A340-500/600

[GCA333]

I have never built a vacform for one, and 2, the price is pretty high.

The only hard thing with the A345/6 is the engines...

Edited September 26, 2008 by GCA333

[GCA333]

Now to get some A340's!

[vc-10]

Erm... and the new wing, new fuse/wing join, new fin, new tailplanes.....

[GCA333]

That is not as hard, you just need good diagrams. Also, seeing what others have done can help. It is mostly cutting parts out of one into the other. The engines are harder. They are a bunch of different parts together (An-124 cowlings, Trent 800 exhaust cone).

[vc-10]

I think the engines are the least of your worries. You need to put a T shaped insert into the wing. However, it's not a proper T shape, it tapers. I don't want to put you off it, but it's certainly beyond me!

Edit: Also, the Trent 700 has the same size fan. I'd get the Braz ones, and cut'n'shunt them with the Trent 900s from the A380.

Edited September 28, 2008 by vc-10

[GCA333]

I might make resin copies of the A380 cowlings. As for the wing, on airliner cafe people have done conversions and I can see exactly where they have cut the wings.

[vc-10]

The Cowls? You sure? They're kind of big...

Edit: I guess you mean the hot section (bare metal bit at the back)? If you do, then that's what I'd do too. No point wasting a whole A380 kit for just the engines!

Edited September 30, 2008 by vc-10

[GCA333]

Yeah, Thats what I meant. The 380 kits have 4 extra hot section parts, IIRC.

The An-124 cowlings are what I was thinking of.

[Jennings]

Y'all do realize that most McDD products (in particular the DC-10/MD-11) actually have "beauty straps" over a lot of the skin joints, right? The C-17 is the same. It's a strip about 2" wide that stands proud of the fuselage by a couple of mm's, covering the actual skin joint. The DC-10 and C-17 have them all over them. No scribed panel lines here!

J

[Jennings]

That is not as hard, you just need good diagrams. Also, seeing what others have done can help. It is mostly cutting parts out of one into the other. The engines are harder. They are a bunch of different parts together (An-124 cowlings, Trent 800 exhaust cone).

"Not hard"? Aside from the cockpit area and the constant diameter sections of the fuselage, there is *nothing* on an A340-500/600 that is the same as a -100/200. Not a single thing. The wing is different, the vertical fin is different, the horizontal stabs are different, the wing/body fairing is *completely* different, the landing gear is different, the wheels are different, the engine cowlings hot sections are different, the pylons are different. Other than that, they're pretty much the same airplane.

J

[GearDownPlease]

Y'all do realize that most McDD products (in particular the DC-10/MD-11) actually have "beauty straps" over a lot of the skin joints, right? The C-17 is the same. It's a strip about 2" wide that stands proud of the fuselage by a couple of mm's, covering the actual skin joint. The DC-10 and C-17 have them all over them. No scribed panel lines here!

:)

J

Did these "beauty straps" play a part in structural integrity ? Or was this just aerodynamic stuff ? These "beauty straps" always reminded me of the C-47s overlapping panels, a feature unfortunately absent on Trumpeter's latest 1/48 C-47 kit.

So do we have to understand that Ivo designed an accurate kit by not including recessed panel lines where are usually bolted these "beauty straps"?

"Not hard"? Aside from the cockpit area and the constant diameter sections of the fuselage, there is *nothing* on an A340-500/600 that is the same as a -100/200. Not a single thing. The wing is different, the vertical fin is different, the horizontal stabs are different, the wing/body fairing is *completely* different, the landing gear is different, the wheels are different, the engine cowlings hot sections are different, the pylons are different. Other than that, they're pretty much the same airplane.

J

At least he is trying, and I must admit Carioca's results are encouraging. I have seen too many times "inaccurate" kits that were beautifully finished winning 1st prize during competitions. The last one I saw was a Korean Air 747-400, the Revell kit we all know to be passable. It was built OOB -> nose section was off, windshield decal placed too high, 2 inboard engines sitting on the ground, very heavy recessed details. The modeller placed a comment pretending the aircraft was built in order to depict a "heavy" (fuelled on) aircraft, therefore the inboard engines touching the ground and flat dihedral ("Yeah, he IS the Dude, man", would have said Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowsky).

