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Continental 777-200ER


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I actually finished this model some time ago, but never got around to sharing it until now. It's not contest-worthy by any stretch of the imagination but I'm pretty happy with it. Of course Continental is now no more (that shows how long ago it was... :cheers: )

I used the Contrails resin nose for this model. IMO I think it really helps the look, but it's not a drop-in fit. You have to do a lot of trimming and test-fitting to make it look right - if you just cut off the kit's radome and attach the nose it won't sit properly. It took me a while to figure out what was going on, but if you play with it for some time you'll see where to trim. Also, when it is finally attached there's quite a bit of filling that needs to be done. All in all though I think it's worth it.

Other changes were to thin the trailing edges on all of the flying surfaces and the pylons, round off the flap canoes and the top of the pylons (these used a ton of sandpaper...), and add some scratchbuilt details (antennas, anti-collision lights, engine strakes, and a small gear door for the main landing gear).

I painted the model with MM enamels and used Flying Colors decals for the main scheme. Smaller details (pitot tubes, cargo door decals, the Star Alliance logo, etc.) were pieced together from various decal leftovers. Finally I added some light weathering using pencil dust.

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Thanks for looking!

Nick

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Looks great Nick, I have built 2 of these and know your pain...

...

Other changes were to thin the trailing edges on all of the flying surfaces and the pylons, round off the flap canoes and the top of the pylons (these used a ton of sandpaper...), and add some scratchbuilt details (antennas, anti-collision lights, engine strakes, and a small gear door for the main landing gear).

Just wondering about the sandpaper, didn't you use a file first? :rofl:

Great job :)

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Hi Nick,

Nice build... Very clean. I've never built any Minicraft airliners yet (just started to get into airliners), is the 777 from Minicraft any good? From what i've read online, it seems like minicraft are the only ones who makes the 777 in 1/144 scale. Correct me if i am wrong about this.

Thanks,

William

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Thanks William. The Minicraft kit is okay, but not great. Main problems are the misshapen nose, thick trailing edges on the wings, horizontal and vertical tails, and engine pylons. Other problems are wrong cross-sections on the flap track fairings and engine pylons (squared off instead of rounded). You can fix everything except the nose with some effort (and a big file, or a lot of sandpaper). The nose can be fixed with aftermarket resin, or you could graft a 767 nose onto it if you can spare one. It will still not quite be right but it will look better.

The only other kits out there in this scale are the Doyusha and Welsh Models (which is a vacuform kit). The Doyusha has thinner trailing edges and a better nose, but the engines are worse than the Minicraft's, it still has the problems with squared-off pylons and fairings, the pylon trailing edges are still wrong, and the windows and doors are all molded too low so you'll need to fill them in. It's also out of production (last I checked) and much more expensive than the Minicraft kit.

I don't know anything about the Welsh kit and I've never seen one built, but I hear it's not bad. If you know how to build a vac kit and can find one it might be okay.

Overall the Minicraft is the best value for your money. It just takes a little effort to turn into a nice model.

Nick

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