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1/144 Alitalia MD-80 (new livery)


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Hello,

This is my first group build, I decided to join in as a cure against the lenght of my projects!

Started this one a few weeks ago but haven't posted any photos yet since progress was slow... hope to accelerate a bit.

So to start the traditional picture with box and decals. I have a few sheets from TwoSix but this is the first time I'll use any, hope all will come out good.

SDC10584.jpg

Here is the wings and fuselage assembled with the canopy on. I'm going to use decals for the flightdeck so I applied some Tipp-Ex correction fluid to the inside of the transparent part, this way it will be easier to cover with the final white paintcoat.

SDC10585.jpg

The Minicraft kit is one of their best airliners, though it's somewhat simplified in the small details: my build will concentrate on adding this items (time permitting :thumbsup: ) which to my eyes makes the difference when you look at an airliner model.

First shortcoming is the depiction of the air intake at the base of the fin: I carved a recess to install some brass tube pressed in a oval section. Much superglue and putty later this is the result:

SDC10586.jpg

Then I painted the ehxausts with a mix of gun metal and bronze, nothing special as it's very difficult to see inside there...

SDC10587.jpg

That's all for now, hope to post an update soon. By the way I'm not a big fan of the new Alitalia livery but I felt the urge to do this model as a tribute to the Mad Dog after the abrupt end of its service in the national carrier.

Cheers

Fabio

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  • 4 weeks later...
Ciao Fabio. I agree that the new and improved paint scheme is a disappointment. Having said that, you've got a great kit there and no doubt you'll make a gem out of her. This will be a fun build to watch. :thumbsup:

Hi DC10Oiller,

thank you for your trusting words :cheers: I have a deep affection to this aircraft and hope to do it justice.

Finally had time for an update: not much progress but this is life...

First the engines were assembled and after painting the fan and duct with Xtracolour Coroguard I masked the inside since I want to do the fan lip in Alclad chrome aluminium: this aircraft is a full repaint so it will be in near pristine conditions.

SDC10607.jpg

Then onto the wings. I boxed in the wheelwells with some thin plasticard (next time I'll remove the extractor pins BEFORE assembling the half wings...) and painted the inside with Humbrol 56.

SDC10595.jpg

I also made the wingtip lights with clear plastic inserts and added the spotlight fairings (still to be refined).

SDC10625-1.jpg

I installed the front undercarriage doors at this stage since they seem to open only during cycling of the u/c.

SDC10596.jpg

The tail plane was modified, I want to depict the natural pose it always has on the ground. First I made a copy with thin plasticard for the plates on the tail which move with the tailplane, then I sanded them away.

SDC10598.jpg

All the moving parts were detached and reassembled slightly displaced. Anyone wanting to do the same mod, be warned that the kit has a wrong panel line at the root of the tailplane!

SDC10606.jpg

Last I copied the decal sheet on paper to check how it fits and found some surprises I'll report on later :wacko:

Also I filled all the doors as their dimensions are quite off and would show under the decals.

SDC10605.jpg

That's all for now!

Bye

Fabio

Edited by swallows
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Fabio,

That is really cool.....love all the little extra details like the logo lights, and the split elevators, control tabs, geared tabs, etc. That captures one of the unique qualities of the MD-80....sitting at the gate with elevators opposed! Thanks for letting us follow along, I have a couple more 80's of my own in the stash and have thought about similiar mod's to the kit. Watching yours with interest...might enpower me to take on the extra challenge.

Regards,

Chris

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  • 1 month later...

Hi,

an update on the current status of my build.

I added some details to the top of the fuselage, first near the front where they are very slightly offset to port,

180-8064_IMG.jpg

then these two antennas offset to starboard and a beacon (?) which is even more distant from the centreline.

Really would like to know the reason for all these peculiarities....

180-8065_IMG.jpg

I previously mentioned some 'surprises' I found with the decals... well I hope to be wrong, but the new lower position of the green cheatline highlights a problem with the kit fuselage, that is there is not enough space between the upper wing root and the top of the windows line. I also did some checks with the position of the tail decals to find the correct relative position for the outflow valve and other details but I have a strong feeling that something is out of of place in this much applauded kit! :coolio:

SO, I took a deep breath and chose to start another kit to finish out of the box and see the result. I'll go along in parallel with the first more detailed build but I don't hope to complete it by the deadline, so the backup will suffice as a portrait of the new livery: I've already painted the fuselage so you'll see some more progress soon!

Bye

Fabio

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  • 2 weeks later...
I like all the extra details you're adding; really bring the plane to life. Sucks about the decals though. Still, whenever she gets done she'll look fine.

Hi DC10Oiller,

thanks again for your appreciation; I hold my judgement on the decals until I've actually used them, let's see how they'll come up.

I have some more progress to show, so here it is!

I painted the fuselage belly, wings, engine & pilons in RLM63 gray as it seems a good match to my eyes

IMG_8087.jpg

Then it was time for the natural metal leading edges. This time I experimented with Alclad II Aluminium for the first time and I actually found the final result very good, think I will stick to it next time.

IMG_8089.jpg

I had to mask myself the scuff plate for the tailplanes since no decals are provided by both Minicraft and TwoSix... it was really a b**ch of a job, hope it will be worth it once I pull off the masking!!

IMG_8090.jpg

And now for the Quiz time: guess where is the mistake.... :banana:

IMG_8091.jpg

Edited by swallows
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Hi to all,

Some more progress: I have repainted the engines with the right extension of the natural metal intake ring, the tailplane scuffplate is painted...

180-8092_IMG.jpg

...and I have applied the wing decals. This laser sheet behaves well, it is quite thick but not stiff so you can handle it with ease and pressing gently and repeatedly with a soft cloth you finally get it to conform to the surfaces. It is impervious to Micro Sol so I used some very strong decal solution only in a few critical corners where I coudn't avoid it.

Now comes the fun part: as I had anticipated with a 'dry fit' the fuselage decals are not quite right. The cheatline position in the end came out acceptably good by shifting up the window row and I think that the tail problems are compounded by kit mistakes in the positioning of the engine pilons and the screwdriver tail joint, however this shouldn't happen: :)

181-8103_IMG.jpg

I contacted Ray Charles at TwoSixDecals and I'll see what happens...

Bye

Fabio

Edited by swallows
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I contacted Ray Charles at TwoSixDecals and I'll see what happens...

Just had a reply from Ray with a sample image of the corrected sheet :salute: My hat's off to their Customer Care Department!

So it seems I'll be able to finish by the deadline, let's hope in the Mail Service...

Bye

Fabio

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Hi DC10Oiller,

glad to keep your interest alive, despite switching to an easier build.. :jaw-dropping:

I tried first with a patch on the missing part of the cheatline....

SDC10772.jpg

...but it showed too much, moreover the green is slightly different... maybe TwoSix changed printer since I first bought the sheet.

So I stripped altogether the left cheatline, an easy task with some masking tape and reapplied all the new decals. I only left the fin as the difference didn't show too much and it had been a beast to fit..

Also, the new decals are more representative of the windows configuration of I-DACN, though there are still four pax windows missing from the right row behind the engines. Fortunately I had some spares from the stripped decal so I could correct this mistake:

SDC10773.jpg

So here it is, finished a day before the deadline!

SDC10776.jpg

SDC10778.jpg

SDC10780.jpg

After all it's quite elegant, though the old livery cant'b beated!

More images in the 'finished' thread.

Bye

Fabio

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