After months (on and off) of gnashing about on this monstrosity, I can finally call it done. This is the Anigrand Giant Castings kit of the VC-25 “Air Force One” 747. And it is big. Just a shade smaller than the C-5 and with not terribly may parts, it is difficult to put together to “pro modeler” standards because nothing fit well. I immediately abandoned the idea of a cockpit interior even though they give you parts for that. The clear (?) windows are too big and not the right shape, so those were faired over and replaced by the massive Draw Decal digital silk 747 window/door set. The kit decals for the insignias and lettering were fine. The colors were matched to Boeing color chips, but I used a can of Krylon gloss gray for the wings and tailplanes. The fuselage has seven (!) parts that don’t line up easily and fit even more poorly to the wings and tail surfaces. There’s a lot “wrong” with Anigrand’s rendition for those who know a lot about these ships, but without available correction sets or the will to try to fix the engine and pylon types, about all I did was simulate the antenna farm. To almost everyone who will see this model, it looks just like the Air Force One they see in pictures and TV.
The best news is that I’ll never have to build another one!
It’s going to tonight’s R.I.Bong club meeting for the annual contest, and it will probably get some votes just because it is big and impressive. Tomorrow, I’ll take it up to the Oshkosh club contest and hopefully talk some more with some of the guys from EAA about eventually putting this (and 200 more models) on display.
The final shot shows the model next to my newly completed C-54 so you can get an idea of the size. Yumpin yimmini!
Paul
