane for balance.

Next I glued the wings and fuselage together using Tamiya extra fine cement. For the next glue up I will need to get some more elastic bands. 

Next I glued the APU and the canopy on. The APU fit fine but the canopy is just a bit shorter than the top of the fuselage and will require a bit of sanding and maybe some putty. The kit actually includes an extra canopy that has a few extra windows above the main one for the C-40 and also Includes a APU with two exhausts.

Next was sanding the fuselage seam and the windows. I am happy with the seam after sanding will just require a bit of putty here and there but its very nice, the windows also are great no gaps and ultra smooth and I cant feel the a thing when i run my finger over them. We will see what the primer reveals. 

I am happy with the progress for the day I probably spent 2-3 hours working on it here and there. Next steps will be some putty on the fuselage seem and canopy window and then I will being laying down some primer hopefully in the next day or so. Also I would like to thank everyone for there comments I enjoy reading them.

Edited November 7, 2021 by JoshuaM

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Nice.  Also makes a great piggy-bank in case of extreme urgency!

[JoshuaM]

On 11/7/2021 at 8:00 AM, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Nice.  Also makes a great piggy-bank in case of extreme urgency!

Haha i definitely thought that when I was gluing the coins in.

[JoshuaM]

 

 

So I have made some nice progress over the past two days. Yesterday I put the first coat of primer on it to see how it was looking and had tons of Airbrush issues. I have a Harder & Steenbeck Ultra that honestly has been nothing but problems for me. It was clogging up and spitting and sputtering allover the the place. So I did a full cleaning and soaked it in lacquer thinner and since have had better results.

So here is the first coat of primer that allowed me to see what needed some more sanding.

So it looks pretty good I think. The windows were great absolutely no ghosting and smooth as ice. The main fuselage seam is good as well but needed some more sanding here and there. Next step was to glue the wings on to the fuselage and rudder on to the tail. 

The rudder fit good as did the wings. The wings needed some decent standing to blend them into the fuselage, I lost some panel line details but i'm not going to sweat it on this model. But I am going to grab a panel line scriber for the next.

Next and the final task for today was to put Milliput into the wing seams so I can sand and prime it tomorrow.

And a quick dab on top of the cockpit window. 

Tomorrow I am hoping to sand and put the last coat of primer on the plane and start work on the engines. As usual I always I appreciate your feedback.

[busnproplinerfan]

Looks good, I have a few of these waiting.

[Timo]

Hi Joshua

Great work - I have one of these kits to build, so I'll appreciate all your build tips.

I'm no expert on airbrushing, but like you I have an H&S Airbrush and have had similar problems to you. I thought that the airbrush was simply delivering too much paint causing the splattering / clogging.  I thinned the paint a little bit more, closed down the paint adjuster a bit and increased the air pressure a touch - all of which seemed to resolve the problem. I would try making similar small adjustments to see what works best for you, so that you can get the best from the good quality airbrush you have.

Hope this helps

Tim

[JoshuaM]

On 11/8/2021 at 11:53 PM, busnproplinerfan said:

Looks good, I have a few of these waiting.

Thanks. Its a good kit I also have a few more.

On 11/9/2021 at 6:14 AM, Timo said:

Hi Joshua

Great work - I have one of these kits to build, so I'll appreciate all your build tips.

I'm no expert on airbrushing, but like you I have an H&S Airbrush and have had similar problems to you. I thought that the airbrush was simply delivering too much paint causing the splattering / clogging.  I thinned the paint a little bit more, closed down the paint adjuster a bit and increased the air pressure a touch - all of which seemed to resolve the problem. I would try making similar small adjustments to see what works best for you, so that you can get the best from the good quality airbrush you have.

Hope this helps

Tim

Thanks for the tips Tim. Cleaning the brush has mostly rectified the issues I have had but I did up the pressure a bit and i'm happy with the results that I am getting now.

[JoshuaM]

 

It's been a good few days since the last update I have had some nice progress but nothing too exciting. I sanded the putty in the wing root seams and rudder to tail seam.

After another coat of primer I glued on the winglets and thats what I am currently working on now. 

I got a bit of putty on the winglet seam so I will sand and prime that tomorrow and I'm hopping that will be the last coat of primer. I got to throw the engines together and see how they fit, I would like to attach the engines after I paint the wings and fuselage but I will have to see how they fit I may need to attach them before paint and blend them in with some putty. Then it's finally off to paint. The decals for this project and a a couple more should hopefully be here later this week. Hopefully the next update is a bit more exciting when I get some colour on it. Thanks for looking!