1/72 Lockheed C-140 Jetstar

[VADM Fangschleister]

For those of you who are corporate jet junkies, Anigrand has posted the parts breakdown shot for their 1/72 Lockheed Jetstar. C-140

This is where corporate jet aviation started, when the Jetstar beat out the McDonnell 220. The Jetstar was featured in James Bond's "Goldfinger" and also the movie "Hellfighters" with John Wayne. There are many possible paintschemes to do both civil and military and should make an attractive display for any desktop.

Hopefully, the naysayers will accept this as a far and away better kit than the Combat Models rendition of decades ago, and accept whatever flaws it may have. Yes, it's expensive. Yes it's not perfect as I already see some areas to re-work but I am largely thrilled having waited since I was seven years old for a kit to build of my old man's jet. For decades, these four-engine noisemakers flew all over the world, bringing VIPS, generals, elected officials, astronauts and business execs to all points. They got an upgrade in the 70's with the TFE-731 Garret engines which reduced their fuel consumption and noise footprint considerably. Many of the 731's (Jetstar II) are still flying today. The original prototype, a two-engine job with Bristol Orpheus powerplants lives in Canada, I am told, having been retired only in the last decade.

The Jetstar was yet another of Lockheed's clever designs.

I hope my pre-order gets here soon.

Edited September 19, 2010 by VADM Fangschleister

[Trojan Thunder]

Well I am getting closer to picking one of these up. Now if you can send me a detailed list of the 'issues' then I can get cracking at it

[Kingoalie]

Now that's cool! I know Airmodel makes/made a C-140, but I've never really wanted to build a vacuum formed kit; I might be able to handle resin. Thanks for sharing this.

John

[Bruce Roberts]

The original prototype, a two-engine job with Bristol Orpheus powerplants lives in Canada, I am told, having been retired only in the last decade.

I'm looking forward to this too. I was partway through the Airmodel vac kit when this was announced. I quietly put it away and have been waiting patiently.

The two-engine prototype is currently at the Seattle Museum of Flight's restoration center:

http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/loc...l-329-prototype

[VADM Fangschleister]

I'm looking forward to this too. I was partway through the Airmodel vac kit when this was announced. I quietly put it away and have been waiting patiently.

The two-engine prototype is currently at the Seattle Museum of Flight's restoration center:

http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/loc...l-329-prototype

Oh, that's right. I knew that....or used to.

Worthy of restoration. Absolutely.

Bruce, Chris at Nostalgic Plastic told me today he had 40 orders for this kit. I don't know if that's any kind of a record but it does sound like a goodly amount. His guess, and I'm merely quoting, is that if it's released, then it's probably "on the boat" and will be here to us soon.

Looks like the cockpit could use some help. I see a few things but I will wait for the kit to be in my hands before I talk about any changes. As for the Airmodel kit, it doesn't scale out well dimensionally. The engine pods are about the only things that are 1/72 scale on that kit. I looked at mine when I got it and put it away quietly, reminding myself to more carefully spend my money.

There are a lot of photos of the real bird on Airliners.net but I contacted LockMart about decent drawings, etc and got no response. I tried a couple of different avenues, even know a guy who's a test pilot for them. No dice. He didn't even respond. (Never knew I was so hated)

But, someday, someone will break the ice and decent drawings may surface.

As for this kit, I'm just really glad it's a reality. There are some specific ones I want to do as well as make a gift to others. Oddly, I had started to make drawings and measurements as well as work on some preliminary parts to make my own 1/72 model when this was announced. So I opted to wait it out. I think it was worth it, unless they have bollixed up the shape entirely, which doesn't appear to be the case.

[Pirata]

Very interesting subject. My extreme upper budget for such a subject would normally be around $50.00, but if I see some decent reviews, I'll spring for it. It looks like it has an injection molded canopy, which if true, could guarantee at least one more sale. There are a few Jetstars at the nearby airport and I'd love to build this as either an Air Force VIP or a civilian bird. Thanks for posting this.

[aim9xray]

OK, then...enjoy!

Drawing dated 1 Dec. 1959.

[jose miguel]

Beautiful plane.....

JM

[VADM Fangschleister]

AIM9.....

You are my hero!

[F106A]

Just got the e-mail today from Chris @ NP with info on the Jetstar! I could see myself doing Elvis' "Hound Dog II" version of this!

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/pictures/j...ound_dog_2.html

Mark

[VADM Fangschleister]

Got the e-mail from Chris M. that mine has shipped. Should be here by this weekend.

Will report with photos, etc.

[aim9xray]

Will report with photos, etc.

