Hi All,
I have a Transport Wings 747 vacuform model. I also bought the SAC shuttle carrier kit so I could mount a 1/72 Enterprise shuttle on top of it. Has anyone built one because I’m curious about what kind of structural reinforcement I’m going to have to do to the 747 model? Magoo
I wish that somebody woud do a 1/72 styrene plastic 747-100 / 200, especially a 747SP. Being a former frequent flyer on Braniff International when they were in business, I would definitely do those 747 versions in Braniff colors & markings.
Joseph
Definitely some bulkheads and cross braces. Some of the guys I know who build those large vac kits fill them with low density poly foam (two part kind) to give them rigidity.
Hi Gerald, Thanks for the reply. I forgot to mention that I wanted to build a cockpit and possibly drill out all the windows and have the entire main floor open like on the real plane. I contacted a fellow many years ago through the web who told me that these 747s had about 2 tons of iron up-front in the former first class section of the aircraft, and the 3.5 tons of pea gravel in the cargo hold to keep the nose down and plane balanced with a shuttle on top. No doubt the model will need weight as well. Over all both kits together in their boxes weight 10 pounds the shuttke acounts foe 3 1/2 pounds of that total. So bracing and reinforcement will be needed…maybe some judicial use of aluminum for bracing and boxing of critical load areas like in the landing gear area. Additional weight of 1/2 to 1 pound of weight may be needed in the nose to keep everything down on the nose gear. This will require some planning; its going to be a heavy combo. Andrew Magoo