Lancer512 Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 I started my first kit of the ukrainian company BPK (Big Plane Kits) today. The CRJ-100 in 1/144 scale is a very small model. It's about the size of a 1/72 F-86 Sabre. I'll finish it in Delta Connection livery (operated by Comair), on which I've flown several times back in 2001. The kit has the option to have transparent cabin widows. The areas where a long clear part will be fitted into, is already recessed. If you don't want clear windows, you can simply glue the clear parts into the fuselage,sand it to shape and prime everything. I've choosen to go with the transparent windows, instead. I first removed the pre-marked areas where the clear parts will fit in. I've left a very small amount of material to give the clear parts something to sit on. This will prevent the parts from falling into the fuselage as long as the glue is setting. The wing consists of three parts and goes together very nicely. A deep wheel well is also represented. I was quite surprised about the simple design, which I'll show you in the next pictures. As you can see, there is a gap visible in the wheel well. However, this gap will be closed once the fuselage is joined with the wing. Although there are no alignment pins, the parts fit very nice. There is some flash, but nothing a few quick strokes with a sanding stick can fix. The gap of the wing to fuselage joint is also well within limits. It seems that filler is not required there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Thanks for posting this build! I've bee putting off building mine because nobody makes US Airways Express decals for it. I might just have to do draw up my own. 😄 I understand BPK is working on a CRJ-700, too. Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Cool! i don't see often Airliners WIP threads! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 Thank you very much, guys! I fitted the clear parts, which are very fragile! As the transparencies are almost twice as long as required, I had to cut them to length. According to Murphy's Law, one of the transparencies cracked during that process. I've used some of the left over material and made a butt joint at a location between two windows. I triple checked this location with the help of the included paint mask for the windows by measuring from the aft edge of the cabin door. The inside of the transparencies was given several thin coats with Tamiya Smoke. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted December 29, 2016 Share Posted December 29, 2016 Those extra-long cabin window transparencies are the correct length for a -900, IIRC. Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted December 29, 2016 Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 The fuselage halves were joined and filled with a very small amount of putty on the top. Once everything was dry, the forward end of the fuselage was made square with my new disc sander at 200 rpm. I love that tool! Very precise... There is virtually no gap between the clear cockpit section and the fuselage when dryfitting the parts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 This kit is falling together like a dream! I've really made some progress in the last day. A bead of dissolved styrene was applied all around the cabin transparencies. This will aid as an additional glue jont and at the same time fill any gaps. This was then sanded with a medium sanding stick. Of course, the clear parts are not clear anymore. You can see where the gap at the aft end is filled with the styrene. Next, was a treatment with a ladie's nail polishing stick. It had two sides, which were used as advertised: extra fine and a polishing side. The clear parts are shiny again. You can see all the way through the windows, whoch were tinted from the inside because of the sanding. This way, the tinted surfacees are safe from being damaged. While the fuselage parts were drying, I assembled and painted the cockpit, and attached the winglets to the wings. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 (edited) On 12/29/2016 at 2:41 PM, mingwin said: Cool! i don't see often Airliners WIP threads! That's because they are mostly posted in the Airliner Modelling section of the forum. Nice start. I have a couple of the BPK 1/72 kits including the CRJ100. Will be following this build Edited December 30, 2016 by Trojan Thunder Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 It's nice to see this kit goes together so well. The Welsh kit was pretty rough. I ended up combining it with a Revell Challenger to bring it up to a decent level of accuracy. There is a build thread about it somewhere in the Airliners section. Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 (edited) Well, I should have posted this in the Works in Progress forum, and not in either Jet Modelling or Airliners, as this is an ongoing build. Today I rescribed any missing detail, installed the cockpit into the nose part and installed it to the fuselage. Again, a bead of dissolved styrene was used as filler and additional glue. Thisstill needs some drying time and a final sanding. The wing was also mated with the fuselage. It's a very close fit, which required some pressure to get the upper wing halves around the fuselage. The engine cowlings were glued together and then installed onto the intakes with CA glue. The vertical tail was also glued with CA glue, but from the inside of the fuselage before I installed the wings. There is also a injection molded tail in this kit, but it has some sinkmarks, and BPK replaced that with a resin tail. Talk about quality control... Finally, I've attached the engine pylons and installed the horizontal stabilizer. The engines will be left off for separate painting and will be installed to the airframe after everything has been painted. The Extra Thin botle is for size comparison. Edited December 30, 2016 by Lancer512 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jester292 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Looking good! I'm curious to see the profile of the plane with the engines on the nacelle. They are not supposed to be parallel with the fuselage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 I can't confirm that from only dryfitting the nacelles. Looks to be parallel with the butt and water lines. