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Fuselage Panel lines


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I've never actually built an airliner before so while doing research and looking at builds around the net I noticed that it appears some choose to fill them for a glass like finish. I'm just curious about this because I'm a traditional military modeler and saving panel lines during construction is a major part of the build. I'm building my first in 1/200 scale and they do seem kinda big for the scale and and contemplating doing it. What do you guys do?

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I'm with Cuprar on this one and I do like to keep them intact if possible. However, it is important to keep in mind the scale you are dealing with. For 1/144 and 1/200 in true scale any panel lines would be almost invisible, and extremely hard to see even in 1/72nd.

Therefore I tend to leave them as is, carefully rescribe any sanding damage and then let the paint do its job of filling in the depth. This just leaves a hint of their presence. I would certainly never put a wash or the like in fuselage panel lines as this would be far too over scale for my tastes, however a bit of dirt around the flaps, ailerons and other moving parts doesn't do any harm, as these lines are more visible on the real aircraft anyway.

At the end of the day it's each to their own; my advice is to experiment and see what suits you best and what methods give you the most pleasing results... and don't forget to check photo's for reference to the particular plane you're attempting to replicate.

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panel lines on scale models in a lot of cases are way over done. On the 1/1 scale planes, most can't be seen unless up close. After a good coat of primer and paint, most are totally invisible. if you are gonna keep the scale ones, go very light. otherwise you are gonna have something that in real life would be about 6 inches deep.

Frank

ATL

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For 1/200 you would strive to end up with a subtle hint of a line. From working real Airliners, some skins do overlap,

some butt joint, and depending on the hours flown, can have large repair sections riveted on top of original skin.

Once painted livery (Fuselage) they blend like on a model so mostly seen by shadow only. I would still keep lines

highlighted for entrance, service doors, and cargo as they would be most visible.

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Its all about your personal taste. Some modelers have to have glass-like glossy finishes on their airliners. Others don't.

As someone who works on these birds everyday (B737NGs) I can tell you they have anything but glass-like finishes. We keep our planes washed on a regular schedule but that don't stop things like rivet rash, paint chipping or fading. Some of our 737s would put you're heaviest weathered models to shame. There's one where the paint has popped off about 50% of the rivet heads - that's thousands of silver dots all over the fuselage. A few have faded to an almost flat finish, while others leak lav juice, oil and deicing fluid all over the place.

On real Boeings the lateral butt-joints (aka production joints) between sections are about 0.2 inches wide. These are then filled with BMS5-95 sealant and painted to match the corporate colour scheme. The longitudinal lap joints that run along the length of the fuselage overlap each other (hense the term 'lap'), but even these have their edges sealed.

In my opinion, while any panel line on a model is a gross exaduration of a panel joint, a nice fine line is still ideal to have as it'll allow you to hold a wash that will replicate the weathering I talked about above. When I get to my airliners, people will be surprised just how dirty they are.

I hope that answers your question.

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In my opinion, while any panel line on a model is a gross exaduration of a panel joint, a nice fine line is still ideal to have as it'll allow you to hold a wash that will replicate the weathering I talked about above.

I tend to agree, and I think this is a case of there being tension between perception and reality. The reality is that you shouldn't be able to see panel lines on model airliners if done to scale. The perception is that they can look toy-like and, ironically, a little 'unreal' if there are none. It's what the mind wants to see versus what really should be there. In the end, what the mind wants to see (perception) wins. I think it's perfectly fine to add a little dynamism and life to a model, even if it breaks the letter of the scale law.

Kev

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  • 2 weeks later...

some airliners get quite a bit dirtier than others

the Philippine airlines A340 has a really dirty fuselage but there aren't too many visible panel lines.

and there are quite a few streaks coming from the loose fasteners around the windows

DSC_0111.jpg

DSC_0096.jpg

the KLM A330 tail looks just like a model with a dark wash applied to fine recessed panel lines

DSC_0083.jpg

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On the KLM tail (and winglet), the bulk of these show because they are removable panels & screws. On the tail cone, the join ring shows and all the button head fasteners in the station frames. Looking forward of the horizontal stab, the skin panels' butt joints and laps are barely seen.

Edited by Phrogger
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  • 7 months later...

the philipines a340..loose fasteners??they're not loose.wouldnt be a great thing to have 100 odd windows with loose hi-loks,rivets etc

the difference in shade could be condensation where the "warmer" frames are touching the cold skin.if the planes just landed.these sometimes ice/frost up depending on ambient temps.and/or water streaks dragging dirt with them.quick release fasteners always manage to loose part of the paint they had.they get opened up so often.

Edited by bzn20
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