It was beautifully finished, no visible seams, perfect satin paint application, flawless decalling process.

It was NOT accurate at all, put aside that STUPID comment about the "heavy" configuration of the aircraft.

It won 1st prize.

Here is my point: I think that most (I did not say all) of the jurors, if we can call them that way, won't see the difference between an A330-200 fin extended only at the tip (what I did on my 1st conversion which was omgwtf WRONG) and the same fin converted "dans les règles de l'art", between a slightly inaccurate kit and an accurate kit, provided they are both beautifully finished. Of course, if you J are part of the jury, that will be a completely different story :D.

I think it is nice seeing modellers carrying these sorts of heavy conversions, it is more about having fun than releasing THE dead-on accurate kit. The comment often read here and there "it looks good enough to me" entirely reflects this.

And although I absolutely love Tamiya's 1/48 WWII fighter kits, I doubt they are 100% accurate... wait, their latest magnificent 1/48 Zero :) is damn close.

Regards, Steven

Edited October 1, 2008 by GearDownPlease

[carioca]

soooooooo... you wanna play with the -600 beast, huh, cowboy?

Ok, then... ready for a little action?

:P

hehehehehe

Well, here's the deal:

Number 1 - Buy 2 A340's, 1 A380, and 1 AN124 kits (lotsa munny, huh?)

Number 2 - Buy some extra putty and styrene sheets (still got any greenies on you there?)

Number 3 - Study this beast like you're going to fly it - it took me 2 whole years of collecting info on the -600 before I got hands to work on it

Number 4 (and most important of all):

CONSIDER EACH AND EVERY SINGLE STEP OF THIS CONVERSION PROCESS AS A MODEL ITSELF. DON'T LOOK AT AN A340-600 PROJECT AS IF YOU HAD TO HAVE IT DONE NEXT WEEK.

PLAN AHEAD. DON'T CUT ANYTHING UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN OF WHAT THE NEXT 2 STEPS ARE.

DO THE FUSE.

STOP.

DO THE FIRST WING.

STOP AGAIN.

DO THE EMPENNAGE.

STOP ONCE MORE. (CONSIDER BUILDING SOMETHING ELSE IN THE MEAN TIME - YOU WANNA HAVE SOMETHING NEW FOR THE NEXT SHOW, DON'T YOU?)

It's definitely not impossible. If it was THAT hard, I would have it all f*cked up by now - I'm definitely not a highly skilled modeler.

A "How to" article is coming out of this build, still not translated to english. The build right now is:

- fuse all done

- wings both done (recessed details still to be re-scribed)

- Engines: I will have a friend resin cast some AN124's cowlings and fan disks, along with an A380 exhaust conversion, and find a way to put those babes together. It felt bad to let such great kits die because of such small parts...

Absolutely no idea of when it should be finished.

Oh! Decals: home made, probably Airbus house colors will be the chosen scheme.

Have some pics:

First 3 parts of the fuse, dry fit testing:

The empennage: extended fin, extended APU exhaust...

Filled and sanded:

Ta-daaaaaa:

Horizontal stabs:

First wing done, dry fit testing:

I know for sure it will definitely not be a perfectly shaped -600 in 144 scale, but if you look at it from a 5ft distance, you'll know what it is. As mentioned before, I simply lack the modeling skills to do such thing.

But believe me, no matter how hard it may seem, it is FUN to build this thing. And that's the important issue here. It may be a perfect model, but if it ain't fun, I ain't building.

Best regards

Eduardo

[David Walker]

Very nice work! And off the specific topic of this particular plane, what kind of filler is that that you are using? It looks like it sands out very well.