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 This morning I attached the flap actuator fairings. This was probably the most annoying part of the build, as I could not grab the small parts while trying to sand the mating surface even. They kept launcing into space, but didn't make it into orbit. The only parts that are left are the landing gear and doors, as well as the PE parts. So far, it has been 2 1/2 days since start. The next step will be a few of the PE antennas. I'm really reluctant to even put any of them on, as I know I will lose them while handling the model for masking and painting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 I'm glad you posted this build here, instead of the In Progress forum. Otherwise, I never would have seen it. I usually save antennae for final assembly. Even then, I usually knock a couple off and have to redo them. You're making me want to buy another one of these to replace my Welsh kit in Midway livery. You've already inspired me to get back to work on the US Airways Express decals! Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
11bee Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 What a great job. It's nice to see a kit of this, didn't know it even existed. Totally OT but this is by far my most hated jet in real life. Never been in anything more uncomfortable and claustrophobic. Those tiny windows at elbow level don't help either. I got to the point that when I traveled for business, I refused to fly on them. Thankfully most of the 100's are gone now. The later versions are a bit better (not by much though). Keep up the good work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jester292 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 200s are the same. The 700 and 900 series redesigned that, and the windows are higher. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sebastijan Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 (edited) 1 hour ago, 11bee said: Totally OT but this is by far my most hated jet in real life. Never been in anything more uncomfortable and claustrophobic. Those tiny windows at elbow level don't help either. I got to the point that when I traveled for business, I refused to fly on them. After flying on a 767 from Orlando to Frankfurt, a ride back home in a CRJ felt like a ride in a limo... I'm not sure why CRJs bother people so much, unless you are of above average height. As for the build - I'm following closely, as I will be building Adria Airways one in the future! Keep up the good work! Edited December 31, 2016 by Sebastijan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted January 1, 2017 Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 After a day off in the hobby room, I just checked the model for visible seam lines. I only found two locations, which required a little putty. Not bad for such a small kit! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jester292 Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Nice! More pics please. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 (edited) Masked and primed the model tonight. The masks are nice to have, but are a PITA to put on correctly. The only reference is the door frame on each side, which was partly rescribed. The windows on the right hand side were too low, while the left ones were too high. I was using the engine pylons as the aft reference. After redoing the right side, the windows are now offset aft by half a window. I can only hope that I can hide this with the decals. There is no good way to check the alignment before the decals go on. Everything was primed with grey Stynylrez. Edited January 2, 2017 by Lancer512 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 (edited) After sleeping over the window issue, I've decided to repaint the windows. Rather a few days more work in order to get a nice model than a half-hearted job to only get the model done. I just need to make a set of new masks with my vinyl cutter. This may take a while, so bear with me. I will keep you updated on the progress with the masks. If it works out as I imagined, window masks for this model (and the CRJ 200) will be available from me. I need to take some measurements... If I can find my verneer... Edited January 2, 2017 by Lancer512 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 (edited) Below are some pictures of how the windows look like after unmasking. Please keep in mind that I removed and reapplied each window mask, hence the masks are not as sticky as they were the first time. The right hand side emergency exit window is offset by half a window width. And consequently all other windows, too. I did not realize that because it was hidden under the mask. I've rescribed the emergency exit frames after unmasking. I guess the horizontal panel line, which is an intentional gap from attaching the transparency, will be my new reference. Edited January 2, 2017 by Lancer512 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grandboof Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Something different Thanks for sharing Martin H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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