1/72nd Titan Models 757-200 Monarch Airlines build

[f5guy]

Hi everyone,

     Several ARCer's saw this kit in progress on my bench in photo's of my Eastern Airlines 737-800 "In Progress" thread, and encouraged me to do a thread on the Titan Model's 1/72nd scale 757-200 as well, so here goes!

     For those of you unfamiliar with them, Titan Models is a small one man outfit based in York, Pa. USA. Owner Chris has stated that he got tired of waiting for mainstream model companies to put out the big kits that he wanted to build, so he decided to just put the kits out himself. I'm glad that he did, as his line of kits is just awesome! Titan specializes in large to very large 1/72nd scale kits of mostly airliners, but some military jets as well. Want a 72nd 747-800 freighter, or a 48th scale B-2 Stealth Bomber? Titan has them! Want to build a 72nd C-5 Galaxy or Airbus A380? They're coming!

     The kits are all vacu-form with 3D printed parts. Decals are available, but are custom printed, and will add to the cost. On the airliner and tanker kits, the landing gear, and cockpits (if available, not all kits have cockpits available yet) cost extra as well due to the fact that a lot of airliner builders use decals to represent the cockpit glass, and/or pose the aircraft in flight negating the need for landing gear. So the price will vary depending on which options you desire. Between the kit, cockpit set, landing gear set, and decals, I'm into this project about $250. Not too bad for a large kit these days.

      Like many of you, I've balked at the thought of building a vacu-form kit for ages. I didn't realize it until I got this kit that one of the biggest reasons for my aversion to them is because the plastic being used on most vacs is quite thin, and requires a lot of very careful sanding and much internal reinforcement, at least for the bigger subjects, to be built. That's not a problem with the Titan kits, as Chris uses .080" thick plastic at a minimum. It makes for a bit more sanding down of the parts edges initially, but, once glued together, the strength of the much thicker plastic really shines. And you can rescribe panel lines without fear of going through the plastic!

     So earlier this year I bought the 757-200. Titan also has the longer -300 version available, as well as the USAF version C-32A/B,  aka Air Force Two for the Vice President. Also, be aware that many of the airliner kits have several different engine options available, and may require you to figure out which engine you need for your particular subject. After looking at decal sites online, I settled on V1's sheet with markings for the now defunct Monarch Airlines. I contacted V1, and had the decals scaled up to 1/72nd scale at the same time I had them do my Eastern Airlines 737-800 decals. 

     The 757-200 is the smallest of the Titan models at the moment, coming in at a "measly" 25.88" long by 20.81" wingspan. Below is a pic of the kit parts before being cut out, along with plastic bags full of engines and other goodies, all 3D printed, and a recently finished Hasegawa F-16 for comparison. Also pics of the subject of this build. All for now. Fred.

 

 

[f5guy]

Hello again everyone,

     I really had the itch to build this kit, but told myself that I wasn't going to do it until I finished the 737-800 build. One day I was checking out the kits plastic and decided that I'm going to separate the large parts from the backer "just to see what it looks like".....  This accomplished by the old tried and true method of using a black sharpie pen to trace around the edge of the parts. Then you run a new Xacto blade around the same edges with moderate pressure. Once that is done you simply bend the plastic at the edges and the plastic will separate  with a "pop". Some folks don't use a sharpie to trace the outline of the parts, but I find it handy for knowing how far to sand the joining edges of the parts down to. I didn't take any pics of this as I figure that the process is universally well known. Titan has instructions on how to do this with pics over in the resources section of their website. https://www.titanmodelkits.com/assembly-instructions.html  More later, Fred.

     

[Dutch]

Phew!  You made the first step, Fred.  Go ahead and dive in!  It'll give you something to do while the paint is drying on the Eastern 737-800.  I am anxiously awaiting Titan's 1/72 KC-46A sometime soon.

[Vidar_710]

I have this kit. looking forward to the build. I have a 777-300ER already ordered as well.

 

Tracy

[Trojan Thunder]

Thanks for sharing your progress Fred, watching with interest.