Correcting the Revell DC-8-61

[gjake]

I have read before that the Revell DC-8-61 is actually too long. I can’t seem to find the reference, so does someone know how much has to be removed fore/aft of the wings to make it a correct -61? Thanks.

Gene
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[Ken Miller]

Short answer No I do not know the differences. Long answer is I’ll try to compare a Minicraft fuselage with a Revell one as well as a drawing.

Ken

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[Echo Mike]

Fuselage comparison Revell DC-8-61 and Minicraft DC-8-63

Perhaps this helps

Regards, Eduard

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[gjake]

Thanks Ken and Eduard for the above info/photo. I did some further digging last night and found my copy of Mark Cable’s Airliner SIG publication on the DC-8. He includes a drawing that indicates removing 4mm forward of the wing and 5mm aft. In the review of the kit, he addresses the fact that the kit is slightly too long (as seen in the photo above), but that this could largely be overlooked because many of the decals still available for the DC-8-61 were designed to fit the slightly overlength Revell kit. He also points out the incorrect position of the rudder and horizontal stabilizer hinge lines.

Thanks again for the info.

Gene
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[Dutch]

Gene & Ken,

Yes, the Revell kit is slightly long for 1/144 scale. In fact is scales out to 1/143 scale.  I think Dave Minton mentions this fact in his booklet “Building Model Airliners” published by Kalmbach in 1984. He also shows how to convert a Revell DC-8-61 into a DC-8-50 series. It was either Dave or Clint Groves of ATP Airliners America who showed me this. I can’t remember.

I think it amounts to removing the width of one window behind the wing. I think that most decals at that time were scaled to fit the Revell kit, as it would be another 20 years before the Minicraft kit was released.  So depending which decal brand you use, it may be scaled to fit the Revell kit “as is.”  If trying to fit a modern decal to the Revell kit, then maybe the window removal will help.  Use calipers and measure twice, before cutting once! (Works for both plastic or decals.)

HTH,

Dutch

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[Dutch]

Check out my Revell DC-8 conversion guide, originally dated ~1999, but updated last year for a friend.  I had to go the the internet archive to find it, then saved it back to my harddrive and cleaned it up. HTH. Kind regards, Dutch

 

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