Jump to content

Revell - Airbus A340-300 TAP Air Portugal (1979 Livery Scheme)


Recommended Posts

Revell's old widebodies (A330 and A340) are rare models. Unless they are for sale on eBay for an exorbitant amount of money. As a model maker, my initial concept was to have in my model collection, at least 1 model of each plane, either Boeing or Airbus family. But for lack of kits, this goal was kinda difficult.

 

The adventure of finding an A340 at an affordable price was a difficult task, but not an impossible one. It was still 2021, and in one morning I decided to spontaneously start looking for Revell models that could be for sale on a Portuguese second-hand shopping site. Out of the sudden, I came across an ad for an old Revell A340 for sale. As the seller was close by, I soon said I would buy the model and we set up a meeting to do the business. I bought the kit for only €20, when I had already seen the same kit for sale for €90 plus the cost of shipping on eBay. I was indeed a lucky bird!

 

52450889305_228921516d_b.jpg

 

The box was still the original, but it already showed the years passing through it, with some duct tape corrections in the corners. The sticker with the price (in German marks) was still in the box, which confirmed what the seller had told me: that he had bought it in Germany, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in the early 90's.

 

I started to open and inspect the kit and quickly realized that a wing was missing. I panicked and thought I had burned a €20 note. Without the wing it wouldn't even be worth trying to assemble the kit. I contacted the seller and he apologised and said he would look for the missing wing at home. After a couple of hours I got a call saying that he hadn't found the wing, but that was no problem, he would refund me. Conclusion. This kit was like a gift.

 

The next task was to find a wing for the plane. I sent an email to Revell, who replied that they no longer manufacture parts for the kit in specific. I had no other solution but to ask my modeler friends for help. I contacted an Austrian friend, and he told me he had the wing, because at the time he was converting his kit from an A340-300 to an A340-600. Lucky me (again)! I could start the kit now. I waited for a more favourable time to start the assembly, but I decided to start making the first parts and then in the painting phase, joining my other planes, so that they are all more or less in the same phase.The paper of the instructions was already yellowed for being so old, and it is curious to see that Revell's graphics have only recently changed. After having done a quick reading of how and what this project would be like, I officially started the assembly.

 

I started with the main fuselage, covering the windows' holes. This time, I decided not to use Revell's Plasto entirely, but plastic putty instead, and use only Plasto on windows that effectively need to disappear to comply with the airline's layout. As a rule, I don't worry too much if the window holes are 100% filled because they will be covered by decals later on. With this, I just want to leave a surface for them to settle in the last stages of the process. After the windows I went to the emergency exits. The A340 as a rule has emergency exits number 3 narrower than the others. On the A340 that I'm going to do, this is exactly what happens, so with a 600-grit sandpaper I completely eliminated the emergency exits and reduced the size of the rain gutter. The major work on the fuselage was complete.

 

According to Revell's instructions, we start with the landing gear. As a rule, I like to take care of the landing gears at the end, so they don't break or something like that. Here it was mandatory to at least mount the central and front landing gear. I confess that for an already quite old mold and kit, the fittings and small pieces all come together like a small puzzle in perfection. On the central and front train I had no big problems and all the parts are super detailed. There was only one small problem with the whole process: Revell printed the instructions wrong and I glued one piece backwards. I only realised later when I saw some pictures. I cut it with a scalpel and re-glued it on the opposite side. I think the mistake is imperceptible, since the piece was in a V shape. I hope everything is uniform in the final paint adjustments!

 

As with any kit I make, I like to collect a lot of pictures for later in the painting and decals stage to make things as they should be, and also to guide me on what colors I should use. The colors for the landing gear bays were one of the hardest I had to choose. In some the photos it looks like it's a mix of gray with oil residues, in other photos a more orange tone. In order not to create more doubts and confusion and after seeing a video on Youtube of this kit, I chose the reference 71.117 “Como Brown” from Vallejo. I confess it got a little darker than I expected, but it served the cause. After the paint dried, I applied Tamiya's black panel line. For the landing gear legs, I opted for 71.064 “Chrome”. The end result was this:

 

52450442261_35dbfbcb91_b.jpg

 

52449919982_d8081579d4_b.jpg

 

The landing gear parts fit in the right places without any major problems. I let it dry so that I could then glue the central section to the main fuselage, so that I could then join the two main parts together. Here the process was not complicated but became complex, as the two main parts of the fuselage assumed a convex behavior, joining in the front and rear parts but moving away in the center. In the end, with the help of a lot of tape, the parts were joined together for a whole and here Revell continues with its characteristic gaps. It took a considerable amount of Plasto, especially in the central section, for the flaws to at least disappear.

