Welsh 747-100/200

[robert61267]

Has anyone worked on this kit? http://www.welshmodels.co.uk/SL255.html I'm considering it for a long-term project.

Thanks

Robert

[PMG Offramp]

I have the SIA release, yours will only differ by the PW engines (early aft pylon on your AC, late aft pylon on my SIA) and the decal sheet.

It's a nice kit, the usual Welsh stuff, pax windows are not recessed this time (it was some sort of Welsh trademark, kinda annoying... well, to me) but the cockpit windows are still recessed. Resin engines/landing gears/wheels, landing gears look to be copies of the Airfix ones and the fuselage looks to be inspired by the Revell one (especially the front wing/body fairing).

Cheers, Steven

[robert61267]

Thanks. So, accuracy - wise, it looks like a proper early 747? That's the big thing for me, that the shapes are correct. I can scribe extra panel lines and add detail to the gear doors if I choose to, for example, but the basic shapes (like the wing fillet fairing) need to be correct. Its odd that there haven't been any reviews of this kit out there, a least none that I've seen. It sounds like it would be a really popular kit, part vac and all.

Thanks again,

Robert

[David Hingtgen]

I never knew Welsh did both early and late pylons. Which releases have which? Also---if they paid that much attention to detail, did they do with and without hump SATCOM fairings? And what about h.stab leading edge fairings?

[PMG Offramp]

Thanks. So, accuracy - wise, it looks like a proper early 747? That's the big thing for me, that the shapes are correct. I can scribe extra panel lines and add detail to the gear doors if I choose to, for example, but the basic shapes (like the wing fillet fairing) need to be correct.

Yes, it is as good as the Revell kit, not better, not worse, just a good representation of a "Classic" 747.

Those are just a few things I noted but I don't consider them deal breakers. Of course this is just my personal thought and I will pleased to read other opinions.

- wing/body front fairing, it appears to be based on the same area on the Revell kit (which is surprisingly close to the same area on the... 1:100 Nitto/Doyusha/Entex kit), meaning that the most extreme front curve is set up a little high on the fuselage, a matter of about 3-4mm. Hasegawa nailed it perfectly on their 1:200 kit.

- windshield, they did a better job on their 747SP kit on which the windshield was better shaped and simply engraved while it is depressed on the 747 "Classic" kit. I think Zvezda did a great job on their 747-8 kit, to me currently the best attempt to a 747 nose job, in terms of windshield geometry and nose volumes. This is the way I will go, steal the Zvezda nose to graft it to the Welsh kit.

- landing gears, a bit too messy and caricatural to my taste, again Zvezda's 747-8 kit will be a great donnor as I will be using its landing gear parts minus the wheels (747-8 landing gear struts & bogie tracks are slightly thicker _only 3cm in diameter if I recall_ than their "Classic" counterparts but retain the same architecture/geometry).

Wether the Welsh kit is based on the Revell kit or not, it is still a very nice representation of the 747. I did not measure anything about it but the volumes and outlines are nice and there is nothing shocking about it. And it looks like they at last abandoned the idea of depressions to simulate pax windows, I hated this, it is just so difficult to carve them out and keep consistent spacing and shape.

Cheers, Steven

[PMG Offramp]

I never knew Welsh did both early and late pylons. Which releases have which? Also---if they paid that much attention to detail, did they do with and without hump SATCOM fairings? And what about h.stab leading edge fairings?

My Pan Am and SAA SP kits both have late pyloned PW engines which is correct. My SIA -200/-300 kits have the early pyloned PW engines which is half correct (you can find both types of pylons on SIA's 747-200s but only the late pylons equipped 747-300s).

The Satcom antenna is present but the horizontal stabilizer fairing is not... if you are talking about the fillet that helped "smooth" the joint between the leading edge root and the rear fuselage.

Cheers, Steven

[robert61267]

Scale Aircraft Conversions does a 747-8 landing gear set. It may work on a 747 Classic, too.

[Jennings]

The gear struts in the Zvezda 747 are like toothpicks. Probably 1/3 too small in diameter. They did the same thing on their 787 rush job. They look anemic and silly on a model.