Part of my current large number of kits on the production line. Civilian subjects are very rare for me.
NTM
Great little line up you have there Manic… Sorry its taken me so long to post back to you… I have been busy with work lately, and the internet has not been a priority of late…
As for the A380, I have had to sand back parts of the white again, because I simply wasnt happy with the surface, and so decided to get stuck into it, and get it ready for a better coat…
Cheers Chris
Just picked up the RoG A380 “Emirates” version, and man that is one big monster. I have seen the real bird in flight last summer at the Paris Airshow, but had forgotten how big it really is!!!
Chris,
How do you deal with the windows? I was thinking of masking them from the outside and then putting putty on from the inside to seal them up and then use the decals for the windows.
Matt
Hi,
I am glad that some people love the civil airliners. I am building two right now. It’s been a long time since I got started. I am doing a B747 1/144 form Revell in Lufthansa colours, a 777 from minicraft and have ordered by Revell A380. Let’s see. Do keep posting your pictures, seems to shping up beautifully.
Matt, its a sweet kit isnt it… The Emirates decals are just perfect… Although I will only be using the aircraft decals and not the livery…
As to your question about the windows… Your idea sounds like a good idea, but always remember when dried, putty tends to shrink… I was very lucky with what happened to me… I didnt mask the windows, but I did putty from the inside, and I gently pushed the putty through the windows like toothpaste… Not enough to make a mess, but enough to poke its head out… After it was semi dry, I cut the protruding head off the putty and then left it to dry…
The next day, I had noticed that the putty had shrunk, and although the windows were filled, they still had a mild indentation, and the cerface wasnt purely flat… Now, thinking it was not going to be a good result, last night I decided to go ahead anyway and place the window decals on… And to my surprise, that small indentation really gives the windows a very realistic 3 dimentional look to them… So from what I thought was a mistake, actually turned into a great effect…
Cant see it in these pics, but with the paint redone and a few decals on, she is starting to look like an A380…
I will be printing the “QANTAS” & “Spirit of Australia” decals tomorrow!
I look forward to seeing how you go with yours!
Chris
great looking plane, cant wait to see these again in brisbane [:)] nice work as always
mick[8-]
I have that same Revell kit, a beauty IMHO and it took me a while to find suitable after market decals for it. I’ve got most of it assembled and almost ready to paint. I found the main landing gear section need a bit of putty but the rest has gone together very well. I ordered a set for an EL AL B737 from F-decal from overseas. It takes a while to get them. If you order from there order the laser printed ones not the ink jet printed ones as according to the owner, they require over coating where as the laser printed ones don’t.
Here are some links to airliner decals for all to view;
Also check out www.airlinercafe.com a great airliner form.
Have great day
Neil
A beautiful looking airliner so far. I’ve been kinda intimadated by this kit. I’ve read some other reviews that mention being careful when installing the wings as they are quite large and also the main landing gear had some fit issues. Have you found that to be so in your build? What white are you using? I use Tamiya surface primer white, followed by Tamiya pure White TS-26. It’s laquer based but it levels beautifully and decals conform great. Have you checked out airlinercafe.com? There’s a guy on there that did the A380 in Edelweiss markings, put in photo etched fan blades and lit the plane in a diorama! I’ll try and find it and send the link. I love doing airliners, they are my favorite.
Here’s an FSM thread I posted I did awhile back: http://www.finescale.com/FSM/CS/forums/566327/ShowPost.aspx
Your nice selection makes me feel like going back and doing more myself![tup]
Tom T [C):-)]
Progress is slow, but continues. I had thought that I was finally done with the masking/spraying business barring the metal leading edges on the fixed-wings, but no, I’ve just copped that the green on the nose of the -146 is far more rounded/less pointed on the real thing, which I guess means more masking of evil curved surfaces. (Decal instructions have side-view only)
I have to say, I had originally thought that these civilian subjects would be a nice light diversion (Snigger) from my military subjects, but it seems the military ones are far more forgiving. Masking those compound curves on the fuselage is driving me nuts. (Don’t worry about the shoddy green/white border, cockpit area, that’ll get decaled over). And, of course, the chopper is still an entrant into the Worst Kit in the World, Ever competition.
Oh well. Onwards.
