Kurt H. Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 I have had this idea in my head for 20 years. The idea is to attach the rear fuselage of a 727 to a 707, yielding a 7 engine airliner. I think it has been done before, but I have always wanted to do it. I actually started this project in 2000 or 2001 and after cutting the fuselage of an airfix 727 and a minicraft 707 I got distracted and eventually I lost track of the kits in the project and probably threw them out in a purge leading up to a move. Any way, I got inspired to try again a few years ago, and I purchased an airfix 707, and an airfix 727 Here are the fuselages I did some preliminary test fits and it looks like it will be close enough to make it work. I will make the cut on a panel line in the rear section of each fuselage, and I am not sure If I want to try and lengthen the forward fuselage as well. The only problem is that I have not yet been able to think up a back story. I have a few ideas. I also have no idea what livery to use. Airliner? military? I have no idea. If I have the motivation I can also make a zero engine airliner from the remains. The ultimate in fuel savings. I have tried airliners several times, ruined lots of kits and finished 1. Hopefully I will have good results this time. Not sure where I will fit this into my build queue but I will try to get it finished before the end of the GB. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 OK, thats a neat what-if! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 Yeah, I really like the idea! Could be some super-fast jet with Mach 1.5-capability. HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted March 4, 2019 Author Share Posted March 4, 2019 A quick and dirty supersonic airliner is one idea for a backstory. I think I will go with 70s/early 80s united markings, with the tulip on the tail and the orange stripes. I made the first cut. IT went better than I thought. The shape of the fuselages is slightly different so it will take a lot of care to make it look seamless. The fuselage parts are taped together, above the 707-27 fuselage is the remnants. my cutting mat sure is dirty. might be time for a new one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 Looks like a good fit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 Great idea Kurt, following Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted March 13, 2019 Author Share Posted March 13, 2019 I have one fuselage half assembled. My goal was to make interlocking tabs, but they all seemed to stick to the 727 section so I went with it and glued them together, with the goal to make sure the crease in the fuselage was in the right place. I did not take a picture of the out side ot the fuselage. Any way, I think I have a idea for a path forward for assembly. Since the 727 fuselage is a little wider, I am going to sand the heckout of it to make it flush with the 707 fuselage. This is almost like a Vacuform kit at this point. I also ordered the decals, I found the Saul Bass United scheme for the 727. The package was supposed to be here tomorrow, but usps tracking shows it was held up at a distribution center on the way. No big deal, just as long as it did not get wet and gets here before the end of the GB it would be good. till next time ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 On 3/2/2019 at 12:42 AM, Kurt H. said: The only problem is that I have not yet been able to think up a back story. How about a concept model for a proposed episode for one of the Gerry Anderson TV shows? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted March 13, 2019 Author Share Posted March 13, 2019 The decals arrived today I ordered two sheets to ensure I have enough stripes. The decals also have the windows, so I can fill in the windows and have 1 less alignment concern. I Fly United pretty much any time I fly and wish they still had this livery, I like it better than the current livery. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Emvar Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 Supposedly there is a new Livery coming to replace the United/Continental hybrid scheme. I work for AC and love all the retro schemes..... ours is on an A319 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Very interesting project Kurt! I'll be following for sure. -co Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Must have a heck of a fuel consumption... 😉 HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 13 hours ago, Hajo L. said: Must have a heck of a fuel consumption... 😉 HAJO Haha yes Thanks for all your comments so far. I have made a little more progress and should have a good update here this week Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 Will be looking for that update. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 I filled in the windows with a mixture of Zap medium CA and Pink acrylic nail powder. The lower fuselage in this picture shows in the inside ... looks messy I filled the windows from the inside, and placed aluminum duct tape on the out side to provide a smooth surface to fill against. After sanding, this is what it looks like: I did not get complete filling, so there are some pinholes and voids. On the other fuselage half I used bondo glazing and spot putty as a final filler: This is a pretty fine grained filler so it gets into small areas. Feels pretty smooth , but only primer will reveal the truth. So, that is where I am at with this project. See ya next time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 (edited) I have been moving along slowly, but steadily with this one. I was studying for a certification exam, and thankfully I passed on the first try. But it really ate into my modeling time. Now, I do not have to study, so I can do fun stuff without a guilty conscience. I glued sinkers in the nose. It was not enough, and later I added clay Since the 727 fuselage is wider than the 707 fuselage, I aligned the joint at the rear, I figured it would be better to try and get this joint right. but it is still pretty gruesome: and that is not all I knew from dry fitting I would have a huge gap I glued the nose together, then let it set for a few days. Now I have a V shaped seam in the middle. I filled the gap with different thicknesses of Evergreen sheet I glued it all together. Next step will be to trim the shims, then scorched earth sanding and CA/Nail Acrylic powder. This is like building a Vac. see ya next time. Edited April 17, 2019 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 "Scorched earth sanding" - that's one I've not heard before but it does get the idea across. 😁 Evergreen's styrene sheet seems to be a different composition than Plastruct's white styrene sheet. Evergreen to me seems to be a bit stiffer. Each has its preferred uses. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Ahh, but its coming along nice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 19 hours ago, southwestforests said: "Scorched earth sanding" - that's one I've not heard before but it does get the idea across. 😁 Evergreen's styrene sheet seems to be a different composition than Plastruct's white styrene sheet. Evergreen to me seems to be a bit stiffer. Each has its preferred uses. I am doing this all the time on some of my more difficult builds 😄 Nice progress Kurt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 I am sanding, and sanding, and sanding .... and even more sanding. Still looks the same so no point in posting pictures. 😉 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 Don't ya hate when that happens? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 Hey guys Sorry I have been quiet. I have been working on this model and many others. I think I have the fuselage tamed, so I am moving on to the wings, and it is a horror show good thing the seam is hidden under the wing I had to glom thick CA to try to fill the gap. After that, I used red bondo glazing and spot putty. This is after 1 round of sanding. The wing on the bottom needed some more to level the area. I went for the thick and quick method and really slopped the putty on While the wing set, I started test fitting the engines. What a disaster, trying to fit the spinner in place and fit the nacelles together is probably the worst I have encountered in an injection molded kit 🤮 Looks like I have an appointment with 220 grit sandpaper this week. 🙂 ok talk to you later ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Oh yes, that looks like work! HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 4, 2019 Author Share Posted July 4, 2019 (edited) The 707 engines need help. Here is what they supply for a turbine face Just the cone, and they expect you to put it in between the engine halves. A test fit revealed it fit horribly. So I figured I could cut the part before it meets the cylinder in the middle of the shaft, and glue the cone in later. I cut the first part, and proceeded to drop it on the floor, never to be seen again. My next thought was to look for aftermarket engine faces. I could not find anything easily, then I realized I had a reasonable solution. The 727 has reasonable engine faces which look like they will fit If only I could make 4 more .... I can! I made a mold with polly plastics mold putty Mix equal parts, and push your part in 30 minutes later, you have a nice mold Now I need something to cast a tiny part. Bonidc to the rescue Bondic is an epoxy which cures upon exposure to a UV LED. Squirt some bondic in the mold Illuminate with the built in LED and you have a passable part I can not remember where I saw this , I think it was a post on the model cars magazine forum, the post was about making clear headlights for cars. It comes out yellow, but even this would be better than chromed globs some older car kits have. Once these are painted, they will look better than a black void in the 707 engines. see ya next time... Edited July 4, 2019 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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