I received the latest edition of the IPMS USA Journal last week. So many amazing builds on display at the Nationals this year. One model that really grabbed my attention was the Heller Lockheed L-1049 Constellation in TWA livery. I’ve been a fan of the Constellation for as long as I can remember. I saw the AirlineHistory.Org Constellation many years ago at Sun n Fun and the Constellation languishing under the Florida sun at Fantasy of Flight.
Somewhat motivated, I pulled my Heller L-749 Constellation down from from the closet where it has been for a few years.
Ordered a bunch of aftermarket stuff for the kit last night and did some minor assembly today. Stay tuned. I’ll be doing the occasional build update, with pictures, of course, as the build goes along.
Frank, that was one of my favorite Airliner models. I built two- one Air france and one BOAC. It’s a well engineered kit, pretty easy build. IIRC the cockpit roof is a separate piece that includes the (tiny) windows.
On the second one I glued the wing top halves to the wing roots before I put on the bottom middle piece. Nicely eliminated the gaps.
The only 1049 I ever built was the old Revell box scale one.
I had an Airfix 1/72 1049 kit in the stash that I was going to build as an EC-121 but I lost interest and gave the kit to my B-I-L. I do have the resin radome kicking around somewhere.
Gene Roddenberry was a Captain for Pan Am and was involved in a very serious incident with an L-049 in the Syrian desert. Look up the Clipper Eclipse.
I assembled the tail surfaces today at our club build day. This afternoon, I’ll epoxy some lead weights behind the flight deck so the airplane will stand on its landing gear. The windows and canopy are painted on the inside because when the fuselage is closed up, there won’t be anything to see through the little windows anyway. And yeah, Bill, I’ll do the same with the upper wings to. I did that on a Tamiya(?) P-47D Razorback and it worked out very nicely.
Like I said before, I have ordered a ton of aftermarket for this build. Corrected engines for this version are coming from HLJ.com in Japan.
When my Connie is complete, it will be one of Eastern’s Great Silver Fleet. Found the decals and window masks at Vintage Flyer. The finish will be overall NMF with the decals.
That kit can produce a really great model. I know folks who pass it by because it has a reputation of being a lot of work to build. Heller sometimes has the same reputation of several kitmakers today- never mold a piece as a single piece when you can mold it as a three or four piece assembly. but they produce great results if you are patient.
BTW, for those wanting to build a Connie in 1:144 the Revell Connie is a very nice kit, easy to build with good results.
Thanks, Don(?). Patience generally isn’t one of my virtues but I’m learning. The kit had been in storage for, maybe, four years. When I opened the box again the other day, I was really impressed with the petite detail. Plus, raised panel lines are never an issue for me. With all of the aftermarket stuff I have on order for this build, I expect a very nice result.
This is the ballast needed to get the airplane up on its nose gear:
That profile is unmistakable! Really looking forward to your build. I have two in my stash…not sure how that happened! Time to blow the dust off one of them and dive in.
If I understand correctly, John, when Howard Hughes delivered the first C-69 to the AAC, the aircraft was O.D. and gray on one side and in TWA livery on the other. I haven’t been able to find a picture of that airplane though.
The Connie is coming along nicely. The fuselage is closed up and the seam taken care of top and bottom. The canopy is attached and blended into the fuselage. I was test fitting the horizontal stabilizers and they look good, perpendicular to the vertical tail, so I’ll go ahead and glue them in place. I find it interesting that Heller molded this kit in two colors: silver and white.
I’m impressed with HLJ Japan, the resin engines I ordered will arrive later today, less than a week since I placed the order! The white metal landing gear have arrived from Scale Aircraft Conversions. I’m still waiting for accessories I ordered from domestic vendors to arrive so I can press on.
This is going to be a gorgeous airplane when it’s done.
Well, Art Godfrey was a legit USNR O-5 (CDR) and a full “green ticket” NAviator, as well as being qualified by Eastern Air Lines.
I’d wager that ther are some nasal radiator O-5 out there with an ATP ticket, and flying for one of the air lines. Now, the number who are radio & stage famous will be smaller, obviously.
But, yes, clearly a bygone age. Along with plugging your brand of cigarettes you represent by smoking them in the cockpit.
So is walking across the hot tarmac at the airport apron to climb the boarding stairs out in the weather, too (which would be how I boarded a TWA Connie about age 6 or so).
Time to blow the dust off one of them and dive in.