 

52450712489_51213ede56_b.jpg

 

52450442251_7af56f7ffe_b.jpg

 

 

 

 

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Vesa Jussila said:

Nice find for this price. And also, interesting project. I will follow.

Thanks Vesa! Indeed quite interesting. I've bought more models such as A320's, A340's and A310's from a different seller and in the end these ones costed me 10€ each. I will finish the A340 one and I will create more topics for these next ones also! :D 

Regarding this A340, I will try to be as fast as I can, because I hate to have stopped models in the shelf, but you know, life, studies and work don't help also! :D See you around! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my opinion the A340 is by far the nicest looking modern airliner, much sleeker than all the fat-bodied twin-engined ones that look the same. I’d feel better flying on something with four engines instead of two as well! 
 

I’m surprised it didn’t sell as many as the A310s, 320s and Boeings.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Lord Riot said:

I’m surprised it didn’t sell as many as the A310s, 320s and Boeings.

Sadly it was a performance issue. Climb to height was an issue, often holding back those climbing behind. A number of issues contributed to its poor sales. It is essentially the power of two 737s/A320s dragging along a bulk that is heavier than the two together!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Lord Riot said:

In my opinion the A340 is by far the nicest looking modern airliner, much sleeker than all the fat-bodied twin-engined ones that look the same. I’d feel better flying on something with four engines instead of two as well! 
 

I’m surprised it didn’t sell as many as the A310s, 320s and Boeings.

 

 

The 4 engine planes are iconic by themselves! In 2018 I travelled to Rio de Janeiro on purpose with a stopover in Lisbon just to fly with the A340. At the time I remembered it was CS-TOA, the same plane that my parents flew on to their honeymoon in 1997 also to Rio. Sadly the A340 was introduced in the begging of the ETOPS age, where younger and more efficient planes such as the Boeing 777 and also the A330 were more reliable. When it comes to design, I have to agree. Theres nothing better than an A340 (or a 747 :D )

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, RidgeRunner said:

Sadly it was a performance issue. Climb to height was an issue, often holding back those climbing behind. A number of issues contributed to its poor sales. It is essentially the power of two 737s/A320s dragging along a bulk that is heavier than the two together!

Indeed. Just the fact that the -300 version uses the same CFM engine as the A320 still makes me confuse. Thats the reason why here in Portugal we used to call the '40 as the big hairdryer. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Diogo Monteiro said:

Indeed. Just the fact that the -300 version uses the same CFM engine as the A320 still makes me confuse. Thats the reason why here in Portugal we used to call the '40 as the big hairdryer. 

It doesn't. The CFM56 is a family of engines that use the same design philosophy, each type is matched to a particular airframe application with different engine sizes and power output, you can't swap them from one type to another. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFM_International_CFM56#Applications

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Dave Swindell said:

It doesn't. The CFM56 is a family of engines that use the same design philosophy, each type is matched to a particular airframe application with different engine sizes and power output, you can't swap them from one type to another. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFM_International_CFM56#Applications

I do know that Dave! I was just referring the family range all in once. It would be silly of me to assume that as black and white! 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, stringbag said:

This should be rather nice as I love the old TAP scheme.

Which decals are you using?

 

Chris.

Its the scheme that I grew up with, so its a bit special for me. With this scheme I will make the A310, A320, A321 and A340 as long as the time allows it. Regarding the decals ill talk more abut them later, but I will use 2 sets: one for the livery itself from CARPENA Decals and another one from 26Decals! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/26/2022 at 12:54 AM, stringbag said:

I managed to get hold of the Carpena decals some time ago with the intention of doing the A310.  They certainly look very nice I must say.

Looking forward to this one immensely.

 

Chris.

The seller that I've bought the set for the A340 had also for the A310! If you want I can give you his link and you can check! About this A340. Ray just released his own set! 

http://www.26decals.com/epages/62035508.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/62035508/Products/144-1180

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will watch this with interest.

The Air Portugal livery of that time was very nice.

I was looking a long time for decals for this livery to do an A340 with them,but i was unable to find one.

As my 4 A340 kits i have under construction are already having their respective decals,this plan has to be cancelled,as i dont have another A340 in my stash.

 

Some hints on the A340 kit;

The engines would need a bit of corrections.

This of course,if you mind these issues on the kit.Interestingly,I never read that the inner engies are a bit off on the kit in that area😳

This might be because Revell released the A340 kit before the real thing actually rolled out,so some details may be based on drawings rather than the original.

Apart from that,the A340 kit still holds up well.

 

The inner engine's mounts are too high,they should be about the same as the outer engines. 

