Began work on a model that has been in my stash for awhile, a Lockheed Jetstar (1:144) by Roden. I need a simple model to work on while paint (enamel) dries on my Lockheed Super Connie.
This is the best Roden kit I have ever worked on. I have had some Roden kits that were not that great. The fit on this Jetstar is awesome. Only thing I did with the fuselage seam and the wing fillet line was to brush paint some unthinned flat white direct from the jar. The windshield and cockpit roof are clear plastic insert that was slightly too wide for fuselage, and did have to sand, file and fill a tiny gap there. Anyway, all that is done and I have the last coat of primer on it. I am using Testors white primer in a spray can. I was unfamiliar with this stuff- is it new? I wanted to try it as I generally use Testors enamels for paint.
This photo is with the first coat of prime. I have the cockpit area fillled in and a second coat of prime on it, but no pix of that yet.
Although the kit is for the military version (C-140A), I can see no differences in civil plane other than the livery. Since the kit only supplies military decals, I will have to make my own inkjet decals, but that doesn’t bother me. I will paint it all white, and put simple blue strips and reg numbers on it.
I am painting it before gluing the nacelles to the fuselage, because the engine inlets have a polished aluminum or chrome ring around them. This would be too hard to mask and paint after they are on fuselage, so I will paint the nacelles before I glue them to model (after the rest of model is painted). I have checked the fit and it is super good.
Isn’t it nice when a model fits really good for a change? Such a good fit is so helpful in case like those engine nacelles here. I had a similar problem with my EKA-3B Whale - luckily those engines also fitted very well. Your model is looking good so far, good luck with it and have a nice day
I loved the JetStar. That was a great airplane. The JT12s gave way to the Garrett engines and kept them going for a while longer, but there can’t be many still registered. I’ll look forward to seeing your finished product Don.
The kit only comes with military markings, and I wanted a civilian livery, so I made inkjet decals for what my plane would look like if I could afford a Jetstar
I love to shoot planes against some photo backdrops of airport scenes, but that takes sunlight, and my backyard has several inches of snow, and windchill outside right now is about 15 below! I have to wait till spring, then will shoot all the models I finished during the winter- the disadvantages of living in Minnesota.
This thing is so small (1:144 scale). It is shorter than the ballpoint pen on my desk!
She’s a real beauty; excellent work you did. I’ve always loved the jet star. Elvis had one. Wow, 1/144 scale makes it tiny. I wonder why Roden wouldn’t produce one of these in 1/48 scale, some nice detail could be shown. It would fit nicely in the Hasegawa 1/48 executive jet lineup.
