Greenghost Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Hi, i have a set of 1/144 decals for a Frontier 737-200 aircraft and a set of decal for Sky Europe Adriana 737-700 also 1/144. I'm not very familiar with airliners, could you recommend which are the most suitable kits for these variants of the 737? I know there is an Airfix and a Revell 737-800 as well as the Daco kits, so which one should I get even if I need to do some modifications? Thank you S. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Nirel Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 For the -200, there is the old Airfix kit. For a -700 you'll have to get the Revell -800 and convert it. The Daco kits are beautiful, but cover the -300, -400 and -500. OR...you could go to Authentic Airliners and pick up both kits in resin and have the best 737s in 1/144. AA also has add-on parts for the Revell 737. Hope that helps! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 (edited) To expand on Ed's post, you didn't say if accuracy was a priority, but if it is, Authentic Airliners 737 kits are the most accurate. AA's kits are some of the best resin kits I've run across. They are priced accordingly. The Airfix -200 is old and has some shape issues, such as too-small engines and an odd-looking nose. Braz's engines for that kit are misshapen and are also too short. For less money than the AA -200 and with about the same amount of effort as building the Airfix kit, you can convert a Daco -300 into a -200 using engines from Authentic Airliners, which Kurt sells separately. It's actually fairly easy, as major conversions go. I'll be happy to send you my notes, if you want to go that route. For the -700, besides Authentic Airliners, your best bet is to convert the Revell kit. It's a very easy conversion to do, as major conversions go. There is a good discussion about it here (use the drawing Jennings posted as your reference) and there was also a how-to article in FineScale Modeler a few years ago. Revell got the engines and winglets wrong, but AA sells a 737NG engine/winglet package, and Braz also makes some very nice engines and winglets. Contrails sells a -700 fuselage, but given the quality of the products I've purchased from them in the past, as well as the ease of just cutting down the Revell fuselage, I wouldn't bother. HTH. Ben Edited May 24, 2015 by Ben Brown Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Greenghost Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 Hi guys, Thank you very much for the info, justnwhat I needed. What about the 757-200? I have the Iron Maiden decals in 1/144 as well. Thanks S Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Your only choices are the really awful Minicraft kit or the really spectacular Authentic Airliners kit. One is a Yugo GL the other is a Mercedes S-class. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Greenghost Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 Hi Jennings, Thank you for your comment, there is no question then...AA is the way to go. regards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niki4703 Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 ...you can convert a Daco -300 into a -200 using engines from Authentic Airliners, which Kurt sells separately. It's actually fairly easy, as major conversions go. I'll be happy to send you my notes, if you want to go that route. Ben, Should you be comfortable with sharing your experience on this subject, I would also be very interested (and grateful) to find out 'how to' turn a 733 into a 732. I do have at least one Airfix kit in the stash, but the DACO kit is so nicely detailed... :) Cheers, Niki Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 (edited) Your only choices are the really awful Minicraft kit or the really spectacular Authentic Airliners kit. One is a Yugo GL the other is a Mercedes S-class. Don't forget the Welsh 757, the Chevy of the group. It's not too bad to build, and some Braz engines make things a lot easier. Also, didn't PAS release a fairly decent one recently? Ben Edited May 25, 2015 by Ben Brown Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 (edited) Ben, Should you be comfortable with sharing your experience on this subject, I would also be very interested (and grateful) to find out 'how to' turn a 733 into a 732. I do have at least one Airfix kit in the stash, but the DACO kit is so nicely detailed... :) Cheers, Niki Hi Niki, I'm happy to share! Here is what the roughed-in model looks like. Conversion notes are below the photos. In the photo, you can see where I accidentally took a chunk out of the trailing edge of the right wing. It looks like a lot of work, but it's a straightforward afternoon project to get it to this point. The new engines cover the scars on the undersides of the wings where you remove the fairings for the -300's engines. The cuts for the wing