Boeing 737-100 Lufthansa D-ABEP 1/144

[tMikha]

Hello there!

 

Today I've uploaded one more of my B-737's park 😀

 

Model from Eastern Express well-known for it's poor quality. But it's the only way to built 737-100.

 

First, I used half a kilo of Tamiya Putty and one meter of sanding paper to get normal surface and to fill all the junction points 😃

After Zvezda kits that was really complicated work but interesting as well.

I've built 737-MAX8 (presented on this resource a few days before) and decided to make "grandfather" for it. 737-100 looks really interesting and a few funny when compared with NG or MAX. It's so short, and seems "fat" but with the same nose part. Old-school livery is amazing with shine of aluminium on the fuselage. I don't understand, why such liveries with shine naked aluminium are not used by carriers today. 

 

First commercial flights of 737-100 were performed in Lufthansa in 1969. So, it's 53 years history and 4 generations of 737 till today. 

 

Model packed in pretty box with interesting box-art of 737-100 with steps and flight crew getting out from plane to crew bus. 

Inside the box there is only one pocket with dark grey plastic, looks sad... Also scheme of assembly and decal-sheet for LH included.

 

As i've said, the most difficult part was to sand all the joints. Also it was a big task to assembly pilot's windows. There are only one piece of bad-looking plastic in the kit. 

Also, there is no windows for passengers in the kit. Really I always try to make gloss windows as it possible, and much less I like decals for windows. But this time I had no skill and enthusiasm to drill the windows. 

For cockpit I used masks from KAV-models. ZIP-maket primer and Mr. Hobby H-1 for white colour. And here I must to say few words about livery. I do not pretend to be one 100 %  historical compliance with the prototype. Firstly, apparently different planes and in different periods of time were painted differently. The border of gray and metallic on the bottom is located differently on different sides and in different photos. I took as a basis a certain averaged version of livery.

Silver is Tamiya X-11 "chrome silver". Grey colour mixed from Mr.Hobby H-1 and some dark-grey Tamiya. 

The decal is high quality enough, easy to apply. But the other side that it's very poor, with no technical inscriptions at all.  So I've used the rest decals from previous 737 and also realistic windows instead of included in kit. The silver edging of the windshield was made by myself from scraps. It was another one not easy job.

In the end I added ligts in the wing-edges and beacons on fuselage. Also I redesigned the hubcaps of the outer wheels of the main landing gear - what the EE gives in the set looks really toylike.

 

Pledge Future as first lacquer layer prior decals and after as well. Mechanization of wing and engines got a little dirty with oil-paints. Final lacquer is mix from Future and about 5% of Tamiya X-21 flat base.

 

Summing up - it's not the best of my models, but taking int account quality of EE-kit, I was satisfied with the result.

 

Respects, tMikha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by tMikha
mistypes

[Skodadriver]

Anyone who actually finishes an Eastern Express kit has my admiration

 

Just for your information, Eastern Express is not the only way to build a 737-100. You can convert the Airfix kit as demonstrated by member @Viking. If you are happy to build a resin kit Authentic Airliners have a beautiful 737-100 in their range.

 

Dave G 🇺🇦

[Alex1978]

Very nice 737.

Despite your problems,you produced a beautiful model.

Eastern Express kits are a bit of a hit or miss experience, their 737-100 is something in between though.

I built one of these a while ago in Singapore Airlines livery and found it quite good with a few exceptions.

I used front gear and all wheels from a Revell 737-800 and the engines from the Airfix kit because EE provides the later (modified) engines here.

Word of advice...stay away from the EE 737-300/400/500 kits,they are truly terrible and almost impossible to build.

 

Thanks for sharing

Alex

[tMikha]

12 hours ago, Alex1978 said:

Very nice 737.

Despite your problems,you produced a beautiful model.

Eastern Express kits are a bit of a hit or miss experience, their 737-100 is something in between though.

I built one of these a while ago in Singapore Airlines livery and found it quite good with a few exceptions.

I used front gear and all wheels from a Revell 737-800 and the engines from the Airfix kit because EE provides the later (modified) engines here.

Word of advice...stay away from the EE 737-300/400/500 kits,they are truly terrible and almost impossible to build.

 

Thanks for sharing

Alex

Thank you for kind feedback! 😀

I've read enough reviews of EE kits, and unexpectedly, their A-220 (former Bombardier CS-300) is well-done enough, as well as A-310. About 737CL it's truth. I've seen couple of really nice-looking ready models, but modellers who assembled that planes said it's quality is something made in hell 👺 and took too much time to built acceptable model.

Edited May 30, 2022 by tMikha

[Vesa Jussila]

Really nice looking build. I am making same conversion from Airfix kit. I really like your build.

[tMikha]

11 minutes ago, Vesa Jussila said:

Really nice looking build. I am making same conversion from Airfix kit. I really like your build.

Thanks for feedback! Really, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought before started work. 

[BerndM]

Nice work on a difficult kit.

[BluesModeller]

Nice build !