Zvezda B737-8 Max Icelandair new colours 1/144

[JK_Models]

Hi everybody,

 

let me present you one of my models that I finished recently (more to follow). This is a Zvezda 737-8 Max in the new Icelandair livery (pink version).

The special thing about it is that the whole livery including the large titles and the complete tail was painted. I did cut some masks on vinyl tape on a plotter, see last picture.

 

It took me quite some time to finish it, I started in march 2022 but was left frustrated with the pink / magenta as I couldn’t find something fitting from Tamiya and Mr Hobby (the only colours I normally use – for good reasons) I tried Vallejo ones. They look okay and are okay to use but they are super bad in sticking on the subject. Masking over it means removing some colour, at least from my experience. I was so frustrated that I eventually gave up and made a TUI 737 out of it that I’ve shown here before. Nevertheless it was a kind of unfinished business for me and as I somehow like the new Icelandair livery and particularly the pink one I tried again and was lucky to find MR Colour CR2, which is a special series that is meant to be mixed and you can easily get any pink tone out of it with excellent results and the colour also stays on the plane 😉

Working with those Vinyls can be tricky, as they are quite prone to paint edges, so one has to be super careful to paint with thin layers and rather low pressure and to just have as much layers as needed to be opaque (Otherwise it will looked jagged). It takes patience, but gives you good results, as the close up of the tail shows.

Other models that I also did with Vinyl tape will soon follow.

 

Decals are from Authentic Airliners.

Now enjoy the photos, appreciate some comments / feedback!

 

Thanks,
Julien

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making off:

[Baldy]

Not my Genre but I photograph these often and that pink looks a tricky colour to match. You have nailed it!. Excellent job on the paintwork/stencils. A lovely result.

 

Cheers

 

Malcolm

[Skodadriver]

Congratulations of an excellent job Julien.  I'm not sure if I like the new Icelandair livery but it certainly can't be mistaken to any other airline!

 

Out of interest what blue paint did you use? 

 

Dave G

[JK_Models]

Thanks for your kind words Malcom & Dave.

 

For the blue I first tried Mr Hobby H5 but then found it a bit too bright and then went for Tamiya X-4, which I found a bit too dark.
So in the end I went for a mix and took the H5 and made it a bit darker with a bit of X-4. 

 

Cheers,
Julien

[luxskater]

Excellent job!

[Alex1978]

A real beauty.

I never saw that livery before,but sure is very attractive.

Superb result on that paintjob.

I tried vinil once...with rather sorry results,so hats off for such a great paintjob

 

Thanks for sharing

Alex

[MRMRL]

That's a really crisp clean paint job and a very lively livery. Looks great.

[JK_Models]

Thanks for the comments.

@alex: Yeah my first tries with Vinyl werent great either. It takes some time getting used to, but then it offers quite some new possibilities.

The livery got quite some mixed feedback when it was released, but I really like it. There's now a rather nice Cargo 767-300, had it existed when I started the model I might have done this one. 

[Berko]

 Top notch craftsmanship as usual. Very clean sharp looking model without any fault. Another eye candy

[JK_Models]

Thanks Berk, appreciate your comment!

[Zulu Hotel Alpha]

Great build! thanks for sharing.

[Bertie McBoatface]

Airliners are so colourful these days. It's a pity you can't tell from the ground when they fly over so high.

 

This is a smashing model, so crisply painted. Well done.

[Daniel Jones]

This looks absolutely amazing!!

I'm planning to make this model in the pink aswell. What paint did you use on the engines?

 

Thanks.

[JK_Models]

Thanks for your comment.

 

As for the blue (engine colour) I mixed it actually starting with mr Hobby H5.

But if one uses decals I would use the colours of the titles as a reference by try to match it. As on both the 8a decs and the Authentic Airliner decals the blue was too dark (darker than the original). With some lighter engines it would look weird.

 

[BerndM]

Excellent result.

Love the colorful but elegant livery.

[Daniel Jones]

I'm making the same kit in the same Magenta livery. The decals didn't go on well at all, so I've decided to paint the tail, and then add the white decal on top.

You mentioned Vallejo paints, was it the Fluorescent Magenta 70735 you initially used?

 

[mitchem]

Cracking build and paint job 👍👍

 

Dare I say that it's one of the better "billboard" schemes ? 🤔

 

mike

[JK_Models]

12 hours ago, Daniel Jones said:

I'm making the same kit in the same Magenta livery. The decals didn't go on well at all, so I've decided to paint the tail, and then add the white decal on top.

You mentioned Vallejo paints, was it the Fluorescent Magenta 70735 you initially used?

 

No I didnt use fluorescent magenta, the Icelandair colour is not fluorescent either, it was a normal magenta.I think it was 62.007. But again I would not recommend it. 

 

 

[Challenger350Pilot]

Hi Julien! 
 

Well done! I am not a fan of the newer livery at Icelandair, but that is no matter in your demonstration of skill in finishing this beauty. I really like the base you’ve used to display the finished model…lends to a more realistic photo. Thank you for sharing….very well done. 
 

Paul

[dhanners]

Excellent and clean job!

[Malair]

Beautiful build! Interesting to see a paint mask being used, instead of decals. It looks really good! Great work.

 

Your recent A321 with the green stripes is also Excellent!

[HunModeller]

Perfect work!

 

The first photo tricked me. At first look I really think that was the reference photo from the original airplane, that is took on a real airfield. Very realistic model.

 

Congratulation

[Turbofan]

Hi Julien,

Amazing finish! Did you even mask the logos on the inside of the winglets?!

I'm very interested in the use of masks rather than decals for the livery, it opens up so many colour schemes and solves two main problems when painting models. Firstly, matching a decal colour to painted areas of the livery especially when the decals are laser printed and secondly, where decals overlap. I'm thinking around the nose with cheat lines or any parts of the livery which wrap over the top of the fuselage eg Iberia, Mytravel etc. or whole tail decals which never work properly, for me anyway!

I must investigate using a vinyl cutter to make masks.

Looking forward to more of your models!

Cheers,

Ian 

[Tim Lingle]

I only have 2 words for you after looking at your pictures.....Super Sweet!!

 

Thanks for sharing these magnificent photos with us!

 

Cheers,

Tim

[Olly Tindall]

Wow fantastic job on this, the paint finish is top notch 👌