Here for your perusal is the Minicraft 1/144 scale DC-8 kit modified to be a -61. This particular kit is outstanding. Parts are accurately molded, detailed, and they fit quite well to very small tolerances. This kit was a joy to research and build, and turned out well, I think.
I’ve long wanted to build a DC-8 and chose for my subject N822E, msn#45907, rolled off the line at Long Beach, California in January 1967, then delivered as the very first -61 to Delta Air Lines. She flew her first revenue flight on 18 April 1967 in the roomy 195 seat two-class configuration, and served faithfully until her conversion to a -71 in 1982. In 1988 she was sold to UPS, re-registered as N707UP, then subsequently modified into a -71F as a freighter. She was stored at Roswell in 2003, and eventually was broken up for scrap.
Livery decals are custom made from Vintage Flyer; cockpit and passenger windows are from Authentic Airliners; details are combination from F-DCAL, Vintage Flyers, and from my workbench. Photo Etch parts from ExtraTech. JT3D engines are from Authentic Airliners. I used Tamiya gray surface primer, Tamiya TS-26 white, Alclad black surface prep on the wings, Alclad airframe aluminum on the wings, and Alclad chrome on the under belly of the fuselage.
Thanks for browsing! Hope you enjoy. Comments are always welcome.
Wow that is really really nice. You add an increadible level of detail with paint. Beautiful bird! I do airliners/transports and aspire to get to where you are. Nice job.
I’m not too familiar with commercial aircraft, but a dash-61 is a Stretch 8? Back in the day, the airplane was called a Stretch 8 wasn’t it? Beautiful build, Challenger350. I’d fly on it!
Very nice! I find Minicraft airliners fine kits, better than some of the expensive competition. I also like their later issues in their 1:48 lightplane series.
I would agree that Minicraft seems to have hit its stride, at least as far as 1/144 aircraft goes. Some of their earlier military efforts, which I built, were, well, struggles. And don’t even get me started about the lack of cockpit framing.
Very nice build here. Looks ready for take off. And reminds me that my first airliner build showed me that I need a lottttt more practice in getting good gloss paint jobs.
I often put in a bulkhead behind the cockpit, then paint the interior a dark gray, when there is no cockpit detail in a 1:144 airliner.
And, I do know some aircraft modelers who build excellent military aircraft models, who tell me the reason they do not do civil aircraft is because it is too much work to get a decent gloss finish.
My mantra for gloss finishes is, put on a final wet coat- so wet it is on the verge of running. How do you know when it is just about to run, but hasn’t run yet? Practice, practice, practice. Also, I have a hard time getting a glossy finish with most acrylic paint. I have found abTamiya black that is glossy. In fact, I often use that (spray can) black as an undercoat beneath Alclad.
Thank you, John. I’m glad you like the model, but the highest compliment anyone can bestow on a modeler is that it inspires one to advance in their own skill and workmanship. Just takes patience and practice, and knowing and accepting that you’re gonna mess up at some point. But hopefully, school never stops!
Thanks, Don. This is my first Minicraft experience. I found it amazingly wonderful, except a few odd ball things that just took some ingenuity to straighten out or correct. Nothing insurmountable. But I do agree, the MC model airliners are really quite nice, engineered well for good fits, and adequate detail. My next project is the MC MD-80 finished in early American Airlines livery…I’ve got several in my stash, and I’ll just have to experience them to pass judgement.
Well, not exactly, Glenn…but thanks for saying so…I think.
BTW…your photos from Viet Nam are captivating. Spent quite some time looking those over. I was a wee lad during the 60s, but I remember those times very well. The news was covered with it every night, and I had a dear friend from church that wrote to me from there at least once a month, sending coins, little souvenirs. He was a treasure. Had three daughters, so I became the son he never had. he passed away from the effects of Agent Orange; a sad day that was. Thank you for sharing those pictures.