The small fairings on the inner cowlings are also missing.Check photos for references.

 

On my A340 builds,I tried to correct these aspects by cutting off the engine mounts from the nacelles.Shorten the mount around 1mm and then reattach the mount to the cowling.I did this with liquid plastic,made from sprues drenched in glue.

After enough drying time,you can trim the excess plastic with a sharp blade.

To do this,use one of the outer engine part as a template.

 

Alex

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Diogo Monteiro said:

The seller that I've bought the set for the A340 had also for the A310! If you want I can give you his link and you can check! About this A340. Ray just released his own set! 

http://www.26decals.com/epages/62035508.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/62035508/Products/144-1180

 

Ive already got the A310 decals, but thanks for the offer. 👍

 

Chris.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Alex1978 said:

I will watch this with interest.

The Air Portugal livery of that time was very nice.

I was looking a long time for decals for this livery to do an A340 with them,but i was unable to find one.

As my 4 A340 kits i have under construction are already having their respective decals,this plan has to be cancelled,as i dont have another A340 in my stash.

 

Some hints on the A340 kit;

The engines would need a bit of corrections.

This of course,if you mind these issues on the kit.Interestingly,I never read that the inner engies are a bit off on the kit in that area😳

This might be because Revell released the A340 kit before the real thing actually rolled out,so some details may be based on drawings rather than the original.

Apart from that,the A340 kit still holds up well.

 

The inner engine's mounts are too high,they should be about the same as the outer engines. 

The small fairings on the inner cowlings are also missing.Check photos for references.

 

On my A340 builds,I tried to correct these aspects by cutting off the engine mounts from the nacelles.Shorten the mount around 1mm and then reattach the mount to the cowling.I did this with liquid plastic,made from sprues drenched in glue.

After enough drying time,you can trim the excess plastic with a sharp blade.

To do this,use one of the outer engine part as a template.

 

Alex

 

Always around to help Alex! Thanks for the tips! Actually I've noticed the engines have some errors, and the thing that I've noticed the most actually was the fan. In the original engine, the point is round while in the Revell kit is pointed. But I've decided to focus more on the fuselage for now, because I've realised I will have a bit of work with the engines. I've tried to find in your profile some topics related with the A340 in your profile but I didn't found nothing. I will keep your tips in mind when I'll pass to them. In worst case scenario, I will ask you for help (like usual ahah) :D 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Diogo Monteiro said:

Always around to help Alex! Thanks for the tips! Actually I've noticed the engines have some errors, and the thing that I've noticed the most actually was the fan. In the original engine, the point is round while in the Revell kit is pointed. But I've decided to focus more on the fuselage for now, because I've realised I will have a bit of work with the engines. I've tried to find in your profile some topics related with the A340 in your profile but I didn't found nothing. I will keep your tips in mind when I'll pass to them. In worst case scenario, I will ask you for help (like usual ahah) :D 

You are welcome.

My A340s are still under construction,so there are no topics in my profile yet about this.

I havent realized the pointed spinner,so thanks for giving this hint.Not much will be visible inside the engines but I will try to fix that.

 

If you have questions about my corrections,feel free to ask.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Glad to see that I've helped somehow! I didn't assembled the engines already, but I just tried to attach all the pieces to see how it looks in overall and I must say I will have work to do there... If this helps you, I'm guiding myself by Kevin's assembly. I'll leave his link here! 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since my last post about this A340 WIP I didn't do that much of an update on the airplane, except putty and sand it. But this small process was a bit challenging. Because of the landing gear that I've assembled already, I couldn't lay the airplane directly in surfaces, so I need to use a support. For that I just use a thick tape roll, so I can sand and putty without break the landing gear body. With too much care with the landing gears, I ended up by cracking the front belly junction while sanding because of the pressure I was doing in the sandpaper among with the counterforce I was doing to keep the plane leveled. 

 

It was a bit annoying, but it only delayed me a couple days. I've glued it and applied putty again and I've sanded it to make it less horrible. I guess it turned out ok. After a small similar incident  with one winglet, I was ready to apply the first layers of primary to check for some imperfections, which I did today. It appeared more imperfections that I was expecting to he honest, but those gaps and imperfections only showed me that I still need to sand and putty even more, specially in the wing roots, in the area where I've made the crack and in the center upper area where the antennas make the sanding process a big more difficult because of the tight space available between them to use the sandpaper. 

 

I will try to re do this process in the upcoming week and share it with you guys. But for now I'll just leave you with a very simple picture of how the airplane looks like. Please don't notice the irregularity of the painting. I needed of refill my airbrush maybe 5 times!

 

 

52484711645_3a0482ed67_b.jpg

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...