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I’m thinking of building a few of the Eastern Express kits— DC10, 757-300 and possibly a DC9 and MD11. I really like the quality of the Zvezda kits but have no idea of the quality of EE. Let me know if these kits are recommended or wait for something better. Thanks for your help as always
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Don’t buy the 757! The rest are wonderful in terms of shape and quite decent in terms of fit.
As to 757s, Authentic Airliners make the best by far, and PAS Models of Russia make a very good one. Both AA and PAS are resin.
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As stated above, avoid the 757s at all costs. IIRC, they’re based heavily on the Minicraft nightmare.
The DC-10 and MD-11 look accurate from what I have seen, although you’ll get varying reports about how easily they build – some have had good build experiences while others have not. I have, however, seen some of those kits built up very nicely, so it can be done.
From personal experience the DC-9 (which is a -33/-34) builds very easily and looks really good when complete. The only issue I encountered is that the engine pylons aren’t the right size or shape, but that can be corrected. You can read my thoughts on the DC-9, and how it compares to the Fly and Airfix kits, here:
https://www.airlinercafe.com/forums.php?m=posts&p=69027
Jodie Peeler
"In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake." - Sayre's Law
To keep comparisons and recommendations within the apples to apples context, the Authentic Airliners kits are in a category all their own…kind of like “boutique” kits that really don’t compare exactly to plastic kits like the Eastern Express, Revell, Zvezda, or any other put-together. The AA kits are superior in detailing and accuracy, to be sure; but they are solid resin, presenting their own set of challenges and rewards that are not found when assembling a plastic kit. They are amazing kits, and a joy to build, and worth every penny…but I would not put them alongside a plastic kit for comparison. I finished an AA MD-11 earlier this year, and it was fun and rewarding…but it was a far cry from assembling a plastic kit.
I have NO experience with the Eastern Express kits…yet. But I am highly motivated by the kits themselves, the in process and finished builds I have seen and followed, the after market parts readily available for the kits (particularly the MD-11 and DC-10), and of course, the decals that allow for building a fleet of them in different liveries. As I write this, there is an EE MD-80 on my workbench soon to be started. It looks amazing..detail is quite good, dry fit seems to be good, and the plastic is pretty sturdy…except for the landing gear struts, which seem a bit spindly; an issue easily remedied with metal ones. The EE kits seem to be ripe for mods, PE additions, and various states of display, on the ground or in flight, with flaps and slats deployed or stowed. So with this in mind, I would recommend the EE kits to you…with the exception of the 757, which seems to have been unanimously “bashed.”
Here are a couple of works-in-progress of the EE MD-11, both of which are current, seem to be going well, and present the difficult challenges with the constructive ones…sure to be fine finished models:
https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235062225-md11f-fedex-1144-ee/
https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235053946-klm-md-11/
And here is my AA MD-11…for “comparison.”
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Well,
I have built the 757 kits… and then tossed all of them but one aside. I salvaged the 757-300 kit. Serious accuracy and engineering flaws. Airbus and 737’s from EE are also on the “I won’t buy those from EE list”.
The EE L-1011 kits can be finished to a nice build. I have done three of them and I like the completed project. They are not fun to build. They have fitment issues that can be overcome with patience ( I lack that quality!), putty,and lots of sanding. I do not have the MD-11 kit but I have the DC-10-30 kit and both remind me of the way the L-1011 kits go together. The attach the rear fuselage to the forward fuselage engineering is difficult to get lined up and correct. The EE DC-10-30 is the only version of the DC-10 in 1/144 scale with the late CF-6-50 Engines.
As Jodie said, the DC-9-33/34 kit appears to be pretty straight forward with a few minor accuracy issues as stated.
They are pretty pricey for kits that are not engineered all that well. Locator pins, slots for plugging pieces into and things like that are not done well on any of their kits from what I have seen so far.
For DC-9-30, I would stay with the old airfix kit if you can find them on ebay. Jodie’s write up on that topic is a really good read along with this DC-9 guide: https://www.airlinercafe.com/page.php?id=396
Good luck,
Mark
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With anything Eastern Express the safe course is to assume that it is rubbish until somebody whose opinion you trust says otherwise. Although it’s not on your list their A318 is probably the worst airliner kit currently on the market. Do not, under any circumstances, expect Zvezda quality from Eastern Express.
You should be aware that the MD-11 has fit issues and suffers from a totally daft way of attaching the wings. The wing joint eventually defeated me and led to an expensive kit being binned. If you get it together it’s an impressive model and definitely looks the part but it certainly isn’t easy. Fortunately the DC-10 has a conventional wing joint and looks to be a much more straightforward build.
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