Justin Davenport Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 (edited) Ahh...while I wait for the Hi-Decal sheet to show up for my Mig....I've decided to start on another one of my Airfix kits. A jetliner....the first airliner build I've done in a long while. (My last ones were a Monogram Connie and a Minicraft 707, done in TWA markings when I lived in San Diego). I don't know what this bird will be yet. My kit has Lufthansa and Pan Am markings.....I'm not a big fan of Pan Am's "billboard" scheme. I like Lufthansa's 70's era cheatlines but I'll also investigate third party options (American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Braniff....lots and lots of airlines flew the 727 over its long career, and I flew on quite a few of them, mainly American and Hughes Airwest). Justin Edited October 3, 2006 by Justin Davenport Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted October 3, 2006 Author Share Posted October 3, 2006 Here's the decal sheet and open box on this bird. I also remember flying on TWA and Pan Am 727's...again, I've got lots of choices. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted October 3, 2006 Author Share Posted October 3, 2006 After lots of sanding and Tamiya putty, I've assembled the fuselage. I put in four lead sinkers in the nose, as I don't want a tailsitter! One nice thing about this kit is that the fuselage doors are molded in, unlike the 737-200 kit, which I started but lost a door...anyway, here's the fuselage: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted October 3, 2006 Author Share Posted October 3, 2006 Tamiya putty is your friend with this kit. Particularly with the airstair door....I don't know why they made it separate, unless they did it so the bird would sit properly on the gear even without lead sinkers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted October 3, 2006 Author Share Posted October 3, 2006 The Airfix kit made a glaring mistake on the wing....the curved fence should be on the leading edge, not the trailing edge. I'm cutting and sanding these off and I'll make sheet styrene replacements. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
madmike Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 Nice work Justin. I forgot to bid on one of these kits on eBay and now have to wait until one comes up again. MikeJ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted October 4, 2006 Author Share Posted October 4, 2006 Thanks Madmike...I hope you get this kit someday. I've built and added the wings, with the curved fences in their proper spots. I placed the horizontal stabilizers on but did not glue them....just for photo purposes. I'll take the stabilizers off and glue them on when the rest of the primer and full paint/decal job is finished. (Speaking of which, I'm thinking of some ideas, mainly airlines I've flown on). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted October 6, 2006 Author Share Posted October 6, 2006 I've glued in the windshield with the help of Testors clear parts cement. Now it's on to the masking/priming phase. Followed by acquisition of PSA, Hughes Airwest, United, TWA, American, or maybe Continental decals. PSA is current frontrunner due to availability and scheme appeal (the smiley face that used to dominate California skies). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted October 8, 2006 Author Share Posted October 8, 2006 Today I primed the bird and assembled the engines. Here's the bird with the engines and elevators - I didn't glue them on but I placed them for this photo. I used Tamiya Light Gunmetal spray for the fan blades, and Tamiya Gray primer for the fuselage and elevators. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 interesting build. I may have to try one of these out some day Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 Well, everyone, a quick non-photo update: I am waiting for some decals from Airline Hobby.....I'll see when I get them, then I will start the painting process. The bird is now completely primed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MaRiO FDZ Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Nice! Be sure to post them!! :D Keep it coming :lol: Take Care Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted November 25, 2006 Author Share Posted November 25, 2006 (edited) It took a while but my TWA decals from Airline Hobby finally came in tonight. So tomorrow morning the painting will start. Here's a shot of the primed bird with the new decals. I was waiting to see if they would ever come in....the Lufthansa scheme was my backup. Justin Edited November 25, 2006 by Justin Davenport Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted November 27, 2006 Author Share Posted November 27, 2006 (edited) Well, everyone, I've started the painting in earnest, splitting time this weekend with the F-15I Ra'am. I used the Tamiya rattle can USAF Light Gray as it looked like a decent match for the pics of the 727 wing topside I found on airliners.net. I can always gloss it up if I feel like it, but right now I'm happy. Next comes on the Coroguard (Tamiya metallic gray and white mix) then masking of the wings and getting the underside done, followed by the white topside. I'm using Tamiya Bare Metal Silver and Gloss Aluminum