New guy here (to the forum, not modeling). I’m trying to find a decent kit for an early series 747 (short upper deck), -400 cargo version falls into this category as well. I would just buy the Revell -400 kit, but the extended upper deck just never looked “right” to me. The only other readily available kit I can locate in 1/144 is the Airfix Brit Airways kit (a -200 I believe). My experience with Airfix has been limited to a DC-10-30 kit that left something to be desired in the area of quality (poor parts fit). I read a review online that was very unfavorable toward the Airfix 747, so I’m not sure where to turn. Has anyone built the Airfix 747, and if so, how did it go together? Were the proportions good? If not, is there another source that I’ve overlooked? I’m open to a -400 freighter version as well, since it retains the short upper deck. Thanks in advance…
BTT
Deltaheavy , dont know if this will help. I have a Hasegawa , Japan Air Lines 747 Jumbo. It is a 1 / 200 scale. Since I am not familiar with all the 747 series I dont know if this one would fit the bill. The upper deck seems short to me as the upper deck has 10 windows on each side. If this constitutes it being a short deck, so be it. I am going to fill in the correct windows and doors as I am going to do it in the markings of aUnited Parcel Service Freighter. The markigs are from Jet Decal, JD200-007 for a 747-200 Olympic UPS aircraft. I have to believe it is a 747-200 series. The markings are great. The sides of the aircraft will have the markings in Brown, Black, Green, Red, Orange and Yellow of a Basketball Player, Hockey Player, Downhill Skier, Volley Ball Player etc. Really colorful and a great looking set of markings. Check them out. The kit is great and even include a weight so it wont be a tail sitter. Hope this help. Kit # LD001 :1000
Thanks for the heads-up, but the scale is a problem. I need a 1/144 to complement my growing airliner collection in that scale. Currently a 777, 707, DC-10, MD-80, and L-1011. If I didn’t already have those built, I’d do the 1/200, but I’m trying to keep it consistent. Maybe I’ll just have to do a -400 passenger but that is certainly not my first choice. I could get both the Airfix and Revell kits, and combine the -200 fuse with the -400 wings and create my own -400F, but that wouldn’t be the cheap way…
Deltaheavy;
I love the airliner models and think the B747-100/200 series are the best looking of all the 747 versions. Revell used to make the B747 early series in 1/144 scale. It’s not too easy to find. I’d try ebay first. They also made the B747 with the space shuttle on top. It’s also a bit rare. These Revell kits are very nice. I built the Airfix kit too, several years ago. The shape is ok but the engines are not very accurate. There are a couple of places on the internet I can recommend to assist you in your quest.
www.airlinercafe.com This is a site dedicated to airliner models. It’s a forum like FSM. Very friendly and knowledge able folks. Some awesome airliner modelers and models you will see. Check out the members galleries. It’s free to sign up. You could pose your question there as well. I’m positive you’d get some good answers
I hope this helps you in your search. Glad to see another airliner buff on the forums.
Neil