Please do! I am a little curious about the taper of the aft fuselage and the possible lack of the fillet at the transition from the fuselage to the vertical stabilizer. (Do I sound miffed? Well, I have their C-17. "nuff said?)

And thanks for the kind words for the drawing! I should note that the drawing inexplicably omitted the leading edge flaps from the outer wing (although these are only seen when the trailing edge flaps are extended).

There are a huge amount of markings for the Jetstar:

• Government: USAF, Luftwaffe, IRIAF, Canada, FAA, NASA
  
• Airline: Eastern, TWA
  
• Private: Elvis, Bob Hope, Wayne Newton.
  

Even the engine installations abound:

• 2 x Orpheus
  
• 4 x JT12 (the J60 used on the Sabreliner)
  
• 4 x TFE-731
  
• 2 x CF-34
  

Cheers,

Craig

[VADM Fangschleister]

Yup, Craig, 'tis true.

The fillet doesn't appear to be much of a problem, though by looking at the parts shots, the vertical stab and fuselage join is designed as if it's all one piece. As you know, the entire vert. stab sat in a "shell" and for horiz. stab trim, the whole vert. stab was cranked forward/aft on a hinge point. That's the reason for the unpainted "ribbon" along the side of the vert. stab. Saved a ton of weight by using a jackscrew vs putting trim motors in the tail. But, when built, I suspect puttying the joint then painting it with appropriate aluminum paint will replicate the feature.

The leading edge flaps are odd as the whole section outboard of the tanks has two sections with the inboard extending to 15 degs, while the outboard extends to about 20. Why this is so, I don't know.

However, playing with my photo program, I've been able to determine that it appears to scale out ok by overlaying your drawings on the parts. I think though, that even those drawings are not exact but yet another "best guess". Even from Lockheed. They are, however, suitable enough for me for my purposes. Short of measuring the real bird, they seem quite good. They were exactly what I was looking for some time ago and again, I'm really grateful you posted them. I plan on using them for a scratchbuilt 1/48 C-140. It comes out to about 14 and a half inches length in that scale.. The wing cross-section is there, and I can derive various shape areas (fuselage/wing join for example) from them. I already have the Evergreen sheets and I'm stealing Pig's method of formers and Bondo to get started. Should be a lot of fun.

Hopefully, the Anigrand kit will be here tomorrow. If not, I have to work all weekend and pics won't be forthcoming until either Saturday night or Monday. I will try to compare them to the drawings you posted and certainly, there will be speculation if the kit is accurate vs. the drawings.

All I care about is that it seems to look a lot more like a Jetstar than the Combat Models version.

[Jennings]

This, I must say, is one of the few Anigrand kits I might have potential interest in buying. I have his XR-12 Rainbow (my second favorite airplane of all time), and it's a POS. I pray that the Jetstar is better. Interested to hear what you have to say when you see it.

J

[VADM Fangschleister]

OK, it has arrived but I will have to spend time taking photos, etc. Preliminary inspection gave way to, "Geez that's tiny". But...well....yeah. 1/72.

First glance shows the cockpit windows incorrect. They are all "flat plate" on the real bird vs how Anigrand molded them, except the very front window. Sanding, filing and polishing should fix this.

The tail curves up too abruptly from the bottom, will mostly be hidden by most any view, as on the real machine, which may be why it's hard to model. (just guessin')

The panel lines are ok....door looks correct, cabin windows too...but the engine intakes suffered from bubbles in the resin. I can fix that but...why should I have to?

Glad to have it in my grubby paws....a lifelong dream. Will post photos soon. (Want to make sure I have good ones, with valid critiquing.)

Fang.

Edited April 9, 2010 by VADM Fangschleister

[VADM Fangschleister]

Here are some photos of the kit.

As it came in the box.

What ya get:

Fuselage should be 9.8", it is.

Wingspan is correct, too. 8.94" (bear in mind there are gaps at assembly points and they would take up the additional slack.

How the vertical stab fits, the fillet looks close but not 100% correct:

Engine intakes suffer from bubbles. I can fix this but it ticks me off just the same:

Looks like some filing is in order here:

Edited April 9, 2010 by VADM Fangschleister

[VADM Fangschleister]

The fiddly bits:

Wheels and chairs:

The rest of them:

Clear parts:

Windscreen, where major re-work will have to be done.

[VADM Fangschleister]

Overall, I am pleased. It's 1/72 scale, to be sure. Most everything that has flash, bubbles, etc can be fixed. The cockpit might benefit from a vacuform windscreen, so better to see the interior. Plus, the kit part is "acceptable" in that it represents a windscreen but one of the distinctive features of the Jetstar is the flat windows and how they are shaped and their size. Plus the overhead windows are quite large.