NTM
Well Chris,
You are doing a great job there, great find with fillng the windows… May I ask what door outlines you are using?
I am big into airliners as well, I have 2 of these beasts to build, after I finish a 747-300 & 747-400F conversion (the left overs of the 747-300 conversion allow you to creat a -400F, why waste a good kit?).
If I can figure out how to post pics I will show some of my models. any tips?
Cheers
Ray
The trick is to find somewhere on the web to upload the picture to. Once it’s on the web somewhere, use the [img] tags to link to it.
NTM
I use www.photobucket .com,which is free, to upload my photos. Once they’ve been uploaded, underneath the picture it gives you three options,one of which includeds the IMC brackets needed to post to this forum. Simply copy and past to the body of your topic, click edit to see if they uploaded and then post. I also believe the Q&A section of this form has instructions. This works for me pretty well. Hope this helps.
Neil
Back again… Ray, dont be scared of it… It really is a simple kit, although I havnt started the engines yet, and there are a few pieces used for the legs… I will say one thing though… build the landing gear first, and then place them in the side pieces before putting the 2 halves together… When painting, it helps to keep this huge body from touch anything… And secondly, as its so big, you really need a slow drying glue, because you will need to fiddle around to get it perfect… I didnt use enough glue on the top, and so didnt have any squeeze through the top and fill the seam, so I had to use a little putty… The white plastic is very soft, so dont go crazy with the sanding, and if you do, go with the shape of the top… I have one little flat spot on top where I went a bit crazy… 3 paint coats later, cant notice it… I have this thing as shiny as a travel agent model!
A few more pics for an update…
First pic is of my QANTAS decals that I printed out… Really happy with this now, Alot of work to get the size right, but it has really made it come alive I think!
Another shot of the “The Spirit of Australia”
As we dont have any in the sky, I dont have a number for her… So she has been given the designation of VH-VXA… (I really dont know why I chose that?) VH is used on Australian Aircraft…
And the last picture is a reference pic to show the size of it with the wings on… The wings are a model in themselves… I also placed an F/A-18C in 1/144 scale to give you an idea of the size… When all is completed, the Hornet will be a RAAF Hornet that will sit with it as an escort… I just felt the A380 needed something extra for scale to be displayed with it…
Buiscuit… They will be in Brisbane before we know it!
Chris
That’s one nice looking build! I’ve never flown with Quantas but they certainly have one of the most vibrant and recognizable markings, making it perfect for modelling. You mentioned you made your printed out your own ‘QUANTAS’ decals. Did you print it out on special decal paper?
Great build[tup] any plans for future airliners?
Dan
OK,
Thanks guys for the tips, lets see if I can get this to work.
I have a photobucket account but was not used to the way images are posted on this board.
Here are some of mine:
Some 737s and 757s (1/144)
1/200 Hasegawa and Dragon
1/144 Aussie aircraft
Concorde
B777s
1/100 Nitto 707
Some of my dioramas
Cheers
Got to laugh at the Final Countdown one.
NTM
Its just one of those dioramas I had to do! 
Ray… I can see alot of hours put into those… The first picture, I simply cant imagine the hours put in just with the decals!.. I also loved your Australian Airforce One… I have often thought about a what-if aswell!.. Thanks for sharing!.. And I am glad you worked out posting the pics… It was well worth the wait!
As for mine… Slowly but surely… I have started the painting on the wings, and like I said earlier. The wings are a model in themselves… This thing seems like it is a 2 in 1 kit… Anyway, I am happy with how she is comming along…
Someone asked about my decals… Well they are not really a decal, but more like a sticker… I found this pack of A-4 sticker film here in Japan… It is used to make clear labels to put on bottles and plastic containers… Now when you think sticker film, you think thick… But it is actually quite thin, and once placed on, sits down well and is hardly noticeable… I have seen thicker Academy decals than this stuff, so I am happy with the way it works… After a coat of lacker, you dont even see it…
As for my next project… I have on order a 1/144 747-400… I will be doing it in my favourite color scheme of Japan Airlines… Now that is the cleanest most eye catching scheme around!.. Plus they are a great airline to fly with!
Chris
is that going to be the new colour scheme ? the one with the partial himaru on the tail ?that is a lot better than the old
scheme cant wait to see the a380 done
mick [8-]