tips can be made along a panel line outboard of the ailerons, IIRC. That's so you can save the details on the wing tips. It's been a while, but I want to do another one, soon. I'll post an in-progress how-to, if/when I ever get around to building another one. If you want to build an early -200, the pylons are slightly different, and require rewoking the Authentic Airlines engine pylons. That took longer than the rest of the conversion. If you're doing an Advanced, just slap the new engines on and you're good. I printed a profile of the tail in 1/144 to help me reshape the fin fillet. Go ahead and fill the cabin doors, since Daco's are too tall. Other than the cockpit windows, decals intended for the Welsh or Airfix -200 will fit this one just fine. You can also get to a -100 from here, but you'll have to do the engine pylon mod, and I think there might be a slight difference in the fuselage fairing just aft of the wing. And, with paint and Jennings' Liveries Unlimited decals: 737-300 to 737-200 conversion 1.Remove 44 scale inches (7.8mm) from forward of the wing and 60 scale inches (10.6mm) from aft. 2.Fill the cavity in the fairing, forward of each wing. 3.Reduce the wingspan to 93 scale feet (1.85mm each wing) 4.Reduce the horizontal stabilizer span to 36 scale feet (6mm ea. stab) 5.Reduce the chord of the wings outboard of the engines (works out to less than ~.7mm on the model). 6.Fill the outboard spoiler on each wing 7.Remove the fin fillet and reshape 8.Add Authentic Airliners JT-8D engines for Advanced, modify the pylons for early -200 9.Use Airfix -200, Revell Fokker 100, or Revell BAE-146 nose wheels 10.Early -200s Krueger flaps stopped just outboard of the landing lights. 11.Add upper rudder counterbalance for Advanced, upper & lower for early -200 Edited May 25, 2015 by Ben Brown Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jennings Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Go ahead and fill the cabin doors, since Daco's are too tall. WHAT!?!?!?! Are you INSANE, man!?!?! Danny Coremans make a MISTAKE!?!?!? What next, Dave Klaus isn't perfect either!?!?!?! My world is crashing down around my ankles... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niki4703 Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Thousand thanks, Ben! You make it indeed sound/ look easy Cheers, Niki Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Thousand thanks, Ben! You make it indeed sound/ look easy :thumbsup:/> Cheers, Niki Glad to help! It is fairly easy. If I can do it, anyone can. :D If you decide to give it a go and have any questions, feel free to ask. Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
757flyer Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 To second Ben's post, yes PAS did release a 757, and it looks pretty good in the box. I haven't built mine, but it definitely looks the part, and should be an easier build than the Welsh kit. With the Ruble down, you can get it for a pretty good price from Russian dealers these days. Also, Contrails released a kit, which can be built up into a nice model. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
757flyer Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 BTW, GREAT looking 732 Ben!! You couldn't have picked a better scheme for it, except possibly the final colors... Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KCRoyals5 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Ben How did you modify the 733 tail to be a 732? Devan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 BTW, GREAT looking 732 Ben!! You couldn't have picked a better scheme for it, except possibly the final colors... Mike Thanks! I have done one in Piedmont's later colors, but the photos I took of it didn't turn out as well as the ones of the early scheme. "Good photographer" isn't a term you'll ever hear used to describe me. :D Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ben Brown Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Ben How did you modify the 733 tail to be a 732? Devan Hi Devan, I just printed a profile drawing of the tail in 1/144 and used it as a pattern to reshape the -300's fin fillet. I roughed it in with an Xacto and then sanded it to shape. The -100 and early -200 had additional balance tabs above and below the one in the center of the rudder on the Daco kit. The -200 Advanced just had the upper one. There is a scribed panel on the kit to help you locate the upper one. I just eyeballed the lower one. You basically just duplicate the one in the center of the rudder in the other location(s) using a saw to cut the slot and some styrene for the tab. Here's a Boeing drawing, courtesy of b737.org, that shows all three tabs. It also shows the early engines, with the 727 thrust reversers, on the -100 profile. Ben Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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