for the metal areas on the wings and elevators, and will use Gloss Black + Alclad Polished Aluminum on the underside and engine nacelles. The exhausts get Tamiya Light Gunmetal spray can. Edited November 27, 2006 by Justin Davenport Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted February 11, 2007 Author Share Posted February 11, 2007 Well....the weather in Salt Lake turned bitter cold just after my last update and my airbrush compressor gave out so I had to replace it. I've finally been able to resume serious work just this month, and after some struggle I found the right mix of thinner and paint to get my homebrew Coroguard to work: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 Nice to see this build going again Justin, the corogard looks good :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted February 12, 2007 Author Share Posted February 12, 2007 Thanks Ray....I've now masked off the wings and painted the engine nacelles gloss black in preparation for Alclad. (Painter's Touch Gloss Black works great, I've heard so many bad things about the Alclad Black Primer I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole). After I get the Polished Aluminum areas done I'll mask them off, then it's on to the white. Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hurrinut Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Thanks Ray....I've now masked off the wings and painted the engine nacelles gloss black in preparation for Alclad. (Painter's Touch Gloss Black works great, I've heard so many bad things about the Alclad Black Primer I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole). After I get the Polished Aluminum areas done I'll mask them off, then it's on to the white.Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hurrinut Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Thanks Ray....I've now masked off the wings and painted the engine nacelles gloss black in preparation for Alclad. (Painter's Touch Gloss Black works great, I've heard so many bad things about the Alclad Black Primer I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole). After I get the Polished Aluminum areas done I'll mask them off, then it's on to the white.Justin Are you using Alclad II? If so in the UK I use Halfords Grey Primer as an undercoat then their Gloss Black as a top coat for Alclad II. These are acrylic car paints, the Alclad goes on top of them beautifully and you get a lot more value for money out of the car paints!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted February 13, 2007 Author Share Posted February 13, 2007 Yes, I am using Alclad II. I've seen a number of posts from British modelers saying they use Halfords spray paints and their models looked good...but I'm afraid I've never heard of that brand being available here in the states. At your average Home Depot you'll find Krylon, Painter's Touch, etc....I've used Krylon gloss and flat white in the past with decent results. But yeah, you do get a lot more paint for your money with those big tall cans. Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted February 26, 2007 Author Share Posted February 26, 2007 I spent the last two weekends working on this bird....finally got a decent Alclad finish for the underside but had a disaster with my engine nacelles so I've rebuilt and redone them. At least it was the engine nacelles and not the airframe itself. I also got the gloss white on...using several coats of Tamiya white primer followed by light coats of Painter's Touch gloss white (Spray can). I had to do some sanding and respray a few times....the bird doesn't look perfect but it looks good enough. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted February 26, 2007 Author Share Posted February 26, 2007 Here's the underside, before I got the gloss white on. The underside is Alclad Polished Aluminum over Painter's Touch gloss black. I used SNJ powder to further polish the finish. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
singeri Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 Justin - Looking really great...can't wait to see the finished build. I have had this kit and those decals in my stash since the late 80's, just never got around to it. My father is a retired TWA captain, and logged more time in the '727 than any other a/c in his career which probably equates to about 20,000 hrs. Keep post'n pics. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
madmike Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 Looks good Justin! The natural metal in particular looks very nice indeed. <_< MikeJ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted February 26, 2007 Author Share Posted February 26, 2007 Thanks both of you....here's one last shot from tonight. I've gotten the TWA decals on - except for the registration, flag, and door decals, those will come tomorrow or Tuesday. It was a struggle to get the stripes on but with some help from the extra striping they had for the 727-100, I got the job done. The bird will look pretty good from about 2-3 feet away but I don't think it'll win any contests. However, I got some good practice on gloss white and BMF, those two are never easy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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