[MiG31]

Have you noticed any subtle differences in items like the wing/body fairing? I can't see anything beyond the obvious chord stretch and the fact that it's stretched at the aft end.

Also, any chance your friend could produce some extra engine cowlings for other interested parties? As much as I like to keep Revell in business, spending another $80 to acquire engine cowls is a bit off-putting.

Otherwise, it's nice to see someone with the courage to take this on.

[carioca]

Have you noticed any subtle differences in items like the wing/body fairing? I can't see anything beyond the obvious chord stretch and the fact that it's stretched at the aft end.

Nope... just stretched it towards the aft fuse, and of course, along where the wing chord stretches...

Also, any chance your friend could produce some extra engine cowlings for other interested parties? As much as I like to keep Revell in business, spending another $80 to acquire engine cowls is a bit off-putting.

Yep. I think so!! Actually, he's been in the resin market for a while now - he's got one very interesting ATR coming out!

The thing is: yesterday, when I was packing the stuff to ship him and have it cast, I noticed it would be too much trouble for him to cast each and every part of a resin engine, as well as it would be for me to work with that later...

So i built as much as I could from the parts to be cast, will sand it tonight, and if everything turns out ok, it should be on its way tomorrow.

I'll let him know some folks are interested in those parts.

Otherwise, it's nice to see someone with the courage to take this on

Thanks!

Best regards

Eduardo

[carioca]

Very nice work! And off the specific topic of this particular plane, what kind of filler is that that you are using? It looks like it sands out very well.

Thanks David!!!!

I use an epoxy putty called "Durepoxi". I don't know what similar brands you'll find up in the US... It's quite easy to shape and sand, it shrinks down with time, so gotta be careful after a week or two after drying. Another layer is sometimes required - yet, final results are usually very good.

Best regards

Eduardo

[David Walker]

Thanks Eduardo, I appreciate the information.

[GCA333]

Eduardo,

Excellent job, that looks great!

What livery will she be in?

Great idea about the resin engine moulds.

[carioca]

Hi Gareth!!!

Livery? Don't know yet... I'm in the mood for the last Airbus house color, although I like the kinda sarcastic "Whatever your size, we have it" scheme.

Let's see, it'll still take a while to get there, anyway.

Best regards, and thanks everyone for supporting

Eduardo

[GCA333]

I would do Emirates, South African or Virgin. For a -500, Air Canada current. I would like to do a -500 and -600 conversion.

[MiG31]

I'm also planning a Virgin Atlantic -600. I'd considered an Etihad or even Airbus house colors, but I like the overall look of the VA livery. I have a decal set for a -300, but I think I can adapt it for the -600. I may need some extra window decals, though.

[carioca]

I'm also planning a Virgin Atlantic -600. I'd considered an Etihad or even Airbus house colors, but I like the overall look of the VA livery. I have a decal set for a -300, but I think I can adapt it for the -600. I may need some extra window decals, though.

If you'll buy 2 A340's, get both of them with the Austrian Air livery! Plenty of doors and windows included on this version - I'm working with an Austrian and an LH.

The LH doesn't come with D&W's...

[GCA333]

Skunk labworks has a A340 (a330 coming soon) detail set.

It looks very nice. It has D/W too.

[GCA333]

Hi Carioca,

Hows the A346 coming along? Are you still going to make the guide?

[carioca]

Hi Carioca,

Hows the A346 coming along? Are you still going to make the guide?

Hi Gareth!

Actually, I even started translating the "How to" guide to english, but... kinda think it's no longer gonna be necessary, as Ivo just released his conv set.

Situation here is: I just got the resin engines (mixed AN124 cowling with an A380 exhaust each), wings are ready, just waiting for recessed panel lines to be scribed down, and not a single look at it in the past 3 weeks.

I'm currently working on a Webjet B737-300 which is actually going to be my first "professional" model: a flight attendant - friend of mine - who flies for that airline just ordered it from me, so I should be done with it in the next few days - expect pics from it, too!

Regards

Eduardo