The landing gear is short, thankfully, but dangerously brittle. I doubt it will hold up if the model is handled much.

The slipper tanks attach to the bottom of the wing and as you can see, the notch is undersized. Based on my observation, it would be best to file material from the FRONT of the tank as the rear part has the taper and it needs to remain consistent.

The other clear parts look nice. I especially like the lenses for the landing lights. A nice MV lense will look great in there.

On a modeler's skill level scale, I'd say experience with resin kits is a must...it's not a shake and bake kit, will need many hours of working slowly, and once superglue cures...well...that's where the part will stay, so study photos and AIM9Xray's drawings carefully.

Was it worth $76? No. But, because of the unusual nature of the kit...and that I've waited since the 60's to have something that accurately represented the darn thing, I might have paid more for it. I like it, it's light years better than the vac kit that came out way back and I'm planning on having fun with this.

I will try to scale some drawings...once I get a new printer cartridge.

Fang

[F106A]

Thanks so much for the photos, and your first impressions Fang. The detail you described and showed is exactly what I (and I'm sure others) was looking for. Looks like another kit just jumped up on my want list!

Mark

[aim9xray]

Sigh. Well, Anigrand left room for craftmanship. Luckily it's a lot of relatively little stuff, but it really makes you wonder why they don't bother to get it right.

Your photo:

- the bullet fairing on the vertical stab should be thinner and circular in cross section.

- the transition from the fuselage to the vertical stabilizer fairing should be blended rather than a 90 degree intersection. And the fairing on the fuselage is too flat and low.

- the aft fuselage looks more like that of the Jetstream 31 in that it is a flat taper; it should be more of a convex curve. It'll probably be hard to see on the contest table from above with the engines in the way, but still...

- it also looks like we are missing the fillets on the wing and the wing tank.

- as you noted, the windshield panels are rounded instead of flat; the "eyebrow" windows are misplaced and are the wrong shape.

- I'm sure that there are more nits, such as engine vents, antennas and the like.

All in all, annoying nits, but it's the only [overpriced] game in town. *sigh*

[VADM Fangschleister]

Yup, Keen eye AIM9.

The bullet fairing, sanding....

The blending of fuse to wing...epoxy putty

Same for Vert stab to fuse

The fillet to vert stab, sanding...reshaping

The aft fuselage? Not so simple. You're right about the curve.

Test assembly of the engines to their pylons show they mount correctly with the right thrust angle. The air intake in-between the two engines will have to be created, it's not there.

I'm thinking the windows are about 5% too large. May fill them in and decal....not sure yet. There's also the option to put the clear piece in, fair it smooth, polish and mask a smaller window when painting.

I keep finding nits too. I actually ordered another one....as I always find something after building the first one.

The cockpit glass will get a new stretch-formed version by carving a new one out of epoxy, then stretch-mold a new one. It's not too large to do that. A couple of tries should get it.

Measuring it all out, though, the diameter of the fuselage is exactly 1.18" which scales out well with the 85" divided by 72. Playing with parts and such, it looks pretty nice, even if I did it OOB. However, this has been too long a wait to just slap it together.

Another nit..the fillet that goes between the slipper tank and the inboard wing is the wrong shape, though could most likely be ground out carefully.

[Unit19]

When I was a lineman back in the early 70's we would get the occasional Jet Star, but it was a rare event. One semi-regular visitor was owned by a paper company (I think it was International Paper Company, or Georgia Pacific). I remember it was orange and white and still had the 4 original turbojet engines. Quite a heavy looking chunk of aluminum. That was back before they had many models of "heavy" corporate jets/turboprops. In fact, I can only think of the Gulfstream G-1 and the Fairchild F-27, with the Gulfstream soon taking over the market. Sabreliners were fairly common at the time. I always thought the designers of the Sabreliner did that beautiful Sabre wing a disservice with that ungainly looking fuselage. I remember it also rocked back and forth when it taxied due to the narrow landing gear and top-heavy fuselage. It must have been a handful in a crosswind landing.

Edited April 10, 2010 by Unit19

[compucrap]

This is a bit off-topic but anyone whos a fan of the Jetstar may enjoy this:

-Josh

[majortomski]

The FAA's N1, the administrators airplane was a Jetstar up into the late 80's

[VADM Fangschleister]

Using AIM9's drawings, you can see that the tailcone should be more bulbous. I will probably carve a new one from epoxy putty then cast a replacement.

Edited April 14, 2010 by VADM Fangschleister